TWM659025U - Electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic device including a casing and a circuit board is provided. The casing has a hook and a protruding member. The circuit board has a first positioning opening and a second positioning opening. The hook passes through the first positioning opening to hold and lock the circuit board and the protruding member leans against an edge of the second positioning opening, such that the circuit board is fixed to the casing.

Description

Electronic devices

This case relates to an electronic device.

In existing electronic devices, such as laptops, the assembly process of the case and the motherboard (or related circuit board) still requires additional fasteners such as screws to smoothly combine the two. For example, a plurality of openings are usually formed on the motherboard, a plurality of studs are formed on the case, and screws are then passed through the openings and locked to the studs to complete the combination of the circuit board and the case.

However, the above assembly process will obviously bring corresponding troubles and inconveniences to the operator. For example, in addition to the need to form relevant structures (such as the aforementioned studs) on the casing, the operator also needs to use tools to complete the above combination, and the type or number of screws will increase accordingly with the different adaptability or combination. In this way, the complexity of the process increases, the burden on the operator is significantly increased, and there is a considerable risk of error in both operation and management.

The invention provides an electronic device, which provides a screwless/tool-free fixing structure for a casing and a circuit board, so as to provide a quick disassembly and assembly effect for the circuit board and the casing.

The electronic device of the present invention comprises a housing and a circuit board. The housing has a hook and a protrusion. The circuit board has a first positioning opening and a second positioning opening. The hook passes through the first positioning opening to hold the circuit board, and the protrusion abuts against the side edge of the second positioning opening to fix the circuit board to the housing.

Based on the above, during the assembly process of the circuit board and the housing of the electronic device, the housing uses a hook to pass through the first positioning opening of the circuit board to hold the circuit board, and the protrusion of the housing abuts against the side edge of the second positioning opening of the circuit board to complete the above assembly operation. In short, the circuit board and the housing are freed from the need for screw locking in the prior art through the above mechanism, so as to provide the effect of rapid disassembly and assembly of components, effectively simplify the process and reduce the burden on the operator.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of some components of the electronic device of FIG. 1 . FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B respectively illustrate the housing and the circuit board of FIG. 2 . Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 simultaneously, wherein the rectangular coordinates X-Y-Z are provided with reference to FIG. 2 and are applied to the subsequent drawings to facilitate the subsequent component description. In the present embodiment, the electronic device 100, which is a laptop computer as an example but not limited thereto, includes a case 110 and a circuit board 120, wherein the present embodiment takes a laptop computer host and a motherboard disposed therein as an example, and the case 110 has an outer surface S1 and an inner surface S2 facing each other, the outer surface S1 is the surface where the keyboard and touch pad of the laptop computer are exposed, and is used for supporting the screen when it is closed in the host, as shown in FIG. 1, and the inner surface S2 faces the inner space of the laptop computer host.

In this embodiment, the housing 110 has a hook 113 and a protrusion 114. The circuit board 120 has first positioning openings 121, 122 and a second positioning opening 123, wherein the hook 113 passes through the first positioning openings 121, 122 to hold the circuit board 120, and the protrusion 114 abuts against the side edges 123a, 123b, 123c of the second positioning opening 123, so that the circuit board 120 can be fixed to the housing 110. Conversely, the locking and abutting relationship of the above components is released, so that the circuit board 120 and the housing 110 can be separated smoothly.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B respectively illustrate the housing and circuit board of FIG. 2 . Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3B . In detail, the housing 110 of the present embodiment includes a component 111 and a component 112 , wherein the component 111 has the aforementioned outer surface S1 and is, for example, an appearance component of a plastic material, and the component 112 has the aforementioned inner surface S2 and is, for example, an internal bracket or a support plate of a metal material. The hook 113 and the protrusion 114 of the present embodiment are molded (or arranged) on the component 112 , but are not limited thereto. For example, in other embodiments, the hook 113 and the protrusion 114 may also be molded (or arranged) on the component 111 , or the components 111 and 112 may be an integrally molded structure of a plastic material, or the components 111 and 112 may be an integrally molded structure of a metal material.

As shown in FIG. 3B , the hook 113 includes a connecting portion 113a extending from the component 112 toward the positive Z-axis direction, and a hook portion 113b extending from the connecting portion 113a toward the positive Y-axis direction. Here, in order to facilitate the description of the corresponding relationship of the subsequent components, the extension direction of the hook 113 is defined as the direction of the hook portion 113b, that is, toward the positive Y-axis direction. In actual manufacturing, the hook 113 of this embodiment is, for example, stamped and bent from the component 112 made of metal material. Furthermore, the first positioning openings 121, 122 of this embodiment are expanded holes, and their expansion direction is along the Y-axis, so the expansion direction of the expanded hole can be regarded as consistent with the extension direction of the hook 113. Here, the purpose of the expansion hole is to allow the hook 113 to move therein, so as shown in FIG. 3A , the first positioning opening 121 is an open outline, and the first positioning opening 122 is a closed outline, but both have space for the hook 113 to move on the Y axis and meet the characteristics of the aforementioned expansion hole structure.

Please refer to FIG. 2, FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B at the same time. In this way, during the assembly process, the operator slides the circuit board 120 along the Y axis, so that the hook 113 can fall into the first positioning openings 121 and 122, and continue to slide along the Y axis in the first positioning openings 121 and 122, and finally make the hook portion 113b buckle on the surface S3 of the circuit board 120 along the Z axis. Here, the circuit board 120 has two surfaces S3 and S4 facing each other, and the first positioning openings 121 and 122 are connected between the surfaces S3 and S4. The hook 113 extends from the inner surface S2 of the housing 110, so that when the hook portion 113b of the hook 113 buckles the surface S3 of the circuit board 120, the surface S4 of the circuit board 120 is supported on the inner surface S2. It should also be mentioned that, under the conditions required for the relative movement of the aforementioned hook 113 and the first positioning openings 121, 122, the present embodiment does not limit the position and number of the first positioning openings 121, 122 on the circuit board 120, that is, the first positioning openings 121, 122 can be located at the periphery (such as the first positioning opening 121) or the interior (such as the first positioning opening 122) of the circuit board 120.

Furthermore, the hook 113 of the present embodiment further has a protrusion 113c, the circuit board 120 further has a grounding portion 124, and the component 112 of the housing 110 is, for example, made of a metal material and has conductivity, so that when the hook 113 holds the surface S3 of the circuit board 120, the protrusion 113c can abut and be electrically connected to the grounding portion 124, so that the housing 110 can provide a grounding effect for the circuit board 120.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG3B , the protrusion 114 of the present embodiment is, for example, a metal component 112 that is stamped and protrudes from the inner surface S2. Referring to FIG2 , FIG3A and FIG3B at the same time, the protrusion 114 is adapted to the second positioning opening 123. As shown in FIG3A , the second positioning opening 123 is located at the periphery of the circuit board 120, has an open outline and has three side edges 123a, 123b, and 123c, wherein the side edge 123c is adjacent to the side edges 123a and 123b, and the opening direction is toward the positive Y-axis direction. Accordingly, when the protrusion 114 falls into the second positioning opening 123, the protrusion 114 will abut against the side edges 123a, 123b, and 123c to produce a positioning effect.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the housing and circuit board of FIG. 2 . FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D are cross-sectional views taken along the section line B-B′ of FIG. 4 . Based on the aforementioned component configuration, partial cross-sectional views of FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D are provided here to illustrate the assembly process of the circuit board 120 and the housing 110 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the section line B-B′ passes through a hook 113 and a first positioning opening 121, and a protrusion 114 and a second positioning opening 123.

Please refer to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B first. In FIG. 5A , the operator starts the assembly process by placing the circuit board 120 above the hook 113 and driving the circuit board 120 to move in the negative Y-axis direction until the first positioning opening 121 of the circuit board 120 is inserted into the hook 113 (or the hook 113 can be regarded as falling into the first positioning opening 121) as shown in FIG. 5B . Then, the operator continues to drive the circuit board 120 to move in the negative Y-axis direction and simultaneously applies pressure downward (in the negative Z-axis direction) to the circuit board 120 to allow the hook 113 to move in the first positioning opening 121 until the peripheral structure of the circuit board 120 in the first positioning opening 121 is locked by the hook 113, as shown in FIG. 5C . It should be noted that, at this time, the peripheral structure at the second positioning opening 123 is still against the protruding piece 114, and because the circuit board 120 is elastic, it can bend and deform under the force in an instant. Finally, the operator maintains the aforementioned pressure and continues to drive the circuit board 120 to move in the negative Y-axis direction, so that the second positioning opening 123 is fitted and buckled on the protruding piece 114. At this point, the assembly process of the circuit board 120 and the housing 110 is completed.

Please refer to FIG. 5D and compare it with FIG. 2 . The housing 110 and the circuit board 120 can be effectively assembled and combined, that is, the hook 113 and the first positioning openings 121, 122 and the protrusion 114 and the second positioning opening 123 jointly generate positioning on the X-Y plane, and the hook 113 and the first positioning openings 121, 122 also generate positioning along the normal direction of the X-Y plane (i.e., the Z-axis direction), wherein after assembly, the circuit board 120 is parallel to or located on the X-Y plane. Specifically, the protrusion 114 and the second positioning opening 123 generate positioning in the first axis (X axis) via the side edges 123a and 123b, and the hook 113 and the first positioning openings 121 and 122 as well as the protrusion 114 and the second positioning opening 123 generate positioning in the second axis (Y axis), and the hook 113 and the first positioning openings 121 and 122 also generate positioning along the third axis (Z axis). The first axis, the second axis and the third axis are orthogonal to each other, and the circuit board 120 is parallel to or located on the plane (X-Y plane) formed by the first axis and the second axis.

Specifically, the connecting portion 113a of the hook 113 abuts against the side edge 121a of the first positioning opening 121 (the first positioning opening 122 is the same and omitted here), and the protrusion 114 abuts against the side edge 123c of the second positioning opening 123. In this way, although the first positioning opening 121 cannot prevent the circuit board 120 from moving in the positive Y-axis direction, the second positioning opening 123 just prevents the circuit board 120 from moving in the positive Y-axis direction with the side edge 123c, and vice versa, thereby achieving the positioning and locking effect of the circuit board 120 and the housing 110 in the Y-axis direction. In this way, the positioning effect of the X-Y plane can be produced by combining the protrusion 114 and the second positioning opening 123.

FIG6 is a partial schematic diagram of a circuit board and a housing of another embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to FIG6 and compare it with FIG2. Unlike the embodiment shown in FIG2, in which the second positioning opening 123 is an open profile, the second positioning opening 223 of the present embodiment is a closed profile and has four side edges 223a, 223c, 223b, and 223d that are adjacent in sequence. In this way, the outer profile of the protrusion 214 abuts against the side edges 223a, 223c, 223b, and 223d to be completely adapted to the second positioning opening 223. Accordingly, only the protrusion 214 and the second positioning opening 223 can provide X-axis positioning and Y-axis positioning, thereby achieving the positioning effect of the X-Y plane.

In summary, in the above-mentioned embodiment of the present case, during the assembly process of the circuit board and the case of the electronic device, the case uses a hook to pass through the first positioning opening of the circuit board to hold the circuit board, and the protrusion of the case abuts against the side edge of the second positioning opening of the circuit board to complete the above-mentioned assembly operation.

Furthermore, the hook and the protrusion can further achieve different positioning effects through the open contour or the closed contour of the second positioning opening. In one embodiment, the second positioning opening is an open contour, so the protrusion not only achieves positioning in the first axial direction with the second positioning opening, but also needs to cooperate with the hook to abut the structure of the first positioning opening to complete the positioning in the second axial direction. In another embodiment, the second positioning opening is a closed contour, so the plane positioning can be completed only by the structural adaptation relationship between the protrusion and the second positioning opening.

However, no matter which one, the circuit board and the housing can smoothly obtain the three-dimensional spatial positioning effect through the above-mentioned mechanism setting, thereby achieving the required combination and buckling purpose, and further eliminating the need for screw locking in the existing technology, so as to provide the electronic device with the effect of rapid component disassembly and assembly, effectively simplify the process and reduce the burden on the operator.

100: electronic device 110: housing 111, 112: parts 113: hooks 114, 214: protrusions 120: circuit board 121, 122: first positioning opening 121a, 122a, 123a, 123b, 123c: side edges 123, 223: second positioning opening 223a, 223b, 223c, 232d: side edges 124: grounding part B-B’: section line S1: outer surface S2: inner surface S3, S4: surface X-Y-Z: rectangular coordinates

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of some components of the electronic device of FIG. 1 . FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B respectively illustrate the housing and circuit board of FIG. 2 . FIG. 4 is a top view of the housing and circuit board of FIG. 2 . FIG. 5A to FIG. 5D are cross-sectional views of FIG. 4 along section line B-B’. FIG. 6 is a partial schematic diagram of a circuit board and housing of another embodiment of the present invention.

110: Chassis

111, 112: Parts

113: Hook

114: convex parts

120: Circuit board

121, 122: First positioning opening

121a, 122a, 123a, 123b, 123c: side edge

123: Second positioning opening

124: Grounding part

S1: External surface

S2: Inner surface

S3: Surface

X-Y-Z: Cartesian coordinates

Claims (15)

An electronic device comprises: a housing having a hook and a protrusion; and a circuit board, suitable for being arranged on the housing, having a first positioning opening and a second positioning opening, wherein the hook is suitable for passing through the first positioning opening to hold the circuit board, and the protrusion is suitable for abutting against the side edge of the second positioning opening to fix the circuit board to the housing. An electronic device as described in claim 1, wherein the protrusion and the second positioning opening produce positioning on a plane, the hook and the first positioning opening produce positioning along the normal direction of the plane, and the circuit board is parallel to or located on the plane. An electronic device as described in claim 1, wherein the protrusion and the second positioning opening produce positioning in the first axial direction and the second axial direction, the hook and the first positioning opening produce positioning in the third axial direction, the first axial direction, the second axial direction and the third axial direction are orthogonal to each other, and the circuit board is parallel to or located in a plane formed by the first axial direction and the second axial direction. An electronic device as described in claim 1, wherein the hook and the first positioning opening as well as the protrusion and the second positioning opening together produce positioning on a plane, the hook and the first positioning opening also produce positioning along the normal direction of the plane, and the circuit board is parallel to or located on the plane. An electronic device as described in claim 1, wherein the protrusion and the second positioning opening produce positioning in the first axial direction, the hook and the first positioning opening as well as the protrusion and the second positioning opening jointly produce positioning in the second axial direction, and the hook and the first positioning opening also produce positioning along a third axial direction, the first axial direction, the second axial direction and the third axial direction are orthogonal to each other, and the circuit board is parallel to or located in a plane formed by the first axial direction and the second axial direction. An electronic device as described in claim 1, wherein the second positioning opening is an open outline, and the extension direction of the hook is consistent with the opening direction of the open outline. An electronic device as described in claim 1, wherein the first positioning opening is an expansion hole, and an expansion direction of the expansion hole is consistent with an extension direction of the hook. An electronic device as described in claim 1, wherein the hook is held on the surface of the circuit board. An electronic device as described in claim 1, wherein the hook is buckled on the surface of the circuit board and the side edge of the first positioning opening. An electronic device as described in claim 1, wherein the first positioning opening has an open outline or a closed outline. An electronic device as described in claim 1, wherein the second positioning opening has an open outline or a closed outline. An electronic device as described in claim 1, wherein the first positioning opening is located at the periphery or inside of the circuit board. An electronic device as described in claim 1, wherein the second positioning opening is located at the periphery or inside of the circuit board. An electronic device as described in claim 1, wherein the hook has a protrusion, the first positioning opening and the second positioning opening are respectively connected to two opposite surfaces of the circuit board, the protrusion abuts against one of the surfaces, and the other surface rests on the casing. An electronic device as described in claim 14, wherein the circuit board also has a grounding portion, the housing is conductive, and the protrusion abuts and is electrically connected to the grounding portion so that the housing provides a grounding effect for the circuit board.

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