Housing and electronic apparatus

Abstract

A housing according to the present disclosure comprises: a housing member that is provided with an object to be locked; and a locking part that is provided to the housing member and that can lock the object to be locked. The locking part comprises: a flexible arm part that extends along an outer edge of an arrangement region that is a region in which the object to be locked is disposed in the housing member; and a locking claw that protrudes from the arm part, overlaps the arrangement region in a plan view, and can lock the object to be locked.

Description

Housing and Electronics

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

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-079236 discloses a substrate holding device, which includes a locking claw that is an elastically deformable locking structure. The locking claw locks the substrate.

[0003] There is a need for better techniques for locking objects.

[0004] A first aspect of the present disclosure is a housing comprising: a housing member on which a locking object is provided; and a locking portion provided on the housing member and capable of locking the locking object, the locking portion comprising a flexible arm portion extending along the outer edge of a placement area, which is an area of ​​the housing member where the locking object is placed; and a locking claw protruding from the arm portion, overlapping the placement area in a planar view, and capable of locking the locking object.

[0005] A second aspect of the present disclosure is an electronic device comprising a housing according to the first aspect of the present disclosure and a circuit board, which is the object to be locked and is provided in the housing and locked by the locking portion.

[0006] Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a locking portion provided in the electronic device of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the locking portion. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of a housing.

[0007] The prior art, including that disclosed in JP 2005-079236 A, has the following problems. For example, the locking claw disclosed in JP 2005-079236 A extends in a direction (thickness direction) from one main surface of the circuit board to the other main surface. If the dimension of the locking claw in this thickness direction is insufficient, the locking claw will not bend easily.

[0008] A locking claw that is difficult to bend adversely affects the workability of attaching and detaching a circuit board to a housing such as a case. Therefore, it is preferable that the locking claw have a shape that is easy to bend. However, for example, increasing the dimension of the locking claw in the thickness direction as described above hinders the housing from being made thinner. Thus, in the past, it was difficult to achieve both sufficient flexibility in the structure (locking portion) that locks an object to be locked, such as a circuit board, and a thin housing.

[0009] Based on the above preliminary explanation, one embodiment will be described below.

[0010] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electronic device 10 according to an embodiment.

[0011] The electronic device 10 is a numerical control device that controls industrial machinery such as a machine tool, a robot, or an injection molding machine. Examples of machine tools include, but are not limited to, a machining center, a lathe, or a wire electric discharge machine. As shown in FIG. 1 , the electronic device 10 includes a circuit board 12 (an object 11 to be locked) and a housing 14.

[0012] The circuit board 12 is a plate-shaped component that includes an electronic circuit (not shown). The electronic circuit includes, for example, a control circuit for controlling the above-mentioned industrial machine.

[0013] The housing 14 includes a plurality of housing members 16. The plurality of housing members 16 includes, for example, a first housing member 161 and a second housing member 162, which will be described below.

[0014] The first housing member 161 is the housing member 16 to which the circuit board 12 is fixed. The first housing member 161 has a main surface 16s to which the circuit board 12 is fixed. The main surface 16s forms a part of the inner surface of the housing 14.

[0015] The normal direction (first direction D1) of the main surface 16s can coincide with the normal direction of the substrate main surface 12s. The substrate main surface 12s is the main surface of the circuit board 12 arranged in an arrangement area (predetermined arrangement area) AR, which will be described later.

[0016] The first housing member 161 (main surface 16s) has a predetermined placement area AR. More specifically, a portion of the main surface 16s of the first housing member 161 becomes the predetermined placement area AR. The predetermined placement area AR is an area where the locking object 11 is placed. The locking object 11 is an object that is locked by the locking portion 20 described below. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the above-mentioned circuit board 12 is the locking object 11. Therefore, the circuit board 12 is placed in the predetermined placement area AR.

[0017] The first housing member 161 also includes a component support portion 18 (one or more component support portions 18). The component support portion 18 supports the locking object 11 arranged in the predetermined arrangement area AR. Accordingly, in this embodiment, the component support portion 18 supports the circuit board 12. The component support portion 18 includes, for example, a protrusion 18P protruding from the main surface 16s along the first direction D1. Although not specifically illustrated, the locking object 11 (circuit board 12) may have a fitting portion that can fit with the component support portion 18. The fitting portion includes, for example, a recess or hole into which the protrusion 18P included in the component support portion 18 can be inserted. By fitting the fitting portion with the component support portion 18, relative movement between the circuit board 12 and the first housing member 161 can be limited. The component support portion 18 can also function as a spacer that forms a gap GP (see FIG. 4 ) between the circuit board 12 and the main surface 16s.

[0018] The second housing member 162 is a housing member 16 that is detachable from the first housing member 161. When the second housing member 162 is attached to the first housing member 161, it covers the circuit board 12 that is arranged in the predetermined arrangement area AR. The second housing member 162 is attached to the first housing member 161 by, for example, a snap fit (not shown), but is not limited to this.

[0019] According to this embodiment, the housing 14 can accommodate the circuit board 12 by means of the first housing member 161 and the second housing member 162 .

[0020] The housing 14 may further accommodate a fan (not shown). The fan is an air-cooling device that cools a heat-generating element provided in the housing 14. The fan is, for example, an axial fan. The heat-generating element is, for example, the circuit board 12 (electronic circuit) described above.

[0021] The housing 14 further includes a locking portion 20 that can lock the circuit board 12 (locking object 11) arranged in the predetermined arrangement area AR. The locking portion 20 limits the relative movement of the circuit board 12 arranged in the predetermined arrangement area AR and the first housing member 161 along the first direction D1.

[0022] The locking portion 20 is provided, for example, on the first housing member 161. As shown in Fig. 1, a plurality of locking portions 20 may be provided on the first housing member 161. The plurality of locking portions 20 may be arranged so as to surround a predetermined arrangement area AR. Note that the more specific arrangement locations of the locking portions 20 can be determined as appropriate.

[0023] Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the locking portion 20 provided in the electronic device 10 of Fig. 1. An enlarged view of the area within the frame II in Fig. 1 is shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the locking portion 20 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of the housing 14. Fig. 4 shows a cross-section taken along line VI-VI in Fig. 3.

[0024] The locking portion 20 includes a base 22, an arm 24, and a locking claw 26. The base 22, the arm 24, and the locking claw 26 are integrally molded, but are not limited to this. The locking portion 20 is flexible. Of the base 22, the arm 24, and the locking claw 26, at least the arm 24 is flexible.

[0025] The base 22 is connected to the main surface 16s of the first housing member 161 and to a standing portion 27 protruding from the main surface 16s along the first direction D1. In other words, the base 22 has a first portion 22a including one end of the base 22 in the first direction D1 and a second portion 22b including one end of the base 22 in the second direction D2. The second direction D2 is perpendicular to the first direction D1. The second direction D2 may coincide with the longitudinal direction of the arm 24. The first portion 22a is connected to the main surface 16s of the first housing member 161. The second portion 22b may be connected to the standing portion 27. The base 22 is, for example, plate-shaped, but is not limited thereto. The base 22 is disposed outside a predetermined arrangement area AR. The standing portion 27 is disposed outside the predetermined arrangement area AR. The erected portion 27 is, for example, a wall portion 16w of the first housing member 161 (housing member 16).

[0026] The arm portion 24 is a portion of the locking portion 20 that extends from the base portion 22. The arm portion 24 extends along the outer edge ARE of the predetermined arrangement area AR. For example, the arm portion 24 extends along the second direction D2.

[0027] The arm portion 24 has a plate shape. The plate-shaped arm portion 24 has an arm portion main surface 24s which is the main surface of the arm portion 24.

[0028] When the arm portion 24 is parallel to the second direction D2, the normal direction of the arm portion main surface 24s may coincide with the third direction D3 shown in Figures 2 to 4. The third direction D3 is a direction perpendicular to the first direction D1 and the second direction D2 described above.

[0029] The arm portion 24 has a first end 24t1 and a second end 24t2. The first end 24t1 is one end of the arm portion 24 in the second direction D2. In contrast, the second end 24t2 is the other end of the arm portion 24 in the second direction D2.

[0030] The first end 24t1 of the arm portion 24 is fixed to the first housing member 161. More specifically, the first end 24t1 of the arm portion 24 is connected to the base portion 22 described above. This allows the first end 24t1 of the arm portion 24 to be fixed to the first housing member 161 via the base portion 22. The arm portion 24 can bend along the third direction D3 (the two-dot chain line 20a in FIGS. 3 and 4 ).

[0031] The locking claw 26 protrudes from the arm portion 24. The locking claw 26 is provided on a second end 24t2 of the arm portion 24. The locking claw 26 can overlap a predetermined arrangement area AR in a plan view. The circuit board 12 can be positioned in a region between the locking claw 26 and the member support portion 18 ( FIG. 1 ) in the first direction D1.

[0032] The above-described locking portion 20 can achieve the following effects, for example.

[0033] The locking portion 20 includes an arm portion 24 extending along the outer edge ARE of the predetermined arrangement area AR in a plan view, and a locking claw 26 protruding from the arm portion 24. The locking claw 26 can overlap the locking object 11 (circuit board 12) in a plan view. This allows the locking claw 26 to limit relative movement between the first housing member 161 and the locking object 11. The locking claw 26 can also lock the locking object 11. Note that the locking object 11 is not limited to the circuit board 12. For example, the locking portion 20 may lock the above-mentioned fan. In other words, the above-mentioned fan (not shown) may be provided in the housing 14 as the locking object 11.

[0034] The arm 24 bends along the third direction D3. By bending the arm 24, the user can displace the locking claw 26 into or out of the predetermined arrangement area AR in a plan view (see also the two-dot chain lines in FIGS. 3 and 4 ). This allows the user to easily attach or detach the locking object 11 to or from the housing 14.

[0035] The arm portion 24 is located outside the predetermined placement area AR, and therefore does not prevent the locking object 11 from being placed within the predetermined placement area AR.

[0036] Furthermore, the third direction D3 is a direction intersecting (orthogonal to) the first direction D1. As described above, the first direction D1 can coincide with the normal direction of the board main surface 12s (the thickness direction of the circuit board 12). In other words, the arm portion 24 bends in a direction intersecting (orthogonal to) the normal direction of the board main surface 12s. In this case, it is not necessary to increase the dimension of the arm portion 24 in the first direction D1 to make the arm portion 24 more flexible. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the housing 14 while ensuring sufficient flexibility of the locking portion 20.

[0037] The arm portion 24 has a first end 24t1 and a second end 24t2. The first end 24t1 is fixed to the first housing member 161 (housing member 16). The locking claw 26 may be provided at the second end 24t2. This allows the arm portion 24 to be sufficiently long in the second direction D2, allowing the arm portion 24 to bend sufficiently in the third direction D3. This allows the amount of displacement of the locking claw 26 in the third direction D3 to be sufficiently large. The protruding position of the locking claw 26 on the arm portion 24 is not limited to the second end 24t2. The protruding position may be determined as appropriate within the range from the first end 24t1 to the second end 24t2 of the arm portion 24. The dimension of the locking claw 26 in the second direction D2 may also be determined as appropriate. For example, the locking pawl 26 may extend from the first end 24t1 to the second end 24t2 along the second direction D2.

[0038] The locking portion 20 further includes a base 22. The first end 24t1 described above is fixed to the first housing member 161 (housing 14) via the base 22. The base 22 is connected to the main surface 16s of the first housing member 161 and to a wall portion 16w of the first housing member 161 that protrudes from the main surface 16s. This allows the locking portion 20 to be fixed to the first housing member 161 with sufficient strength.

[0039] The above embodiment may be modified as follows. In the following modifications, explanations that overlap with the above embodiment will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, in the drawings used in the following modifications, the same reference numerals are used for the same components as those described in the above embodiment.

[0040] (Variation 1) A plurality of locking portions 20 may be arranged along the first direction D1. For example, when a plurality of locking objects 11 are arranged along the first direction D1, a plurality of locking portions 20 may be arranged corresponding to each of the plurality of locking objects 11.

[0041] (Modification 2) The base portion 22 may be omitted. For example, the arm portion 24 of the locking portion 20 may be directly connected to the wall portion 16w of the first housing member 161.

[0042] (Variation 3) The erected portion 27 is not limited to the wall portion 16w of the housing member 16. For example, the erected portion 27 may be a pillar portion (not shown) disposed on the main surface 16s outside a predetermined arrangement area AR. The pillar portion protrudes from the main surface 16s along the first direction D1. The locking portion 20 may be connected to the pillar portion. For example, the base portion 22 may be supported by the pillar portion and the main surface 16s. The arm portion 24 may be directly connected to the pillar portion.

[0043] (Combination of Multiple Modifications) The multiple modifications described above may be combined as appropriate within a range that does not cause inconsistency.

[0044] The above-described embodiment and modified examples provide a good technique for locking the circuit board 12. According to this embodiment, it is possible to achieve both sufficient flexibility of the locking portion 20 that locks the circuit board 12 and a thin housing 14.

[0045] The following additional notes are further disclosed regarding the above embodiment.

[0046] (Supplementary Note 1) The housing (14) of the present disclosure comprises a housing member (16) on which an object to be locked (11) is provided, and a locking portion (20) provided on the housing member and capable of locking the object to be locked, the locking portion comprising a flexible arm portion (24) extending along the outer edge (ARE) of a placement area (AR) which is an area of ​​the housing member where the object to be locked is placed, and a locking claw (26) protruding from the arm portion, overlapping with the placement area in a plan view, and capable of locking the object to be locked.

[0047] (Appendix 2) In the housing described in Appendix 1, a first end (24t1) which is one end of the arm portion may be fixed to the housing member, and the locking claw may be provided on a second end (24t2) which is the other end of the arm portion.

[0048] (Appendix 3) In the housing described in Appendix 2, the first end of the arm portion may be connected to the housing member via a base (22), and the base may be connected to a main surface (16s) of the housing member and to a standing portion (27) of the housing member that protrudes from the main surface.

[0049] (Appendix 4) The electronic device (10) of the present disclosure is an electronic device comprising: a housing described in any one of Appendices 1 to 3; and a circuit board (12) that is the object to be locked and is provided in the housing and locked by the locking portion.

[0050] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail, the present disclosure is not limited to the individual embodiments described above. Various additions, substitutions, modifications, partial deletions, etc. are possible in these embodiments without departing from the gist of the present disclosure or the spirit of the present disclosure derived from the content of the claims and their equivalents. These embodiments can also be implemented in combination. For example, in the above-described embodiments, the order of each operation and the order of each process are shown as examples and are not limited to these. The same applies when numerical values ​​or mathematical expressions are used in the description of the above-described embodiments.

[0051] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10...Electronic device 11...Latching object 12...Circuit board 14...Housing 16...Housing member 16s...Main surface 20...Latching portion 22...Base portion 24...Arm portion 24t1...First end portion 24t2...Second end portion 26...Latching claw 27...Upright portion AR...Arrangement area ARE...Outer edge

Claims

1. A housing comprising: a housing member on which a locking object is provided; and a locking portion provided on the housing member and capable of locking the locking object, wherein the locking portion comprises a flexible arm portion extending along the outer edge of a placement area, which is an area of ​​the housing member where the locking object is placed; and a locking claw protruding from the arm portion, overlapping the placement area in a plan view, and capable of locking the locking object.

2. A housing according to claim 1, wherein a first end, which is one end of the arm portion, is fixed to the housing member, and the locking claw is provided on a second end, which is the other end of the arm portion.

3. A housing as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first end of the arm portion is connected to the housing member via a base, and the base is connected to the main surface of the housing member and to a standing portion of the housing member that protrudes from the main surface.

4. An electronic device comprising: a housing according to any one of claims 1 to 3; and a circuit board, which is the object to be locked and is provided in the housing and locked by the locking portion.

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