Resin housing and electronic device

Abstract

To provide an electronic device capable of improving a reading property of printed characters.SOLUTION: An electronic device 101 includes a circuit board 10, a base 20 having a base portion 21 and housing the circuit board, and a cover 30. The base includes a printing area on an outer surface S1 of the base portion 21 where printing is performed, and an uneven portion 25 provided in an area facing the printing area on an inner surface S2 of the base. The base also includes a reinforcing member 61 disposed between the printing area and the uneven portion to maintain a flatness of the printing area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a resin housing and an electronic device. [Background technology]

[0002] An example of an electronic device is an electronic device disclosed in Patent Document 1. The electronic device includes a wiring board and a housing. The housing includes ribs that come into contact with the wiring board. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-64040 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, electronic devices may be configured with a resin housing with printing on the outer surface. If the resin housing has ribs as in Patent Document 1, the flatness of the outer surface may be impaired. As a result, the electronic device and the resin housing have poor readability of the printing.

[0005] One disclosed object is to provide a resin housing capable of improving the readability of printed characters. Another disclosed object is to provide an electronic device capable of improving the readability of printed characters. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The resin housing disclosed herein is A resin housing having a wall portion (21), a printing area (PA) on the outer surface (S1) of the wall portion where printing is performed; a concave-convex portion (25) provided in an area facing the printing area on the inner surface (S2) of the wall portion; The printer is provided with reinforcing members (61-63) that are installed between the print area and the uneven portion of the wall portion to maintain the flatness of the print area.

[0007] In this way, the resin housing is provided with a reinforcing member, which allows the print area to be flattened, thereby suppressing the disturbance of reflected light when reading the print, and improving the readability of the print.

[0008] The electronic device disclosed herein comprises: An electronic device comprising a circuit board (10) and a resin housing (20, 30) having a wall (21) and accommodating the circuit board, The resin housing is a printing area (PA) on the outer surface (S1) of the wall portion where printing is performed; a concave-convex portion (25) provided in an area facing the printing area on the inner surface (S2) of the wall portion; The printer is provided with reinforcing members (61-63) that are installed between the print area and the uneven portion of the wall portion to maintain the flatness of the print area.

[0009] In this way, the electronic device includes the resin housing described above, and therefore the electronic device can achieve the same effects.

[0010] The various aspects disclosed in this specification employ different technical means to achieve their respective objectives. The reference numerals in parentheses in the claims and in this section are intended to exemplify correspondences with the following embodiments and are not intended to limit the technical scope. The objectives, features, and advantages disclosed in this specification will become more apparent by reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. [Figure 3]FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an electronic device according to a first modified example. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an electronic device according to a second modification. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, several embodiments for carrying out the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, parts corresponding to matters described in the preceding embodiment may be assigned the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations may be omitted. In each embodiment, when only a part of the configuration is described, the other parts of the configuration may be applied by referring to the other embodiment described previously.

[0013] In the following description, the three mutually orthogonal directions are referred to as the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction, and the plane defined by the X direction and the Y direction is referred to as the XY plane.

[0014] (Embodiment) 1 and 2, the electronic device 101 includes a circuit board 10 and housings 20 and 30 that house the circuit board 10. In addition, in this embodiment, as an example, the electronic device 101 includes a terminal 40 mounted on the circuit board 10.

[0015] The electronic device 101 can be used, for example, as an electronic control device equipped with a processing unit, a storage device, and the like. The electronic device 101 is configured to be mountable on, for example, a mobile object. Examples of the mobile object include vehicles such as electric cars, hybrid cars, and fuel cell cars, flying objects such as electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft and drones, ships, construction machinery, and agricultural machinery. However, the electronic device 101 may also be mounted on devices other than those described above.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2, the circuit board 10 includes a wiring board 11 and a circuit element 12. The wiring board 11 includes an electrically insulating substrate and a conductive wiring pattern. The wiring pattern is provided, for example, on the surface of the insulating substrate and inside the insulating substrate. In other words, the wiring pattern is laminated via the insulating substrate. The wiring pattern includes electrodes that are electrically connected to terminals of the circuit element 12.

[0017] Furthermore, the wiring board 11 is provided with through holes that penetrate the insulating substrate in the thickness direction. The through holes include plating provided in the through holes of the insulating substrate. The plating is electrically connected to the wiring pattern. The wiring pattern and plating can be collectively referred to as the wiring portion.

[0018] In this way, wiring board 11 can be said to be a multilayer wiring board. However, the present disclosure can also be applied to wiring board 11 in which only one layer of wiring pattern is formed. Note that wiring board 11 can also be said to be a printed circuit board.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, circuit elements 12 are mounted on wiring board 11. Circuit elements 12 are components that constitute an electronic circuit together with the wiring portion of wiring board 11. A plurality of circuit elements 12 are mounted on wiring board 11. In other words, electronic device 101 includes a plurality of circuit elements 12. Terminals of circuit elements 12 are electrically connected to the wiring portion of wiring board 11 via conductive connecting members. Circuit elements 12 include switching elements, resistor elements, capacitor elements, coils, etc. Switching elements include semiconductor switching elements such as MOSFETs and IGBTs. Circuit elements 12 can also be considered electronic components or circuit devices. Conductive connecting members include solder, silver paste, etc.

[0020] The terminals 40 electrically connect the electronic device 101 to an external device. The terminals 40 can be considered external connection terminals. The terminals 40 are held by the base 20, which will be described later. As shown in FIG. 2, one end of the terminals 40 is disposed in the housing space of the housings 20 and 30. One end of the terminals 40 is inserted into a through-hole in the wiring board 11 and electrically connected to the wiring portion. The other end of the terminals 40 is disposed in the external space of the housings 20 and 30. The terminals 40 may be of a surface-mount type.

[0021] 2, wiring board 11 is disposed in the housing space of housings 20 and 30. Wiring board 11 is fixed to fixing portion 24 of base 20 by screws 50, for example. Screws 50 have male threads. However, wiring board 11 may be fixed to housings 20 and 30 by fixing members other than screws 50.

[0022] Here, the housings 20, 30 will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The housings 20, 30 house the circuit board 10. The housings 20, 30 include a base 20 and a cover 30. The base 20 and the cover 30 are assembled together to form a space for housing the circuit board 10. In the housings 20, 30, at least the base 20 is made of resin as a main component. The housings 20, 30 correspond to resin housings. The resin that makes up the base 20 can also be called housing resin.

[0023] The base 20 includes a base portion 21, a side wall portion 22 connected to the base portion 21, a connector portion 23 connected to the base portion 21, and a fixing portion 24 protruding from the base portion 21. The base 20 is configured such that the base portion 21, the side wall portion 22, the connector portion 23, and the fixing portion 24 are integrated into one body. The base 20 is molded using a mold.

[0024] 2, the base 21 is a portion that faces the circuit board 10 in the Z direction. The base 21 corresponds to a wall portion. The base 21 has an outer surface S1 and an inner surface S2.

[0025] The outer surface S1 is the surface exposed to the outside space. As shown in FIG. 1, the base 21 has a print area PA defined on the outer surface S1. The print area PA is an area where printing is performed. The print area PA is predetermined. Information such as the product number of the electronic device 101 or the housings 20, 30 is printed in the print area PA. The information printed in the print area PA is read by a reading device such as a camera. At least the print area PA of the outer surface S1 is a flat surface. The outer surface S1 is a surface parallel to the XY plane.

[0026] The inner surface S2 is the surface facing the accommodation space. The inner surface S2 is the surface facing the circuit board 10 placed in the accommodation space. The inner surface S2 is provided with a fixing portion 24. The fixing portion 24 is a portion that protrudes from the surrounding area. As described above, the fixing portion 24 is a portion where the circuit board 10 is fixed by the screw 50. The fixing portion 24 is provided with, for example, a female screw. The inner surface S2 is a surface parallel to the XY plane.

[0027] Furthermore, the base 21 is provided with an uneven portion 25 for reinforcing the base 21. The uneven portion 25 is provided on the inner surface S2. The uneven portion 25 is also provided in an area facing the print area PA. The uneven portion 25 has convex portions 251 protruding from the inner surface S2 and concave portions 252 recessed below the convex portions 251. The uneven portion 25 can be said to be a convex portion or a reinforcing convex portion. The uneven portion 25 is configured as an integral part with the base 21, etc.

[0028] The side wall portion 22 is provided to protrude from an end portion of the base portion 21. The side wall portion 22 is provided in an annular shape so as to surround the accommodation space. The side wall portion 22 forms an opening portion of the base 20. The side wall portion 22 holds the terminal 40.

[0029] The connector portion 23 extends from the base portion 21. The connector portion 23 is a portion that surrounds the terminals 40. The connector portion 23 can also be called a connector case portion. Note that the base 20 does not necessarily have to include the connector portion 23.

[0030] The cover 30 is a member that closes the opening of the base 20. The cover 30 is attached to the base 20 so as to be in contact with the side wall portion 22. The cover 30 is fixed to the base 20 by a fixing member. The fixing member may be a screw, a snap fit, or the like.

[0031] Incidentally, the base 21 has a print area PA defined therein as described above. Information printed in the print area PA is read by a camera or the like. Therefore, it is desirable that the print area PA be a flat surface. For this reason, the base 21 is provided with a reinforcing member 61 to maintain the flatness of the print area PA.

[0032] Note that if the base 20 is configured without the reinforcing member 61, the flatness of the print area PA may be impaired. As described above, the base 20 has the uneven portion 25 provided in the area facing the print area PA. The base 21 has different thicknesses (resin thickness) in the Z direction between the convex portions 251 and the areas around the convex portions 251 (such as the concave portions 252). Therefore, the flatness of the base 21 is impaired by the curing shrinkage that occurs when the base 20 is molded. That is, the area of ​​the base 21 facing the convex portions 251 is recessed more than the area facing the concave portions 252. In other words, sink marks occur in the area of ​​the base 21 facing the convex portions 251 in the print area PA. Hereinafter, the curing shrinkage that occurs when the base 20 is molded will also be simply referred to as curing shrinkage.

[0033] In contrast, this embodiment employs a base 21 in which a reinforcing member 61 is installed between the print area PA and the uneven portion 25. The reinforcing member 61 is a member that reinforces the base 21 to prevent sink marks from occurring in the print area PA. The base 20 is molded with the solid reinforcing member 61 placed in a mold. In other words, the reinforcing member 61 is insert-molded into the base 20. The entire surface of the reinforcing member 61 is in contact with the base 21.

[0034] The reinforcing member 61 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. At least the surface of the reinforcing member 61 facing the print area PA is flat. In this embodiment, the reinforcing member 61 has a flat surface facing the uneven portion 25 as well. The surface of the reinforcing member 61 facing the print area PA is a surface parallel to the XY plane.

[0035] The reinforcing member 61 is a member that is thinner than the base 21. The thickness here is the thickness in the Z direction. The thickness of the base 21 is the thickness of a portion where the protrusions 251 are not provided. The thickness of the base 21 corresponds to the distance between the outer surface S1 and the inner surface S2 in the Z direction.

[0036] The reinforcing member 61 is mainly composed of resin. The reinforcing member 61 has a smaller thermal shrinkage rate than the constituent material of the base 21. Therefore, the reinforcing member 61 is less likely to shrink than the base 21 during hardening and shrinkage. Note that the reinforcing member 61 may be mainly composed of metal, which has a smaller thermal shrinkage rate than resin.

[0037] As a result, when the base 20 hardens and shrinks, the housing resin shrinks more than the reinforcing member 61. This allows the base 20 to firmly fix the reinforcing member 61 with the housing resin. Therefore, the base 20 can prevent peeling between the housing resin and the reinforcing member 61.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 1, the reinforcing member 61 is provided so as to overlap at least the entire print area PA. In this embodiment, as an example, a base 21 is used in which the reinforcing member 61 is provided over an area wider than the opposing area of ​​the print area PA. In other words, the size of the reinforcing member 61 along the XY plane is larger than that of the print area PA. The opposing area of ​​the print area PA is the area of ​​the base 21 that faces the print area PA in the Z direction. However, it is sufficient that the reinforcing member 61 is provided at least between the protrusion 251 and the print area PA.

[0039] In this embodiment, since the uneven portion 25 is provided on the base 21, the base 20 is employed in which the reinforcing member 61 is provided inside the base 21. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. The reinforcing member 61 may be provided between the uneven portion 25 and the print area PA. For example, in a configuration in which the print area PA and the uneven portion 25 are provided on the cover 30, the reinforcing member 61 is provided inside the cover 30.

[0040] As described above, the base 20 includes the reinforcing member 61. Therefore, the base 20 can make the resin thickness between the reinforcing member 61 and the print area PA uniform. Therefore, the base 20 can suppress sink marks caused by differences in resin thickness in the uneven portion 25. In other words, the base 20 can suppress sink marks that occur in the print area PA. It can also be said that the base 20 can suppress sink marks from occurring in the print area PA during curing shrinkage. Therefore, the base 20 can flatten the print area PA. In other words, the reinforcing member 61 can eliminate or reduce thickness differences caused by the uneven portion 25 directly below the print area PA. Furthermore, the reinforcing member 61 in the base 20 eliminates or reduces the influence of the uneven portion 25 that causes sink marks.

[0041] Therefore, the base 20 has a print area PA, which is a flat surface, on which printing is performed. The base 20 can suppress the disturbance of reflected light when reading the printing, thereby improving the readability of the printing. The electronic device 101 is also provided with the base 20. Therefore, the electronic device 100 can improve the readability of the printing.

[0042] The reinforcing member 61 can be said to be a member that suppresses the occurrence of sink marks by making uniform the thickness between the print area PA in the base 21 and the reinforcing member 61. The reinforcing member 61 can also be said to be a member that suppresses deformation of the base 21 during hardening and shrinkage.

[0043] The base 20 is provided with the reinforcing member 61 over an area wider than the area facing the print area PA. Therefore, even if the print area PA increases or the print position or the position of the reinforcing member 61 varies, the base 20 can easily avoid any effect on the readability of the print.

[0044] The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present disclosure. Below, Modifications 1 and 2 will be described as other embodiments of the present disclosure. The above embodiments and Modifications 1 and 2 can be implemented independently, or can be implemented in appropriate combinations. The present disclosure is not limited to the combinations shown in the embodiments, and can be implemented in various combinations.

[0045] (Variation 1) 3 and 4, an electronic device 102 according to Modification 1 will be described. The electronic device 102 differs from the electronic device 101 in the configuration of the reinforcing member 62. Note that the same parts of the electronic device 102 as those of the electronic device 101 are denoted by the same reference numerals used in the electronic device 101.

[0046] The base 20 may have a different coefficient of linear expansion from the reinforcing member 61. In this case, there is a possibility that separation may occur between the base 20 and the reinforcing member 61. Furthermore, if stress is applied in this state, there is a concern that cracks may occur in the housing resin of the base 20 starting from the location of separation. Therefore, the electronic device 102 has the reinforcing member 62 to prevent defects such as cracks from occurring.

[0047] 3 and 4, the reinforcing member 62 has a notch 621 on the side facing the uneven portion 25. The reinforcing member 62 is provided with a triangular notch 621. However, the reinforcing member 62 may be provided with a rectangular notch 621.

[0048] The electronic device 102 can achieve the same effects as the electronic device 101. Furthermore, the base 20 of the first modification can achieve the same effects as the above-described embodiment.

[0049] Furthermore, the base 20 of the first modification includes a reinforcing member 62. The reinforcing member 62 has a cutout 621. Therefore, the reinforcing member 62 has the cutout 621 into which the casing resin enters. Furthermore, the reinforcing member 62 can increase the contact area between the casing resin and the reinforcing member 62. Therefore, the base 20 of the first modification can prevent peeling between the casing resin and the reinforcing member 62. Furthermore, the electronic device 102 can prevent peeling between the casing resin and the reinforcing member 62.

[0050] (Variation 2) Next, an electronic device 103 according to Modification 2 will be described with reference to Figures 5 and 6. The electronic device 103 differs from the electronic device 101 in the configuration of the reinforcing member 63. Note that the same parts of the electronic device 103 as those of the electronic device 101 are denoted by the same reference numerals used in the electronic device 101.

[0051] The electronic device 103 has a reinforcing member 63 for the same reason as the electronic device 102. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the reinforcing member 63 is provided over a range wider than the opposing area of ​​the print area PA. The reinforcing member 63 also has a hole 631 that penetrates the reinforcing member 63 in the plate thickness direction. The hole 631 is provided outside the opposing area of ​​the print area PA. In other words, the hole 631 is provided in a position that does not oppose the print area PA in the Z direction.

[0052] The reinforcing member 63 is provided with a circular hole 631. However, the reinforcing member 63 may be provided with a hole 631 having a shape other than a circle.

[0053] The base 20 of the modified example 2 can achieve the same effects as the base of the modified example 1. Furthermore, the electronic device 103 can achieve the same effects as the electronic device 102.

[0054] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to the embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments or structures. The present disclosure also encompasses various modifications and modifications within the scope of equivalents. In addition, although various combinations and forms are shown in the present disclosure, other combinations and forms including only one element, more, or less than one element are also within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 10...circuit board, 11...wiring board, 12...circuit element, 20...base, 21...base portion, 22...side wall portion, 23...connector portion, 24...fixing portion, uneven portion...25, 251...protrusion portion, 252...recess portion, 30...cover, 40...terminal, 50...screw, 61-63...reinforcing member, 621...notch portion, 631...hole portion, S1...outer surface, inner surface...S2, PA...printing area, electronic device...101-103

Claims

1. A resin housing having a wall portion (21), a printing area (PA) on the outer surface (S1) of the wall portion, where printing is performed; a concave-convex portion (25) provided in an area facing the printing area on the inner surface (S2) of the wall portion; The resin housing is provided with a reinforcing member (61-63) disposed between the printing area and the uneven portion of the wall portion, for maintaining flatness of the printing area.

2. The resin housing according to claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing member is provided over an area wider than the facing area.

3. The resin housing according to claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing member has a thermal shrinkage rate smaller than that of the material constituting the wall portion.

4. The resin housing according to claim 3 , wherein the reinforcing member is mainly made of metal.

5. The plastic housing according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reinforcing member has a notch (621) on a side facing the uneven portion.

6. The resin housing according to claim 2 , wherein the reinforcing member has a hole (631) around the opposing region.

7. An electronic device comprising: a circuit board (10); and a resin housing (20, 30) having a wall portion (21) and accommodating the circuit board, The resin housing is a printing area (PA) on the outer surface (S1) of the wall portion, where printing is performed; a concave-convex portion (25) provided in an area facing the printing area on the inner surface (S2) of the wall portion; The electronic device further comprises a reinforcing member (61-63) disposed between the print area and the uneven portion of the wall portion, for maintaining flatness of the print area.

8. The electronic device according to claim 7 , wherein the reinforcing member is provided over an area wider than the facing area.

9. 9. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the reinforcing member has a thermal shrinkage rate smaller than that of a material constituting the wall portion.

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