Cover fitting structure and cover fitting method

Abstract

To provide a cover fitting structure that makes it possible to prevent the rotation of the cover when securing it with screws and improve a user's ease of work.SOLUTION: The cover fitting structure comprises: a substrate 2 on which an electronic component 3 is mounted; a fixing member 7 having first and second bosses 6a, 6b vertically arranged on the substrate 2, and a female thread section 8 at the tip of the boss 6 and a male thread section 9a; and a sheet-like cover 4 secured to the boss 6 by a plurality of fixing members 7. The cover 4 has a first fixing part 14 and a second fixing part 15. The first fixing part 14 has a first through-hole 16, and the second fixing part 15 includes a second through-hole 17 which the second boss 6b can be inserted into and a third through-hole 21. A section (projecting piece 13) where the third through-hole 21 is formed is secured to the second boss 6b by the fixing member 7 overlapping the second boss 6b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cover mounting structure and a cover mounting method for covering electronic components mounted on a circuit board of an electronic device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, covers are sometimes provided on the circuit boards of electronic devices to cover the electronic components, in order to protect the electronic components, prevent workers from touching the electronic components that generate heat, prevent workers from getting electric shocks, and provide static insulation. An example of this type of cover is described in Patent Document 1. The cover disclosed in Patent Document 1 is formed to shield electronic components on a board, and is fixed to the board with a plurality of screw members. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-27416 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When a cover for an electronic component is attached to a circuit board, it is often done by fastening the cover at least at two points, which are both ends of the cover. In this cover attachment structure, when the first screw is tightened, a rotational force is transmitted from the screw to the cover, causing the cover to rotate in the same direction. To prevent this rotation from damaging the electronic component, the cover must be held down while tightening the screw. In other words, with conventional cover attachment structures, the screw must be tightened and the cover held down simultaneously, which reduces the workability of the cover attachment process.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a cover mounting structure and mounting method that can prevent the cover from rotating when fastening screws and improve the user's workability. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve this object, the cover mounting structure according to the present invention comprises a substrate on which an electronic component is mounted, at least two bosses provided on the substrate, female threaded portions formed at the tips of the bosses, fixing members having male threaded portions that are screwed into the female threaded portions, and a sheet-like cover fixed to the bosses by a plurality of the fixing members in a state in which the cover covers the electronic component, the cover having a first fixing portion fixed to a first boss that is one of the at least two bosses by the fixing members, and a second boss that is the other boss by the fixing member. and a second fixing portion including an anti-rotation structure, the first fixing portion having a first through hole through which only the male thread portion of the fixing member can be inserted, the second fixing portion including a second through hole formed so that the second boss can be inserted and constituting the anti-rotation structure, and a third through hole through which only the male thread portion of the fixing member can be inserted, the portion of the cover where the third through hole is formed overlaps the second boss inserted into the second through hole and is fixed to the second boss by another fixing member having the male thread portion passed through the third through hole.

[0007] In the cover mounting structure of the present invention, the cover is formed from a flexible material, the first fixing portion is provided on one side of the cover, the second fixing portion is provided on the other side of the cover, and the portion of the cover in which the third through hole is formed is formed so as to be a protruding piece adjacent to the main body of the cover having the second through hole, and may be bent at the boundary with the main body and overlapped on the second boss.

[0008] The present invention is a cover mounting method for mounting the cover to the boss in the cover mounting structure, which is a method carried out by a first step of inserting the second boss into the second through hole, a second step of inserting the male threaded portion of the fixing member into the first through hole and fixing the first fixing portion to the first boss with this fixing member, a third step of overlapping the part in which the third through hole is formed on the second boss, and a fourth step of fixing the part to the second boss with another fixing member having the male threaded portion inserted into the third through hole. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cover mounting structure and mounting method that can prevent the cover from rotating when fastening screws and improve workability for the user. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an assembly to which a cover is attached by a cover attachment structure according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cover mounting structure. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the cover. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a method for attaching the cover. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which the cover is placed on the boss. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the second boss is inserted into the second through hole. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the first fixing portion is fixed to the first boss. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which the protruding piece is bent. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the fixed state of the first fixing portion. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the fixed state of the second fixing portion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a cover mounting structure and a cover mounting method according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. The assembly 1 shown in Fig. 1 has electronic components 3 mounted on a substrate 2, which is depicted at the bottom of the figure, and a sheet-like cover 4 attached to cover the electronic components 3. Although not shown in detail, the electronic components 3 include components that use high voltages, components that become hot, and components that have low resistance to static electricity.

[0012] The electronic component 3 is covered with a cover 4 to prevent, for example, users or workers from touching the electronic component 3, to protect the electronic component 3, to prevent contact with the electronic component 3 that generates heat, to prevent electric shock, and to provide static insulation. The cover 4 is formed from an insulating, elastically deformable plastic sheet material, and is attached to the substrate 2 by a cover attachment structure 5 according to the present invention.

[0013] As shown in Fig. 2, the cover mounting structure 5 according to this embodiment is a structure in which the cover 4 is placed on two bosses 6 provided on the substrate 2 and fixed with two fixing members 7. The number of bosses 6 is not limited to two. In other words, the cover 4 can be fixed to the substrate 2 at three or more locations on the cover 4 by the bosses 6 and fixing members 7, respectively.

[0014] The component mounting surface of the substrate 2 is formed in a rectangular shape. Bosses 6 are provided on both ends of the substrate 2 in the longitudinal direction, on a diagonal line that crosses the substrate 2 obliquely. The boss 6 is formed in the shape of a hexagonal pillar and is fixed upright on the substrate 2 so as to be perpendicular to the substrate 2. A female screw portion 8 is provided at the tip of the boss 6 on the side opposite the substrate 2. In the following, in order to distinguish between the two bosses 6, the boss 6 located on the upper right side in FIG. 2 will be referred to as the first boss 6a, and the other boss 6 located on the lower left side will be referred to as the second boss 6b.

[0015] The fixing member 7 is composed of a screw member 9, a spring washer 10, and a plain washer 11. The screw member 9 has an external thread portion 9a and a head portion 9b. The spring washer 10 is disposed between the plain washer 11 and the head portion 9b of the screw member 9. The external thread portion 9a of the screw member 9 is formed to screw into the internal thread portion 8 of the boss 6. The outer diameter of the plain washer 11 is larger than the diameter of the tip portion of the boss 6.

[0016] The cover 4 according to this embodiment is composed of a main body 12 formed in a flat plate shape and a protrusion 13 connected to one end of the main body 12. The main body 12 is formed in a rectangular shape in a plan view so as to be large enough to cover the electronic components 3 on the substrate 2 from above. The cover 4 has a first fixing portion 14 and a second fixing portion 15 at both longitudinal ends, on a diagonal line that crosses the main body 12. The first fixing portion 14 is located on one side of the cover 4 opposite the protruding piece 13, and has a first through-hole 16. The first through-hole 16 is formed so that only the male thread portion 9a of the fixing member 7 can be inserted therethrough. As shown in FIG. 3(A), the opening shape of the first through-hole 16 in this embodiment is an ellipse that is long in the longitudinal direction of the main body 12. The minor axis of the ellipse that is the opening shape of the first through-hole 16 is smaller than the diameter of the tip of the boss 6. FIG. 3(A) is a plan view of the cover 4, FIG. 3(B) is a side view of the cover 4, and FIG. 3(C) is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 3(A).

[0017] The first fixing portion 14 is fixed to the first boss 6a, which is one of the two bosses 6, 6, by a fixing member 7. The second fixing portion 15 is located on the other side opposite to the first fixing portion 14, and includes a second through-hole 17 penetrating the main body 12, and a protruding piece 13. The second through-hole 17 is a hole that cooperates with the second boss 6b to form an anti-rotation structure 18 (see FIG. 6), and is formed so that the second boss 6b can be inserted therethrough.

[0018] The protrusion 13 is adjacent to the main body 12 and is formed in a plate shape by partially cutting and raising a portion of the end of the cover 4. A third through-hole 21 is formed in the protrusion 13. The protrusion 13 is formed in a plate shape that extends in a direction perpendicular to the main body 12 of the cover 4 and in the longitudinal direction of the cover 4. As shown in FIG. 3(B), the shape of the protrusion 13 is a rectangle that is long in the direction perpendicular to the main body 12.

[0019] The protrusion 13 in this embodiment is formed so as to stand perpendicular to the main body 12 during the manufacturing process of the cover 4 and to maintain that standing shape. In other words, the cover 4 has the protrusion 13 standing perpendicular to the main body 12 in the manufactured state. The third through hole 21 is formed so that only the male thread portion 9a of the fixing member 7 can be inserted therethrough. The opening shape of the third through hole 21 is an ellipse that is long in the longitudinal direction of the protrusion 13.

[0020] Next, a method for attaching the cover 4 configured as described above to the substrate 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 4. To attach the cover 4 to the substrate 2, first, as shown in Fig. 5, the cover 4 is placed on two bosses 6, 6 that have been previously provided on the substrate 2. Then, the side portion (second fixing portion 15) of the cover 4 on which the protruding piece 13 is provided is pressed toward the substrate 2, and the second boss 6b is inserted into the second through-hole 17 as shown in Fig. 6 (first step S1). In this state, the anti-rotation structure 18 is realized.

[0021] Thereafter, the male thread portion 9a of the fixing member 7 is inserted into the first through-hole 16, and as shown in FIG. 7, the first fixing portion 14 of the cover 4 is fixed to the first boss 6a with this fixing member 7 (second step S2). At this time, the first fixing portion 14 overlaps the upper surface of the first boss 6a as shown in FIG. 9, and is pressed from above by the flat washer 11 of the fixing member 7, thereby fixing it to the first boss 6a. When the screw member 9 is screwed into the female thread portion 8 with the flat washer 11 in contact with the first fixing portion 14, a rotational force is transmitted from the flat washer 11 to the first fixing portion 14. However, at this time, the second boss 6b is inserted into the second through-hole 17 of the second fixing portion 15 of the cover 4 and is prevented from rotating, so the cover 4 does not rotate.

[0022] Next, protrusion 13 is bent at bent portion 13a (see FIG. 2) which is the boundary with main body 12, and overlaps second boss 6b as shown in FIG. 8 (third step S3). At this time, protrusion 13 is bent in the width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of cover 4. After that, male thread portion 9a of another fixing member 7 is screwed into female thread portion 8 of second boss 6b through third through hole 21, and protrusion 13 is fixed to second boss 6b as shown in FIG. 1 (fourth step S4). At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, a part of main body 12 which becomes second fixing portion 15 of cover 4 is positioned closer to board 2 than protrusion 13 (lower side in FIG. 10), and protrusion 13 overlaps the upper surface of second boss 6b, and is pressed from above by flat washer 11 of fixing member 7 to be fixed to second boss 6b.

[0023] By fixing the protrusion 13 to the second boss 6b, the second fixing portion 15 does not float and come off the second boss 6b (the anti-rotation structure 18 does not disappear), and the first and second fixing portions 14, 15 of the cover 4 are fixed to the substrate 2. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a cover mounting structure that can prevent the cover 4 from rotating when fixing the screws, thereby improving the user's workability.

[0024] Incidentally, to prevent the second fixing portion 15 from floating and coming off the second boss 6b when the second boss 6b is inserted into the second through-hole 17 to achieve the anti-rotation structure 18, a screw member (not shown) having a diameter larger than the diameter of the second through-hole 17 can be screwed into the female thread portion 8 of the second boss 6b. Such a screw member is specially manufactured and expensive. By placing the protrusion 13 over the second through-hole 17 as shown in this embodiment, the protrusion 13 can prevent the cover 4 from floating. Furthermore, the second fixing portion 15 can be fixed to the second boss 6b using the same fixing member 7 as the fixing member 7 that fixes the first fixing portion 14 to the first boss 6a. In other words, it is possible to use the fixing member 7, which is a commonly available, inexpensive part.

[0025] The cover 4 according to this embodiment is made of a flexible material. The first fixing portion 14 is provided on one side of the cover 4, and the second fixing portion 15 is provided on the other side of the cover 4. The portion of the cover 4 where the third through-hole 21 is formed is formed to form a protruding piece 13 adjacent to the main body 12 of the cover 4, which has the second through-hole 17. This protruding piece 13 is bent at the boundary with the main body 12 and overlaps the second boss 6b. Therefore, the portion that overlaps the second through-hole 17 is clearly defined, and the operation of attaching the cover 4 to the substrate 2 can be performed even more easily.

[0026] The method for attaching the cover in this embodiment includes a first step S1 of inserting the second boss 6b into the second through hole 17, a second step S2 of fixing the first fixing portion 14 to the first boss 6a with a fixing member 7, a third step S3 of overlapping the protrusion 13 on the second boss 6b, and a fourth step of fixing the protrusion 13 to the second boss 6b with another fixing member 7. Therefore, according to the cover mounting method of this embodiment, the cover 4 can be mounted by screwing in two times, so that the mounting work of the cover 4 can be completed in a short time.

[0027] The protruding piece 13 in this embodiment is formed to stand upright relative to the main body 12 during the process of manufacturing the cover 4. This makes it possible to make the worker aware that the protruding piece 13 is to be placed on the second boss 6b, and the protruding piece 13 is reliably fixed to the second boss 6b. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 1...assembly, 2...board, 3...electronic component, 4...cover, 5...cover mounting structure, 6...boss, 6a...first boss, 6b...second boss, 7...fixing member, 8...female threaded portion, 9a...male threaded portion, 13...projection piece, 14...first fixing portion, 15...second fixing portion, 16...first through hole, 17...second through hole, 18...anti-rotation structure, 21...third through hole, S1...first step, S2...second step, S3...third step, S4...fourth step.

Claims

1. A substrate on which electronic components are mounted; At least two bosses provided on the substrate; a female thread portion formed at a tip end of the boss; a fixing member having a male thread portion that is screwed into the female thread portion; a sheet-like cover fixed to the boss by a plurality of the fixing members in a state of covering the electronic component, the cover has a first fixing portion fixed by the fixing member to a first boss that is one of the at least two bosses, and a second fixing portion fixed by the fixing member to a second boss that is the other boss and includes a rotation prevention structure; the first fixing portion has a first through-hole through which only the male thread portion of the fixing member can be inserted, the second fixing portion includes a second through hole through which the second boss is inserted to form the anti-rotation structure, and a third through hole through which only the male thread portion of the fixing member can be inserted, A cover mounting structure characterized in that the portion of the cover in which the third through hole is formed overlaps the second boss inserted into the second through hole, and is fixed to the second boss by another fixing member having the male thread portion passed through the third through hole.

2. The cover mounting structure according to claim 1, the cover is made of a flexible material; the first fixing portion is provided on one side of the cover, the second fixing portion is provided on the other side portion of the cover, A cover mounting structure characterized in that the portion of the cover in which the third through hole is formed is formed so as to become a protrusion adjacent to the main body of the cover having the second through hole, and is overlapped on the second boss in a bent state at the boundary with the main body.

3. 2. A cover mounting method for mounting the cover to the boss in the cover mounting structure according to claim 1, comprising: a first step of inserting the second boss into the second through hole; a second step of inserting the male thread portion of the fixing member into the first through hole and fixing the first fixing portion to the first boss with the fixing member; a third step of overlapping the portion in which the third through hole is formed on the second boss; and a fourth step of fixing the part to the second boss with another fixing member having the male thread portion inserted into the third through hole.

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