JPH1051153A - Case structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a case structure by which the fixation operation of a plurality of printed-circuit boards inside a case can be performed smoothly and easily by a method wherein claw pieces for positioning of the printed-circuit boards are installed so as to protrude on inside faces at respective sidewall parts which are formed at a lower-side case and an upper-side case. SOLUTION: A first printed-circuit board is attached to a lower-side case 11, a second printed-circuit board is attached to an upper-side case 24, and a coupling device 22 at the lower-side case 11 is then coupled to a coupling piece 37 at the upper-side case 24. Then, a mounting screw 39 is inserted into a through hole 19 from the outside of the lower-side case 11, it is screwed to a screw hole in a boss 36 at the upper-side case 24, and the lower-side case 11 and the upper-side case 24 constitute an integral case. Then, when a printed- circuit board is fixed inside the cases 11, 24, the printed-circuit board can be positioned inside the cases 11, 24 by means of a coupling action by the claw pieces, and the screwing operation of the printed-circuit board to the cases 11, 24 can be performed easily and smoothly after that.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a case used for accommodating a printed circuit board provided with various control circuits for controlling various devices such as an air conditioner, an audio device and a power window device mounted on a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a case structure capable of improving the workability of assembling a case, the ease of maintenance and inspection of a printed circuit board (control circuit) housed in the case, and the economical efficiency of replacing circuit components and printed circuit boards. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A printed circuit board provided with various control circuits for controlling on-vehicle devices such as an air conditioner, an audio device, and a power window device mounted on a vehicle can be provided at an appropriate position on a vehicle body. The printed circuit board having various control circuits is housed in a case and the printed circuit board having various control circuits is protected by the case. 2. Description of the Related Art A storage case for various control circuits, in which the work of installing the control circuit on a vehicle body is simplified, is well known.

As a known case structure, for example, there is one as shown in FIGS. In other words, in this conventional example, since the various control circuits are large-scale and cannot be constituted by one printed circuit board, they are divided into first and second printed circuit boards 3 and 4, and the first The printed circuit board 3 is housed in the lower case 1 having an open upper surface, and the second printed circuit board 4 is housed in the upper case 2 having an open lower surface.

To fix the first and second printed boards 3 and 4 in the lower case 1 and the upper case 2, first lay the second printed board 4 in the upper case 2, The second printed circuit board 4 is sandwiched and fixed to the inner surface of the upper case 2 by stud bolts 6 and nuts 7 penetrating inside and outside at four corners of the case 2. Then they 4
The first printed circuit board 3 is attached to the lower ends of the two stud bolts 6.
And the upper case 2 is placed on the first printed circuit board 3 so that the lower ends of the stud bolts 6 are aligned with the mounting holes at the four corners of the first printed circuit board 3. Screws 5 are screwed together at the four corners of the case 2 so that the lower case 1, the upper case 2, and the first and second printed circuit boards 3,
4 are jointly fastened via stud bolts 6 to house and fix a plurality of printed circuit boards in a set of cases.

[0005]

However, in such a conventional case structure, a lower case 1 and an upper case 2 are used to form first and second two printed boards 3 and 4.
In the assembling procedure, first, the second printed circuit board 4 is positioned in the upper case 2. Then, the upper case 2 and the second printed circuit board 4 are
And stud bolt 6 together. Next, the first printed circuit board 3 is positioned at the lower end of the stud bolt 6. Next, the upper case 2 is placed and positioned on the first printed circuit board 3. Next, an assembling step is required to fasten the first printed circuit board 3 and the lower case 1 together with the screws 5 and the stud bolts 6. It took a lot of time and labor to assemble the inner parts 1 and 2.

In the above-mentioned assembling operation, the first and second printed circuit boards 3 and 4 must be directly held by hand and positioned in the lower case 1 or on the stud bolts 6. The circuit surfaces of the first and second printed circuit boards 3 and 4 are likely to be touched by the tentacles, and the tentacles may cause the circuit board to deteriorate due to dirt on the circuit board, or the circuit pattern to be corroded to cause circuit failure. ing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and has as its first object to provide a case structure capable of smoothly and easily fixing a plurality of printed circuit boards in a case. .

In the present invention, there is no case structure that makes it difficult for the operator to touch the circuit surface or the like of the printed circuit board at the time of fixing a plurality of printed circuit boards in the case or at the time of assembling the case. It is a second object of the present invention to prevent damage to a circuit on a printed circuit board.

In the present invention, when the upper case is put on the lower case, the positioning of the upper case with respect to the lower case is facilitated to improve the workability of closing the upper case on the lower case. This is the third object.

[0010]

In order to achieve the first and second objects, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a lower case having an open upper surface and a separate lower case are provided. And a case structure in which the lower case and the upper case are integrally assembled such that the openings of the two cases match each other, and the upper surface of the bottom plate of the lower case and The inside surface of the upper plate portion of the upper case is formed as a printed circuit board laying portion, and a height protruding upward from the upper surface of the first printed circuit board laid inside the bottom plate portion is formed around the bottom plate portion of the lower case. The side wall portion is erected except for the connector mounting portion, and protrudes downward from the lower surface of the second printed circuit board laid inside the upper plate portion on the upper plate peripheral edge of the upper case. Height side wall is extended except for connector mounting part , And more inner surfaces of the respective side wall portions provided in the lower case and the upper case is characterized by a case structure which was allowed projecting the pawl for PCB positioning. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the third object, in addition to the first aspect, the edge of the side wall portion 13 erected at the edge of the lower case 11 is provided on the upper case 24. In order not to interfere with the side wall 30 provided, a case structure is provided in which the above-mentioned edge corner is formed as a rounded notch 23.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

First, the lower case 11 and its internal structure will be described. 1 to 4, reference numeral 11 denotes a lower case having an open upper surface. The lower case 11 includes a square bottom plate 12 and a side wall 13 standing upright from each edge of the bottom plate 12. Have. The side walls 13 are provided with cutouts 15 in place for attaching the connector 14 to the lower case 11 and preventing interference with a connector 27 to be attached to the upper case 24 described later. .

At the four corners of the inner surface of the bottom plate 12, bosses 1 are provided.
The first printed circuit board 17 provided with a control circuit for controlling in-vehicle devices can be received on the upper surfaces of the bosses 16. The first printed circuit board 1 received on the upper surface of each boss 16
Reference numeral 7 denotes each claw piece 1 protrudingly formed inside the side wall portion 13.
It is positioned in the lower case 11 by being sandwiched between the boss 8 and 8.

Of the four bosses 16, two bosses 16 located on the same side edge are provided with through holes 19 penetrating the bottom plate 12, and are provided on the same side edge. In the other two bosses 16 arranged on the sides facing in parallel, screws 20 for screwing the two corners of the first printed circuit board 17 to the boss 16 are screwed. It has become.

A flange 21 is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the lower case 11 so as to abut an edge of an upper case 24 described later. Reference numeral 22 denotes a locking piece with the upper case 24 provided on one side wall of the lower case 11, and 23 is formed on the side edge of the side wall portion 13. This is an R-shaped notch for preventing interference with the expansion wall 30 provided on the 24.

Next, the structure of the upper case 24 will be described with reference to FIGS. The upper case 24 has an opening at the lower surface (in FIGS. 5 to 7, the inside of the upper case 24 is shown upside down to illustrate the inside of the upper case 24), and a rectangular upper plate 25 and the upper plate 25 Has a side wall 26 standing upright from each of the edges. Notches 28 are provided at appropriate positions on the side wall portions 26 for attaching the connector 27 to the upper case 24 and for preventing interference with the connector 14 attached to the lower case 11. I have. Further, a step portion 29 for extending between the corresponding side wall portions 26 is provided at a substantially central position in the height direction of each side wall portion 26, and an expansion wall portion 30 is formed with the step portion 29 as a boundary. The lower case 1 described above is provided on the inner surface of the expansion wall portion 30.
1 are formed so as to overlap with each other.

Bosses 31 project from each of the four corners of the inner surface of the upper plate 25, and a control circuit for controlling onboard equipment is provided on the upper surface of the bosses 31. Of the printed circuit board 32 is received. The second printed circuit board 32 received on the upper surface of each boss 31 is locked by each claw piece 33 whose one long side is protruded inside the side wall portion 26 and the other side. On the long side, mounting screws 34 for fixing to the two bosses 31 with mounting screws 34 are screwed.
4 are positioned.

At two corners inside the upper case 24, screw holes 35 are formed which match the through holes 19 provided in the lower case 11 when the upper case 24 and the lower case 11 are overlapped. The upper case 24 has a locking hole 37 in which the locking piece 22 provided on the lower case 11 is locked.
Has been drilled. Reference numeral 38 denotes a bracket attached to the outer surface of the upper case 24.
The case can be attached to the vehicle body via the connector 8.

The above is the configuration of the lower case 11 and the upper case 24 according to the present embodiment.
1st and 2nd printed circuit boards 1
The assembly of the upper and lower cases 7 and 32 and the upper and lower cases 11 and 24 will be described.

First, a first printed circuit board 17 on which electronic components, connectors 14 and the like are mounted inside the lower case 11
After the first printed circuit board 17 is locked and positioned in the lower case 11 by the claw pieces 18, two corners of the long side on which the claw pieces 18 are locked are screwed into two places. 2
0 fixes it on the boss in the lower case 11.

Similarly, a second printed circuit board 32 on which electronic components, connectors 27 and the like are mounted is locked and positioned by claw pieces 33 inside the upper case 24.
Thereafter, the corner on the long side opposite to the long side locked and positioned by the claw side 33 is fixed on the boss 31 of the upper case 24 by the mounting screw 34.

In this manner, the first case
After the printed circuit board 17 is attached and the second printed circuit board 32 is installed in the upper case 24, the edge having the locking piece 22 provided in the lower case 11 and the upper case 24 are provided. The edge having the locking hole 37 is applied to the flange 21 of the lower case 11 as shown in FIG. 9 after making the edge having the locking hole 37 coincide with the edge having the locking hole 37. As an fulcrum, the opening of the upper case 24 and the opening of the lower case 11 rotate so as to overlap each other. The two side walls 13 and 30 are joined together such that the outer surface of the side wall 13 provided on the lower case 11 is joined to the inner surface of the expansion wall 30 of the upper case 24 and the lower case 1
By locking the locking piece 22 provided on the upper case 1 with the locking hole 37 provided on the upper case 24, the upper and lower cases 11, 24 are engaged and positioned (see FIG. 10).

Next, a through hole 19 is formed from the outside of the lower case 11.
As shown in FIG. 9, a mounting screw 39 is inserted into the boss 3 and the boss 3 provided on the upper case 24.
The screw 3 is screwed into the screw hole 35 so that the mounting screw 3
9 forms a case in which the lower case 11 and the upper case 24 are integrally fastened.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, a case is constituted by the lower case 11 and the upper case 24 which can be separated from each other, and the first printed circuit board 17 is assembled to the lower case 11. A second printed circuit board 32 is assembled to the upper case 24, and the lower case 11 and the upper case 24 are combined to form an integral case. When fixing the first printed circuit board 17 and the second printed circuit board 32 inside the case, the case and the printed circuit board
Since the printed circuit boards 17 and 32 can be positioned in the case 11.24 by the locking action of 8, 33,
Subsequent screwing work between the printed circuit boards 17 and 32 and the cases 11 and 24 can be performed extremely easily and smoothly. For this reason, the degree of the tentacles of the assembler on the surface (circuit formation surface) of the printed board is reduced. Further, side walls 13 and 26 erected or extended higher than the surfaces of the printed circuit boards 17 and 32 fixed in the cases are formed on the periphery of the lower case 11 and the upper case 24. Therefore, when the lower case 11 and the upper case 24 to which the printed boards 17 and 32 are fixed are handled, the tentacles on the printed board surface are easily blocked by the action of the side walls 13 and 26, and the printing is performed. Circuit damage due to electrostatic damage or corrosion of the substrate circuit can be prevented beforehand.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the circuit configuration surfaces of the first printed circuit board 17 and the second printed circuit board 23 fixed to the lower case 11 and the upper case 24 correspond to the lower case. Because of the structure surrounded by the side walls 13 and 26 formed on the upper case 11 and the upper case 24, when the upper and lower cases are assembled by the structure of the side walls, the circuit can be transferred to the printed circuit board circuit by the assembler. Tentacles are suppressed, and damage to the printed circuit board due to static electricity or disconnection due to corrosion can be avoided.

The claw pieces 18 and 33 for positioning the printed circuit board are provided inside the upper and lower cases 11 and 24 so that the printed circuit board can be inserted into the case by using the claw pieces 18 and 33. Effects such as greatly improving the mounting workability can be obtained. The corner of the side wall 13 formed upright at the periphery of the lower case 11 is formed as an R-shaped notch 23 so that the upper case 24 is connected to the lower case 1.
When rotating about one side as a fulcrum, the upper case and the lower case 11 are formed so as not to interfere with each other, so that the upper case and the lower case are separated or the two cases are assembled. The effect that work can be performed smoothly and easily is also obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a lower case and a first printed circuit board according to an embodiment of the present invention are fixed.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line II in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along a roll line in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where the upper case and the second printed circuit board according to the embodiment of the present invention are fixed.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Haha in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the Nini line in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory side view of the lower case and the upper case at the initial stage of assembly.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory sectional view of the lower case and the upper case when assembly is completed.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing a case structure of a conventional example.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of FIG. 11;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Lower case 12 ... Bottom plate part 13 ... Side wall part 14 ... Connector 15 ... Notch part 16 ... Boss 17 ... 1st printed circuit board 18 ... Claw piece 19 ... Through hole 20 ... Screw 21 ... Flange 22 ... Locking piece 23 ... Round cutout 24 ... Top case 25 ... Top plate 26 ... Sidewall 27 ... Connector 28 ... Notch 29 ... Step 30 ... Expansion wall 31 ... Boss 32 ... Second printed circuit board 33 ... Claw piece 34 ... Mounting screw 35 ... screw hole 36 ... boss 37 ... locking hole 38 ... bracket

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A lower case (11) having an open upper surface,
The lower case (11) is separate from the lower case (11) and comprises an upper case (24) having an open lower surface, and the lower case (11) and the upper case (24) are arranged such that the openings of both cases coincide. ), Wherein the upper surface of the bottom plate (12) of the lower case (11) and the lower surface of the upper plate (25) of the upper case (24) are first and second.
And a first printed circuit board laid inside the bottom plate (12) on the periphery of the bottom plate (12) of the lower case (11). A side wall portion (13) having a height protruding above the upper surface of (17) is erected except for a connector mounting portion, and a peripheral edge of an upper plate portion (25) of the upper case (24) is provided on the periphery thereof. The second printed circuit board (3) laid inside the upper plate (24)
Side wall portion (26) having a height protruding below the lower surface of (2).
Are extended except for the connector mounting portion, and the inner surfaces of the side walls (13) and (26) provided on the lower case (11) and the upper case (24) are further provided with a printed circuit board positioning position. A case structure characterized by protruding nail pieces (18) and (33). 2. The case structure according to claim 1, wherein
When opening the upper case (24) in an arc shape with one side of the lower case (11) as a fulcrum, the edge angle of the side wall (13) formed upright at the edge of the lower case (11). A case structure characterized in that the corner portion is formed as a rounded notch (23) so that the portion does not interfere with the side wall (30) provided in the upper case (24).