Patent Application
20100008035
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable storage device provided with a cover case for protecting a circuit board which is mounted with a semiconductor storage device used by connecting with an external device.
2. Background Art
A cover case for the conventional portable storage device is used to protect electronic components and the like mounted on the circuit board, and therefore one superior is safety and has been used. One of conventional portable storage devices includes those a substrate connected to a USB connector head, a lower cover for protection from the lower surface side of the substrate, an upper cover for protection from the upper surface side of the substrate, and a case cover for containing the USB connector head, and the substrate is sandwiched by the upper cover and the lower cover, and the covers are fixed by bolts. (For example, refer to Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3086524).
However, in the above described background art, since at least two or more components in total are required on the upper side and on the lower side of the substrate, as described above, the method for attaching the protection case (upper cover, lower cover) to the substrate is made complicated. As a result, there arise problems that assembly time of the portable storage device can not be shortened, and that manufacturing costs of the portable storage device can not be reduced.
According one aspect of the present invention, there is provided: a portable storage device comprising a rectangular cover case having an opening formed on a front side surface; a circuit board which is supported in the cover case in a state of being inserted in the cover case from the opening, and which is provided with a connector terminal section in a front part; and a semiconductor storage device which is mounted on at least one of an upper surface side and a lower surface side of the circuit board and is connected with the connector terminal section, and which stores predetermined data, wherein the cover case has supporting sections which are formed in both right and left side walls of the cover case and which support the circuit board from right and left by elastic force in a state where the circuit board is inserted in the cover case.
In the following, embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiments which will be described below, there are described specific examples where the present invention is applied to a USB memory unit as a portable storage device.
As shown in
A connector terminal section 3 as a USB terminal is provided in the front of the circuit board 1. The connector terminal section 3 has a substrate 3a and a metal terminal 3b which is formed on the substrate 3a and which is connected with the semiconductor storage device. By connecting the connector terminal section 3 to a terminal of an external device (not shown), the semiconductor storage device and the external device are adapted to perform transmission and reception of predetermined data them.
In addition, the circuit board 1 has a width almost equal to that of the connector terminal 3.
As shown in
As shown in
It is to be noted that the circuit board 1 may also be supported in such a manner that U-shaped cuts are formed in both right and left side walls of the cover case 4, and that when the circuit board 1 mounted with electronic components 2 is arranged at a predetermined position in the cover case 4, the supporting sections 6 are folded down inwardly and brought into contact with the circuit board 1 so as to make a pressure applied to the circuit board 1.
Furthermore, the end of the supporting section 6 preferably has, for example, a width set to be greater than about 0.3 mm in thickness of the circuit board 1, so as to be able to stably support the end of the circuit board 1.
Here,
The portable storage device 100 is assembled in such a manner that the circuit board 1 mounted with electronic components 2 including a semiconductor storage device, is inserted to a predetermined position in the opening 5 of the cover case 4 from the rear side of the circuit board 1, so as to make both side surfaces of the circuit board 1 face the supporting sections 6. Thereby, as shown in
In this way, the portable storage device 100 can be easily assembled without requiring other parts such as bolts.
It is to be noted that, for example, the circuit board 1 may be arranged to be stopped at the position where the circuit board 1 comes in contact with the rear side wall of the cover case 4, or a stopper (not shown) may be provided in the cover case 4 so as to make the inserted circuit board 1 supported at a predetermined position.
Furthermore, a recess may be respectively formed in a predetermined position of both right and left side surfaces of the circuit board 1, so as to be engaged with the supporting section 6, as a result of which the inserted circuit board 1 is supported at a predetermined position in the cover case 4.
As described above, since the portable storage device according to the present embodiment is provided with the cover case which is formed by integrated molding and which has the supporting sections for supporting the circuit board from the left and right by the elastic force in the state where the circuit board is inserted, it is possible to reduce the number of parts of the cover case, and to facilitate the assembly of the portable storage device, and as a result, assembly time and manufacturing costs of the portable storage device can be reduced.
In the First Embodiment, a construction in which the connector terminal section provided in the circuit board includes the outer frame of the USB terminal, is described, but in the present embodiment, a construction in which an extended cover case is also used for the portion corresponding to the outer frame of the USB terminal, is described.
As shown in
As described above, since the portable storage device according to the present embodiment is provided with the cover case that is formed by integrated molding and that has the supporting sections for supporting the circuit board from the right and left by the elastic force in the state where the circuit board is inserted, it is possible to reduce the number of components of the cover case, and to further reduce the number of components of the circuit board, as a result of which assembly time and manufacturing costs of the portable storage device can be reduced.
In the First and Second Embodiments, a construction in which both right and left side surfaces of the circuit board is supported by the ends of the supporting sections, is described, but in the present embodiment, another construction of the supporting section for supporting the circuit board is described.
As shown in
The portable storage device 100a is assembled, similarly to the First Embodiment, in such a manner that the circuit board 1 mounted with electronic components 2 including a semiconductor storage device, is inserted to a predetermined position in the opening 5 of the cover case 4a from the rear side of the circuit board 1, so as to make both side surfaces of the circuit board 1 face the supporting sections 6a.
Thereby, as shown in
Similarly to the First Embodiment, the portable storage device 100a can be easily assembled without requiring components such as other bolts.
It is to be noted that the circuit board 1 may also be supported in such a manner that two cuts are provided so as to be in parallel with each other at respective positions in both right and left side walls of the cover case 4a, that when the circuit board 1 mounted with electronic components 2 is arranged at a predetermined position in the cover case 4a, each portion of the side wall in which the two cuts are formed is subjected to press-shaping so as to be formed into the supporting section 6a, and that the circuit board 1 is brought into contact with the supporting section so as to be pressed.
As described above, since the portable storage device according to the present embodiment is provided with the cover case which is formed by integrated molding and which has supporting sections for supporting the circuit board from the right and left by the elastic force in the state where the circuit board is inserted, it is possible to reduce the number of components of the cover case, and to facilitate the assembling of the portable storage device, as a result of which assembly time and manufacturing costs of the portable storage device can be reduced.
In the First and Second Embodiments, there is described a construction in which U-shaped cuts are formed in both right and left side walls of the cover case, and in which supporting sections are formed by making the portions of the side walls in which the U-shaped cuts are formed, folded down inside the cover case. However, in the present embodiment, a construction of the supporting section for supporting the circuit board at a desired position is further described.
As shown in
The portable storage device 100b is assembled, similarly to the First Embodiment, in such a manner that the circuit board 1 mounted with electronic components 2 including a semiconductor storage device is inserted to a predetermined position in the opening 5 of the cover case 4b from the rear side of the circuit board 1, so as to make both side surfaces of the circuit board 1 face the supporting sections 6b.
Thereby, as shown in
Similarly to the First Embodiment, the portable storage device 100b can be easily assembled without requiring parts such as other bolts, and the circuit board 1 is more reliably supported by the side wall of the guide grooves 7 so as not to be vertically moved.
As described above, in the portable storage device according to the present embodiment, it is possible to shorten assembly time as well as to reduce manufacturing costs. In addition, the circuit board is guided into the supporting sections, and the guide grooves for supporting the circuit board are also provided for the supporting section. As a result, the circuit board can be supported more reliably at a desired position in the cover case.
It is to be noted that in the present embodiment, examples applied to the construction of the supporting sections of the First and Second Embodiments are explained, but the construction of the present embodiment can be similarly applied to the construction of the supporting sections of the Third Embodiment, and the same effects can be obtained by forming the grooves in the respective portions of the supporting sections, which portions are brought into contact with both right and left side surfaces of the circuit board.
In each of the above described embodiments, there are described constructions in which the supporting sections are formed in both right and left side walls of the cover case and the circuit board is supported from the right and left. In the present embodiment, however, there is described a construction in which supporting sections for supporting the circuit board from the upper and lower directions are provided for the upper and lower walls of the cover case. It is to be noted that in the present embodiment, a case where the construction is applied to the First Embodiment is explained, but the construction can be similarly applied to the other embodiments.
As shown in
In assembling the portable storage device 100c, first, similarly to the First Embodiment, the circuit board 1 mounted with electronic components 2 including a semiconductor storage device is inserted to a predetermined position in the opening 5 of the cover case 4a from the rear side of the circuit board 1, so as to make both side surfaces of the circuit board 1 face the supporting sections 6a.
Next, the upper and lower supporting sections 8, 9 are folded down to project inside the cover case 4c to be brought into contact with the circuit board 1, so that the circuit board 1 is supported from the upper and lower directions by the elastic force of the supporting sections 8, 9.
Thereby, as shown in
The portable storage device 100c can be easily assembled similarly to the First Embodiment, without requiring components such as other bolts.
It is to be noted that in the present embodiment, there is described the construction in which the circuit board 1 is directly supported by the supporting sections 8, 9, but the circuit board 1 may be arranged to be supported via electronic components 2 provided on the circuit board 1. In this case, the electronic components 2 are preferably insulated from the supporting sections 8, 9.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, there is described the construction in which the circuit board 1 is directly supported by the supporting sections 8, 9 from the upper and lower directions, but the circuit board 1 may be arranged to be supported by only one of the supporting sections 8, 9, that is, one of the upper and lower surfaces of the circuit board 1 may be arranged to be supported. Furthermore, the supporting sections 8, 9 may be provided at plural positions in each of the upper and lower surfaces of the cover case 4c in order to stabilize the support of the circuit board 1.
As described above, in the portable storage device according to the present embodiment, similarly to the First Embodiment, it is possible to shorten assembly time as well as to reduce manufacturing costs. In addition, the supporting sections for supporting the circuit board from the upper and lower directions are provided in the upper and lower walls of the cover case, so that the circuit board can be supported more stably in the cover case.
In each of the above described embodiments, there is described the construction in which the supporting sections are formed in both right and left side walls of the cover case and the circuit board is supported from the right and left. However, in the present embodiment, there is described a construction in which a support groove for supporting the circuit board is further provided in the rear side walls of the cover case. It is to be noted that in the present embodiment, a case where the construction is applied to the First Embodiment is explained, but the construction can be similarly applied to the other embodiments.
As shown in
As shown in
It is to be noted that the support groove may have a cross section formed into a tapered shape. Here,
As shown in
As described above, in the portable storage device according to the present embodiment, it is possible to shorten assembly time as well as to reduce manufacturing costs, and it is also possible to more reliably support the circuit board at a predetermined position in the cover case, because the support groove for supporting the circuit board is provided in the rear side walls of the cover case.
In the First Embodiment, there is described the construction in which the supporting sections are formed in both right and left side walls of the cover case, so as to support the circuit board from the right and left. In the present embodiment, there is described, in particular, a construction in which a memory chip and a controller chip as electronic components are provided on the surface opposite to the surface on which the metal terminal of the circuit board is formed.
It is to be noted that in the present embodiment, a case where the construction is applied to the First Embodiment is explained, but the construction can be similarly applied to the Third Embodiment.
As shown in
The memory chips 2a and the controller chip 2b are sealed on the lower surface side of the circuit board 1 by a mold resin 12.
An outer frame section 3c of the connector terminal section 3 is extended backward so as to cover the whole circuit board 1. The circuit board 1 and the outer frame section 3c are fixed to each other for example by bonding the inner surface of the outer frame section 3c and the lower surface of the mold resin 12 to each other. It is to be noted that a metal and the like is selected as the material of the outer frame section 3c.
The outer frame section 3c is inserted for example into the cover case 4 shown in
It is to be noted that the circuit board 1 without the outer frame section 3c of the connector terminal section 3 may be directly supported by the supporting sections 6 from the right and left by elastic force in the cover case 4.
As described above, since the portable storage device according to the present embodiment is provided with the cover case which is formed by integrated molding, and which has supporting sections for supporting the circuit board from the right and left by the elastic force, in the state where the connector terminal section with the circuit board fixed therein is inserted, it is possible to reduce the number of components of the cover case, and to facilitate the assembling of the portable storage device, as a result of which assembly time and manufacturing costs of the portable storage device can be reduced.
It is to be noted that in each of the above described embodiments, the case where the electronic components 2 including a semiconductor storage device are provided on the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the circuit board 1 is explained, but the present invention can be applied to the case where the electronic components are provided on one of the upper surface side and the lower surface side.
Furthermore, in each of the above described embodiments, the case cover is explained as being formed by integrated molding. However, according to the present invention, even in the case where the cover case is formed by plural components, at least, incorporation of the circuit board into the cover case can be facilitated.
Furthermore, in each of the above described embodiments, there is described an example in which two supporting sections are formed in each of both right and left side walls of the cover case in order to stably support the circuit board, but one supporting section may be formed in each of both right and left side walls of the cover case, or three or more supporting sections may also be formed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-175025 | Jun 2005 | JP | national |
| 2006-119243 | Apr 2006 | JP | national |
This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/452,323 filed Jun. 14, 2006, which is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-175025 filed on Jun. 15, 2005 and No. 2006-119243, filed on Apr. 24, 2006, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11452323 | Jun 2006 | US |
| Child | 12562774 | US |
