Electronic device housing

An electronic device having a housing which includes a housing front part, a cup-type housing rear member and attachment elements. The housing is designed so as to allow the electronic device to be optionally operated as a hand-held unit or as a stationary-mounted unit in a cabinet door or in a control panel. The electronic device can be configured for use in either configuration without special tools or additional parts. The electronic device housing is suited for use with control panels.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to an electronic device having an essentially 
two-part housing which can be used as a hand-held unit. 
BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
In automation engineering, particularly in numerical control systems, 
external control panels, which are often used for inputting control 
commands, are typically connected to the control system by a flexible 
cable. This is advantageous when a programmer has to move around often, 
e.g., in order to observe travel positions when working with a robot, or 
when the configuration of a control system is ergonomically unfavorable or 
not readily accessible because of space reasons. However, the 
disadvantages entailed by the portability of such a control panel are, 
first of all, that it can easily fall on the floor and become damaged and, 
secondly, that it is necessary to place it on a stationary support surface 
or to hold it fast with one hand for operator control. In many cases, 
therefore, it would be preferable to have a stationary-mounted control 
panel instead of the portable control panel. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device with 
a housing which can be operated both as a portable, as well as a 
stationary-mounted device and which can be easily converted from one 
method of operation to the other. 
The present invention provides an electronic device with a housing 
comprising a front housing part including a front surface, side walls and 
a rim, the rim adjoining the front surface of the front housing part and 
extending out from the side walls of the front housing part; and a 
cup-like rear housing member including side walls, the rear housing member 
being adapted to mate with the front housing part so that upon assembly, 
the side walls of the rear housing member surround the side walls of the 
front housing part, the rear housing member further including at least one 
attachment element for securing the rear housing member to the front 
housing part so that the electronic device housing of the present 
invention can be assembled as a hand-held unit, wherein front edges of the 
side walls of the rear housing member abut a rear surface of the rim of 
the front housing part upon assembly of the front housing part and the 
rear housing member, and so that the electronic device housing of the 
present invention can also be installed in a suitable opening of a plate, 
wherein the plate is captured between the front edges of the side walls of 
the rear housing member and the rear surface of the rim of the front 
housing part upon assembly of the front housing part and the rear housing 
member. 
The present invention has the advantage that when installing an electronic 
device that had previously been operated as a hand-held unit, no 
additional parts are needed nor are any parts left over. This rules out 
the inconvenience entailed in losing any such parts during long-term use 
under the same method of operation. A circumferential seal on the rear 
side of the rim on the front part of the housing advantageously prevents 
the ingress of dust or moisture into the electronic device. 
Operator-control and display elements can be accommodated quite visibly 
and favorably in terms of ergonomics on the front side of the front part 
of the housing. To secure the rear wall of the housing to the front part 
of the housing, standard commercial screws can be used, which can be 
manipulated without a special tool.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
In an exploded view, FIG. 1 shows a front part of a housing 1, a rear 
housing member 2, attachment elements 3, and a plate 4. Since the front 
part 1 of the housing of the electronic device is partly hidden by the 
plate 4, a second housing front part 5 is depicted next to it with dashed 
lines, in order to make all elements visible. The two housing front parts 
1 and 5 are identical and there is actually only one in an electronic 
device. Operator-control or display elements can be configured on one 
front side 6 of the housing front part 5. These are accessible both when 
working with an electronic device as a hand-held unit, as well as in its 
installed state. Adjoining the front side 6, the housing front part 5 has 
a circumferential rim 7, whose rear side is fitted with a seal 8. The 
circumferential rim 7 juts out past rear side walls 9 and 10, as well as 
past two other side walls that are hidden in the drawing. Provided on the 
side wall 9 and the opposite side wall of the housing front part 5 that is 
not visible is a snap-in locking element 11 which projects out laterally 
from the plane of the side wall and is flexibly suspended. Points of 
connection 12, 13 and 14 for external lines of the electronic device are 
provided on the side wall 10. The rear member 2 of the housing is so 
designed in a cup shape that it can be slid with its side walls, of which 
merely the side walls 15 and 16 are visible in FIG. 1 over the side walls 
of the housing front part 1. To assemble the electronic device as a 
hand-held unit, the rear member 2 of the housing is simply slid over the 
side members of the front part 5 of the housing, so that the front edge 17 
of the side members of the rear member 2 of the housing comes to rest on 
the rim 7 of the front part 5 of the housing. The rear member 2 of the 
housing and the front part 5 of the housing can be secured to one another 
by inserting and tightening the screws 3. The housing rear member 2, which 
is now used as a base plate, is provided with rubber feet 18 to better 
support it on a table surface. To convert a hand-held unit into a built-in 
flush-mounted unit, the screws 3 are loosened, the housing rear member 2 
is removed, the housing front part 5 is inserted into a suitable cut-out 
of a plate 4, the housing front part 5 is held together with the plate 4 
by means of the snap-in locking elements 11, the housing rear member 2 is 
mounted on again and secured with the screws 3. When the thickness of the 
plate 4 and the clearance between the snap-in locking element 11 and the 
seal 8 conform, this snap-in locking element locks into place 
advantageously. Thus, the electronic device of the present invention can 
be easily integrated in a control panel or a cabinet door. Cut-outs 19, 20 
and 21 are so designed in the housing rear member 2 that external lines 
can be run to the points of connection 12, 13 and 14 both in the installed 
state as well as in the hand-held version of the electronic device.