JP4643746B2 - Electronics - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device having an external connection connector for connecting a peripheral device such as an external monitor, and more particularly to a structure for fixing the external connection connector to a housing of the electronic device.

  A portable computer, which is an example of an electronic device, includes a main body module and a display module that is rotatably supported at a rear end portion of the main body module. The main body module has a housing that supports the keyboard, and an external connection connector for connecting a peripheral device such as an external monitor is disposed on the side wall or the rear wall of the housing.

  In a conventional portable computer, the external connection connector is fixed to the housing via a dedicated connector panel. The connector panel is installed inside the housing along the side wall or rear wall of the housing, and an external connection connector is screwed to the connector panel.

  However, according to the conventional configuration, a dedicated connector panel is required to fix the external connection connector to the housing. For this reason, the number of parts of the portable computer increases by the amount of the connector panel, and a space for installing the connector panel inside the housing must be secured. Therefore, the presence of the connector panel causes problems such as hindering the thickness and weight of the housing.

  On the other hand, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, a portable computer includes a hinge device that rotatably connects a main body module and a display module. The hinge device has hinge shafts that are spaced apart from each other in the width direction of the main body module and extend in the width direction of the main body module.

  In the portable computer disclosed in Patent Document 1, a connector for connecting an AC adapter is disposed at the shaft end of the hinge shaft of one hinge device. The connector is exposed toward the side of the portable computer outside the hinge shaft along the width direction of the portable computer.

According to this structure, a connector can be arrange | positioned using the dead space which has arisen in the axial end part of a hinge axis | shaft. Therefore, it is not necessary to secure a space for housing the connector inside the main body module, and the main body module can be thinned.
JP-A-2005-128805

  Although patent document 1 is disclosing the relative positional relationship of a connector and a hinge apparatus, it does not assume what fixes a connector to a main body module using the intrinsic | native component which a hinge apparatus has.

  Therefore, it cannot be denied that a dedicated bracket for positioning the connector on the shaft end of the hinge shaft is necessary, and there is still room for improvement in terms of reducing the number of parts of the portable computer.

  An object of the present invention is to obtain an electronic device that does not require a dedicated component for fixing an external connection connector to a housing and can reduce the number of components.

In order to achieve the above object, an electronic apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention provides:
A first housing provided with an opening;
A second housing;
An arm fixed to the first casing; and a piece extending integrally from the arm and facing the inner surface of the first casing around the opening; And a hinge that rotatably connects the second housing,
A connector body having an end exposed to the outside of the first housing from the opening; and a piece of the arm that protrudes around the connector body on the opposite side of the end of the connector body And a connector having a projecting portion removably held in the connector.

  According to the present invention, since the hinge arm also functions as a connector panel that supports the external connection connector, a dedicated component that supports the external connection connector is not required. Therefore, the number of parts of the electronic device can be reduced.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1 and 2 disclose a portable computer 1 which is an example of an electronic apparatus. The portable computer 1 includes a main body module 2 and a display module 3.

  The main body module 2 has a first housing 4 made of synthetic resin. The first housing 4 houses main components such as a printed circuit board on which a CPU is mounted, an optical disk module, and a heat sink 5 that releases heat from the CPU.

  The first housing 4 has a flat box shape having a bottom wall 4a, left and right side walls 4b (only the left side is shown), an upper wall 4c and a rear wall 4d. The side wall 4c and the rear wall 4d are an example of a peripheral wall, and stand up so as to connect the peripheral edge of the bottom wall 4a and the peripheral edge of the upper wall 4d.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, the first housing 4 includes a bottom case 6 and a top cover 7. The bottom case 6 has a bottom wall 4a, a side wall 4b, and a rear wall 4d. The top cover 7 has an upper wall 4c. A flange portion 4e extending downward is formed on the peripheral edge of the upper wall 4c.

  The top cover 7 is placed on the bottom case 6 and is connected to the bottom case 6 via a plurality of screws (not shown). By this connection, the flange portion 4 e of the top cover 7 is abutted against the side wall 4 b and the rear wall 4 d of the bottom case 6.

  A palm rest 8 and a keyboard attaching portion 9 are formed on the surface of the upper wall 4 c of the top cover 7. The palm rest 8 is located in the front half of the upper wall 4c. The keyboard attachment portion 9 is located behind the palm rest 8 and supports the keyboard 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a connector exposure port 12, a plurality of exhaust ports 13, and a lock hole 14 are formed in the left side wall 4 b of the first housing 4. The connector exposure port 12 is an example of an opening, and is located at the rear end of the side wall 4b. The exhaust ports 13 are arranged in a row at intervals in the depth direction of the first housing 4 so as to face the heat sink 5 housed in the first housing 4. The lock hole 14 is located in front of the first housing 4 with respect to the exhaust port 13.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the display module 3 has a second housing 16. The second housing 16 has a flat box shape that is substantially the same size as the first housing 4. The second housing 16 accommodates the liquid crystal display panel 17. The liquid crystal display panel 17 has a display surface 17a for displaying character information and image information. The display surface 17 a is exposed outside the display module 3 from the front surface of the second housing 16.

  The display module 3 is supported on the rear end portion of the main body module 2 via a pair of hinge devices 20 (only one is shown in FIG. 2). One hinge device 20 straddles between the left end of the first casing 4 and the left end of the second casing 16. The other hinge device straddles between the right end of the first casing 4 and the right end of the second casing 16. Since the pair of hinge devices 20 has a common main configuration, one hinge device 20 will be described as a representative.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the hinge device 20 includes a first hinge arm 21, a second hinge arm 22, and a hinge shaft 23. The first and second hinge arms 21 and 22 are formed by die-casting a metal material such as an aluminum alloy, and have sufficient mechanical strength and rigidity.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first hinge arm 21 is fixed to the inner surface of the left side portion of the upper wall 4 c along the left side wall 4 b of the first housing 4. More specifically, the first hinge arm 21 has an arm body 24. The arm body 24 has an elongated strip shape extending in the depth direction of the first housing 4.

  The arm body 24 integrally includes first to third fixing pieces 25a, 25b, and 25c. The first fixing piece 25a projects from the front end of the arm body 24 to the front of the first housing 4 and is fixed to a boss portion 26 protruding from the inner surface of the upper wall 4c via a screw 27. The second fixing piece 25b protrudes from the rear end of the arm body 24 toward the rear wall 4d, and is fixed to a boss portion 28 protruding from the inner surface of the upper wall 4c via a screw (not shown). The third fixing piece 25c projects from the right edge of the rear end portion of the arm body 24 to the right side of the arm body 24 and is fixed to the pair of boss portions 29 protruding from the inner surface of the upper wall 4c via screws 30. ing.

  Therefore, the arm body 24 extends straight from the rear end of the first housing 4 over the connector exposure port 12, the exhaust port 13 and the lock hole 14 toward the front end of the first housing 4. Yes.

  The second hinge arm 22 is housed inside the second housing 16 of the display module 3. The second hinge arm 22 extends along the left side of the second casing 16 and is fixed to the second casing 16 by means such as screwing.

  The hinge shaft 23 is spanned between the rear end of the first hinge arm 21 and the rear end of the second hinge arm 22, and these two are connected so as to be rotatable. The hinge shaft 23 has a horizontal rotation axis O1 extending in the width direction of the portable computer 1. A connecting portion between the first and second hinge arms 21 and 22 and the hinge shaft 23 is covered with a hinge cover 31 shown in FIG.

  Thus, the display module 3 can be rotated between the closed position and the open position with the hinge shaft 23 as a fulcrum. In the closed position, the display module 3 lies on the main body module 2 so as to cover the palm rest 8 and the keyboard 10 from above. In the open position, the display module 3 stands from the rear end of the main body module 2 so as to expose the palm rest 8, the keyboard 10, and the display surface 17a of the liquid crystal display panel 17.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the RGB connector 33 is disposed in the connector exposure port 12 of the first housing 4. The RGB connector 33 is an example of an external connection connector, and is used when connecting a peripheral device such as an external monitor.

  The RGB connector 33 includes a connector body 34 and a back panel 35. The connector body 34 has a plurality of pin holes 36 into which plugs of peripheral devices are inserted. The pin hole 36 is opened at the distal end surface of the connector body 34. The back panel 35 has a square plate shape and is fixed to the back surface of the connector body 34. The outer peripheral portion of the back panel 35 protrudes around the connector body 34.

  Such an RGB connector 33 is detachably attached to the first hinge arm 21 of the hinge device 20. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the first hinge arm 21 integrally has a connector attachment portion 37. The connector mounting portion 37 is integrally extended downward from the left side edge of the rear end portion of the arm body 24, and the inner surface of the left side wall 4b of the first housing 4 and the connector exposure port formed in the side wall 4d. Facing 12

  Therefore, the connector mounting portion 37 maintains a positional relationship that is orthogonal to the arm main body 24 and is positioned on the opposite side of the third fixing piece 25c with the arm main body 24 interposed therebetween.

  The connector mounting portion 37 has a pair of pieces 40 a and 40 b and a notch 41. The pieces 40 a and 40 b are for receiving the back panel 35 of the RGB connector 33. The pieces 40a and 40b are separated from each other in the longitudinal direction of the first hinge arm 21, and have screw insertion holes 42a and 42b, respectively. The screw insertion holes 42a and 42b are adapted to coincide with the screw holes 43 formed in the back panel 35.

  The notch 41 is located between the pieces 40a and 40b so that the connector body 34 enters. For this reason, the connector body 34 penetrates the connector attachment portion 37 of the first hinge arm 21 in the thickness direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, screws 44 are inserted into the screw insertion holes 42a and 42b of the pieces 40a and 40b from the left side wall 4b. The screw 44 passes through the screw insertion holes 42 a and 42 b and is screwed into the screw hole 43 of the back panel 35.

  By this screwing, the RGB connector 33 is fixed to the connector mounting portion 37 of the first hinge arm 21, and the connector body 34 having the pin hole 36 is exposed outside the main body module 2 from the connector exposure port 12.

  Further, the wire harness 45 is drawn from the back panel 35 of the RGB connector 33. The wire harness 45 electrically connects the RGB connector 33 and the printed circuit board accommodated in the first housing 4.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the present embodiment, an engagement piece 46 is integrally formed at the front end portion of the arm body 24. The engagement piece 46 extends downward from the left edge of the arm body 24 and faces the lock hole 14 formed in the left side wall 4b. The engagement piece 46 has an engagement hole 47. The engagement hole 47 coincides with the lock hole 14, and the anti-theft device is removably hooked into the engagement hole 47.

  According to the portable computer 1 having such a configuration, the connector mounting portion 37 is integrally formed on the first hinge arm 21 of the hinge device 20 that rotatably connects the main body module 2 and the display module 3. The RGB connector 33 is fixed to the portion 37 via a screw 44.

  Therefore, the first hinge arm 21, which is a unique component of the hinge device 20, can also function as a connector panel that supports the RGB connector 33, and dedicated brackets that support the RGB connector 33 are not required. .

  Therefore, the number of parts of the portable computer 1 can be reduced, and accordingly, the number of assembling steps of the portable computer 1 can be reduced, and the cost of the portable computer 1 can be reduced.

  At the same time, as the number of parts is reduced, a space for arranging other parts around the RGB connector 33 can be secured. Therefore, the degree of freedom in arranging the components inside the first housing 4 is increased, and the components can be mounted at a higher density, which is advantageous in enhancing the thinning of the portable computer 1. It becomes composition.

  According to the above embodiment, the RGB connector 33 can be detached from the connector attachment portion 37 by loosening the screws 44. Therefore, for example, when the RGB connector 33 is damaged, the RGB connector 33 can be easily replaced.

  Further, the connector mounting portion 37 is integrally extended downward from the left edge of the arm body 24. Therefore, the connector attachment portion 37 functions as a rib that reinforces the arm main body 24, and the volume of the first hinge arm 21 increases by the amount of the connector attachment portion 37. As a result, the strength of the first hinge arm 21 is improved, and the torque when the display module 3 is rotated between the closed position and the open position can be reliably received by the first hinge arm 21. Therefore, the rotation operation of the display module 3 can be performed smoothly.

  In addition, even if a peripheral device plug is connected to the RGB connector 33 or an external force is applied to the RGB connector 33 when the plug is pulled out from the RGB connector 33, the external force is surely applied by the first hinge arm 21. I can take it.

  In particular, according to the present embodiment, the connector mounting portion 37 is located on the opposite side of the arm main body 24 with respect to the third fixing piece 25c fixed to the upper wall 4c. For this reason, when the plug is attached to and detached from the RGB connector 33, the external force applied from the RGB connector 33 to the connector mounting portion 37 can be received by the top cover 7 of the first housing 4 through the third fixing piece 25c.

  Therefore, the RGB connector 33 can be firmly supported by the first hinge arm 21, and there is an advantage that the resistance of the RGB connector 33 to an external force that tries to pull the RGB connector 33 is improved.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  For example, the external connection connector is not limited to an RGB connector, and may be another connector such as a power connector or a LAN connector. At the same time, a switch, a microphone jack, or an earphone jack operated with the fingertips of the hand from the outside of the main body module may be attached to the connector attachment portion of the first hinge arm.

Furthermore, the connector exposure opening is not limited to being formed on the side wall of the first casing, and may be formed on the rear wall of the first casing. When the connector exposure port is formed on the rear wall of the first casing, the first hinge arm may be arranged along the rear wall inside the first casing.
Hereinafter, the invention described in the scope of claims of the present application will be appended.
[1] A casing having a peripheral wall and having an opening formed in the peripheral wall;
A metal hinge arm that has a connector mounting portion that is fixed to the inside of the housing along the peripheral wall and faces the opening,
An electronic device comprising: an external connection connector attached to a connector attachment portion of the hinge arm and exposed to the outside of the housing from the opening.
[2] The electronic device according to [1], wherein the connector mounting portion is integrally extended from the hinge arm so as to face the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the casing.
[3] The electronic device according to [2], wherein the connector mounting portion extends from a side edge of the hinge arm in a direction intersecting the hinge arm.
[4] In the description of [3], the external connection connector includes a connector body and a back panel projecting from the back of the connector body to the periphery of the connector body, and the back panel is attached to the connector. An electronic device characterized in that it is detachably held in the part.
[5] In the description of [4], the connector mounting portion of the hinge arm includes a pair of tongue pieces for receiving the back panel, and a notch positioned between the tongue pieces so that the connector body enters. An electronic device comprising:
[6] a first housing;
A second housing;
A first hinge arm fixed inside the first casing; a second hinge arm fixed inside the second casing; the first hinge arm and the second hinge; A hinge shaft that pivotably connects between the arm and the hinge, and the hinge that pivotally connects the first housing and the second housing with the hinge shaft as a fulcrum. An apparatus,
The first housing has a peripheral wall in which an opening is formed, and the first hinge arm has a connector mounting portion at a position facing the opening, and an external connection connector is connected to the connector mounting portion. The electronic apparatus is attached and the external connection connector is exposed to the outside of the first casing from the opening.
[7] In the description of [6], the connector attachment portion is integrally extended from the first hinge arm so as to face the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the first casing. Electronics.
[8] In the description of [7] above, the external connection connector includes a connector body and a back panel projecting from the back of the connector body to the periphery of the connector body,
The connector attachment portion of the first hinge arm has a pair of tongue pieces for receiving the back panel, and a notch positioned between the tongue pieces so that the connector body enters,
The back panel of the said external connection connector is detachably hold | maintained at the tongue piece of the said connector attachment part, The electronic device characterized by the above-mentioned.
[9] a body module having a peripheral wall in which an opening is formed;
A display module having a display screen;
A hinge device for rotatably connecting the main body module and the display module;
The hinge device is
The first hinge arm fixed inside the body module, the second hinge arm fixed inside the display module, and the first hinge arm and the second hinge arm. A hinge shaft that is movably coupled,
The first hinge arm has a connector attachment portion at a position facing the opening, and an external connection connector is attached to the connector attachment portion. The external connection connector is connected to the main body module from the opening. An electronic device characterized by being exposed outside.
[10] In the description of [9] above, the main body module includes a housing having a bottom case having the peripheral wall and a top cover covering the bottom case from above, and the first hinge arm includes An electronic device characterized by being fixed to a top cover.
[11] In the description of [10] above, the external connection connector includes a connector body and a back panel projecting from the back of the connector body to the periphery of the connector body,
The connector attachment portion of the first hinge arm has a pair of tongue pieces for receiving the back panel, and a notch positioned between the tongue pieces so that the connector body enters,
The back panel of the said external connection connector is detachably hold | maintained at the tongue piece of the said connector attachment part, The electronic device characterized by the above-mentioned.

1 is a perspective view of a portable computer according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view of a portable computer according to an embodiment of the present invention. Sectional drawing which follows the F3-F3 line | wire of FIG. The perspective view which shows the state which attached the RGB connector to the 1st hinge arm of the hinge apparatus in embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing which follows the F5-F5 line | wire of FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the F6-F6 line | wire of FIG.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 ... 1st housing | casing, 4b, 4d ... Peripheral wall (side wall, rear wall), 12 ... Opening part (connector exposure port), 16 ... 2nd housing | casing, 20 ... Hinge (hinge apparatus), 21 ... Hinge arm (First hinge arm), 33 ... external connection connector (RGB connector), 34 ... connector body, 35 ... back panel (projecting portion), 37 ... connector mounting portion, 40a, 40b ... single portion, 41 ... notched portion .

Claims (7)

A first housing provided with an opening;
A second housing;
An arm fixed to the first casing; and a piece extending integrally from the arm and facing the inner surface of the first casing around the opening; And a hinge that rotatably connects the second housing,
A connector body having an end exposed to the outside of the first housing from the opening; and a piece of the arm that protrudes around the connector body on the opposite side of the end of the connector body An electronic device comprising: a connector having an overhanging portion removably held on the connector.   The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the piece includes a pair of protrusions, and the protruding portion is held by the pair of protrusions. A notch is provided between the pair of protrusions,
The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the connector body is inserted into the notch. A first housing provided with an opening;
A second housing;
An arm fixed to the first housing; a piece provided integrally with the arm and facing the inner surface of the first housing around the opening; A hinge rotatably coupled to the second housing;
A connector having an end exposed from the opening to the outside of the first housing and a portion located inside the first housing and detachably held by the one piece; An electronic device comprising the electronic device.   The electronic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the piece includes a pair of projecting pieces, and the connector is held by the pair of projecting pieces.   6. The electronic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a notch portion in which at least a part of the connector is accommodated is provided between the pair of projecting pieces.   7. The connector according to claim 6, wherein the connector includes the portion removably held by the piece and has a protruding portion that protrudes around the connector on the opposite side of the end portion. Electronics.

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