Panel assembly structure

Abstract

The present invention provides a panel assembly structure that allows for easy positioning of two panels and secure temporary assembly of the two panels. [Solution] The first panel has at least two guide bosses, which are disc-shaped and protrude from one surface of the first panel, with female threads formed to penetrate the cross-sectional direction of the first panel; the second panel has at least two positioning holes, which are circular holes into which the guide bosses are fitted; and the connecting bolts are bolt-shaped, with male threads formed on the tip side that screw into the female threads, and the head side of the connecting bolt has a smaller diameter than the inner diameter of the female threads. The guide bosses are fitted into the positioning holes to overlap the first panel and the second panel, the male threads of the connecting bolts are screwed into the female threads of the guide bosses and the male threads penetrate from the guide bosses, and the first panel and the second panel are sandwiched between the head and male threads of the connecting bolts, with the male threads being tightened into the screw holes of the satellite communication device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a panel assembly structure for assembling two panels to an object.

Background Art

[0002] A portable satellite communication device for communicating via a communication satellite is known (see Patent Document 1). In such a device, usually, a decorative panel is attached to a display board (display unit) provided with a power source, various switches, filters, etc. As such a decorative panel, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a resin panel 103 is attached to a sub-panel 102 made of an aluminum material. When attaching the resin panel 103 to the sub-panel 102, the bottom surfaces of both panels 102 and 103 are aligned on a flat plate, and a connecting bolt 106 is temporarily assembled through screw holes 1021 and 1031 provided in both panels 102 and 103. Then, the decorative panel composed of both panels 102 and 103 temporarily assembled in this way is attached to the display board (display unit) (not shown) of the main body satellite communication device.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, when assembling two panels with their bottom surfaces aligned on a surface plate, while the vertical position can be determined with some accuracy, there is a problem in determining the horizontal position. If the horizontal position is not accurate, for example, the filter provided on the display panel (display section) of the satellite communication device on the main body will interfere with the filter insertion holes 1022 and 1032 provided on the decorative panel, requiring post-processing or additional machining to cut the filter insertion holes 1022 and 1032 so that the filter fits. In addition, when using connecting bolts 106 of a general shape, the connecting bolts 106 tend to fall out of the screw holes 1021 and 1031 on both panels, which can lead to the loss of the connecting bolts 106 or the disintegration of the two panels 102 and 103 that have been temporarily assembled, resulting in poor work efficiency.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a panel assembly structure that allows for easy positioning of two panels and secure temporary assembly of the two panels when assembling two panels to an object. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve the above objective, the invention described in claim 1 is a panel assembly structure for stacking a first panel and a second panel and assembling them to a third object, comprising: at least two positioning plates provided on the first panel, which are disc-shaped, protrude from one surface of the first panel, and have female threads formed so as to penetrate the cross-sectional direction of the first panel; at least two positioning holes provided on the second panel, which are circular holes into which the positioning plates are fitted; and a bolt-shaped male thread formed on the tip side which screws into the female threads. The present invention comprises a connecting bolt, the head of which is formed to be smaller in diameter than the inner diameter of the female thread portion, wherein the positioning plate is fitted into the positioning hole so that the first panel and the second panel are stacked, the male thread portion of the connecting bolt is screwed into the female thread portion of the positioning plate so that the male thread portion passes through the positioning plate, and the male thread portion is fastened into the screw hole of the third object while the first panel and the second panel are sandwiched between the head and male thread portion of the connecting bolt.

[0007] The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the panel assembly structure described in claim 1, the positioning plate is press-fitted into a hole formed in the first panel. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the invention described in claim 1, the first panel and the second panel can be easily positioned by simply inserting at least two positioning plates provided on the first panel into positioning holes provided on the second panel, making it possible to easily attach the first panel and the second panel without misalignment without using a jig. This makes it possible to avoid post-processing and additional machining of the panels caused by positioning errors when assembling the first panel and the second panel to the third object. Furthermore, when temporarily assembling the first panel and the second panel to the third object, a connecting bolt is used in which a male threaded portion is formed on the tip side, and the diameter of the head side is smaller than the inner diameter of the female threaded portion of the positioning plate. As a result, the first panel and the second panel are sandwiched between the head and the male threaded portion of the connecting bolt, making it possible to reliably temporarily assemble the first panel and the second panel. This prevents the connecting bolts from falling off and getting lost when removing the first and second panels after they have been assembled to the third object.

[0009] According to the invention described in claim 2, since the positioning plate is press-fitted into a hole formed in the first panel, the first panel can be manufactured more easily than if the positioning plate were integrally formed with the first panel, thereby reducing costs. Furthermore, since there is no need to cut internal threads into the first panel itself, the thickness of the first panel can be reduced, making it lighter. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1]This is a cross-sectional view illustrating a panel assembly structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 shows a perspective view (A) of the panel assembly structure before the first panel and the second panel are temporarily assembled, and a partial cross-sectional view (B) of the structure after the first panel and the second panel are temporarily assembled. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view showing an example of a positioning plate used in the panel assembly structure shown in Figure 1. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view illustrating a conventional panel assembly structure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiments.

[0012] Figures 1 to 3 illustrate this embodiment. Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a panel assembly structure 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a perspective view (A) showing the state before the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 are temporarily assembled in the panel assembly structure 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a partial cross-sectional view (B) showing the state after the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 are temporarily assembled. Figure 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a positioning plate used in the panel assembly structure 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This panel assembly structure 1 is a panel assembly structure for stacking the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 and assembling them to a third object 4. In this embodiment, the third object 4 is a portable satellite communication device, and the case in which the second panel 3 is attached (stacked) to the first panel 2 and used as a decorative panel to cover the display panel of the satellite communication device 4 will be mainly described.

[0013] The first panel 2 is a panel that is placed between the satellite communication device 4 and the second panel 3 during assembly (see Figures 1 and 2). The first panel 2 is a roughly rectangular flat plate, and in this embodiment, circular holes that penetrate the first panel 2 are formed at the four corners for press-fitting guide bosses (positioning plates) 5 (hereinafter referred to as "guide boss press-fit holes 21"). A guide boss 5 is provided (press-fitted) in each guide boss press-fit hole 21. The first panel 2 is also large enough to cover the display panel of the satellite communication device (third object) 4, and may be made of an aluminum plate with a thickness of about 1 mm, for example.

[0014] In the first panel 2, if the side on which the guide boss 5 protrudes (in other words, the side that is positioned on the second panel 3 side during assembly) is considered the front surface, and the opposite side (in other words, the side that is positioned on the satellite communication device 4 side during assembly) is considered the back surface, then the first panel 2 may be formed such that its upper edge protrudes approximately perpendicularly toward the back surface, as shown in Figure 2. This improves the waterproofness and strength of the assembly portion of the satellite communication device 4.

[0015] The second panel 3 is the panel that is positioned at the top (outermost) during assembly (see Figures 1 and 2). The second panel 3 is a roughly rectangular flat plate, and its shape is substantially the same as the first panel 2, except for the upper edge. The second panel 3 is large enough to cover the display panel of the satellite communication device 4, and may be made of, for example, a resin panel.

[0016] The second panel 3 is provided with a positioning hole 31. The positioning hole 31 is a circular hole that penetrates the second panel 3 and is used to position the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 when the guide boss 5 is fitted into it during (temporary) assembly.

[0017] The size of the positioning hole 31 is such that the guide boss 5 can pass through. Specifically, it is only necessary that the diameter of the positioning hole 31 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the guide boss 5 (accurately, the outer diameter of the upper part 5a of the guide boss 5 described later). The position where the positioning hole 31 is provided is a position that will face the guide boss 5 provided on the first panel 2 during assembly. In this embodiment, it is provided at the four corners.

[0018] The satellite communication device 4 is an object (device) to which the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 are to be assembled, and is arranged at the lowest (innermost) position during assembly (see FIG. 1). The satellite communication device 4 has the same configuration and shape as a conventional portable satellite communication device. In this embodiment, a substantially rectangular display plate is provided on the front surface of the device 4 (not shown), and the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 are assembled so as to cover the display plate.

[0019] The satellite communication device 4 is provided with a screw hole 41 into which the male screw portion 64 of the connecting bolt 6 used when assembling the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 is inserted. Female threads are cut in the screw hole 41 so that the male screw portion 64 is screwed into the female threads. The inner diameter of the screw hole 41 is formed to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of the male screw portion 64.

[0020] The guide boss 5 is a member for positioning provided on the first panel 2 (see FIGS. 1 to 3). Specifically, the guide boss 5 positions the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 by being inserted into the positioning hole 31 of the second panel 3 during (temporary) assembly.

[0021] The guide boss 5 is an independent member as shown in Fig. 3, and is press-fitted into a guide boss press-fitting hole 21 formed in the first panel 2. Thus, instead of integrally forming the positioning board on the first panel 2, by using an independent member such as the guide boss 5, the first panel 2 can be easily manufactured and the cost can be reduced. Further, since a female screw portion 51 is formed on the guide boss 5, there is no need to cut a female screw for screwing with the male screw portion 64 of the connecting bolt 6 on the first panel itself, and the thickness of the first panel can be reduced and the weight can be reduced.

[0022] The guide boss 5 is a disk-shaped member. In this embodiment, the guide boss 5 includes a cylindrical upper portion 5a and a cylindrical lower portion 5b. The upper portion 5a is a portion that protrudes from the first panel 2 and is fitted into the positioning hole 31 of the second panel 3, and the lower portion 5b is a portion that is press-fitted into the guide boss press-fitting hole 21 of the first panel 2. The outer diameter of the upper portion 5a is larger than the outer diameter of the lower portion 5b and is formed slightly smaller than the diameter of the positioning hole 31 of the second panel 3. Also, the outer diameter of the lower portion 5b is formed slightly smaller than the diameter of the guide boss press-fitting hole 21 of the first panel 2.

[0023] A female screw portion 51 is formed on the guide boss 5 so as to penetrate in the cross-sectional direction of the first panel 2 when installed on the first panel 2. That is, in this embodiment, the inner peripheral surface of the upper portion 5a and the inner peripheral surface of the lower portion 5b of the guide boss 5 are continuous, and the female screw portion 51 is formed on the continuous inner peripheral surface. The female screw portion 51 is a portion that engages with the male screw portion 64 when the connecting bolt 6 described later is inserted.

[0024] The connecting bolt 6 is a member for temporarily assembling the first panel 2 and the second panel 3, and further assembling the temporarily assembled first panel 2 and second panel 3 to the satellite communication device 4 (see Figs. 1 and 2). Here, temporary assembly means making the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 in a state where they can be assembled to the satellite communication device 4, and specifically means attaching the connecting bolt 6 to both panels 2 and 3.

[0025] In this embodiment, the connecting bolt 6 is a bolt-shaped bolt with a washer 62, comprising a head 61, a washer 62, a rod-shaped portion 63, and a male threaded portion 64. The head 61 and washer 62 have the same configuration and shape as the heads and washers of conventional bolts, so their description is omitted.

[0026] The connecting bolt 6 comprises a rod-shaped portion 63 and a male threaded portion 64 below the washer 62. The male threaded portion 64 is formed at the tip end, and the rod-shaped portion 63, which is not threaded, is formed on the head 61 side of the male threaded portion 64. Such a connecting bolt 6 can be manufactured, for example, by machining the male threaded portion of a normal bolt, leaving only a predetermined range at the tip end.

[0027] The connecting bolt 6 is inserted into the female threaded portion 51 of the guide boss 5 when temporarily assembling the first panel 2 and the second panel 3. The rod-shaped portion 63 is formed to have a smaller diameter than the inner diameter of the female threaded portion 51 of the guide boss 5, and its length is longer than the length of the female threaded portion 51 (the height of the guide boss 5). On the other hand, the male threaded portion 64 is formed to have approximately the same diameter as the inner diameter of the female threaded portion 51 so that it can be screwed into the female threaded portion 51. Therefore, when the connecting bolt 6 inserted into the female threaded portion 51 has its male threaded portion 64 screwed into the female threaded portion 51 and passed through the guide boss 5, the rod-shaped portion 63 will rotate freely inside the female threaded portion 51. However, since the male threaded portion 64 cannot pass through the female threaded portion 51 unless it is screwed into the female threaded portion 51, the connecting bolt 6 is prevented from falling out of the guide boss 5.

[0028] Next, the assembly of the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 into the satellite communication device 4 will be explained, primarily using Figure 1.

[0029] First, four guide bosses 5 are installed on the first panel 2 such that the upper part 5a of each guide boss 5 protrudes from one side (surface) of the first panel 2, and the lower part 5b of each guide boss 5 is pressed into the guide boss press-fit hole 21 of the first panel 2 (see Figures 1(A-3) and 2(A)).

[0030] Next, the second panel 3 is attached (overlaid) on the first panel 2 (see Figures 1(A-3) and 2(A)). Specifically, the second panel 3 is placed on the surface side of the first panel 2, and the upper parts 5a of each guide boss 5 of the first panel 2 are fitted into the corresponding positioning holes 31 of the second panel 3 (i.e., positioning holes 31 located at opposing positions). At this time, the positioning of the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 is achieved by the guide bosses 5 provided on the first panel 2 and the positioning holes 31 provided on the second panel 3, so that both panels 2 and 3 can be attached easily and without misalignment without using a jig. This prevents situations such as interference between a filter (not shown) provided on the display panel of the satellite communication device 4 and the filter insertion holes 22 and 32 provided on both panels 2 and 3 for the filter to pass through, and eliminates the need for post-processing or additional machining to cut the filter insertion holes 22 and 32 so that the filter fits.

[0031] Next, the connecting bolts 6 are attached to the two panels 2 and 3 that have been glued (overlapping) in this manner (i.e., temporary assembly is performed) (see Figures 1(A-2) and 2). Specifically, first, the connecting bolts 6 are inserted into the guide boss 5 from the side of the second panel 3 of the two glued (overlapping) panels 2 and 3. The inserted connecting bolts 6 have their male threaded portion 64 screwed into the female threaded portion 51 of the guide boss 5 and pass through the guide boss 5. As a result, the two panels 2 and 3 are sandwiched between the head 61 and the male threaded portion 64 of the connecting bolt 6, and the rod-shaped portion 63, which has a smaller diameter than the inner diameter of the female threaded portion 51, rotates freely within the female threaded portion 51, completing the temporary assembly (see Figures 1(A-2) and 2(B)). In this state, unless the male threaded portion 64 is screwed into the female threaded portion 51, the male threaded portion 64 will not pass through the female threaded portion 51 and fall out of both panels 2 and 3. Therefore, both panels 2 and 3 and the connecting bolt 6 are securely temporarily assembled and maintain an integrated state.

[0032] Finally, the two panels 2 and 3, to which the connecting bolts 6 have been attached (temporarily assembled), are assembled to the satellite communication device 4 (see Figure 1(A-1)). Specifically, the male threaded portion 64 of the connecting bolts 6 attached to the two panels 2 and 3 is inserted into the screw holes 41 provided in the satellite communication device 4, and the bolts are screwed into the female threads provided in the screw holes 41 and tightened.

[0033] As described above, with the panel assembly structure of this embodiment, the positioning of the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 can be easily performed simply by fitting the guide bosses 5, of which at least two are provided on the first panel 2, into the positioning holes 31 provided on the second panel 3. Therefore, the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 can be easily attached without misalignment without using a jig. This makes it possible to avoid post-processing and additional work on the panels 2 and 3 caused by positioning errors when assembling the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 to the satellite communication device 4. Furthermore, when temporarily assembling the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 to the satellite communication device 4, a connecting bolt 6 is used in which a male threaded portion 64 is formed on the tip side, and the head 61 side is formed to have a smaller diameter than the inner diameter of the female threaded portion 51 of the guide boss 5. As a result, the first panel 2 and the second panel 3 are sandwiched between the head 61 and the male threaded portion 64 of the connecting bolt 6, making it possible to reliably temporarily assemble the first panel 2 and the second panel 3. This prevents the connecting bolts 6 from falling off and getting lost when removing the first panel 2 and the second panel 3, which have been assembled to the satellite communication device 4.

[0034] Furthermore, according to the panel assembly structure of this embodiment, since the guide boss 5 is press-fitted into the guide boss press-fit hole 21 formed in the first panel 2, the first panel 2 can be manufactured more easily than if the positioning plate were integrally formed with the first panel 2, thereby reducing costs. In addition, since there is no need to cut internal threads into the first panel 2 itself, the thickness of the first panel 2 can be reduced, making it lighter.

[0035] Although embodiments of this invention have been described above, the specific configuration is not limited to the embodiments described above, and any design changes, etc., that do not depart from the gist of this invention are also included. For example, in the above embodiment, a guide boss is used as a positioning plate in which the diameter of the part that protrudes from the first panel 2 (upper part) and the diameter of the part that is press-fitted into the first panel 2 (lower part) are different, but a guide boss with the same diameter for the upper and lower parts may also be used, and a member other than a guide boss may also be used as a positioning plate. In addition, in the above embodiment, four positioning plates and four positioning holes are provided, but at least two of each are required, and if there are two of each, they may be provided diagonally. In addition, in the above embodiment, approximately rectangular panels are used as the first panel 2 and the second panel 3, but the shape of the panels is not limited to approximately rectangular, and may be circular or elliptical, for example. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1. Panel assembly structure 2. Panel 1 21 Guide boss press-fit hole (hole) 3. Second Panel 31 Positioning holes 4. Satellite communication device (third object) 41 screw holes 5. Guide boss (positioning plate) 51 Female threaded section 6 connecting bolts 61 heads 62 Washers 63 Rod-shaped part 64 Male threaded section

Claims

1. A panel assembly structure for stacking a first panel and a second panel and assembling them onto a third object, A positioning plate is provided on the first panel, at least two of which are disc-shaped, protruding from one surface of the first panel, and have female screw portions formed so as to penetrate the cross-sectional direction of the first panel, The second panel has at least two circular positioning holes into which the positioning plate is fitted, A connecting bolt having a bolt-like shape, with a male threaded portion formed at the tip that screws into the female threaded portion, and the head side of the male threaded portion having a smaller diameter than the inner diameter of the female threaded portion, The positioning plate is fitted into the positioning hole so that the first panel and the second panel are stacked, the male threaded portion of the connecting bolt is screwed into the female threaded portion of the positioning plate so that the male threaded portion passes through the positioning plate, and the first panel and the second panel are sandwiched between the head and male threaded portion of the connecting bolt, while the male threaded portion is tightened into the screw hole of the third object. A panel assembly structure characterized by the following features.

2. The positioning plate is press-fitted into a hole formed in the first panel. The panel assembly structure according to feature 1.

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