Abstract:
An accessory device for a piece of electronic equipment can be placed horizontally or vertically and is provided with outside surfaces that form the bottom, support surfaces depending on the horizontal or vertical orientation. Anti-vibration protrusions are provided on at least two of said outside surfaces to prevent the transmission of vibrations to the interior of said accessory device regardless of whether said accessory device is oriented horizontally or vertically on a support surface.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to an accessory device for electronic equipment that internally houses a system unit generally, and more particularly, to an accessory device having outer surfaces fitted with anti-vibration protrusions that are effective when the device is positioned horizontally or vertically with respect to a support surface.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Conventionally, electronic equipment such as video game systems and other entertainment systems have a system unit consisting of a central processing unit and other electronic components provided in the interior of a roughly flat, panel-shaped cabinet, and is operated with a controller connected to the system unit.  
           [0003]    Storage devices using flash memory and the like are used in this type of electronic equipment typically take the form of cards that are inserted in the system unit or the controller. However, the amount of information used in electronic equipment has recently become large, so it has become necessary to provide storage devices with a large capacity. For this reason, since these card-type storage devices have limited storage capacity, attaching a large-capacity storage device to the electronic equipment as an accessory device is conceivable.  
           [0004]    However, the aforementioned electronic equipment includes that which can be used in the horizontal state with the roughly flat, panel-shaped cabinet placed horizontally, or in the vertical state when placed vertically, in order to make the unit fit better depending on where it is installed (Japanese patent application No. H11-251654). It is preferable for the accessory device to be able to be placed either in the horizontal state or the vertical state depending on where it is installed.  
           [0005]    In addition, and particularly in electronic equipment, it is preferable that vibrations from the outside not be transmitted to the electronic components inside. Thus, it is similarly desirable for vibrations not be transmitted from the outside to the inside of the accessory device.  
         OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an accessory device for electronic equipment that can be placed horizontally or vertically depending on where it is installed.  
           [0007]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide an accessory device having means for preventing vibrations from being transmitted from the outside of the accessory device to the inside of the accessory device.  
           [0008]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide an accessory device having anti-vibration means that are effective if such device is situated horizontally or vertically.  
           [0009]    Still other objects and advantages of the invention will become clear upon review of the following detailed description in conjunction with the appended drawings.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    The accessory device of the present invention has a casing comprised of mutually intersecting outside faces that form the bottom face when the accessory device is placed in a horizontal or vertical orientation. Such accessory device is further provided with anti-vibration protrusions on each of such mutually intersecting faces to prevent the transmission of vibrations through such faces to electronic components incorporated in the interior of the casing. The mutually intersecting outside faces of the accessory device casing have different lengthwise dimensions, each becoming a bottom face when placed on a support surface. Anti-vibration protrusions are also provided on each of said two outside faces. The outside face with the longer length dimension is preferably used as the bottom face in the horizontal state, while the outside face with the shorter length dimension is preferably used as the bottom face in the vertical state, so either vertical or horizontal installation is possible. Thus, regardless of whether the accessory device is placed horizontally or vertically, any vibration transmitted from outside through the grounded or support surface will be absorbed by the anti-vibration protrusions and prevented from being transmitted to the interior of the casing.  
           [0011]    In a preferred embodiment, the casing of the accessory device is provided with grooves extending along at least one of the mutually intersecting outside faces and said anti-vibration protrusions are provided in the space between mutually opposing faces of these grooves. Thus, since the anti-vibration protrusions are provided in grooves, such protrusions are visually aligned and thus do not attract attention, giving a good overall appearance to the accessory device. Furthermore, it is also preferred if the depth dimension of said accessory device casing is identical to the depth dimension of said electronic equipment, so that when the electronic equipment and accessory device are placed side-to-side, the depth dimensions of both are identical, which provides a pleasing, seamless appearance when the components are installed side-to-side. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an accessory device of the present invention oriented horizontally and positioned on top of electronic equipment.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a front view of an electronic equipment and an accessory device both placed vertically on a support surface.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a front view of an accessory device of the invention placed vertically.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a top view of the accessory device of FIG. 3 placed vertically.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the accessory device of FIG. 3 placed vertically.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 is a rear view of the accessory device of FIG. 3 placed vertically.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 is a right-side view of the accessory device of FIG. 3 placed vertically.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the method of using the electronic equipment and accessory device when placed vertically. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0020]    The following detailed description is of the best mode or modes of the invention presently contemplated. Such description is not intended to be understood in a limiting sense, but to be an example of the invention presented solely for illustration thereof, and by reference to which in connection with the following description and the accompanying drawings one skilled in the art may be advised of the advantages and construction of the invention. In the various views of the drawings, like reference characters designate like or similar parts.  
         [0021]    (1) Overall Constitution  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate one embodiment of an entertainment system  1 , which is the electronic equipment  2  along with the accessory device  100 . FIG. 1 illustrates the entertainment system  1  and accessory device  100  placed horizontally, while FIG. 2 illustrates the entertainment system  1  and accessory device  100  placed vertically.  
         [0023]    The entertainment system  1  is usually a system that, for example, reads game programs recorded on optical disks or the like and executes games under the control of the user (the game player). Note that the execution of a game refers mainly to the control of game progress, displays and sounds.  
         [0024]    (2) Constitution of the Entertainment System (Electronic Equipment)  
         [0025]    The entertainment system  1  comprises a system unit  2  along with a cabinet  3  that houses such system unit  2 . The system unit  2  further comprises a disk drive  11 , power supply unit (not shown), main board (not shown) and input/output signal control board (not shown), while the main board further comprises a control system consisting of a central processing unit (CPU) and peripheral devices and the like, a graphics system consisting of a graphic processing unit that draws images and the and a sound system consisting of a sound processing unit that generates music, sound effects and the like. The cabinet  3  further comprises a center chassis  4  on which the system unit  2  is provided, and an upper case  5  and lower case  6  which support this center chassis  4  and also enclose the system unit  2 . Such cabinet  3  is preferably flat and square in shape, taking a rough L-shape when viewed from the front.  
         [0026]    In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the disk drive  11  is provided on the right front side of the upper case  5 , and this disk drive  11  performs the control of operation of CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical disks which are recording media on which video game application programs are recorded. The disk tray  11 B of this disk drive  11  is exposed. On the right side of the disk tray  11 B are arranged control means consisting of a power switch  16  and a tray control switch  17  for controlling the movement of the disk tray  11 B in and out of the upper case  5 .  
         [0027]    Two slot units  18  are exposed on the left front side of the upper case  5 , each comprising a memory card slot  61  disposed on the top and a controller connector  62  disposed on the bottom. The memory card slot  61  is a slot in which a memory card or other external auxiliary storage device is inserted, and its insertion hole  61 A is preferably formed in a rectangular shape that is long in the horizontal direction. This memory card slot  61  is provided with a shutter  61 B for protecting the connection terminals provided internally. The controller connector  62  is an input/output terminal used for performing the input/output of signals which connects to a connection terminal formed on the tip of a controller cable  402  (to be described later) extending from a controller  401  (to be described later). Its insertion hole  62 A is preferably formed in a roughly rectangular shape that is long in the horizontal direction and also, the lower corner portions preferably have a more rounded shape than the upper corner portions. By forming the insertion hole  62 A in this manner, the connection terminal of the controller  401  (FIG. 8) cannot be inadvertently connected backwards. In addition, the shape of the insertion hole  62 A is given a structure different than the shape of the insertion hole  61 A of the memory card slot  61 , so there is no risk of the external auxiliary storage device being inadvertently inserted into the insertion hole  62 A. By providing two of these controller connectors  62 , it is possible to connect two controllers  401  (FIG. 8), so it is possible for two players to play head-to-head games or the like. In addition, the results of operating the controllers  401  connected to each of the controller connectors  62  are recorded in the external auxiliary storage device inserted in the memory card slot  61  disposed above each.  
         [0028]    The lower case  6  has its front face and right-side face preferably recessed with respect to the front face and right-side face of the corresponding upper case  5  above it. In other words, the width dimension and depth dimension of the lower case  6  are preferably smaller than the width dimension and depth dimension of the upper case  5 , and the volume of the lower case  6  is thus preferably smaller than the volume of the upper case  5 . On the other hand, the left-side face of the lower case  6  is aligned with the corresponding face of the upper case  5 . Thus, the cabinet  3  preferably has an asymmetric shape with respect to the center of the center chassis  4  (FIG. 2). data transfer port  19  and two external equipment connection ports  20  for connecting to external equipment are preferably exposed on the left front of the lower case  6 . The data transfer port  19  is based on the IEEE 1394 standard, so by connecting a cable from this port to a digital camera, video deck or the like, it is possible to transfer images or sounds or the like recorded on the digital camera or video deck to the entertainment system  1 . The two external equipment connection ports  20  are based on the USB standard, so a keyboard or other input device, a mouse or other pointing device, printer or other printing device, an external storage device that uses floppy disks, magneto-optical disks or other magnetic storage media or the like can be connected. In addition, slit-shaped openings  6 A are formed on the front of the lower case  6  so that air taken in from outside can be introduced into the interior of the entertainment system  1  as cooling air.  
         [0029]    With the entertainment system  1  placed horizontally as shown in FIG. 1, the lower face of the lower case  6  which has the greatest surface area becomes the bottom face which faces the surface upon which it is placed (not shown), i.e. the support surface. In this case, in order to prevent vibrations from the surface upon which it is placed from being transmitted to the interior of the entertainment system  1 , anti-vibration members  6 B preferably made of rubber are attached at stipulated locations on the lower face of the lower case  6 .  
         [0030]    With the entertainment system  1  placed vertically as shown in FIG. 2, the side face of the lower case  6  becomes the bottom face which faces the surface upon which it is placed  400 . In this case, in order to prevent vibrations from the surface  400  upon which it is placed from being transmitted to the interior of the entertainment system  1 , anti-vibration members  6 C preferably made of rubber are attached at stipulated locations on the side face of the lower case  6 .  
         [0031]    Thus, by placing the anti-vibration members  6 B and  6 C on the case faces, the entertainment system  1  may be used when placed either horizontally (FIG. 1) or vertically.  
         [0032]    When the entertainment system  1  is placed vertically, the controller connectors  62  and AC inlet  32 A are positioned toward the bottom of the entertainment system  1 , so as shown in FIG. 8, the controller cables  402  extending from the controllers  401  and the power cable  403  and the like which connect there are placed such that they crawl across the surface upon which it is placed  400 .  
         [0033]    (3) Constitution of the Accessory Device  
         [0034]    The accessory device  100  can be placed horizontally upon the upper face of the upper case  5  of the horizontally placed entertainment system  1  (see FIG. 1) and it can also be placed vertically adjacent to the upper case  5  of the vertically placed entertainment system  1  (see FIG. 2). Of course, the accessory device  100  could also be placed horizontally and to the side of the entertainment system, such that the accessory device  100  and entertainment system  1  are positioned side-by-side.  
         [0035]    The specific constitution of the accessory device  100  is shown in FIG. 3 through FIG. 7. In these figures, the accessory device  100  comprises a roughly box-shaped casing  101  and a storage device (e.g., a hard disk drive)  102  contained in the of this casing  101 . The storage device  102  is electrically connected to the central processing unit of the entertainment system  1 .  
         [0036]    The casing  101  preferably comprises mutually opposing flat, rectangular first and second outside face members  101 A and  101 B, along with a third outside face member  101 C, fourth outside face member  101 D, fifth outside face member  101 E and sixth outside face member  101 F which connect the edges of these first and second outside face members  101 A and  101 B, where each of these outside face members  101 A through  101 F constitute the respective outside faces, and are preferably secured to each other by mounting screws (not shown).  
         [0037]    When the accessory device  100  is placed upon the entertainment system  1  as shown in FIG. 1, the first outside face member  101 A of the accessory device  100  is parallel to the plane of the upper case  5  of the entertainment system  1 . The first outside face member  101 A has a depth dimension L 1  equal to the depth dimension M 1  of the upper case  5 , and the width dimension L 2  of the front face is shorter than the length dimension M 2  of the upper case  5  (see FIG. 1). On the first outside face member  101 A, the depth dimension L 1  is preferably longer than the width dimension L 2 .  
         [0038]    The first outside face member  101 A placed opposite to the second outside face member  101 B becomes the bottom face which faces the grounded surface (in FIG. 1, the plane of the upper case  5 ) when the accessory device  100  is placed horizontally. shown in FIGS. 3 through 7, like the first outside face member  101 A, the second outside face member  101 B is planar in shape (FIG. 7), having a depth dimension of L 1  and a width dimension of L 2 , forming a shallow rectangular plate shape.  
         [0039]    Anti-vibration protrusions  103  are provided at the four corners of the bottom surface of the second outside face member  101 B. These anti-vibration protrusions  103  consist of rubber or other material that has anti-vibration properties preferably formed into thin flat plates, which are fit into recesses  101 Ba formed in the second outside face member  101 B.  
         [0040]    In this embodiment, various means of attaching the anti-vibration protrusions  103  to the second outside face member  101 B may be adopted. For example, the anti-vibration protrusions  103  may be secured to the plane of the second outside face member  101 B with adhesive, or they may be secured by screws. Other means of securing the protrusions  103  are also contemplated. Moreover, at the time that the outside face members  101 A through  101 F are secured with screws (not shown), the heads (not shown) of those screws may be covered with the anti-vibration protrusions  103 . By covering the heads of the screws with anti-vibration protrusions  103 , the screw heads are not exposed so the appearance is improved.  
         [0041]    Moreover, in this embodiment, the shape of the anti-vibration protrusions  103  is not limited to a flat, square shape, but rather, they may be flat and round, elliptical, square, triangular or otherwise polygonal in shape, for example. In addition, the anti-vibration protrusions  103  may have a hollow structure or a solid structure.  
         [0042]    The third through sixth outside face members  101 C through  101 F are each placed perpendicular to the second outside face member  101 B and first outside face member  101 A.  
         [0043]    The third outside face member  101 C (FIG. 3) preferably constitutes the front face of the casing  101  where its width dimension is L 3  and its length dimension is L 2 . The length dimension L 2  is preferably longer than the width dimension L 3 . A plurality of grooves  10 A extending along the length of the front face member  10  is formed upon the third outside face member  101 C. Also provided on such member are an access indicator  104 , which indicates signal access to the storage device  102  by the central processing unit of the entertainment system  1 , and a power indicator  105  which indicates the on/off state of the power. The access indicator  104  consists of a label member  104 A that carries its label formed on the front face member  10  and a lamp member  104 B formed in the grooves  10 A. This lamp member  104 B consists of a clear acrylic member  104 B 1  embedded in the bottom of the grooves  10 A and a light-emitting diode or other light-emitting member placed in the interior of the casing  101  that shines light upon the clear acrylic member  104 B 1 . The power indicator  105  consists of a label member  105 A that carries its label formed on the front face member  10  and a lamp member  105 B that is formed in the grooves  10 A. Like the lamp member  104 B, this lamp member  105 B also consists of a clear acrylic member and a light-emitting member.  
         [0044]    The fourth outside face member  101 D (FIG. 4) is perpendicular to the third outside face member  101  C, and on its front face member  10  are formed grooves  10 A which are a continuation of the grooves  10 A of the third outside face member  101 C. The fourth outside face member  101 D has a width dimension of L 3  and a length dimension of L 1 . The length dimension L 1  is preferably longer than the width dimension L 3 .  
         [0045]    The fifth outside face member  101 E (FIG. 6) is perpendicular to the fourth outside face member  101 D and also parallel to the third outside face member  101 C. The fifth outside face member  101 E has a width dimension of L 3  and a length dimension of L 2 , being formed in a flat panel shape. Upon the fifth outside face member  101 E are provided a power switch  13 , a power supply jack  14  that supplies DC power, and a connector  15 . When the power switch  13  is turned on, the power indicator  105  lights to indicate that power is supplied to the storage device in the interior of the casing  101 . In addition, the access indicator  104  lights to indicate that this storage device is being accessed. The power supply jack  14  is connected to a cable (not shown) and an AC adapter (not shown) is connected to this cable. One end of a cord  15 A is connected to the connector  15 , and the other end of this cord  15 A is connected to the entertainment system  1 .  
         [0046]    The sixth outside face member  101 F is parallel to the fourth outside face member  101 D and perpendicular to the other outside face members  101 A,  101 B,  101 C and  101 E excluding the fourth outside face member  101 D, and when the accessory device is placed vertically, forms the bottom face which faces the surface upon which it is placed (the floor surface  400  in FIG. 2). The sixth outside face member  101 F has a width dimension of L 3  and a length dimension of L 1 . On the front face member  10  of sixth outside face member  101 F are formed grooves  10 A which are a continuation of the grooves  10 A of the third outside face member  101 C. Anti-vibration protrusions  106  are provided near the four corners of the sixth outside face member  101 F at four places between the mutually opposing faces  10 B of the grooves  10 A (see FIG. 5). These anti-vibration protrusions  106  are formed as rectangular parallelepipeds that have roughly the same width dimension as the width dimension of the mutually opposing faces  10 B of the grooves  10 A, a stipulated length dimension and a height dimension greater than the depth dimension of the grooves  10 A, and are secured by fitting into the grooves  10 A.  
         [0047]    In this embodiment, various means of attaching the anti-vibration protrusions  106  to the sixth outside face member  101 F may be adopted, in the same manner as the anti-vibration protrusions  103 . For example, the anti-vibration protrusions  106  may be secured to the sixth outside face member  101 F with adhesive, or they may be secured by screws. Other means of securing are also possible. Moreover, when the outside face members  101 A through  101 F are secured with screws (not shown), the heads (not shown) of those screws may be covered with the anti-vibration protrusions  106 . By covering the heads of the screws with anti-vibration protrusions  106 , the screw heads are not exposed.  
         [0048]    Moreover, in this embodiment, the shape of the anti-vibration protrusions  106  is not limited to rectangular parallelepipeds, but rather, they may take the shape of a circular cylinder, triangular prism, or other polygonal prism, for example. In addition, the anti-vibration protrusions  106  may have a hollow structure or a solid structure, in the same manner as the anti-vibration protrusions  103 .  
         [0049]    Thus, there has been described an accessory device  100  for electronic equipment, which comprises a casing  101  formed roughly in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, and the second outside face member  101 B of this casing  101  which has a length dimension of L 1  becomes the bottom face which faces a grounded surface when placed horizontally, while the sixth outside face member  101 F which is perpendicular to the second outside face member  101 B and has a length dimension of L 2  (L 1 &gt;L 2 ) becomes the bottom face which faces the surface upon which it is placed when placed vertically, so it may be placed either vertically or horizontally depending on where it is installed.  
         [0050]    Moreover, anti-vibration protrusions  103  and  106 , preferably formed in the shape of rectangular parallelepipeds, are provided on the second outside face member  101 B and sixth outside face member  101 F, respectively, so any vibration that may be transmitted from outside through the grounded surface will be absorbed by these anti-vibration protrusions  103  and  106 , thus preventing it from being transmitted to the interior of the casing  101 . The anti-vibration protrusions  103  are preferably disposed at the four corners of the second outside face member  101 B, and the anti-vibration protrusions  106  are preferably disposed near the four corners of the sixth outside face member  101 F, so this structure provides stable support whether the accessory device  100  is placed horizontally or vertically.  
         [0051]    In addition, grooves  10 A extending in the lengthwise direction are formed on the sixth outside face member  101 F and the anti-vibration protrusions  106  provided in the space between the mutually opposing faces  10 B of these grooves  10 A, so the anti-vibration protrusions  106  are visually aligned and thus do not attract attention, giving a pleasing appearance.  
         [0052]    In addition, in this embodiment, the entertainment system  1  is provided with a central processing unit and a storage device  102  electrically connected to the central processing unit is provided in the casing  101  of the accessory device  100 , and by providing the storage device  102  provided in the accessory device  100  separate from the entertainment system  1 , it is possible to increase the storage capacity greatly compared to the conventional card-type storage devices. For this reason, the entertainment system  1  can be used as a communications terminal which requires a large information capacity.  
         [0053]    Moreover, the depth dimension L 1  of the casing  101  of the accessory device  100  is preferably identical to the depth dimension M 1  of the entertainment system  1 , so when the entertainment system  1  and accessory device  100  are placed side-to-side, the positions of the two in the depth direction are aligned.  
         [0054]    Moreover, the entertainment system  1  itself may be placed vertically or horizontally, so the unit fits better depending on where it is installed.  
         [0055]    Furthermore, the entertainment system  1  itself may be provided with anti-vibration members  6 B and  6 C, so vibrations from the surface on which it is placed can be blocked by these anti-vibration members  6 B and  6 C.  
         [0056]    Note that the present invention is in no way limited to the aforementioned embodiments, but rather it may include other constructions and the like that achieve the object of the present invention and thus the following and other modifications are included in the present invention.  
         [0057]    For example, while in the aforementioned embodiment, anti-vibration protrusions  103  and  106  are provided on the second outside face member  101 B and sixth outside face member  101 F, such anti-vibration protrusions may be provided on three adjacent faces, e.g., the aforementioned second outside face member  101 B and sixth outside face member  101 F along with the fourth outside face member  101 D which is perpendicular to the second outside face member  101 B.  
         [0058]    Moreover, while the anti-vibration protrusions  106  are provided on the grooves  10 A of the sixth outside face member  101 F, the sixth outside face member  101 F may be given a flat panel shape, in which case the anti-vibration protrusions may be secured to the surface of this flat panel shape with adhesive or the like.  
         [0059]    Moreover, the depth dimension L 1  of the casing  101  of the accessory device  100  may be different from the depth dimension M 1  of the entertainment system  1 .  
         [0060]    Moreover, it is not absolutely necessary that an access indicator  104  and power indicator  105  be provided on the third outside face member  101 C of the casing  101 , but rather, the third outside face member  101 C may also be simply given the form of a flat panel.  
         [0061]    In addition, while the casing  101  of the accessory device  100  is given the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, it may also by another shape, such as the shape of a triangular prism. In the case that it is given the shape of a triangular prism, two adjacent outside faces can be made perpendicular by giving the end surface the shape of a right triangle. Moreover, the angle between the anti-vibration protrusions and the respective outside faces upon which they are provided need not necessarily be a right angle, but they may cross at an angle other than 90 degrees.  
         [0062]    In addition, the number of anti-vibration protrusions is not limited to four on each outside face, but rather there may be one, two, three or five or more.  
         [0063]    While the present invention has been described at some length and with some particularity with respect to the several described embodiments, it is not intended that it should be limited to any such particulars or embodiments or any particular embodiment, but it is to be construed with references to the appended claims so as to provide the broadest possible interpretation of such claims in view of the prior art and, therefore, to effectively encompass the intended scope of the invention.