JP2022112386A - Enclosure and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

To obtain an enclosure that can simplify the structure of two cases that hold a circuit substrate and engage each other.SOLUTION: The enclosure houses a circuit substrate 3. The enclosure includes an upper case 1 and a lower case 2. The upper case 1 has a contact portion 17 that comes into contact with one surface 3a of the circuit substrate 3. The lower case 2 has a contact portion 51 that comes into contact with another surface 3b of the circuit substrate 3 and holds the circuit substrate 3 between itself and the contact portion 17. The lower case 2 includes an extending portion 25a that extends in a direction of holding the circuit substrate 3 between the contacting portion 17 and the contacting portion 51 and has the contacting portion 51 at the tip. The extending portion 25a has an engagement part 53 that engages with the upper case 1 on the midway in the holding direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present disclosure relates to a housing and an electronic device that accommodate a circuit board on which electronic components are mounted.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a housing that includes an upper case and a lower case and holds a circuit board on which electronic components are mounted by the upper case and the lower case. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an upper case formed with ribs abutting on one surface of a circuit board and a lower case formed with elastic support portions having protrusions abutting on the other surface of the circuit board. A housing is disclosed in which a circuit board is sandwiched between ribs of an upper case and elastic support portions of a lower case.

In the housing described in Patent Document 1, a concave portion is formed in an elastic support portion having a protrusion that abuts on the other surface of the circuit board. A lower case and an upper case are connected. The elastic support portion described in Patent Document 1 has a movable portion having a groove formed downward so that the upper case and the lower case are movable in the vertical direction, which is the direction in which the upper case and the lower case face each other. The above-described projections are formed on the upper surface of the . As described above, in the housing described in Patent Document 1, the upper case and the lower case are engaged with each other to sandwich the circuit board.

JP 2015-058780 A

However, in the elastic support portion described in Patent Document 1, the groove is formed on the upper surface of the movable portion that moves in the vertical direction to form a projection portion that contacts the circuit board, so there is a problem that the structure becomes complicated. .

The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to obtain a housing capable of simplifying the structure of two cases that sandwich a circuit board and engage with each other.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the housing of the present disclosure is a housing that accommodates a circuit board, and includes a first case and a second case. The first case has a first contact portion that contacts one surface of the circuit board. The second case has a second contact portion that contacts the other surface of the circuit board and sandwiches the circuit board between itself and the first contact portion. The second case has an extending portion extending in a direction in which the circuit board is sandwiched between the first contact portion and the second contact portion and having a second contact portion at its tip. The extending portion has an engaging portion that engages with the first case in the middle portion in the clamping direction.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present disclosure, it is possible to simplify the structure of two cases that sandwich a circuit board and engage with each other.

1 is a perspective view of a housing of an electronic device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a front view of a housing of an electronic device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a side view of a housing of an electronic device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electronic device according to a first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an extending portion included in the lower case according to the first embodiment; Cross-sectional view along VI-VI shown in Figure 2 FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the first connection process between the upper case and the lower case according to the first embodiment; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the second connection process between the upper case and the lower case according to the first embodiment; FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the state of the connection process between the upper case and the lower case according to the first embodiment; Cross-sectional view along X-X shown in Figure 2

A housing and an electronic device according to embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1.
1 is a perspective view of the housing of the electronic device according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a front view of the housing of the electronic device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the electronic device according to the first embodiment. FIG. A plurality of drawings including FIGS. 1 to 4 are given XYZ coordinate coordinates for the sake of easy understanding of the description. 1 to 4, the vertical direction of the electronic device is indicated by the Z-axis direction, the horizontal direction of the electronic device is indicated by the X-axis direction, and the front-to-back direction of the electronic device is indicated by the Y-axis direction. there is

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the housing 101 of the electronic device 100 according to the first embodiment includes an upper case 1 and a lower case 2. FIG. Upper case 1 and lower case 2 are made of synthetic resin or the like. The upper case 1 is an example of a first case, and the lower case 2 is an example of a second case.

The upper case 1 and the lower case 2 are engaged and connected to each other by a snap-fit method as will be described later. A circuit board 3 is accommodated in an internal space of a housing 101 formed by being surrounded by an upper case 1 and a lower case 2, and various electronic components are mounted on both sides of the circuit board 3. there is A terminal block 31 is mounted on the circuit board 3 as shown in FIG. The circuit board 3 is sandwiched and held between the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , the circuit board 3 is arranged at an intermediate position in the vertical direction inside the housing 101 . By arranging the circuit board 3 at an intermediate position in the vertical direction in the housing 101 in this manner, areas for mounting various electronic components are secured on both sides of the circuit board 3 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the upper case 1 is rectangular and box-shaped, and has an open bottom surface. The upper case 1 includes a ceiling wall 10, a left side wall 11 and a right side wall 12 extending downward from the left and right ends of the ceiling wall 10, and a front wall 13 extending downward from the front and rear ends of the ceiling wall 10. and a rear wall 14 . As shown in FIG. 4, the front wall 13 is formed with an opening 13a for a connector. Although not shown, the left side wall 11 also has an opening for a connector.

Two recessed engaging portions 15 are formed in the left side wall 11 and the right side wall 12, respectively. The recessed engaging portion 15 is formed by a through hole penetrating the left side wall 11 and the right side wall 12 . In FIGS. 3 and 4, the two engaging portions 15 formed on the left side wall 11 are hidden by the ceiling wall 10 and the front wall 13 and are not visible.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the lower case 2 has a rectangular bottom wall 20 , left and right side walls 21 and 22 extending upward from left and right ends of the bottom wall 20 , and front and rear ends of the bottom wall 20 . A front wall 23 and a rear wall 24 extend upwardly from the portion.

The bottom wall 20 is provided with a plurality of extending portions 25a, 25b, 25c, and 25d extending upward toward the circuit board 3 and having an engaging portion 53 that engages with the upper case 1 in the middle. The plurality of extending portions 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d have the same shape, and the extending portions 25a, 25b and the extending portions 25c, 25d are provided on the bottom wall 20 in different directions. In the following description, each of the plurality of extending portions 25a, 25b, 25c, and 25d may be referred to as an extending portion 25 when not individually distinguished.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an extending portion included in the lower case according to the first embodiment; As shown in FIG. 5, the extending portion 25 includes a snap-fit portion 40 and rib portions 41a and 41b.

The snap-fit portion 40 is formed in a thin plate shape with the vertical direction being the stretching direction and the horizontal direction being the thickness direction. The snap-fit portion 40 has an engaging portion 53 that engages with the engaging portion 15 of the upper case 1 in the middle.

The engaging portion 53 is formed in a convex shape in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the snap fit portion 40 . The engaging portions 53 of the extending portions 25a and 25b are formed to project rightward, and the engaging portions 53 of the extending portions 25c and 25d are formed to project leftward.

The engaging portion 53 includes a vertical surface 53a extending rightward or leftward, and an inclined surface 53b extending rightward or leftward while being inclined downward. The inclined surface 53b allows the engaging portion 53 to easily enter the engaging portion 15, and the vertical surface 53a restricts disengagement of the engaging portion 15 and the engaging portion 53 from each other.

The rib portion 41a extends in the same manner as the snap fit portion 40, with the vertical direction as the extension direction, and is formed in a thin plate shape with the front-rear direction as the thickness direction. The rib portion 41 a is connected to one end portion of the snap fit portion 40 so as to protrude in a direction opposite to the protruding direction of the engaging portion 53 . When viewed from above and below, the snap fit portion 40 and the rib portion 41a are connected in an L shape.

The rib portion 41 a has a base end fixed to the bottom wall 20 and a contact portion 51 a contacting the lower surface of the circuit board 3 at the tip end. The contact portion 51a includes a flat surface 511 and an arcuate surface 512. As shown in FIG. The arcuate surface 512 of the contact portion 51a is formed as a curved surface at the corner portion of the contact portion 51a, and is formed in an arc shape when viewed from the front-rear direction. The contact portion 51a is arranged at a position far from the snap fit portion 40 in the left-right direction in the rib portion 41a. Also, the arcuate surface 512 is formed at a corner of the contact portion 51a closer to the snap fit portion 40 than the flat surface 511 in the left-right direction.

The rib portion 41b extends in the same manner as the snap-fit portion 40, with the vertical direction as the extension direction, and is formed in a thin plate shape with the front-rear direction as the thickness direction. The rib portion 41 b is connected to the other end portion of the snap fit portion 40 so as to protrude in a direction opposite to the protruding direction of the engaging portion 53 . When viewed from above and below, the snap fit portion 40 and the rib portion 41b are connected in an L shape.

The rib portion 41 b has a base end fixed to the bottom wall 20 and a contact portion 51 b contacting the lower surface of the circuit board 3 at the tip end. The contact portion 51b includes a flat surface 511 and an arcuate surface 512, like the contact portion 51a.

In this manner, each extending portion 25 is integrated with the snap-fit portion 40 for connecting the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 by a snap-fit method, and the rib portions 41a and 41b for fixing the circuit board 3. configuration. Therefore, in the case 101, the structure of the two cases that sandwich the circuit board 3 and engage with each other can be simplified. Hereinafter, when each of the rib portions 41a and 41b is individually indicated without distinction, it may be described as the rib portion 41, and when each of the contact portions 51a and 51b is individually indicated without distinction, the contact It may be described as part 51 .

In the rib portions 41a and 41b, the length in the horizontal direction of the regions below the engaging portion 53 is shorter than the region above the engaging portion 53, so that the extending portions 25 are When a force in the left-right direction is applied, it is easily elastically deformed in the left-right direction.

Next, the connection between the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 and the clamping of the circuit board 3 between the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 will be specifically described. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 are connected, the engaging portion 53 of the snap fit portion 40 of the extending portion 25a is fitted into the engaging portion 15 of the upper case 1. , the engaging portion 15 and the engaging portion 53 are engaged. The vertical surface 53a of the engaging portion 53 faces the vertical surface 15a of the right side wall 12 forming the engaging portion 15, and the vertical surface 53a of the engaging portion 53 and the vertical surface 15a of the right side wall 12 are in contact with each other. This restricts the release of the connection between the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 .

When releasing the connection between the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 , the upper case 1 is moved upward while pushing the engaging portion 53 leftward through the opening of the engaging portion 15 . and the engaging portion 53 can be released.

A plurality of rib portions 16 are formed downward from the ceiling wall 10 of the upper case 1 inside each of the left side wall 11 and the right side wall 12 . A contact portion 17 is formed to contact the surface 3a of the . The rib portion 16 is formed in a thin plate shape, for example, with the front-rear direction as the thickness direction.

In the state where the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 are connected, the contact portion 17 formed at the tip of the rib portion 16 contacts the one surface 3a of the circuit board 3, and the rib portion 41 of the extension portion 25a contacts. A contact portion 51 formed at the tip of the contact portion 51 contacts the other surface 3 b of the circuit board 3 . As a result, the circuit board 3 is sandwiched between the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 . In the example shown in FIG. 6 , the flat surface 511 of the contact portion 51 of the rib portion 41 is in contact with the other surface 3 b of the circuit board 3 .

Also, the contact portion 17 is elastically deformed in the vertical direction, which is the direction in which the circuit board 3 is sandwiched between the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 . As a result, the circuit board 3 can be stably held by the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 . The configuration of the contact portion 17 will be detailed later.

Next, the state of the connecting process between the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 will be described. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the first connecting process between the upper case and the lower case according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a second connecting process between the upper case and the lower case according to the first embodiment. is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the connecting process. 7 and 8 correspond to cross-sectional views along VI-VI shown in FIG.

When connecting the upper case 1 and the lower case 2, as shown in FIG. Place the upper case 1. Although not shown, in the state shown in FIG. 7, the extending portion 25b of the lower case 2 faces the inner wall surface 12a of the right side wall 12 of the upper case 1, and the inner wall surface of the left side wall 11 of the upper case 1 faces downward. This is a state in which the extending portions 25c and 25d of the case 2 face each other.

When the upper case 1 is further moved downward relative to the lower case 2 from the state shown in FIG. 7, as shown in FIG. Since it abuts against the inner wall surface 12a of the wall 12, the extending portion 25a is elastically deformed and tilts leftward.

Although not shown, the extending portion 25b of the lower case 2 is elastically deformed when the engaging portion 53 comes into contact with the inner wall surface 12a of the right side wall 12 and tilts leftward. 25d, the engaging portion 53 contacts the inner wall surface of the left side wall 11 and is elastically deformed to tilt rightward.

When the engaging portion 53 tilts in the left-right direction, the contact portion 51 formed at the tip of the rib portion 41 also tilts in the left-right direction. If the arc-shaped surface 512 is not formed at the corner of the contact portion 51 , the circuit board 3 may be pushed up by the corner of the contact portion 51 and stress may be applied to the circuit board 3 . An arcuate surface 512 is formed at the corner. Therefore, in the case 101 according to the first embodiment, the corners of the contact portions 51 are prevented from pushing up the circuit board 3 , so that the application of stress to the circuit board 3 can be restrained.

When the upper case 1 is further moved downward relative to the lower case 2 from the state shown in FIG. , and as shown in FIG. Similarly, the engaging portions 53 formed on the extending portions 25b, 25c, and 25d are also fitted into the plurality of engaging portions 15 formed on the left side wall 11 and the right side wall 12. As shown in FIG.

Thereby, the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 can be connected without using fastening parts such as screws. Therefore, the circuit board 3 can be fixed within the housing 101 without stress being applied to the circuit board 3 by fastening parts such as screws. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the circuit board 3 is sandwiched between the contact portion 51 formed at the tip of the rib portion 41 and the contact portion 17 of the rib portion 16 .

Next, the contact portion 17 of the rib portion 16 will be specifically described. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the connection process between the upper case and the lower case according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X shown in FIG. Note that FIG. 9 is a diagram corresponding to a cross-sectional view taken along the line X-X shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9, the contact portion 17 formed at the tip of the rib portion 16 of the upper case 1 has a shape of an acute-angled triangle extending in the left-right direction, and the vertex thereof faces downward. The shape of the contact portion 17 is a shape that elastically deforms in the vertical direction, and can also be called a crushed shape. The contact portion 17 has a triangular prism shape extending in the left-right direction, but may have, for example, a conical shape or a pyramidal shape.

In the state shown in FIG. 9 , the contact portion 51 of the rib portion 41 is in contact with the other surface 3 b of the circuit board 3 . When the upper case 1 is further moved downward relative to the lower case 2 from the state shown in FIG. abut.

When the upper case 1 is further moved downward relative to the lower case 2, as shown in FIG. crushed. Therefore, the circuit board 3 is held while being pushed up and down by the contact portions 51 of the rib portions 41 and the contact portions 17 of the rib portions 16, and the circuit board 3 is stabilized by the upper case 1 and the lower case 2. and retained.

In the case 101, in the above-described example, the extending portion 25 does not elastically deform in the vertical direction but elastically deforms in the horizontal direction, but the contact portion 51 is configured to be elastically deformable in the same manner as the contact portion 17. Alternatively, the contact portion 51 may have the same shape as the contact portion 17 . Further, the housing 101 may have a configuration in which the shape of the contact portion 17 and the shape of the contact portion 51 are replaced with each other.

As described above, the housing 101 according to the first embodiment is a housing that accommodates the circuit board 3 and includes the lower case 2 and the upper case 1 . The upper case 1 is an example of a first case, and the lower case 2 is an example of a second case. The upper case 1 has a contact portion 17 that contacts one surface 3 a of the circuit board 3 . The contact portion 17 is an example of a first contact portion. The lower case 2 has a contact portion 51 that contacts the other surface 3 b of the circuit board 3 and sandwiches the circuit board 3 with the contact portion 17 . The lower case 2 includes an extending portion 25 that extends in the vertical direction in which the circuit board 3 is sandwiched between the contact portions 17 and 51 and has the contact portion 51 at its tip. The extended portion 25 has an engaging portion 53 that engages with the upper case 1 at a midpoint in the clamping direction. As a result, the housing 101 can simplify the structure of the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 that sandwich the circuit board 3 and engage with each other. Therefore, the housing 101 can reduce the cost of the mold and improve the ease of assembly. Further, by simplifying the structure of the housing 101, the circuit board 3 can be fixed without applying stress to the circuit board 3 by screw fixing or the like.

Moreover, the engaging portion 53 is formed in a convex shape in a direction orthogonal to the sandwiching direction of the circuit board 3 . The upper case 1 has a concave engagement portion 15 that engages with the engagement portion 53 . As a result, the housing 101 can easily connect the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 by bringing the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 close to each other in the sandwiching direction of the circuit board 3 .

At least one of the contact portion 17 and the contact portion 51 is elastically deformed in the sandwiching direction of the circuit board 3 . As a result, the circuit board 3 can be stably held by the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 in the housing 101 .

At least one corner of the contact portion 17 and the contact portion 51 is arcuate. As a result, the circuit board 3 can be fixed while preventing excessive stress from being applied to the circuit board 3 .

The extending portion 25 includes a plate-like snap fit portion 40, rib portions 41a, and rib portions 41b. The rib portion 41a is an example of a first rib portion, and the rib portion 41b is an example of a second rib portion. The snap-fit portion 40 extends in the sandwiching direction of the circuit board 3 and has an engaging portion 53 formed in the middle. The rib portion 41 a is continuous with one end of the snap fit portion 40 in the direction orthogonal to the holding direction of the circuit board 3 and extends in the holding direction of the circuit board 3 . The rib portion 41 b is continuous with the other end of the snap fit portion 40 in the direction perpendicular to the holding direction of the circuit board 3 and extends in the holding direction of the circuit board 3 . The contact portion 51 is formed at the tip of each of the rib portions 41a and 41b. As a result, the housing 101 can simplify the structure of the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 that sandwich the circuit board 3 and engage with each other.

Also, the electronic device 100 according to the first embodiment includes the housing 101 and the circuit board 3 . As a result, the electronic device 100 can simplify the structure of the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 that sandwich the circuit board 3 and engage with each other in the housing 101 .

The configuration shown in the above embodiment is an example, and can be combined with another known technique, and part of the configuration can be omitted or changed without departing from the scope of the invention. It is possible.

Reference Signs List 1 upper case 2 lower case 3 circuit board 3a one surface 3b other surface 10 ceiling wall 11, 21 left side wall 12, 22 right side wall 12a inner wall surface 13, 23 front wall 13a opening , 14, 24 rear wall, 15, 53 engagement portion, 15a, 53a vertical surface, 16, 41, 41a, 41b rib portion, 17, 51, 51a, 51b contact portion, 20 bottom wall, 25, 25a, 25b , 25c, 25d extended portion 31 terminal block 40 snap fit portion 53b inclined surface 100 electronic device 101 housing 511 flat surface 512 arcuate surface.

Claims (6)

A housing for housing a circuit board,
a first case having a first contact portion that contacts one surface of the circuit board;
a second case having a second contact portion that contacts the other surface of the circuit board and sandwiches the circuit board between the first contact portion and the second case;
The second case is
an extending portion extending in the sandwiching direction of the circuit board between the first contact portion and the second contact portion and having the second contact portion at its tip;
A housing, comprising an engaging portion that engages with the first case at an intermediate portion of the extending portion in the sandwiching direction. The engaging portion is
formed in a convex shape in a direction orthogonal to the sandwiching direction,
The first case is
2. The housing according to claim 1, further comprising a recessed engaging portion that engages with the engaging portion. At least one of the first contact portion and the second contact portion,
3. The housing according to claim 1, wherein the housing is elastically deformed in the holding direction. At least one corner of the first contact portion and the second contact portion is
4. A housing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is arc-shaped. The extension part is
a plate-shaped snap-fit portion extending in the holding direction and having the engagement portion formed in the middle thereof;
a first rib portion continuous with one end portion of the snap-fit portion in a direction orthogonal to the sandwiching direction and extending in the sandwiching direction;
a second rib portion continuous with the other end portion of the snap fit portion in a direction orthogonal to the sandwiching direction and extending in the sandwiching direction;
The second contact portion is
The housing according to any one of claims 1 to 4, formed at the tip of each of the first rib portion and the second rib portion. a housing according to any one of claims 1 to 5;
An electronic device comprising: the circuit board.

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