GB2344926A - Electronic equipment enclosure - Google Patents

Abstract

An open box mounting structure or casing (3) for electronic equipment wherein one wall (31) has a pair of tabs (31a, 31b) at each end which fit into recesses or slots (12a, 12b) on the electronic equipment. The electronic equipment is then fixedly attached to the bottom surface of the casing by a mounting means.

Description

"OUTER BASE COVER MOUNTING STRUCTURE FOR ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT" The present invention relates generally to an outer base cover mounting structure for electronic equipment, and more particularly, an outer base cover mounting structure to be mounted to a chassis that supports an electronic equipment main unit.

As one type of electronic equipment used with computers there are external memory devices such as the Digital Audio Tape Recorder (DAT) streamer. Typically, an outer cover is used with this type of electronic equipment in order to protect the recording head and the magnetic tape that constitutes the recording medium.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show an example of the conventional outer cover of a DAT streamer. FIG. 1A shows a side view of a state in which the DAT streamer is covered with an outer cover and-FIG. 1B shows a bottom view of the same state.

As will be explained later with reference to the description of the preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 2, the DAT streamer 1 consists of a main unit 10 and a chassis 11 that integrally supports the main unit 10. The chassis 11 in turn is composed of a main member on which the main unit 10 is mounted and a pair of substantially vertical ribbed side wall portions lla, llb formed on both sides of the main member. Accordingly, viewed from an end, that is, a side on which no ribbed side wall is formed, the chassis 11 presents a substantially H-shaped crosssection.

Referring once again to FIG. 1A, the abovedescribed DAT streamer 1 is enclosed by an outer top cover 120, covering the space at the top of the DAT streamer 1, and an outer base cover 130, covering the space at the bottom of the DAT streamer 1.

Additionally, screw hole portions are formed on the outer base cover 130 near the four corners of the outer base cover 130 as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Four screws 131 are inserted through these screw hole portions and into screw thread posts 113 formed on the chassis so as to fixedly attach the cover and the DAT streamer 1 to each other.

Conventionally, as described above it has been necessary to use four screws and to perform the operation of screwing the four screws in place in order to fixedly mount the outer base cover 130 to the electronic equipment, in this case the DAT streamer 1. However, the use of four screws not only lengthens the time of assembly but also lengthens the time needed for disassembly when performing repairs to the unit.

Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved and useful outer base cover mounting structure for electronic equipment, in which the disadvantages described above are eliminated.

The above-described object of the present invention is achieved by an outer base cover mounting structure for electronic equipment, the outer base cover mounted in such a way as to cover a bottom portion of the electronic equipment comprising a chassis having two opposed sides and a main unit supported by the chassis, the outer base cover characterized by having: a box-like structure open at a top side surface thereof so as to accommodate a bottom surface of the chassis, a pair of tab parts formed on opposed sides of a top edge portion of one wall portion of the outer base cover, mounting parts formed on a bottom portion of the outer base cover; and a pair of slot parts formed on the chassis so as to receive and engage the tab parts, the outer base cover and the chassis being fixedly mounted to each other at the mounting parts after the tab parts are engaged by the slot parts.

According to the invention described above, the number of screws used to mount the outer base cover on the electronic equipment main unit is reduced and the outer base cover can therefore be mounted on the electronic equipment main unit more quickly than is the case with a conventional outer base cover.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGS. 1A and 1B are side and bottom views of a conventional outer cover for a DAT streamer; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relation between the electronic equipment main unit and the outer base cover according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relation between the tab part and the slot part according to the present invention; FIGS. 4A and 4B show front and bottom views, respectively, of the outer base cover according to the present invention, and FIG. 4C is an enlarged view of the tab part thereof; FIGS. 5A and 5B show an overall view of a state in which the outer base cover is in the process of being mounted on the electronic equipment and an enlarged view of a tab part area in a state in which the outer base cover is in the process of being mounted on the electronic equipment, respectively; and FIGS. 6A and 6B show an overall view of a state in which the outer base cover is mounted on the electronic equipment and an enlarged view of a tab part area in a state in which the outer base cover is mounted on the electronic equipment.

A description will now be given of an embodiment of the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As noted previously, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relation between a DAT streamer 1 as an electronic equipment consisting of a main unit 10 and a chassis 11 integrally forming a single unit and the outer base cover 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The outer base cover 3, which is made from a press-formed metal sheet, has a substantially box-like shape with what would be a top portion open so as to seat a bottom portion of the chassis 11 and thereby accommodate the chassis 11. A pair of outwardly extending tab portions 31a, 31b are formed on a top edge portion of a side wall portion 31 of the outer base cover 3.

Additionally, two screw wells 32a, 32b for receiving screws are formed in a bottom portion of the outer base cover 3 as shown in FIG. 4B, which will be described later.

It should be noted that the substantially boxlike structure of the outer base cover 3 refers not to a solidly enclosed construction consisting of four solid walls joined at the edges but instead defines a generally box-like structure having side walls which may contain notches or openings and having a shape such as to enclose and cover a bottom side of an electronic equipment main unit.

Additionally, as described above with respect to the conventional art, the chassis 11, which forms a single integrated unit with the main unit 10 which it supports, has a pair of opposed and substantially vertical ribbed side wall portions lla, llb formed on both sides thereof.

Slot parts 12a, 12b for receiving tab parts 31a, 31b described previously and thereafter engaging and holding the tab parts 31a, 31b at a predetermined position are formed at front edge portions of the ribbed side wall portions lla, llb.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relation between the tab part 31b (31a) as described above and the slot part 12b (12a), as described above, enlarged in order to facilitate the understanding of the operation of the embodiment according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the tab part 31b (31a) is tilted inward at an angle of, for example, 10 degrees. At the same time, a pocket part P is provided on the slot part 12b (12a) that receives this tab part 31b (31a) in order to ease the entry of the tab part 31b (31a) and to thereafter make it possible to rotate the tab part 31b (31a) to predetermined engaging position K.

It will be appreciated that this predetermined engaging position K is disposed at an angle a that is somewhat greater than the angle at which the tab part 31b (31a) is disposed, for example, 5 degrees greater. In other words, although the tab part 31b (31a) is slanted inward at a predetermined angle, the above-described slot part 12b (12a) has a greater angle of inclination, with an interior surface of the slot part 12b (12a) formed so as to press in a direction that increases the inclination angle of the tab part 31b (31a) when the tab part 31b (31a) is received and engaged. As a result, when mounting the outer base cover 3 on the main unit 10, the tab part 31b (31a) presses against the inner surface of the slot part 12b (12a) and generates a frictional force that fixedly mounts the outer base cover 3 on the main unit 10.

Next, a description will be given of the structure of the outer base cover 3, with reference to FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C. FIG. 4A shows a front view of the outer base cover 3 according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 4B shows a bottom view of the outer base cover 3 with a center part thereof elided. Two screw holes 32a and 32b are formed toward a rear, that is, in the diagram toward the bottom, of the bottom portion of the outer base cover 3. These holes are the holes through which screws pass when being screwed into screw holes on the chassis 11 which are not shown in the drawing, and which are fixed in place by the heads of the screws.

Further, FIG. 4C shows an enlarged view of the tab part 31b (31a) outer base cover 3. As shown in the diagram, the tab part 31b comprises a contacting tab part 31ba that contacts the slot part 12b, and a twisting tab part 31bb that is continuous with the contacting tab part 31ba. The twisting tab part 31bb generates a twist that makes the tab part 31b elastically deformable within the slot part 12b, thereby providing a more secure engagement.

It should be noted that reference numeral 33b in the diagram is a notch provided so as to form the abovedescribed twisting tab part 31bb. Additionally, although FIG. 4C shows only an enlarged view of the tab part 31b and the area around the tab part 31b, the structure is the same for tab part 31a located on the side opposite the side on which tab part 31b is located.

Next, a description will be given of the interaction of the tab parts with the slot parts with reference to FIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A and 6B. FIGS. 5A and 5B show an overall view of a state in which the outer base cover is in the process of being mounted on the electronic equipment and an enlarged view of a tab part area in a state in which the outer base cover is in the process of being mounted on the electronic equipment, respectively.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show an overall view of a state in which the outer base cover is mounted on the electronic equipment and an enlarged view of a tab part area in a state in which the outer base cover is mounted on the electronic equipment.

When mounting the outer base cover 3 on the main unit 1 as described above, the tab parts 31a, 31b are guided into the slot parts 12a, 12b as shown in FIG. 2.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5A and the enlarged view of the slot part area shown in FIG. 5B, the tab parts 31a, 31b are contained within slots 12a, 12b. A pocket P is provided on the slot parts in order to allow or force the tab parts to rotate, so the tab parts come smoothly to their final contact position.

However, as noted previously the angle of inclination formed by the interior of the slot parts 12a, 12b is larger than the angle of inclination of the tab parts 31a, 31b. As a result, a side of the single integrated unit formed by the electronic equipment main unit 10 and the chassis 11 that is opposite the side on which the slot parts and tab parts are located rises upward as shown in FIG. 5A. It should be noted that the outer base cover 3 shown in FIG. 5A is shown as horizontal.

Accordingly, if the chassis were to be shown as horizontal a rear side of the outer base cover 3, that is, the right side as shown in the drawing, would drop below the horizontal plane.

As a result, although a space or gap exists between a bottom edge of the main unit 10 and a top edge of the outer base cover 3 widens, the outer base cover 3 can be fixedly mounted on the chassis 11 of the main unit 10 by pressing the chassis 11 of the main unit 10 and the outer base cover 3 together toward each other so as to engage each other via the screw well 32b (32a) as shown in FIG. 6A, because the twisting tab part 31bb that is continuous with the contacting tab part 31ba elastically twists, generating a spring force. At this time, the tab parts 31a, 31b are subjected to twisting forces shown by dotted-line arrows in FIG. 6B from inside the slot parts 12a, 12b and are securely engaged by the resulting pressure and friction. As was explained with respect to FIG. 4C, each of the tab parts 31a, 31b comprises a contacting tab part 31ba that contacts the slot part 12b, and a twisting tab part 31bb that is continuous with the contacting tab part 31ba, so the tab part deforms elastically when twisted and can thus be securely engaged by the slot part into which it is fitted.

Additionally, to complete assembly two screws shown as N in FIG. 5A are screwed into two places at the rear side of the outer base cover 3, as a result of which assembly time can be reduced.

It should be noted that although in the abovedescribed embodiment the tab parts 31a, 31b project laterally outward as shown for example in FIG. 4C, in fact the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment but the tab parts 31a, 31b may, for example, be formed so as to project inward, or alternately inward and outward, depending on design requirements.

Claims (7)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS :

1. An outer base cover mounting structure for electronic equipment, said outer base cover mounted in such a way as to cover a bottom portion of said electronic equipment having a chassis having two opposed sides and a main unit supported by the chassis, characterized in that: said outer base cover has a box-like structure open at a top side surface thereof so as to accommodate a bottom surface of said chassis, a pair of tab parts formed on opposed sides of a top edge portion of one wall portion of the outer base cover, mounting parts formed on a bottom portion of the outer base cover; a pair of slot parts are formed on said chassis so as to receive and engage said tab parts; and said outer base cover and said chassis being fixedly mounted to each other at said mounting parts in a state in which said tab parts are engaged with said slot parts.

2. The outer base cover mounting structure for electronic equipment as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said mounting part is a screw hole, a screw being screwed through said screw hole into said chassis so as to fixedly mount said outer base cover and said chassis to each other.

3. The outer base cover mounting structure for electronic equipment as claimed in either claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said tab part is inclined inward at a predetermined angle, an inside surface of said slot part being formed so as to press said tab part in a direction that increases said angle of inclination of said tab part when said tab part is inserted in said slot part.

4. The outer base cover mounting structure for electronic equipment as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that said angle of inclination of said tab part is at least ten degrees.

5. The outer base cover mounting structure for electronic equipment as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that an angle of inclination of an inside surface of said slot part is at least five degrees greater than said angle of inclination of said tab part.

6. The outer base cover mounting structure for electronic equipment as claimed in any one of claims 3,4 and 5, characterized in that said tab part has a contacting tab part that contacts the slot part and a twisting tab part that is continuous with the contacting tab part 31ba that generates a twist elastically when said outer base cover is fixedly mounted on said chassis.

7. The outer base cover mounting structure for electronic equipment substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to FIGS. 2 through 6.