Expansion unit and electronic device set

Abstract

This expansion unit is for expanding a housing space of a housing of an electronic device, wherein: the housing has a first housing member that includes a housing bottom part and a second housing member that includes a housing lid part and that can be attached to and detached from the first housing member; the housing space is defined by the first housing member and the second housing member; the expansion unit is disposed between the housing bottom part and the housing lid part when the housing space of the housing is expanded; and the expansion unit is provided with a blower fan.

Description

Expansion Unit and Electronic Device Set

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an expansion unit and an electronic device set.

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2023-133799 discloses an expansion unit for expanding the housing space of an electronic device.

[0003] Better expansion units and electronic device sets are eagerly awaited.

[0004] A first aspect of the present disclosure is an expansion unit for expanding the housing space of an electronic device, the housing including a first housing member including a housing bottom and a second housing member including a housing lid and detachable from the first housing member, the housing space being defined by the first housing member and the second housing member, the expansion unit being disposed between the housing bottom and the housing lid when expanding the housing space of the housing, and the expansion unit being provided with a blower fan.

[0005] A second aspect of the present disclosure is an electronic device set including an electronic device including a housing and an expansion unit for expanding the housing space of the housing, the housing including a first housing member including a housing bottom and a second housing member including a housing lid and detachable from the first housing member, the housing space being defined by the first housing member and the second housing member, and the expansion unit being the above-described expansion unit.

[0006] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic device. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the housing of the electronic device. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the electronic device set. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the electronic device with the expansion unit attached. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the attachment of the expansion unit to the electronic device.

[0007] When the enclosure space of an electronic device is simply expanded by an expansion unit, the expanded space cannot necessarily be cooled effectively. This disclosure provides an expansion unit and an electronic device set that can effectively cool the expanded space even when the enclosure space is expanded by the expansion unit.

[0008] Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the electronic device set 10. As shown in Figure 4, the electronic device set 10 comprises an electronic device 12 and an expansion unit 14. The expansion unit 14 is a component for expanding the housing space 30 (see Figure 2) of the housing 16 of the electronic device 12.

[0009] First, let's describe the electronic device 12. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the electronic device 12. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view along line II-II in Figure 1. Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the housing 16 of the electronic device 12. As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the electronic device 12 is, for example, a control device for controlling industrial machinery. Industrial machinery is, for example, a robot, but is not limited to this. Also, the electronic device 12 does not have to be a control device. The electronic device 12 comprises a housing 16, a first circuit board 18, a second circuit board 20, a connecting circuit board 22, and three blower fans 24.

[0010] The housing 16 has, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The housing 16 comprises a first housing member 26 and a second housing member 28. Each of the first housing member 26 and the second housing member 28 is integrally molded from, for example, a metal material. The housing space 30 is defined by the first housing member 26 and the second housing member 28.

[0011] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the first housing member 26 has a housing bottom 32, a housing front 34, and a housing rear 36. The housing bottom 32 is formed in the shape of a rectangular plate. The housing bottom 32 covers the housing space 30 from the Z1 direction. The housing bottom 32 extends in the Y direction.

[0012] The front portion 34 of the housing has a rectangular plate-shaped section. The front portion 34 covers the housing space 30 from the front (X1 direction). The front portion 34 protrudes toward the housing lid 46 (Z2 direction) from one end (the end in the X1 direction) of the housing bottom portion 32 in the short direction (X direction). The front portion 34 extends along the longitudinal direction of the housing bottom portion 32. The front portion 34 may be detachable from the housing bottom portion 32.

[0013] As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the front portion 34 of the housing may be provided with an external connection interface 38, a power switch 40, and two air supply units 42. The external connection interface 38 may include, for example, an external power connection unit 44. The external connection interface 38 may also include a cable connection unit for connecting peripheral equipment (not shown) to the electronic device 12. The power switch 40 is an operating unit for turning the power of the electronic device 12 on and off. The air supply units 42 include air intake ports that communicate with the housing space 30. The front portion 34 of the housing may be provided with one or more air supply units 42. The external connection interface 38, power switch 40, and air supply units 42 may be provided in parts of the housing 16 other than the front portion 34.

[0014] As shown in Figure 3, the rear portion 36 of the housing is formed in the shape of a rectangular plate. The rear portion 36 covers the housing space 30 from the rear (X2 direction). The rear portion 36 protrudes in the Z2 direction from the other end (the end in the X2 direction) in the short direction of the housing bottom portion 32. The rear portion 36 extends along the longitudinal direction of the housing bottom portion 32.

[0015] The second housing member 28 is detachable from the first housing member 26. The second housing member 28 has a housing lid 46 and a pair of housing side portions 48a and 48b. The housing lid 46 is formed in the shape of a rectangular plate. The housing lid 46 covers the housing space 30 from the opposite direction (Z2 direction) from the housing bottom 32. The housing lid 46 extends along the longitudinal direction of the housing bottom 32.

[0016] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, each housing side portion 48a, 48b is formed in the shape of a rectangular plate. The pair of housing side portions 48a, 48b cover the housing space 30 from the side (Y direction). Housing side portion 48a protrudes from one end of the housing lid portion 46 in the longitudinal direction (end in the Y1 direction) toward the housing bottom portion 32 (Z1 direction). Housing side portion 48b protrudes from the other end of the housing lid portion 46 in the longitudinal direction (end in the Y2 direction) toward the Z1 direction.

[0017] The bottom portion 32, front portion 34, rear portion 36, lid portion 46, and a pair of side portions 48a and 48b define the housing space 30. The first circuit board 18, the second circuit board 20, and the connecting circuit board 22 are housed in the housing 16.

[0018] As shown in Figure 2, the first circuit board 18 and the second circuit board 20 are arranged, for example, at the bottom 32 of the housing. The first circuit board 18 and the second circuit board 20 are arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction (Y direction) of the bottom 32 of the housing. A gap is formed between the first circuit board 18 and the second circuit board 20 for arranging the connecting circuit board 22.

[0019] The connecting circuit board 22 is electrically connected to at least one of the first circuit board 18 and the second circuit board 20. The connecting circuit board 22 extends along the height direction (Z direction) of the housing 16. The connecting circuit board 22 extends along the short side direction (X direction) of the bottom of the housing 32.

[0020] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the three blower fans 24 are located on the rear 36 of the housing. The three blower fans 24 are spaced apart in the direction of extension of the rear 36 of the housing. The blower fans 24 circulate air in the housing space 30. In other words, the blower fans 24 expel the air from the housing space 30 to the outside of the housing 16.

[0021] In this embodiment, the blower fan 24 located furthest in the Y1 direction of the three blower fans 24 exhausts air between the connection circuit board 22 and the housing side portion 48a. The remaining two blower fans 24 exhaust air between the connection circuit board 22 and the housing side portion 48b. The housing 16 may be equipped with one, two, or four or more blower fans 24.

[0022] Next, the expansion unit 14 will be described. Figure 5 is a perspective view of the electronic device 12 to which the expansion unit 14 is attached. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view along the line VI-VI in Figure 5. As shown in Figures 4 to 6, the expansion unit 14 is positioned between the bottom of the housing 32 and the housing lid 46 when expanding the housing space 30 of the housing 16. Hereinafter, the electronic device 12 to which the expansion unit 14 is attached may be referred to as the "expanded electronic device 12a".

[0023] As shown in Figure 4, the expansion unit 14 comprises an expansion body 50, an expansion front section 52, and three blower fans 54. The expansion body 50 is integrally molded from, for example, a metal material. The expansion body 50 has a partition plate 56, an expansion back section 58, and a pair of expansion side sections 60a and 60b.

[0024] As shown in Figure 6, the partition plate 56 divides the space between the housing bottom 32 and the housing lid 46 in the height direction (Z direction) of the housing 16, with the expansion unit 14 positioned between the housing bottom 32 and the housing lid 46. In this case, the housing bottom 32 and the partition plate 56 define a first space 62. Also, the housing lid 46 and the partition plate 56 define a second space 64.

[0025] As shown in Figure 4, the partition plate 56 is formed in the shape of a rectangular plate. The partition plate 56 extends in the Y direction. The partition plate 56 has a notch 66 that connects the first space 62 and the second space 64. The notch 66 extends along the shorter side of the partition plate 56. In other words, the notch 66 extends from one long side to the other long side of the partition plate 56. The notch 66 is a rectangular hole.

[0026] The extended back portion 58 is formed in the shape of a rectangular plate. The extended back portion 58 protrudes in the Z2 direction from the X2 direction end of the partition plate 56. The extended back portion 58 extends along the longitudinal direction of the partition plate 56. The extended back portion 58 covers the second space 64 of the expanded electronic device 12a from the rear (X2 direction).

[0027] Each of the expansion side portions 60a and 60b is formed in the shape of a rectangular plate. The expansion side portion 60a protrudes in the Z1 direction from one end of the partition plate 56 in the longitudinal direction (the end in the Y1 direction). The expansion side portion 60b protrudes in the Z1 direction from the other end of the partition plate 56 in the longitudinal direction (the end in the Y2 direction). The direction in which the expansion back portion 58 protrudes relative to the partition plate 56 and the direction in which the pair of expansion side portions 60a and 60b protrude relative to the partition plate 56 are opposite to each other. The pair of expansion side portions 60a and 60b cover the first space 62 of the expanded electronic device 12a from the side (Y direction).

[0028] The extended front section 52 is a separate component from the extended main body 50. That is, the extended front section 52 can be attached to the electronic device 12 separately from the extended main body 50. The extended front section 52 has a rectangular plate-shaped portion. The extended front section 52 covers the second space 64 of the extended electronic device 12a from the front. The extended front section 52 can be attached to the X1 direction end of the housing cover 46. The extended front section 52 may be provided with the external connection interface 38, air supply section 42, etc.

[0029] In the expanded electronic device 12a, the bottom portion 32 of the housing, the front portion 34 of the housing, the rear portion 36 of the housing, the partition plate 56, and the pair of expanded side portions 60a and 60b define the first space 62. In addition, the partition plate 56, the expanded front portion 52, the expanded rear portion 58, the housing lid portion 46, and the pair of housing side portions 48a and 48b define the second space 64.

[0030] As shown in Figures 4 and 6, three blower fans 54 are provided on the extended rear section 58. The three blower fans 54 are spaced apart in the extending direction of the extended rear section 58. The blower fans 54 circulate air into the second space 64 of the extended electronic device 12a. In other words, the blower fans 54 expel the air from the second space 64 to the outside. The extension unit 14 may have one, two, or four or more blower fans 54.

[0031] In this embodiment, the electronic device 12 can be used independently. However, depending on the situation in which the electronic device 12 is used, it may be desirable to expand the housing space 30 of the electronic device 12 to add electronic components 102 (see Figure 7), etc. In such cases, the electronic device set 10 allows for easy expansion of the housing space 30 of the electronic device 12. Furthermore, if the electronic device 12 is used alone without preparing the electronic device set 10, the housing space 30 of the electronic device 12 can be easily expanded by adding a new expansion unit 14.

[0032] Next, an example of attaching the expansion unit 14 to the electronic device 12 will be described. Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram of attaching the expansion unit 14 to the electronic device 12. When attaching the expansion unit 14 to the electronic device 12, the second housing member 28 is removed from the first housing member 26 of the electronic device 12. In this state, for example, the connection circuit board 22 is removed and the expansion connection circuit board 100 (see Figure 6) is attached. The expansion connection circuit board 100 is longer in the Z direction than the connection circuit board 22 (see Figure 2). The expansion connection circuit board 100 is connected to, for example, at least one of the first circuit board 18 and the second circuit board 20. After that, as shown in Figure 7, the expansion body 50 of the expansion unit 14 is attached to the first housing member 26.

[0033] In this case, the expansion connection circuit board 100 is placed in the notch 66 of the partition plate 56. That is, the expansion connection circuit board 100 does not interfere with the partition plate 56. Next, electronic components 102 are placed on the partition plate 56. In this embodiment, the electronic components 102 include, for example, a first expansion circuit board 104 and a second expansion circuit board 106. The first expansion circuit board 104 is placed in the portion of the partition plate 56 that is in the Y1 direction from the notch 66. The second expansion circuit board 106 is placed in the portion of the partition plate 56 that is in the Y2 direction from the notch 66. At least one of the first expansion circuit board 104 and the second expansion circuit board 106 is connected to the expansion connection circuit board 100.

[0034] In this case, since the Y, X1, and Z2 directions are open on the partition plate 56, the installation of electronic components 102 and the like can be easily performed. Furthermore, the connection wiring of the three blower fans 54 can also be easily carried out. Afterward, the second housing member 28 is attached to the expanded main body 50, and the expanded front section 52 is attached to the second housing member 28. This completes the assembly of the expanded electronic device 12a (see Figure 6).

[0035] As shown in Figure 6, in the expanded electronic device 12a, the fan 54 located furthest in the Y1 direction of the three blower fans 54 exhausts the air between the expansion connection circuit board 100 and the side of the housing 48a. The remaining two blower fans 54 exhaust the air between the expansion connection circuit board 100 and the side of the housing 48b. This allows the air in the second space 64 to be efficiently exhausted to the outside, even when the expansion connection circuit board 100 is provided.

[0036] In this embodiment, an example in which an expansion connection circuit board 100 is placed in the notch 66 has been described, but cables and the like may be passed through the notch 66. The electronic components 102 are not limited to the first expansion circuit board 104 and the second expansion circuit board 106.

[0037] According to this embodiment, even when the housing space 30 is expanded by the expansion unit 14, the expansion unit 14 is equipped with a blower fan 54, which allows air to circulate efficiently in the expanded space. Therefore, it is possible to provide an expansion unit 14 and an electronic device set 10 that can cool the expanded space (second space 64) more effectively.

[0038] The expansion unit 14 has a partition plate 56 that divides the space between the bottom 32 and the lid 46 of the housing 16 in the height direction when the expansion unit 14 is positioned between the bottom 32 and the lid 46 of the housing. With this configuration, the housing space 30 can be expanded and the expanded space can be divided in the height direction.

[0039] The partition plate 56 has a notch 66 formed in it to connect a first space 62 defined by the partition plate 56 and the bottom of the housing 32, and a second space 64 defined by the partition plate 56 and the housing lid 46. With this configuration, a connecting member (for example, an expansion connecting circuit board 100) that connects the first circuit board 18 and the second circuit board 20 arranged in the first space 62 and the electronic components 102 arranged in the second space 64 can be placed in the notch 66.

[0040] The expansion unit 14 comprises an expansion body 50 having a partition plate 56, an expansion back portion 58 protruding from the partition plate 56, and a pair of expansion side portions 60a and 60b protruding from the partition plate 56, and an expansion front portion 52 for covering the second space 64 from the front. The expansion front portion 52 can be attached to the electronic device 12 separately from the expansion body 50. With this configuration, the expansion body 50 can be attached to the first housing member 26 and the electronic components 102 can be placed on the partition plate 56, and then the expansion front portion 52 can be attached. Therefore, the electronic components 102 can be easily attached to the partition plate 56.

[0041] With the expansion unit 14 positioned between the bottom portion 32 of the housing and the lid portion 46 of the housing, the pair of expansion side portions 60a and 60b define the first space 62, and the expansion back portion 58 defines the second space 64. With this configuration, the pair of expansion side portions 60a and 60b do not get in the way when mounting the electronic components 102 on the partition plate 56. Therefore, the electronic components 102 can be mounted on the partition plate 56 even more easily.

[0042] The blower fan 54 is located in the extended rear section 58. With this configuration, air can be circulated into the second space 64 by the blower fan 54.

[0043] The electronic device set 10 is not limited to the configuration described above. The extended rear portion 58 may define a first space 62 for the electronic device 12a that extends outwards from the partition plate 56 in the Z1 direction. In this case, the housing rear portion 36 defines a second space 64 for the electronic device 12a that extends outwards from the housing lid portion 46 in the Z1 direction.

[0044] The extended side portion 60a may define a second space 64 of the electronic device 12a that protrudes and extends from the partition plate 56 in the Z2 direction. In this case, the housing side portion 48a may define a first space 62 of the electronic device 12a that protrudes and extends from the housing bottom portion 32 in the Z2 direction. Further, the extended side portion 60b may define a second space 64 of the electronic device 12a that protrudes and extends from the partition plate 56 in the Z2 direction. In this case, the housing side portion 48b may define a first space 62 of the electronic device 12a that protrudes and extends from the housing bottom portion 32 in the Z2 direction. Additionally, the pair of extended side portions 60a, 60b may define a second space 64 of the electronic device 12a that protrudes and extends from the partition plate 56 in the Z2 direction. In this case, the pair of housing side portions 48a, 48b may define a first space 62 of the electronic device 12a that protrudes and extends from the housing bottom portion 32 in the Z2 direction.

[0045] Regarding the above embodiment, the following supplementary notes are further disclosed.

[0046] (Supplementary Note 1) The extension unit (14) of the present disclosure is an extension unit for expanding the housing space (30) of the housing (16) of the electronic device (12). The housing includes a first housing member (26) including a housing bottom portion (32), and a second housing member (28) including a housing lid portion (46) and being detachable from the first housing member. The housing space is defined by the first housing member and the second housing member. When the extension unit expands the housing space of the housing, the extension unit is disposed between the housing bottom portion and the housing lid portion, and a blower fan (54) is provided in the extension unit.

[0047] (Supplementary Note 2) The extension unit according to Supplementary Note 1 may have a partition plate (56) that partitions the space between the housing bottom portion and the housing lid portion in the height direction of the housing in a state where the extension unit is disposed between the housing bottom portion and the housing lid portion.

[0048] (Supplementary Note 3) The extension unit according to Supplementary Note 2 may have a notch portion (66) formed in the partition plate for communicating a first space (62) defined by the partition plate and the housing bottom portion and a second space (64) defined by the partition plate and the housing lid portion with each other.

[0049] (Note 4) An expansion unit as described in Note 3, comprising an expansion body (50) having a partition plate, an expansion back portion (58) protruding from the partition plate, and a pair of expansion side portions (60a, 60b) protruding from the partition plate, and an expansion front portion (52) for covering the second space from the front, wherein the expansion front portion may be attached to the electronic device separately from the expansion body.

[0050] (Note 5) An expansion unit as described in Note 4, wherein the expansion unit is positioned between the bottom of the housing and the lid of the housing, the first space is defined by a pair of expansion sides, and the second space is defined by the expansion back.

[0051] (Note 6) In the expansion unit described in Note 5, the blower fan may be provided on the rear of the expansion unit.

[0052] (Note 7) The electronic device set (10) of the present disclosure comprises an electronic device having a housing and an expansion unit for expanding the housing space of the housing, wherein the housing has a first housing member including a housing bottom and a second housing member including a housing lid and detachable from the first housing member, the housing space is defined by the first housing member and the second housing member, and the expansion unit is the expansion unit described in any one of Notes 1 to 6.

[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 set 12...Electronic device 14...Expansion unit 16...Housing 24, 54...Blower fan 26...First housing component 28...Second housing component 30...Housing space 32...Bottom of housing 46...Housing lid 50...Expansion main body 52...Front of expansion 56...Partition plate 58...Back of expansion 60a, 60b...Side of expansion 62...First space 64...Second space 66...Notch

Claims

1. An expansion unit for expanding the housing space of an electronic device housing, wherein the housing comprises a first housing member including a housing bottom and a second housing member including a housing lid and detachable from the first housing member, the housing space is defined by the first housing member and the second housing member, the expansion unit is positioned between the housing bottom and the housing lid when expanding the housing space of the housing, and the expansion unit is provided with a blower fan.

2. An expansion unit according to claim 1, wherein, when the expansion unit is positioned between the bottom of the housing and the lid of the housing, the expansion unit has a partition plate that divides the space between the bottom of the housing and the lid of the housing in the height direction of the housing.

3. An expansion unit according to claim 2, wherein the partition plate has a notch formed therein for connecting a first space defined by the partition plate and the bottom of the housing and a second space defined by the partition plate and the lid of the housing.

4. An expansion unit according to claim 3, comprising: an expansion body having a partition plate; an expansion back portion protruding from the partition plate; and a pair of expansion side portions protruding from the partition plate; and an expansion front portion for covering the second space from the front, wherein the expansion front portion is attachable to the electronic device separately from the expansion body.

5. An expansion unit according to claim 4, wherein, when the expansion unit is positioned between the bottom of the housing and the lid of the housing, the first space is defined by a pair of expansion sides and the second space is defined by the expansion back.

6. An expansion unit according to claim 5, wherein the blower fan is provided on the rear of the expansion unit.

7. An electronic device set comprising: an electronic device having a housing; and an expansion unit for expanding the housing space of the housing, wherein the housing has a first housing member including a housing bottom and a second housing member including a housing lid and detachable from the first housing member, the housing space is defined by the first housing member and the second housing member, and the expansion unit is the expansion unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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