EP1169840A1

EP1169840A1 - Casing

Info

Publication number: EP1169840A1
Application number: EP00940131A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Harald Bader
Original assignee: Siemens AG
Current assignee: Siemens AG
Priority date: 1999-04-21
Filing date: 2000-04-18
Publication date: 2002-01-09
Also published as: JP2003502886A; US6808239B1; CN1216481C; CN1349704A; WO2000064127A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a casing, notably a plastic casing (1; 101; 201; 301) of a hand-held electronic apparatus. Said casing comprises a first and a second casing shell (3, 5; 103, 105; 203, 205; 303, 305), as well as connecting means which press the first and second casing shell against each other along the contact zone. The connecting means comprise at least one holding element (17), positioned on the first casing shell (5), for a separate locking element (7; 107a, 107b; 207; 307) and at least one hook element (13) which is positioned on the second casing shell (3).

Description

description

casing

The invention relates to a housing, in particular a plastic housing of a hand-held electronic device, according to the preamble of claim 1.

With the explosion of small electronic devices (so-called "handhelds"), plastic housings of this type have become a pronounced mass product. In view of the fact that they house high-quality, expensive and relatively sensitive electronic components and functional groups, they have to meet high quality requirements and yet be simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble. As a rule, it is also necessary to be able to open and securely close such housings for maintenance or repair purposes. Special requirements are placed on the dust tightness, the electromagnetic shielding effect and the shock resistance of these housings.

A large part of the housing mentioned, including the plastic housing for mobile phones, essentially consists of two housing shells made of impact-resistant plastic (for example ABS plastic), which are essentially non-detachable by means of locking elements or a snap connection or detachably connected by screw connections. There are also housings in which snap or snap connections are combined.

The material-appropriate design of a screw-on dome in such a housing always represents a compromise between the requirements of plastic technology on the one hand and the resulting space requirement in the device. Because such screw-on domes, due to plastic-technical requirements, always at a certain distance from the outer wall of the housing are formed, their existence leads to an "area consumption" that exceeds their actual cross-sectional area. With progressive miniaturization ver ^¬ schiedenster handhelds, such as mobile phones, PDAs, Ta rule over a backing, handheld PCs or cordless phones, this problem is becoming more relevant.

The invention is therefore based on the object of specifying a housing of the generic type which can be opened and closed again without particular effort and in which the usable interior space is in a very good relationship to the total volume.

The invention includes the essential idea of providing holding or hooking elements and a separate locking element on the housing parts to be connected, which to a certain extent wedges the holding elements with the inner wall of the respective other housing part. A hook-like design of at least part of the holding elements ensures that an easily applied closing force is opposed by a very high opening force as long as the locking element is in undisturbed engagement with the holding elements. If, on the other hand, it is removed from the housing or deformed in a suitable manner, it loses its locking or wedging effect, and the housing can be opened again easily.

In a preferred embodiment, the locking element is inserted into a guide in a first housing shell or behind retaining elements provided there and is encompassed by retaining elements acting like hooks on a second housing shell, or these engage in the locking element if the locking element is shaped accordingly. As a result of this gripping or engagement, the hook elements of the second housing shell are pressed onto corresponding contact surfaces of the first housing shell. If these are designed with suitable friction surfaces or undercuts, 3 thereby is a non-positive and / or positive connection, which is as long as a high holding force has, as long as the lock-out Ver ^¬ element in place and has its the Verrie ^¬ gelungswirkung generating shape.

The effect in question is expediently in the area of the housing side surface, i.e. of the longitudinal edge sections of the housing shells, with a view to compensating for any manufacturing tolerances and a desired certain elasticity of the connecting means, the provision of a plurality of spaced apart hook elements along the edge is appropriate.

In an embodiment in which holding or hook elements are provided on both housing shells for engagement with the locking element, an alternating sequence of elements formed on the first and second housing shells in the longitudinal direction of the edge is expedient in order to achieve a uniform contact effect over this course.

In a particularly simple embodiment, a flat metal sheet can serve as the locking element, which has at least one edge which is adapted to the edge profile of the housing shells and which is gripped by the holding or hook elements of the housing shells. In addition, an embodiment is advantageous in which this metal sheet extends essentially over the entire width of the housing, so that two opposite edges serve to lock the adjacent, opposite holding elements of the first and second housing shells with one another.

If the metal sheet is flexible, a bending deformation can be achieved by essentially pushing or pulling perpendicularly onto its surface, as a result of which the locking effect is released and the housing shells can be separated again. Such an effect on the metal sheet is at least one is positioned in one of the actuating opening Gehäu ^¬ seschalen possible. This can also be closed with a closure element which is to open the housing either ent ^¬ removed, or be displaceable or flexible leads excluded that it may be itself a certain extent pressed as an extended pressure pin on the metal sheet.

In an alternative embodiment, such a design of the housing can also be provided that the metal sheet within the housing is shifted from a first position in which there is engagement with the holding or hook elements to a second position in which this engagement state is released . This can be achieved in a simple manner with a non-rectilinear, but, for example, meandering or sawtooth-shaped course of its edge (s).

In another embodiment, the locking element is wire or pin-shaped and inserted into a corresponding guide on one housing part in such a way that when the other housing part is attached, its holding elements slide past the wire or pin perpendicular to the longitudinal profile thereof and are behind with projecting sections this hook, while they are pressed against the inner wall of the housing part carrying the wire or pin-shaped locking element.

In this version as well - if the locking element is designed to be flexible in terms of bending - the locking and thus the connection of the housing parts can be released by bending deformation. Furthermore, such a shape and displaceable mounting of the locking element can also be carried out that the transition from an engagement position to an engagement-free position with respect to the holding or hook elements is brought about by a displacement of the locking element. Both the deformation and the displacement can be carried out in a housing part via actuating sections provided for this purpose become. A wire or stif foranges Vemegelungselement can also be carried out relatively easily so that it is pulled out of the closed housing, whereupon the holding elements relax and the connection between the housing parts is broken.

In a special embodiment, the wire-shaped locking element has the shape of a clip or clip, which extends over mutually opposite sections of two longitudinal housing edges and the housing front side connecting them, and thus - in a manner similar to the metal sheet mentioned above - also has a locking mechanism in several Causes edge areas. Such a clamp or clip can also be pulled out of the housing if the housing is designed accordingly, in order to loosen the connection of the housing parts.

Advantages and expediencies of the invention result from the subclaims and the following description of preferred embodiments based on the figures. Of these show:

1 is a perspective view of a mobile phone house according to a first embodiment of the invention,

2 is an exploded side view of the housing of FIG. 1,

3 shows an oblique view of the housing shells of the housing according to FIG. 1, which are already connected to one another in an end region, with a view of the interior thereof,

4 and 4a is a sectional view of the housing of FIG. A along the section line AA and a detailed view thereof, Fig. 5 is a longitudinal view of the housing of FIG. 1 along the section line BB and

6 to 8 oblique views of a second to fourth embodiment of a mobile phone house, each with

Look inside the housing shells.

In FIGS. 1 to 5, a mobile phone housing 1 (without a battery compartment cover) is shown in different views and assembly states, which consists of an upper housing shell 3 and a lower housing shell 5. An essentially rectangular spring steel sheet 7, which at the same time closes off the battery compartment 9, serves as a locking element for housing assembly.

The upper and lower housing shells 3, 5 are designed in such a way that they each have a circumferential edge 3a or 5a lying essentially in a horizontal plane, which touch one another in the assembled state (FIGS. 1 and 5) and a contact area 3a / 5a form. In the area of the upper end face la of the housing 1, as can best be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, two tabs 11 are formed on the upper housing shell 3, which in the corresponding position on the lower housing shell 5 are formed by hooks (not specifically designated) 3, which engage in the tabs 11 during assembly of the housing in the manner shown in FIG. 3 and initially produce a type of hinged connection in the region of the upper end face 1 a. In the area of both side surfaces 1b, 1c of the housing 1, three hook elements 13 are formed on the upper housing shell 3 with spacing regions 15 lying between them, which, like the tabs 11, in the direction of the lower housing shell 5 via the edge 3a of the upper housing shell 3 project. The shape of the hook elements 13 can best be seen in FIG. 3 and is characterized by a widening towards the outside and by the presence of a hook-like projection 13a directed inside the housing shell 3. Are at the edge 5a of the lower housing shell 5, likewise in the region of the battery compartment 9, the upper housing shell lb in the space portions 15 between the hook elements 13 3 corresponding position in the two side surface portions, _l c _d is the housing 1, two horizontally to the inside of the housing shell directed projections 17 formed, as best seen in Fig. 3. The spring steel sheet 7 is fixed in the lower housing shell 3 behind these projections 17.

The width of the spring steel sheet 7 is selected such that a space remains on the side edges towards the inner wall of the housing shell 5, which allows the hook elements 13 to slide past the side edges of the spring steel sheet 7 when the housing shells 3, 5 are folded together as shown in FIG. 3. After the hook-like extensions 13a have passed the side edges of the spring steel sheet 7 under prestress generated by the material elasticity, they partially relax in the direction of the interior of the housing shell 5 and thereby get caught behind the spring steel sheet. At the same time, however, due to the corresponding dimensioning of the distance between the side edges of the spring steel sheet and the inner wall of the lower housing shell 5 and the cross section of the hook elements 13, they are pressed against the inner wall of the housing shell 5 by means of a wedge effect exerted by the spring steel plate 7. As a result of this combined wedge and hook effect, the housing shells 3, 5 are non-positively and positively connected to one another via the spring steel sheet 7.

By exerting pressure on the surface of the spring steel sheet, this can be deformed in a flexurally elastic manner, as a result of which its side edges shift somewhat inwards and release the hook elements 13 in a relaxed position, whereupon the housing shells 3, 5 again by pulling in the opposite direction to the arrow in FIG. 3 opened and after ken of the tabs 11 from the cooperating with these Haek ^¬ chen again completely from each other can be solved. Depending _G ehausebestuckung however, a pressure deformation of the spring steel sheet not practice m m generally permissible. In the embodiment of the spring steel sheet 7 shown in FIGS. 3 to 4a, it therefore has four bores 7a, into which the battery compartment 9 engages by means of special pliers and a pull can be exerted on the metal sheet, whereby, in a similar way, a bending deformation and a " Wandering "of the side edges inwards with the result that the hook elements 13 are released.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of a mobile phone housing 101, the basic structure of the housing corresponding to that of the first embodiment, and parts corresponding to one another, as in the explanation of the subsequent embodiments, and parts corresponding to those shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 are referenced reference numbers. In this respect, the above explanation is not repeated below.

6, the structure of the upper housing shell 3 is identical to that in the first embodiment. The modification consists in replacing the spring steel sheet 7 with two in the first embodiment

Steel pins 107a, 107b, which are inserted through corresponding (not separately designated) openings in the area of the lower end face 105b of the lower housing shell 105 parallel to the course of the housing shell edge 105a. The pins 107a, 107b are each encompassed by two fixing hooks 117, which fix them laterally both in the vertical direction and with a predetermined play.

The functioning of the pins 107a, 107b, which serve here as locking elements, is very similar to that of the spring steel sheet in the first embodiment: the presence of a predetermined spacing area from the inner wall of the home cup 105 in cooperation with the Mateπalelastizitat the _S tifte 107a, 107b and the fixing hook 117 made ^¬ light when folding the Gehauseschalen 103, 105 is a _V or _b eigleiten of the hook elements 113 to the pins 107a, 107b and hooking behind these by means of the hook-like projections 113a. Here, too, there is a combined effect of the interlocking with a simultaneous pressing of the outer sides of the hook elements 13 against the inner wall of the housing shell 105, so that the connection can be described as a combined non-positive and positive connection.

This connection is released by grasping the heads (not specifically designated) of the steel pins 107a, 107b from the end face 105b of the housing shell 105 and pulling them out n in the longitudinal direction of the housing shell. After removal of the locking elements, the hook elements 113 lose their function, and the housing scales 103, 105 can easily be opened again.

7 shows, as a sketch, the third embodiment of a mobile phone housing 201, which - with a structure that otherwise corresponds essentially to the first and second embodiments - uses a U-shaped spring steel clip 207 as a locking element from the lower end face 205b of the upper housing shell 205 . This replaces the

Steel pins 107a, 107b in the second embodiment (FIG. 6), but have practically the same effect, so that reference can be made to the above description of the mode of operation. Here, too, the connection is released by removing the locking element, i.e. by pulling out the spring steel clip 7 in the longitudinal direction of the housing.

8 shows, as the fourth embodiment, a mobile telephone housing 301 in which the principle of the spring steel sheet known from the first embodiment is implemented in a modified form as a locking element. The design of the lower housing shell 305 corresponds essentially to that _A first usfuhrungsform, the shape of the sheet 307 and the width of the hook members 313 and (corresponding thereto) the width of the spacer regions 315 however differs, from this:

The lateral boundary edges of the spring steel plate 107 are not rectilinear, but have rectangular recesses 307a, and the length of the plate is somewhat less than the length of the available insert space in the lower housing shell 305, so that the plate m in the longitudinal direction around the corresponding one Differential amount is movable. In addition, since the hook elements 313 are only about half as wide as in the first embodiment, by moving the plate 307, either a recess area 307a or a region of the maximum lateral extension of the plate can be brought into alignment with the hook elements 313. In order to close the housing, the sheet 307 is brought into the latter position, in which its function corresponds to that described above in connection with the first embodiment, the hook elements 313 thus encompass the side edge of the sheet 307 when the housing shells 303, 305 are folded together and hooked there and wedged against the inner wall of the lower housing shell 305.

To open the housing 301, the sheet metal 307 is displaced in the longitudinal direction of the housing by the possible amount of displacement, which corresponds to the width of the hook elements 313, so that in each case recess area 307a is aligned with the hook elements 313. In this state, the sheet 307 thus releases the hook elements 313 in the relaxed state, and the housing shells 303, 305 can be detached from one another.

The embodiment of the invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but is also possible in a variety of forms depending on the structural conditions of special housings. Modifications are also possible with regard to the assembly procedure. Thus, the locking element in all of the above-described designs can also be inserted after the housing shells have been assembled.

Claims

claims

1. _G eh _ä use, in particular plastic housing (1; 101; 201; 301) of a handheld electronic device having a first and a second, an elongated contact portion having each housing shell (3, 5; 103, 105; 203, 205; 303 , 305) and the first and second housing shells along the contact area against one another connecting means, characterized in that the connection means for at least one holding element (17; 117; 217; 317) arranged on the first housing shell (5; 105; 205; 305) for have a separate locking element (7; 107a, 107b; 207; 307) and at least one hook element (13; 113; 213; 313) arranged on the second housing shell (3; 103; 203; 303), the hook element or the Hook elements of the second housing shell encompasses or engages around the locking element fixed by the holding element or the holding elements on the first housing shell or engages or engages in such a way that the locking element in the engaged state connects the first and second housing shells to one another.

2. Housing according to claim 1, characterized in that on the inner wall of the first housing shell in an arrangement corresponding to the position of the hook element a friction surface or a Hmterschneidungsbereich is provided on or in which the hook element (13; 113; 213; 313) in the Grip condition with the locking element (7; 107a, 107b; 207; 307) is printed in such a way that the first and second housing shells (3, 5; 103, 105; 203, 205; 303.) through the interaction of the hook element with the friction surface or the shoulder cutting area , 305) are non-positively and / or positively connected.

3. Housing according to claim 1 or 2, so that a plurality of holding elements (17) and hook elements (13) are provided in an alternating arrangement along the contact area (3a / 5a) of the first and second housing shells (3, 5).

4. Housing according to one of the preceding claims, that the locking element is a flat metal sheet (7; 307) with a longitudinal edge profile which is essentially adapted to the shape of the inner wall of the first housing shell (5; 305) and defines this with respect to a predetermined distance range.

5. Housing according to claim 4, so that the metal sheet (7; 307 'extends approximately over the entire width of the first housing shell (3; 303) and as a common locking element for opposing one another

The hook elements (13; 313) provided on the side edges of the second housing shell acts.

6. Housing according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the metal sheet (7) is flexible and the housing (1) has at least one opening portion (9) through which a pressure or tensile force can be exerted on the surface of the metal sheet by the sheet metal is bent and the hook element or elements (13) is / are released and released and as a result the connection between the first and second housing shells (3, 5) is released.

7. Housing according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the metal sheet (307) recess areas (307a) in the loading Richly has the side edges and the first housing shell (303) is displaceable in such a way that a recess area with a hook element (313) can be brought into alignment, as a result of which the connection between the first and second housing shell (303, 305) is loosened .

8. Housing according to one of claims 1 to 3, so that a pin-shaped or wire-shaped locking element (107a, 107b; 207) is provided, which is held by a guide (117; 217) of the first housing shell (105; 205).

9. Housing according to claim 8, characterized in that the pin-shaped or wire-shaped locking element (107a, 107b; 207) is accessible from outside the housing (101; 201) and can be pulled out of the guide (117; 217), the being pulled out Connection of the first and second housing shell (103, 105; 203, 205) is released.

10. Housing according to claim 8 or 9, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that the wire-shaped locking element has the shape of a U-shaped clasp (207) which extends over an end face and at least in sections two opposite side flats of the housing (201).