JPH04354182A - Casing of electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce in thickness an electronic apparatus of a casing structure by providing a gel-like sheet having excellent impact absorbing properties in a plastic casing structure, or fully filling gel itself in its inner space. CONSTITUTION:An upper case 1 is formed of an outer cover 4 and an inner cover 5, and an LCD 3 for constituting a display unit, a fluorescent lamp 6, a light guide plate 7 are assembled inside the case. Here, a gel-like impact absorption sheet 8 is provided in a gap between the cover 4 and the plate 7. Or, a closed space formed of the cover 4 and the cover 5 is all filled with components such as the LCD 3, the plate 7, etc., and impact absorption gel 10. Thus, since the thickness of a casing can be reduced without reducing rigidity and impact resistance of the casing its product itself can be reduced in thickness.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plastic casing for electronic equipment, and more particularly to a casing that can be made thin while ensuring rigidity and impact resistance.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional plastic casings for electronic devices have a wall thickness of 2.5 to 3 mm. On the other hand,
In order to make the products smaller and lighter, so-called handheld electronic devices such as ultra-compact movies, book-type personal computers, and word processors that have been recently announced by various companies have a housing wall thickness of 1 to 1 mm.
It is set to 5mm. In this case, if the conventional plastic material is made thinner, its rigidity and strength will decrease, so composite materials filled with glass fibers, carbon fibers, etc. are often used. For example, Nikkei New Material (19
Carbon fiber-based thermosetting polymer alloys discussed on pages 64-65 of the June 18, 1990 issue, and aromatic polyamides published in the Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun (November 13, 1990) Examples include carbon fiber composite materials.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the above-mentioned prior art, a composite material is used in which a resin serving as a base material is filled with carbon fiber or the like in order to reduce the thickness of a molded product while maintaining rigidity. This composite material has a problem in that its elongation is smaller than that of the base material, and its impact resistance is particularly reduced.

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device having a casing structure that can be made thinner even when using conventional materials.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a structure in which a gel-like sheet with excellent shock absorption performance is combined with a plastic casing of an electronic device, or a structure formed from a plastic structure. The structure is such that the space is filled with the gel.

[0006] As the gel, a thermosetting resin such as silicone or urethane is used from the viewpoint of shock absorption, heat resistance, moldability, etc.

[0007]

[Action] The gel-like sheet with excellent shock absorption performance is installed to fill the gap between the outer cover of the plastic case and the internal assembly parts, so the impact load from the outside is absorbed by the outer cover. The gel-like sheet will work together to support it. That is, since the load is not supported only by the outer cover as in the conventional case, the outer cover can be made thinner easily.

[0008] Furthermore, the decrease in rigidity due to the thinning of the outer cover,
This can be prevented by creating a structure in which all internal assembled parts receive the load.

[0009]

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a notebook type word processor according to the present invention. The case of the notebook word processor consists of an upper case 1 and a lower case 2, and the upper case 1 has an LCD that is the display part.
3 is included. FIG. 2 shows a cross section of an upper case 1 of a conventional word processor. The upper case 1 is composed of an outer cover 4 and an inner cover 5, and inside thereof there is an LCD 3, which constitutes a display section.
Parts such as a fluorescent lamp 6 and a light guide plate 7 are incorporated. In this case, the outer cover 4 has a thick structure in order to have sufficient rigidity to withstand external loads, and the upper case 1 itself is also thick.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the upper case 1 of a notebook word processor showing a first embodiment of the present invention. The upper case 1 is composed of an outer cover 4 and an inner cover 5, and an LCD 3 constituting a display section, a fluorescent lamp 6, and a light guide plate 7 are incorporated inside the upper case 1. Here, in order to make the notebook word processor product thinner, it is necessary to make the upper case 1 itself thinner, so the outer cover 4 has a thinner structure. In this case, a shock absorbing sheet 8 is provided in the gap between the outer cover 4 and the light guide plate 7 to prevent a decrease in impact strength due to thinning of the outer cover 4. In addition, the outer lid 4
The gap between the outer cover 4, the light guide plate 7, and the LCD 3 is narrower than that of conventional products, so when an external load is applied, the outer cover 4, the light guide plate 7, and the LCD 3 immediately close together.
Since the outer cover 4 is supported integrally, there is almost no decrease in the rigidity of the upper case 1 due to the thinning of the outer cover 4.

If necessary, a metal reinforcing plate 9, ribs (
It is also possible to increase the rigidity of the upper case 1 by using the following methods (not shown) or the like.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the upper case 1 of a notebook word processor showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In this example,
It has a structure in which a shock absorbing gel 10 is injected into a closed space formed by an outer cover 4 and an inner cover 5.

[0014] Here, the closed space formed by the outer cover 4 and the inner cover 5 is completely filled with components such as the LCD 3 and the light guide plate 7 constituting the display section, and the shock absorbing gel 10. The overall stiffness as 1 increases. Note that in order to reduce the weight of the entire upper case 1, it is sufficient to use a gel whose specific gravity is reduced by foaming.

[0015] Two embodiments have been described above, but by providing a gel with excellent shock absorbing performance inside the casing structure, the casing can be made thinner without reducing its rigidity and impact resistance.

[0016]

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention provides a plastic casing for electronic equipment, in which a gel-like sheet with excellent shock absorption performance is provided inside the casing structure, or the internal space is filled with gel itself. . As a result, the thickness of the casing can be reduced without reducing the rigidity and impact resistance of the casing, and the product itself can also be made thinner. Therefore, it is suitable for the housing structure of handheld electronic devices such as notebook word processors and ultra-compact movies.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a notebook word processor showing an embodiment of the present invention;

[Fig. 2] A cross-sectional view of a word processor case in a conventional example.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a notebook word processor case using a shock absorbing sheet showing a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a notebook word processor case injected with a shock-absorbing gel according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1... Upper case, 2... Lower case, 3... LCD, 4... Outer lid,
5... Inner lid, 7... Light guide plate, 8... Shock absorbing sheet, 10... Shock absorbing gel.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A casing for an electronic device comprising a plastic structure provided with a gel-like sheet having excellent shock absorption performance. 2. The casing of an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the gel-like sheet is provided in close contact with the inside of an outer lid of the casing. 3. A casing for an electronic device, characterized in that a closed space formed by a plastic structure is filled with a gel having excellent shock absorption ability. 4. The casing of an electronic device according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the foamed gel is used in a sheet form or a space is filled. 5. According to claim 1 or 3, silicone,
Electronic device housings made of gel-like thermosetting resin such as urethane.