Abstract:
An electronic apparatus includes a case, an integrated circuit module, a cable and a fastener component. The case includes an opening and an accommodating space for the integrated circuit module and the fastener component installed therein. The cable is passed through the opening to be electrically connected with the integrated circuit module. The fastener component is adjacent to the opening and includes a first fastening portion and a second fastening portion for fastening the conducting cable and the circuit module respectively. Thereby, the cable and the integrated circuit module will be fastened simultaneously through the fastener component, and a one-time ultrasonic welding process is applied for assembly, thus the process will be simplified as to improve the yield rate.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
       [0001]    The present invention generally relates to an electronic apparatus and, in particular to a power adapter in which the cable and the circuit board will be fastened simultaneously and a method for assembling thereof. 
       Description of Prior Art 
       [0002]    With the progress of the times, industry designs of electronic products have been developed in a way of good appearance, high reliability and high performance. For designing the housings of conventional power products, in order to meet the requirements of molds and processes, a circuit board needs to be assembled in the housing, then two sides of the housing are combined with two side covers by a method of ultrasonic welding for a closed combination. Lastly, a cable passes through one side cover providing with an opening for electrically connected with the circuit board. 
         [0003]    However, a traditional method of assembling needs at least two processes of ultrasonic welding for jointing the housing and the side covers. Nevertheless, ultrasonic welding is an irreversible process, that is, it cannot be recovered when finished; in other words, there is no chance for rework. As a result, a controlling of quality must be particularly noticed when this kind of process is adapted, otherwise, abandonment will be the only way when something is wrong during the welding processes. At last, a yield of the overall process will be lowered, and a long working hour is happened because of a complicated manufacturing process. Moreover, with the improvement of the works, it has a significant effect on good appearance of power products, especially seamless design of products. Thus, how to improve the aforementioned shortcomings and get an integrated design of power products for satisfying safety requirements of testing are major objects of the inventor. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic apparatus, in which the cable and the integrated circuit module are fastened separately by a fastener component, and an ultrasonic welding process is adapted to perform the assembly for simplifying the process and improving the yield rate. 
         [0005]    In order to achieve the object mentioned above, the present invention provides an electronic apparatus including a case, an integrated circuit module, a cable and a fastener component. The case has an accommodating space, and one side of the case has an opening. The integrated circuit module is disposed in the accommodating space. The cable is inserted in the opening and electrically connected with the integrated circuit module. The fastener component is disposed in the accommodating space and adjacent to the opening. The fastener component comprises a first fastening portion and a second fastening portion. The first fastening portion connects and secures the cable, and the second fastening portion connects and secures the integrated circuit module. 
         [0006]    In order to achieve the object mentioned above, the present invention provides a method for assembling an electronic apparatus. The electronic apparatus comprises a case having an opening, an integrated circuit module, a cable and a fastener component. The method of assembling includes: passing the cable out from the opening of the case; securing the cable and the integrated circuit module with the fastener component separately; and locating the fastener component to be inside of the accommodating space and to be fastened at a position adjacent to the opening. 
         [0007]    In an embodiment of the present invention, wherein an inner peripheral wall of the case is provided with a guiding rail, and the fastener component is provided with a guiding bump; the fastener component is moved to the accommodating space through an engagement of the guiding bump and the guiding rail, thus the fastener component is located to be adjacent to the opening. 
         [0008]    In an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the case is provided with a limiting rack disposed in the accommodating space adjacent to the opening, and the limiting rack is provided with at least one limiting hole; the fastener component has at least one limiting block, and the fastener component is fastened adjacent to the opening of the case through the limiting block retained by the at least one limiting hole. 
         [0009]    In an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the case includes a main housing and at least one side cover, and the method of assembling further includes combining the at least one side cover with the main housing by ultrasonic welding for forming a closed configuration after the fastener component being fastened at the position adjacent to the opening of the case. 
         [0010]    The present invention also has the following effects. The overall strength of the product can be improved by the case which is integrally formed, and an ultrasonic welding process is applied only in one side of the case for simplifying the manufacturing process and improving a yield. In addition, components of the product disposed inside the case are fastened firstly before assembling in the case that a reliability of the product can be improved. Moreover, the integrated circuit module can be supported and fixed at multi sides by the designed structures of the fastener component and the case, even the product the product has been impacted by a drop, the integrated circuit module will not be detached easily so that it can meet the safety regulatory requirements. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING 
         [0011]    The features of the invention believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, may be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of the invention, which describes a number of exemplary embodiments of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective schematic view of an electronic apparatus of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the main housing of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the fastener component of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a perspective explosion view of combining the fastener component and the cable of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a perspective explosion view of combining the fastener component and the integrated circuit module of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view of the electronic apparatus of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is another cross sectional view of the electronic apparatus of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  to  FIG. 10  show the processes of a method for assembling the electronic apparatus of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  to  FIG. 14  show another embodiment of assembling the electronic apparatus of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0021]    In cooperation with attached drawings, the technical contents and detailed description of the invention are described thereinafter according to a number of preferable embodiments, being not used to limit its executing scope. Any equivalent variation and modification made according to appended claims is all covered by the claims claimed by the present invention. 
         [0022]    Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 . The present invention provides an electronic apparatus and a method for assembling thereof. The present embodiment will describe the electronic apparatus of the present invention in detail firstly, and describe the method for assembling the electronic apparatus later in detail. The electronic apparatus of the present invention includes power connectors or power adapters applied in all kinds of electronic products. The electronic apparatus includes a case  10 , a cable  20 , an integrated circuit module  30  and a fastener component  40 . 
         [0023]    The case  10  is a cylindrical housing having an accommodating space  100 . The cylindrical housing can be configured in a straight cylindrical structure or an L-shaped tubular structure, and a cross section of the tubular structure can be a rectangle, a circle, an oval or in an oblate shape that will be determined according to designing requirements for different electronic products. The case  10  includes a main housing  11  and at least one side cover  12 . In the present embodiment, the main housing  11  is, but not limited, integrally formed with one open side combined with the at least one side cover  12 . In real practice, the main housing  11  can be provided with two open sides coupling with two side covers  12 , wherein the main housing  11  and the at least one side cover  12  are combined by ultrasonic welding, and the assembling method is described in the following. 
         [0024]    As mentioned above, the main housing  11  has a buckle part  111  provided in an inner wall near the open side symmetrically and has an opening  110  provided on a side surface opposite to the open side. Besides, at least one guiding rail  112  is disposed symmetrically in an inner wall and extended from the open side to be adjacent the opening  110 . The width of the at least one guiding rail  112  is wider in an end near the open side that forms a tapered width. In more detail, although figures show that two guiding rails  112  are disposed symmetrically on the inner wall, the quantity of the guiding rails  12  is not limited to two. In addition, limiting racks  113  are disposed symmetrically adjacent to the opening  110 , and each limiting rack  113  is provided with at least one limiting hole  1130 . 
         [0025]    The shape and dimensions of the at least one side cover  12  are consistent with the open side of the main housing  11 , and a cover-wall  121  is provided corresponding to the open side. The cover-wall  121  has a buckle hole  1210  for engaging with the buckle part  111  of the main housing  11 . Moreover, a plugging member  122  is disposed on an opposite side of the cover-wall  121  that can be applied, but not limited to, in a form of a household AC power plug pins or a USB male connector for an electronic product, wherein the integrated circuit module  30  is disposed in the accommodating space  100 , and the cable  20  is inserted in the opening  110  for electrically connecting with the integrated circuit module  30 . 
         [0026]    Please refer to  FIG. 3  to  FIG. 7 . The fastener component  40  is a seat  41  with a recess  410  and disposed in the accommodating space  100  at a location adjacent to the opening  110  of the main housing  11 . The seat  41  has a first fastening portion  42  and a second fastening portion  43 , wherein the first fastening portion  42  is a notch structure and formed on a side of the seat  41  closer to the opening  110 . Furthermore, the first fastening portion  42  includes a front notch  420 , a separating block  421 , a first positioning block  422  and a rear notch  423 . The separating block  421  is disposed between the front notch  420  and the rear notch  423  to form a partition, and the first positioning block  422  is provided in a wall of the seat  41  corresponding to the front notch  420 . 
         [0027]    As mentioned above, the second fastening portion  43  is a notch and formed on a side away from the recess  410  of the seat  41 . The second fastening portion  43  includes a supporting arm  431 , an inserting slot  432 , a second positioning block  433  and an inserting wall  434 . The supporting arm  431  is extended from the seat  41  and bent in a direction away the recess  410 . Thus the inserting slot  432  is a spacing formed between the supporting arm  431  and the seat  41 , and the inserting wall  434  is formed from the inserting slot  432  neighboring the opening  110 . The second positioning block  433  is disposed in a wall of the seat  41  between the inserting slot  432  and the inserting wall  434 , as shown in the  FIG. 6 . 
         [0028]    The seat  41  further includes at least one guiding bump  44  and a limiting block  45 . There are two guiding bumps  44  disposed at a side and its corresponding side of the seat  41  away from the inserting slot  432  separately and protruded outwardly. In more detail, these guiding bumps  44  are formed at two corresponding sides (up and down sides) of the seat  41  and extended form the front side to the back side of the seat  41 . Moreover, the limiting blocks  45  are disposed at left and right sides of the seat  41  separately; though two limiting blocks  45  are shown in figures, the quantity of the limiting blocks  45  is not limited. The first positioning block  422 , the second positioning block  433  and the limiting block  45  are bumps with inclined planes at corresponding surfaces of the seat  41 . The first positioning block  422  is a bump with an inclined plane protruded from the up to the down sides of the seat  41 ; the second positioning block  433  is a bump with an inclined plane protruded from the front to the back sides of the seat  41 ; the limiting blocks  45  is a bump with an inclined plane protruded from the back to the front sides of the seat  41 . In further, the above mentioned up, down, left, right, front and back sides are used for describing the deposed locations and directions of the first positioning blocks  422 , the second positioning blocks  433 , the guiding bumps  44  and the limiting blocks  45  and are not limited the directions of the seat  41  or accommodating space  100 , wherein the bump with an inclined plane can be, but not limited to, an arcuate ramp or a flat ramp. 
         [0029]    A cable  20  of a power adapter includes a line body  21  and a connection portion  22 . The connection portion  22  is used for electrically connected with the integrated circuit module  30 . At the joint of the line body  21  and the connection portion  22 , a protecting housing  210  is provided for covering the line body  21  to avoid that inner metal wires may be broken at the joint due to frequent or excessive bending. The cable  20  of the present invention further includes a positioning plate  23 , and the positioning plate  23  is disposed between the protecting housing  210  and the connection portion  22 , wherein a contour configured from the positioning plate  23  to the protecting housing  210  is in accordance with the first fastening portion  42  of the fastener component  40  for fastening the cable  20 . In more detail, the positioning plate  23  and the protecting housing  210  are embedded in the front notch  420  and rear notch  423  from an upper side of the seat  41 . The connection portion  22  is stretched out of the recess  410 , and the first positioning blocks  422  abuts against the positioning plate  23  in the front notch  420  for fastening the cable  20 , as shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 6 . 
         [0030]    One side of a circuit board  31  of the integrated circuit module  30  has provided with at least one trough  32  and at least one positioning hole  33 . Although two troughs  32  and one positioning hole  33  are presented in the figures and designed for fitting with the second fastening portion  43  of the fastener component  40 , the quantity of the troughs  32  and the positioning hole  33  are not limited. The side having the at least one trough  32  and the at least one positioning hole  33  of the circuit board  31  is embedded in the inserting slot  432 , wherein the side of the circuit board  31  is abutted against the inserting wall  434 , or the bottom of the at least one trough  32  is abutted against the front wall of the seat  41 , or neither of above mentioned is abutted and that, but not limited, a clearance is reserved depending on the actual size of the at least one trough  32 . In addition, the second positioning block  433  and the at least one positioning hole  33  are engaged with each other, and the side which the circuit board  31  abutting against the supporting arm  431  is provided as a supporting for securing the circuit board  31 . Moreover, the connection portion  22  stretching out of the recess  410  is electrically connected with an output port (not shown) of the integrated circuit module  30  for the fastener component  40  fastening the cable  20  and the circuit board  31  through the first fastening portion  42  and the second fastening portion  43  respectively. In more detail, two inner sides of the main housing  11  can be provided with a loading platform  115  for supporting the whole weight of the integrated circuit module  30 . 
         [0031]    The fastener component  40  is disposed in a side of the main housing  11  neighboring the opening  110  and located between the limiting racks  113 , wherein the guiding bump  44  of the fastener component  40  is movably embedded in the at least one guiding rail  112 , and the limiting blocks  45  are engaged with the limiting holes  1130  for restricting the fastener component  40 . The at least one side cover  12  is combined with the main housing  11  by the buckle part  111  buckling in the buckle hole  1210 . The plugging member  122  are electrically connected with an input port (not shown) of the integrated circuit module  30 , and the received power will be transferred through the integrated circuit module  30  and outputted from the cable  20 . 
         [0032]    Please refer to  FIGS. 1, 8 and 10 . The present invention further provides a method for assembling an electronic apparatus, in which the assembling processes of the electronic apparatus are described for solving shortcomings of the prior art effectively. In the present embodiment, one side of the integrated circuit module  30  is fixed on the cover-wall  121  of the at least one side cover  12 , and the plugging member  122  are electrically connected with the integrated circuit module  30 . The steps of assembling of the present invention are as following: 
         [0033]    passing the cable  20  out from the opening  110  of the main housing  11 ; 
         [0034]    securing the cable  20  and the integrated circuit module  30  with the fastener component  40  separately, and electrically connecting the cable  20  with the integrated circuit module  30 ; 
         [0035]    embedding the guiding bumps  44  of the fastener component  40  in the at least one guiding rail  112  separately; moving to a position adjacent to the opening  110  of the main housing  11  along the at least one guiding rail  112  and engaging with the limiting racks  113  for restriction; in the meantime, the integrated circuit module  30  locating inside the accommodating space  100  with the fastener component  40 , thus the at least one side cover  12  connected with the integrated circuit module  30  abutting against a side wall of the main housing  11  and engaging with the buckle part  111  of the main housing  11  for forming a closed configuration; 
         [0036]    combining the main housing  11  with the at least one side cover  12  by ultrasonic welding for forming the case  10 , thus the assembling of the electronic apparatus of the present invention is accomplished. 
         [0037]    The present invention further provides another embodiment of a method for assembling an electronic apparatus, wherein a main difference between the present embodiment and the previous embodiment is that the integrated circuit module  30  is not fixed on the at least one side cover  12  in advance. The steps of assembling of the present embodiment are as following: 
         [0038]    passing the cable  20  out from the opening  110  of the case  11 ; 
         [0039]    securing the cable  20  and the integrated circuit module  30  with the fastener component  40  separately, and electrically connecting the cable  20  with the integrated circuit module  30 ; 
         [0040]    embedding the guiding bumps  44  of the fastener component  40  in the at least one guiding rail  112  separately; moving to a position adjacent to the opening  110  of the main housing  11  along the guiding rail  112  and engaging with the limiting racks  113  for restriction; in the meanwhile, the integrated circuit module  30  locating inside the accommodating space  100  with the fastener component  40 ; 
         [0041]    electrically connecting the integrated circuit module  30  with the plugging member  122  of the at least one side cover  12 , and abutting the at least one side cover  12  against a side wall of the main housing  11  and engaging with the buckle part  111  for forming a closed configuration; 
         [0042]    combining the main housing  11  with the at least one side cover  12  by ultrasonic welding for forming the case  10 , thus the assembling of the electronic apparatus of the present invention is accomplished. 
         [0043]    Please refer to  FIG. 11  to  FIG. 14 . The present invention further provides an electronic apparatus and a method for assembling thereof. In the present embodiment, the electronic apparatus is described firstly, and then a method of assembling the electronic apparatus is described later. The electronic apparatus includes a case  10 ′, a cable  20 ′, an integrated circuit module  30 ′ and a fastener component  50 . The differences between the present embodiment and the aforementioned electronic apparatus will be described, and others will not be described again. 
         [0044]    The case  10 ′ includes a main housing  11 ′ having an accommodating space  100 ′ and at least one side cover  12 ′. In the present embodiment, the main housing  11 ′ is, but not limited to, integrally formed with one open side combined with a side cover  12 ′. The main housing  11 ′ can also be provided with two open sides combining with two side covers  12 ′, and the method of assembling will be described in detail in the following. 
         [0045]    The main housing  11  has a plurality of buckle parts  111 ′ provided in inner walls near the open side, and loading platforms  115 ′ are provided on two sides symmetrically. Besides, an opening  110 ′ is provided in an end away from the open side, and two limiting racks  114  are disposed neighboring the opening  110 ′ symmetrically. The limiting rack  114  comprises a first rib  1141  and a second rib  1142  which are arranged in parallel, wherein the second rib  1142  can be extended slightly in a way from the first rib  1141  to two sides of the main housing  11 ′ for forming, but not limited to, a one-piece rib. The first rib  1141  is provided at least one limiting block  1143  at the corresponding side, and the at least one limiting block  1143  is a bump with an inclined plane at a surface of the first rib  1141 . In more detail, the at least one limiting block  1143  is a bump with an inclined plane at a surface of the first rib  1141  and protruded at the open side of the main housing  11 ′ toward the opening  110 ′, wherein the bump with an inclined plane can be, but not limited to, an arcuate ramp or a flat ramp. 
         [0046]    The shape and dimensions of the at least one side cover  12 ′ are consistent with the open side of the main housing  11 ′, and a cover-wall  121 ′ is provided at the open side. The cover-wall  121 ′ has a plurality of buckle holes  1210 ′ that have positions and quantity corresponding to the buckle parts  111 ′ of the main housing  11 ′, thus the buckle parts  111 ′ of the main housing  11 ′ can be engaged with the buckle holes  1210 . Moreover, plugging member  122 ′ are provided at opposite sides of the cover-wall  121 ′. 
         [0047]    The cable  20 ′ includes a line body  21 ′, a protecting housing  210 ′, a connection portion  22 ′ and a positioning plate  23 ′. The positioning plate  23 ′ is disposed between the protecting housing  210 ′ and the connection portion  22 ′. The integrated circuit module  30 ′ includes a circuit board  31 ′ having at least one trough  32 ′ and at least one positioning hole  33 ′ at one side. In more detail, the quantity, locations and dimensions of aforementioned the at least one trough  32 ′ are corresponded to those of the second rib  1142  of the limiting rack  114  for the second rib  1142  can be embedded in the at least one trough  32 ′. 
         [0048]    The fastener component  50  is a seat  51  disposed in the accommodating space  100 ′ and neighboring the opening  111 ′. The seat  51  has a first fastening portion  52  and a second fastening portion  53 . The first fastening portion  52  is provided with two wing-plates  521  and a concave  520  formed there between. The positioning plate  23 ′ of the cable  20 ′ is embedded in the concave  520  tightly for fastening; in further, a close fit is achieved between the positioning plate  23 ′ and the concave  520 . 
         [0049]    The second fastening portion  53  includes two supporting arms  531  and two second positioning blocks  532  extending from the two supporting arms  531  toward the circuit board  31 ′ respectively, wherein the wing-plates  521  and the supporting arms  531  can be perpendicular to each other, and the supporting arms  531  and the second positioning block  532  can be, but not limited to, perpendicular to each other. In further, the quantity, locations and dimensions of the positioning holes  33 ′ of the aforementioned circuit board  31 ′are corresponded to the quantity, locations and dimensions of the second positioning block  532 . Thus the second positioning blocks  532  can be embedded in the positioning holes  33 ′, and the two supporting arms  531  abut against one surface of the circuit board  31 ′ separately for fixing tightly and forming an upright docking structure with the integrated circuit module  30 ′. The fastener component  50  is connected with the integrated circuit module  30 ′ by the upright docking structure. 
         [0050]    The steps of assembling of the electronic apparatus of the present embodiment are as following: 
         [0051]    passing the cable  20 ′ out from the opening  110 ′ of the case  11 ′; 
         [0052]    securing the cable  20 ′ and the integrated circuit module  30 ′ with the fastener component  50  separately, and electrically connecting the cable  20 ′ with the integrated circuit module  30 ′; 
         [0053]    moving the fastener component  50  inserted with the circuit board  31 ′ and supported by an edge of the circuit board to a position neighboring the opening  110 ′ along the loading platform  115 ′; the wing-plates  521  slipping smoothly on the limiting block  1143 , and one side of the wing-plates  521  abutting against the limiting block  1143  for the fastener component  50  will be restricted between the opening  110 ′ and the limiting block  1143 ; meanwhile, the integrated circuit module  30 ′ being located inside the accommodating space  100  with the fastener component  50 ; the at least one side cover  12 ′ and the buckle part  111  of the main housing  11  being engaged with each other for forming a closed configuration; and 
         [0054]    combining the main housing  11 ′ with the at least one side cover  12 ′ by ultrasonic welding for forming the case  10 ′, thus the assembling of the electronic apparatus of the present invention is accomplished. 
         [0055]    The electronic apparatus of the present invention and the method for assembling thereof are provided for fastening the cable  20 ,  20 ′ and the integrated circuit module  30 ,  30 ′ simultaneously by the specialized structures of the fastener component  40 ,  50  corresponding to the cable  20 ,  20 ′ and the integrated circuit module  30 ,  30 ′, and the advantages are listed as following: 
         [0056]    The overall strength of the product can be improved by the case which is integrally formed. 
         [0057]    Ultrasonic welding is applied only in one side to simplify the manufacturing process and improve a yield. 
         [0058]    Components of the product disposed inside are fixed before assembling in the case that the reliability of the product can be improved. 
         [0059]    The integrated circuit module can be supported and fixed in multi sides by the designed structures of the fastener component and the case. Even the product the product has been dropped by the impact, the integrated circuit module will not detach easily so that it can meet the safety regulatory requirements. 
         [0060]    Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details thereof. Various substitutions and improvements have been suggested in the foregoing description, and others will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and improvements are intended to be embraced within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.