BASE ASSEMBLY CAPABLE OF REDUCING THE NUMBER OF ASSEMBLING STEPS

Abstract

In a base assembly including a base and a bracket mounted on the base, the base comprises at least two L-shaped hook receivers and at least one claw receiver. The bracket has at least two L-shaped hooks each having a shape corresponding to that of the hook receiver and at least one elastically deformable claw engageable with the claw receiver, When mounting the bracket on the base, positioning of the bracket is carried out by engagement of the hooks with the hook receivers. In addition, locking of the said bracket is carried out by engagement of the claw with the claw receiver.

Description

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese patent application No. 2008-047069, filed on Feb. 28, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to an apparatus having a base and a shelf or a bracket mounted on the base (hereinafter this apparatus will be referred to as a “base assembly”), which is for use with main equipment for a communication apparatus, or the like.

BACKGROUND ART

As a first related art of this type of base assembly, there is one having a base and a bracket, as a separate component, fixed to the base using screws, as will be described in detail later with reference to the drawings. In this case, the number of assembling steps is large, the number of components is large, there is a disadvantage in terms of design because the heads of the screws are visible from the outside, and further the cost increases.

A second related art is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application Publication (JP-U) No. Sho 57-48687, wherein attaching portions of an attaching component engage with coupling portions (insertion seats) of a mounting plate on both sides of the attaching component and thus positioning of the attaching component in its attaching direction cannot be carried out. Therefore, the structure becomes large in size, which is inconvenient.

A third related art is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. Hei 02-271597, wherein a mounting plate has claws and a locking piece with a locking claw and a chassis has square holes, cutouts, and a locking hole. Thus, the structure is complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an exemplary object of this invention to provide a base assembly requiring a less number of assembling steps, having a simple structure, and enabling a size reduction.

Other objects of the present invention will become clear as the description proceeds.

According to an exemplary embodiment of this invention, there is provided a base assembly comprising a base and a bracket mounted on the base, wherein the base comprises at least two L-shaped hook receivers and at least one claw receiver, the bracket comprises at least two L-shaped hooks each having a shape corresponding to that of the hook receiver and at least one elastically deformable claw engageable with the claw receiver, and when mounting the bracket on the base, positioning of the bracket is carried out by engagement of the hooks with the hook receivers and locking of the bracket is carried out by engagement of the claw with the claw receiver.

An exemplary effect of this invention is that laborious fixing means such as a screw is not required, the number of assembling steps is small, and further the structure is simple.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a perspective view illustrating a base assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of this invention in a state before assembling thereof;

FIG. 1B is a perspective view illustrating the base assembly in a state after assembling thereof;

FIG. 2A is a plan view of a base included in the base assembly of FIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along line 2b-2b in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a bracket included in the base assembly of FIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 4A is a plan view of a state where the bracket is placed on the base, but is not fixed thereto;

FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along line 4b-4b in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 4C is an enlarged view of a portion 4c in FIG. 4B;

FIG. 4D is an enlarged view of a portion 4d in FIG. 4B;

FIG. 4E is an enlarged view of a portion 4e in FIG. 4B;

FIG. 5A is a plan view of a state where the bracket is placed on the base and fixed thereto;

FIG. 5B is a sectional view taken along line 5b-5b in FIG. 5A;

FIG. 5C is an enlarged view of a portion 5c in FIG. 5B;

FIG. 5D is an enlarged view of a portion 5d in FIG. 5B;

FIG. 5E is an enlarged view of a portion 5e in FIG. 5B;

FIG. 6A is a perspective view illustrating one example of a base assembly according to a related art in a state before assembling thereof; and

FIG. 6B is a perspective view illustrating the related-art base assembly in a state after assembling thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, description will be made as regards an outline of a base assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of this invention.

The illustrated base assembly is for use with main equipment for a communication apparatus and comprises a base 1 formed by molding a synthetic resin into a rectangular parallelepiped frame shape and a bracket 11 mounted on the base 1. The base 1 comprises a pair of vertical side walls or side plates 3 and 4 facing each other with a predetermined distance therebetween, a horizontal bottom wall or bottom plate 2 coupled between lower ends of the side plates 3 and 4, and a vertical rear wall or rear plate 5 coupled between rear ends of the side plates 3 and 4. A space between front ends of the side plates 3 and 4 is open.

On the other hand, the bracket 11 is formed by molding a synthetic resin and comprises a main plate portion 11-1 in the form of a rectangular plate and an auxiliary plate portion 11-2 coupled to the main plate portion 11-1 on its one side. That is, the bracket 11 has a generally T-shape in cross section. The bracket 11 is mounted on the base 1 between the side walls 3 and 4 with its main plate portion 11-1 perpendicular to the bottom plate 2.

When mounting the bracket 11 on the base 1, the bracket 11 is first lowered in the vertical direction of arrows 21 in FIG. 1A until the lower end of the bracket 11 reaches an inner bottom surface of the base 1, i.e. an upper surface of the bottom plate 2. Subsequently, the bracket 11 is moved rearward in the horizontal direction of arrows 21. Then, by means of an engaging structure described later, the bracket 11 engages with the base 1 so as to be fixed thereto.

Hereinbelow, referring also to FIGS. 2A to 5E, the engaging structure will be described in detail.

A direction from the right side to the left side of the bottom plate 2 is given as an X-direction, a direction from the lower side to the upper side of the bottom plate 2 is given as a Y-direction, a direction from the front side to the rear side of the bottom plate 2 is given as a Z-direction, and a direction opposite to the Z-direction is given as a -Z-direction. Note that the base 1 is fixed to a housing of a communication apparatus (not illustrated) in order to prevent movement thereof in any of the X-, Y-, Z-, and -Z-directions.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the bottom plate 2 of the base 1 is formed with a first hook receiver 2a, a single claw receiver 2c, and a second hook receiver 2b that are located on a straight line, i.e. aligned with each other, in this order from the front where the space between the side plates 3 and 4 is open. The first hook receiver 2a and the second hook receiver 2b are formed as illustrated in FIGS. 4E and 4C, respectively. Specifically, the first and second hook receivers 2a and 2b are each formed into a shape equivalent to a shape obtained by cutting a portion of the bottom plate 2 to form a generally U-shaped slit and then bending an inner portion surrounded by the slit toward the inside of the base 1 so as to form it into an L-shape. As illustrated in FIG. 4D, the claw receiver 2c is formed by opening a hole in the bottom plate 2.

Incidentally, necessary structures known in this art are provided at the other portions of the bottom plate 2 and on the inner sides of the side plates 3 and 4 and the rear plate 5.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the bracket 11 is formed with a first hook 11a, a single elastically deformable claw 11c, and a second hook 11b that are located on a straight line, i.e. aligned with each other, in this order from the front at three portions of the bottom of the main plate portion 11-1. The claw 11c has a free end formed with a projection 11c1 which is engageable with the hole, i.e. the claw receiver 2c, of the bottom plate 2.

The first hook 11a and the second hook 11b are formed as illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIGS. 4E and 4C. Specifically, the first and second hooks 11a and 11b are each formed into a shape equivalent to a shape obtained by projecting a portion of the main plate portion 11-1 downward from the bottom and then bending it rearward into an L-shape. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4D, the claw 11c is formed elastically deformable and parallel to the bottom plate 2.

Incidentally, necessary structures known in this art are provided on both left and right sides of the bracket 11.

FIGS. 4E, 4C, and 4D respectively illustrate the positions after the bracket 11 is lowered in the vertical direction of arrows 21 in FIG. 1A until the lower end of the bracket 11 reaches the inner bottom surface of the base 1. At these positions, the first hook receiver 2a and the first hook 11a face each other, the second hook receiver 2b and the second hook 11b face each other, and the claw 11c does not yet engage with the claw receiver 2c.

FIGS. 5E, 5C, and 5D respectively illustrate the positions after the bracket 11 is moved rearward in the horizontal direction of arrows 21 in FIG. 1A. At these positions, the first hook receiver 2a and the first hook 11a abut against each other, the second hook receiver 2b and the second hook 11b abut against each other, and the projection 11c1 of the claw 11c engages with the claw receiver 2c because of an elastic restoring force of the claw 11c. Thus, the bracket 11 is fixedly mounted on the base 1. In this case, positioning of the bracket 11 is carried out by the engagement between the first hook 11a and the first hook receiver 2a and the engagement between the second hook 11b and the second hook receiver 2b and locking of the bracket 11 is carried out by the engagement between the claw 11c and the claw receiver 2c. As a result, the bracket 11 is fixedly assembled to the base 1.

Since the first hook receiver 2a and the first hook 11a have symmetrical shapes and the second hook receiver 2b and the second hook 11b have symmetrical shapes, the bracket 11 is tightly mounted on the base 1.

The engaging structure described above exhibits the following effects:

1. Since a base assembly comprises a base having at least two L-shaped hook receivers and at least one claw receiver and a bracket having at least two L-shaped hooks each having a shape corresponding to that of the hook receiver and at least one elastically deformable claw engageable with the claw receiver, laborious fixing means such as a screw is not required, the number of assembling steps is small, and further the structure is simple.

2. Since the claw receiver is formed between the hook receivers and the claw is formed between the hooks, the bracket is stably fixed to the base by a locking mechanism half the number of positioning mechanisms.

3. The hook receivers and the hooks are formed into symmetrical shapes and thus the bracket is brought into tight contact with the base when mounting the bracket on the base. Therefore, the base assembly is compact in structure.

4. Since the claw has a projection at its free end and the claw receiver is a hole, the structure is simple.

5. Since the hook receivers and the claw receiver are formed so as to be located on a straight line and the hooks and the claw are formed so as to be located on a straight line, the manufacture is easy.

6. The base and the bracket are each easily manufactured from a synthetic resin and the cost is low.

In the base assembly described above, the claw and the claw receiver in a pair are arranged between the hooks and the hook receivers in two pairs. However, this arrangement order may be suitably changed in design. The number of pairs of hooks and hook receivers and the number of pairs of claws and claw receivers can be increased. The first hook receiver 2a, the single claw receiver 2c, and the second hook receiver 2b in the base 1 may be formed at positions slightly offset from a straight line and, likewise, the first hook 11a, the single claw 11c, and the second hook 11b in the bracket 11 may be formed at positions slightly offset from a straight line. Further, the base assembly is applicable not only to the main equipment for the communication apparatus, but also to other apparatuses, for example, the whole range of household electrical apparatuses.

Now, referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the description will be directed to the first related art mentioned in the column of “Background Art”.

FIG. 6A illustrates a state before fixing a bracket 31 to a base 21 using three screws 41. The base 21 has a rectangular parallelepiped frame structure. As illustrated in FIG. 6B, a bottom plate 22 of the base 21 is formed with a three screw holes 22a. To this bottom plate 22, the bracket 31 is fixed by the three screws 41. The bracket 31 is in the form of a rectangular plate and has female threaded portions 31a for the screws 41 at three portions of the bottom. Known necessary structures are formed on both left and right sides of the bracket 31.

When fixing the bracket 31 to the base 21, the bracket 31 is first moved downward in an arrow direction by operator's fingers in FIG. 6A, thereby positioning the three female threaded portions 31a of the bracket 31 in registry with the corresponding screw holes 22a of the bottom plate 22 as illustrated in FIG. 6B. Then, the three screws 41 are screwed into the corresponding female threaded portions 31a of the bracket 31 through the corresponding screw holes 22a from the back side of the bottom plate 22. Thereupon, the bracket 31 is fixed to the base 21.

However, with the structure illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the number of assembling steps is large, the number of components is large, there is a disadvantage in terms of design because the heads of the screws are visible from the outside, and further the cost increases.

Claims

1. A base assembly comprising a base and a bracket mounted on said base, wherein said base comprises at least two L-shaped hook receivers and at least one claw receiver,said bracket comprises at least two L-shaped hooks each having a shape corresponding to that of said hook receiver and at least one elastically deformable claw engageable with said claw receiver, andwhen mounting said bracket on said base, positioning of said bracket is carried out by engagement of said hooks with said hook receivers and locking of said bracket is carried out by engagement of said claw with said claw receiver.

2. The base assembly according to claim 1, wherein said claw receiver is formed between said hook receivers and said claw is formed between said hooks.

3. The base assembly according to claim 1, wherein said hook receivers and said hooks are formed into symmetrical shapes so that said bracket is brought into tight contact with said base when mounting said bracket on said base.

4. The base assembly according to claim 1, wherein said claw has a projection at its free end and said claw receiver is a hole.

5. The base assembly according to claim 1, wherein said hook receivers and said claw receiver are formed so as to be located on a straight line and said hooks and said claw are formed so as to be located on a straight line.

6. The base assembly according to claim 1, wherein said base and said bracket are each molded from a synthetic resin.

7. The base assembly according to claim 1, wherein said base comprises a bottom plate, said bracket comprises a main plate portion placed perpendicular to said bottom plate, said at least two L-shaped hook receivers and said at least one claw receiver are provided at said bottom plate, and said at least two L-shaped hooks and said at least one elastically deformable claw are provided at an end face, facing said bottom plate, of said main plate portion.

8. The base assembly according to claim 7, wherein said positioning is carried out in a direction parallel to said bottom plate and said locking is carried out in a direction perpendicular to said bottom plate.