KR970007668B1 - Fastener assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

None.

Description

[Name of invention]

Fastener assembly

[Brief Description of Drawings]

The invention will be more readily understood when referring to the following figures.

1 is a cut isometric view of a hook member forming part of a fastener of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cutaway isometric view similar to FIG. 1 but illustrating another hook member forming another portion of the fastener of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a cut isometric view of a clip attached to a substrate forming another portion of a fastener of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a cutaway isometric view of the clip of FIG. 3 positioned between the front and rear housing portions of the housing assembly, wherein the hook members of FIGS. 1 and 2 are formed on the side walls of the front and rear housing portions, respectively. .

4A is similar to FIG. 4 but is a cut isometric view of another embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a cutaway isometric view illustrating the clip after being attached to a hook member formed on the side wall of the front housing portion, similar to FIG.

FIG. 6 is similar to FIGS. 4-5 but with hook members formed on the sidewalls of the front housing portion of the housing assembly and hook members formed on the sidewalls of the rear housing portion to engage the substrate in place within the front and rear housing portions and housing assembly. A cut isometric view illustrating the relationship between the hook members and the clip after being attached.

7 is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

8 is an exploded view of a wireless telephone of a preferred embodiment of the present invention including the fastener shown in the preceding figures.

9 is an isometric view of a portion of the card reader assembly that forms the substrate to which the clip of FIG. 8 is attached, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of the cordless phone shown in exploded form in FIG.

Detailed description of the invention

[Technical Field]

This application is Jeffrey F. Part of a continuing application of US Patent Application No. 799,818, filed November 29, 1991 under the name Smart Card Acceptance and Retention Device, by Kugan.

[Background]

The present invention relates to a fastener, and more particularly to a fastener for fastening two or more longitudinally located surfaces, such as opposing surfaces of a housing assembly for an electronic device, without limitation of the method.

It has been used in the field of wireless electronics to allow the introduction and commercialization of an ever increasing array of wireless communication devices. It has been used in electronic circuit design and has also allowed the improvement of the miniaturization of electronic circuits constituting the wireless communication device. As a result, the continuous increasing arrangement of continuous miniaturized electronic circuits has made the wireless communication device more convenient to use in various embodiments.

BACKGROUND A wireless transmitter, such as a cordless telephone used in a cellular communication system, is an example of a wireless communication device adapted to be conveniently used in various embodiments. In addition, additional efforts have been made to miniaturize electronic circuits similar to the radio transmitter, as well as other wireless communication devices. The additional miniaturization of the wireless transmitters has further increased the convenience of using the device and has made the device additionally used in various embodiments.

With efforts to miniaturize the additional electronic circuitry (and other communication devices) of the radio transmitter, miniaturizing the size of the electronic circuitry is the final design goal of designing the circuitry.

Along with the miniaturization of electronic circuits, there is a corresponding reduction in the physical dimensions of the housing in which the electronic circuits as well as other mechanical structures associated therewith are involved.

Initially, dimension reduction in the mechanical structure associated with the housing was achieved by simply reducing the dimensions of the existing structure. However, these reductions, rather than reducing specific dimensions, are impractical. The structural limitations of the material above a certain point constituting the structure could not be further reduced for its structural integrity.

For example, the housing of many of the electronic devices is made of thermoplastic material. The walls of the housings must be thicker than the terminal thickness to ensure structural integrity of the walls and the housing formed therefrom. The other housing and associated mechanical structure consist of different materials that are approximately reduced in size.

Many conventional housing structures consist of a front housing portion and a rear housing portion. Typically, the electronic circuits that make up the electronic device are disposed on one circuit board (or several circuit boards), and the circuit board is mounted on the rear housing portion of the conventional housing structure or on another. Once attached in place, the front housing portion is disposed on the circuit board, and the fastening mechanism fastens the front and rear housing portions to each other, thereby enclosing the circuit board in supportive containment within the housing structure.

The fastening mechanism can be configured in any of a number of different designs such that the front and rear housing portions of the housing structure are fastened to each other. Most simply, screw shaft members may be used to secure the housing portions to each other. Furthermore, particularly when the housing structure is formed of thermoplastic material, the fastening mechanism may be integrally formed with the joining edge surfaces of the respective housing parts.

However, due to the above size limitations in the housing of many electronic devices, when the dimensions of the housing are reduced beyond a certain level, it is not possible to use the existing fastening mechanisms for fastening the housing parts to each other.

In addition, further improvements in electronic and mechanical properties improve the construction of the electronic device. The further improvement provides such an electronic device with additional features to enhance the ease of use of the devices. Improving the electronic device as described above enables design purposes to reduce the dimensions of the housing and other mechanical structures of the electronic device. The design of the fastening mechanism to properly fasten the two parts of the housing structure has the advantage of allowing the increased number of structures to be accommodated in the compact housing.

Published in the pending patent application referred to is a structure referred to as a card reader assembly with particular reference to a wireless transmitter constituting a cellular radiotelephone. The structure is housed within the housing of the cordless telephone and operates to receive cards of a size similar to the dimensions of conventional credit cards. Cards containing information received by the card reader assembly may be used by the wireless telephone for various purposes. For example, the information contained in the card may include an identification number used for the purpose of entering a call made through the wireless telephone at a particular billing address. Since a card with an identification number can be removed from one wireless telephone and placed in another wireless telephone, calls from one or more wireless telephones may be written to a single billing address.

The card reader assembly integrated to form part of the cordless phone must be mounted in the housing of the cordless phone in the correct position. In addition, the housing assembly must be suitable for the card reader assembly to receive the card in order to obtain the necessary information. That is, the card reader assembly must be accessible from the outside of the housing assembly. In order to correctly position the card reader assembly within the housing assembly, the card reader assembly must be fastened to the housing assembly to attach the card reader assembly in the required position in place, so the card reader must be accessible from outside of the housing assembly.

As mentioned above, the housing assemblies consisting of the front and rear parts must be fastened to each other by a fastening mechanism at a position along the joining surface that forms a contact surface between the two housing parts to ensure structural integrity of the housing assembly. Therefore, the fastening mechanism for fastening the front and rear housing parts to each other should be located at regular intervals along the contact surface between the two housing parts.

With a non-interfering relationship with the fastening mechanism for fastening the card reader assembly (or any other substrate) located in the housing assembly to the housing assembly, with continuous reduction in the physical dimensions of the housing and other mechanical structures of the cordless telephone. Care must be taken in the design of the radiotelephone to ensure a fastening mechanism that fastens the front and rear housing portions of the housing assembly to each other so that they are properly positioned.

As the physical dimensions of the housing assembly are reduced, it becomes quite difficult to design a cordless phone in which the fastening mechanism is positioned in an incoherent arrangement. As mentioned above, as the thickness of the housing surface and sidewalls is reduced to a minimum thickness, conventional fasteners can no longer be used by no longer forming a passageway formed in the housing structure to accommodate the aforementioned fasteners of appropriate depth. Therefore, a limitation of the fastening mechanism method of the type that may be used to fasten the card reader assembly (or any other substrate) in place within the housing assembly is such that it is arranged in the fastening mechanism that fastens the front and rear housing portions of the housing assembly. Same as the limitation.

Therefore, what is needed is a minimum size fastener that couples the two surfaces together.

An additional need is a fastener capable of fastening the two surfaces to each other as well as further fastening the substrate between the two surfaces.

Accordingly, the present invention preferably provides a minimum size fastener for fastening two longitudinally disposed surfaces to one another.

The present invention additionally preferably provides a fastener for fastening the substrate between two longitudinally disposed surfaces.

The present invention preferably provides a fastener for fastening two surfaces arranged longitudinally and a substrate disposed therebetween.

The present invention provides advantages and features that become more apparent by the detailed description of the following examples.

Therefore, according to the present invention, a fastener for fastening the first surface and the second surface arranged vertically to each other is provided. The fastener includes a first hook member positioned directly below the first surface in a fixed relationship with the first surface, and a second hook member positioned directly above the second surface in a fixed relationship with the second surface. A clip that is capable of gripping with the first and second hook members is positioned about the first and second hook members so as to engage the first surface and the second, vertically positioned surface.

EXAMPLE

First, referring to the cut isometric view of FIG. 1, the hook member, referred to at 100, is shown to form part of the fastener of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The hook member 100 is formed at a predetermined distance directly below the surface 106, here just below the upper front face of the upper housing portion of the housing assembly. As illustrated, the hook member 100 is formed on the inner wall of the flange forming side wall 112 of the front housing assembly portion.

In a preferred embodiment, the hook member 100 is made of an elastic material and formed of hook member portions 100-1, 100-2, 100-3. The hook member portions 100-1-3 are separated by gaps 100-4, 100-5 so as to be bifurcated. Therefore, the hook member 100 is comb-shaped. The hook member 100, surface 106, and sidewalls 112 formed of thermoplastic material may alternatively be formed from one elongate hook member portion during the molding process, although the two Branched configurations are preferred. The two-pronged configuration is advantageously used to prevent proportional shrinkage of thermoplastic materials of unequal depth and when smoothness is important in the appearance of the backside (not shown) of the sidewall 112.

Each hook member portion 100-1-3 includes an outwardly extending raised front face indicated by reference numerals 118-1, 118-2, and 118-3, respectively. The front faces 118-1-3 are coplanar in character, with each front face 118-1-3 being a rear angled force receiving surface indicated by reference numerals 124-1-3, respectively. Extend. The force receiving surfaces 124-1-3 also form the same plane.

Referring to the cut isometric view of FIG. 2, there is shown a second hook member, indicated at 200, which forms another part of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The hook member 200 is formed at a predetermined distance just above the surface 206, here the lower front of the rear housing portion of the housing assembly. As illustrated, the hook member 200 is formed to extend beyond the inner wall of the flanged sidewall 212 of the rear housing assembly portion. The hook member 200, surface 206 and sidewalls 212 of the rear housing assembly portion are preferably integrally formed of thermoplastic material during the molding process. Compared to the hook member 100 of FIG. 1, the hook member 200 is not bifurcated in configuration, but the hook member 200 may alternatively be configured to be bifurcated. The hook member 100 includes a raised front face 218 similar to the portions 118-1-3 of the hook member 100 of FIG. 1, but extending down here.

The front face 218 extends to the force receiving surface 224 angled backwards.

3 is a cut isometric view of a clip, indicated at 300, forming another portion of a fastener of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, the clip 300 is a slotted plate member having an upper slotted portion 306 and a lower slotted portion 312. Slot 318 extends between the front and rear surfaces (rear surface 324 shown in the figure) of upper slotted portion 306, and slot 330 is front and rear of lower slotted portion 312. It extends between the sides (back side 336 is shown in the figure).

The inner edge surface 326 of the upper slotted portion 306 defines one of the peripheral sides of the slot 318. Similarly, the inner edge surface 338 of the lower slotted portion 312 defines one of the peripheral sides of the slot 330.

The clip 300 is attached to the substrate 344 to extend in a direction perpendicular to the plane direction defined by the surface of the substrate. In a preferred embodiment, and as described below, the substrate 344 comprises a portion of the card reader assembly and is made of metallic material. The clip 300 is integrally formed with the substrate 344 in a preferred embodiment and is also made of a metallic material. The clip 300 is elastically deformed to allow for the flexible movement of the clip. In a preferred embodiment, the upper slotted portion 306 and the lower slotted portion 312 extend side by side but in different planar directions, but alternatively, the upper and lower slotted portions 306, 312 extend in the same plane. It may be formed to.

4 is an isometric view of a clip 300 attached to the substrate 344, in which the substrate 344 and the clip 300 attached to the substrate are located at the top of the front housing assembly portion shown in FIG. Located between each other 106 and the lower front surface 206 of the rear housing assembly portion shown in FIG. It is again shown that the hook member 100 is formed to extend beyond the inner wall of the flanged sidewall 112. It is again shown that the hook member 200 extends beyond the inner wall of the flanged sidewall 212 of the rear housing assembly portion.

When the upper and lower front faces 106, 206 are vertically positioned to allow interfit engagement therebetween as shown, the hook members 100, 200 are aligned with each other in a vertical arrangement. The linear variation of the substrate 344 is positioned so that the clip 300 attached thereto is in alignment with the two hook members 100, 200. It should be noted that the dimensions of the slot 318 substantially correspond to the perimeter dimensions of the hook member 100, and the dimensions of the slot 330 substantially correspond to the perimeter dimensions of the hook member 200.

Of course, it can be seen that the hook members 100, 200 need not be aligned with each other. Rather, the hook members 100, 200 must be aligned with the slots formed to extend through the upper and lower slotted portions 306, 312 of the clip 300, respectively. 4A shows an alternative embodiment of the invention in which the hook members 100, 200 are eccentric with each other. The clip 300 consists of upper and lower slotted portions correspondingly eccentric from each other to allow alignment with each of the hook members. The other structure shown in FIG. 4A is the same as the structure of the same reference numeral described with respect to FIG. 4 and will not be described again.

In a first application of the invention, the fastener of the preferred embodiment acts to fasten the front and rear housing assembly parts together. In this action, the substrate 344 serves to position the clip 300 in an alignment arrangement between the hook members 100, 200. In this application, the clip 300 may of course be alternatively positioned in an aligned relationship by other suitable means.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the fastener of the preferred embodiment not only allows the front and rear housing assembly portions of the housing assembly to fasten to each other but also places the substrate in place within the housing assembly formed by the housing assembly portions, here a card reader assembly. Act to fasten the plate member. Preferably, although not required, first, the clip 300 is fastened to the hook member 100, and then the clip 300 engages the hook member (ie, to fasten the surfaces 106, 206 of the front and rear housing assembly portions to each other). 200).

Therefore, when the clip 300 is aligned between the hook members 100 and 200, the clip 300 is configured such that the upper slot-equipped portion 306 of the clip 300 has the front front hook member portion 100-1-3. Is moved up and down in the direction indicated by the arrow 348 to engage in contact with the raised surface 118-1-3. The joint coupling between the front face 124-1-3 of the hook member 100 and the front front face of the upper slotted portion 306 of the clip 300 causes the bending force to act on the clip 300. The application of the bending force elastically deforms the upper slotted portion 306, resulting in a flexible movement of the upper slotted portion.

When the housing is made of a thermoplastic material, the housing is also bent in response to the displacement of the clip 300.

Continued movement of the clip 300 aligns the slot 318 with the raised front portion 118-1-3. Once aligned, the front portion 118-1-3 of the hook member 100 no longer bonds to the front surface of the upper slotted portion 306; Rather, the hook member 100 extends to be positioned through the slot 318. As the bending force no longer acts on the upper slotted portion 306, the upper slotted portion 306 returns to its elastically undeformed state, and the clip 300 is moved around the hook member 100. The inner edge surface 326 is seated toward the force receiving surface portion 124-1-3 angled to the rear of the hook member.

The cut isometric view of FIG. 5 shows the top of the clip around the hook member 100 to seat the inner edge surface 326 of the upper slotted portion 306 over the force receiving surface 124-1-3 of the hook member. The position of the clip 300 after the described movement of the clip positioning the slotted portion 306 is shown. When positioned as described above, the substrate 344 is attached in the required direction relative to the upper front side 106 of the front housing assembly portion of the housing assembly.

Once the clip 300 is attached to the hook member 100 to sit against the force receiving surface 124-1-3 of the hook member, the clip 300 together with the surface 106 grips the hook member 200 and the grip member. It may be lowered into position for engagement (alternatively, the surface 206 of the rear assembly portion may be moved for gripping engagement with the clip 300).

Slide movement of the lower slotted portion 312 along the downwardly extending raised front face 218 of the hook member 200 (in the method, the upper slotted portion of the clip 300 causing flexible movement of the upper slotted portion) Similar to the sliding movement of 306) causes a bending force to be applied over the lower slotted portion 312 to cause elastic deformation and flexible movement of the lower slotted portion 312. Once aligned, the front portion 218 of the hook member 200 no longer bonds to the front surface of the lower slotted portion 312 but rather is positioned such that the hook member 200 extends through the slot 330. do. As the bending force no longer acts on the lower slotted portion 312, the lower slotted portion 312 returns to the elastically undeformed state, and the clip 300 has an inner edge face 338. It snaps into position about the hook member 200 so as to sit against this rear angled force receiving surface 224.

6 is a partially cut isometric view illustrating the relationship between the clip 300 and the two hook members when the clip 300 is positioned relative to the hook members 100, 200. Block 350, shown by hatching enclosing hook members 200 and 300 and clip 300, represents a fastener formed of hook members 100 and 200 and clip 300. As shown in FIG.

As noted above, in a first application of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fastener utilizes two longitudinally positioned surfaces, here to engage the surfaces 106, 206 of the front and rear housing assembly portions of the housing assembly with one another. do. In additional applications of the fastener 350, the fastener additionally serves to position a substrate, here a substrate 344, that forms a portion of the card reader assembly that is fastened to a position between the upper and lower front surfaces 106, 206. Works.

Since a passageway is not required to be formed in the sidewalls 212 or 312 to engage the hook members 100, 200 with a gripping engagement, the depth of the flange forming the sidewalls 212, 312 can be minimized. Additionally, one clip is used when attached to a substrate as shown in the previous figure, which clip requires eight surfaces (ie, surfaces 106 and 206 and substrates 344 between them). It may be used to keep in an array.

7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. The relationship between the hook members 100 and 200 and the clip 300 together forming the fastener 350 is shown again. It is shown that the hook member 100 is formed to extend within the inner wall of the side wall 112 formed by a flange extending immediately below the upper surface 106 of the front housing assembly portion. And, it is shown that the hook member 200 is formed to extend within the inner wall of the side wall 212 formed by a flange portion extending directly above the bottom surface 206 of the rear housing assembly portion. The side walls 112 and 212 are joined to each other in a fitted fit. The clip 300 is formed of a multi-slot plate member extending just below the substrate 344 at the edge portion in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane defined by the substrate 344.

Slots formed to penetrate the upper slotted portion of the clip 300 allow passage through the hook member 100. Similarly, a slot formed to pass through the lower slotted portion of the clip 300 allows the hook member 200 to pass through.

By means of the above, the upper and lower front faces 106, 206 are fastened to each other by a gripping arrangement of the clip 300 to the hook members 100, 200. By not requiring a passageway formed along sidewall 112 or 212, the depth dimension of the sidewalls is minimized.

Referring to FIG. 8, a cordless telephone, here a portable cellular cordless telephone, is cited in 460 and shown in disassembled form. Cordless phone 460 includes a supportive housing assembly that supports various components of the cordless phone therein. The upper housing assembly portion 506 of the housing assembly includes a flange portion that extends around the periphery portion forming the side walls including the side wall 512. Sidewall 512 corresponds to sidewall 112 in the preceding figures and includes a hook member (not shown) formed in the inner wall thereof.

The rear housing assembly portion 606 also forms a portion of the housing assembly and includes flange portions formed around the outer peripheral portions that form the side walls including the side wall 612. Sidewall 612 corresponds to sidewall 212 of the preceding figures and includes a hook member (not shown) formed to extend beyond its interior wall.

Key pad 618 is located directly underneath the front housing assembly portion and key pad circuit board 620 is located directly below the key pad. Component parts of the card reader assembly containing the card 624 are located directly below the keypad circuit board 618.

The card reader assembly is shown to consist of a slider plate 630 and a cover plate 636. The clip member 700 is integrally formed with the plane defined by the cover plate 636 and extends in a plane perpendicular to the plane. The clip 700 corresponds to the clip 300 shown in the preceding figures, and is formed to extend beyond the inner walls of the sidewalls 512 and 612 and then acts to grip and engage the members. The circuit board 706 is located directly below the cover plate 636 of the card reader assembly. The antenna 712 is further shown to extend over the circuit board 706.

When properly aligned, the components of the cordless phone 460 are positioned on top of each other and are positioned vertically and fastened to each other by the fasteners of the present invention by the clip 700 and the gripping method. 506 and 606 are contained within.

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of cover plate 636 forming part of a card reader assembly housed within cordless telephone 460 of FIG. Cover plate 636 includes two clips 700 arranged to extend over both edge portions of the cover plate. Clips 718 are additionally shown in the figure to extend beyond the opposite edge surface of cover plate 636. The clips 718 consist of one slotted portion, similar to the upper slotted portion 306 of the preceding figures, with one hook member disposed here on one of the housing assembly portions, here the front housing assembly portion 506. It acts to fix the cover plate 636.

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of cordless phone 460 of FIG. The cordless phone 460 includes front and rear housing assembly portions 506 and 606, a keypad 618 and an antenna 712. A housing assembly extension 730 pivotally coupled to the front housing assembly portion 506, commonly referred to as the flip portion of a cordless phone, is further illustrated in the figure, and the gap 736 is defined between the sidewalls of the housing assembly. Is formed on the contact surface. The gap 736 allows the card inserted therein to be received by the card reader assembly shown in the previous figure.

[Industry availability]

Although the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiment shown in the various figures, it is understood that other similar embodiments may be used and that modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiments to perform the same operation without departing from the scope of the present invention. Could be. Therefore, the present invention should be taken in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims rather than being limited by any one embodiment.

Claims (7)

A fastener 350 for fastening the front housing 506 and the rear housing portion 606 of the housing assembly to support the substrate 706 inside the housing assembly, the inner wall 112 of the front housing portion. An attached first hook member 100; A second hook member 200 fixed to the inner wall 212 of the rear housing part; A first clip portion positioned below the substrate and hooked with the first hook member to hook the first hook member to secure the substrate to the first housing portion to secure the substrate to the first housing portion; 306 and a second clip portion positioned below the first clip portion and hooked with the second hook member to secure the substrate to the rear housing portion and to secure the front and rear housing portions to each other, the clip attached to the side of the substrate. Fasteners comprising (300). 3. An upwardly extending raised front surface (118-1, 118-2, 118) according to claim 2, wherein said first hook member leads to a rearwardly angled force receiving surface (124-1, 124-2, 124-3). -3) further comprising: a fastener. 2. The fastener of claim 1 wherein the second hook member further comprises a downwardly extending raised front face (218) leading to a rear angled force receiving surface (224). According to claim 1, wherein the clip comprises a multi-slot plate member having an upper slot portion consisting of a first clip portion and a lower slot portion consisting of a second clip portion, wherein each of the upper and lower slot portions is the first, second And a slot opening (318, 330) sized to receive a hook member. 5. The slide according to claim 4, wherein the upper slot portion is slid during the displacement of the upper slot portion on the raised surface 218 of the first hook member 100 to position the upper slot portion around the first hook member 100. The first hook member 100 extends through the slots of the upper slot portions 318 and 330 and is internal to the upper slot portion in response to the bending force acting thereon. An edge surface is fastened to a force receiving surface (224) angled to the rear of the first hook member (100). 6. The slide of claim 5 wherein the lower slot portion is provided for a sliding displacement of the lower slot portion over the raised surface 218 of the second hook member to position the lower opening portion around the second hook member 200. The second hook member 200 extends through a slot of the lower slot portion, and the inner edge of the lower slot portion is formed in the second slot member in response to the bending force applied thereon. A fastener, characterized by being seated on a force receiving surface 224 angled rearward of the hook member. Fasteners for fastening the transmission and reception circuits and the card reading assemblies 630 and 636 and the card-receiving assembly, the front housing part, and the rear housing part provided in the housing assembly formed of the front housing part 506 and the rear housing part 606. In a cordless phone 460 comprising a 350, the fastener 350 is directed upwardly uplift ridge front face 118 leading to the rear angled force receiving surfaces 124-1, 124-2, and 124-3. -1, 118-2, 118-3, further comprising a first hook member 100 positioned directly below the surface 106 of the front housing portion, and a force receiving surface 224 angled rearwardly. And a second hook member 200 directly over the surface 206 of the rear housing, and extending below the card-receiving assembly, the first hook member extending through the downwardly extending raised front face 218. A first clip portion 306 and a first clip portion 306 that are hooked to secure the card-containing assembly to the first housing portion; A clip 300 attached to the side of the card-receiving assembly having a second clip portion 312 positioned to extend to the second hook member and hooking with the second hook member to secure the card-receiving assembly to the rear housing and to secure the front-rear housing. Cordless telephone comprising a).