Electronic devices with covers
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- CASIO COMPUTER CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-06
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-04
AI Technical Summary
【0007】 本発明によれば、カバー部品を電子機器から取り外す際の取り外し易さを適切にすることができる。
Smart Images
Figure 0007899930000001 
Figure 0007899930000002 
Figure 0007899930000003
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device with a cover.
Background Art
[0002] Conventionally, cover components for protecting electronic devices such as calculators are known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a cover component that can be attached to both the front side and the back side of an electronic device provided with a display unit and a key operation unit, and a cover component is fixed to the electronic device by engaging an engaging portion of the cover component with a locking groove of the electronic device.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] By the way, when removing the cover component of the invention of Patent Document 1 from the electronic device, generally, the user removes it by pressing down (or pulling) with a finger on the extension portion provided with the engaging portion of the cover component. At this time, by elastically deforming the central portion of the cover component in the vertical direction toward the electronic device side so that the engaging portion of the cover component moves outward, the ease of removal when removing the engaging portion of the cover component from the locking groove of the electronic device may change. Therefore, when the gap formed between the cover component attached to the electronic device and the electronic device is not an appropriate distance, there is a problem that it is difficult to appropriately adjust the ease of removal when removing the cover component from the electronic device.
[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an electronic device with a cover that can appropriately adjust the ease of removal when removing the cover component from the electronic device.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0006] To achieve the above objective, the electronic device with a cover of the present invention is A covered electronic device having a cover component that can be selectively attached to both the front and rear sides of the electronic device, wherein the electronic device is in the first direction It has locking parts on the sides of both ends. The cover component is, The aforementioned electronic device Before When mounted on either the front side or the rear side, Also before The engaging part that engages with the locking part The first direction It is provided at both ends And, The cover component is the electronic device to When attached The cover component is configured such that, when the central part of the cover component in the first direction is pressed, the amount of engagement between the engaging portion and the locking portion becomes a predetermined amount of engagement due to the elastic deformation of the cover component, when the cover component is mounted on the back side of the electronic device, the cover component contacts the electronic device at the central part in the first direction and at the central part in the second direction perpendicular to the first direction, while when the cover component is mounted on the front side of the electronic device, the cover component maintains a non-contact state with the electronic device at the central part in the first direction and at the central part in the second direction, while contacting the electronic device at both ends in the second direction. [Effects of the Invention]
[0007] According to the present invention, the ease of removing cover components from electronic devices can be appropriately improved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0008] [Figure 1A] This diagram shows the cover component attached to the back of the scientific calculator. [Figure 1B] This diagram shows the cover component attached to the front of the scientific calculator. [Figure 2A] This is a rear view of a scientific calculator. [Figure 2B] This is a front view of the cover component. [Figure 3] (a) A cross-sectional view along the line IIIA-IIIA in Figure 1A. (b) A cross-sectional view along the line IIIB-IIIB in Figure 1B. [Figure 4A] This is an enlarged view of the IVA portion, which is enclosed by a dashed line in Figure 3(a). [Figure 4B] This is an enlarged view of the IVB region, which is enclosed by a dashed line in Figure 3(a). [Figure 5A] This is an enlarged view of the VA portion, which is enclosed by a dashed line in Figure 3(b). [Figure 5B] This is an enlarged view of the VB portion, which is enclosed by a dashed line in Figure 3(b). [Figure 6](a) Cross-sectional view of the VIA-VIA line in FIG. 1A. (b) Cross-sectional view of the VIB-VIB line in FIG. 1B. [Figure 7] It is an enlarged view of the VII portion shown surrounded by a dashed-dotted line in FIG. 6(a). [Figure 8A] It is an enlarged view of the VIIIA portion shown surrounded by a dashed-dotted line in FIG. 6(b). [Figure 8B] It is an enlarged view of the VIIIB portion shown surrounded by a dashed-dotted line in FIG. 6(b). [Figure 9A] It is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view in the second state when the cover part is attached to the back side of the scientific calculator. [Figure 9B] It is an enlarged view of the IXB portion shown surrounded by a dashed-dotted line in FIG. 9A. [Figure 9C] It is an enlarged view of the IXC portion shown surrounded by a dashed-dotted line in FIG. 9A. [Figure 10A] It is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view in the second state when the cover part is attached to the front side of the scientific calculator. [Figure 10B] It is an enlarged view of the XB portion shown surrounded by a dashed-dotted line in FIG. 10A. [Figure 10C] It is an enlarged view of the XC portion shown surrounded by a dashed-dotted line in FIG. 10A. [Figure 11A] It is a schematic horizontal cross-sectional view in the second state when the cover part is attached to the back side of the scientific calculator. [Figure 11B] It is an enlarged view of the XIB portion shown surrounded by a dashed-dotted line in FIG. 11A. [Figure 12A] It is a schematic horizontal cross-sectional view in the second state when the cover part is attached to the front side of the scientific calculator. [Figure 12B] It is an enlarged view of the XIIB portion shown surrounded by a dashed-dotted line in FIG. 12A. [Figure 12C] It is an enlarged view of the XIIC portion shown surrounded by a dashed-dotted line in FIG. 12A.
Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention
[0009] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 12C. While the embodiments described below include various technically preferred limitations for carrying out the present invention, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and illustrated examples.
[0010] As shown in Figure 1A, the electronic device with a cover 100 according to this embodiment comprises a scientific calculator 10 and a cover component 20. In the following description, the directions front, back, left, right, up, and down refer to the orientations shown in each figure. That is, the front-back direction refers to the front-to-back direction (thickness direction) of the scientific calculator 10 and the cover component 20, the left-to-right direction refers to the width direction of the scientific calculator 10 and the cover component 20, and the up-to-down direction refers to the longitudinal direction of the scientific calculator 10 and the cover component 20. The cover component 20 can be attached to both the front and back sides of the scientific calculator 10, but in the following description, unless otherwise specified, the configuration of the cover component 20 will be described assuming that it is oriented in the front-to-back direction when attached to the back side of the scientific calculator 10 as shown in Figure 1A.
[0011] As shown in Figures 1A and 2A, the scientific calculator 10 is an example of an electronic device according to the present invention and is formed in the shape of a rectangular plate that is elongated in the vertical direction. As shown in Figure 3, the scientific calculator 10 comprises a front case 11 that covers the front and a rear case 15 that covers the back. The front case 11 and the rear case 15 engage in the front-to-back direction to form the housing of the scientific calculator 10. The front case 11 and the rear case 15 are fastened together, for example, by a plurality of screws (not shown). The front case 11 is equipped with a display screen 12 that displays various information and a plurality of operation buttons 13 that receive user input.
[0012] The cover component 20 covers and protects the main surface (front or rear) of the scientific calculator 10. As shown in Figures 1B and 2B, the cover component 20 is shaped to correspond to the front view shape of the scientific calculator 10, that is, it is formed as a rectangular plate that is elongated vertically in the longitudinal direction of the scientific calculator 10, and is made of, for example, ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) resin. The periphery of the cover component 20 is curved forward so as to cover the periphery of the scientific calculator 10 when installed.
[0013] The cover component 20 has extensions 21 at both its upper and lower ends, which curve forward and extend further than the other peripheral edges. As shown in Figure 3, the extensions 21 cover at least a portion of the upper and lower sides of the housing (rear case 15) of the scientific calculator 10. At the tip of each extension 21, there is an engaging portion 22 that protrudes toward the center of the cover component 20 in the vertical direction. As shown in Figures 4A to 5B, the engaging portion 22 is formed to be able to engage with the locking grooves 15a (locking portion) formed on the upper and lower sides of the housing (rear case 15) of the scientific calculator 10 from both the front and rear sides. That is, the cover component 20 is configured to be individually mounted on the front and rear sides of the scientific calculator 10 by reversing its orientation in the front-to-back direction. In this embodiment, the engaging portion 22 is a projection shape and the locking groove 15a (locking portion) is a groove shape, but it is not limited to this. The engaging portion may be a groove shape and the locking portion may be a projection shape.
[0014] As shown in Figures 3 and 6, the cover component 20 can be selectively positioned on both the front and rear sides of the scientific calculator 10. The first state is defined as the state in which the engaging portion 22 engages with the locking groove 15a without elastically deforming the cover component 20 by pressing. As shown in Figures 4A to 5B, the engagement amount between the engaging portion 22 and the locking groove 15a in the first state is the first engagement amount H1, which is approximately the same whether the cover component 20 is mounted on the front or rear side of the scientific calculator 10, and its average value is 1.0 mm (here, "approximately the same" means that the difference in the engagement amount from the average engagement amount is 40% or less (more preferably 20% or less)). As shown in Figures 6(a) and 7, in the first state when the cover component 20 is attached to the back side of the scientific calculator 10, a first gap A with a width W1 is formed between the cover component 20 and the back case 15 at the center in the vertical and horizontal directions (the position where the gap between the cover component 20 and the scientific calculator 10 is narrowest). The width W1 of the first gap A is 0.1 mm or more and 1.2 mm or less, and more preferably 0.2 mm or more and 0.9 mm or less.
[0015] As shown in Figures 6(b), 8A, and 8B, in the first state when the cover component 20 is attached to the front side of the scientific calculator 10, a second gap B with a width W2 is formed between the cover component 20 and the back case 15 at the center in the vertical direction and at both ends in the left-right direction (the position where the width of the gap between the cover component 20 and the scientific calculator 10 is narrowest). The width W2 of the second gap B is within the first range, specifically 0.1 mm or more and 1.2 mm or less, and more preferably 0.2 mm or more and 0.9 mm or less. In this embodiment, widths W1 and W2 are substantially the same (where substantially the same means that the difference between widths W1 and W2 is 0.9 mm or less (more preferably 0.5 mm or less), or the difference between widths W1 and W2 with respect to the average value of widths W1 and W2 is 80% or less (more preferably 50% or less)). Furthermore, as shown in Figures 6(b), 8A, and 8B, the width W2 of the second gap B in the first state when the cover component 20 is attached to the front side of the scientific calculator 10 is the closest distance between the peripheral area of the housing (front case 11) of the scientific calculator 10 where the operation buttons 13 are not located and the cover component 20. Also, the closest distance W3 between the front of the operation button 13 when it is not pressed and the cover component 20 is within the second range, and specifically, it is greater than the width W2 and 2.5 mm or less. More preferably, it is 0.8 mm or more greater than the width W2 and 2.0 mm or less.
[0016] Next, we will explain how to determine the width of the gap between the cover component 20 and the scientific calculator 10. When the cover component 20 is attached to the front or back side of the scientific calculator 10, if the cover component 20 and the scientific calculator 10 come into contact at any point other than the vertical ends where the locking groove 15a or engaging portion 22 is provided, the surface of the scientific calculator 10 may be scratched over time. Therefore, a gap is provided between the cover component 20 and the scientific calculator 10. In this case, the required gap width is 0.1 mm or more, and it is preferable to have a gap of 0.2 mm or more when considering design tolerances.
[0017] When a user of the electronic device 100 with a cover removes the cover component 20 from the scientific calculator 10, they typically remove it by pressing down (or pulling) the extension portion 21 on which the engaging portion 22 of the cover component 20 is located with their finger. At this time, the user may press the cover component 20 toward the scientific calculator 10 at its center in the vertical direction. As described above, there is a gap between the cover component 20 and the scientific calculator 10, so the cover component 20 elastically deforms in response to the pressure, and the engaging portion 22 of the cover component 20 moves outward as a result. In this case, the engagement between the locking groove 15a and the engaging portion 22 becomes shallower, which reduces the force required to press down (or pull) the extension portion 21 with a finger in order to disengage the engaging portion 22 from the locking groove 15a (making it easier to remove the cover component).
[0018] As shown in Figures 9A to 12C, the second state is defined as the state in which the cover component 20 is pressed towards the scientific calculator 10 at its vertical center from the first state, causing elastic deformation. As shown in Figures 9B, 9C, 10B, and 10C, the engagement amount between the engaging portion 22 and the locking groove 15a in the second state is a second engagement amount H2, which is less than the first engagement amount H1. The engagement amount is approximately the same whether the cover component 20 is attached to the front or back of the scientific calculator 10, and its average value is 0.93 mm (here, "approximately the same" means that the difference in engagement amount from the average engagement amount is 40% or less, and more preferably 20% or less). In other words, the second engagement amount H2 is the front mounting engagement amount, which is the amount of engagement between the engagement portion 22 and the locking groove 15a in a second state where the cover component 20 is attached to the front side of the scientific calculator 10 and the longitudinal center of the cover component 20 is elastically deformed so that it contacts the scientific calculator 10. The rear mounting engagement amount is the amount of engagement between the engagement portion 22 and the locking groove 15a in a second state where the cover component 20 is attached to the rear side of the scientific calculator 10 and the longitudinal center of the cover component 20 is elastically deformed so that it contacts the scientific calculator 10. Furthermore, the shape and position of the locking groove 15a on the scientific calculator 10 and the shape and position of the engagement portion 22 on the cover component 20 are set so that the front mounting engagement amount and the rear mounting engagement amount are approximately the same.
[0019] However, if the second engagement amount H2 in the second state becomes smaller than expected, the engagement force will not be stable, and the cover part 20 may come off too easily when pressed towards the scientific calculator 10. In this case, for example, if the cover part 20 is unintentionally pressed towards the scientific calculator 10 while carrying it, it may come off from the scientific calculator 10, which is undesirable. Therefore, the ratio of the second engagement amount H2 to the first engagement amount H1 should be in the range of 30% or more and 95% or less, and the width W1 of the first gap A or the width W2 of the second gap B should be 1.2 mm or less. If the stability of the attachment of the cover part 20 to the scientific calculator 10 is more important than the ease of removing the cover part 20, the ratio of the second engagement amount H2 to the first engagement amount H1 should be 50% or more, or the width W1 of the first gap A and the width W2 of the second gap B may be 0.9 mm or less. Furthermore, if the priority is to make the cover component 20 easy to remove by utilizing the gap between the cover component 20 and the scientific calculator 10, if the width W1 of the first gap A or the width W2 of the second gap B is small, the amount of deflection when the cover component 20 is pressed toward the scientific calculator 10 and elastically deformed will not be sufficient, and the degree to which the cover component 20 becomes easy to remove will be small. In this case, the ratio of the second engagement amount H2 to the first engagement amount H1 should be 80% or less, or the width W1 of the first gap A or the width W2 of the second gap B may be 0.2 mm or more.
[0020] Furthermore, if the difference between the width W1 of the first gap A and the width W2 of the second gap B is large, the ease of removing the cover component 20 will differ significantly depending on whether the cover component 20 is attached to the back side of the scientific calculator 10 or to the front side of the scientific calculator 10. For this reason, it is preferable to make the width W1 of the first gap A and the width W2 of the second gap B approximately the same (where approximately the same means less than or equal to a predetermined value, for example, the difference between the widths W1 and W2 is 0.9 mm or less, and more preferably 0.5 mm or less), or to make the second engagement amount H2 approximately the same whether the cover component 20 is attached to the front side or to the back side of the scientific calculator 10, so that the ease of removing the cover component 20 does not differ significantly depending on whether the cover component 20 is attached to the front side or to the back side of the scientific calculator 10 (where approximately the same means that the difference in the engagement amount relative to the average value of the engagement amount is 40% or less, and more preferably 20% or less).
[0021] Furthermore, considering the storage capacity and design of the covered electronic device 100, if the width W1 of the first gap A or the width W2 of the second gap B is greater than 1.2 mm, the width (thickness) of the covered electronic device 100 in the front-to-back direction when the cover component 20 is attached to the scientific calculator 10 will increase, worsening the storage capacity and design of the covered electronic device 100. In this case, it is also undesirable because the amount of deflection when the cover component 20 is pressed towards the scientific calculator 10 and elastically deformed may become too large, potentially causing problems such as the user feeling uncomfortable. In other words, by setting the width W1 of the first gap A and the width W2 of the second gap B to 0.1 mm or more (preferably 0.2 mm or more) and 1.2 mm or less (preferably 0.9 mm or less), as described above, the cover component 20 can be attached to the scientific calculator 10 in a stable state, and the ease of removing the cover component 20 can be improved. In other words, the width W1 of the first gap A and / or the width W2 of the second gap B are set primarily based on conditions relating to the stability and ease of removal of the cover component 20 attached to the electronic device (scientific calculator 10).
[0022] In conventional cover components and scientific calculators, when the cover component is attached to the back of the scientific calculator, the width of the gap formed between the cover component and the scientific calculator is smaller than the width W1 of the first gap A in this embodiment. As a result, when the cover component is pressed towards the scientific calculator and elastically deformed, the amount of deflection is insufficient, making it difficult to remove the cover component. To address the above problem, the width of the first gap A in this embodiment is set to a value that makes it easy to remove the cover component 20 when it is attached to the back of the scientific calculator 10, as described above. Furthermore, the width of the first gap A in this embodiment is set to a value that allows the cover component 20 to be attached to the scientific calculator 10 in a stable state, as described above.
[0023] Furthermore, with conventional cover components and scientific calculators, when removing the cover component attached to the front of the scientific calculator, pressing the cover component towards the scientific calculator at its center in the vertical direction sometimes caused the cover component to come into contact with the operation buttons located on the front of the scientific calculator. In this case, if the cover component is pressed further towards the scientific calculator while in contact with the operation buttons, the operation buttons move backward while applying a reaction force to the cover component (the maximum stroke amount of the operation buttons is 0.6 mm to 1.0 mm). As a result, the force applied to the cover component and the amount of deflection due to elastic deformation of the cover component are unstable, leading to the problem of inconsistent ease of removal of the cover component when it is attached to the front of the scientific calculator.
[0024] In response to the above problem, in the second state when the cover component 20 of this embodiment is attached to the front side of the scientific calculator 10, as shown in Figures 12B and 12C, the cover component 20 and the scientific calculator 10 first come into contact in region R2, which is the central part in the vertical direction and the left and right ends where the multiple operation buttons 13 are not provided. Therefore, in the second state when the cover component 20 is attached to the front side of the scientific calculator 10, the cover component 20 and the operation buttons 13 do not come into contact first. Thus, the ease of removing the cover component 20 when it is attached to the front side of the scientific calculator 10 can be stabilized.
[0025] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 11B, in the second state where the cover component 20 is placed on the back side of the scientific calculator 10, the cover component 20 and the scientific calculator 10 come into contact in region R1, which is the center in both the vertical and horizontal directions.
[0026] Furthermore, with conventional cover components and scientific calculators, the ease of removing the cover component differs depending on whether the cover component is attached to the back of the scientific calculator or to the front of the scientific calculator, as the amount of deflection when the cover component is pressed toward the scientific calculator and elastically deformed differs. In other words, there is a problem that the ease of removing the cover component is not consistent. To address the above problem, the width W1 of the first gap A and the width W2 of the second gap B in this embodiment are approximately the same, and the difference between the widths W1 and W2 is 0.9 mm or less (more preferably 0.5 mm or less). In other words, the amount of deflection when the cover component 20 is pressed toward the scientific calculator 10 and elastically deformed is approximately the same whether the cover component 20 is attached to the back of the scientific calculator 10 or to the front of the scientific calculator 10. Therefore, the ease of removing the cover component 20 is approximately the same whether it is attached to the back of the scientific calculator 10 or to the front of the scientific calculator 10, and the ease of removing the cover component 20 is stable. In other words, the difference between the width W1 of the first gap A and the width W2 of the second gap B is set by the condition relating to the difference in ease of removal between the cover component 20 attached to the front of the electronic device (scientific calculator 10) and the cover component 20 attached to the back of the electronic device.
[0027] The electronic device 100 with a cover in the above embodiment may satisfy at least one of the following first, second, and third conditions. The first condition is that, as shown in Figures 12B and 12C, in the second state when the cover component 20 is attached to the front side of the scientific calculator 10, the cover component 20 and the scientific calculator 10 are in contact in an area where there are no operation buttons 13. The second condition is that, as shown in Figure 7, in the first state when the cover component 20 is attached to the back side of the scientific calculator 10, a first gap A is formed between the cover component 20 and the scientific calculator 10 at the vertical center. The third condition is that the width W1 of the first gap A and the width W2 of the second gap B formed between the cover component 20 and the scientific calculator 10 at the vertical center in the first state when the cover component 20 is placed on the front side of the scientific calculator 10 are substantially the same. Even in this case, the ease of removing the cover component 20 from the scientific calculator 10 can be appropriately ensured.
[0028] Furthermore, the ease with which the cover component 20 can be removed from the scientific calculator 10 depends on the shape and hardness of the cover component 20, the engaging portion 22, the front case 11, the back case 15, the locking groove 15a, etc. In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the scientific calculator 10 has the shape and dimensions of a typical scientific calculator (a roughly rectangular parallelepiped with a depth of 150-200 mm, a width of 60-90 mm, and a height of 10-20 mm), and the material of the cover component 20 is assumed to be a typical ABS resin (or PS (polystyrene), or any other material having a Young's modulus equivalent to ABS resin). The width W1 of the first gap A and the width W2 of the second gap B are determined accordingly. However, conversely, at least one of the following may be set based on the width W1 of the first gap A and / or the width W2 of the second gap B: the shape of the cover part 20, the hardness of the cover part 20, the shape of the housing of the scientific calculator 10 (front case 11 and rear case 15), the hardness of the housing of the scientific calculator 10, the shape of the engaging part 22, the hardness of the engaging part 22, the shape of the locking groove 15a, and the hardness of the locking groove 15a. Furthermore, if the size of the target electronic device, such as the scientific calculator 10, is different, the width of the gaps and the amount of engagement may be changed in the same proportion as the difference in size.
[0029] <Variation> Next, a modified example of the above embodiment, an electronic device with a cover 100, will be described. In the following description, the differences from the electronic device with a cover 100 according to the above embodiment will be the focus. Furthermore, components similar to those in the covered electronic device 100 according to the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions are omitted.
[0030] In this modified example, in the second state where the cover component 20 shown in Figures 12A to 12C is attached to the front side of the scientific calculator 10, the cover component 20 and the scientific calculator 10 first come into contact in region R2, which is the central part in the vertical direction and the left and right ends where the multiple operation buttons 13 are not provided. Next, in region R2, the cover component 20 and Scientific calculator 10 If the cover component 20 is further pressed toward the scientific calculator 10 while in contact with the calculator 10, the surface of the cover component 20 and the surface of the operation button 13 will come into contact. However, since the cover component 20 and the scientific calculator 10 are already in contact in region R2, and the cover component 20 is supported in region R2, the surface of the operation button 13 is unlikely to be scratched.
[0031] Furthermore, ribs or protrusions may be provided on the side of the cover component 20 facing the scientific calculator 10. In this case, when the cover component 20 is attached to the front side of the scientific calculator 10, the ribs or protrusions can be configured to abut against the area between the operation buttons 13 on the front case 11, thereby preventing the cover component 20 from coming into contact with the operation buttons 13.
[0032] As described above, the electronic device with a cover 100 of this embodiment comprises an electronic device (scientific calculator 10) having locking portions (locking grooves 15a) on the sides of both ends in the longitudinal direction, and a cover part 20 that can be selectively attached to both the front and back sides of the electronic device, and which, regardless of whether it is attached to the front or back side, has engaging portions 22 at both ends in the longitudinal direction that engage with the locking portions in a first state where there is a gap between the cover part and the electronic device at the center in the longitudinal direction. In the electronic device 100 with a cover, the front mounting engagement amount, which is the amount of engagement between the engaging portion 22 and the locking portion in a second state where the cover component 20 is attached to the front side of the electronic device and elastically deformed so that the longitudinal center of the cover component 20 contacts the electronic device, and the rear mounting engagement amount, which is the amount of engagement between the engaging portion 22 and the locking portion in a second state where the cover component 20 is attached to the rear side of the electronic device and elastically deformed so that the longitudinal center of the cover component 20 contacts the electronic device, are determined to be approximately the same. This ensures that the ease of removing the cover component 20 does not differ significantly whether the cover component 20 is attached to the front side or the rear side of the scientific calculator 10. Therefore, the ease of removing the cover component 20 from the scientific calculator 10 can be appropriately controlled.
[0033] Furthermore, the electronic device with a cover 100 of this embodiment comprises an electronic device (scientific calculator 10) having a plurality of operation buttons 13 on its front side, and a cover component 20 that can be attached to the electronic device. The electronic device has locking portions (locking grooves 15a) on the sides of both ends in the longitudinal direction. The cover component 20 has extension portions 21 provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction that cover at least a part of the side of the electronic device, and engaging portions 22 provided at the ends of the extension portions 21 that engage with the locking portions. When the engaging portion 22 is engaged with the locking portion with the cover component 20 positioned on the front or back side of the electronic device, it enters a first state where the amount of engagement between the engaging portion 22 and the locking portion is a first engagement amount H1. In the first state, when the cover component 20 is pressed toward the electronic device at the center of the cover component 20 in the longitudinal direction and elastically deformed, it enters a second state where the amount of engagement between the engaging portion 22 and the locking portion is a second engagement amount H2, which is less than the first engagement amount H1. When the cover component 20 is positioned on the back side of the electronic device, the width W1 of the first gap A at the position where the gap is narrowest in the longitudinal center of the first state is approximately the same as the width W2 of the second gap B at the position where the gap is narrowest in the longitudinal center of the first state when the cover component 20 is positioned on the front side of the electronic device. As a result, the amount of deflection when the cover component 20 is pressed toward the scientific calculator 10 and elastically deformed can be made approximately the same whether the cover component 20 is attached to the back side of the scientific calculator 10 or to the front side of the scientific calculator 10. Therefore, the ease of removing the cover component 20 is approximately the same whether the cover component 20 is attached to the back side of the scientific calculator 10 or to the front side of the scientific calculator 10, and the ease of removing the cover component 20 from the scientific calculator 10 can be appropriately controlled.
[0034] Furthermore, the electronic device with a cover 100 of this embodiment comprises an electronic device (scientific calculator 10) having a plurality of operation buttons 13 on its front side, and a cover component 20 that can be attached to the electronic device. The electronic device has locking portions (locking grooves 15a) on the sides of both ends in the longitudinal direction. The cover component 20 has extension portions 21 provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction that cover at least a part of the side of the electronic device, and engaging portions 22 provided at the ends of the extension portions 21 that engage with the locking portions. When the engaging portion 22 is engaged with the locking portion with the cover component 20 positioned on the front or back side of the electronic device, it enters a first state where the amount of engagement between the engaging portion 22 and the locking portion is a first engagement amount H1. In the first state, when the cover component 20 is pressed toward the electronic device at the center of the cover component 20 in the longitudinal direction and elastically deformed, it enters a second state where the amount of engagement between the engaging portion 22 and the locking portion is a second engagement amount H2, which is less than the first engagement amount H1. In the electronic device 100 with a cover, in the first state when the cover component 20 is attached to the front side of the electronic device, the region where the gap between the cover component 20 and the electronic device is narrowest in the longitudinal center is the region where the multiple operation buttons 13 are not provided. In the second state when the cover component 20 is attached to the front side of the electronic device, the cover component 20 and the electronic device come into contact in the region where the multiple operation buttons 13 are not provided, but do not come into contact in the region where the multiple operation buttons 13 are provided. As a result, even when the cover component 20 is pressed toward the scientific calculator 10, the cover component 20 and the operation buttons 13 do not come into contact. Therefore, when the cover component 20 is pressed toward the scientific calculator 10, the operation buttons 13 move backward while applying a reaction force to the cover component 20, which prevents instability in the force applied to the cover component 20 and the amount of deflection caused by the elastic deformation of the cover component 20. In other words, the ease of removing the cover component 20 when it is attached to the front side of the scientific calculator 10 can be appropriately controlled.
[0035] Furthermore, in the electronic device 100 with a cover of this embodiment, when the cover component 20 is attached to the front side of the electronic device (scientific calculator 10), the cover component 20 and the electronic device come into contact at the center in the longitudinal direction and at both ends in the left and right directions where the multiple operation buttons 13 are not provided. As a result, even if the cover component 20 is pressed towards the scientific calculator 10, the cover component 20 and the operation buttons 13 do not come into contact. Therefore, when the cover component 20 is pressed towards the scientific calculator 10, the operation buttons 13 move backward while applying a reaction force to the cover component 20, which prevents instability in the force applied to the cover component 20 and the amount of deflection caused by the elastic deformation of the cover component 20. In other words, the ease of removing the cover component 20 when it is attached to the front side of the scientific calculator 10 can be appropriately controlled.
[0036] Furthermore, in the electronic device 100 with a cover of this embodiment, the second state is the state in which the cover component 20 first comes into contact with a part of the electronic device when the cover component 20 is pressed toward the electronic device (scientific calculator 10) at its longitudinal center from the first state and elastically deformed. Therefore, the area in which the cover component 20 and the electronic device first come into contact is an area in which the multiple operation buttons 13 are not provided, so the second state is the state in which the cover component 20 and the operation buttons 13 are not in contact. In other words, by pressing the cover component 20 toward the scientific calculator 10, the operation buttons 13 move backward while applying a reaction force to the cover component 20, which prevents the force pressing the cover component 20 and the amount of deflection caused by the elastic deformation of the cover component 20 from becoming unstable.
[0037] Furthermore, in the electronic device 100 with a cover of this embodiment, the difference between the width W1 of the first gap A and the width W2 of the second gap B is 40% or less of the average value of the width W1 of the first gap A and the width W2 of the second gap B. As a result, the amount of deflection when the cover component 20 is pressed toward the scientific calculator 10 and elastically deformed is approximately the same whether the cover component 20 is attached to the back side of the scientific calculator 10 or to the front side of the scientific calculator 10. Therefore, the ease of removing the cover component 20 is approximately the same whether the cover component 20 is attached to the back side of the scientific calculator 10 or to the front side of the scientific calculator 10, and the ease of removing the cover component 20 can be appropriately adjusted.
[0038] Furthermore, in the electronic device 100 with a cover of this embodiment, in the first state when the cover component 20 is positioned on the front side of the electronic device, the closest distance between the peripheral area where the operation buttons 13 of the electronic device are not located and the cover component 20 is within the first range, and the closest distance between the front of the operation buttons 13 when not pressed and the cover component 20 is within the second range, with the minimum value of the second range being greater than the maximum value of the first range. As a result, even when the cover component 20 is pressed towards the scientific calculator 10, the cover component 20 and the operation buttons 13 do not come into contact. Therefore, when the cover component 20 is pressed towards the scientific calculator 10, the operation buttons 13 move backward while applying a reaction force to the cover component 20, which prevents instability in the force applied to the cover component 20 and the amount of deflection caused by the elastic deformation of the cover component 20. In other words, the ease of removing the cover component 20 when it is attached to the front side of the scientific calculator 10 can be appropriately controlled.
[0039] Furthermore, in the covered electronic device 100 of this embodiment, the width W1 of the first gap A and / or the width W2 of the second gap B are set based on the shape of the cover component 20 and the shape of the electronic device housing, assuming that the electronic device (scientific calculator 10) is a standard-sized and shaped electronic desktop calculator, so as to ensure that the cover component 20 is easy to remove and that the cover component 20 is securely attached. This improves the ease of removing the cover component 20 from the scientific calculator 10 and the stability of the cover component 20's attachment to the scientific calculator 10.
[0040] Furthermore, in the covered electronic device 100 of this embodiment, the difference between the width W1 of the first gap A and the width W2 of the second gap B is set based on the shape of the cover component 20, the hardness of the cover component 20, and the shape of the housing of the electronic device (scientific calculator 10), assuming that the electronic device (scientific calculator 10) is a standard-sized and shaped electronic desktop calculator and the cover component 20 is made of a standard material, so that the ease of removing the cover component 20 is approximately the same whether the cover component 20 is attached to the front of the electronic device or to the back of the electronic device. As a result, the ease of removing the cover component 20 is approximately the same whether the cover component 20 is attached to the back of the scientific calculator 10 or to the front of the scientific calculator 10, making it easy to remove the cover component 20 from the scientific calculator 10.
[0041] It goes without saying that the embodiments to which the present invention can be applied are not limited to those described above, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the electronic device according to the present invention is not limited to scientific calculators (electronic desktop calculators), but can be broadly applied to all electronic devices in general, such as electronic dictionaries and smartphones, where the main surface is protected by a cover component.
[0042] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but includes the scope of the invention as described in the claims and its equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]
[0043] 100 Electronic device with cover, 10 Scientific calculator (electronic device), 13 Operation button, 15a Locking groove, 20 Cover part, 22 Engaging part, A First gap, B Second gap
Claims
1. A covered electronic device comprising a cover component that can be selectively attached to both the front and rear sides of the electronic device, The electronic device has locking portions on the sides of both ends in the first direction, Regardless of whether the cover component is mounted on the front or rear side of the electronic device, engaging portions are provided at both ends in the first direction that engage with the locking portion. When the cover component is mounted on the electronic device, the amount of engagement between the engaging portion and the locking portion becomes a predetermined amount of engagement due to the elastic deformation of the cover component. In this configuration, when the cover component is mounted on the back side of the electronic device, the cover component contacts the electronic device at the center of the first direction and at the center of the second direction perpendicular to the first direction. On the other hand, when the cover component is mounted on the front side of the electronic device, the cover component maintains a non-contact state with the electronic device at the center of the first direction and at the center of the second direction, while contacting the electronic device at both ends of the second direction. An electronic device with a cover, characterized by the following features.
2. The longitudinal direction of the cover component or the longitudinal direction of the electronic device is set as the first direction. The electronic device with a cover according to feature 1.
3. The vertical direction of the cover component or the vertical direction of the electronic device is set as the first direction, The left-right direction of the cover component or the left-right direction of the electronic device is set as the second direction. The electronic device with a cover according to feature 1.
4. The electronic device has predetermined operation buttons arranged on the front side. A covered electronic device according to any one of features 1 to 3.