Electronic device provided with cover

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9317077-B2
Application number	US-201514677572-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 2, 2015
Priority date	Feb 26, 2010
Publication date	Apr 19, 2016
Grant date	Apr 19, 2016

Abstract

An electronic device includes: a first housing 1 ; a cover 11 capable of covering a portion of the first housing 1 to be covered; and a waterproofing member 12 placed around the portion to be covered. The cover 11 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. The cover 11 is in contact with the waterproofing member 12 when it is at the closed position. Even if the number of terminals increases, since the waterproofing member 12 is provided on the first housing 1 , the single waterproofing member can render all of the terminals waterproof. Thus, it is possible to reduce the number of components and to reduce the number of assembling steps.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
a housing comprising an outer wall, an opening is being defined in a face of the outer wall, and a user input by which a user can input information;
a cover mounted to the outer wall and movable between a first position covering the opening and a second position exposing the opening, and comprising a rib extending from a first face of the cover that faces toward the outer wall in the first position; and
a deformable waterproofing member having elasticity, bonded to the outer wall and around the perimeter of the opening,
wherein first and second openings and first and second of said covers are present on the outer wall, the first of said covers being provided for the first of said openings and the second of said covers being provided for the second of said openings,
said deformable waterproofing member is a single member provided around the perimeters of the first and second openings,
the first and second covers are adjacent each other in a direction parallel to the face of the housing,
the waterproofing member is separated from the first and second covers when the first and second covers are at the second position,
the rib deforms the waterproofing member when the first and second covers are at the first position, and
the housing comprises a top surface on which the user input is provided, a bottom surface opposite the top surface, and a side surface extending between the top surface and the bottom surface, and the opening is provided on the side surface,
the electronic device further comprising a display unit case pivotably connected to the housing by a hinge mechanism.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the waterproofing member comprises silicone foam.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2 , wherein the waterproofing member comprises a protection member on a surface of the silicone foam.

4. An electronic device comprising:
a housing comprising an outer wall, an opening is being defined in a face of the outer wall, and a user input by which a user can input information;
a cover mounted to the outer wall and movable between a first position covering the opening and a second position exposing the opening, and comprising a rib extending from a first face of the cover that faces toward the outer wall in the first position; and
a deformable waterproofing member having elasticity, bonded to the outer wall and around the perimeter of the opening,
wherein first and second openings and first and second of said covers are present on the outer wall, the first of said covers being provided for the first of said openings and the second of said covers being provided for the second of said openings,
said deformable waterproofing member is a single member provided around the perimeters of the first and second openings,
the first and second covers are adjacent each other in a direction parallel to the face of the housing,
the waterproofing member is separated from the first and second covers when the first and second covers are at the second position,
the rib deforms the waterproofing member when the first and second covers are at the first position,
the housing comprises a top surface on which the user input is provided, a bottom surface opposite the top surface, and a side surface extending between the top surface and the bottom surface, and the opening is provided on the side surface, and
the cover comprises a second face opposed to the first face, and a moveable lock member on the second face.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4 , wherein the lock member is slidable relative to the second face and movable between a third position where the lock member is engaged with the housing to maintain the cover in the first position and a fourth position allowing the cover to be moved to the second position.

6. The electronic device according to claim 5 , wherein the side surface of the outer wall of the housing defines the bottom surface of a cavity having a cavity sidewall, the opening and the waterproofing member are disposed on the bottom surface of the cavity, and the lock member is engageable with the cavity sidewall to maintain the cover in the first position.

7. The electronic device according to claim 6 , wherein the cover further comprises a holding member that maintains the locking member in the third position.

8. The electronic device according to claim 7 , wherein the holding member comprises a groove in the second face of the cover and a protrusion on the locking member that faces the second face of the cover.

9. The electronic device according to claim 6 , wherein a concavity is present in the cavity sidewall that accepts the locking member in the third position.

10. The electronic device according to claim 5 , wherein the cover is mounted for pivoting movement relative to the housing.

11. An electronic device comprising:
a housing comprising an outer wall, an opening is being defined in a face of the outer wall, and a user input by which a user can input information;
a cover mounted to the outer wall and movable between a first position covering the opening and a second position exposing the opening, and comprising a rib extending from a first face of the cover that faces toward the outer wall in the first position; and
a deformable waterproofing member having elasticity, bonded to the outer wall and around the perimeter of the opening,
wherein first and second openings and first and second of said covers are present on the outer wall, the first of said covers being provided for the first of said openings and the second of said covers being provided for the second of said openings,
said deformable waterproofing member is a single member provided around the perimeters of the first and second openings,
the first and second covers are adjacent each other in a direction parallel to the face of the housing,
the waterproofing member is separated from the first and second covers when the first and second covers are at the second position, and
the rib deforms the waterproofing member when the first and second covers are at the first position,
the housing comprises a top surface on which the user input is provided, a bottom surface opposite the top surface, and a side surface extending between the top surface and the bottom surface, and the opening is provided on the side surface, and
the opening comprises a terminal for connection to a cable.

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Mori Takeshi
• Murakata Masato
• Toyota Masashi
• Sato Jun

Classifications

• G06F1/1656 Primary

  Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories (mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203) · CPC title

• G06F1/1679

  for locking or maintaining the movable parts of the enclosure in a fixed position, e.g. latching mechanism at the edge of the display in a laptop or for the screen protective cover of a PDA (G06F1/1681 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F1/182 Primary

  with special features, e.g. for use in industrial environments; grounding or shielding against radio frequency interference [RFI] or electromagnetical interference [EMI] · CPC title

• G06F1/1616

  with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position · CPC title

• G06F1/1681

  Details related solely to hinges (hinge details related to the transmission of signals or power are classified in G06F1/1683) · CPC title