1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to an electronic device provided with a cover.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, electronic devices, such as notebook computers, have been introduced on the market with improved waterproofness, dripproofness and dustproofness in view of the use in a variety of outdoor environments. For such electronic devices, a cover may be provided to cover a terminal to which a cable or the like can be connected because the adhesion of liquid, dust, etc. to the terminal could lead to electronic device failure.
JP 2005-347432 A discloses a waterproofing cover that is fitted to a housing portion. The waterproofing cover is composed of an operating case and a movable member. The operating case is operated to attach/detach the waterproofing cover to/from the opening of the housing portion and the movable member is provided inside the operating case and is movable in a movable space. The moveable member is provided with retractable lugs. In response to the movement of the movable member in the movable space, the retractable lugs stick out/retract through windows formed in a sidewall of the operating case and are fitted to/removed from an engagement groove formed in the inner radius wall of the housing portion. The moveable member can be moved by operating a boss through an operating window formed in the operating case.
In the configuration disclosed in JP 2005-347432 A, a gasket for ensuring the waterproofness of the device is provided on the cover at the interfacial portion between the cover and the opening. When covering a plurality of housing portions with covers using this configuration, independent gaskets need to be provided for the respective covers. When gaskets are provided independently for the respective covers, the number of men-hours needed to assemble them increases.
The electronic device disclosed in the present application includes: a housing; a cover capable of covering a portion of the housing to be covered; and a waterproofing member placed around the portion to be covered. The cover is displaceable between a closed position at which the cover covers the portion to be covered and an open position at which the cover opens the portion to be covered, and the cover is in contact with the waterproofing member when the cover is at the closed position.
An electronic device according to one embodiment includes: a housing; a cover capable of covering a portion of the housing to be covered; and a waterproofing member placed around the portion to be covered. The cover is displaceable between a closed position at which the cover covers the portion to be covered and an open position at which the cover opens the portion to be covered, and the cover is in contact with the waterproofing member when the cover is at the closed position.
The electronic device may be modified such that the waterproofing member has elasticity, and when the cover is at the closed position, the cover is in contact with the waterproofing member and deforms the waterproofing member. As a result of configuring the electronic device in this way, the waterproofness be improved further.
The electronic device may be modified such that a protection member is provided on the waterproofing member at a part with which the cover can come into contact. As a result of configuring the electronic device in this way, it is possible to prevent the waterproofing member from getting damaged when a user tries to connect a plug to the terminal but accidentally bumps the plug against the waterproofing member.
The electronic device may be modified such that the portion to be covered includes a main portion and a subportion to be covered, and the waterproofing member is placed around the main portion and the subportion to be covered. As a result of configuring the electronic device in this way, an increase in the number of terminals does not lead to an increase the number of the waterproofing member. Thus, it is possible to reduce the number of components and to reduce the cost. Further, since the number of steps during the assembly can be reduced, the assembly process can be improved.
As shown in
The cover 11 is displaceable between a closed position at which the cover 11 covers the terminal 13 and an open position at which the cover 11 opens the terminal 13. The cover 11 is supported rotatably with respect to the first housing 1. The cover 11 includes a cover portion 11a, a sliding member 11b, a first protrusion 11c, a rib 11d and a supporting portion 11e. The cover portion 11a has a size that is at least enough for the cover 11 to cover the terminal 13. The sliding member 11b is placed on the top face of the cover portion 11a slidably in the plane direction of the top face (the direction indicated by the arrow C or D). The first protrusion 11c is formed integrally with an end of the sliding member 11b. The rib 11d is formed on the undersurface (the underside of the top face) of the cover portion 11a and sticks out from the undersurface. The rib 11d is formed at a position where it at least can come into contact with the waterproofing member 12 when the cover 11 is displaced to the closed position. The rib 11d is formed integrally with the cover portion 11a. The rib 11d is formed to at least surround the terminal 13 when the cover 11 is displaced to the closed position. The supporting portion 11e is formed integrally with the cover 11a. One end of the supporting portion 11e is fixed to the first housing 1. The supporting portion 11e supports the cover portion 11a and its accompanying members rotatably. The supporting member 11e preferably has a small thickness so that the cover portion 11a and its accompanying members can be rotated smoothly.
The waterproofing member 12 is bonded to the side face 1b of the first housing 1 at a part surrounding at least the terminal 13. The waterproofing member 12 is made of a material capable of ensuring the waterproofness of the terminal 13. For example, the waterproofing member 12 can be made of silicone foam. Although the waterproofing member 12 can be bonded to the first housing 1 with adhesive tape or the like, the waterproofing member 12 preferably is bonded to the first housing 1 by waterproof bonding means in order to prevent at least the entry of liquid through between the waterproofing member 12 and the first housing 1. At the junction between the cover 11 and the first housing 1, extension of the waterproofing member 12 to the interfacial portion between the cover 11 and the first housing 1 allows the cover 11 to be fixed to the first housing 1 by screws or the like.
The terminal 13 is placed in the first housing 1. An external cable or the like can be connected to the terminal 13 through an opening formed in the side lace 1b. In the example shown in
The concave portion 14 is formed in the first housing 1 at a position opposing the supporting portion 11e relative to the terminal 13. The first protrusion 11c can be fitted to or removed from the concave portion 14 when the cover 11 is displaced to the closed position. Although one concave portion 14 and one first protrusion 11c are provided in the present embodiment, a plurality of concave portions 14 and first protrusions 11c may be provided. Further, the first protrusion 11c is disposed at the center of the end side of the sliding member 11b in the present embodiment, but the first protrusion 11c may be disposed at a position other than the center. Furthermore, the length of the concave portion 14 and that of the protrusion 11c are not limited to those shown in
Hereinafter opening/closing of the cover 11 will be described.
When displacing the cover 11 to the closed position from the open position shown in
Here, the sliding member 11b is slidable between the retracted position shown in
Next, the cover 11 is displaced in the direction indicated by the arrow E. At this time, the cover 11 is supported by the supporting portion 11e and is displaced in the direction indicted by the arrow E.
As shown in
Although, the present embodiment has been described on the premise that the cover 11 is provided with the rib 11d, the rib 11d is not essential. Even with the cover 11 not provided with the rib 11d, a sufficient degree of waterproofing can be achieved if the contact between the cover 11 and the waterproofing member 12 can be improved.
Further, the cover portion 11a is made of a material having at least hardness sufficient to withstand the resilience of the waterproofing member 12.
Next, as shown in
Next, when displacing the cover 11 to the open position from the closed position shown in
Although the terminal portion 10 shown in
A waterproofing member 27 is placed in the vicinity of the terminals 24 to 26. The waterproofing member 27 is placed so as to surround each of the terminals 24 to 26. Through holes are formed in the waterproofing member 27 at positions corresponding to the terminals 24 to 26. That is, the single waterproofing member 27 can prevent liquid from entering the terminals 24 to 26. Since the detailed configuration and the material of the waterproofing member 27 are the same as those of the waterproofing member 12 shown in
For the terminal portion shown in
As shown in
According to the present embodiment, because the waterproofing member 12 is provided on the first housing 1 side, the notebook computer can be reduced in size. Hereinafter, the description will be given of the reasons why the notebook computer can be reduced in size.
If the waterproofing member is provided on the cover and the rib is provided on the first housing side, the rib to be formed around a terminal has to have a large opening area with consideration given to the thickness of an insulating cover at least covering a part of a plug to be connected to the terminal. An increase in the opening area of the rib leads to an increase in the size of the terminal portion, which leads to an increase the size of the first housing 1. For cables such as a USB cable, a power cable and a LAN cable, generally, a holding portion (portion where a part of the plug portion and a part of the conductor are covered with a thick insulating cover) placed between a plug portion (portion that is connected to the terminal electrically) and a cable portion (portion where the conductor is coated and insulated) is larger in thickness then the plug portion. Thus, when the rib is provided on the first housing side, the opening area of the rib increases.
In contrast, when the rib 11d is provided on the cover 11 as in the present embodiment, it is not necessary to give consideration to the thickness of the holding portion of the cable when determining the opening area of the rib 11d. That is, the rib 11d needs to at least come into contact with the waterproofing member 12 when the cover 11 is displaced to the closed position. Thus, the waterproofing member 12 can be disposed near the terminal 13. As a result, the size of the terminal portion 10 can be reduced and the size of the first housing 1 also can be reduced. Further, even if the opening area of the rib 11d is reduced, the rib 11d still can come into contact with the waterproofing member 12. By reducing the opening area of the rib 11d, it is possible to reduce the size of the cover 11.
Further, the waterproofing member is provided on the terminal side in the present embodiment. Thus, even if the number of terminals increases as shown in
Further, in the present embodiment, when the cover portion 11a is at the closed portion shown in
Although the waterproofing members 12 and 27 in the present embodiment are made of silicone foam, they can be made of any material as long as it has elasticity and is capable of preventing the entry of liquid. The waterproofing members 12 and 27 preferably are made of a monolithic material in order to ensure the waterproofness. The waterproofing member 12 and 27 may be made of silicone rubber, nitrite rubber, etc., so as to provide them with elasticity.
Further, in the present embodiment, the waterproofing members 12 and 27 are not only capable of preventing the entry of moisture as their name “waterproofing” suggests. That is, the waterproofing members in the present embodiment are capable of preventing the entry of not only water but also a variety of liquids and solids. The waterproofing members are waterproof and dustproof, so that they can prevent liquid, foreign matter, etc., from entering the terminal portion to cause a short circuit in the terminal portion.
Further, in the present embodiment, the sliding member 11b is provided and the first protrusion 11c is fitted to the concave portion 14 to position the cover 11 at the closed position. However, it is not necessary for the cover 11 to be positioned in such a manner. In addition to the positioning of the cover 11 described in the present embodiment, an elastic member to which the cover 11 can be press fitted is provided in the vicinity of the terminal of the first housing and the cover 11 is press fitted to and held by the elastic member.
Further, the notebook computer has been described in the present embodiment as one example of the electronic device. However, any device at least provided with a cover capable of covering a portion to be covered may be used as the electronic device. The characteristic of the embodiment can be applied to a variety of terminals provided for, for example, mobile phone terminals, portable game machines and digital cameras. Furthermore, the characteristic of the embodiment can also be applied to a battery-housing portion of a portable device in which a battery can be housed.
In the present embodiment, the waterproofing member made of silicon foam is provided. Generally, silicone foam is not so resistant to an external impact. Thus, if a user accidentally bumps the tip of a plug against the waterproofing member in the vicinity of the terminal when attaching the plug to the terminal, the waterproofing member could be damaged. Particularly, with plugs made of metal or those having a sharp shape such as a USB cable, there is a high possibility of the waterproofing member being damaged. Therefore, as shown in
In the configuration shown in
Further, the cover portion 11a or the sliding member 11b is preferably made of a material having flexibility. That is, when the sliding member 11b is displaced in the direction indicated by the arrow C or D, the second protrusion 11f hits the raised portion between the first concave portion 11g and the second concave portion 11h. At this time, if the cover portion 11a or the sliding member 11b is made of a flexible material, the raised portion between the first concave portion 11g and the second concave portion 11h or the second protrusion 11f deforms. Thus, the sliding member 11b can be displaced smoothly in the direction indicated by the arrow C or D. The cover 11a or the sliding member 11b is preferably made of a soft resin, particularly preferably an elastically-deformable soft resin having elasticity (e.g., polybutylene terephthalate resin, nitrile rubber, silicone rubber). Further, as a result of the cover portion 11a being made of a flexible material, the supporting portion 11e integral to the cover portion 11a becomes flexible. As a result of the supporting portion 11e becoming flexible, the supporting portion 11e can be prevented from getting damaged from fatigue even if the cover 11 is opened/closed repeatedly.
Further, the supporting portion 11e may be provided with a spindle for supporting the cover portion 11a rotatably in the directions indicated by the arrows E and F.
Further, the first concave portion 11g and the second concave portion 11b may be provided not only on the surface of the cover portion 11a facing the sliding member 11b but also on a portion where the cover portion 11a and the sliding portion 11b at least come into contact with each other.
Further, the rib 11d is not essential. When not providing the rib 11d, it is preferable to bring the surface of the cover portion 11a facing the waterproofing member 12 to surface contact with the waterproofing member 12. Further, when brining the cover portion 11a into contact with the waterproofing member 12, it is preferable that the cover portion 11a deforms the waterproofing member 12 by compression because the contact between the cover portion 11a and the waterproofing member 12 can be improved and waterproofing can be improved with certainty.
The first housing 1 according to the present embodiment is one example of the housing of the present application. The cover 11 according to the present embodiment is one example of the cover of the present application. The waterproofing member 12 according to the present embodiment is one example of the waterproofing member of the present application. The protection film 31 according to the present embodiment is one example of the protection member of the present application.
The electronic device disclosed in the present application is useful as a device provided with a cover capable of covering a portion to be covered.
The invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit of essential characteristics thereof. The embodiments disclosed in this application are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not limiting. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 13024074 | Feb 2011 | US |
Child | 14677572 | US |