JP2007026613A - Housing case for hard disk drive - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a housing case for a hard disk drive which provides compactness, light weight, shock resistance and excellent heat resistant characteristic while firmly fixed so that a disk drive main body may not rattle in a case. <P>SOLUTION: A lower case 3 is fastened to the disk drive main body 5 with screws. Connection parts 29, 29 are formed upward projectingly at left and right end edges of a bottom wall of the lower case 3. By fitting the lower case 3 in an opened bottom surface of an upper case 2, the rear end edge of the bottom wall 26 of the lower case 3 is locked in a lower end inner surface of a rear side wall 11 of the upper case 2, locking parts 35 of upper ends of the respective connection parts 29 are respectively inserted and locked into engagement recessed parts 21 of left and right side walls 9, 9 of the upper case 2, and the upper and lower cases 2, 3 are integrated while the outer circumferential edge of the lower case 3 is surrounded by the lower end of a circumferential side wall of the upper case 2. Inorganic filler is mixed into molding resin of the lower case 3 in order to make the coefficient of linear expansion of the lower case 3 close to the coefficient of linear expansion of a disk case 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a housing case for a hard disk drive that is detachably attached to a device such as an AV device or a computer.

  Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a removable hard disk drive that can be removed from a device and carried. Such a hard disk drive is provided with a magnetic head, which is a precision component, and a drive mechanism thereof, and can be broken relatively easily if it is accidentally dropped during carrying. For this reason, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the hard disk drive is housed in a dedicated housing case. In particular, in Patent Document 1, a hard disk drive is held in a storage case via an impact absorbing material for shock mitigation.

JP 2003-272367 A (paragraph number 0010, FIG. 1) JP 2001-291380 A (paragraph number 0027, FIG. 5)

  The aforementioned storage case is desired to be small and light from the viewpoint of portability. In this respect, Patent Document 1 is bulky by the amount of the shock absorbing material disposed inside the housing case. In Patent Document 2, there is a possibility that the disk drive main body is not fixed to the housing case and is not stable in the housing case.

  In addition, excellent heat resistance is required for the material for forming the housing case. For example, if an automobile is parked outdoors in summer, the temperature inside the vehicle may rise to nearly 80 ° C., and the housing case is required to have heat resistance. Therefore, the present inventors made a housing case with polycarbonate having both heat resistance and impact resistance, and conducted a heat resistance test on the case. As a result, it was confirmed that the housing case alone was not deformed at all even under a high temperature environment of 85 ° C., and that the case had excellent heat resistance.

  However, when the same heat resistance test was performed after assembling the disk drive main body in the housing case, it resulted in an inexplicable result that the housing case was deformed. Such deformation was particularly noticeable in the lower case where the disk drive body was fixed with screws. Further, such deformation is hardly observed under a temperature condition of about 75 ° C., but becomes prominent when the temperature exceeds 80 ° C.

  If the above-described deformation occurs in the storage case, there is a possibility that the loading operation of the hard disk drive itself to the AV device or the like cannot be performed. If the housing case around the connector (6: see FIG. 1) is deformed, the connection state of the connector with the connector on the AV device side becomes poor, and there is a disadvantage that a data recording / reproducing error occurs. In the worst case, an accident such as breakage of the disk drive body or failure of the AV device is caused.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a new housing case for a hard disk drive that can be securely fixed to the disk drive body, can be reduced in size and weight, can reduce shock, and does not deform even when the disk drive body is assembled. There is to do.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention is a housing case for a hard disk drive that houses a disk drive body 5 therein. The housing case 1 includes a plastic upper case 2 whose bottom surface is open and a plastic flat lower case 3 that closes the bottom surface of the upper case 2. In the disk drive main body 5, the magnetic disk and the magnetic head are accommodated in the disk case 4, and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the disk drive main body 5 is fixed to the inner upper surface of the lower case 3 with screws. In the upper case 2. The lower case 3 is engaged with the lower end of the upper case 2 in a fitted and killed state so that the lower case 3 does not fall down together with the disk drive body 5. In order to make the linear expansion coefficient of the lower case 3 close to the linear expansion coefficient of the disk case 4, an inorganic filler is mixed in the molding resin of the lower case 3.

  Specific examples of the molding resin that can be used in the present invention include polycarbonate (PC), polycarbonate + acrylonitrile butadiene (PC / ABS alloy), modified polyphenylene oxide (modified PPO), modified polyphenylene ether (modified PPE), liquid crystal polymer ( LCP), cycloolefin polymer (COP), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyamide MXD6 (PAMXD6), polyamide 66 (PA66), and the like. Examples of the inorganic filler include glass beads and glass fibers as well as glass beads. The mixing ratio of the inorganic filler is about 10 to 40% with respect to 100% by weight of the molding resin, and the numerical value can be appropriately changed according to the forming material of the disk case 4.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper case 2 includes a rectangular plate-shaped upper wall 7, left and right side walls 9, 9 and front and rear side walls 10. 11, and the lower case 3 is fitted into the opened lower surface. At the lower end portion of the inner surface of the rear side wall 11 of the upper case 2, a retaining portion 19 is provided for locking the rear end of the lower case 3 so as to prevent the lower case 3 from coming down. The lower case 3 includes a square plate-like lower wall 26, screw holes 27 provided at four corners of the lower wall 26, and connecting portions 29 and 29 respectively connected upward from left and right edges of the lower wall 26. The disk drive main body 5 is fixed to the lower case 3 with screws 41 respectively passed through the screw holes 27. Each connecting portion 29 includes a base plate 33 erected on the left and right end edges of the lower wall 26, and a locking portion 35 that protrudes outward at the upper end of the base plate 33. Engagement recesses 21 and 21 are provided on the inner surfaces of the side walls 9 and 9, respectively, into which the locking portions 35 of the connecting portions 29 of the lower case 3 are fitted and locked. By fitting the lower case 3 into the lower surface of the opening of the upper case 2, the lower wall 26 of the lower case 3 is locked to the retaining portion 19, and each connecting portion 29 of the lower case 3 is engaged with each engaging recess of the upper case 2. The upper and lower cases 2, 3 are integrated with the lower case 3 surrounded by the lower end of the peripheral side wall of the upper case 2. The screw 41 includes a bag and the like.

  The disk case 4 of the disk drive body 5 is made of various metals such as stainless steel and aluminum. For this reason, in the case configuration as in the present invention in which the plastic lower case 3 and the metal disc case 4 are fixed in a single piece, the lower case 3 is formed due to the difference in the linear expansion coefficient between the three and the four. Residual expansion differences and stress are unavoidable, and distortion and deformation are likely to occur in the lower case 3 due to changes in ambient temperature.

  In this regard, in the present invention, since the inorganic filler is mixed in the molding resin of the lower case 3, the linear expansion coefficient of the lower case 3 can be reduced, and the coefficient can be brought close to the disk case 4. As a result, the deformation of the lower case 3 due to the difference in the linear thermal expansion coefficient between the cases 3 and 4 can be surely eliminated, and the problem of poor loading or poor connection to AV equipment, and further damage to the disk drive main body can be solved. Can be wiped out.

  Further, since the outer peripheral edge of the lower case 3 is surrounded by the lower end of the peripheral side wall of the upper case 2, even if the storage case 1 is accidentally dropped, the lower case 3 to which the disk drive body 5 is fixed is directly applied to the floor or the like. It ’s hard to hit. In addition, the rear end of the lower case 3 is locked by the retaining portion 19 of the upper case 2, and each connecting portion 29 of the lower case 3 is only fitted and locked to each engaging recess 21 of the upper case 2. Since the lower case 3 is not integrally fixed to the upper case 2 with screws or the like, the lower case 3 may move slightly with respect to the upper case 2 in case of dropping, etc. it can. Therefore, while the disc drive main body 5 is securely engaged with the lower case 3, the proper impact resistance can be obtained, and an impact absorbing material is not required to reduce the impact. The housing case 1 can be reduced in size and weight.

  1 to 4 show a housing case of a hard disk drive targeted by the present invention. In FIG. 2, the storage case 1 is a quadrangular plastic molded product in which the upper and lower cases 2 and 3 are engaged, and the disc drive main body 5 having a quadrangular shape is accommodated therein. The internal space of the storage case 1 is slightly larger than the disk drive body 5. The disk drive main body 5 includes a magnetic disk, a magnetic head, a magnetic head drive mechanism, and the like inside the disk case 4, and a connector 6 is disposed on the front surface. The disc case 4 here was made of aluminum.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the upper case 2 includes a rectangular plate-like upper wall 7, left and right side walls 9, 9 and front and rear side walls 10, 11 connected downward from the left and right and front and rear peripheral edges of the upper wall 7. The lower surface is open. The lower case 3 has a rectangular flat plate shape, and is fitted to the lower surface of the opening of the upper case 2 so that the lower case 3 has left and right side walls 9 and 9 and a rear side wall 11 at the lower ends thereof. The outer periphery of is surrounded with a slipper.

  The front side wall 10 of the upper case 2 has an opening 12 for allowing the connector 6 of the disk drive main body 5 to face the outside of the case. In the upper case 2, the lower end of the opening 12 is open, and the lower edge of the opening 12 is formed at the front end of the lower case 3. On the outer surfaces of the left and right side walls 9, 9 of the upper case 2, there are provided a guide groove 13 for loading equipment and a positioning recess 15, 16, 17 extending in the front-rear direction with the front end open.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the left and right laterally long linear protrusions (prevention portions) 19 are formed at the lower end of the inner surface of the rear side wall 11 of the upper case 2 and ridges near the left and right ends of the rear side wall 11. The left and right pair of restricting projections 20 and 20 are integrally formed. The linear protrusion 19 locks the rear end of the lower case 3 so as to prevent the lower case 3 from coming down, and the restricting protrusions 20 and 20 restrict the upward movement of the lower case 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a pair of left and right engaging recesses 21, 21 are formed on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls 9, 9 of the upper case 2 toward the front side of the upper end in the front-rear direction. Each connecting portion 29 of the lower case 3 is fitted and locked in each engaging recess 21. Reinforcing ribs 22 extending in the vertical direction are arranged on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls 9, 9 and the front and rear side walls 10, 11 of the upper case 2, respectively. These reinforcing ribs 22 also restrict the upward movement of the lower case 3.

  On the inner surface of the upper wall 7 of the upper case 2, a pair of left and right reinforcing projections 23, 23 project from both left and right ends and slightly behind the engaging recess 21. Each reinforcing protrusion 23 faces and opposes the inner surface of the connecting portion 29 of the lower case 3, and reinforces the connecting portion 29 by restricting the connecting portion 29 from bending toward the inside of the case. On the lower surface of the upper wall 7 of the upper case 2 and on the left and right sides and the rear side of the connector 6 of the disk drive main body 5, dust-proof shielding plates 25 are projected.

  The lower case 3 includes a rectangular plate-like lower wall 26, screw holes 27 provided in the vicinity of the four corners of the lower wall 26, and the connecting portions that are connected upward at positions closer to the front side of the left and right end edges of the lower wall 26, respectively. 29 and 29, a pair of left and right reinforcing plates 30 and 30 respectively connected upward at the left and right positions of the front end of the lower wall 26, and a fitting formed as a recess on the lower surface side of the rear end of the lower wall 26 as shown in FIG. A joint recess 31 is included. The linear protrusion 19 of the upper case 2 is fitted into the fitting recess 31. In this fitted state, the lower end surface of the upper case 2 and the lower surface of the lower case 3 are substantially flush.

  Each of the previous reinforcing plates 30 protrudes upward from the front end of the lower wall 26 of the lower case 3 so as to be positioned on the left and right of the opening 12 of the upper case 2, and is close to the inner surface of the front side wall 10 of the upper case 2. And confront. Each reinforcing plate 30 restricts the front side wall 10 from being bent inward of the case, thereby reinforcing the front side wall 10. In order to prevent interference with the ribs 22 of the front side wall 10 in each reinforcing plate 30, a vertically long notch 30a is formed as shown in FIG.

  An inner surface of the lower wall 26 of the lower case 3 and a peripheral edge 27a of the screw hole 27 are slightly raised from the flat upper surface of the lower wall 26, and the flat lower surface of the disk drive body 5 is the lower wall 26 of the lower case 3. It is surely lifted from the flat upper surface of. On the left and right outer peripheral edges of the flat upper surface of the lower case 3, reinforcing frame bodies 32 are formed on the protrusions along the outer peripheral edges.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, each connecting portion 29 is provided on the left and right end edges of the lower wall 26 and is long in the front-rear direction, and is provided to protrude outward at the upper end of the base plate 33. And a locking portion 35. The locking portion 35 has a downward locking surface 36, and the locking surface 36 is locked to the upward retaining surface 37 of the engaging recess 21 of the upper case 2 (see FIG. 4). State), the lower case 3 is prevented from coming off downward.

  The front end side of each connecting portion 29 is notched at the upper end portion to prevent interference with the inner wall 39 of the positioning recess 15 of the upper case 2. On the inner surface side of the base plate 33, reinforcing ribs 40 extending in the vertical direction are arranged. As shown in FIG. 4, the outer surface of the locking portion 35 is inclined in a wedge shape that becomes thinner toward the upper end.

  The lower surface corners of the disk drive body 5 are placed on the peripheral edge portions 27a of the screw holes 27 of the lower case 3, and screws 41 are respectively passed through the screw holes 27 of the lower case 3 and screwed into the screw lower holes on the disk case 4 side. As a result, the disk drive main body 5 is fixed to the inner upper surface of the lower case 3. In this state, the lower case 3 is fitted into the lower surface of the upper case 2 while the linear protrusion 19 of the upper case 2 is fitted and locked in the fitting recess 31 of the lower wall 26 of the lower case 3 (see FIG. 3). As a result, the locking portions 35 of the connecting portions 29 of the lower case 3 are fitted and locked in the respective engaging recesses 21 of the upper case 2 (state of FIG. 4). As a result, the lower case 3 is engaged with the lower end of the upper case 2 together with the disk drive main body 5 in a state where it is fitted and killed.

  By the way, the front and rear central portions of the left and right side walls 9, 9 of the upper case 2 are curved slightly outward so that the locking portions 33 of the connecting portions 29 of the lower case 3 are respectively connected to the engaging recesses 21 of the upper case 2. The upper case 2 and the lower case 3 can be forcibly separated in this manner.

  Since the upper and lower cases 2 and 3 are integrated in a state where the outer peripheral edge of the lower case 3 is surrounded by the lower ends of the left and right side walls 9 and 9 and the rear side wall 11 which are the peripheral side walls of the upper case 2, Even if it is accidentally dropped, the lower case 3 to which the disk drive body 5 is fixed is difficult to directly hit the floor or the like. In addition, the disk drive main body 5 is in contact with the housing case 1 only at the peripheral portion 27a of the screw 41 and the screw hole 27, and the lower case 3 is slightly displaced with respect to the upper case 2 in the case of dropping or the like. Can move and relieve shock. Therefore, even when the storage case 1 is dropped, the shock at that time is transmitted to the disk drive main body 5 via the lower case 3 in a relaxed state.

  As described above, according to the storage case 1 according to this embodiment, since the outer peripheral edge of the lower case 3 is surrounded by the lower end of the peripheral side wall of the upper case 2, even if the storage case 1 is accidentally dropped, The lower case 3 to which the disk drive body 5 is fixed is difficult to directly hit the floor or the like. In addition, the rear end of the lower case 3 is locked by the retaining portion 19 of the upper case 2, and each connecting portion 29 of the lower case 3 is only fitted and locked to each engaging recess 21 of the upper case 2. Since the lower case 3 is not integrally fixed to the upper case 2 with screws or the like, the lower case 3 may move slightly with respect to the upper case 2 in case of dropping, etc. it can. Therefore, while the disc drive main body 5 is securely engaged with the lower case 3, the proper impact resistance can be obtained, and an impact absorbing material is not required to reduce the impact. The housing case 1 can be reduced in size and weight.

  In order to reinforce the connecting portion 29 of the lower case 3, a reinforcing protrusion 23 is provided on the inner surface of the upper wall 7 of the upper case 2 so as to face the inner surface of the base plate 33 of the connecting portion 29 of the lower case 3. Therefore, on the base side of the reinforcing protrusion 23, the swing of the connecting portion 29 toward the inner side of the case can be surely suppressed, and the connecting portion 29 is affected by an impact such as when the storage case 1 is dropped. It can be well prevented that the engaging recess 21 is detached or the connecting portion 29 is damaged.

  An opening 12 is provided in the front side wall 10 of the upper case 2 so that the connector 6 disposed on the front surface of the disk drive main body 5 faces the outside of the case, and the lower case 3 is used to reinforce the front side wall 10 of the upper case 2. At the front end portion of the inner surface of the lower wall 26, the reinforcing plates 30 and 30 facing the inner surface of the front side wall 10 on the left and right sides of the opening 12 of the upper case 2 are provided so as to protrude upward. At the base side of 30, the swing of the front side wall 10 toward the inner side of the case can be reliably suppressed, the housing case 1 is attached to the device, and the connector 6 of the disk drive body 5 is connected to the device. It is possible to well prevent the front side wall 10 from being damaged, for example.

  In order to form a shock-relief gap between the disk drive main body 5 and the lower wall 26 of the lower case 3, the peripheral portion 27 a of the screw hole 27 is formed on the upper surface of the lower wall 26 of the lower case 3. Therefore, a gap for shock reduction can be formed between the disk drive main body 5 and the lower wall 26 of the lower case 3, and this also improves the impact resistance.

  The molding material of the upper and lower cases 2 and 3 is formed by mixing an inorganic filler (glass fiber) into polycarbonate (molding resin). Here, the mixing ratio of the glass fibers was 15% by weight with respect to 100% by weight of the polycarbonate. The characteristics of the lower case 3 are shown in Table 1. Table 1 shows the characteristics of a lower case made of polycarbonate that does not contain any inorganic filler as a comparative example.

  From Table 1, it can be seen that by adding glass fiber to polycarbonate, which is a molding resin, the linear expansion coefficient can be reduced, and the numerical value can be made close to that of metal. This eliminates the deformation of the lower case 3 caused by the difference in the linear thermal expansion coefficient between the cases 3 and 4, and eliminates the problem of poor loading / connection of hard disk drives to AV equipment and recording / playback problems. We were able to.

  In the above embodiment, the upper and lower cases 2 and 3 are formed of a molding resin mixed with an inorganic filler, but only the lower case 3 may be formed of a molding resin containing an inorganic filler.

(Example)
Table 2 below shows the mixing ratio of various inorganic fillers to the molding resin (polycarbonate) and the value of the linear expansion coefficient of the lower case formed of the molding resin mixed with the inorganic filler.

From Examples 1 to 5 above, by forming the lower case with a molding resin mixed with an inorganic filler, the linear expansion coefficient of the lower case is changed to the linear expansion coefficient (2.5-3. 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ / K) was confirmed.

Exploded perspective view of the storage case Perspective view of storage case AA line sectional view of FIG. BB sectional view of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage case 2 Upper case 3 Lower case 4 Disc case 5 Disk drive main body 6 Connector 7 Upper case upper wall 9 Left and right side walls 10 of upper case Front side wall 11 of upper case Rear side wall 19 of upper case Linear projection 20 Restriction projection 27 Screw hole 29 Connecting portion 30 Base plate 31 Fitting recess 35 Locking portion 41 Screw

Claims (2)

A storage case for a hard disk drive that houses the disk drive body (5) inside,
A plastic upper case (2) whose lower surface is open, and a plastic flat lower case (3) that closes the lower surface of the upper case (2).
The disk drive body (5) is housed in the upper case (2) with the magnetic disk and magnetic head housed in the disk case (4) and screwed to the inner upper surface of the lower case (3). And
The lower case (3) is engaged with the lower end of the upper case (2) in a state of being fitted and killed so as not to come down together with the disk drive body (5).
A housing case for a hard disk drive, characterized in that an inorganic filler is mixed in the molding resin of the lower case (3) in order to bring the linear expansion coefficient of the lower case (3) closer to the linear expansion coefficient of the disk case (4). . The upper case (2) has a rectangular plate-like upper wall (7), left and right side walls (9), (9) and front and rear side walls (10) connected downward from the left and right and front and rear peripheral edges of the upper wall (7). -(11) is included, and the lower case (3) is fitted into the opened lower surface,
At the lower end of the inner surface of the rear side wall (11) of the upper case (2), there is provided a retaining portion (19) for locking the rear end of the lower case (3) downward.
The lower case (3) is connected upward from the square plate-like lower wall (26), screw holes (27) provided at the four corners of the lower wall (26), and left and right edges of the lower wall (26), respectively. Including the connecting portions (29) and (29) provided,
The disk drive body (5) is fixed to the lower case (3) with screws (41) passed through the screw holes (27).
Each connecting portion (29) includes a base plate (33) erected on the left and right edges of the lower wall (26), and a locking portion (35) provided outwardly projecting at the upper end of the base plate (33). ) And
On the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls (9), (9) of the upper case (2), engaging recesses (21) into which the locking portions (35) of the connecting portions (29) of the lower case (3) are fitted and locked respectively. ) ・ (21)
By fitting the lower case (3) into the lower surface of the opening of the upper case (2), the lower wall (26) of the lower case (3) is locked to the retaining portion (19) and each of the lower case (3) The connecting portion (29) is fitted and locked in each engaging recess (21) of the upper case (2), and the outer peripheral edge of the lower case (3) is surrounded by the lower end of the peripheral side wall of the upper case (2). The hard disk drive housing case according to claim 1, wherein the upper and lower cases (2) and (3) are integrated in a state.

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