Electronic device

Abstract

This electronic device comprises a housing and a filter unit. The filter unit comprises a filter medium, a filter support member, a filter cover, and one screw member. A ventilation port comprises a plurality of locking portions, and the filter support member is provided with a plurality of engaging portions that respectively engage with the plurality of locking portions. An engaging portion of the filter cover is engaged with one of the plurality of locking portions and the one screw member is screwed to the housing in a state of being inserted through an insertion hole, whereby the filter cover is fixed to the housing.

Description

Electronic device

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

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-257327 discloses an electronic device in which a filter unit is attached to a ventilation hole of a housing. The filter unit includes a filter medium, a filter support member that supports the filter medium, and a filter cover that covers the filter medium supported by the filter support member. The filter support member and the filter cover are screwed to the housing by a plurality of screw members.

[0003] A better electronic device has been eagerly awaited.

[0004] An aspect of the present disclosure includes a housing provided with a ventilation hole communicating with a housing space, and a filter unit attached to the ventilation hole. The filter unit includes a filter medium, a filter support member that supports the filter medium, a filter cover that covers the filter medium supported by the filter support member, and one screw member for screwing the filter cover to the housing. The ventilation hole is provided with a plurality of locking portions, the filter support member is provided with a plurality of engaging portions respectively engaging with the plurality of locking portions, the filter cover is provided with an engaging portion engaging with one of the plurality of locking portions and an insertion hole through which the screw member is inserted. By engaging the engaging portion of the filter cover with one of the plurality of locking portions and screwing the housing with one screw member inserted through the insertion hole, the filter cover is fixed to the housing.

[0005] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the electronic device. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the electronic device. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 1.

[0006] In the electronic device described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-257327, the filter support member and filter cover are screwed to the housing by multiple screw members, resulting in a large number of parts in the electronic device. Furthermore, replacing the filter media requires the removal and installation of multiple screw members, which is time-consuming. This disclosure can provide an electronic device that can reduce the number of parts and allows for easy replacement of the filter media.

[0007] Figure 1 is a perspective view of the electronic device 10. As shown in Figure 1, the electronic device 10 is, for example, a control device for controlling industrial machinery. The industrial machinery is, for example, a robot, but is not limited to this. Also, the electronic device 10 does not have to be a control device. The electronic device 10 comprises a housing 12 and a filter unit 14.

[0008] Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the electronic device 10. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line III-III in Figure 1. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the housing 12 is provided with a housing space 13 and a ventilation opening 16. The housing space 13 is a space formed inside the housing 12. Electronic components (not shown) are housed in the housing space 13. The electronic components include, for example, heat-generating components. The housing 12 is formed, for example, in a rectangular parallelepiped shape (see Figure 1). The housing 12 is composed of, for example, a plurality of metal materials. The housing 12 may also be composed of a resin material.

[0009] The housing 12 has a housing panel 18 with ventilation holes 16 formed therein. The housing panel 18 forms, for example, the front part 12a of the housing 12. The housing panel 18 may also form the side part 12b, the rear part 12c, or the lid part 12d (top plate). The housing panel 18 is provided with an external connection interface. The external connection interface may include an electrical connector, a cable connection part, an external power supply connection part, etc.

[0010] The vent 16 communicates with the enclosure space 13. The vent 16 is an air intake for drawing air into the enclosure space 13. The vent 16 may also be an exhaust port for discharging air from the enclosure space 13 to the outside. The vent 16 is formed in a rectangular shape. The shape, size, position, etc. of the vent 16 can be set as appropriate.

[0011] The housing panel 18 is provided with a first locking wall portion 20 and a second locking wall portion 22. The first locking wall portion 20 and the second locking wall portion 22 protrude from the housing panel 18 toward the housing space 13. The first locking wall portion 20 is provided on the portion of the housing panel 18 that forms one of the short sides of the ventilation opening 16. The second locking wall portion 22 is provided on the portion of the housing panel 18 that forms the other short side of the ventilation opening 16.

[0012] The first locking wall portion 20 and the second locking wall portion 22 are formed, for example, by sheet metal processing. That is, the first locking wall portion 20 and the second locking wall portion 22 are formed on the housing panel 18 by bending a part of a metal plate. In this case, the first locking wall portion 20 and the second locking wall portion 22 can be easily provided on the housing panel 18.

[0013] The ventilation opening 16 is provided with a plurality of locking parts 23. The plurality of locking parts 23 include a first locking part 24 and a second locking part 26. The first locking part 24 is formed in the first locking wall part 20. The first locking part 24 is a hole that penetrates the first locking wall part 20 in the longitudinal direction of the ventilation opening 16. The second locking part 26 is formed in the second locking wall part 22. The second locking part 26 is a hole that penetrates the second locking wall part 22 in the longitudinal direction of the ventilation opening 16. The first locking part 24 and the second locking part 26 are not limited to holes, but may be grooves.

[0014] As shown in Figure 2, the filter unit 14 comprises a filter material 28, a filter support member 30, a filter cover 32, and a screw member 34. The filter material 28 suppresses the inflow of foreign matter from the vent 16 into the housing space 13. The filter material 28 is formed in a mesh shape. The filter material 28 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the vent 16. In other words, the filter material 28 is formed in a rectangular shape.

[0015] The filter support member 30 supports the filter media 28. The filter support member 30 extends along the longitudinal direction of the vent 16. The filter support member 30 has a frame portion 36, a plurality of ribs 38, and a plurality of engaging portions 40. The frame portion 36 is formed in a rectangular annular shape to support the outer circumference of the filter media 28. The frame portion 36 has an L-shaped cross-section (see Figure 3). The frame portion 36 includes a pair of long sides 42 and a pair of short sides 44. The plurality of ribs 38 connect the pair of long sides 42 to each other. The plurality of ribs 38 are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the filter support member 30.

[0016] The multiple engaging portions 40 include a first engaging portion 46 and a second engaging portion 48. The first engaging portion 46 is provided at one end of the filter support member 30. In other words, the first engaging portion 46 is provided on one of the short sides 44. The first engaging portion 46 is a protrusion that projects from one of the short sides 44 in the direction opposite to that of the second engaging portion 48. The first engaging portion 46 engages with the first locking portion 24.

[0017] The second engaging portion 48 is provided at the other end of the filter support member 30. In other words, the second engaging portion 48 is provided on the other short side portion 44. The second engaging portion 48 is a protrusion that projects from the other short side portion 44 in the opposite direction to the first engaging portion 46. The second engaging portion 48 engages with the second locking portion 26.

[0018] The filter cover 32 is formed in a plate shape. The filter cover 32 extends in the longitudinal direction of the vent 16. The filter cover 32 is formed in a rectangular shape. The filter cover 32 covers the filter material 28 supported by the filter support member 30. The filter cover 32 has a plurality of air circulation holes 50. The air circulation holes 50 are polygonal in shape. In this embodiment, the air circulation holes 50 are hexagonal, but are not limited to this. The filter cover 32 is made of, for example, a metal material. The filter cover 32 may also be made of a resin material.

[0019] The filter cover 32 has an engaging portion 52 and an insertion hole 54. The engaging portion 52 is provided at one end of the filter cover 32. The engaging portion 52 is a protrusion that extends outward in the longitudinal direction of the filter cover 32 from one end of the filter cover 32. The engaging portion 52 can be inserted into the first locking portion 24 when it is superimposed with the first engaging portion 46 (see Figure 3).

[0020] The through hole 54 is formed at the other end of the filter cover 32. That is, the through hole 54 is provided on the outer circumference of the filter cover 32. The engaging portion 52 of the filter cover 32 is provided on the part of the outer circumference of the filter cover 32 opposite to the through hole 54. The screw member 34 is inserted through the through hole 54. The screw member 34 is screwed into the screw hole 56 formed in the housing panel 18.

[0021] Next, a method for attaching the filter unit 14 to the vent 16 will be described. When attaching the filter unit 14 to the vent 16, first, the first engaging portion 46 of the filter support member 30 is engaged with the first locking portion 24, and the second engaging portion 48 is engaged with the second locking portion 26. In other words, the first engaging portion 46 is inserted into the first locking portion 24, and the second engaging portion 48 is inserted into the second locking portion 26. This attaches the filter support member 30 to the housing panel 18.

[0022] By the way, one possible method for attaching the filter support member 30 to the housing panel 18 is to weld the filter support member 30 to the inner surface of the housing panel 18. However, in this case, since the housing panel 18 is made of thin plate, the housing panel 18 may melt due to welding.

[0023] In this embodiment, the filter support member 30 can be easily attached to the housing panel 18 from the outside of the housing 12. In other words, there is no need to weld the filter support member 30 to the inner surface of the housing 12. Therefore, the manufacturing time of the electronic device 10 can be reduced.

[0024] After attaching the filter support member 30 to the housing panel 18, the filter media 28 is attached to the filter support member 30. In this embodiment, the filter support member 30 may be attached to the housing panel 18 with the filter media 28 already attached to it.

[0025] Next, the filter cover 32 is attached to the housing panel 18. Specifically, as shown in Figure 3, the engaging portion 52 of the filter cover 32 is engaged with the first locking portion 24. In this embodiment, the first engaging portion 46 of the filter support member 30 and the engaging portion 52 of the filter cover 32 are inserted into the first locking portion 24 while overlapping each other.

[0026] In this state, the engaging portion 52 and the housing panel 18 overlap each other in the thickness direction of the filter cover 32. In other words, the engaging portion 52 catches on the housing panel 18, so the engaging portion 52 of the filter cover 32 will not easily come off the first locking portion 24.

[0027] Subsequently, the screw member 34 is threaded through the insertion hole 54 and screwed into the screw hole 56 of the housing panel 18. This fixes the filter cover 32 to the housing 12.

[0028] In such an electronic device 10, when replacing the filter media 28, the filter cover 32 is removed from the housing 12 by removing one screw member 34 from the housing 12. Next, the used filter media 28 is replaced with a new filter media 28. After that, the engaging portion 52 of the filter cover 32 is engaged with the first locking portion 24, and the one screw member 34 is inserted through the insertion hole 54, and the filter cover 32 is screwed to the housing 12.

[0029] According to this embodiment, the filter support member 30 is attached to the housing 12 by engaging the multiple engaging portions 40 of the filter support member 30 with each of the multiple locking portions 23 of the housing 12. Furthermore, the filter cover 32 is fixed to the housing 12 by screwing a single screw member 34 to the housing 12 while the engaging portion 52 of the filter cover 32 is engaged with one of the multiple locking portions 23 of the housing 12. In this case, the number of parts in the electronic device 10 can be reduced, and the filter media 28 can be easily replaced. Therefore, a better electronic device 10 can be provided.

[0030] The insertion hole 54 is provided on the outer circumference of the filter cover 32. The engaging portion 52 of the filter cover 32 is provided on the portion of the outer circumference of the filter cover 32 opposite to the portion where the insertion hole 54 is provided.

[0031] With this configuration, the filter cover 32 can be securely fixed to the housing 12.

[0032] The housing 12 has a housing panel 18 with a ventilation opening 16 formed therein, and a first locking wall portion 20 and a second locking wall portion 22 that protrude from the housing panel 18 toward the housing space 13. The plurality of locking portions 23 include a first locking portion 24 formed on the first locking wall portion 20 and a second locking portion 26 formed on the second locking wall portion 22. The plurality of engaging portions 40 include a first engaging portion 46 that engages with the first locking portion 24 and a second engaging portion 48 that engages with the second locking portion 26.

[0033] With this configuration, the filter support member 30 can be easily attached to the housing 12.

[0034] The ventilation opening 16 is formed in a rectangular shape. The first locking wall portion 20 is provided on the part of the housing panel 18 that forms one of the short sides of the ventilation opening 16. The second locking wall portion 22 is provided on the part of the housing panel 18 that forms the other short side of the ventilation opening 16.

[0035] With this configuration, the filter support member 30 can be securely attached to the housing 12.

[0036] The filter support member 30 extends along the longitudinal direction of the vent 16. The first engaging portion 46 is provided at one end of the filter support member 30. The second engaging portion 48 is provided at the other end of the filter support member 30.

[0037] With this configuration, both ends of the filter support member 30 can be attached to the housing 12, thereby suppressing rattling of the filter support member 30 relative to the housing 12.

[0038] The filter cover 32 extends along the longitudinal direction of the vent 16. The engaging portion 52 of the filter cover 32 is provided at one end of the filter cover 32. The insertion hole 54 is provided at the other end of the filter cover 32.

[0039] With this configuration, both ends of the filter cover 32 can be attached to the housing 12, thereby suppressing rattling of the filter cover 32 relative to the housing 12.

[0040] The first locking portion 24 is a hole, and the engaging portion 52 of the filter cover 32 and the first engaging portion 46 of the filter support member 30 are inserted into the first locking portion 24 in a superimposed state. With this configuration, the electronic device 10 can be made into a simple structure.

[0041] The filter cover 32 has multiple air circulation holes 50 formed therein. With this configuration, the housing space 13 can be ventilated through the multiple air circulation holes 50.

[0042] Each of the multiple air circulation holes 50 is formed in a polygonal shape. With this configuration, it is possible to suppress an excessive reduction in the rigidity of the filter cover 32 due to the air circulation holes 50.

[0043] The following additional information is disclosed regarding the above embodiments.

[0044] (Appendix 1) The electronic device (10) of the present disclosure includes a housing (12) having a ventilation port (16) communicating with a housing space (13), and a filter unit (14) attached to the ventilation port. The filter unit includes a filter medium (28), a filter support member (30) supporting the filter medium, a filter cover (32) covering the filter medium supported by the filter support member, and one screw member (34) for screwing the filter cover to the housing. The ventilation port is provided with a plurality of locking portions (23), the filter support member is provided with a plurality of engaging portions (40) respectively engaging with the plurality of locking portions, the filter cover is provided with an engaging portion (52) engaging with one of the plurality of locking portions and an insertion hole (54) through which the screw member is inserted. By engaging the engaging portion of the filter cover with one of the plurality of locking portions and screwing the housing with one screw member inserted through the insertion hole, the filter cover is fixed to the housing.

[0045] (Appendix 2) The electronic device according to Appendix 1, wherein the insertion hole is provided in an outer peripheral portion of the filter cover, and the engaging portion of the filter cover may be provided in a portion of the outer peripheral portion of the filter cover opposite to a portion where the insertion hole is provided.

[0046] (Appendix 3) The electronic device according to Appendix 1 or 2, wherein the housing has a housing panel (18) in which the ventilation port is formed, and a first locking wall portion (20) and a second locking wall portion (22) protruding from the housing panel toward the housing space. The plurality of locking portions include a first locking portion (24) formed in the first locking wall portion and a second locking portion (26) formed in the second locking wall portion. The plurality of engaging portions of the filter support member may include a first engaging portion (46) engaging with the first locking portion and a second engaging portion (48) engaging with the second locking portion.

[0047] (Supplementary Note 4) The electronic device according to Supplementary Note 3, wherein the ventilation port is formed in a rectangular shape, the first locking wall portion is provided at a portion forming one short side of the ventilation port among the housing panels, and the second locking wall portion may be provided at a portion forming the other short side of the ventilation port among the housing panels.

[0048] (Supplementary Note 5) The electronic device according to Supplementary Note 4, wherein the filter support member extends along the longitudinal direction of the ventilation port, the first engaging portion may be provided at one end of the filter support member, and the second engaging portion may be provided at the other end of the filter support member.

[0049] (Supplementary Note 6) The electronic device according to Supplementary Note 5, wherein the filter cover extends along the longitudinal direction of the ventilation port, the engaging portion of the filter cover may be provided at one end of the filter cover, and the insertion hole may be provided at the other end of the filter cover.

[0050] (Supplementary Note 7) The electronic device according to Supplementary Note 5 or 6, wherein the first locking portion is a hole, and the engaging portion of the filter cover and the first engaging portion of the filter support member may be inserted into the first locking portion in a state of being overlapped with each other.

[0051] (Supplementary Note 8) The electronic device according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 7, wherein a plurality of air circulation holes (50) may be formed in the filter cover.

[0052] (Supplementary Note 9) The electronic device according to Supplementary Note 8, wherein each of the plurality of air circulation holes may be formed in a polygonal shape.

[0053] While this disclosure has been described in detail, it is not limited to the individual embodiments described above. These embodiments can be added, replaced, modified, partially deleted, etc., in any way that does not depart from the gist of this disclosure or from the spirit of this disclosure derived from the claims and their equivalents. These embodiments can also be implemented in combination. For example, the order of operations and processes in the embodiments described above are given as examples only and are not limited thereto. The same applies when numerical values ​​or mathematical formulas are used in the description of the embodiments described above.

[0054] 10...Electronic device 12...Housing 13...Housing space 14...Filter unit 16...Ventilation opening 18...Housing panel 20...First locking wall 22...Second locking wall 23...Locking part 24...First locking part 26...Second locking part 28...Filter material 30...Filter support member 32...Filter cover 34...Screw member 40...Engaging part of filter support member 46...First engaging part 48...Second engaging part 50...Air circulation hole 52...Engaging part of filter cover 54...Through hole

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising: a housing provided with a vent opening communicating with a housing space; a filter unit attached to the vent opening, wherein the filter unit comprises: a filter material; a filter support member for supporting the filter material; a filter cover covering the filter material supported by the filter support member; and a screw member for screwing the filter cover to the housing, wherein the vent opening is provided with a plurality of locking parts; the filter support member is provided with a plurality of engaging parts that engage with each of the plurality of locking parts; the filter cover is provided with: an engaging part that engages with one of the plurality of locking parts; and a through hole through which the screw member is inserted, wherein the filter cover is fixed to the housing by screwing it to the housing with the engaging part of the filter cover engaged with one of the plurality of locking parts and the screw member inserted through the through hole.

2. An electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the insertion hole is provided on the outer periphery of the filter cover, and the engaging portion of the filter cover is provided on the portion of the outer periphery of the filter cover opposite to the portion where the insertion hole is provided.

3. An electronic device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the housing comprises a housing panel having the ventilation opening formed therein, and a first locking wall portion and a second locking wall portion protruding from the housing panel toward the housing space, the plurality of locking portions include a first locking portion formed on the first locking wall portion and a second locking portion formed on the second locking wall portion, and the plurality of engaging portions of the filter support member include a first engaging portion that engages with the first locking portion and a second engaging portion that engages with the second locking portion.

4. An electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the vent is formed in a rectangular shape, the first locking wall is provided on the portion of the housing panel that forms one of the short sides of the vent, and the second locking wall is provided on the portion of the housing panel that forms the other short side of the vent.

5. An electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the filter support member extends along the longitudinal direction of the vent, the first engaging portion is provided at one end of the filter support member, and the second engaging portion is provided at the other end of the filter support member.

6. An electronic device according to claim 5, wherein the filter cover extends along the longitudinal direction of the vent, the engaging portion of the filter cover is provided at one end of the filter cover, and the insertion hole is provided at the other end of the filter cover.

7. An electronic device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the first locking portion is a hole, and the engaging portion of the filter cover and the first engaging portion of the filter support member are inserted into the first locking portion in a state where they are superimposed on each other.

8. An electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the filter cover has a plurality of air circulation holes formed therein.

9. An electronic device according to claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of air circulation holes is formed in a polygonal shape.

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