Electronic apparatus

Disclosed herein is an electronic apparatus including a component disposed inside the electronic apparatus, a vent that is located in a first direction with respect to the component disposed inside the electronic apparatus and is opened toward the external of the electronic apparatus, a plurality of first louvers that are provided in the vent and are lined in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction when the vent is viewed along the first direction, and a plurality of second louvers that are located between the component disposed inside the electronic apparatus and the plurality of first louvers and are lined in the second direction when the vent is viewed along the first direction. A straight line that passes between adjacent two first louvers and is along the first direction intersects any of the plurality of second louvers.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to the structure of a vent of an electronic apparatus.

As a related art, an electronic apparatus that sucks in the external air by driving of a cooling fan and cools heat generating components such as integrated circuits and power supply circuits by the sucked air has been utilized. In this kind of electronic apparatus, an exhaust port used to discharge the sucked air is made. In U.S. Pat. No. 8,243,445, plural louvers lined in the vertical direction are provided for the exhaust port. By the louvers, components (in this patent document, power supply circuit) disposed inside the electronic apparatus can be prevented from being visible from the external.

SUMMARY

To prevent exposure of the components disposed inside the electronic apparatus, the interval between two adjacent louvers needs to be set short. However, decreasing the interval between the louvers causes a problem of the lowering of the ventilation efficiency.

There is a need for the present disclosure to provide an electronic apparatus allowing enhancement in the ventilation efficiency with suppression of exposure of components disposed inside the electronic apparatus.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided an electronic apparatus including a component disposed inside the electronic apparatus, a vent configured to be located in a first direction with respect to the component disposed inside the electronic apparatus and be opened toward the external of the electronic apparatus, a plurality of first louvers configured to be provided in the vent and be lined in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction when the vent is viewed along the first direction, and a plurality of second louvers configured to be located between the component disposed inside the electronic apparatus and the plurality of first louvers and be lined in the second direction when the vent is viewed along the first direction. A straight line that passes between adjacent two first louvers and is along the first direction intersects any of the plurality of second louvers. According to this structure, the interval between the first louvers can be increased and thus the ventilation efficiency can be enhanced. Furthermore, exposure of the component disposed inside the electronic apparatus through the vent can be suppressed by the second louvers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

One embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.FIG. 1is a perspective view of an electronic apparatus1according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 2is an exploded perspective view of the electronic apparatus1and shows the back side of components that form the electronic apparatus1.FIG. 3is a back view of the electronic apparatus1.FIG. 4is a bottom view of a main body of the electronic apparatus1including a frame50, a cooling fan21, and a power supply unit30.FIG. 5is a sectional view along line V-V shown inFIG. 3. In the following description, directions of X1and X2shown inFIG. 1are defined as the left direction and the right direction, respectively. Furthermore, directions of Y1and Y2are defined as the front direction and the back direction, respectively, and directions of Z1and Z2are defined as the upward direction and the downward direction, respectively.

The electronic apparatus1is an entertainment device that functions as e.g. a game device and audio-visual apparatus. The electronic apparatus1outputs, to a display device such as a television, moving image data generated by execution of a game program, video-audio data acquired from a recording medium such as an optical disc and/or video-audio data acquired via a network. As shown inFIG. 1, on a front surface of the electronic apparatus1, an insertion slot7in which to insert an optical disc and a connector8used to connect a device such as a controller are provided. Furthermore, a power button9band an eject button9aof the optical disc are provided on the front surface of the electronic apparatus1. The electronic apparatus1is not limited to the entertainment device such as a game device and may be a personal computer.

As shown inFIG. 2, the electronic apparatus1has the frame50. A circuit board2is attached to the upper side of the frame50. In the circuit board2, integrated circuits such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) for overall control of the electronic apparatus1and a memory are mounted. To a lower surface of the circuit board2, a heatsink22thermally connected to the integrated circuits mounted on the circuit board2is attached. Furthermore, the cooling fan21is disposed in front of the heatsink22. The cooling fan21is so disposed that its rotation center line is oriented along a thickness direction of the circuit board2(here, vertical direction). A recess in which to house the heatsink22and the cooling fan21is formed in the frame50. In other words, the frame50has a housing wall59that covers the lower side, right side, and left side of the heatsink22and a housing wall58that covers the outer circumference and lower side of the cooling fan21. The housing wall58is joined to the housing wall59.

As shown inFIG. 2, the electronic apparatus1has a power supply unit30. The power supply unit30has a substrate31(seeFIG. 5) of a power supply circuit and a case32to house the substrate31. The frame50has a back wall53forming a back surface of the electronic apparatus1and left and right sidewalls52forming side surfaces of the electronic apparatus1. The power supply unit30is disposed between the heatsink22and the back wall53(seeFIG. 4). The case32is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped. The width of the case32in the left-right direction corresponds to the interval between the left and right sidewalls52of the frame50. The case32is disposed between the sidewalls52. The case32is attached to the frame50by fastening parts such as screw and bolt.

An opening is formed on the front side of the case32. As shown inFIG. 2, the housing wall59to house the heatsink22is opened toward the back side. The opening of the case32is connected to the opening of the housing wall59. In the case32and the back wall53of the frame50, vents P2and P1, respectively, to be described later are formed. The vents P2and P1of the example described here are exhaust ports adopted to discharge the air inside the electronic apparatus1to the external. An air flow path partitioned from the external is formed between the cooling fan21and the vent P1. Specifically, air F3discharged to the outer circumference of the cooling fan21by driving thereof flows in a flow path defined by the housing wall58and the circuit board2in a circumferential direction of the cooling fan21. Thereafter, as shown by F4inFIG. 4, the air flows backward in a flow path defined by the housing wall59and the circuit board2and passes through the heatsink22. Then, the air flows into the case32from the opening formed on the front side of the case32. As shown by F5inFIG. 4, the air flows backward in a flow path defined by the case32and passes through the vents P2and P1to be discharged to the back side of the electronic apparatus1.

As shown inFIG. 2, the electronic apparatus1has an upper cover3and a lower cover4. The upper cover3covers the upper side of the main body of the electronic apparatus1(frame50and the above-described components attached to the frame50(circuit board2, power supply unit30, and so forth)), and the lower cover4covers the lower side of the main body of the electronic apparatus1.

As shown inFIG. 1, the electronic apparatus1has plural air intake holes h in its side surface. In the example described here, a groove is formed in the side surface of the electronic apparatus1and the plural air intake holes h lined in the front-back direction are formed in an inner surface of the groove. The air sucked through the air intake holes h passes between the main body of the electronic apparatus1and the lower cover4and between the main body of the electronic apparatus1and the upper cover3to flow into the cooling fan21. Here, the main body of the electronic apparatus1refers to the part disposed between the two covers3and4, including the frame50, the circuit board2attached thereto, the power supply unit30, the cooling fan21, and so forth. The housing wall58of the frame50has an opening58aat a position corresponding to the cooling fan21(seeFIG. 2). The air flowing between the main body of the electronic apparatus1and the lower cover4passes through the opening58ato flow into the cooling fan21. The circuit board2also has a hole (not shown) at a position corresponding to the cooling fan21. The air flowing between the main body of the electronic apparatus1and the upper cover3passes through the hole of the circuit board2to flow into the cooling fan21.

The electronic apparatus1has a vent opened toward the external in its back surface. As shown inFIG. 5, the electronic apparatus1of the example described here has the vent P1adopted to discharge the air in the electronic apparatus1to the external. The vent P1is formed in the back wall53of the frame50. In the vent P1, plural first louvers53adisposed at intervals from each other are provided. The back wall53is formed by the plural first louvers53a. When the vent P1is viewed from the back side, the plural first louvers53aare lined in the vertical direction. In the example ofFIG. 5, the back wall53is inclined from the direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the electronic apparatus1(i.e. vertical direction) and the plural first louvers53aare lined in a direction oblique to the vertical direction. Specifically, the back wall53is obliquely disposed in such a manner that its upper edge is located backward of its lower edge, and the plural first louvers53aare obliquely lined in an upward and backward direction in matching with the inclination of the back wall53. The plural first louvers53aare substantially parallel to each other.

As shown inFIG. 5, in the vent P1, a support part53eextending along the vertical direction is formed. The first louvers53aare supported by the support part53e. Plural support parts53elined at intervals in the left-right direction are provided in the vent P1(seeFIG. 3).

Each first louver53ahas a plate shape extending along the left-right direction. Furthermore, each first louver53ais inclined with respect to the front-back direction. Specifically, the first louver53ahas a front edge and a back edge located on opposite sides to each other in the front-back direction and is so inclined that the position of the back edge is lower than that of the front edge. Thus, the air is obliquely discharged toward the back lower side through the vent P1.

As shown inFIG. 2, in the back wall53of the frame50, openings used to backward expose connectors2ato2dattached to a back edge of the circuit board2are formed. The connectors2ato2dare provided at an upper part of the back wall53. The air flowing in the above-described air flow path is warmed in the process of the passage through the heatsink22and the power supply circuit. Because the vent P1obliquely discharges the air toward the lower back side, it is possible to suppress impingement of the air discharged from the vent P1on cables connected to the connectors2ato2d.

Components as a cooling target are disposed on the front side of the vent P1. As shown inFIG. 5, in the example described here, the substrate31of the power supply circuit is disposed as the cooling target on the front side of the vent P1. The substrate31has plural electronic components31aforming the power supply circuit. Plural second louvers33aare disposed between the substrate31and the vent P1.

In the example described here, the second louvers33aare formed in the case32to house the substrate31. Specifically, the vent P2is formed in a back wall33of the case32and the plural second louvers33aare provided in the vent P2. The back wall33is formed by the plural second louvers33a. Each second louver33ais so formed as to extend along the left-right direction. When the vent P1is viewed from the back side, the plural second louvers33aare lined in the vertical direction. In the example described here, the back wall33of the case32is disposed substantially perpendicular to the front-back direction differently from the back wall53of the frame50. That is, the back wall33is formed perpendicular to the bottom surface of the electronic apparatus1(i.e. formed along the vertical direction). Therefore, the plural second louvers33aare lined in the vertical direction in matching with the placement of the back wall33. The air flowing backward in the case32passes through the two vents P2and P1to be discharged to the back side of the electronic apparatus1.

A support part33eextending along the vertical direction is provided in the vent P2. The second louvers33aare supported by the support part33e. Plural support parts33elined in the left-right direction are provided in the vent P2. Preferably, the positions of the support parts33ein the left-right direction correspond with those of the support parts53eof the vent P1. This can reduce the influence of the support part33eon the ventilation efficiency.

As shown inFIG. 5, a straight line that is along the front-back direction and passes between two first louvers53aadjacent in the vertical direction (e.g. L1to L6inFIG. 5) intersects the second louver33a. In other words, the straight line along the front-back direction passing between the adjacent two first louvers53a(straight line that does not intersect the first louver53a) surely intersects the second louver33a. Therefore, when the vent P1is viewed from the back side, the line of sight passing between the adjacent two first louvers53ais blocked by the second louver33a. As a result, exposure of the substrate31to the back side through the vent P1can be suppressed.

FIG. 6is a diagram used to explain the placement of the first louvers53aand the second louvers33a. In this diagram, two first louvers53a-1and53a-2representative of the plural first louvers53aand two second louvers33a-1and33a-2representative of the plural second louvers33aare shown. In description made with reference to this diagram, symbol53a-1is used when a mention is made of the first louver53alocated on the upper side in the two first louvers53a, and symbol53a-2is used when a mention is made of the first louver53alocated on the lower side. Furthermore, symbol33a-1is used when a mention is made of the second louver33alocated on the upper side in the two second louvers33a, and symbol33a-2is used when a mention is made of the second louver33alocated on the lower side.

As shown inFIG. 6, a lower end53gof the first louver53a-1located on the upper side is located upward of a straight line G1passing through an upper end53hof the first louver53a-2located on the lower side. That is, a straight line along the front-back direction passing through the lower end or upper end of the first louver53adoes not intersect another first louver53aadjacent to it. Therefore, the adjacent two first louvers53ado not have an overlapping part when being viewed along the front-back direction. Thus, the interval between the two first louvers53ais large and the ventilation efficiency of the vent P1can be ensured.

The straight line along the front-back direction passing between the lower end53gand the upper end53hof the first louver53aintersects the second louver33a. Referring toFIG. 6, a straight line G3passing through the lower end53gof the first louver53a-1located on the upper side and the straight line G1passing through the upper end53hof the first louver53a-2located on the lower side both intersect the second louver33a-2. Thus, the visibility of the substrate31through the gap between the two first louvers53ais suppressed by the second louver33a.

A lower end33gof the second louver33a-1located on the upper side is located upward of the straight line G3along the front-back direction passing through an upper end33hof the second louver33a-2located on the lower side. That is, a straight line along the front-back direction passing through the upper end or lower end of the second louver33adoes not intersect another second louver33aadjacent to it. Therefore, the adjacent two second louvers33ado not have an overlapping part when being viewed along the front-back direction. Thus, the interval between the two second louvers33ais large and the ventilation efficiency of the vent P2can be ensured.

The straight line along the front-back direction passing between the lower end33gand the upper end33hof the second louver33aintersects the first louver53a. Referring toFIG. 6, a straight line G4passing through the lower end33gof the second louver33a-1located on the upper side and the straight line G3passing through the upper end33hof the second louver33a-2located on the lower side both intersect the first louver53a-1. Thus, the visibility of the substrate31through the gap between the two second louvers33ais suppressed by the first louver53a.

In the example ofFIG. 6, the common straight line G3passes through the lower end53gof the upper first louver53a-1and the upper end33hof the lower second louver33a-2. Furthermore, the common straight line G4passes through the upper end53hof the upper first louver53a-1and the lower end33gof the upper second louver33a-1. Due to this, when the first louvers53aand the second louvers33aare viewed along the front-back direction, the overlapping part of them is small. As a result, the ventilation efficiency can be easily ensured.

In the example ofFIG. 5, the interval between two first louvers53a-3and53a-4disposed at the upper part of the vent P1is shorter than the other intervals. Furthermore, the lower end of the upper first louver53a-3is located at a position lower than the upper end of the lower first louver53a-4. That is, between the first louvers53a-3and53a-4, a straight line that passes through between them along the front-back direction does not exist.

An angle θ1of the first louver53awith respect to the front-back direction and an angle θ2of the second louver33awith respect to the front-back direction are different from each other. In the example ofFIG. 6, the angle θ1is larger than the angle θ2. By setting the angle of the first louver53adifferent from that of the second louver33a, entry of a foreign matter from the external of the electronic apparatus1through the vents P1and P2is hindered. In this description, the angle θ1of the first louver53ais the angle between a straight line passing through the center of the thickness direction of the first louver53aand the front-back direction. Furthermore, the angle θ2of the second louver33ais the angle between a straight line passing through the center of the thickness direction of the second louver33aand the front-back direction. In the example ofFIG. 6, the angle of an upper surface of the second louver33awith respect to the front-back direction and the angle of a lower surface of the second louver33awith respect to the front-back direction are different from each other. Specifically, the upper surface of the second louver33ais inclined from the front-back direction to a larger extent than the lower surface. Furthermore, an upper surface of the first louver53ais inclined from the front-back direction to a larger extent than a lower surface. By setting the angle of the upper surface different from that of the lower surface in this manner, shaping of the first louver53aand the second louver33aby use of a mold is facilitated.

A space is set between the plural first louvers53aand the plural second louvers33a. This makes it easy for the air to flow from the vent P2to the vent P1. In the example described here, the back wall53of the frame50is inclined from the back wall33of the case32. Therefore, the direction in which the plural first louvers53aare lined is inclined from the direction in which the plural second louvers33aare lined. Specifically, the first louvers53aare obliquely lined in an upward and backward direction. On the other hand, the second louvers33aare lined in the vertical direction. Therefore, as shown inFIG. 5, between the plural first louvers53aand the plural second louvers33a, a space having a triangular shape in a section (section here is a plane obtained by a cutting plane perpendicular to the left-right direction) is formed. The distance between the plural first louvers53aand the plural second louvers33agradually increases in the upward direction. Therefore, the air easily flows at the upper part of the case32compared with the lower part of the case32. In the example shown inFIG. 5, the substrate31is disposed at the lower part of the case32. This can suppress blocking of the flow of the air passing through the upper part of the case32after passing through the heatsink22by the electronic components31aon the substrate31.

As shown inFIG. 5, the thickness of the back wall53of the frame50and the thickness of the back wall33of the case32are different from each other. Specifically, the thickness of the back wall33of the case32is smaller than that of the back wall53of the frame50. This allows increase in the volume of the case32.

The thickness of the back wall53of the frame50becomes smaller as the position becomes closer to the lower end. The back wall33of the case32is close to the lower end of the back wall53. Because the thickness of the back wall53becomes smaller as the position becomes closer to the lower end, the width (width in the front-back direction) of a first louver53a-5located at the lowermost part is smaller than those of the other first louvers53a. Therefore, a second louver33alocated in front of the first louver53a-5(lowermost second louver33a-3) has a vertical width larger than those of the other second louvers33a.

As described above, the width of the case32in the left-right direction corresponds to the interval between the left and right sidewalls52of the frame50. Furthermore, as shown inFIG. 5, the frame50has an upper wall57extending forward from an upper edge of the vent P1. A front end of the upper wall57reaches an upper edge of the vent P2(upper edge of the back wall33of the case32). A lower edge of the vent P2(lower edge of the back wall33of the case32) is close to a lower edge of the vent P1(lower edge of the back wall53of the frame50). Therefore, an air flow path that is surrounded by the walls52and57and is partitioned from the external is formed between the vent P2and the vent P1. This allows the air to smoothly flow from the vent P2to the vent P1.

As described above, the main body of the electronic apparatus1(frame50, circuit board2attached to it, power supply unit30, cooling fan21, and so forth) is covered by the upper cover3and the lower cover4. As shown inFIG. 2, the lower cover4has a back wall4athat covers the back side of the back wall53of the frame50. As shown inFIG. 3, plural openings4badopted to expose the vent P1are formed in the back wall4a. As shown inFIG. 3, the plural openings4bare lined in the left-right direction. By making the back wall4ain which such openings4bare formed in the lower cover4, the rigidity of the lower cover4can be ensured with suppression of the lowering of the ventilation efficiency of the vent P1.

A power supply connector34is provided in the case32of the power supply unit30. A recess53i(seeFIG. 2) adopted to expose the connector34backward is formed at the lower edge of the back wall53of the frame50. Furthermore, an opening4eadopted to expose the connector34is formed in the lower cover4.

As shown inFIG. 5, the frame50has plural ribs53jdisposed parallel to the first louvers53aon the upper side of the vent P1. Providing such ribs53jcan increase the strength of the back wall53. The upper cover3has a back wall3athat covers the back side of the back wall53of the frame50. Openings3badopted to expose the connectors2ato2dbackward are formed in the back wall3a. Furthermore, the back wall3aof the upper cover3has plural openings3cfor the part in which the ribs53jof the frame50are provided. As shown inFIG. 3, a lower edge3fof the back wall3aand an upper edge4fof the back wall4aare located separately from each other. The vent P1is partially exposed between the lower edge3fand the upper edge4f.

As described above, the plural second louvers33aare provided between the substrate31and the vent P1. The straight lines L1to L6along the front-back direction passing between adjacent two first louvers53aintersect any of the plural second louvers33a. According to this structure, the interval between the first louvers53acan be increased and thus the ventilation efficiency can be enhanced. Furthermore, exposure of the substrate31through the vent P1can be suppressed by the second louvers33a.

The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described electronic apparatus1and various changes may be made.

For example, exposure of components different from the substrate31of the power supply circuit may be prevented by the two louvers53aand33a.

The back wall53of the frame50, in which the first louvers53aare formed, does not have to be inclined from the vertical direction.

The electronic apparatus1does not have to include the frame50. In this case, the first louvers53amay be formed in a back wall of a box-shaped housing to house the circuit board2, the cooling fan21, and so forth. Furthermore, the power supply unit30may be disposed inside the housing.

A space does not have to be set between the first louvers53aand the second louvers33a.

The present disclosure contains subject matter related to that disclosed in Japanese Priority Patent Application JP 2013-121343 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Jun. 7, 2013, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.