CA1188743A - Quick disconnect and function change radio assembly - Google Patents
Quick disconnect and function change radio assemblyInfo
- Publication number
- CA1188743A CA1188743A CA000412761A CA412761A CA1188743A CA 1188743 A CA1188743 A CA 1188743A CA 000412761 A CA000412761 A CA 000412761A CA 412761 A CA412761 A CA 412761A CA 1188743 A CA1188743 A CA 1188743A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- circuit board
- housing
- subassembly
- main housing
- tongue
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Abstract
Abstract An assembly for a pager having a main housing that is generic to a family of pagers having different outputs. A subassembly housing contains the output circuitry for each member of the family of pagers. A
generic circuit is mounted on a circuit board that is slideable within the main housing between a first and second position. The circuit board, in a first position, allows the subassembly housing to mate with the main housing. The subassembly housing is locked into mated engagement with the main housing when the circuit board is slid from its first position to its second position.
The locking engagement is provided by a tongue-like projection mounted on the circuit board which is received by a slot in the subassembly housing when the circuit board slides to its second position. In conjunction with this a flange mounted on the subassembly housing engages a first end of the circuit board.
generic circuit is mounted on a circuit board that is slideable within the main housing between a first and second position. The circuit board, in a first position, allows the subassembly housing to mate with the main housing. The subassembly housing is locked into mated engagement with the main housing when the circuit board is slid from its first position to its second position.
The locking engagement is provided by a tongue-like projection mounted on the circuit board which is received by a slot in the subassembly housing when the circuit board slides to its second position. In conjunction with this a flange mounted on the subassembly housing engages a first end of the circuit board.
Description
~ 7~7 ~
QUICK DISCONNECT AND Fl~NCTION
CHANGE RADIO ASSEMBLY
Background of the Invention The invention generally rela-tes to a modular assembly for portable radio receivers having a sub-assembly allowing changes in the character of radio output and the ~ain receiver assembly having means for attaching and locking the subassembly to the main receiver housing. More particularly, the invention relates to an assembly for a pager having means for quickly and easily engaging and disengaging various output control device subassemblies which interface with a generic radio frequency receiver enclosed in a main pager housing.
Many different means are known to alert a pager user when a transmitted signal is received by the pager.
Audio tone and voice output devices have been the most common, but there are also audiovisual display output devices and vibration output devices. In the past, each different type of alerting output has requried a separate pager unit ~7ith individual assembly and component parts.
This has been true even though each different type pager shares common component subsystems. In particular, the receiver portion of the pager's electronics is virtually identical in each different type pager unit. The decoder circuitry and alert circuitry are those portions of the ~ 2 ~ 7-~3 paqer which differ for pagers with different output devices. In the past even though a major portion of the pager device was common with other pa~ers having different output features, each pagar had its own separate assembly. These separate assembly lines for devices with major common portions result in an unnecessary increase in manufacturing costs and duplication of inventory.
Recently attempts have been made to develop Pagers whose main housing is generic to all the different output type paging devices. The object of this is to have the capability of changing a given pager from one output type to another while maintaining the same distinctive trade dress for the different pager types~ These recent attempts have utilized a aeneric housing but have required a complete replacement of the internal component assembly. This meant only the housing shell was carried over from one system to another. Such a replacement ability allowed ease in manufacturing since only one main housing die was required for all the different pagers, but it offered little benefit to the user since to switch from one system to another required buying virtually a whole new pager while reusing only the comparatively inexpensive housing shell. There is a need for a modular construction for a pager which would have the flexibility to allow changes in pager output characteristics without a wholesale replacement of the pager internal components common to all types of pagers.
Problems have also existed in the assembly process of prior art pagers. '~sually a pager is housed in a six sided box. For aesthetic reasons, it is desirable for the pager housing to have a minimal number of exposed support screws. A desire to simplify the pager assembly process combined with a desire for pleasinq aesthetics, has commonly resulted in the use of only one side of the pager housing as an access opening to pager components.
Vsually all the internal components are mounted and arranged with respect to one another on a single component board so that they may slide as a unit into position within the housing cavity during assembly.
Persuant to the desire to simplify the asse~bly process, often the component board includes all externally accessable components, such as switches. The resulting assembly process is simply and easy but it is at the expense of a certain flexibility in the mounting of the externally available displays, switches and buttons.
Push buttons (usually dome switches) or slide switches, to be functional, must protrude from the housiny through openings. In an assembly arrangement where the pager internal components are on a single board that slides into place through a sinqle side opening of the pager housing, the housing sides adjacent to the opened side are necessarily parallel to the line of travel of the internal components as the component board slides into place and are therefore practically excluded from having switches protruding from their surface plane. To include switches mounted on these adjacent walls would require some means of detenting their protruding portions as they slide into the housing cavity. Provisions could be made to accomplish this but it would cut away from the basic assembly objective of simplicity. In light of this, there is a need for a modular assembly that is as simply as the modular assemblies of the prior art yet allows the pleasing aesthetics of mounting switches on two adjacent housing sides.
Therefore it is an object of this invention to create a modular pager housing allowing easy assembly and a greater flexibility in the placement of displays, buttons and switches on the pager housing.
It is a further object of the invention to provide interchangable subassemblies Eor a pager which allows a generic radio receiver housing and circuitrv to be 7'~3 complemented by a decoder and user alert subassembly circuit housed by a subassembly cover which is easily mechanically and electrically mounted onto the main housing of the generic receiver portion of the pager while simultaneously maintaining a pleasing aesthetic appearance.
Summary of the Invention . . ~ _ A assembly for a pager having a first circuit portion generic to a family of pagers having different outputs. The particular outputs are defined by a second circuit portion unique to each different output type pager. There is a main housing for the qeneric circuit portion and a subassembly housing for the unique circuit portion. The generic circuit portion is mounted on a circuit hoard having a first and second end and slideable within said main housing between a first and second position. A tongue-like projection is mounted on the circuit board at its first end and its second end. A
wedge projecting from the inside wall of the main housing is engaged with the tongue-like projection central slot.
The wedge and slot prevent the circuit board from accidentally sliding out of the main housing during assembly or disassembly of the pager. A first signal conducting connector is also mounted on the circuit board.
The subassembly housing includes a receiving slot for receiving the tongue-like projection~ A second signal conducting connector is mounted on the subassembly housing for mating with the first signal conducting connector. Also a flange is mounted on said subassembly housing for engagement with said circuit board first end.
The subassembly housing is mated with the main housing when the circuit board is in a first position. The first position of the circuit board draws the circuit board and - 5 - ~ 3 the associated tongue-like pro~ection and first connector out of engagement range with the corresponding mating lockina parts on the subassembly housing. After the subassembly is placed in its mating position with the main housing, the circuit board is slid to its second position whch engages the flange with the circuit board first end, the second connector with ~he first connector and the receiving slot with the tongue~like projection.
The circuit board second position locks the assembly together.
Brief Description of the Drawings _ Fig. 1 is an assembled view of the modular pager construction according to the invention~
Fig~ 2 is an exploded view of the modular ~ager construction according to the invention.
Fig. 3, appearing wlth Fig. l, is an elevated perspective vlew of male and female electrical connector portions which connect main housing circuit components with subassembly housing circuit components according to the invention and an elevated perspective view of male and female mechanical connector portions which lock a subasse~bly housing in place with a main housing according to the inventionO
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a pager according to the invention along the line 4-4 in Fig. 3, illustrating a circuit board assembly within the pager main housing in a first position which allows the pager subassembly housing to enqaqe the main housing assembly's mating opening.
Fig. 5a is the cross sectional view of a pager according to the invention as shown in Fig. 4 with the circuit board assembly in a second position which locks the main housing and subassembly housing into a single unit.
F~g. 5b, appearing with Fig. 2, is a cross sectional view of a sukassembly housing post fully rnated with a rnain housing port for the main housing and subassembly housing position of Pig.
5a.
F}g. 6, appearing with Fig. 2, is an elevated per~*ive view of an alternate embodiment of a pager main and subassembly housing according to the invention having 2 dead b~lt locking mechanism associated with a slide switch mounted on the sub assembly housinq.
~escri~tion of the Preferred Embodiment ~ig. 1 sho-ls an assembled pager according to the modular construction of the invention. The assembled pager 9 can be carried by the user on a belt buckle by usinq clamp 11 partially shown in Fig. l. On-off switch 13 controls application of D.C. power from batteries housed ~ithin the pager 9. Dome switches 15 and 17 control certain internal functions of the pager. Digital display 19 gives the user a visual read-out of transmitted information. Speaker 21 is a signal transducer which produces an audio signal which alerts to the user to an incoming telephone number or other visual message, while interrogator button 23 accesses to the digital display information available in ~ storage memory within the pager.
Fig. 2 is an elevated perspective of an exploded view of the invention. Main housing 25 receives subassembly housina 27 at an opening 29 in the main housing 25. The two housing pieces are preferrably molded from ~ hard plastic. Circuit board 31 is slidably received by main housing 25 through battery opening 33.
A battery hatch 35 closes battery opening 33 by sliding over the bottom portion of the ~ain housing 25. The battery hatch 35 is preferrably molded of the sarne material as main housing 25 and subassembly housins 27.
~B87 ~3 ~ 7 --Subassembly housing 27 has output control circuitry 37 secured to its inside walls by three screws 39a - 39c.
The output control circuitry 37 includes on-off slide switch 13, digital display 19, interrogator button 23, speaker 21 and dome switches 15 and 17. The subassembly housing 27 includes ports for the various components of output control circuitry 37. In particular for the visual digital display subassembly of the preferred embodiment of Fig. 1 there is a window 41 for viewing digital display 19l an opening 43 for interrogator button 23 and a screen 45 for speaker 21. Also there is an aperture 47 for on-off slide switch 13 and dome switch apertures 49 and 51 for indicator light 15 and 17 respectively.
Circuit board 31 includes a plastic battery compartment 53, antenna 55a and 55b, electrical components 57, a resilient locking tongue 59 and a plastic female connector 61. Tongue 59 is preferrably constructed of a resilient metal such as spring steel.
The battery compartment 53 serves to house the batteries used to power the electronics of the pager. Antenna 55a and 55b serves as a guide rail to position circuit board 31 within the main housing 25. The height of the antenna 55a and 55b is approximately equal to the depth of the cavity defined by the inside walls of the main housina 25. Therefore, the top length of guide rails 55a and 55b are in contact with the inside walls of a front portion 25a of the main housing _ when the circuit board 31 is fully engaged with the main housing 25. h~hen fully engaged in main housing 25, circuit board 31 itself res~s against the inside walls of a back portion 25b of main housing 25. Resilient locking tongue 59 has a slotted end 59a which en~ages a wedge 63 (shown in phantom in Fig. 2) when circuit board 31 is inserted into main housing 25. Wedge 63 is a integral pro1ection of the main housing inside front wall 25a. The interaction of 7 ~3 tongue slotted end 59a and wedge 63 will be explained more fully with respect to Fig~ 4. Ports 65 and 67 receive posts projecting from the inside wall of subassembly housing 27 (shown in Fig. 3).
This modular assembly of the invention allows the pager to be easily changed from one type of output to another without requiring the exchange of all internal components. The main housing 25 serves as a generie housing for a family of paqers having diffe~ent type outputs. The cireuit board 31 enclosed by main housing 25 includes the portion of the pager electronics whieh defines the reeiever. The output control circuitry 37 is attached to and housed by the subassembly housing 27.
The partieular type of output control cireuitry depends on the type of pager that the user desires. For each different type of paqer there is required a unique subassembly sinee the output control circuitry, external displays and switehes differ from one pager type to another. But the main housing 25 and cireuit board 31 remain generie to all different type pagers.
Since the pager eireuitry is in two housing modules there is a eertain flexibility available that has not been available in many prior art pager assemblies whieh strive for a simple eonstruetion. With subassembly housing 27 having most if not all of the eireuitry whieh requires external switehes or buttons it becomes eonveniently expedient to mount all the switehes and buttons on the subassembly ho~sing 27. By the nature of the pager assembly the subassembly housing 27 can feature buttons and switehes on two adjaeent sides which is a feature ~ot praetieal under prior art eonstruction. When the pager 9 is fully assemblied the output eontrol eireuitry 37 of the subassembly housing 27 and the eleetrieal eomponents 57 of eircuit board 31 are eleetri-eally eonneeted by male and female connectors respective-ly mounted on subassembly housing 27 and on circuit board 9 ~8~ 3 31. This is more fully explained in connection with Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 shows an elevated perspective view of resili-ent locking tongue 59, female connector 61 and subassemb-ly housing 27 with a plastic male connector 69, andassociated conductive metal connector pins _ , slot 7 and posts 73 and 75. Also main housing 25 is partially shown. Resilient tongue _ includes legs 59b ~ 59d which support both tongue 59 and female connector 61 on the surface of the circuit board 31. Ports 77 and 79 are respectively located on main housing tabs 81a and 81b.
The tabs are recessed with respect to the plane of the front surface of main housing 25. The recess is sufficient to allow subassembly housing 27 to seat in openin~ 29 flush with the surface of main housing 25.
Ports 77 and 79 on tabs 81a and 81b receive posts 73 and 75 on subassembly housing 27 when the subassembly is mated with the main housing 25. The ports 77 and 79 and posts 73 and 75 interact with resilient tongue 59 and tongue slot 59a to lock main housing 25 and subassembly housing 27 together as one unit as will be explained more fully in connection with Fig. 5b.
Connector pins 70 mate with conductive pin slots 85 in female connector 61 when the pager 9 is assembled.
The male and female connectors provide the electrical link between circuit board 31 in main housing 25 and output circuitry 37 in subassembly housing 27. For any different output type subassemblies 27 the male connector 69 and its connector pins 70 are the same. For subassembly housing 27 there is different output control curcuitry _ and a different external appearance for different type outputs (i.e. visual, audio, vibration).
But male connector 69 is identical in every subassembly housing 27 as is necessary for there to be interchangabi-lity with generic main housing 25. Also for interchang-ability all different subassemblies 27 must have the same 7~
mechanical attachment means. The steps involved in mechannically joining the subassembly housing 27 with the main housing 25 will be explained more fulling in connection with Figs. 4, 5a and 5b.
Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of pager 9 in Fig.
l showing the appropriate position of circuit board 31 in main housing 25 for seating subassembly housing 27 into opening 29 in main housing 25. ~he cross-section shows a circuit board first end 31a and a circuit board second end 31b. ~eceiver component circuitry is illustrated by single chip 57. Chip 57 is for purposes of illustration only, since the actual receiver circuitry obviously comprises more than a single chip. Resilient tongue 59 and female connector 61 are supported by tongue leqs 59b, 59c, and 59d (shown in Fig. 3). A knob 59e is formed on the underside of resilient tongue 59 for ease in the physical contact of the walls defining slot 71.
Correspondingly, slot 71 has a bevel 71a for ease in the joining of slot 71 with tongue knob 59e. Output control circuitry 37 includes a digital display 19 and switch circuitry 87 with associated switch aperture 47 in subassembly housing 27 for switch 13~ Digital display 19 is mounted on a control mounting bracket 89 and held in place by bezel 91 secured to bracket ~9. A flange 91a is formed at one end of be~el 91 for mechanical engagement of circuit board end 31b. Bezel 91 and flange 91a are preferrably brass, but can be any suitable materialO
Flange 91a can also be formed from one end of control mounting bracket 89.
Circuit board 31 can slide along the length of main housing 25 limited only by the interference of tongue slot 59a engagement with wedge 63. As the first step in assembly of the two housing pieces, with the battery hatch 35 removed, the circuit board 31 is pulled to the right as far as the tongue slot 59a and wedge will allow as shown in Fiq. 4. The circuit board 31 is placed into this position by pulling on circuit board end 31a with an appropriate instrument by way of battery hatch opening _ . With the circuit board 31 in this position the subassembly housing 27 is lowered into place over main housing opening 29.
Fig. 5a is a cross section of the pager 9 fully assembled and main housing 25 and subassembly housing 27 in locked engagement. From its position in Fig. 4, circuit board 31 is pushed to the left by way of battery 1 n hatch opening 33 through the use of finger pressure or an appropriate tool. Resilient tongue 59 engages slot 71 and circuit board end 31b engages flange 91a of digital dis?lay bracket 91. By first seating subassembly housing 27 on main housing openinq 29 and then sliding circuit board 31 and the associated female connector 61 and tonque 59 into engagernent, a two step process is created which guarantees both that the subassembly housing 27 is locked into place and also that male connector 69 is properly mated with female connector 61.
In operation, small knob 59e on the underside of the tip of resilient ton~ue 59 engages the subassembly housing 27 at the lower surface wall of slot 71. As circuit board 31 is pushed toward the left in Fig. 5a the tongue knob 59e moves up the bevel 71a causing the tongue 59 to yield laterally. The beveled portion 71a of slot 71 allows resilient tongue 59 to first engage slot 71 in a relaxed or unstressed condition. As the tongue 59 yields laterally, it resists bending with a force applied against the bottom of slot 71. This interaction of the bottom wall of slot 71 and the tip of tongue 59 results in the subassembly housing 27 being held in tight engagement with main housing 25.
To disassembly the pager 9 the assembly steps are simply performed in reverse order. To completely remove circuit board 31 from main housing 25 resilient tongue 59 must be flexed down toward the surface of circuit board 31 until tongue slot S9a clears wedge 63 and allows the circuit hoard 31 and attached tongue 59 to slide out the battery opening 33. The resilient 'ongue 59 can be flexed sufficiently by a force applied with a finger tip or an appropriate tool. With circuit board 31 removed from main housing 25, subassembly housing 27 can be connected to circuit board 31 to form a functioning unit ._ yet allowing access to test points on the circuit board 31 underplane for purposes of trouble shooting a malfunctioning unit. On a test bench, a first mechanical connection between subassembly 27, slot 71 and resilient tongue 59 and a second mechanical connection between flange 91a and circuit board end 31b hold male connector 69 in stable electrical contact with female connector 61.
This frees the technician from being forced to juryrig a test set-up.
Fig. 5b shows a cross-section of post 73 and port 77 in full engagement. Post 75 engagement with port 79 is defined by an identical cross-section. Ports 77 and 79 receive posts 73 and 75 when main housing 25 is mated with subassembly housing 27. Posts 73 and 75 function to hold subassembly housing 27 in its mated position in opening 29 of main housing 25 as circuit board 31 is pushed into its assembled position (shown in Fig. 5a).
As the circuit board 31 is ~ushed into its assembled _ position the interaction of tongue 59 and slot 71 results in both a downward and leftward force (in Fig. 5a) on the subassembly housing 27. This leftward force tends to push the subassembly housing 27 away from its mated position on main housing 25. To resist this force, posts 73, 75 and ports 77, 79 have been included in the subassembly housing 27 and main housing 25 respectively.
Therefore the subassembly will not be prone to move away from its seated position over opening 29 in response to - 13 ~ 3 forces generated during engagement of tongue 59 with slot Fig. 6 is a elevated perspectlve view of an alternate embodiment of the invent:;on. The pager 9 assembly shown in Figs. 1-5 could include a latch 93 on subassembly housing 27 and latch hole 95 in main housing 11. Latch 93 i5 connected to slide switch 13. Latch 93, latch hole 95 and slide switch 13 combine to act as a dead bolt lock holdin~ the two housing pieces in their mated position. Preferrably the slide switch is an on-off switch with the off position being the switch position shown in Fig. 6. The latch 93, in Fig. 6, is shown in its fully e~tended position. When subassembly housing _ is mated with main housing 25 and switch 13 in_ its off position, latch 93 and latch hole 95 are in a dead bolt arrangement which prevents subassembly 27 from being dislodged from its mated position with main housing 25. Latch 93 and latch hole 95 support post 73, 75 and ports 72, 79 in preventing undesired movement of subassembly 27 as circuit board 31 is moved from its first or second position during disassembly or assembly.
In summary, the pager assembly of the invention provides a versatile modular construction which offers increased cost effectiveness through separation of generic and unique circuitry for different character pagers while maintaining mechanical and electrical module interconnections that are both simple and reliable.
QUICK DISCONNECT AND Fl~NCTION
CHANGE RADIO ASSEMBLY
Background of the Invention The invention generally rela-tes to a modular assembly for portable radio receivers having a sub-assembly allowing changes in the character of radio output and the ~ain receiver assembly having means for attaching and locking the subassembly to the main receiver housing. More particularly, the invention relates to an assembly for a pager having means for quickly and easily engaging and disengaging various output control device subassemblies which interface with a generic radio frequency receiver enclosed in a main pager housing.
Many different means are known to alert a pager user when a transmitted signal is received by the pager.
Audio tone and voice output devices have been the most common, but there are also audiovisual display output devices and vibration output devices. In the past, each different type of alerting output has requried a separate pager unit ~7ith individual assembly and component parts.
This has been true even though each different type pager shares common component subsystems. In particular, the receiver portion of the pager's electronics is virtually identical in each different type pager unit. The decoder circuitry and alert circuitry are those portions of the ~ 2 ~ 7-~3 paqer which differ for pagers with different output devices. In the past even though a major portion of the pager device was common with other pa~ers having different output features, each pagar had its own separate assembly. These separate assembly lines for devices with major common portions result in an unnecessary increase in manufacturing costs and duplication of inventory.
Recently attempts have been made to develop Pagers whose main housing is generic to all the different output type paging devices. The object of this is to have the capability of changing a given pager from one output type to another while maintaining the same distinctive trade dress for the different pager types~ These recent attempts have utilized a aeneric housing but have required a complete replacement of the internal component assembly. This meant only the housing shell was carried over from one system to another. Such a replacement ability allowed ease in manufacturing since only one main housing die was required for all the different pagers, but it offered little benefit to the user since to switch from one system to another required buying virtually a whole new pager while reusing only the comparatively inexpensive housing shell. There is a need for a modular construction for a pager which would have the flexibility to allow changes in pager output characteristics without a wholesale replacement of the pager internal components common to all types of pagers.
Problems have also existed in the assembly process of prior art pagers. '~sually a pager is housed in a six sided box. For aesthetic reasons, it is desirable for the pager housing to have a minimal number of exposed support screws. A desire to simplify the pager assembly process combined with a desire for pleasinq aesthetics, has commonly resulted in the use of only one side of the pager housing as an access opening to pager components.
Vsually all the internal components are mounted and arranged with respect to one another on a single component board so that they may slide as a unit into position within the housing cavity during assembly.
Persuant to the desire to simplify the asse~bly process, often the component board includes all externally accessable components, such as switches. The resulting assembly process is simply and easy but it is at the expense of a certain flexibility in the mounting of the externally available displays, switches and buttons.
Push buttons (usually dome switches) or slide switches, to be functional, must protrude from the housiny through openings. In an assembly arrangement where the pager internal components are on a single board that slides into place through a sinqle side opening of the pager housing, the housing sides adjacent to the opened side are necessarily parallel to the line of travel of the internal components as the component board slides into place and are therefore practically excluded from having switches protruding from their surface plane. To include switches mounted on these adjacent walls would require some means of detenting their protruding portions as they slide into the housing cavity. Provisions could be made to accomplish this but it would cut away from the basic assembly objective of simplicity. In light of this, there is a need for a modular assembly that is as simply as the modular assemblies of the prior art yet allows the pleasing aesthetics of mounting switches on two adjacent housing sides.
Therefore it is an object of this invention to create a modular pager housing allowing easy assembly and a greater flexibility in the placement of displays, buttons and switches on the pager housing.
It is a further object of the invention to provide interchangable subassemblies Eor a pager which allows a generic radio receiver housing and circuitrv to be 7'~3 complemented by a decoder and user alert subassembly circuit housed by a subassembly cover which is easily mechanically and electrically mounted onto the main housing of the generic receiver portion of the pager while simultaneously maintaining a pleasing aesthetic appearance.
Summary of the Invention . . ~ _ A assembly for a pager having a first circuit portion generic to a family of pagers having different outputs. The particular outputs are defined by a second circuit portion unique to each different output type pager. There is a main housing for the qeneric circuit portion and a subassembly housing for the unique circuit portion. The generic circuit portion is mounted on a circuit hoard having a first and second end and slideable within said main housing between a first and second position. A tongue-like projection is mounted on the circuit board at its first end and its second end. A
wedge projecting from the inside wall of the main housing is engaged with the tongue-like projection central slot.
The wedge and slot prevent the circuit board from accidentally sliding out of the main housing during assembly or disassembly of the pager. A first signal conducting connector is also mounted on the circuit board.
The subassembly housing includes a receiving slot for receiving the tongue-like projection~ A second signal conducting connector is mounted on the subassembly housing for mating with the first signal conducting connector. Also a flange is mounted on said subassembly housing for engagement with said circuit board first end.
The subassembly housing is mated with the main housing when the circuit board is in a first position. The first position of the circuit board draws the circuit board and - 5 - ~ 3 the associated tongue-like pro~ection and first connector out of engagement range with the corresponding mating lockina parts on the subassembly housing. After the subassembly is placed in its mating position with the main housing, the circuit board is slid to its second position whch engages the flange with the circuit board first end, the second connector with ~he first connector and the receiving slot with the tongue~like projection.
The circuit board second position locks the assembly together.
Brief Description of the Drawings _ Fig. 1 is an assembled view of the modular pager construction according to the invention~
Fig~ 2 is an exploded view of the modular ~ager construction according to the invention.
Fig. 3, appearing wlth Fig. l, is an elevated perspective vlew of male and female electrical connector portions which connect main housing circuit components with subassembly housing circuit components according to the invention and an elevated perspective view of male and female mechanical connector portions which lock a subasse~bly housing in place with a main housing according to the inventionO
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a pager according to the invention along the line 4-4 in Fig. 3, illustrating a circuit board assembly within the pager main housing in a first position which allows the pager subassembly housing to enqaqe the main housing assembly's mating opening.
Fig. 5a is the cross sectional view of a pager according to the invention as shown in Fig. 4 with the circuit board assembly in a second position which locks the main housing and subassembly housing into a single unit.
F~g. 5b, appearing with Fig. 2, is a cross sectional view of a sukassembly housing post fully rnated with a rnain housing port for the main housing and subassembly housing position of Pig.
5a.
F}g. 6, appearing with Fig. 2, is an elevated per~*ive view of an alternate embodiment of a pager main and subassembly housing according to the invention having 2 dead b~lt locking mechanism associated with a slide switch mounted on the sub assembly housinq.
~escri~tion of the Preferred Embodiment ~ig. 1 sho-ls an assembled pager according to the modular construction of the invention. The assembled pager 9 can be carried by the user on a belt buckle by usinq clamp 11 partially shown in Fig. l. On-off switch 13 controls application of D.C. power from batteries housed ~ithin the pager 9. Dome switches 15 and 17 control certain internal functions of the pager. Digital display 19 gives the user a visual read-out of transmitted information. Speaker 21 is a signal transducer which produces an audio signal which alerts to the user to an incoming telephone number or other visual message, while interrogator button 23 accesses to the digital display information available in ~ storage memory within the pager.
Fig. 2 is an elevated perspective of an exploded view of the invention. Main housing 25 receives subassembly housina 27 at an opening 29 in the main housing 25. The two housing pieces are preferrably molded from ~ hard plastic. Circuit board 31 is slidably received by main housing 25 through battery opening 33.
A battery hatch 35 closes battery opening 33 by sliding over the bottom portion of the ~ain housing 25. The battery hatch 35 is preferrably molded of the sarne material as main housing 25 and subassembly housins 27.
~B87 ~3 ~ 7 --Subassembly housing 27 has output control circuitry 37 secured to its inside walls by three screws 39a - 39c.
The output control circuitry 37 includes on-off slide switch 13, digital display 19, interrogator button 23, speaker 21 and dome switches 15 and 17. The subassembly housing 27 includes ports for the various components of output control circuitry 37. In particular for the visual digital display subassembly of the preferred embodiment of Fig. 1 there is a window 41 for viewing digital display 19l an opening 43 for interrogator button 23 and a screen 45 for speaker 21. Also there is an aperture 47 for on-off slide switch 13 and dome switch apertures 49 and 51 for indicator light 15 and 17 respectively.
Circuit board 31 includes a plastic battery compartment 53, antenna 55a and 55b, electrical components 57, a resilient locking tongue 59 and a plastic female connector 61. Tongue 59 is preferrably constructed of a resilient metal such as spring steel.
The battery compartment 53 serves to house the batteries used to power the electronics of the pager. Antenna 55a and 55b serves as a guide rail to position circuit board 31 within the main housing 25. The height of the antenna 55a and 55b is approximately equal to the depth of the cavity defined by the inside walls of the main housina 25. Therefore, the top length of guide rails 55a and 55b are in contact with the inside walls of a front portion 25a of the main housing _ when the circuit board 31 is fully engaged with the main housing 25. h~hen fully engaged in main housing 25, circuit board 31 itself res~s against the inside walls of a back portion 25b of main housing 25. Resilient locking tongue 59 has a slotted end 59a which en~ages a wedge 63 (shown in phantom in Fig. 2) when circuit board 31 is inserted into main housing 25. Wedge 63 is a integral pro1ection of the main housing inside front wall 25a. The interaction of 7 ~3 tongue slotted end 59a and wedge 63 will be explained more fully with respect to Fig~ 4. Ports 65 and 67 receive posts projecting from the inside wall of subassembly housing 27 (shown in Fig. 3).
This modular assembly of the invention allows the pager to be easily changed from one type of output to another without requiring the exchange of all internal components. The main housing 25 serves as a generie housing for a family of paqers having diffe~ent type outputs. The cireuit board 31 enclosed by main housing 25 includes the portion of the pager electronics whieh defines the reeiever. The output control circuitry 37 is attached to and housed by the subassembly housing 27.
The partieular type of output control cireuitry depends on the type of pager that the user desires. For each different type of paqer there is required a unique subassembly sinee the output control circuitry, external displays and switehes differ from one pager type to another. But the main housing 25 and cireuit board 31 remain generie to all different type pagers.
Since the pager eireuitry is in two housing modules there is a eertain flexibility available that has not been available in many prior art pager assemblies whieh strive for a simple eonstruetion. With subassembly housing 27 having most if not all of the eireuitry whieh requires external switehes or buttons it becomes eonveniently expedient to mount all the switehes and buttons on the subassembly ho~sing 27. By the nature of the pager assembly the subassembly housing 27 can feature buttons and switehes on two adjaeent sides which is a feature ~ot praetieal under prior art eonstruction. When the pager 9 is fully assemblied the output eontrol eireuitry 37 of the subassembly housing 27 and the eleetrieal eomponents 57 of eircuit board 31 are eleetri-eally eonneeted by male and female connectors respective-ly mounted on subassembly housing 27 and on circuit board 9 ~8~ 3 31. This is more fully explained in connection with Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 shows an elevated perspective view of resili-ent locking tongue 59, female connector 61 and subassemb-ly housing 27 with a plastic male connector 69, andassociated conductive metal connector pins _ , slot 7 and posts 73 and 75. Also main housing 25 is partially shown. Resilient tongue _ includes legs 59b ~ 59d which support both tongue 59 and female connector 61 on the surface of the circuit board 31. Ports 77 and 79 are respectively located on main housing tabs 81a and 81b.
The tabs are recessed with respect to the plane of the front surface of main housing 25. The recess is sufficient to allow subassembly housing 27 to seat in openin~ 29 flush with the surface of main housing 25.
Ports 77 and 79 on tabs 81a and 81b receive posts 73 and 75 on subassembly housing 27 when the subassembly is mated with the main housing 25. The ports 77 and 79 and posts 73 and 75 interact with resilient tongue 59 and tongue slot 59a to lock main housing 25 and subassembly housing 27 together as one unit as will be explained more fully in connection with Fig. 5b.
Connector pins 70 mate with conductive pin slots 85 in female connector 61 when the pager 9 is assembled.
The male and female connectors provide the electrical link between circuit board 31 in main housing 25 and output circuitry 37 in subassembly housing 27. For any different output type subassemblies 27 the male connector 69 and its connector pins 70 are the same. For subassembly housing 27 there is different output control curcuitry _ and a different external appearance for different type outputs (i.e. visual, audio, vibration).
But male connector 69 is identical in every subassembly housing 27 as is necessary for there to be interchangabi-lity with generic main housing 25. Also for interchang-ability all different subassemblies 27 must have the same 7~
mechanical attachment means. The steps involved in mechannically joining the subassembly housing 27 with the main housing 25 will be explained more fulling in connection with Figs. 4, 5a and 5b.
Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of pager 9 in Fig.
l showing the appropriate position of circuit board 31 in main housing 25 for seating subassembly housing 27 into opening 29 in main housing 25. ~he cross-section shows a circuit board first end 31a and a circuit board second end 31b. ~eceiver component circuitry is illustrated by single chip 57. Chip 57 is for purposes of illustration only, since the actual receiver circuitry obviously comprises more than a single chip. Resilient tongue 59 and female connector 61 are supported by tongue leqs 59b, 59c, and 59d (shown in Fig. 3). A knob 59e is formed on the underside of resilient tongue 59 for ease in the physical contact of the walls defining slot 71.
Correspondingly, slot 71 has a bevel 71a for ease in the joining of slot 71 with tongue knob 59e. Output control circuitry 37 includes a digital display 19 and switch circuitry 87 with associated switch aperture 47 in subassembly housing 27 for switch 13~ Digital display 19 is mounted on a control mounting bracket 89 and held in place by bezel 91 secured to bracket ~9. A flange 91a is formed at one end of be~el 91 for mechanical engagement of circuit board end 31b. Bezel 91 and flange 91a are preferrably brass, but can be any suitable materialO
Flange 91a can also be formed from one end of control mounting bracket 89.
Circuit board 31 can slide along the length of main housing 25 limited only by the interference of tongue slot 59a engagement with wedge 63. As the first step in assembly of the two housing pieces, with the battery hatch 35 removed, the circuit board 31 is pulled to the right as far as the tongue slot 59a and wedge will allow as shown in Fiq. 4. The circuit board 31 is placed into this position by pulling on circuit board end 31a with an appropriate instrument by way of battery hatch opening _ . With the circuit board 31 in this position the subassembly housing 27 is lowered into place over main housing opening 29.
Fig. 5a is a cross section of the pager 9 fully assembled and main housing 25 and subassembly housing 27 in locked engagement. From its position in Fig. 4, circuit board 31 is pushed to the left by way of battery 1 n hatch opening 33 through the use of finger pressure or an appropriate tool. Resilient tongue 59 engages slot 71 and circuit board end 31b engages flange 91a of digital dis?lay bracket 91. By first seating subassembly housing 27 on main housing openinq 29 and then sliding circuit board 31 and the associated female connector 61 and tonque 59 into engagernent, a two step process is created which guarantees both that the subassembly housing 27 is locked into place and also that male connector 69 is properly mated with female connector 61.
In operation, small knob 59e on the underside of the tip of resilient ton~ue 59 engages the subassembly housing 27 at the lower surface wall of slot 71. As circuit board 31 is pushed toward the left in Fig. 5a the tongue knob 59e moves up the bevel 71a causing the tongue 59 to yield laterally. The beveled portion 71a of slot 71 allows resilient tongue 59 to first engage slot 71 in a relaxed or unstressed condition. As the tongue 59 yields laterally, it resists bending with a force applied against the bottom of slot 71. This interaction of the bottom wall of slot 71 and the tip of tongue 59 results in the subassembly housing 27 being held in tight engagement with main housing 25.
To disassembly the pager 9 the assembly steps are simply performed in reverse order. To completely remove circuit board 31 from main housing 25 resilient tongue 59 must be flexed down toward the surface of circuit board 31 until tongue slot S9a clears wedge 63 and allows the circuit hoard 31 and attached tongue 59 to slide out the battery opening 33. The resilient 'ongue 59 can be flexed sufficiently by a force applied with a finger tip or an appropriate tool. With circuit board 31 removed from main housing 25, subassembly housing 27 can be connected to circuit board 31 to form a functioning unit ._ yet allowing access to test points on the circuit board 31 underplane for purposes of trouble shooting a malfunctioning unit. On a test bench, a first mechanical connection between subassembly 27, slot 71 and resilient tongue 59 and a second mechanical connection between flange 91a and circuit board end 31b hold male connector 69 in stable electrical contact with female connector 61.
This frees the technician from being forced to juryrig a test set-up.
Fig. 5b shows a cross-section of post 73 and port 77 in full engagement. Post 75 engagement with port 79 is defined by an identical cross-section. Ports 77 and 79 receive posts 73 and 75 when main housing 25 is mated with subassembly housing 27. Posts 73 and 75 function to hold subassembly housing 27 in its mated position in opening 29 of main housing 25 as circuit board 31 is pushed into its assembled position (shown in Fig. 5a).
As the circuit board 31 is ~ushed into its assembled _ position the interaction of tongue 59 and slot 71 results in both a downward and leftward force (in Fig. 5a) on the subassembly housing 27. This leftward force tends to push the subassembly housing 27 away from its mated position on main housing 25. To resist this force, posts 73, 75 and ports 77, 79 have been included in the subassembly housing 27 and main housing 25 respectively.
Therefore the subassembly will not be prone to move away from its seated position over opening 29 in response to - 13 ~ 3 forces generated during engagement of tongue 59 with slot Fig. 6 is a elevated perspectlve view of an alternate embodiment of the invent:;on. The pager 9 assembly shown in Figs. 1-5 could include a latch 93 on subassembly housing 27 and latch hole 95 in main housing 11. Latch 93 i5 connected to slide switch 13. Latch 93, latch hole 95 and slide switch 13 combine to act as a dead bolt lock holdin~ the two housing pieces in their mated position. Preferrably the slide switch is an on-off switch with the off position being the switch position shown in Fig. 6. The latch 93, in Fig. 6, is shown in its fully e~tended position. When subassembly housing _ is mated with main housing 25 and switch 13 in_ its off position, latch 93 and latch hole 95 are in a dead bolt arrangement which prevents subassembly 27 from being dislodged from its mated position with main housing 25. Latch 93 and latch hole 95 support post 73, 75 and ports 72, 79 in preventing undesired movement of subassembly 27 as circuit board 31 is moved from its first or second position during disassembly or assembly.
In summary, the pager assembly of the invention provides a versatile modular construction which offers increased cost effectiveness through separation of generic and unique circuitry for different character pagers while maintaining mechanical and electrical module interconnections that are both simple and reliable.
Claims (7)
1. An assembly for devices having a generic circuit portion and a unique circuit portion, said assembly comprising, a main housing for said generic circuit portion having at lease one inside wall and at least one outside wall, a subassembly housing for said unique circuit portion, having an inside and outside wall, a circuit board within said main housing for the components of said generic circuit portion, said circuit board having a first and second end, and slideable within said main housing between a first and second position, a tongue-like projection having a first end attached to said circuit board and having a second end with a central slot, a wedge integral with said inside wall of said main housing and engaging said tongue-like projection central slot so as to limit the amount said circuit board can slide in a first direction, to said first position, a receiving slot in said subassembly housing for receiving and engaging said tongue-like projection, a first signal conducting connector mounted on said subassembly housing, a second signal conducting connector mounted on said circuit board for engagement with said first signal conducting connector when said circuit board slides in a second direction, to said second position, a flange mounted on said subassembly housing to receive and engage said circuit hoard first end when said circuit board slides to said second position, and whereby said flange engagment of said circuit board first end and said tongue-like projection engagment of said receiving slot provides a mechanical coupling which locks said main hosing and said subassembly housing together.
2. An assembly in accordance with claim 1, including a slideable latch mounted on said inside wall of said subassembly housing, said latch having a switch portion accessable from said outside wall of said subassembly housing and capable of switching said latch to a first or second position, a latch hole formed in said main housing and receiving said latch when said switch portion is in said latch second position.
3. An assembly in accordance with claim 1, including a post integral with said inside wall of said subassembly housing, a port in said main housing which recieves said post thereby holding said subassembly housing in its mated position with said main housing while said circuit board slides from said first position to said second position.
4. A subassembly of a device for mating with both a main housing of said device and a two position circuit board within said main housing with said circuit board having a first and second end and having mounted thereon a circuit board connector and a tongue-like projection with a central slot, said subassembly comprising, a subassembly housing having an inside and out-side wall, a receiving slot in said subassembly housing for engagement with said tongue-like projection when said circuit board is in a first position, circuitry mounted on said inside wall of said subassembly housing, a signal conducting connector mounted on said inside wall of said subassembly housing for engagement with said circuit board connector when said circuit board is in a first position, a flange mounted on said subassembly housing to engage said circuit board first end when said circuit board is in a first position, and whereby when said circuit board, and said circuit board connector and tongue-like projection mounted thereon, is in a second position, said subassembly, mates freely with said main housing and thereafter locks to said main housing when said circuit board is in a first position.
5. A subassembly in accordance with claim 4, including, a slideable latch mounted on said inside wall of said subassembly housing, said latch having a switch portion accessable from said outside wall of said subassembly housing and capable of sliding said latch to a first or second position, whereby said subassembly mates to said main housing when said latch is in a second position and said subassembly locks to said main housing when said circuit board is in a first position.
6. A subassembly in accordance with claim 4, including, a post integral with said inside wall of said subassembly, said post mates with said main housing and deters movement of said subassembly when said circuit board changes from a second to a first position.
7. An assembly for devices having a generic circuit portion and a unique circuit portion, said assembly comprising:
a main housing for said generic circuit portion having at least one inside wall and at least one outside wall, a subassembly housing for said unique circuit portion, having an inside and an outside wall, a circuit board within the main housing for the components of said generic circuit portion said circuit board having a first and second end, and slideable within said main housing between a first and second position, a tongue like projection having a first and second end, wherein said first end is coupled to said circuit board, engagement means, coupled to said second end of said tongue-like projection, for engaging a portion of said main housing so as to limit the amount said circuit board can slide in a first direction, to said first position, a receiving slot in said subassembly housing for re-ceiving and engaging said tongue-like projection;
a first signal conducting connector mounted on said sub-assembly housing, a second signal conducting connector mounted on said circuit board for engagement with said first signal conducting connector when said circuit board slides in a second direction to said second position, a flange mounted on said subassembly housing to receive and engage said circuit board first end when said circuit board slides to said second position, and whereby said flange engagement of said circuit board first end and said tongue like projection engagement means provides a mechanical coupling which locks said main housing and said subassembly housing together.
a main housing for said generic circuit portion having at least one inside wall and at least one outside wall, a subassembly housing for said unique circuit portion, having an inside and an outside wall, a circuit board within the main housing for the components of said generic circuit portion said circuit board having a first and second end, and slideable within said main housing between a first and second position, a tongue like projection having a first and second end, wherein said first end is coupled to said circuit board, engagement means, coupled to said second end of said tongue-like projection, for engaging a portion of said main housing so as to limit the amount said circuit board can slide in a first direction, to said first position, a receiving slot in said subassembly housing for re-ceiving and engaging said tongue-like projection;
a first signal conducting connector mounted on said sub-assembly housing, a second signal conducting connector mounted on said circuit board for engagement with said first signal conducting connector when said circuit board slides in a second direction to said second position, a flange mounted on said subassembly housing to receive and engage said circuit board first end when said circuit board slides to said second position, and whereby said flange engagement of said circuit board first end and said tongue like projection engagement means provides a mechanical coupling which locks said main housing and said subassembly housing together.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US31069781A | 1981-10-13 | 1981-10-13 | |
| US310,697 | 1981-10-13 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1188743A true CA1188743A (en) | 1985-06-11 |
Family
ID=23203718
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000412761A Expired CA1188743A (en) | 1981-10-13 | 1982-10-04 | Quick disconnect and function change radio assembly |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| AU (1) | AU8918782A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1188743A (en) |
Families Citing this family (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPS6167295A (en) * | 1984-09-10 | 1986-04-07 | 日本電気株式会社 | Housing structure of radio wave device |
-
1982
- 1982-10-04 CA CA000412761A patent/CA1188743A/en not_active Expired
- 1982-10-07 AU AU89187/82A patent/AU8918782A/en not_active Abandoned
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| AU8918782A (en) | 1983-04-21 |
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| Date | Code | Title | Description |
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| MKEC | Expiry (correction) | ||
| MKEX | Expiry |