DE20205021U1 - Computer front panel - Google Patents

Description

Description

The invention relates to a computer front panel made of plastic, consisting of a base element with a front side for operating and display elements as well as angled side strips and rail-shaped design elements on one or both sides of the base element or a design frame that surrounds the base element on three sides.

Such additional design elements are increasingly being used for the individual, usually multi-colored design of computer front panels. They are usually attached using snap connections. However, there are also other fastening technologies such as welding, gluing or screwing. Such two-colored plastic parts can also be produced using two-component injection molding technology.

However, the two-component injection technology requires quite high investment costs for the tools. However, the injection molding of the parts produces ready-made, multi-colored panels.

Joining the parts requires additional work sequences, either with aids such as glue or screws or with machines such as HF or ultrasonic welding machines. For this reason, well-known design elements are provided with fastening elements such as snaps (Figures 1 and 2) or hooks (Figure 3 a and b), which are created during the injection molding process. However, these snaps or hooks are complex construction elements in terms of tool design. Slides or two-stage ejectors must be used in order to be able to produce the necessary undercuts for the snaps or hooks. In addition, these elements are located on the back of the design elements, which are usually designed as flat or thin-walled shells. This causes sink marks on the visible side of the design elements in the area of the elements to be snapped on, or irregularities in the surface arise, or color separation due to turbulence during the injection molding process or anisotropies in the plastic. The problem that the invention is intended to solve is a multi-colored plastic panel of the type described above that can be produced inexpensively with simple tools and with a homogeneous surface structure of the design elements.

According to the invention, the problem existing with known panels is solved by fastening the design elements to the panel using wedges on both sides of the thin-walled design rail. The claws are advantageously implemented in such a way that on one side a web dips into a groove and on the other side of the parts a hook is

with the panel in a form-fitting manner. In order to be able to snap the hook into place during assembly, the construction must be designed in such a way that either the element to be snapped on gives way elastically (L-shaped cross-section of the design element) or that the corresponding area of the panel base element springs slightly. In terms of tooling, it is advantageous to place the web in the demolding direction. This makes it easy to manufacture. The hooks on the opposite side of the part can be manufactured inexpensively using elastic ejectors. The fastening method according to the invention makes it possible to dispense with fastening elements that are located on the back of the thin-walled snap-on parts. This ensures a uniform wall thickness without any imperfections. With the thin-walled shell designed in this way, it is possible to manufacture even parts with a uniform metallic sheen using appropriate granules if the injection molding is designed accordingly.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment with reference to Figures 1 to .

Show it

Figure 1 shows the perspective view from behind of a computer front panel after

known state of the art with snap
Figure 2 shows the snap connection of the front panel according to Figure 1. Figure 3 shows the principle of a hook connection between design element and base element according to the state of the art, showing

Figure 3a a piece of the design element with hooks on the inside Figure 3b a piece of design element connected to the base element

Figure 4 is an exploded view from the front of the computer front panel according to the invention, consisting of basic element 1 and a design element 2, which covers three sides of the

Basic element encloses
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the computer front panel according to Figure 4 in

assembled condition
Figure 6 shows an enlarged view of section V of the basic element of the

Computer panel according to Figure 4
Figure 7 shows a horizontal partial section in the area of a hook through the fully assembled computer panel according to Figure 5

The basic element 1 of the computer front panel according to Figure 4 has a front with openings for storage drives, with a control element in the middle and displays in the strip below. To the right and left of the basic element there are side strips 5 that protrude backwards at approximately right angles. A groove 7 runs from top to bottom on both sides of the basic element. This groove can be seen better in the detail in Figure 6. On the rear edge of the side strips 5 there are several recesses 6.n from top to bottom (also easier to see in Figure 6). The two side parts of the design panel 2 in Figure 4 are bent forwards in an L-shape (easier to see in Figure 7 - hatched part) and have a web 3 along the front edge and several hooks 4.n on the rear edge that correspond to the recesses 6.n.

When attaching the cover, first the web 3 is inserted into the groove 7 and then the hooks 4.&eegr; are pressed into the corresponding recesses 6.&eegr; by gently pressing and bending the slightly elastic design element 2.

Figure 7 shows how the design element 2 adheres to the base element 1 after being pressed into it. Firstly, the tension that the elastic design part exerts on the base element causes a clamping (positive connection) and, in addition, the angle α between the side strip 5 of the base element and the contact surface for the hook element 4 results in a positive connection if this angle is less than 90 °, assuming approximately the same angle ratios between the contact surface of the hook element and the inside of the side strip 5.

Instead of the elasticity of the thin-walled design element, the bending ability of the side strip 5 can also be used for assembly. After assembly, a computer front panel is created as shown in Figure 5. Since basic element 1 and design element 2 are manufactured separately, any color combination can be realized.

Claims (7)

1. Computer front panel, consisting of a base element ( 1 ) with a front and angled side strips ( 5 ) and with design elements ( 2 ) which are attached to the base element on two or three sides, characterized by claw elements on two sides of the design elements and complementary recesses in the base element. 2. Computer front panel according to claim 1, characterized by - a panel base element ( 1 ) with a vertical groove ( 7 ) along the vertical front edges and recesses (6.n) on the rear sides of the side strips ( 5 ) and - Design elements ( 2 ) with a web ( 3 ) in the vertical front edge and hook elements (4.n) on the rear inner edge. 3. Computer front panel according to claim 2, characterized by design elements ( 2 ) which can be elastically bent in the transverse direction or slightly resilient side strips ( 5 ) 4. Computer front panel according to claim 2 or 3, characterized by an angle (α) slightly smaller than 90° between the side strips ( 5 ) of the base element and the contact surface on the base element for the hook element ( 4 ) of the design element and an approximately equal angle between the side strips ( 5 ) of the base element and the contact surface of the hook element ( 4 ). 5. Computer front panel according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized by the same size of the web ( 3 ) of the design element and the depth of the groove ( 7 ) in the base element. 6. Computer front panel according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by different colors of basic element ( 1 ) and design element ( 2 ). 7. Computer front panel according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by a design element enclosing three sides of the base panel.