1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus, and more specifically to a cover of a circuit board on which a switch is mounted.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, it is general that a circuit board mounted inside an electronic apparatus such a notebook personal computer is divided into a main circuit board (, on which, for example, CPU is mounted), sub-circuit boards and the like each having a respective function (such as an extended memory board, LED board and switch board). In such an electronic apparatus, sub-circuit boards are covered with a cover after they are mounted regardless of the type of each board, whether it is mounted afterwards in the housing by the user or it is mounted in the section where it should be placed while the electronic apparatus is being assembled after the housing is formed. The sub-circuit boards are fixed onto the housing or the main circuit board or the like set inside by means of fixing means such as screws. After that, a cover or the like is fixed to the housing with screws.
For example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 10-124172 discloses in page 9 and FIG. 12 such a structure in which a memory board is fixed with screws and then a cover is fixed with screws. Such s structure requires a step for fixing a circuit board with screws and also a step of fixing a cover with screws, which increases the load on the assembling process for the product and also increases the number of steps involved in the manufacturing process. Further, a number of screws are used for the fixation, and the production cost is increased by the screws.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus comprising: a housing including a mounting portion having a bottom wall is formed; a first circuit board held in the mounting portion and mounted on the bottom wall; and a cover mounted in the housing such as to cover the first circuit board held in the mounting portion and having projections configured to hold the first circuit board between the bottom wall and the projections themselves.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to accompanying drawings.
A cover 9 is provided in a rear section of the main body 2 and the cover 9 forms a part of the upper case 3. A switch cover 10 is provided on an upper surface of the cover 9. The switch cover 10 includes a power operating portion 11 operated by the user to turn on the power of the electronic apparatus 1 and other operating portions 12. The operating portions 12, which are two or more portions, include, for example, a browser starting button used to connect to the Internet and a starting button for an e-mail software program.
Further, a connector 23 is mounted on the rear surface of the switch circuit board 20 and the connector is electrically connected to the power switch 21 and the group of switches 22. The power switch 21 is a switch that is turned on when the power operating portion 11 is operated. The group of switches 22 correspond to the operating portions 12, respectively, and when one of the operating portions 12 is operated, a respective one of the switches 22 is turned on. The switch circuit board 20 has positioning holes 16a and 16b that correspond respectively to the positioning projections 14a and 14b provided on the bottom wall 14 of the mounting portion 13. As the switch circuit board 20 is held in the mounting portion 13, the positioning holes 16a and 16b fit respectively with the positioning projections 14a and 14b, and thus the positioning of the switch circuit board 20 inside the mounting portion 13 can be easily carried out.
The connector 23 mounted on the rear surface of the switch circuit board 20 is exposed from the opening portion 15 to the inside of the main body 2 as the switch circuit board 20 is held in the mounting portion 13. The connector 23 is electrically connected to a connector 27a of the main circuit board 27 mounted to the main body 2 via a cable 23a such as a flexible cable. Alternatively, in place of the connector 23 of the switch circuit board 20 connected by the cable 23a, and the connector 27a of the main circuit board 27, such a structure as shown in
The switch cover 10 is mounted to the upper section of the switch circuit board 20 held in the mounting portion 13. As the latch pieces 24a and 24b formed on the respective ends of the switch cover 10 engage with the engage portions 26a and 26b provided on the side walls 26 of the mounting portion 13, respectively, the switch cover 10 is detachably mounted to the mounting portion 13.
The projection 11a of the power operating portion. 11 is located above the power switch 21 to face the switch 21. The power operating portion 11 is supported by the arms 11b and 11c shown in
The plurality of projections 25a, 25b, 25c and 25d projecting downwards from the inner surface of the switch cover 10 are brought into contact with the upper surface of the switch substrate 20. As these projections 25a, 25b, 25c and 25d press the upper surface of the switch substrate 20, the up-and-down rattling of the switch circuit board 20 inside the mounting portion 13 can be prevented. Further, when the female connector 32 of the switch circuit board 20 is jointed directly to the male connector 30 of the main circuit board 27 using the pin 28, the switch circuit board 20 can be fixed even more firmly. This is because the female connector 32 and the male connector 30 are joined with each other by themselves in addition to the structure in which the upper surface of the switch circuit board 20 is pressed by the projections 25a, 25b, 25c and 25d.
With the above-described structure, there is no need to provide screws to mount the switch circuit board 20 to the main body 2, and therefore it is possible to reduce the production cost. Further, the step for fixing the switch circuit board 20 onto the main body 2 is not necessary and therefore the manufacturing process can be simplified.
As described above, the present invention does not require screws to mount the switch circuit board 20 to the main body 2; however, it does not completely exclude the use of screws for fixing the switch circuit board 20 to the main body 2. In other words, the present invention does not exclude the use of screw for fixing the switch circuit board 20 to the main body 2 as auxiliary or temporary means. For example, in order to fix the switch circuit board 20 to the main body 2 even more firmly, auxiliary screws may be used in addition to the switch cover 10. Alternatively, in order to connect the connector 23 to the connector 27a, temporary screws may be used to temporarily fix the switch circuit board 20 to the main body 2. The temporary screws may be removed or left fixated after the connection between the connectors 23 and 27a is completed.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but it can be remodeled into various versions as long as the essence does not fall out of the scope of the invention. In the above-described embodiment, the mounting portion 13, switch circuit board 20 and switch cover 10 are provided on the upper surface of the housing, but it is alternatively possible to provide them on a side surface or bottom surface of the housing or a front or rear surface of the enclosure of the display unit 7. Further, the present invention is described in connection with the case where the switch circuit board 20 and switch cover 10 are mounted. However, it is alternatively possible to apply the invention to the case of a housing having a structure in which circuit boards are mounted (the circuit boards being those types that do not require an external operation, such as a radio circuit board, modem circuit board and memory circuit board). For example, such a structure as shown in
Further, the present invention is not limited to electronic apparatus such as personal computers, but it can be applied to some other electronic apparatus such as mobile phones, digital still camera and PDA or even more widely to a variety of other electronic apparatus.
Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2004-024133 | Jan 2004 | JP | national |
This is a Continuation Application of PCT Application No. PCT/JP2004/019555, filed Dec. 27, 2004, which was published under PCT Article 21 (2) in Japanese. This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-024133, filed Jan. 30, 2004, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP04/19555 | Dec 2004 | US |
Child | 11200663 | Aug 2005 | US |