This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-093646, filed Mar. 30, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field
One embodiment of the present invention relates to an electronic apparatus in which a display unit is openable/closable with respect to a main body unit, a subassembly product used for manufacturing the electronic apparatus, and a method of manufacturing the electronic apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic apparatuses such as portable computers have a main body unit equipped with a circuit board, and a display unit equipped with a display. A hinge portion is provided between the main body unit and the display unit. The hinge portion supports the display unit such that the display unit is rotatable with respect to the main body unit.
The main body unit has a first housing. The first housing is formed to have a box shape having a top wall, a peripheral wall, and a bottom wall. The first housing is divided into a base member including the bottom wall, and a first cover member including the top wall. On the other hand, the display unit has a second housing. The second housing is formed to have a box shape including a front wall, a peripheral wall, and a back wall. The second housing is divided into a mask member including the front wall, and a second cover member including the back wall. The mask member has a large opening portion which exposes a display screen of the display to the outside.
The hinge portion has a one end portion which is fixed onto the first cover member, and the other end portion which is fixed onto the second cover member. The hinge portion connects the second cover member to the first cover member.
“Notebook PC Full-Line Catalogue (Qosmio/dynabook/dynabook SS) 2007 Spring Model” (published by Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba PC & Network, January 2007, p.4) discloses an electronic apparatus in which an opening portion of the mask member is larger than the outer shape of the keyboard. The electronic apparatus has a large display screen of 17-inch wide. Therefore, the mask member is provided with the large opening portion corresponding to its display screen.
Further, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Pub. No. 2005-100173 discloses an electronic apparatus in which an operating panel is provided in a side space of a keyboard.
When an electronic apparatus having a first housing and a second housing as described above is assembled, first, a subassembly product (that is, a cover assembly) which is formed by connecting the second cover member to the first cover member by the hinge portion. The subassembly product is assembled in, for example, a separate location, and supplied in a state of being folded such that the second cover member is superposed on the first cover member.
In assembly of the electronic apparatus, the second cover member is raised with respect to the first cover member, and the raised second cover member is laid on an assembly table. Then, a display is mounted on the laid second cover member. Next, a mask member is engaged to the second cover member equipped with the display. Thereby, a display unit is assembled.
After the display unit is assembled, the base member of the main body unit is laid again on the assembly table. Then, a keyboard as a mounting component is mounted on the top wall of the first cover member, in the state where the display unit is raised with respect to the main body unit. Lastly, the display unit is closed with respect to the main body unit, and thereby assembly of the electronic apparatus is finished.
The electronic apparatus as described above requires troublesome steps of raising, closing, and laying again the members of the electronic apparatus during assembly thereof.
A general architecture that implements the various feature of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention.
Various embodiments according to the invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. In general, according to one embodiment of the invention, a method of manufacturing an electronic apparatus includes preparing a subassembly product. The electronic apparatus includes a first housing to which a mounting component is attached, a second housing containing a display, and a hinge portion which rotatably connects the second housing to the first housing. The subassembly product is formed by connecting a cover member, which is to form part of the first housing and to which the mounting component is to be mounted, with a mask member, which is to form part of the second housing and is provided with an opening portion to expose a display screen of the display to outside, by the hinge portion. The mounting component is mounted on the cover member through the opening portion of the mask member, in a state where the subassembly product is folded such that the mask member is superposed on the cover member.
According to one embodiment of the invention, an electronic apparatus according to the invention comprises: a first housing; a second housing; a hinge portion which rotatably connects the second housing to the first housing; a mounting component attached to the first housing; and a display which is contained in the second housing and includes a display screen. The first housing includes a first cover member to which the mounting component is attached. The second housing includes a mask member provided with an opening portion which exposes the display screen to outside, and a second cover member which faces the display from a side distant from the mask member and is engaged with the mask member. The hinge portion connects the mask member to the first cover member. The display and the second cover member are detachable from the mask member. The opening portion of the mask member is larger than an outer shape of the mounting component.
According to one embodiment of the invention, a subassembly product forms part of an electronic apparatus, the apparatus including a first housing and a second housing which contains a display, the display including a display screen. The subassembly product comprises: a cover member which is to form part of the first housing and is provided with a placing portion, to which a mounting component is to be placed; a mask member which is to form part of the second housing, includes an opening portion to expose the display screen to outside, and includes an area to which the display is to be mounted, the area being opened to outside; and a hinge portion which rotatably connects the mask member to the cover member. A whole area of the placing portion is exposed to outside through the opening portion of the mask member, in a state where the mask member is superposed on the cover member.
An embodiment of the present invention is explained with respect to drawings in which an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a portable computer.
As illustrated in
A keyboard 8, a touch pad 9, and a button unit 10 are mounted on the top wall 4a of the first cover member 5. Each of the keyboard 8 and the touch pad 9 is an example of a mounting component (i.e. housing mounting component). The top wall 4a is provided with a keyboard placing portion 12 in which the keyboard 8 is mounted, a touch pad placing portion 13 in which the touch pad 9 is mounted, and a button unit placing portion 14 in which the button unit 10 is mounted. Each of the placing portions 12, 13 is an example of a placing portion of the invention.
The portable computer 1 has a keyboard holder 16 which fixes the keyboard 8 onto the keyboard placing portion 12. As illustrated in
The keyboard holder 16 has engaging projections 16a. Engagement holes 12b with which the engaging projections 16a of the keyboard holder 16 engage are provided in an edge portion of the keyboard placing portion 12, which is located opposite to the end portion provided with the engagement holes 12a. The keyboard holder 16 is detachably attached to the edge portion of the keyboard placing portion 12, and supports the other end portion of the keyboard 8. Thereby, the both end portions of the keyboard 8 are fixed onto the keyboard placing portion 12. The keyboard 8 may be fixed by fixing members such as screws, instead of the keyboard holder 16.
The portable computer 1 has a touch pad frame 17 which fixes the touch pad 9 onto the touch pad placing portion 13. As illustrated in
The touch pad frame 17 is attached to the touch pad placing portion 13 such that the touch pad 9 is held between the touch pad frame 17 and the touch pad placing portion 13. When the first and second engaging claws 17a and 17b are engaged with the first engagement holes 13a and the second engagement holes 13b, respectively, the touch pad 9 and the touch pad frame 17 are fixed onto the touch pad placing portion 13.
As illustrated in
The second housing 21 has a front wall 21a, a peripheral wall 21b, and a back wall 21c. The second housing 21 has a mask member 23, and a second cover member 24. The second cover member 24 is an example of another cover member. The mask member 23 includes the front wall 21a and part of the peripheral wall 21b, and forms part of the second housing 21. The second cover member 24 includes the back wall 21c and part of the peripheral wall 21b, and forms part of the second housing 21. The second cover member 24 is opposed to the display 22 from the side distant from the mask member 23, engaged with the mask member 23, and detachably supported by the mask member 23.
A large opening portion 23a is formed in the front wall 21a of the mask member 23. The opening portion 23a is opposed to the display 22, and exposes the display screen 22a of the display 22 to the outside of the second housing 21. One example of the size of the opening portion 23a of the mask member 23 is larger than the total size of the outer shape of keyboard placing portion 12 and the outer shape of the button unit placing portion 14. Specifically, the size of the opening portion 23a is larger than the outer shape of the keyboard 8, and larger than the outer shape of the keyboard holder 16.
More specifically, as illustrated in
A pair of hinge portions 26a and 26b are provided between the first housing 4 and the second housing 21. The hinge portions 26a and 26b support the second housing 21 such that the second housing 21 is rotatable with respect to the first housing 4. Therefore, the display unit 3 is rotatable between a closed position (refer to
Next, a subassembly product 31 which is called a “cover assembly” is explained with reference to
As illustrated in
As described above, the first cover member 5 is provided with the keyboard placing portion 12, the touch pad placing portion 13, and the button unit placing portion 14. The button unit 10 is attached to the button unit placing portion 14. The keyboard placing portion 12 has a bottom wall 12c. An opening portion 12d is provided in the bottom wall 12c. The touch pad placing portion 13 has a bottom wall 13b.
The mask member 23 includes the front wall 21a and part of the peripheral wall 21b of the second housing 21 as described above, and is opened to the outside in the direction facing the back wall 21c. Specifically, it can be said that an area of the mask member 23 in which the display 22 is mounted is opened to the outside. Thereby, a whole area of the keyboard placing portion 12 is exposed to the outside through the opening portion 23a of the mask member 23, in the state where the mask member 23 is superposed on the first cover member 5.
As illustrated in
Each of the hinge portions 26a and 26b has a hinge shaft 46 and a sheet-metal member 47. The sheet-metal member 47 is an example of a support member. The hinge shaft 46 is provided between the first housing 4 and the second housing 21. Specifically, the first edge portion 41 is an edge portion most distant from the hinge shaft 46 in the mask member 23.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The third and fourth ribs 53 and 54 stand in the thickness direction of the display unit 3, and extend from one end portion to the other end portion of the third edge portion 43 or the fourth edge portion 44, along a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the hinge shaft 46 (that is, a direction extending from the second edge portion 42 toward the first edge portion 41, hereinafter referred to as “the second direction”).
The sheet-metal member 47 extends from one end portion to the other end portion of the third edge portion 43 or the fourth edge portion 44, along the second direction. A distal end portion 47a, a center portion 47b, and a proximal end portion 47c of the sheet-metal member 47 are fixed onto the mask member 23.
More specifically, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The distance between the first elastic members 61 attached to the first rib 51 and the first elastic members 61 attached to the second rib 52 is almost the same as or slightly smaller than the length of the display 22 along the second direction. The distance between the first elastic member 61 attached to the third rib 53 and the first elastic members 61 attached to the fourth rib 54 is almost the same as or slightly smaller than the width of the display 22 along the first direction.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
An example of the second elastic members 62 is rubber members. An example of the third elastic member 63 is a sponge member. The second elastic members 62 are formed of a material having a larger coefficient of elasticity than that of the third elastic member 63. In other words, the second elastic member 62 is formed of a material which is less deformable and harder than the third elastic member 63.
The second elastic members 62 are provided to position the display 22 along the thickness direction of the display unit 3. Since the second elastic members 62 which are resistant to deformation are opposed to the edge portion of the display 22, the display 22 is prevented from wobbling.
The thickness of the third elastic member 63 is set larger than the thickness of the second elastic member 62. When the second cover member 24 is engaged with the mask member 23, the third elastic member 63 is compressed to almost the same thickness as that of the second elastic members 62. The third elastic member 63 applies pressing force to the display 22 toward the mask member 23.
The second elastic members 62 have parts tolerances, and thus are slightly different from one another in thickness. The third elastic member 63 presses the display 22 toward the mask member 23, and thereby influence of parts tolerances of the second elastic members 62 is reduced, and wobbling of the display 22 is further suppressed. The second and third elastic members 62 and 63 may be attached to the back surface of the display 22, instead of the second cover member 24.
Next, an example of a method of manufacturing the portable computer 1 is explained with reference to
First, the base member 6, the second cover member 24, and the subassembly product 31 are prepared. The subassembly product 31 is assembled in, for example, a separate location, and prepared in the state where the mask member 23 is folded to be superposed on the first cover member 5, that is, in the state where the mask member 23 is closed with respect to the first cover member 5.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Specifically, first, the touch pad 9 is placed on the touch pad placing portion 13. Before or after placing of the touch pad 9, a cable 9a of the touch pad 9 is inserted into a connector 67 mounted on the circuit board 65. Thereby, the touch pad 9 is electrically connected to the circuit board 65.
After the touch pad 9 is placed, the touch pad frame 17 is attached onto the touch pad 9. Specifically, the second engaging claws 17b of the touch pad frame 17 are engaged with corresponding engagement holes (not shown), and the first engaging claws 17a are engaged with the engagement holes 13a. Thereby, the touch pad 9 and the touch pad frame 17 are fixed onto the touch pad placing portion 13.
As illustrated in
Specifically, a cable 8b of the keyboard 8 is inserted into a connector 69 mounted on the circuit board 65. Thereby, the keyboard 8 is electrically connected to the circuit board 65. After the cable 8b is connected to the connector 69, the reinforcing member 68 is attached to the opening portion 12d of the keyboard placing portion 12. The reinforcing member 68 is formed of sheet metal or the like, and reinforces the bottom wail 12c of the keyboard placing portion 12.
Then, the keyboard 8 is placed on the reinforcing member 68 and the bottom wall 12c. Claws 8a of the keyboard 8 are inserted into the engagement holes 12a, and thereby one end portion of the keyboard 8 is supported. Further, the keyboard holder 16 is attached, and thereby the other end portion of the keyboard 8 is supported.
As described above, the steps of mounting the keyboard 8, the touch pad 9, and components around them are finished.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The display 22 may be fixed by using fixing members such as screws. In the embodiment, the display 22 is held by the first to third elastic members 61, 62 and 63, without using fixing members such as screws to fix the display 22.
Lastly, a step of mounting hinge covers 71 is performed, and thereby the portable computer 1 is assembled as illustrated in
According to the portable computer 1 having the above structure, it is possible to apply a method of manufacturing the portable computer 1 with improved assemblability. Specifically, since the first cover member 5 and the mask member 23 are connected by the hinge portions 26a and 26b, and the display 22 and the second cover member 24 are detachable with respect to the mask member 23, the keyboard placing portion 12 is exposed to the outside through the opening portion 23a of the mask member 23, even in the state where the mask member 23 is superposed on the first cover member 5.
Since the opening portion 23a of the mask member 23 is formed larger than the outer shape of the keyboard 8, the keyboard 8 can be mounted on the keyboard placing portion 12 through the opening portion 23a of the mask member 23. Specifically, the keyboard 8 can be attached to the first cover member 5, without raising the mask member 23 with respect to the first cover member 5. The mounting work can be simplified since it is unnecessary to raise the mask member 23 in the step of mounting the keyboard 8, and thus assemblability of the portable computer 1 is improved.
In the same manner, since the keyboard holder 16 can be attached to the first cover member 5 through the opening portion 23a of the mask member 23, it is unnecessary to raise the mask member 23 for mounting the keyboard holder 16. The touch pad 9 can be mounted on the first cover member 5 through the opening portion 23a of the mask member 23, and it is unnecessary to raise the mask member 23 for mounting the touch pad 9. These points improve the assemblability of the portable computer 1.
Since the display 22 is mounted after the keyboard 8 is mounted on the first cover member 5, the display 22 does not become an obstacle in the step of mounting the keyboard 8. Since the display 22 is mounted on the mask member 23, it is unnecessary to raise the mask member 23 for mounting the display 22. This contributes to improvement in assemblability of the portable computer 1. Further, since the display 22 is mounted in the state where the mask member 23 is superposed on the first cover member 5, the mounting direction of the display 22 can be aligned with the mounting direction of the keyboard 8. Aligning the mounting directions of a plurality of units contributes to improvement in assemblability of the portable computer 1, since the assembly process can be simplified.
Since the second cover member 24 is engaged with the mask member 23 in the state where the mask member 23 is superposed on the first cover member 5, the mounting direction of the second cover member 24 can be aligned with the mounting direction of the keyboard 8.
According to the embodiment, the portable computer 1 is assembled by superposing the circuit board 65, the subassembly product 31, the touch pad 9, the touch pad frame 17, the keyboard 8, the keyboard holder 16, the display 22, and the second cover member 24 on the base member 6 in succession. Specifically, the mounting directions of main components 65, 31, 9, 17, 8, 16, 22 and 24 forming the portable computer 1 are unified to the same direction. Therefore, the worker can successively stack the main components 65, 31, 9, 17, 8, 16, 22 and 24 in a fixed direction, and very high workability is achieved.
Further, the mounting direction is a vertical downward direction. The worker can stack up the main components 65, 31, 9, 17, 8, 16, 22 and 24 upward. Therefore, the workability is further improved, and the required workspace is relatively small. Further, the assembly work is simplified, and thus the invention contributes to reduction in mistakes in work. Further, since the mounting directions of the main components are unified to a specific direction, the invention has an advantage in automation of assembly.
It is considered that the subassembly product 31 is assembled in a separate location, for example, and supplied in the folded state such that the mask member 23 is superposed on the first cover member 5. According to the portable computer 1 of the embodiment, it is possible to assemble the portable computer 1 in the state where the mask member 23 is kept closed, without raising the mask member 23 with respect to the first cover member 5 once.
Specifically, it is never necessary to raise the mask member 23, in mounting the touch pad 9, the touch pad frame 17, the keyboard 8, the keyboard holder 16, the display 22, and the second cover member 24 as described above. Specifically, the portable computer 1 can be assembled, without raising, closing, replacing, or rotating the mask member 23 and the second cover member 24. This contributes to improvement in assemblability of the portable computer 1.
Further, since it is unnecessary to raise the mask member 23 and the second cover member 24, damage to the components is suppressed, and the quality of the portable computer 1 is improved.
Since the hinge portions 26a and 26b are connected to the mask member 23, bending moment is applied to the mask member 23 when the display unit 3 is rotated. Generally, the mask member 23 has stiffness lower than that of the second cover member 24, for example, since it has the large opening portion 23a. However, in the portable computer 1 according to the embodiment, the sheet-metal members 47 of the hinge portions 26a and 26b extend from one end portion to the other end portion of the mask member 23, along a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the hinge shafts 46. Therefore, most of the bending moment applied to the mask member 23 can be received by the sheet-metal members 47, and it is possible to prevent breakage of the mask member 23.
Further, the first rib 51 is provided between the sheet-metal members 47 of the hinge portions 26a and 26b, in the edge portion 41 which is most distant from the hinge shafts 46 in the mask member 23. Providing the first rib 51 enhances the stiffness of the edge portion 41, and it is possible to prevent breakage of the mask member 23. Since the first rib 51 extends between the sheet-metal members 47 of the hinge portions 26a and 26b, the first rib 51 and the two sheet-metal members 47 further enhance the stiffness of the mask member 23 in cooperation.
Since the sheet-metal members 47 are attached by insertion into the engagement members 56 or engagement by the engaging claws 57 and 58, screwing steps or the like can be reduced, and thereby assemblability can be improved.
The display 22 may be screwed to the sheet-metal members 47, for example. When the first elastic members 61 are arranged to support the display 22 from four directions as in the embodiment, the position of the display 22 along the first and second directions is fixed only by placing the display 22 on the mask member 23. Specifically, screwing steps or the like can be omitted.
Since there are the elastic members 62 and 63 interposed between the display 22 and the second cover member 24, the position of the display 22 can be fixed along the thickness direction of the display unit 3, without using fixing members such as screws. These points contribute to improvement in assemblability of the portable computer 1.
The present invention is not limited to the portable computer 1 according to the embodiment described above. For example, the touch pad 9 may be contained inside the first housing 4 and exposed to the outside through an opening provided in the touch pad placing portion 13. The touch pad 9 which is placed on the bottom wall 13b of the touch pad placing portion 13 as in the above embodiment has an advantage of improvement of assemblability, since the mounting direction of the touch pad 9 is the same as the mounting direction of the keyboard 8.
The mounting components of the invention are not limited to the keyboard 8 and the touch pad 9, but various input devices and output devices such as a power switch and a speaker also correspond to the mounting components. Electronic apparatuses to which the present invention is applicable are not limited to portable computers.
While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2007093646 | Mar 2007 | JP | national |