Abstract:
A fixing device including a fixer and a fixing structure is provided, wherein the fixing structure has a holding space and a limiting portion. The limiting portion is located at the inner wall of one side of the holding space. In addition, the fixer is limited in the holding space by the limiting portion. Furthermore, a fixing method for fastening the fixer in the holding space is also provided.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 96108250, filed on Mar. 9, 2007. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The invention relates to a fixing device and a fixing method and, more particularly, to a fixing device and a fixing method for fastening a fixer. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    In recent years, with the rapid development of the science and technology, the operation speed of electronic devices in a computer is continuously increased, so that -the heat generation power of the electronic devices is also increased. To prevent the electronic devices in the computer from being overheated and losing effectiveness temporarily or permanently, the electronic devices need enough heat dissipation ability to make them work normally. 
         [0006]      FIG. 1A  is a combined diagram showing a conventional heat sink, and  FIG. 1B  is an exploded diagram showing what is shown in  FIG. 1A . Please refer to  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B . The heat sink  100  includes a plate body  110 , a fin assembly  120 , a plurality of spring screws  130  and a plurality of E-rings  140 . The fin assembly  120  is provided at the plate body  110 , and the spring screw  130  is composed of a screw  132  and a spring  134 . In addition, the plate body  110  has a plurality of locking holes  112 , and the spring screws  130  are provided through the locking holes  112 . To make the spring screws  130  fixed at the locking holes  112 , in the conventional technology, the E-ring  140  is fastened in a groove  132   a  of the screw  132 . In this way, the spring screw  130  can be fixed in the locking hole  112 . 
         [0007]    However, since the E-ring  140  is additionally used to fix the spring screw  130  at the locking hole  112  of the plate body  110  in the conventional technology, the conventional heat sink has a high material cost. On the other hand, since the E-ring  140  which is assembled at the heat sink  100  is fastened at the groove  132   a  of the screw  132  in a manual manner, the conventional heat sink  100  has a higher assembly cost. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    One objective of the invention is to provide a fixing device with a lower manufacture cost. 
         [0009]    Another objective of the invention is to provide a fixing method for manufacturing the fixing device. 
         [0010]    To obtain the above or other objectives, the invention provides a fixing device including a fixer and a fixing structure. The fixing structure has a holding space and a limiting portion provided at the inner wall of the holding space, wherein the limiting portion is used for limiting the fixer in the holding space. 
         [0011]    In one embodiment of the invention, the holding space has an opening at a side of holding space where the limiting portion is provided, and the diameter of the opening is less than the outer diameter of the top of the fixer. 
         [0012]    In one embodiment of the invention, the outer edge of the top of the fixer has a fastening structure, and the limiting portion interferes with the fastening structure. 
         [0013]    In one embodiment of the invention, the holding space has an opening at a side of the holding space where the limiting portion is provided, and the diameter of the opening is less than the outer diameter of the fastening structure. 
         [0014]    In one embodiment of the invention, the fixer is a spring screw. 
         [0015]    The invention provides a fixing method which comprises the following steps. First, a fixer structure having a holding space and a protrusion is provided, and the protrusion is around the holding space. Then, a fixer is placed into the holding space. Afterward, the protrusion is made deformed to form a limiting portion which limits the fixer in the holding space. 
         [0016]    In one embodiment of the invention, before the fixer is limited in the holding space, the diameter of the opening at a side of the holding space where the protrusion is provided is larger than the diameter of the opening at the other side. 
         [0017]    In one embodiment, after the fixer is limited in the holding space, the hold diameter of the opening at a side of the holding space where the limiting portion is provided is less than the outer diameter of the fixer. 
         [0018]    In the fixing method of the invention, a protrusion is provided around the holding space of the fixing structure. After the fixer is placed into the holding space, since the protrusion has a characteristic of extension, in the invention, the protrusion can be made deformed toward the fixer to form a limiting portion. In this way, the limiting portion can make the fixer limited in the holding space. Compared with the conventional technology, in the invention, a fastening element such as an E-ring does not need to be used additionally to fasten the fixer, and therefore, the fixing structure in the invention has a lower material cost and an assembly cost. 
         [0019]    These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0020]      FIG. 1A  is a combined diagram showing a conventional heat sink. 
           [0021]      FIG. 1B  is an exploded diagram showing what is shown in  FIG. 1A . 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart showing a fixing method of a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram showing a heat sink. 
           [0024]      FIG. 4A  to  FIG. 4D  are flowchart schematic diagrams showing a fixing method of a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 5A  is a section diagram showing what is shown in  FIG. 4A  along the I-I′ line. 
           [0026]      FIG. 5B  is a section diagram showing what is shown in  FIG. 4C  along the II-II′ line. 
           [0027]      FIG. 5C  is a section diagram showing what is shown in  FIG. 4D  along the III-III′ line. 
           [0028]      FIG. 6A  to  FIG. 6D  are flowchart schematic diagrams showing another fixing method of a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0029]      FIG. 7  is a section diagram showing what is shown in  FIG. 6D  along the IV-IV′ line. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0030]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart showing a fixing method of a preferred embodiment of the invention. Please refer to  FIG. 2 . The fixing method of the embodiment includes the following steps. First, the step S 1  is done. A fixing structure having a holding space and a protrusion is provided, and the protrusion is around the holding space. Then, step S 2  is done. A fixer is placed into the holding space. Afterwards, the step S 3  is done. The protrusion is made deformed toward the fixer to form a limiting portion, wherein the limiting portion limits the fixer in the holding space. In the embodiment, the fixing structure  210  is, for example, a structure extending from the plate body  22  of the heat sink  20  (Please refer to  FIG. 3 , which is a schematic diagram showing a heat sink), and the fixer  220  is fastened in the holding space  212  of the fixing structure  210 . In this way, when users want to fix the heat sink  20  at a heat source  24 , they can fasten the fixer  220  such as a screw or a spring screw at the fixing hole  24   a  around the heat source directly. The fixing method is described with the detailed flowchart schematic diagram in the embodiment hereinbelow. 
         [0031]      FIG. 4A  to  FIG. 4D  are flowchart schematic diagrams showing a fixing method of a preferred embodiment of the invention. The fixing method of the embodiment is stated hereinbelow. First, as shown in  FIG. 4A , a fixing structure  210  is provided, wherein the fixing structure  210  extends from, for example, the plate body  22  of the heat sink  20  (please refer to  FIG. 3 ). In the embodiment, the fixing structure  210  has a holding space  212  and a protrusion  214 . To make the relative position between the holding space  212  and the protrusion  214  clear, please refer to  FIG. 5 , which is a section diagram showing what is shown in  FIG. 4A  along the line I-I′. In  FIG. 5A , the protrusion  214  is around the holding space  212 , and the two sides of the holding space  212  has a first opening O 1  and a second opening O 2 , respectively, wherein the diameter D 2  of the second opening O 2  is less than the diameter D 1  of the first opening O 1 . 
         [0032]    As shown in  FIG. 4B  to  FIG. 4C , the fixer  220  such as a spring screw  220 ′ is placed into the holding space  212  (the spring screw  220 ′ includes a spring  222  and a screw  224 ). Similarly, to make the relative position between the spring screw  220 ′ and the holding space  212  after the spring screw  220 ′ is put into the holding space  212  clear, please refer to  FIG. 5B  again.  FIG. 5B  is a section diagram showing what is shown in  FIG. 4C  along line II-II′. As shown in  FIG. 5B , after the spring screw  220 ′ is put into the holding space  212 , the rod body  224   a  of the screw  224  can be fixed in the holding room  212  via the spring  222 , while the locking portion  224   b  (such as the thread) of the screw  224  is provided through the second opening O 2  of the holding space  212 . 
         [0033]    Afterwards, as shown in  FIG. 4D , the protrusion  214  (please refer to  FIG. 4C ) is made deformed toward the fixer  220  to form a limiting portion  230 , wherein the people in the art can make the protrusion  214  punched by a proper tool machine to make the protrusion  214  deformed. Please refer to  FIG. 4D  and  FIG. 5C  simultaneously.  FIG. 5C  is a section diagram showing what is shown in  FIG. 4D  along the line III-III′. As shown in  FIG. 4D  and  FIG. 5C , after the protrusion  214  is deformed toward the fixer  220 , the protrusion  214  forms a limiting portion  230  for limiting the fixer  220 . Specifically, after the protrusion  214  is deformed toward the fixer  220  to form the limiting portion  230 , the diameter D 1 ′ of the opening O 1 ′ at a side of the holding space  212  where the limiting portion is provided is less than the outer diameter R of the top of the fixer  220 , and the limiting portion  230  can limit the fixer  220  in the holding space  212  effectively. In this way, users do not need to worry about that the fixer  220  separates from the heat sink  20  (please refer to  FIG. 3 ) to cause the inconvenience in the assembly later. 
         [0034]    Since the fixer  220  is directly limited in the holding space  212  of the fixing structure in the embodiment, in the process of assembling the heat sink  20  which is provided with the fixing device  200 , any fastening element does not need to be additionally used to fasten the fixer.  220 . 
         [0035]    The fixing method shown in  FIG. 4A  to  FIG. 4D  is not the only embodiment in the invention, another embodiment of the invention is described hereinbelow, and to make the description convenient, the same reference numbers are used to denote the same elements. Please refer to  FIG. 6A  to  FIG. 6D , which are flowchart schematic diagrams showing another fixing method of a preferred embodiment of the invention. The fixing method of the embodiment is similar with the fixing method of the above embodiment, and the difference between them is that in this embodiment, a fastening structure  226  (as shown in  FIG. 6B ) is provided at the outer edge of the top of the fixer  220 , and the limiting portion  230  which is formed by deforming toward the fixer  220  is provided at the upper edge (as shown in  FIG. 6D ) of the fastening structure  226 . Except for the above difference, this embodiment and the above embodiment is not different from each other. The relative relationship between the fastening structure  226  and the limiting portion  230  is described hereinbelow. To make the relative relationship between the fastening structure  226  and the limiting portion  230  clear, please refer to  FIG. 6D  and  FIG. 7  simultaneously ( FIG. 7  is a section diagram showing what is shown in  FIG. 6D  along IV-IV′). As shown in  FIG. 6D  and  FIG. 7 , the limiting portion  230  in the embodiment also can be formed at the upper edge of the fastening structure  226 . In this way, the limiting portion  230  also has a function of limiting the fixer  220  in the holding space  212 . That is, in the fixing device  200 , the limiting portion  230  interferes with the fastening structure  226 . 
         [0036]    To sum up, in the fixing method of the invention, a protrusion is provided around the holding space of the fixing structure. After the fixer is put into the holding space, since the protrusion has a characteristic of extension, the invention can make the protrusion deformed toward the fixer to form a limiting portion to obtain the objective of fastening the fixer in the holding space. Compared with the conventional technology that the fastening element such as an E-ring is additionally used to limit the position of the fixer, the fixing method and the fixing device of the invention have the following advantages. 
         [0037]    First, since the fixer is directly fastened in the holding space in the invention, the invention has a preferred structure assembly efficiency. 
         [0038]    Second, since the fastening element such as an E-ring does not need to be used additionally to limit the position of the fixer in the invention, the fixing device of the invention has a low product cost. 
         [0039]    Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, the disclosure is not for limiting the scope of the invention. Persons having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments described above.