JPS6267661A - Compact electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the man-hours of forming by forming integrally an engaging device which engages and disengages from either of a lower and an upper cover and a protection cover. CONSTITUTION:When the upper cover 4 and protection cover 5 are engaged with each other, an engagement piece 28 is pressed down so as to close the cover 5 in an open state, and then the inside of an engagement part 28b receives an outward force while contacting the outside of the engaging piece 25 to deform by flexing. Further, when the upper end of the engagement part 28b is lowered below the engaging piece 25, the engagement part 28b moves to below the engaging piece 25 and a main body part 28a enters the gap of the engaging piece 25, so that the engaging piece 25 of the cover 4 engages the engaging piece 28 of the cover 5. When they are disengaged, the engaging piece 28 is made to deform by flexing outwardly and then lifted. Further, when the lower cover 3 and cover 5 are connected together, the forked part 18d of the connection piece 18c of the cover 5 is fitted in the through hole 18b of the connection piece 18a of the cover 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a small electronic device in which electronic components such as an RC and a display are housed inside a device cover.

[Prior art and its problems]

Small electronic devices, such as small electronic calculators, have a structure in which electronic components such as ICs and displays are housed in a device cover consisting of an upper and lower cover, and the top surface of this device cover is covered with a protective cover to protect it, making it portable. It is known to have a convenient shape. Conventionally, the lower cover, the upper cover, and the protective cover were molded separately, and then joined together to form the entire device cover. In this conventional case.

There is a problem in that a large number of molding steps are required to individually mold the lower cover, upper cover, and protective cover.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its purpose is to reduce the number of molding steps required for molding, reduce molding costs, and improve manufacturing efficiency. The goal is to provide equipment.

(Summary of the Invention) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a device cover that houses electronic components such as an IC and a display, and a protective cover that covers the top surface of the device cover and protects at least the display. Molded in one piece by connecting with bendable joints,
Furthermore, the device cover and the protective cover are integrally molded with engaging means for engaging and disengaging each other, thereby reducing the number of molding steps, reducing molding costs, and improving manufacturing efficiency. .

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a small electronic calculator as an example.

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a small electronic calculator to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the same as above, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of same as above.

The small electronic calculator 1 according to this embodiment is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.
As shown in the figure, a circuit board unit 6 including a solar cell 8 and a liquid crystal display 9 is housed in the housing section of the equipment cover 2, which is composed of a lower cover 3 and an upper cover 4, and the internal electronic components are protected. A protective cover 5 covers the upper surface of the upper cover 4. The lower cover 3 and the protective cover 5 are as follows.

They are integrally molded in a state where they are connected at a bendable connecting portion 18. The upper cover 4 is molded separately and assembled by joining to the lower cover.

To explain the details of each part below, one circuit board unit 6 includes a rectangular circuit board 7 made of a flexible material, and a solar cell 8 disposed on the upper surface side along one short side of this circuit board 7.
and a liquid crystal display 9 disposed across the upper and lower surfaces (not shown) of the circuit board 7 through a hole (not shown) in the circuit board 7 provided near the solar cell 8;
An LSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit) 10 is fixed to the lower surface of one long side of the circuit board 7 in the vicinity of It is composed of a split type movable contact 11 and pattern wiring (not shown). The upper surfaces of the solar cell 8 and the liquid crystal display 9 are at the road surface.

The lower cover 3 is made of hard synthetic resin such as styrene or ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene).
There is a frame part 12 that is raised one step around the upper part. The side surface of this frame portion 12 forms a stepped portion 12a and protrudes slightly. The lower cover 3 has a battery receiver part 13 for housing the solar cells 8 along one short side of the lowered upper surface inside the frame part 12, and a plurality of battery receivers arranged in parallel near the other short side. It has four circular parts 14. This circular recess 14 has a bottom 14b.
A small circular low protrusion 14b with a flat upper surface protrudes from the
is formed. The height of this protrusion 14b is the height of the circular recess 1
4, and a fixed contact 15 is provided on the top surface by hot stamping using carbon. In addition, the lower cover 3 has a substantially square deeper recess 16 for storing the LSI 10 on the upper surface near one long side, which is located approximately in the center between the two lamp sides, and a recess 16 that is approximately square and deeper than the battery receiver 13. It also has a recess 17 formed one step deeper. This recess 17 is for accommodating the liquid crystal display 9. Furthermore, the lower cover 3 is connected to a bendable connection 18 between the outer surface of the side part 3a and the side part 5a of the protective cover 5.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the upper cover 4.

The upper cover 4 has a key display and has transparent windows 20a and 20b in the four parts 19 that house the solar cell 8 and liquid crystal display 9 of one circuit board unit 6, and the upper part is entirely made of transparent rubber such as urethane elastomer. Cover body 21. A transparent protection J' that protects the decorative layer 23 formed on the upper cover body 21 and the decorative layer 23! Consists of 22. Of course transparent window part 20
There is no decorative layer in the main body portions corresponding to a and 20b. The upper cover main body 21 is attached to the lower cover 3 along the inner circumference of the side portion 4a.
It has a groove 24 into which the frame part 12 is fitted, corresponding to the frame part work 2, and an engagement piece 25 (second (Figure). Further, the upper cover 4 has a plurality of key button parts 27 projecting upward from the upper surface thereof, which are integrally formed and arranged in correspondence with the fixed contacts 15 provided on the lower cover 3. These key button parts 27 are supported by trapezoidal leg parts 27a and have a protruding part 27b on the inner surface of one head, and have ÷, x, +, . . . and 1. 2. 3...
A key display 27c such as the following is formed by printing.

When the protective cover 5 is closed, the side portion 5a faces downward, and an inverted letter-shaped engagement piece 28 is located on one long side of the side portion 5a at a position corresponding to the retaining piece 25 of the upper cover 4. It is integrally molded and protrudes downward, and on the inner surface side, there is a reinforcing part 5b parallel to the long side near the long side, and a reinforcing part 5C parallel to the short side approximately between the two short sides. is provided by integral molding.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the connecting portion 18 between the lower cover 3 and the protective cover 5. As shown in FIG. The lower cover 3 has a connecting piece 18a that is integrally molded and protrudes along the outer surface of the side portion 3a, and a plurality of through holes 18b are provided in the connecting piece 18a.

This through hole 18b is formed by a pin of a bottle set up in a mold during molding. The protective cover 5 is on the side 5
A connecting piece 18c made of a transparent rubber material is integrally molded and extended along one outer surface of the connecting piece 18c. This connecting piece 18c
is the first through hole 18 of the connection piece 18a of the lower cover 3 at the tip.
The bifurcated portion 18d that fits into the forked portion b and the bottle-shaped piece 18e within the bifurcated portion 18d are integrally formed. Further, the connecting piece 18c has a stepped portion 18f extending in the longitudinal direction to form a thin portion 18g approximately at the center in the width direction, and is bendable.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the retaining portion 29 between the upper cover 4 and the protective cover 5.

The two engaging pieces 25 protruding from the side portion 4a of the upper cover 4 form a square shape, are arranged at a predetermined interval, and have a shape in which the outer corner of the upper end is cut off diagonally. Slope 2
5a.

An inverted letter-shaped engagement piece 28 provided on the side portion 5a of the protective cover 5
The width of the main body portion 28a is slightly smaller than the inner dimension between the two engaging pieces 25 of the upper cover 1, and the inner corner of the lower end of the engaging portion 28b is cut off diagonally.

When the protective cover 5 is changed from the open state to the closed state, when the engagement H28 is pushed down, the tip of the engagement portion 28b hits the inclined surface 25a of the engagement piece 25 and is guided thereby.

The inner side of the engaging portion 28b contacts the outer side of the engaging piece 25 and receives an outward force, causing bending deformation. Furthermore, when the upper end surface of the engaging portion 28b is lower than the lower end surface of the engaging piece 25, the engaging piece 28b
returns inward due to its restoring force.

The engaging portion 28b is moved downwardly from the engaging piece 25, and the main body portion 28a is moved downwardly.
(Thus, the engaging piece 25 of the upper cover 4 and the engaging piece 28 of the protective cover 5 engage with each other. To disengage the engaging piece 28, All you have to do is bend it outward and lift it.

As shown in FIG. 3, the small-sized electronic calculator 1 having the above configuration has a circuit board unit 6 housed within the frame 12 of the lower cover 3, the circuit board unit 6 covered by the upper cover 4, and the lower part inserted into the groove 24 of the upper cover 4. The upper cover 4 and the lower cover 3 are joined by fitting the frame 12 of the cover 3, and if necessary, the lower cover 3 and the upper cover 4 are further fixed together with screws (not shown), and can be bent first. The upper cover 4 is covered with the protective cover 5 by bending at the connecting part 18, and the protective cover 5 is fixed to the upper cover 4 by the engaging piece 25 of the upper cover 4 and the engaging piece 28 of the protective cover 5. As shown in Figure 1, it can be made into a form that is convenient to carry.

When using the small electronic calculator 1, the engaging portion 29 is disengaged and the protective cover 5 is opened. Desired key button section 2
Press 7 from the north with your fingertips.

The leg portion 27a of the key button portion 27 is deformed and lowered,
The lower surface of the protrusion 27b presses the circuit board 7. The pressed portion of the circuit board 7 bends downward.

The split movable contact 11 contacts the corresponding fixed contact 15 and becomes electrically conductive. When the key button part 27 is released from being pressed, the one leg part 27a does not deform (and rises), and the pressure by the protruding part 27b is released, and the circuit board 7 no longer bends, and the split movable contact 11 is separated from the fixed contact 15. death,
Electrical continuity is broken.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining an example of the method for manufacturing the upper cover 4 according to the present invention, but details are omitted for easy understanding.

The mold used here consists of a lower mold 30 and an upper mold 31, and the lower mold 30 is a rotary mold that can rotate along a horizontal plane, - a cavity 40 for blow molding and a cavity 40 for secondary molding. The secondary molding cavity 41 is larger than the primary molding cavity 40 by the thickness of the transparent protective layer 22.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of the thermal transfer sheet 32 used when forming the decoration I'1i23 on the upper cover 4. As shown in FIG. The base sheet 32a is made of polyester film and has a thickness of about 25 μm. Decorative Fi 32 c with a thickness of 20 μm to 30 μm is provided on the lower surface of the base sheet 32a via a release layer 32b with a thickness of several μm. This decoration N
A key display 27c (FIGS. 2 and 3) is printed in advance on the upper surface of 32c, and a heat-meltable adhesive layer 3 is formed on the lower surface.
2d is the applied one. When this thermal transfer sheet 32 is heated with the adhesive layer 32d in contact with the upper cover 4, the adhesive layer 32d is melted by the heat, and after the decorative layer 32c is in close contact with the adhesive layer 32c, the base sheet is peeled off from the peeler 132b to decorate the upper cover 4. It is something to do.

The manufacturing method for forming the upper cover 4 by integral molding is performed in the following order.

■Place the thermal transfer sheet 32 in the cavity 40.

The lower mold 30 and upper mold 31 are combined. At this time, the thermal transfer sheet 32 is flat.

(2) A transparent rubber material such as urethane elastomer is injected into the mold through the injection hole 33 and primary molding is performed to form the upper cover body 21.

■ Separate the lower mold 30 from the upper mold 31.

(2) Peel off the base sheet 32a of the thermal transfer sheet 32.

A decorative layer 23 of the upper cover 4 is formed.

■ Rotate the lower mold 30 and align it with the upper mold 31 on the secondary molding side.

(2) A transparent resin such as hard styrene is poured onto the decorative layer 23 through the injection hole 34 provided in the upper mold 31.

ABS, polypropylene, soft vinyl chloride.

A transparent protective layer 22 having a thickness of 0.11 tm or more, preferably 0.3 tm or more is formed by injecting urethane elastomer or the like into a mold, and the upper cover is integrally formed.

At this time, the above-mentioned secondary forming and secondary forming are performed simultaneously.

According to the above embodiment of the invention, the decorative layer 2 of the upper cover 4
3, a transparent protective layer 22 with a thickness of 0.11 m or more is formed on the upper cover 4, so the mounting including the key display 27c of the upper cover 4 is 5 yen.
The layer 23 is sufficiently protected.

Since the thickness of the transparent protective layer 22 can be made to be 0.3n+ or more, it is possible not only to protect the decorative layer 23 but also to provide a luxurious feel with a luster that can be called crystal-like. Since the decorative layer 23 of the upper cover 4 is formed using the thermal transfer sheet 32, the decorative layer 23 can be reliably formed even on the uneven sides without being affected by the presence or absence of unevenness of the upper cover 4 etc. or the elasticity of the material. The lower cover 3 can be inserted into the groove 24 formed along the inner peripheral surface of the side portion 4a of the upper cover 4.
The upper cover 4 and the lower cover 3 are joined by fitting the frame part 12, which is convenient and looks good.

The lower cover 3 has a protruding part 14b protruding from the bottom of the circular four part 14, and the fixed contact 15 formed on the upper surface of the protruding part 14b is located below the upper surface of the frame part 12 and is attached to the lower cover 3.
Since the fixed contact 15 itself is provided, there is also the advantage that there is no need to separately provide a spacer between the movable contact 11 and the fixed contact 15.

In addition, since the upper cover 4 is integrally molded using a rotary mold, the secondary molding and secondary molding can be performed at the same time, making manufacturing efficient. Since the engaging pieces 25 and 28 of the engaging portion 29 are each formed by integral molding, manufacturing is efficient and economical.

Note that the lower cover 3 is integrally molded with the protective cover 5.
The upper cover 4 may be used instead. The upper cover 4 and the protective cover 5 may not be made of different materials, but may be molded from the same material. In this case, the hard material is polypropylene, and the elastic material is a resin material such as urethane. Further, the upper cover 4 and the lower cover 3 may be joined together by screws instead of by fitting the frame 12 of the lower cover 3 into the groove 24 of the upper cover 4, or in addition to this,
It may be the lower cover 3 that engages with the protective cover 5 . Furthermore, the decorative layer 23 of the upper cover 4 may be formed as a fully curved vapor-deposited layer instead of using the thermal transfer sheet 32.
Alternatively, it may be formed by metal foil laminate.

〔Effect of the invention〕

A protective cover is integrally molded with at least one of an upper cover and a lower cover that form a device cover for storing electronic components, and either one of the upper cover and the lower cover and the protective cover are engaged with each other in a detachable manner. Because the means are integrally molded.

It is possible to provide a compact electronic device that can reduce molding man-hours, reduce molding costs, and improve manufacturing efficiency.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings all relate to embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a small electronic calculator to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the same as above. FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view showing the state in which the protective cover is opened. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the upper cover. FIG. 5(a) is a partially enlarged vertical sectional view of the lower cover. FIG. 5(b) is a partially enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing the connecting portion between the lower cover and the protective cover. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an engaging portion between the upper cover and the protective cover. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a method for manufacturing the upper cover, and FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a thermal transfer sheet for forming a decorative layer. ■...Small electronic calculator. 2...Equipment cover. 3...Lower cover. 4...Top cover. 5...Protective cover. 6...Circuit board unit. 8...Solar battery. 9...Liquid crystal display. 11...Movable contact. 15...Fixed contact. 16.17... recess. 18... Connection part. 20a, 20b...i3 light window section. 21... Upper cover body. 22...Transparent protective layer. 23... Decorative layer. 25...Engagement piece. 27...Key button part. 28...Engagement piece. 29...Engagement part. Patent Applicant: Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Vertical nail surface view Figure 3, #+ I Chu map Figure 4 Leverage side view (b) Figure 5 Vertical jet surface view

Claims (1)

[Claims] A bendable connection between at least one of an upper cover and a lower cover forming a device cover that houses electronic components including a display body and a protective cover that covers an upper surface of the device cover and protects at least the display body. 1. A small electronic device, characterized in that the device is integrally molded by connecting the upper cover and the lower cover, and an engaging means for engaging and disengaging with each other is integrally molded on one of the upper cover and the lower cover and the protective cover.