Patent Application
20180358192
The present invention relates to manufacturing electronic equipment.
Electronic equipment is known that includes a chassis engaged inside a box having a front face that is parallel to the engagement direction for engaging the chassis in the box and that is provided with push buttons that are mounted to slide perpendicularly to said front face. Each push button has one end received in a hole made in the front face in order to be flush therewith, and it includes a rectangular light guide projecting into the box behind the front face in order to enable the push button to be illuminated. An electronic card is mounted on the chassis in order to extend parallel to the front face and it is provided with switches designed to co-operate both with the push buttons and also with light sources, each of which is surrounded by a light-tight frame into which the free end of the light guide is designed to engage in such a manner that each push button is illuminated independently from the others.
In order to avoid the push buttons being sheared during assembly, the box and the front face are designed as two separate parts. Thus, firstly, the electronic card and the push buttons are mounted on the chassis, secondly, the box is then engaged on the chassis, and thirdly, the front face, provided with holes for receiving the push buttons, is fastened to the box.
An object of the invention is to simplify the design and assembly of such electronic equipment.
To this end, the invention provides electronic equipment comprising a chassis engaged in a box having a face parallel to the engagement direction for engaging the chassis in the box and provided with at least one push button that is mounted to slide perpendicularly to said face and that includes a rectangular light guide projecting into said box. At least one electronic card is mounted on the chassis so as to extend parallel to said face of the box and is provided with a switch for co-operating both with the push button and also with a light source that is surrounded by a light-tight frame, which frame receives the free end of the light guide. The frame is of height that decreases on going away from the chassis and the end of the light guide is of height that decreases in the opposite direction so that they come mutually into contact only once the chassis is fully engaged in the box.
Thus, the push button is mounted on the box before the chassis is engaged in the box, and during engagement the free end of the light guide becomes applied against the frame only at the end of engagement. There is therefore no risk of the light guide or of the light-tight frame being sheared.
In a particular embodiment, said face of the box is provided with a plurality of buttons aligned parallel to the engagement direction and the electronic card is fitted with the same number of switches aligned in the same direction, the push buttons and the switches being provided with mutual bearing surfaces of heights that vary with corresponding slopes so that they come mutually into contact only once the chassis is fully engaged in the box.
In such an arrangement with a plurality of push buttons aligned in the engagement direction, varying the heights of the mutual bearing surfaces along corresponding slopes so as to put them mutually into contact only once the chassis is fully engaged in the box makes it possible to eliminate the risk of the switches being sheared, while having a structure that is simple.
The invention also provides a method of assembling such equipment, comprising the steps of:
Other characteristics and advantages of the invention appear on reading the following description of particular, non-limiting embodiments of the invention.
Reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
With reference to the figures, in this embodiment, the equipment of the invention is a television decoder, but it could also be an Internet gateway or any other electronic, and optionally multimedia, equipment.
The electronic equipment, given overall reference 1, comprises a plate 2, forming a chassis and having in this embodiment a rectangular shape, which possesses a bottom face provided with studs that are to rest flat on a support and a top face provided with electronic cards, each comprising a printed circuit board (PCB), and one of the cards having the reference 3 extends perpendicularly to the plate 2 and along one side of the plate 2.
In this embodiment, the printed circuit board 3 has a display unit 4 of the liquid crystal display (LCD) type, three switches 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 aligned in a direction that is perpendicular to the plate 2, three light-emitting diodes (LEDs) 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 each placed next to one of the switches 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, and light-tight frames 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 surrounding the LEDs 6.1, 6.2, 6.3. The switch 5.1, the LED 6.1, and the light-tight frame 7.1 are closest to the plate 2. The switch 5.3, the LED 6.3, and the light-tight frame 7.3 are closest to the free edge of the printed circuit board 3. In this embodiment, the light-tight frames 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 are combined in a single part.
The chassis 2 is engaged along an engagement direction D into a box 10 having four side walls 11, 12, 13, 14 and a top wall 15. The engagement direction D is parallel to the printed circuit board 3, and in this embodiment it is normal to the plate 2 and to the top wall 15, which in this embodiment is parallel to the plate 2. The side wall 11 extends parallel to and facing the printed circuit board 3 and it is provided both with a window 16 allowing the display unit 4 to be seen, and also with three holes 17.1, 17.2, 17.3 for slidably receiving respective free ends of buttons 20.1, 20.2, 20.3.
In this embodiment, the buttons 20.1, 20.2, 20.3 are tubular, but of very short length, and each has an open end projecting into the box 10 and a closed free end that is received in a respective hole 17.1, 17.2, 17.3 in order to slide perpendicularly to the side wall 11. The closed free end includes a translucent or transparent portion. The buttons 20.1, 20.2, 20.3 are secured to an intermediate support 21 that is fastened to the inside of the box 10 against the side wall 11. The intermediate support 21 is resiliently clip-fastened into the corresponding corner of the box 10.
A first open end of a tubular light guide 22.1, 22.2, 22.3 is fastened on the open end of each button 20.1, 20.2, 20.3. Each light guide 22.1, 22.2, 22.3 has a second open end engaged in the light-tight frame 7.1, 7.2, 7.3. Each light guide 22.1, 22.2, 22.3 also includes a stud 23.1, 23.2, 23.3 projecting facing and almost in contact with a respective switch 5.1, 5.2, 5.3.
The switches 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 and the light-tight frames 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 are of heights that decrease on going away from the plate 2 (this difference in height of the switches is not visible in
The light guides 22.1, 22.2, 22.3 and the studs 23.1, 23.2, 23.3 are of heights that decrease on going towards the plate 2. The variation in the heights of the studs 23.1, 23.2, 23.3 follows the slope P1. The variation in the heights of the light guides 22.1, 22.2, 22.3 follows the slope P2.
The slope P1 is determined so that the switches 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 come into contact with the studs 23.1, 23.2, 23.3 only once the plate 2 is fully engaged in the box 10. The slope P2 is determined so that the light-tight frames 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 come into contact with the light guides 22.1, 22.2, 22.3 only once the plate 2 is fully engaged in the box 10. In this embodiment, the slope P1 is steeper than the slope P2.
The switches 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 and the studs 23.1, 23.2, 23.3 have free faces for bearing against each other that extend parallel to the engagement direction D. The light-tight frames 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and the light guides 22.1, 22.2, 22.3 have edges bearing against each other that extend parallel to the slope P2.
Assembling the equipment includes a stage of assembling the chassis, a stage of assembling the box, and a stage of assembling the chassis and the box together.
The stage of assembling the chassis comprises the following steps:
The stage of assembling the box comprises the step of mounting the push buttons 20.1, 20.2, 20.3 and the light guides 23.1, 23.2, 23.3 on the face 11 of the box in such a manner that the push buttons slide perpendicularly to said face and the light guides project into the box.
The stages in which the box and the chassis are themselves assembled may be performed simultaneously or in succession.
The stage of assembling the chassis and the box together consists in engaging the chassis 2 in the box 10 in an engagement direction D until engagement is complete and the light-tight frames and the ends of the light guides come mutually into contact.
Permanent fastening of the chassis 2 to the box 10 is obtained by screw-fastening, clip-fastening, riveting, heading, or any other means.
Naturally, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described but encompasses any variant coming within the ambit of the invention as defined by the claims.
In particular, the heights may vary with slopes that are identical.
In the event that only switches of the same height can be found on the market, it is possible to produce a light-tight frame that is provided with tabs hinged to an edge of the light-tight frame in order to extend sideways from the light-tight frame, each above one of the switches, the tabs having different thicknesses that vary with the slope P1.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1562077 | Dec 2015 | FR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2016/080437 | 12/9/2016 | WO | 00 |
