Patent Application
20070281531
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
Referring to
The computer housing 1 includes a frame 3 that can be used alone or in numbers according to expansion requirements, top and bottom covers 4, 5, and a plurality of fastening members 6. In the first preferred embodiment, the computer housing 1 includes a single frame 3.
The frame 3 includes a surrounding wall 31 having four upright wall parts that are interconnected to form a rectangular frame with top and bottom openings. The frame 3 further includes a first engaging portion 32 and a second engaging portion 33. The first engaging portion 32 extends upwardly from an upper edge of the surrounding wall 31, and has an inner surface that is recessed outwardly relative to an inner surface of the surrounding wall 31 so as to form a first shoulder 34 therebetween. The second engaging portion 33 extends downwardly from a lower edge of the surrounding wall 31, and has an outer surface that is recessed inwardly relative to an outer surface of the surrounding wall 31 so as to form a second shoulder 35 therebetween. In addition, the first engaging portion 32 is provided with a plurality of screw holes 30 that extend therethrough and that are distributed therealong. To meet the requirements of the hardware unit 2, the surrounding wall 31 is provided with wiring openings, heat dissipating vents, optical disk drive access ports, card insertion slots, etc., which are neither described in detail herein nor illustrated in the drawings since they are not crucial features of the present invention.
The top cover 4 includes a rectangular top plate 41 for closing the top opening of the frame 3, and a third engaging portion 42 that extends downwardly from a peripheral edge of the top plate 41. When the top cover 4 is disposed on the frame 3 to close the top opening, the inner surface of the first engaging portion 32 of the frame 3 abuts against an outer surface of the third engaging portion 42 of the top cover 4, and an end edge of the third engaging portion 42 abuts against the first shoulder 34.
The bottom cover 5 includes a rectangular bottom plate 51 for closing the bottom opening of the frame 3, and a fourth engaging portion 52 that extends upwardly from a peripheral edge of the bottom plate 51. When the bottom cover 5 closes the bottom opening of the frame 3, the outer surface of the second engaging portion 33 of the frame 3 abuts against an inner surface of the fourth engaging portion 52 of the bottom cover 5, and an end edge of the fourth engaging portion 52 abuts against the second shoulder 35. In addition, the fourth engaging portion 52 is provided with a plurality of screw holes 50 that correspond in position to the screw holes 30 of the first engaging portion 32.
The fastening members 6 are disposed to extend through the screw holes 30, 50 in the first engaging portion 32 of the frame 3 and the fourth engaging portion 52 of the bottom cover 5, respectively, so as to abut against a corresponding one of the third engaging portion 42 of the top cover 4 and the second engaging portion 33 of the frame 3.
The first and second engaging portions 32, 33 of the frame 3 are modularly designed such that they not only engage fittingly and respectively the third and fourth engaging portions 42, 52, the inner surface of one of the first and second engaging portions 32, 33 is also flush with the outer surface of the other one of the first and second engaging portions 32, 33. In this embodiment, the inner surface of the first engaging portion 32 is flush with the outer surface of the second engaging portion 33. Thus, additional frames 3 can be put on top of or below the frame 3 of this embodiment to permit expansion (to be described hereinafter). Certainly, the configurations of the corresponding engaging portions 42 and 32, 33 and 52 can be interchanged as desired, without being limited to this embodiment.
The hardware unit 2 mounted within the computer housing 1 of this embodiment is a standard computer system capable of normal operation, which obtains power supply through an external transformer (not shown), and includes a motherboard 21 mounted within the frame 3 parallel to the bottom plate 51, a central processing unit 22 provided on the motherboard 21, a plurality of storage devices 23 connected to the motherboard 21, and a system fan 25 mounted uprightly within the frame 3 and disposed on one side of the motherboard 21. The system fan 25 can generate a current of air to carry away some of the heat generated as a result of operation of the storage devices 23 and the central processing unit 22.
The hardware unit 2 may be secured within the frame 3 using a positioning frame or in any other suitable manner. As this is not the crux of this invention, it will not be discussed in detail herein for the sake of brevity.
In this embodiment, there are two storage devices 23, which are, respectively, a hard disk 231 and a card reader 232 that are accommodated between the bottom cover 5 and the motherboard 21 parallel to the motherboard 21, and which are secured on a positioning frame 230 that is detachably secured within the frame 3. The storage devices 23 can be secured within the frame 3 in other manners not limited to the above.
Referring to
This embodiment differs from the first preferred embodiment in that, aside from an increase in the number of the frames 3 constituting the computer housing 1′, the hardware unit 2′ includes a high-wattage power source 26 in place of the external transformer, which is accommodated in the frame 3 closest to the bottom cover 4. Wires of the power source 26 are disposed to extend within the frame 3, i.e., power is supplied to the motherboard 21 through internal wiring.
The hardware unit 2′ further includes an expansion card module 27 accommodated in another frame 3 and capable of being mounted uprightly on the motherboard 21. The storage device 23 of the hardware unit 2′ not only includes the hard disk 231 and the card reader 232, it further includes, but is not limited to, a second hard disk 233 and an optical disk drive 234 received in the added frame 3. The storage device 23 may further include a floppy disk drive, a CD RW drive, etc., which are connected to the motherboard 21 through the interconnected frames 3 by vertical mounting or internal wiring.
In sum, the present invention can have a compact size by virtue of a stacking design of modular frames, and can be expanded when required by increasing the number of the frames 3, thereby avoiding a waste of space. Besides, as the wires are routed internally, the aesthetical aspect of the computer device is also enhanced.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what are considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 095120014 | Jun 2006 | TW | national |
