Housing structure for portable electronic device

Abstract

The present application provides a portable electronic device shell structure, characterized by comprising a first shell, a plurality of accommodating members, a second shell, a plurality of studs and a plurality of screws. The accommodating members are respectively arranged on a first surface of the first shell to form accommodating spaces. The studs are respectively arranged on a second surface of the second shell and correspond to the accommodating spaces. The screws are respectively arranged in the accommodating spaces and partially pass through the accommodating members to be locked to the corresponding studs, so that the first shell and the second shell are assembled together to form an assembly, and the first surface and the second surface are internal surfaces of the assembly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a housing structure, and more particularly to a housing structure for a portable electronic device. Background Technology

[0002] Generally speaking, portable electronic devices, such as laptops or tablets, often use snap-fit ​​structures as the common medium for their casings to be connected. These snap-fit ​​structures allow the casings to be held together in a state of mutual fastening from multiple dimensions.

[0003] However, in recent years, with the trend of portable electronic devices becoming thinner and lighter, and the narrow bezel design applied to display screens, existing snap-fit ​​structures can no longer be used. The reason is that in order to keep the casing in a multi-dimensional fastening state, there must be enough space to set up and arrange these snap-fit ​​structures.

[0004] While the above objectives can be achieved by reducing the size of these hook structures, this leads to problems such as a weakened housing structure. Therefore, how to provide a housing structure that meets the above requirements is a problem that those skilled in the art need to consider and solve. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention relates to a housing structure for a portable electronic device, which simplifies the assembly and disassembly process and provides a clean appearance through a concealed locking mechanism.

[0006] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the housing structure of a portable electronic device includes a first housing, a plurality of accommodating members, a second housing, a plurality of studs, and a plurality of screws. Each accommodating member is disposed on a first surface of the first housing to form an accommodating space. The studs are respectively disposed on a second surface of the second housing and correspond to the accommodating spaces. Each screw is disposed in an accommodating space and partially passes through a accommodating member to lock onto a corresponding stud, thereby assembling the first housing and the second housing together to form an assembly, wherein the first surface and the second surface are the internal surfaces of the assembly.

[0007] Based on the above, since the stud is disposed on the second surface of the second housing, while the screw and housing are disposed on the first surface of the first housing, and when the first and second housings are assembled into an assembly using screws and studs, the first and second surfaces become the internal surfaces of the assembly. Therefore, the aforementioned locking mechanism essentially forms a concealed locking mechanism for the housing structure of a portable electronic device. In this way, in addition to simplifying the locking mechanism and locking process, the external surface of the housing structure can maintain a clean appearance. Attached Figure Description

[0008] Figure 1 It is a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0009] Figure 2A and Figure 2B They are Figure 1 A partial cross-sectional view of a portable electronic device;

[0010] Figure 2C It is a partial cross-sectional view of a portable electronic device in another mode of operation;

[0011] Figure 3A This is a partial schematic diagram of the casing structure according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0012] Figure 3B yes Figure 3A A schematic diagram of the locking mechanism. Detailed Implementation

[0013] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same component reference numerals are used in the drawings and description to denote the same or similar parts.

[0014] Figure 1 It is a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2A and Figure 2B They are Figure 1 A partial cross-sectional view of a portable electronic device. Please refer to [the original text]. Figure 1 As shown in Figure 2, in this embodiment, the portable electronic device 100, taking a laptop computer as an example, includes a first body 110, a second body 120, an input module 130, a display module 140, and a hinge module 150. The first body 110 and the second body 120 are connected together by the hinge module 150 and can rotate relative to each other to open and close. The input module 130 is disposed in the first body 110, and the display module 140 is disposed in the second body 120.

[0015] Here, the housing structure of the portable electronic device 100 is either the first housing 110 or the second housing 120. In this embodiment, the first housing 110 is used as an example, and the second housing 120 may adopt the same or similar structure.

[0016] Figure 2A and Figure 2B They are Figure 1 A partial cross-sectional view of a portable electronic device. Figure 2C This is a partial cross-sectional view of a portable electronic device operating in another mode. Please refer to [the relevant documentation / reference]. Figure 1 , Figure 2A and Figure 2BIn this embodiment, the housing structure of the portable electronic device 100 further includes a first housing 111 and a second housing 112 of the first body 110, a plurality of accommodating members 114, a plurality of studs 113, and a plurality of screws 115. Each accommodating member 114 is disposed on a first surface S1 of the first housing 111 to form an accommodating space 114a. Each stud 113 is disposed on a second surface S2 of the second housing 112, corresponding to the opening 114b of the accommodating member 114 and the accommodating space 114a. Each screw 115 is disposed in the accommodating space 114a and partially passes through the opening 114b of the accommodating member 114 to be fastened to the corresponding stud 113. After fastening, the first housing 111 and the second housing 112 can be assembled together to form an assembly (equivalent to the first body 110), and the first surface S1 and the second surface S2 are the internal surfaces of the assembly.

[0017] In this embodiment, the housing structure (also the first body 110) further includes multiple magnets 116, each disposed on the head of a screw 115. Therefore, the screw 115 is adapted to be driven by a magnetic tool T1 via the magnets 116 to engage with or disengage from the corresponding stud 113, such as... Figure 2A As shown.

[0018] Next, please refer to Figure 2C And compare Figure 2A or Figure 2B Because magnet 116 has different magnetic poles, therefore Figure 2A The diagram shows a user placing a magnetic tool T1 outside the second housing 112 (facing away from the second surface S2) to magnetically attract a screw 115 with a magnet 116 attached to it. This causes the screw 115 to move away from the first surface S1 of the first housing 111 and rotate with the magnetic tool T1, thus smoothly locking the screw 115 into the stud 113 with an internal threaded hole. Conversely, moving the screw 115 away from the stud 113 unlocks it, causing it to fall back onto the first surface S1 of the first housing 111.

[0019] In contrast, Figure 2C Another magnetic tool T2 is used, placed outside the first housing 111 (facing away from the first surface S1) and used to generate magnetic repulsion force on the magnet 116. Thus, the screw 115 can also be driven away from the first surface S1, and the screw 115 can be rotated to lock into the stud 113 or unlock from the stud 113.

[0020] Please refer to this again. Figure 2A , Figure 2B or Figure 2CIn this embodiment, the receiving member 114 is made of, for example, plastic and is fixed to the first surface S1 of the first housing 111 by a hot-melt process. As a receiving member 114 for accommodating and positioning screws 115, in addition to forming a receiving space 114a with the first housing 111, the screw 115 can also be positioned in the receiving space 114a through an opening 114b. The opening 114b connects the receiving space 114a with the corresponding stud 113, and the threaded post of each screw 115 passes through the opening 114b and is locked to the corresponding stud 113. Here, "positioning" refers to confining the screw 115 to the first housing 111 to ensure that the screw 115 can be smoothly aligned with the stud 113 during the assembly process of the first housing 111 and the second housing 112 by a robotic arm. In other words, once the relative positions and correspondences of the aforementioned housing components 114, screws 115, and studs 113 are established during the design phase of the housing structure in this embodiment, automated (without manual intervention) online assembly operations can be performed using automated equipment (including the aforementioned robotic arm), and as... Figure 1 The portable electronic device 100 shown maintains a simple appearance.

[0021] Figure 3A This is a partial schematic diagram of the casing structure according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3B yes Figure 3A A schematic diagram of the locking mechanism. Please also refer to... Figure 3A and Figure 3B Unlike the previous embodiments, the screw 215 in this embodiment has a gear head 215a and a stud body 215b, and the housing structure of the portable electronic device also includes a rack 250, which is movably disposed on the first surface S1 of the first housing 212. The gear head 215a (partial teeth) of the screw 215 is located on the action path of the rack 250, so that the screw 215 is locked to or unlocked from the stud 113 by being driven by the rack 250.

[0022] Furthermore, the rack 250 has teeth 252 and a handle 251, which moves on the first surface S1 of the first housing 212. The handle 251 can be movably extended through the opening 212b out of the first housing 212. Preferably, a rib 212e is provided on the first surface S1 inside the first housing 212 to guide the rack 250. At the same time, the user can hold the part of the handle 251 that extends out of the first housing 212 to drive the rack 250. Similar to the aforementioned embodiment, when the rack 250 moves on the first surface S1, it will sequentially pass through multiple screws 215, thereby driving the screw head 215a to lock the stud body 215b into the corresponding stud 113 and move away from the first surface S1, or unlock from the corresponding stud 113 and fall back to the first surface S1. In other words, in this embodiment, the length of the teeth 252 of the rack 250 along its direction of movement is less than the distribution distance of the multiple screws 215 along the direction of movement, so that the teeth 252 actually pass through these screws 215 in sequence. Conversely, if it is desired to unlock the screws 215 from the studs 113, the rack 250 can be driven in the opposite direction. Therefore, the first body 212 also has an opening 212c on the other side, relative to the aforementioned opening 212b, to facilitate the passage of the rack 250.

[0023] It should also be mentioned that, such as Figure 3A As shown, the receiving member 214 in this embodiment is actually inverted U-shaped, that is, the gear head 215a of each screw 215 protrudes from the receiving member 214 and is rotatably coupled to the rack 250.

[0024] On the other hand, the first body 212 of this embodiment also has two other openings 212a and 212d that are opposite to each other, so that another rack 250 (not shown) can be accommodated and the drive gear head 215a protrudes from the other side of the accommodating member 214 to achieve the same motion state of driving the screw 215 to rotate.

[0025] In summary, in the above embodiments of the present invention, based on the above, since the stud is disposed on the second surface of the second housing, and the screw and housing are disposed on the first surface of the first housing, and when the first housing and the second housing are assembled into an assembly by corresponding screws and studs, the first surface and the second surface are the internal surfaces of the assembly. Accordingly, the above-mentioned locking mechanism essentially forms a hidden locking mechanism for the housing structure of a portable electronic device. In this way, in addition to simplifying the locking mechanism and locking process, the external surface of the housing structure can also maintain a clean appearance.

[0026] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A housing structure for a portable electronic device, characterized in that, include: First shell; Multiple accommodating members are each disposed on the first surface of the first housing to form an accommodating space; Second shell; Multiple studs are respectively disposed on the second surface of the second housing and correspond to the multiple accommodating spaces; as well as Multiple screws, each disposed in the accommodating space and partially passing through the accommodating member to be locked to the corresponding stud, assemble the first housing and the second housing together to form an assembly, wherein the first surface and the second surface are the internal surfaces of the assembly, each screw has a gear head, and the housing structure of the portable electronic device also includes a rack movably disposed in the first housing, wherein the multiple gear heads of the multiple screws are located on the movement path of the rack, so that the multiple screws are sequentially driven by the rack to be locked to or unlocked from the multiple studs, the rack moves on the first surface, and each screw is locked to the corresponding stud and moves away from the first surface, or unlocked from the corresponding stud and falls back to the first surface, the length of the rack is less than the distribution distance of the multiple screws.

2. The housing structure of the portable electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes multiple magnets, each disposed on one of the multiple screws.

3. The housing structure of the portable electronic device according to claim 2, characterized in that, Each of the screws is adapted to be driven by a magnetic tool via the magnet to engage with or disengage from the corresponding stud.

4. The housing structure of the portable electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the aforementioned accommodating components is made of plastic and is fixed to the first housing by a hot-melt process.

5. The housing structure of the portable electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the accommodating members has an opening that connects the accommodating space with the corresponding stud, and the threaded post of each screw passes through the opening and is locked to the corresponding stud.

6. The housing structure of the portable electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The rack has a pull handle that extends movably through the first housing.

7. The housing structure of the portable electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The gear head of each screw protrudes from the receiving member and is rotatably coupled to the rack.

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