electronic machinery

Abstract

To provide an electronic apparatus in which an exterior cover can be easily mounted on an outside surface of a body without using a screw and does not come off easily.SOLUTION: An electronic apparatus includes: a body; and an exterior cover to cover a body outside surface. Each opposite surface of an outside surface and the exterior cover is provided with a first engaging section along the opposite surface and a second engaging section which is engaged from a direction orthogonal to the opposite surface and orthogonal to a first direction. The first engaging section is constituted of a first fork member in which a notch provided on one opposite surface extends in the first direction and a second fork member in which a notch provided on the other opposite surface in a direction orthogonal to the first fork member extends in a direction opposite to the first direction. The second engaging section is constituted of a through hole on one opposite surface and an elastic body with a projection which is on the other opposite surface and is engaged from a direction orthogonal to the through hole.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an exterior cover for electronic equipment, such as a face-to-face electronic scale with a printer. [Background Art]

[0002] There is a type of electronic scale with a printer, as disclosed in, for example, the following patent document, in which a weighing unit that outputs a weighing signal is detachably provided on the electronic scale including a printer and a display section. When this type of weighing unit is used separated from the main body, an exterior cover is put over the upper surface of the electronic scale where the weighing unit was previously attached.

[0003] If this exterior cover is screwed to the main body of the electronic scale, the heads of the screws are exposed, which not only impairs the appearance but also allows dust and the like to easily accumulate on the screw heads. In particular, since this type of electronic scale is often used on display cases in butcher shops and delicatessen stores, if the exterior cover on the upper surface of the electronic scale is dirty, or food residues accumulate in the grooves of the screw heads, this alone gives an unsanitary impression.

[0004] On the other hand, as a mechanism for attaching a cover to a main body without using screws, so-called snap-fit coupling is often used, as seen in, for example, the assembly of plastic models and the attachment of covers for air conditioners that require cleaning. However, since this snap-fit coupling allows attachment and detachment only from one direction, there is a problem that the cover is easily detached. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-88340 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0006] Furthermore, if the outer cover, which replaces the weighing pan, comes off easily, it exposes the opening leading to the electronic components inside the main unit, which is undesirable. In view of these problems, the present invention aims to provide an electronic device in which the outer cover can be easily attached to the outer surface of the main unit without using screws, and which has a structure that prevents it from coming off easily. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, the electronic device according to the present invention is The main unit and The main body comprises an outer cover that is placed over the outer surface of the main body, Each of the opposing surfaces of the outer surface and the outer cover is provided with a first engaging portion that engages from a first direction along the opposing surface, and a second engaging portion that engages from a direction perpendicular to the opposing surface and also perpendicular to the first direction. The first engaging portion is provided on one opposing surface, and is provided on the first bifurcated member which is provided on the opposing surface and is provided on the first bifurcated surface which is provided on the first bifurcated member which is provided on the first bifurcated member whose bifurcated notch opening is facing in the opposite direction to the first direction, It is composed of a second bifurcated member provided on the other opposing surface, which splits into two branches and spreads out in a direction perpendicular to the first bifurcated member, and whose bifurcated notch opening faces the first direction, The second engaging portion is, A through hole provided on one of the opposing surfaces and provided along the opposing surface, It is composed of an elastic body with a projection provided on the other opposing surface, which enters and engages with the through-hole from a direction perpendicular to the through-hole.

[0008] When attaching the outer cover to the outer surface of the main body, as the outer cover is placed over the outer surface of the main body, the first bifurcated member and the second bifurcated member of the first engaging portion face each other, and in the first direction, the openings of their notches face each other. The outer cover is then moved along the outer surface in the first direction so that their notches interlock. As a result, the first bifurcated member and the second bifurcated member, facing each other in mutually perpendicular directions, engage by sandwiching the notch of the other with their respective notches. This immobiles the side of the outer cover with the first engaging portion relative to the outer surface of the main body. At this time, an elastic body with a projection attached to one opposing surface of the second engaging portion and extending in a direction perpendicular to the first direction faces the through hole on the other opposing surface coaxially.

[0009] Next, when the second engaging portion of the outer cover is pushed toward the main body, the elastic body with the projection of the second engaging portion is inserted into the other through-hole while undergoing elastic deformation. Once inserted, the elastic body, having passed through the through-hole while deforming, returns to its original position, causing the projection on the elastic body to catch on the periphery of the through-hole, thus preventing it from coming loose. As a result, the second engaging portion of the outer cover is also immovably restrained to the main body, allowing the outer surface of the main body and the outer cover to be integrated.

[0010] The electronic device is an electronic scale comprising a printer unit and a weighing unit, wherein the printer unit is housed within the main body, the weighing unit is detachably attached to the outer surface of the main body, and the outer cover is attached to the exposed outer surface left after the weighing unit has been removed from the main body.

[0011] This allows the printer unit on the main body to be separated from the weighing unit that was previously mounted on top of the main body, and these can be placed separately, for example, on a display case. Therefore, it becomes easier to place and remove products onto the weighing unit, which is positioned one level lower than the top surface of the main body.

[0012] In the aforementioned electronic scale, four support columns are provided on the outer surface of the main body to support the weighing section. Of these four columns, three are for fixing the weighing section, and the remaining column is formed lower than the other three so as to be separated from the bottom surface of the weighing section.

[0013] When attempting to fix the bottom surface of the weighing unit with four support columns, machining errors on the top surfaces of each column may prevent them from aligning on the same plane. If the weighing unit is fixed to four non-aligned columns, twisting will occur in the weighing unit, which necessitates adjustment of the four corners of the load cell inside the weighing unit. However, in this invention, the bottom surface of the weighing unit is supported by three columns. Therefore, even if there are height errors in each column, the top surfaces of the three columns can form a single plane. Fixing the weighing unit to this plane does not cause twisting in the weighing unit, thus eliminating the need for the four-corner adjustment that was previously required after installation.

[0014] In addition, if a predetermined gap is provided between the remaining support column, which is not connected to the bottom surface of the weighing section, and the bottom surface of the weighing section, even if an impact load is applied to the weighing section, the remaining support column will function as a limit stopper against deformation, thus maintaining weighing accuracy without causing plastic deformation of the weighing section. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, an exterior cover that is prone to getting dirty with food, etc., can be easily attached to the outer surface of the main unit without using screws, and since it does not come off easily, the appearance of the exterior cover is improved, and the electronic device does not give an unpleasant impression from a hygienic standpoint. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] External perspective view of an electronic scale according to one embodiment of the electronic device according to the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the electronic scale with the weighing section at the top removed, exposing the outer surface of the main body. [Figure 3]FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of an exterior cover covering an outer surface of a main body as viewed from a back side. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a first bifurcated member of a first engaging portion for fixing the exterior cover to the outer surface of the main body. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is an external perspective view showing a state where the orientation of the first bifurcated member is rotated by 180 degrees. [Figure 6A] It is an explanatory diagram showing how a second bifurcated member of a first engaging portion provided on the back surface of the exterior cover of FIG. 3 is attached to a first bifurcated member of a first engaging portion provided on the outer surface of the main body. [Figure 6B] It is an explanatory diagram showing a state where the second bifurcated member of the exterior cover is engaged with the first bifurcated member on the outer surface of the main body from the state of FIG. 6A. [Figure 7A] It is an explanatory diagram showing a state immediately before an elastic body with a projection of a second engaging portion provided on the back surface of the exterior cover of FIG. 3 is inserted into a through hole in the outer surface of the main body. [Figure 7B] It is an explanatory diagram showing a state where the elastic body with a projection is inserted into the through hole from the state of FIG. 7A [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a state where the exterior cover is attached to the exposed outer surface of an electronic scale main body. MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, this embodiment does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[0018] FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an electronic scale as an embodiment of an electronic device. In this figure, the electronic scale 100 includes a main body 10, a weighing portion 20 attached to an upper portion of the main body 10, a store-side display portion 30A attached to a front side of the main body 10, a customer-side display portion 30B attached to a back side of the main body, and a power switch 40 attached to an upper portion of the main body 10.

[0019] The weighing unit 20 is detachable from the top of the main body 10. When the weighing unit 20 is detached from the main body 10, the outer surface 11 of the main body 10 is exposed, as shown in Figure 2. To detach the weighing unit 20 from the main body 10, first lift and remove the weighing pan 22. This reveals the heads of bolts at the three corners that were hidden by the weighing pan 22. Loosening these bolts and then lifting the entire weighing unit 20 exposes the outer surface 11 shown in Figure 2. This exposed outer surface 11 is lower than the outer surface 11a where the power switch 40 is located. The heads of the three support columns 21 that fix the weighing unit 20 are exposed on this outer surface 11, and screw holes are provided vertically on the central axis of each support column 21. However, the support column 21 at the front right corner does not have a screw hole.

[0020] In Figure 2, the tops of the four support columns 21 are exposed, but one support column 21 without a screw hole is set to a predetermined height lower than the other three support columns 21 that have screw holes. In this case, the predetermined amount is the spacing that prevents the weighing unit 20 from undergoing plastic deformation when an impact load is applied to it. Furthermore, when the weighing unit 20 is separated from the main body 10 and placed separately, the lower support column 21 can be replaced with a support column 21 that has a screw hole and is the same height as the other three support columns 21.

[0021] Furthermore, a small window 23 is provided on the exposed outer surface 11, and signal lines are drawn out from this window 23 to electrically connect the electronic circuit in the weighing unit 20 with a control board (not shown) in the main body 10. However, in a specification where the weighing unit 20 is separated from the main body 10 and placed separately, these signal lines are housed inside the main body 10.

[0022] Figure 3 shows an example of an outer cover 50 that covers the exposed outer surface 11 in Figure 2. In this figure, the outer cover 50 is molded from resin to cover the exposed outer surface 11 after the measuring unit 20 has been removed. The outer cover 50 has a top surface and a side surface 50a that surrounds the periphery of the top surface. A portion of the front side of the side surface 50a is cut out, and the cut-out portion is shaped to cover the slightly higher, arc-shaped inclined surface 12 of the outer surface 11 in Figure 2. The top surface of the outer cover 50 is finished to be approximately flat, and multiple reinforcing ribs 51 and 52 are provided in a grid pattern on the back surface.

[0023] Figures 4 and 5 show brackets 60 for attaching the exterior cover 50 to the outer surface 11 of the main body 10. The brackets 60 in Figures 4 and 5 are of the same shape and consist of a long base plate 61, a vertical plate 62 extending vertically from the side edge of the base plate 61 in the direction of its long axis, and a hanger plate 63 extending horizontally from the upper edge of the vertical plate 54b in the opposite direction to the base plate 61.

[0024] Through holes 64 are provided at both ends of the base plate 61, corresponding to the spacing between two adjacent support columns 21 in the left-right direction in Figure 2. Therefore, for example, if the hanger plate 63 of the bracket 60 in Figure 4 is turned to the rear, and the through holes 64 on both sides of the base plate 61 are placed on the two front support columns 21 in Figure 2 and tightened with bolts, the bracket 60 will be fixed to the front side of the outer surface 11.

[0025] Furthermore, by orienting the hanger plate 63 of the bracket 60 in Figure 5 forward and aligning the through holes 64 on both sides of its base plate 61 with the left and right rear support columns 21 in Figure 2 and tightening them with bolts, the bracket 60 is fixed to the rear side of the outer surface 11. As a result, each bracket 60 in Figures 4 and 5 is fixed to the four support columns 21 on the exposed outer surface 11 with their hanger plates 63 facing inward.

[0026] Furthermore, the front reinforcing rib 51, which extends in the first direction F and vertically as indicated by the arrow in Figure 3, and the horizontal hanger plate 63 in Figure 4, which is attached to the front of the exposed outer surface 11, are each provided with a first engaging portion A that engages with them from the first direction F. In addition, the rear reinforcing rib 52, which extends in a direction perpendicular to the first direction F and also extends vertically, and the horizontal base plate 61 in Figure 5, which is attached to the rear of the outer surface 11, are each provided with a second engaging portion B that engages with them from the vertical direction.

[0027] Specifically, the first engaging portion A is composed of a first bifurcated member a1 consisting of a notch C formed in the hanger plate 63, and a second bifurcated member a2 consisting of a notch C formed in the reinforcing rib 51. That is, the notch C in the hanger plate 63, which is the first bifurcated member a1 in Figure 4, is formed by a cut from a first direction F with a width matching the thickness of the reinforcing rib 51, and the notch C in the reinforcing rib 51, which is the second bifurcated member a2 in Figure 3, is formed by a cut from the opposite direction to the first direction F with a width matching the thickness of the hanger plate 63. The openings of these notches C are angled outwards to facilitate guiding each other into the notches C.

[0028] Furthermore, the second engaging portion B consists of a horizontal through hole b1 provided in the base plate 61 shown in Figure 5, and an elastic body b2 provided in the reinforcing rib 52 shown in Figure 3, which penetrates and engages with the through hole b1 from a vertical direction.

[0029] This elastic body b2 has a shape in which a portion of the rear reinforcing rib 52, which extends in the left-right direction, is extended vertically like a strip. In Figure 3, a projection 53 is provided on the rear side surface of the central elastic body b2, but projections 53 may also be provided in similar positions on the other elastic bodies b2.

[0030] Furthermore, in this embodiment, three first bifurcated members a1 and three second bifurcated members a2 are provided in parallel, but the number is not limited to three; for example, two or four can be provided as appropriate.

[0031] Then, when attaching the outer cover 50 to the outer surface 11, as shown in Figure 6A, the outer cover 50 is placed over the outer surface 11 so that the first bifurcated member a1 and the second bifurcated member a2 of the first engaging portion A face each other and are offset from each other in the first direction F. Next, from that state, the outer cover 50 is moved along the outer surface 11 in the first direction F so that the misalignment between the two is eliminated, and as shown in Figure 6B, the notches C of the first bifurcated member a1 and the second bifurcated member a2, which face each other orthogonally, interlock so as to sandwich the other notch C. As a result, the front side of the outer cover 50 is fixedly restrained to the outer surface 11 of the main body 10. At this time, as shown in Figure 7A, the elastic body b2 with a projection that forms one side of the second engaging portion B faces the through hole b1 that forms the other side of the second engaging portion B on the same axis.

[0032] Next, when the rear side of the outer cover 50 is pushed toward the main body 10, as shown in Figure 7B, the elastic body b2 with the projection 53 of the second engaging part B is inserted into the through hole b1 of the base plate 61 while undergoing elastic deformation. Once inserted, the elastic body b2 with the projection 53 returns to its original position after passing through the through hole b1 while deforming, causing the projection 53 on the elastic body b2 to catch on the periphery of the through hole b1 and engage. As a result, the rear side of the outer cover 50 is also immovably restrained from the main body 10. Therefore, since the outer cover 50 is restrained from the main body 10 in the front-to-back, left-to-right, and even up-and-down directions, the outer cover 50 can be integrated with the main body 10 without the use of screws.

[0033] Figure 8 shows a perspective view of the electronic scale 100 after the outer cover 50 has been attached to the outer surface 11 using the procedure described above. In this state, the weighing unit 20 is located separately. Furthermore, when removing the outer cover 50 attached to the main body 10, the outer cover 50 is pushed firmly in the first direction F while the rear side of the outer cover 50 is lifted upward. As a result, the elastic body b2 deforms and the projection 53 separates from the periphery of the through hole b1. This disengages the second engaging part B and lifts the rear side of the outer cover 50. Subsequently, sliding the outer cover 50 in the opposite direction to the first direction F disengages the engagement of the first engaging part A, allowing the outer cover 50 to be removed from the main body.

[0034] Furthermore, when the outer cover 50 is placed over the outer surface 11, it is often used permanently in that state. Therefore, the strength of the elastic body b2 with projection 53 is set such that the engagement of the second engagement part B, which is the last to engage, will not be released unless considerable force is applied.

[0035] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and other embodiments can be adopted within the scope described in the claims.

[0036] For example, in the above embodiment, the front side of the exterior cover 50 is designated as the first engaging portion A and the rear side as the second engaging portion B, but the rear side may be designated as the first engaging portion A and the front side as the second engaging portion B. Also, the first bifurcated member a1 of the first engaging portion A is provided on the bracket 60 side and the second bifurcated member a2 is provided on the exterior cover 50 side, but they may be provided in the opposite order.

[0037] In this configuration, the second bifurcated member a2 of the outer cover 50 was moved to the first direction F, i.e., to the front, to engage with the first bifurcated member a1 of the bracket 60. Alternatively, the base plate 61 of the front bracket 60 may be oriented to the rear, and the notch C of the second bifurcated member a2 of the outer cover 50 may also be formed to face rearward, thereby enabling the outer cover 50 to be moved to the rear and engaged.

[0038] Furthermore, if there is no notch on the front side of the outer cover 50 as shown in Figure 3, the outer cover 50 may be moved in the left-right direction to allow it to be attached. In this case, as shown in Figure 2, the longitudinal direction of the bracket 60 may be oriented in the front-rear direction and attached to two adjacent support columns 21 on the front and rear of the main body, and on the opposite side, the other bracket 60 facing the first one may be attached to two adjacent support columns 21 in the front-rear direction.

[0039] In that case, the second bifurcated member a2 of the first engaging portion A should be provided on the left-right reinforcing rib 52, and the elastic body b2 with a projection of the second engaging portion B should be provided on the front-rear reinforcing rib 51. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0040] 100 electronic scales 10 Main Unit 11 Outer surface 21 Post 50 Exterior Cover A First engagement part B Second engaging part F 1st direction C Notch a1 First bifurcated member a2 Second fork member b1 Through hole b2 Elastic body with protrusions

Claims

1. The main unit and The main body comprises an outer cover that is placed over the outer surface of the main body, Reinforcing ribs are provided on the back surface of the outer cover that faces the outer surface of the main body. The opposing surfaces of the outer surface and the outer cover are provided with a first engaging portion that engages from a first direction along the opposing surfaces, A second engaging portion is provided, which engages from a direction perpendicular to the opposing surface and also perpendicular to the first direction. The first engaging portion is provided on the outer surface and is provided on the outer surface, and is provided on the first bifurcated member which is provided on the outer surface and is provided on the bifurcated member which is provided on the first bifurcated member whose opening is notched and faces in the opposite direction to the first direction, It is composed of a second bifurcated member provided on the reinforcing rib, which splits into two branches and spreads out in a direction perpendicular to the first bifurcated member, and the opening of the bifurcated notch faces the first direction, The second engagement portion is, A through hole provided on the outer surface and along the outer surface, The reinforcing rib is provided with an elastic body with a projection that enters and engages with the through-hole from a direction perpendicular to the through-hole, electronic equipment.

2. The aforementioned electronic device is an electronic scale comprising a printer unit and a weighing unit, The printer unit is housed within the main body. The measuring unit is detachably attached to the outer surface of the main body. The outer cover is attached to the outer surface that is exposed after the measuring unit has been removed from the main body. The electronic device according to claim 1.

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