JP4096417B2 - Small electronic equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a small electronic device such as a floppy disk drive (hereinafter referred to as FDD) externally connected to a notebook computer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, small electronic devices connected for function expansion such as an information processing device such as an external FDD of a notebook personal computer protect an electric circuit unit (in the case of FDD) from dust and impact, Therefore, in general, an electric circuit unit is built in an outer case of a resin molded product, and a cable for connecting to an information processing apparatus is attached.
[0003]
Hereinafter, FDD which is a conventional small electronic device will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the FDD, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view. In the figure, 11 is an upper case and 12 is a lower case, both of which are resin molded products. As shown in FIG. 4, the claw portion 11a engages with the opening 12a to form a box. Reference numeral 13 denotes a built-in FDD unit, 13a denotes a front portion into which a floppy disk is inserted, and 13b denotes a flat cable drawn from the FDD unit 13, which is connected to the connector 14a of the relay board 14. A connector 14b connected to the cable 15 is also mounted on the relay board 14, and is connected to the connector 14a with a circuit pattern (not shown). The cable 15 has a plug 15a for connecting to a notebook computer (not shown), and the lead wire 15b is exposed on the opposite side. Reference numeral 16 denotes a cable holding plate, and 17 denotes a fixing screw.
[0004]
As an assembling method, first, the FDD unit 13 and the relay board 14 are arranged on the lower case 12, and then the relay board 14 is attached to the boss (not shown) of the lower case 12 together with the cable holding plate 16 with the fixing screw 17. Then, the flat cable 13b is connected to the connector 14a. Next, the lead wire 15b of the cable 15 is connected to the connector 14b, the cable 15 is held by the cable holding plate 16, and is attached to a boss (not shown) of the lower case 12 by the fixing screw 17. Thereafter, the upper case 11 is overlaid on the lower case 12, and the claw portions 11a at a plurality of locations are engaged with the openings 12a and fastened.
[0005]
In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper case and the lower case can be fastened by welding a metal insert nut 21b to the boss 21a of the upper case 21 to the lower case 21 as shown in FIG. The case 22 has also been tightened by fixing with a fixing screw 23.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The demand for downsizing and thinning is increasing for recent notebook computers, etc. for the purpose of carrying, etc., but not only for the personal computer itself but also for small electronic devices typified by external FDD. The demand for computerization is increasing. On the other hand, the recycling of products has been legalized, and not only the reuse of parts and the separation of materials but also the decomposability of products has been emphasized. For this reason, reduction in size and weight, material separation, and improvement in product decomposability are important design elements in the future. However, in the case of adopting the configuration by engaging the claw portion as in the above-mentioned conventional FDD, it is very excellent for downsizing of the device, but in order to disassemble, the upper case and the lower case are separated. It was necessary to disengage the plurality of claws. However, since the upper case and the lower case have to be pulled apart while pushing the nail with a spatula like a flathead screwdriver, disassembly is not easy. In addition, there were breakage and deformation of the nail during disassembly, and it was unsuitable for reuse of parts after disassembly. In addition, in the case of screwing with a metal insert nut, since the insert nut is welded to the resin case, the material cannot be easily separated, and the upper and lower cases are fixed by fastening the screw in the vertical direction. For this reason, compared with the engagement by the claw portion, a space for fastening is required in a plane, that is, in the width or depth direction of the device, which is not suitable for downsizing of the device.
[0007]
An object of the present invention is to improve the recyclability of products such as material separation and decomposability while improving portability by miniaturization in a small electronic device such as an external FDD of a notebook personal computer.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve this problem, a small electronic device according to the present invention includes a box formed by combining a first case and a second case, an electric circuit unit built in the box, the electric circuit unit, and the like. A connector for electrically connecting the device, a connector holding plate for holding the connector, and a fixing screw for fixing the connector holding plate to the box, wherein the first case has the first case. A hook portion that engages with a locking portion of the second case is provided in one case, the first case and the second case are engaged, and the fixing screw and the connector holding plate A configuration in which the first case and the second case are fastened by sandwiching a part of each of the first case and the second case and screwing the fixing screw to the connector holding plate. The connector The electrical circuit unit and fine the connector holding plate connected by a flexible printed circuit, the connector holding plate is obtained as being connected to a ground line of the electrical circuit unit.
[0009]
This eliminates the need for an insert nut and does not use a claw for fastening, making it easy to disassemble, reducing the size and weight, and improving product recyclability such as material separation and disassembly. it can.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A small electronic device according to the present invention includes a box formed by combining a first case and a second case, an electric circuit unit built in the box, and the electric circuit unit and other devices electrically connected. A connector for holding the connector, a connector holding plate for holding the connector, and a fixing screw for fixing the connector holding plate to the box, and a locking portion for the second case in the first case A hook portion that engages the first case and the second case, and each of the first case and the second case is engaged by the fixing screw and the connector holding plate. part sandwiched, said by the fixing screw that is screwed to the connector holding plate, the first case comprises an arrangement for fastening the second case, the connector and the electric circuit unit and the connector holding plate The connected by a flexible printed circuit, the connector holding plate, since the a connected Configurations to the ground line of the electrical circuit unit, since not performed fastening by use or claw portion of the insert nut, achieving size and weight On the other hand, it is possible to improve the recyclability of the product such as material separation and decomposability, and it is possible to reduce unnecessary radiation of the connector portion by the connector holding plate .
[0011]
In the above-described small electronic device, the same applies to a configuration in which a cable for electrically connecting an electric circuit unit and another device is used instead of a connector, and a cable holding plate that holds the cable instead of a connector holding plate. It has the effect of.
[0012]
In the small electronic device having any of the above-described configurations , the first case and the second case each have a cylindrical hole, and a fixing screw is passed through the hole so that a connector holding plate or a cable holding plate If the first case and the second case are overlapped, the first case and the second case can be fixed with a common screw, and the hole penetrates the cylindrical hole. It can suppress that both cases isolate | separate.
[0013]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an internal structure of an FDD which is a small electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view in an exploded state. In the figure, 1 is an upper case and 2 is a lower case, both of which are resin molded products. As shown in FIG. 2, a hook portion 1a is provided on the floppy disk insertion side of the upper case 1 and a cylindrical hole 1b is provided on the opposite side. The lower case 2 is provided with a locking portion 2a on the floppy disk insertion side and a cylindrical hole 2b on the opposite side, and a box is formed by engaging the hook portion 1a and the locking portion 2a. At this time, the hole 1b and the hole 2b are overlapped. 3 is a built-in FDD unit, 3a is a front part into which a floppy disk is inserted, and 3b is a connector. Reference numeral 4 denotes a connector to which the connector 5 a of the connection cable 5 is connected. The connector 4 is mounted on the FPC 6 and a metal connector holding plate 7 is integrally attached with screws 8. Further, the FPC 6 is provided with a ground pattern 6a connected to the ground line of the FDD unit 3, and is sandwiched when the connector 4 is attached to the connector holding plate 7 so as to be electrically connected to the connector holding plate 7. . The connector holding plate 7 is provided with a female screw portion 7a so that a fixing screw 9 can be screwed. A plug 5b for connecting to a notebook computer (not shown) is provided on the opposite side of the connector 5a of the connection cable 5.
[0014]
A method for assembling the FDD configured as described above will be described.
First, the connector holding plate 7 to which the connector 4 or the like is attached and the connector 3b of the FDD unit 3 are connected by the FPC 6, and these are assembled into the lower case 2. And while engaging the hook part 1a of the upper case 1 and the latching | locking part 2a of the lower case 2, the hole 1b and the hole 2b are piled up, and a box is formed. Thereafter, the fixing screw 9 is passed through the hole 1 b and the hole 2 b and fixed to the female screw portion 7 a of the connector holding plate 7. At this time, the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 are partially overlapped and fastened by the fixing screw 9. Thereafter, the connector 5a of the connection cable 5 is connected to the connector 4 to complete the assembly.
[0015]
When disassembling, it is possible to disassemble easily by simply removing the fixing screw 9.
[0016]
In the present embodiment, since the fixing screw 9 passes through the hole 1b of the upper case 1 and the hole 2b of the lower case 2 through the cylindrical holes, the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 are fixed with a common screw. Even if the fixing screw 9 is slightly loosened, it will not be separated.
[0017]
Further, since the ground pattern 6a of the FPC 6 is electrically connected to the connector holding plate 7 and is connected to the ground line of the FDD unit 3, the connector holding plate 7 can reduce unnecessary radiation of the connector 4 portion. .
[0018]
As described above, in the present embodiment, when assembling the upper case and the lower case, the metal insert nut is used to engage with the hook portion and sandwich the two cases between the connector holding plate and the screw and screw them at the same time. However, there is no need for a small space, and disassembly is easier than fixing only the claw portion.
[0019]
In this embodiment, since the connection cable is separated and connected to the connector, the fixing screw is screwed to the connector holding plate. However, when the connection cable is not separated and is directly pulled out from the FDD, the cable that holds the cable is used. Even if the holding plate is used instead of the connector holding plate of the present embodiment, the same effect can be obtained.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in a small electronic device such as an external FDD of a notebook personal computer, while improving portability by downsizing, improvement of product recyclability such as material separation and decomposability is achieved. Thus, an advantageous effect is achieved that the assembly can be rationalized.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the internal structure of an FDD according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the FDD according to an embodiment of the present invention in an exploded state. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a conventional FDD. FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional FDD.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper case 1a Hook part 1b hole 2 Lower case 2a Locking part 2b hole 3 FDD unit 4 Connector 5 Connection cable 6 FPC
7 Connector holding plate 9 Fixing screw

Claims (1)

A box formed by combining the first case and the second case;
An electric circuit unit built in the box,
A connector for electrically connecting the electric circuit unit and another device;
A connector holding plate for holding the connector;
A fixing screw for fixing the connector holding plate to the box,
The first case is provided with a hook portion that engages with the locking portion of the second case in the first case, and the first case and the second case are engaged, and the fixing screw A part of each of the first case and the second case is sandwiched by the connector holding plate, and the fixing screw is screwed to the connector holding plate, thereby the first case and the second case. With a configuration for fastening the case
Connecting the connector and the connector holding plate and the electric circuit unit with a flexible printed circuit;
The connector holding plate is connected to a ground line of the electric circuit unit .

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