JP2000232271A - Protector structure of portable electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a portable electronic equipment having shock-resistant properties to be more enhanced in shock resistance. SOLUTION: A protector 14 is equipped with a protector main body 15 formed of shock absorbing resin and leaf springs 16 provided inside the protector main body 15 integrally through insert molding. When the protector 14 is mounted on the outer side of an equipment case 11, the leaf springs 16 are partially brought into close contact with the outer side of the case 1. The impact of a falling equipment is relaxed not only by the protector main body 15 but also by the leaf springs 16, so that a portable electronic equipment can be more improved in shock resistance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a protector structure for a portable electronic device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, some portable telephones have a protector mounted on the outer surface of an equipment case in order to prevent damage due to falling. FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show an example of such a conventional mobile phone. The device case 1 of the mobile phone comprises an upper case 2 and a lower case 3 fixed by screws (not shown). A liquid crystal display panel 4 is provided above the upper surface of the upper case 2,
A key input unit 5 is provided below the upper surface.

The protector 6 is formed of a rubber-based resin such as a urethane resin or a silicone-based resin, and has a headed rectangular cylindrical upper protector 7, a bottomed rectangular cylindrical lower protector 8, and both protectors 7. It has a structure including a pair of side band portions 9 (one not shown) provided between them. When the protector 6 is mounted on the device case 1, the upper protector 7 and the lower protector 8 are connected to the device case 1 while the pair of side bands 9 are extended.
To the top and bottom of the In this mounted state, the inner surfaces of both protector sections 7 and 8 are in close contact with the upper and lower outer surfaces of device case 1, respectively.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional protector 6, the entire inner surfaces of both protector portions 7, 8 come into close contact with the upper and lower outer surfaces of the device case 1, respectively. The impact at the time of dropping is transmitted to the device case 1 via the protector portions 7 and 8, and therefore, there is a problem that the impact resistance is slightly inferior. In addition, since the protector 6 is provided as a separate component, there is a problem that the weight is increased and the cost is increased.
An object of the present invention is to further improve impact resistance. Another object of the present invention is to reduce the weight and cost.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A device mounted on the outer surface of a device case of a portable electronic device, wherein a plate spring is integrally provided on an inner surface of a protector body made of a shock-absorbing resin, and a part of the plate spring is a device. It comes into contact with the outer surface of the case. According to the first aspect of the present invention, since a part of the leaf spring integrally provided on the inner surface of the protector body made of the shock absorbing resin is brought into contact with the outer surface of the device case, it is possible to prevent the case from being dropped. The impact is mitigated not only by the protector body but also by the leaf spring, so that the impact resistance can be further improved. The invention according to claim 2 is
An inner surface of the protector body, which is mounted on an outer surface of a device case of a portable electronic device and has a recess locally formed on an inner surface of a protector body made of a shock-absorbing resin, and an inner surface of the protector body other than the recess. Is in contact with the outer surface of the device case. According to the second aspect of the invention, since the inner surface of the protector body other than the concave portion is in contact with the outer surface of the device case, the impact at the time of drop is reduced not only by the protector body but also by the concave portion. It is possible to further improve the impact property. Further, the weight can be reduced by the amount corresponding to the concave portion. According to a third aspect of the present invention, a spring portion is provided on the outer surface side of the device case main body so as to be continuous with the device case main body, and the device case main body and the spring portion are formed of hard resin or sheet metal. is there. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the spring portion is continuously provided on the outer surface side of the device case main body made of hard resin or sheet metal, impact resistance can be obtained by the spring portion. Since there is no protector as a component, weight reduction and cost reduction can be achieved.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a mobile phone according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The device case 11 of the mobile phone is the same as the conventional case, and is composed of an upper case 12 and a lower case 13 fixed by screws (not shown).

[0007] The protector 14 is basically provided in the same manner as shown in FIG. 5, with a headed rectangular tubular upper protector, a bottomed rectangular tubular lower protector, and between the two protectors. It has a structure including a pair of side band portions. The structure of both protectors is such that a plurality of leaf springs 16 made of a metal such as stainless steel are insert-molded on the inner surface of a protector body 15 made of a rubber-based resin (shock-absorbing resin) such as a urethane-based resin or a silicone-based resin. It has a structure provided integrally.

When the protector 14 is mounted on the outer surface of the equipment case 11, only a part of each of the plurality of leaf springs 16 comes into close contact with the outer surface of the equipment case 11. In this case, since only the protector main body 15 exists between each of the plurality of leaf springs 16, these parts are extended,
The protector 14 can be easily mounted on the outer surface of the device case 11.

As described above, in this portable telephone, each part of the plurality of leaf springs 16 provided integrally on the inner surface of the protector body 15 made of the shock absorbing resin is brought into contact with the outer surface of the equipment case 11. As a result, the impact at the time of drop is alleviated not only by the protector body 15 but also by the leaf spring 16, so that the impact resistance can be further improved. The leaf spring 16 may be formed of a hard resin such as ABS.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of a mobile phone according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The protector 21 in this embodiment includes a protector body 22 made of an impact-resistant resin and having a concave portion 23 formed locally on the inner surface. When the protector 21 is mounted on the outer surface of the device case 11, the inner surface of the protector body 22 other than the concave portion 23 is connected to the device case 11.
Will be in close contact with the outside surface. Further, since the impact at the time of drop is reduced not only by the protector body 22 but also by the concave portion 23, the impact resistance can be further improved. Further, the weight can be reduced by the amount of the concave portion 23.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a main part of a mobile phone according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The device case 31 in this embodiment is made of ABS.
The upper case 32 and the lower case 33 made of a hard resin such as are fixed by screws (not shown). However, in this case, both cases 32, 33 are composed of case bodies 32a, 33a, and spring portions 32b, 33b provided on the outer surfaces of the case bodies 32a, 33a so as to be continuous with the case bodies 32a, 33a. . Therefore,
The impact resistance can be obtained by the spring portions 32b and 33b, and the weight and cost can be reduced because the protector is not provided as a separate component. In addition, a certain degree of freedom can be given to the design by the shape and arrangement of the spring portions 32b and 33b. In addition, upper case 3
The second case 33 and the lower case 33 may be formed by drawing a thin sheet metal made of an aluminum alloy, a magnesium alloy, or the like.

In the first and second embodiments, as in the case shown in FIG. 5, the case where the upper and lower protectors are formed into a headed rectangular cylinder and a bottomed rectangular cylinder is described. It is not something to be done. For example, as in a fourth embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4, the protector 41 includes four protector portions 43 covering four corners of a device case 42, and band portions 44 provided between the protector portions 43. May be provided.

[0013]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a part of the leaf spring integrally provided on the inner surface of the protector body made of the shock absorbing resin contacts the outer surface of the equipment case. As a result, the impact at the time of drop is alleviated not only by the protector body but also by the leaf spring, so that the impact resistance can be further improved. According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the inner surface of the protector main body other than the concave portion is in contact with the outer surface of the device case, the impact at the time of falling is reduced not only by the protector main body but also by the concave portion. The impact resistance can be further improved. Further, the weight can be reduced by the amount corresponding to the concave portion. Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the spring portion is continuously provided on the outer surface side of the device case main body made of hard resin or sheet metal, impact resistance can be obtained by the spring portion. Since no protector is provided as a separate part, weight reduction and cost reduction can be achieved. In addition, a certain degree of freedom can be given to the design by the shape and arrangement of the spring portion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a mobile phone according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary sectional view of a main part of a mobile phone according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part of a mobile phone according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a mobile phone according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an example of a conventional mobile phone.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Equipment case 12 Upper case 13 Lower case 14 Protector 15 Protector body 16 Leaf spring

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A leaf spring mounted on an outer surface of a device case of a portable electronic device, wherein a leaf spring is integrally provided on an inner surface of a protector body made of a shock absorbing resin. A protector structure for a portable electronic device, wherein a part of the protector comes into contact with an outer surface of the device case. 2. A portable electronic device which is mounted on an outer surface of a device case and has a protector body made of a shock-absorbing resin in which a concave portion is locally formed on an inner surface thereof. A protector structure for a portable electronic device, wherein an inner surface of the protector body contacts an outer surface of the device case. 3. A device according to claim 1, wherein a spring portion is provided on an outer surface side of the device case body so as to be continuous with the device case body, and the device case body and the spring portion are formed of hard resin or sheet metal. Protector structure for portable electronic devices.