Cabinet fixing structure

In a cabinet fixing structure, a holder provided in a fixing portion of a rear cabinet is formed with a pair of notches extending along a fitting direction, while a boss provided in a fixing portion of a front cabinet is formed with a pair of rail ribs engaging the notches. The holder is fitted with the boss and the rail ribs are engaged with the notches, so that the holder is fixed to the boss with respect to the rotational direction of the screw, with a tightening torque applied to the boss being distributed over the holder.

The present disclosure relates to the subject matter contained in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 2002-003574 filed Jun. 13, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a cabinet fixing structure for a television receiver or the like, and more particularly to an improved cabinet fixing structure in which deformation of a cabinet in tightening a screw is reduced.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a box-like resin cabinet for a television receiver or a CRT monitor consists of a front cabinet and a rear cabinet that are built up by screws. In this case, a holder provided in the rear cabinet is fitted with a boss provided in the front cabinet, with a screw being engaged via the holder of the rear cabinet into the boss of the front cabinet.FIGS. 4bto6schematically show the cabinet fixing structures of this type.

FIG. 4bis a perspective view of the conventional cabinet fixing structure,FIG. 5is an enlarged view of the essence thereof, andFIG. 6is a side cross-sectional view of a fixing portion for the rear cabinet. These figures show a television receiver, in which a plurality of fixing portions3are provided in the front cabinet (first cabinet)1, and a plurality of fixing portions5are provided in the rear cabinet (second cabinet)5. The plurality of fixing portions3and5are provided on an inner wall of each cabinet to face an opening of each cabinet. The fixing portion3of the front cabinet1is formed with a columnar boss4jutting rearward.

The fixing portion5of the rear cabinet2is formed with a cylindrical holder7extending forward from an inner wall face of the rear cabinet2. The front cabinet and the rear cabinet are positioned in advance so that the holder7and the boss4are opposed to each other in attaching the rear cabinet2to the front cabinet1. A concave portion11is formed by recessing the rear cabinet2at the back of the fixing portion5. A bottom portion12of the holder7is faced with this concave portion11.

When the rear cabinet2is moved in a direction of the arrow as shown inFIG. 4b, the boss4is fitted into the holder7, so that a top end face13of the holder7comes into contact with an end face of the fixing portion3, and a top end face10of the boss4comes into contact with the bottom portion12in the holder7, whereby the rear cabinet2is stopped in movement to enable the openings of the cabinets1and2to be abutted with each other.

Then, a screw6is inserted through a tapped hole8provided on the bottom portion12of the holder7from the backside of the rear cabinet3, and engaged into the tapped hole9of the boss4, whereby the fixing of the rear cabinet2to the front cabinet1is completed.

With this conventional cabinet fixing structure, when the rear cabinet2is fixed to the front cabinet1by tightening the screw6, the holder7externally fitted with the boss4is not secured with the boss4in the rotational direction of the screw6. Thus, a tightening torque in tightening the screw is not transmitted to the holder but only to the boss4via the screw6, and transmitted via the fixing portion3to the front cabinet1, so that the front cabinet1is flexed due to the tightening torque of the screw6to cause a distortion around the fixing portion (see a deformed portion14in FIG.7).

Such a distortion likely causes defective in appearance. Also, after a high temperature endurance test in view of transportation conditions, a slight distortion caused around the fixing portion of the cabinet due to the tightening torque of the screw6is made larger by heating.

JP-UM-A-4-19084 discloses a cabinet fixing device. This device has a structure of attaching the rear cabinet via a attaching piece to the front cabinet to facilitate the fixing of the rear cabinet to the front cabinet. Accordingly, this device has a different constitution from that of this invention, but does not prevent the cabinet from being deformed in tightening the screw.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus, this invention has been achieved in the light of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the invention to provide a cabinet fixing structure in which the cabinet is prevented from being deformed, when fixed by tightening the screw.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cabinet fixing structure having: first and second cabinets; a holder provided in the second cabinet; a boss provided in the first cabinet with which the holder is fitted; a screw inserted from the opposite side of fitting the holder with the boss and engaged via the holder into the boss to fix the second cabinet to the first cabinet; and fixing means for fixing the holder fitted with the boss with respect to a rotational direction of the screw, the fixing means provided in the boss and/or the holder.

With this constitution, since the holder is fixed to the boss with respect to the rotational direction of the screw, a tightening torque is transmitted via fixing means not only to the boss but also to the holder, when fixing the second cabinet to the first cabinet by tightening the screw. Therefore, the tightening torque is received by both the first cabinet and the second cabinet, and fully distributed, whereby the cabinet is prevented from being flexed and distorted.

More specifically, the fixing means may be a pair of notches provided in the holder engaging a fixing member of the boss. Or the holder may be provided with notches, and the boss is provided with ribs for fixing the holder with respect to the rotational direction of the screw by engaging the notches in fitting the holder with the boss. Or the holder may be cylindrical, and provided with a pair of notches along the fitting direction of the holder, and the boss may be molded integrally with a pair of rail ribs projecting sideways from both side faces along the fitting direction of the boss, the pair of rail ribs serving to fix the holder with respect to the rotational direction of the screw by engaging the notches in fitting the holder with the boss.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFFERED EMBODIMENTS

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.FIG. 1is a perspective view of the essence of a cabinet fixing structure according to a first embodiment of the invention. As shown inFIG. 1, a cylindrical boss4provided in a fixing portion3of a front cabinet1is formed integrally with a pair of rail ribs4aprojecting both sideways along the fitting direction in this embodiment.

The fixing portion3includes the boss4and a support member15. The support member15faces an opening of the front cabinet1and projects from an inner wall face of the front cabinet. The support member15has a cross sectional shape of letter “U”. The boss4is formed in a central portion of a parallel plate, which is parallel to the inner wall face of the front cabinet1, of the support member15. A top end portion of the boss4juts rearward in the fitting direction together with the rail ribs4afrom the support member15. A tapped hole9is provided in the center of a top end face10of the boss4. The fixing portion3is molded integrally with the front cabinet1.

On the other hand, a cylindrical holder7extending forward in a fixing portion5of a rear cabinet2are formed with a pair of notches7aengaging the rail ribs4awhen fitted with the boss4. The notches7aare slightly wider near an entrance at the top end of the holder7, and extend rearward in the fitting direction by the substantial same length as the top end portion of the boss4jutting from the support member15in the fitting direction. The inner diameter of the holder7is almost equal to the outer diameter of the boss4.

In fixing the rear cabinet2to the front cabinet1, first of all, the rear cabinet2is moved in the fitting direction of the holder7to externally fit the holder7with the boss4. When the holder7is fitted with the boss4, the rail ribs4aare engaged with the notches7a, so that the top end face of the holder7comes into contact with the support member15, and the top end face10of the rail ribs4acomes into contact with the bottom of the notches7a, whereby the movement of the rear cabinet2is stopped.

At this time, the side portions4bof the rail ribs4ais in contact with the side faces7cof the notches7a, so that the holder7is fixed to the boss4with respect to the rotational direction of a screw6. In this state, the screw6is engaged, whereby the fixing of the rear cabinet2to the front cabinet1is completed. The other constitution is the same as the conventional cabinet fixing structure as previously described. Thus the same numerals are attached to the same or like parts corresponding to the fixing structure ofFIGS. 4to6.

In this manner, when fixing the rear cabinet2to the front cabinet1by tightening the screw6, a tightening torque of the screw6to be applied to the boss4is transmitted to the rail ribs4a, and to the holder7via the notches7awith which the rail ribs4amake contact, because the holder7is fixed to the boss4with respect to the rotational direction of the screw6. Therefore, the tightening torque of the screw6is distributed via the fixing portions of the boss4and the holder7over both the front cabinet1and the rear cabinet2, whereby the cabinet has a greater strength against the tightening torque, and is prevented from being flexed in tightening the screw.

Accordingly, the product does not produce a distortion around the fixing portion of cabinet, and is more pleasing in outward appearance, and less likely becomes defective, whereby the cabinet fixing structure having excellent resistance without deformation against high temperatures during the transportation is obtained.

Another embodiment of the invention will be described below.FIG. 2is a perspective view of the essence of the cabinet fixing structure according to a second embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, a boss4of a fixing portion3in the front cabinet1does not jut from a support member15in the fitting direction and does not have rail ribs. A holder7of a fixing portion5in the rear cabinet2is provided with a pair of notches7bextending in the fitting direction for engaging with a parallel plate3aof the support member15.

The boss4is integrally formed in the center of the parallel plate3a, which is parallel to the inner wall face of the front cabinet1, and extends forward. The top end face10of the boss4and the end face of the parallel plate3aare flush with an opening of the front cabinet1. Since the boss4does not jut in the fitting direction, the holder7is lengthened in the fitting direction to some extent. This second embodiment is different in these points from the first embodiment. The other constitution is the same as in the first embodiment as shown in FIG.1.

Since the side portions3bof the parallel plate3acomes into contact with the side faces7dof the notches7bin the above manner, the holder7is fixed to the boss4with respect to the rotational direction of the screw6, whereby the cabinet is prevented from being flexed and deformed due to a tightening torque, resulting in the advantage that the structure of the boss4is as simple as the conventional one.

FIG. 3is a perspective view of the essence of the cabinet fixing structure according to a third embodiment of the invention.

This third embodiment as shown inFIG. 3has a combined structure of the first and second embodiments. A boss4integrally formed in the center of a parallel plate3aand extending forward is provided with a pair of rail ribs4a. The rail ribs projects sideways from both side faces of the boss4along the fitting direction. The parallel plate3aand the rail ribs4adefines an angle about 90 degrees. The top end face10of the boss4and the end face of the support member15are flush with the opening of the front cabinet1.

The holder7has four notches including a pair of notches7bengaging the parallel plate3aand a pair of notches7aengaging the rail ribs4aalong the fitting direction.

When the holder7is externally fitted with the boss4and the notches7aand7bare engaged with the parallel plate3aand the rail ribs4a, the holder7is fixed to the boss4in four portions, whereby the holder7is fixed more firmly with respect to the rotational direction of the screw6than in the first and second embodiments where the holder is fixed in two portions. Thus, the cabinet is securely prevented from being deformed due to tightening torque of the screw6in fixing the cabinet.FIG. 4ashows an embodiment of the invention, like that show inFIG. 3, implemented in a front cabinet1and a rear cabinet2, and provided with a screw6to fix the rear cabinet2to the front cabinet1.

As described above, the cabinet fixing structure of this invention is provided with fixing means for locking the holder with the boss against the rotational direction of screw, a tightening torque is distributed when fixing the cabinet by tightening the screw, whereby the cabinet is prevented from being flexed, distorted or deformed. More specifically, the fixing means may be notches provided in the holder, or ribs provided in the boss to engage the notches of the holder, whereby the holder is securely fixed against the rotational direction of screw with a relatively simple structure.