JP2003316473A - Portable information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thin portable information processing device having a housing structure to alleviate a shock to a built-in recording/reproducing device when dropping in the direction of the bottom face. <P>SOLUTION: An intermediate case mounting the recording/reproducing device is installed on a housing of the portable information processing device through a shock absorbing means. An opening part is provided at the mounting part of the housing to expose the bottom face of the intermediate case to the outside. Thus, when dropping in the direction of the bottom face, the bottom face of the intermediate case is constituted to be displaced below the bottom face of the housing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable information processing apparatus having a storage / reproducing device such as a hard disk built therein, and in particular, the impact force on the recording / reproducing device when a drop impact is received is mitigated to prevent damage. The present invention relates to a thin portable information processing device that can be used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A notebook computer, which is a portable information processing device having a built-in hard disk device, is rapidly becoming popular due to its small size, light weight and excellent portability. However, there is an increased risk of damaging the hard disk and losing the data stored inside it if it is dropped carelessly while carrying it. For this reason, in the development of notebook computers, it has become important to design a shock-resistant or shock-absorbing structure that suppresses damage to the hard disk even when it is dropped, as well as being made smaller and lighter.

In the conventional support structure for a hard disk device in a notebook computer, the hard disk device is directly fixed and attached with four screws inside a magnesium alloy housing (hereinafter referred to as a Mg housing for simplicity). . Further, a circuit board on which chip parts and a hard disk connector are mounted is attached inside the Mg housing via a boss, and the hard disk device and the hard disk connector are connected by a cable. A keyboard was arranged on the upper surface of the Mg case, and a display case was openably and closably attached to the right end. Then, four rubber feet are attached to the bottom surface of the Mg case, and the notebook computer is placed with a predetermined gap on the desk surface. As described above, the hard disk device is fixed to the Mg housing, and the impact force received by the Mg housing when dropped is transmitted to the hard disk device through the Mg housing and the hard disk device receives a large impact force. Becomes

In order to improve the impact resistance of such a conventional structure, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-148300 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-043447, a hard disk device surrounded by a buffer body is made of a robust metal. There is also proposed a structure in which it is housed in an intermediate case made of steel and the intermediate case is fixed to a case made of Mg. FIG. 6 shows a supporting structure of a general hard disk device in the conventional notebook computer shown in the publication. That is, the hard disk device 1 is directly fixed to the floor plate of the Mg housing 14 by the four screws 14 a and attached. Further, the circuit board 8 on which the chip component 3 and the hard disk connector 9 are mounted is attached inside the Mg housing 14 via the boss 13. The hard disk device 1 and the hard disk connector 9 are connected by a cable 10. Mg
The keyboard 2 is arranged on the upper surface of the casing 14 made of metal, the display casing 7 is attached to the end portion on the right side so as to be openable and closable, and the four rubber feet 6 are attached to the bottom surface 14b of the casing 14 made of Mg. , A gap is created on the desk surface 5. The hard disk device 1 is provided in the intermediate case 16.
Are held via a cushioning means 11b such as sponge rubber. As described above, the hard disk device 1 is provided with the buffer means 1 with respect to the intermediate case 16 fixed to the Mg housing 14.
Since it is held via the 1b, the impact force on the hard disk device is alleviated by the cushioning material 11b by this structure. For example, when the thickness of the cushioning material 11b is 10 mm or more, the acceleration transmitted to the hard disk device 1 when dropped is 1
It has been experimentally known that it is possible to reduce from 000 G to about 500 G.

[0005]

However, in recent notebook computers, higher shock absorption capacity is required, while it is important to make the device thinner, and thinner shock absorbing material requires a larger shock absorption capacity. Is coming. Generally, a large shock absorbing stroke (thickness of shock absorbing material) is required to secure shock absorbing capacity, and shock absorbing capacity and housing thinning can be achieved only by the shock absorbing structure of the conventional hard disk drive. There was a problem that it was difficult to make them compatible.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable information processing device capable of satisfying both improvement of shock absorbing ability for a hard disk drive and slimming down of a housing.

[0007]

A portable information processing apparatus according to the present invention is a portable information processing apparatus having a recording / reproducing apparatus mounted inside a housing, and the recording / reproducing apparatus is provided with a buffering means. An intermediate case that holds a buffer inside, a mounting member that is attached to the housing via a cushioning material at the upper part of the area inside the opening of a size slightly larger than the plane of the intermediate case provided on the bottom plate of the housing, It has a spacer provided under the bottom plate of the housing and having a predetermined height.

According to this structure, the cushioning material is compressed when the housing is dropped toward the bottom surface, and the bottom surface of the intermediate case accommodating the recording / reproducing device is displaced below the bottom surface of the housing.
This makes it possible to increase the buffer stroke without increasing the height of the housing. As a result, it is possible to provide a portable information processing device that can buffer the shock applied to the recording / reproducing device even if it is thin.

A portable information processing device according to another aspect of the present invention is a portable information processing device in which a recording / reproducing device is mounted inside a housing, and a predetermined information processing device provided under a bottom plate of the housing. A spacer having a height, an intermediate case for buffer-holding the recording / reproducing device therein via a buffer means, and an upper part of an area in an opening having a size slightly larger than a plane of the intermediate case provided on the bottom plate of the housing. In the part of, there is a highly elastic mounting member that is buffered to the housing, and when the housing is dropped on the desk surface or the bottom surface, the mounting member is deformed by the large elasticity, and the intermediate case part is It is characterized in that it is allowed to descend from the opening into a space provided by a spacer below the bottom plate.

According to this structure, when the housing is dropped toward the bottom surface, the bottom surface of the intermediate case accommodating the recording / reproducing device is displaced below the bottom surface of the housing due to the elastic deformation of the mounting member. This makes it possible to increase the buffer stroke without increasing the height of the housing. As a result, it is possible to provide a portable information processing device that can buffer the shock applied to the recording / reproducing device even if it is thin. In the portable information processing device having the above structure, it is further preferable that a cushioning material is provided between the bottom surface of the recording / reproducing device and the intermediate case.

In a portable information processing device according to still another aspect of the present invention, the intermediate case has a mounting flange, and a cushioning material inserted between the mounting flange and a bottom plate of a housing around the opening. However, the bottom surface of the intermediate case is exposed from the opening.

According to this structure, since the mounting member is not required, the cost can be reduced, and the cushioning stroke can be increased by the plate thickness of the mounting member, which is further suitable for thinning the device. Further, it is preferable to attach a bottom cushion to the outside of the bottom of the intermediate case accommodating the recording / reproducing device. The bottom cushion is preferably made of a gel resin material, a foam resin material, or a rubber material.

In the portable information processing device having each of the above configurations, the height of the spacer is larger than 1 mm.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A notebook computer incorporating a hard disk device as a preferred embodiment of a portable information processing device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<< Embodiment 1 >> FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of a notebook computer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, in the notebook computer of Embodiment 1, the outer periphery of the hard disk device 1 is accommodated via a cushioning material 11b which is a cushioning means, preferably a foaming resin member or a gel resin member containing urethane or polystyrene as a main component. A rigid intermediate case 16 made of magnesium alloy is attached to a metal attachment member 4a. The bottom surface of the mounting portion 4s of the mounting member 4a is exposed to the outside through the opening 4c of the Mg housing 4, and the flange 4d on the outer periphery of the mounting member 4a is sandwiched by the cushioning material 11a. Is attached to.

Further, inside the Mg casing 4, a circuit board 8 on which the chip component 3 and the hard disk connector 9 are mounted
Is attached via a boss 13, and the hard disk device 1 and the hard disk connector 9 are connected by a flexible cable 10. The keyboard 2 is arranged on the upper surface of the Mg housing 4, and the display housing 7 is attached to the right end portion so as to be openable and closable. The bottom surface 4b of the Mg housing 4 has four heights of 1 mm or more, preferably about 6 mm.
The rubber feet 6 as spacers are attached so that a predetermined gap is created when the notebook computer is placed on the desk surface 5.

FIG. 2 shows the notebook computer of the first embodiment with arrow 1
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a deformed state of the housing when it is dropped toward the bottom surface shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, when the notebook computer according to the first embodiment is dropped in the direction of arrow 15, not only the buffer means 11b in the lower portion between the lower portion of the hard disk device 1 and the intermediate case 16 is compressed but also the buffer is provided. The material 11a is also compressed, and the bottom surface of the mounting member 4a is the bottom surface 4 of the surrounding housing 4.
It is displaced to a position below b. When the recording / reproducing apparatus is wrapped only by the cushioning means as in the conventional example, the cushioning stroke can take only the compression amount of the cushioning means. On the other hand, in the notebook computer of the above embodiment, the cushion stroke is the sum of the compression amount of the cushioning material 11a and the compression amount of the cushioning means 11b. Further, when dropped, the bottom surface 4b of the mounting member 4a projects from the opening 4c of the housing 4 within the height range of the rubber feet 6 as spacers, and can be displaced to a level immediately before hitting the desk surface 5 or the like.

According to the notebook computer of the first embodiment, M
The cushioning stroke can be substantially increased without increasing the thickness of the g housing 4, and the cushioning performance can be greatly improved even in a thin notebook computer. In the notebook computer of the first embodiment, for example, by providing adhesive layers on the upper and lower surfaces of the cushioning material 11a, the flange portion 4d of the mounting member 4a and the peripheral Mg housing 4 can be fixed to each other. .

<Embodiment 2> FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the structure of a notebook computer according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The laptop computer of the second embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment only in the structure of the mounting member. Therefore, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the duplicated description will be omitted.
In FIG. 3, the hard disk device 1 is replaced with the buffer means 11b.
The intermediate case 16 housed via the is attached to the upper surface of an attachment member 12 formed of an elastic member having a high stretchability and high compliance, preferably a rubber material or a neoprene material having a foamed structure, by a double-sided tape or the like. The mounting portion 12a at the central portion of the mounting member 12 is exposed from the opening 4c of the Mg housing 4, and the peripheral portion of the mounting member 12 is firmly fixed to the Mg housing 4 preferably with screws 14a. There is. Depending on the design, the material used for the mounting member 12 may be a thin metal plate provided with a large number of thin wire springs with high compliance on the periphery.

FIG. 4 shows the notebook computer of the second embodiment with arrow 1
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a deformed state of the mounting member 12 when it is dropped in the direction of the desk surface or the floor surface as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, when the notebook computer of the second embodiment is dropped on the desk surface 5 or the floor surface in the direction of arrow 15, the hard disk device 1
At the same time that the cushioning means 11b in the lower portion of the intermediate case 16 is compressed, the mounting member 12 elastically deforms and sinks to a region in the space between the bottom surface of the Mg housing 4 and the desk surface 5. . In the conventional notebook personal computer, the buffer stroke of the hard disk device 1 cannot exceed the thickness of the buffer means 11b. On the other hand, in the notebook computer of the second embodiment, in addition to the thickness of the cushioning means 11b, the mounting member 12
The elastic deformation amount of can also be used as a buffer stroke. As a result, the cushioning stroke can be made larger than in the conventional case, and the shock absorbing performance can be improved.

According to an impact comparison experiment, when the conventional bottom surface is entirely made of Mg, the buffer means 11b has a thickness of 6 mm.
The same cushioning performance as that realized by using the above-mentioned one can be achieved even by setting the thickness of the cushioning means 11b to 4 mm by adopting the configuration of the second embodiment. That is, it was confirmed that a notebook computer having the same buffering performance can be obtained even if the total thickness of the housing is reduced by 2 mm.

<Embodiment 3> FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an attachment portion of a notebook computer according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention to a housing of a hard disk device. The laptop computer of the third embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment only in the configuration of the intermediate case 16a. Therefore, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the duplicated description will be omitted. Figure 5
As shown in FIG.
A mounting flange 16b is formed at the center of the side surface of the intermediate case 16a housed via the. Intermediate case 16
The mounting flange 16b of “a” is fixed to the Mg housing 4 via the cushioning material 11a. A bottom cushioning body 11c made of foam resin is attached to the outside of the bottom surface of the intermediate case 16a.

In the notebook computer according to the third embodiment, the cushioning material 11a and the cushioning means 11 are provided when dropping downward (toward the bottom surface).
b, the hard disk device 1 at the three stages of the bottom buffer 11c
Therefore, the buffering performance can be further enhanced as compared with those of the first and second embodiments.

In the notebook computers of the first to third embodiments described above, the spacer 6 provided on the bottom of the housing 4 has been described as the rubber feet of the spacer made of normal hard rubber, but the spacer 6 has a higher shock absorbing property. A cushioning material (for example, a gel resin material, a foamed resin material, a low-repulsion rubber material, an oil damper, an air damper, a leaf spring, etc.) can also be used. Further, a gap of at least 1 mm or more may be formed between the mounting surface and the bottom surface of the housing under the recording / reproducing device mounting portion by means such as making the bottom surface of the housing uneven. By improving the cushioning performance of the spacer 6, the impact force applied to the housing can be mitigated even at the spacer portion when the spacer 6 falls in the bottom direction. As a result, the shock absorbing effect on the hard disk device 1 can be further enhanced by using the cushioning material 11a, the cushioning means 11b, and the mounting member 12 together.

The shock absorbing material 11a and the shock absorbing means 11b in the notebook personal computers of the first and third embodiments are loaded with no load when the intermediate cases 16 and 16a are assembled in the Mg housing 4 (depending on the weight of the hard disk device 1). It can also be installed in a more compressed state than when there is no load). As a result, the thickness can be increased to a no-load state during dropping, and the shock absorbing stroke at the time of impact can be made larger than the shock absorbing stroke set during normal use.

In the notebook computers of Examples 1 to 3, it was explained that a gap is created between the opening 4c of the Mg casing 4 and the mounting member 4a, the mounting member 12 or the bottom surfaces of the intermediate cases 16 and 16a. . The gap portion 4e may be covered with a tape-like material such as a plastic tape or an aluminum foil tape which is easily broken. This makes it possible to cover the deterioration of the appearance due to the gap and prevent dust from entering the inside of the housing through the gap portion 4e.

[0027]

As described in detail in the above embodiments, according to the portable information processing apparatus of the present invention, an opening is provided in the lower housing of the recording / reproducing apparatus mounting portion to accommodate the recording / reproducing apparatus. The case is attached to the housing via a cushioning material. As a result, the impact energy when dropping in the bottom direction (downward) can be absorbed by both the displacement of the cushioning material and the displacement of the cushioning means in the intermediate case. As a result, it becomes possible to enhance the shock absorbing ability as compared with the conventional structure in which the shock when the bottom surface is dropped is absorbed by only a single cushioning material inside the housing.
In addition, a shock-absorbing capacity that is smaller than that of the conventional one can ensure a sufficient shock absorbing capacity, and the housing can be made thinner.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a notebook computer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the notebook computer according to the first embodiment of the present invention is dropped toward the bottom surface.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a notebook computer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the notebook computer according to the second embodiment of the present invention is dropped toward the bottom surface.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a laptop computer according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a conventional notebook computer.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Hard disk device 2 keyboard 3 chip parts 4 Mg case 4a Mounting material 4b bottom 4c opening 4d flange 4e Gap part 4s mounting part 5 desk 6 spacers 7 Display case 8 circuit board 9 Hard disk connector 10 flexible cable 11a cushioning material 11b buffer means 11c bottom cushion 12 Mounting member 13 Boss 15 Arrow indicating the direction of fall 16, 16a Intermediate case 16b Flange part

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G06F 1/00 312L F term (reference) 4E360 AB16 BD02 BD05 EA21 EB04 ED02 ED07 GA14 GA22 GA52 GB46 GC04 GC08 GC15

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A portable information processing device having a recording / reproducing device mounted in a housing, wherein an intermediate case for holding the recording / reproducing device in a buffer therein via a buffer means, and an intermediate case as a housing. The mounting member to be mounted on the upper part of the area inside the opening of a size slightly larger than the plane of the intermediate case provided on the bottom plate of the housing via a cushioning material, and having a predetermined height provided below the bottom plate of the housing. A portable information processing device comprising: a spacer. 2. The portable information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the cushioning means is a foamed synthetic resin material or a gel resin member having high elasticity. 3. The mounting member mounts the intermediate case by a mounting portion provided at a low position in the center of the mounting member, and in a steady state, the mounting portion is positioned at substantially the same level as the bottom plate, and a flange portion is provided around the mounting portion. The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cushioning material is formed of a material having a large elasticity that cushions the flange portion in the housing. 4. A portable information processing device having a recording / reproducing device mounted inside a casing, wherein a spacer having a predetermined height provided below a bottom plate of the casing, and a buffering device for the recording / reproducing device. The intermediate case that holds the intermediate case in a buffer manner via the intermediate case, and the elasticity that attaches to the housing as a buffer in the upper part of the area inside the opening that is slightly larger than the plane of the intermediate case that is provided on the bottom plate of the housing. Has a large mounting member, the mounting member is deformed by a large elasticity when the housing is dropped on the desk surface or the floor surface, and the intermediate case portion is provided by the spacer below the bottom plate from the opening. A portable information processing device, characterized in that it is allowed to descend into the space where it is located. 5. The portable information processing device according to claim 4, wherein the cushioning means is formed of a foamed synthetic resin material or a gel resin material having high elasticity. 6. The portable information processing device, wherein the mounting member is an elastic member having a high stretchability and high compliance. 7. The intermediate case has a mounting flange, and a cushioning material inserted between the mounting flange and a bottom plate of a housing around the opening, and a bottom surface of the intermediate case is exposed from the opening. The portable information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: 8. The bottom cushioning body is attached to the lower side of the bottom surface of the intermediate case.
The portable information processing device according to. 9. The cushioning material, the cushioning means and the bottom cushioning body are formed of a gel-like resin material, a foamed resin material, a rubber material or neoprene, according to any one of claims 1 to 6. Portable information processing device. 10. The portable information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the height of the spacer is larger than 1 mm. 11. The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spacer is made of a cushioning material that can be compressed when the housing is dropped. apparatus.