Patent Publication Number: US-6659411-B2

Title: Case assembly including legs and caps

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This is a continuation-in-part-of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/611,285 filed on Jul. 6, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,519, entitled Case Assembly Including Legs and Caps. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH ON DEVELOPMENT 
     not applicable. 
     REFERENCE TO BE MICROFIABLE APPENDIX 
     not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to screw coverings in a case assembly in general, and more particularly to a system of coverings designated as legs and caps that each have a unique configuration to prevent improper placement of such coverings with respect to the case assembly. 
     (2) Description of Related Art, including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     Case assemblies that form the structural components of larger systems are often fastened together with screws, bolts or the like. It is desirable to have a finished, seamless appearance, where such fasteners are for the most part hidden from view by removable covers or the like. However, it is also desirable to have the fasteners be easily accessible for routine maintenance or in the event that access to the interior of the assembly or system is necessary. 
     Case assemblies are also usually provided with functional features that allow for proper operation and placement in a variety of environments. For example, it is typical to provide vents and the like if electronic equipment is to be housed within. Similarly, case assemblies formed from metallic components or components having sharp edges are often provided with means to prevent damage to a surface upon which such assemblies rest, such as felt pads, rubber feet or other protective elements. While these functional features are often highly desirable from an operational viewpoint, they may also be 
     situated in a particular fashion to enhance the aesthetic qualities or appearance of the system as a whole. 
     The case assembly of the present invention is provided with a system of screw-covering members that collectively serve a similar purpose, i.e., to hide screws or screw heads from view, while certain members also serve additional functions depending on their placement on the case assembly. The screw covering members of the present invention are divided into “caps,” which are solely responsible for hiding screws or other fasteners from view, and “legs,” which are further responsible for spacing the case assembly at a distance from a resting surface. The legs are also preferably manufactured from non-marring material so as to prevent the case assembly from damaging or scratching a surface upon which the assembly rests. A key feature of the present invention is that the system of caps and legs are dimensioned and configured to appear aesthetically similar, yet are not interengagable with their respective sockets arranged on the case assembly. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A case assembly is provided with a plurality of screw-covering members defining a plurality of legs and a plurality of caps. The legs are adapted to be received in a plurality of leg sockets arranged on said case assembly, while the caps are adapted to be received in a plurality of cap sockets also arranged on said assembly. The legs, caps and their respective sockets are all configured such that the leg sockets are adapted to prevent insertion of caps therein and the cap sockets are further adapted to prevent insertion of legs therein. The legs and caps are aesthetically similar in appearance and design, although their unique construction prevents their misplacement on the case assembly. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a representative case assembly of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a representative system incorporating a case assembly of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a case assembly of the invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the system of FIG. 2 for purposes of illustration the use of fasteners for securing the system components together. 
     FIG. 5 is a top view of a leg socket of the invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a top view of a cap socket of the invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a top view of a leg of the invention. 
     FIG. 8 is a section taken through  8 — 8  of FIG.  7 . 
     FIG. 9 is a top view of a cap of the invention. 
     FIG. 10 is a section taken through  10 — 10  of FIG.  9 . 
     FIG. 11 is a section taken through  11 — 11  of FIG.  9 . 
     FIG. 12 is a bottom view of a cap of the invention. 
     FIG. 13 is a bottom view of a case assembly of the invention with legs and caps arranged thereon. 
     FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view of a cap socket with a cap inserted therein. 
     FIG. 15 is a cross sectional view of a leg socket with a leg inserted therein. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     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. 
     FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a representative case assembly  10  of the present invention, which comprises the bottom component of a larger system  20  (see FIG. 2) that will eventually be assembled into a commercial product, such as an entertainment system. Various electronics, motors, circuit boards and the like are usually housed in a central chassis  12 , with an upper case  14  covering the chassis  12  as shown for example in FIG.  2 . While the case assembly  10  of the invention will be demonstrated as a lower case with respect to a larger overall system, one skilled in the art will understand that such assembly  10  of the invention could also represent an upper case, as the situation may be. The case assembly  10  of the invention might also be provided with certain exterior features, such as provisions  16  for input/output devices, as well as a vent  18  or the like for exhausting heat generated by electrical components (not shown) housed within such assembly. 
     Other functional features, such as screw sockets  30 - 35  are normally provided on the bottom interior surface  11  of the case assembly  10  as shown in FIGS. 1,  3  and  4 , for fastening the case assembly  10  to other components  12 , 14  of a system  20  (FIG.  4 ). For purposes of illustration, it will be assumed that threaded fasteners  13  (see FIG. 4) are used to secure the case assembly  10  to other components  12 , 14  of a system  20 , although it will be understood that other types of fasteners may be used. As shown in FIG. 4, fasteners  13  will generally extend through the case assembly  10  and into the system body so that the fasteners  13  are substantially hidden within the system  20 . The heads  15  of the fasteners or screws  13  are usually protected from access by covering members (which will be described in detail) so that the heads  15  are not exposed upon inspection of such case assembly  10 , which might lead to inadvertent tampering with such disassembly of the case assembly  10  from the system  2 . Each screw covering member of the present invention will be defined as either a “leg” or a “cap,” depending on its particular function and arrangement on the case assembly  10 . Similarly, each socket  30 - 35  will be defined as either a leg socket or a cap socket, again depending on its particularly configuration and arrangement. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates a top view of a leg socket  40  and FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of a cap socket  50 . The legs sockets  40  preferably correspond to sockets  30 - 33  of the case assembly  10  (corner sockets of FIG.  3 ), while the cap sockets  50  preferably correspond to sockets  34 - 35  of the case assembly  10 . The leg and cap sockets  40 , 50  are provided with orifices  42 , 52  for the passage of fasteners  13 . Each leg and cap socket  40 , 50  has similar structural characteristics, such as arcuate portions  44 , 54  separated by corner portions  46 , 56 , and circular portions  41 , 51  dimensioned to accommodate the fastener heads  15  (FIG.  4 ). Each socket is also preferably substantially square in design, and more preferably symmetric about the horizontal and vertical axes as shown. 
     FIG. 7 is a top view and FIG. 8 is a section taken through  8 — 8  of FIG. 7 of a leg screw covering member  60  having a head portion  62  and an engagement portion  63 . The engagement portion  63  is further defined by a plurality of arcuate portions  64  and a plurality of insertion portions  66  arranged symmetrically about a cylindrical recess  61 , said recess  61  dimensioned to accommodate a fastener head  15  that would be seated within a leg socket  40 . Reference numeral  65  designates the angular displacement between a pair of insertion portions  66 , which is preferably equal to a value of ninety degrees. Reference number  67  designates the diameter of a circle circumscribed about the arcuate portions  64 , or the diametrical distance between opposing arcuate portions  64  on the leg  60 . Reference number  69  (FIG. 8) designates the total height of the leg  60  or the height of the head portion  62  plus the height of the engagement portion  63 . The corner portions  46  of the leg socket  40  (FIG. 5) are dimensioned to slidably receive the insertion portions  66  of the legs  60 , while the arcuate portions  44  of the leg socket  40  are dimensioned to slidably accommodate the arcuate portions  64  of the legs  60 . The legs  40  are preferably formed from a non-marring material, such as rubber or the like, and are “preferably” referably dimensioned for press fit engagement with the leg sockets  40 . They are also dimensioned to extend beyond the bottom surface  11  of the case assembly  10  (see FIG. 15) so as to space the case assembly  10  from any surface upon which it rests. In other words, the height  69  of a leg is preferably greater than the depth of a leg socket  40 . 
     FIG. 9 is a top view, FIG. 10 is a section taken through  10 — 10  of FIG. 9, FIG. 11 is a section taken through  11 — 11  of FIG.  9  and FIG. 12 is a bottom view of a cap covering member  70  having a head portion  72  and an engagement portion  73 . The engagement portion  73  is further defined by a plurality of arcuate portions  74  and a plurality of insertion portions  76  arranged symmetrically about a cylindrical recess  71 , said recess  71  dimensioned to accommodate a fastener head  15  that would be seated within a cap socket  50 . Reference number  77  (FIG. 10) designates the diameter of a circle circumscribed about the arcuate portions  74 , or the diametrical distance between opposing arcuate portions  74  on the cap  70 . Reference number  79  (FIG. 10) designates the height of an arcuate portion  74  while reference number  80  (FIG. 10) designates the height of an insertion portion  76  of the cap  70 , with the height  80  of the insertion portions  76  being preferably greater than the height  79  of the arcuate portions as shown. Similar to the insertion portions  66  of a leg  60 , the insertion portions  76  of a cap  70  are preferably arranged at right angles with respect to each other, with such angular displacements determined mostly by the socket configurations. 
     The arcuate portions  74  and the insertion portions  76  are preferably discontinuously arranged around the cap  70 , as compared with the arcuate portions  64  and insertion portions  66  of the leg  60  which are preferably arranged continuously thereabout. The discontinuity present in the engagement portion  73  of the cap  70  allows certain portions of the cap  70  to move upon engagement and disengagement with the case assembly  10  and cap socket  50 . The insertion portions  76  of the cap  70  are preferably provided with snap lock elements  82  disposed at their ends that are adapted to engage slots or orifices  57  (see FIGS. 6 and 14) in a cap socket. To achieve a snap lock engagement with each slot  57 , the insertion portion  76  is preferably resiliently attached to the head portion  72 , and is further provided with camming surfaces  83  and  85  on said snap lock element  82  for respective engagement and disengagement of the insertion portion  76  with the slot  57 . In other words, movement of camming surface  83  against the edge of the slot  57  causes the insertion portion  76  to deflect toward the center of the cap  70  until the ridge or crest  84  between the camming surfaces  83  and  85  passes into the slot  57 , which results in the snap engagement of the insertion portion  76  with the slot  57 . The second camming surface  85  provides a similar inward displacement upon disengagement of the insertion portions  76  with the slots  57 . Thus, each cap  70  is adapted for removable, snap lock engagement with a cap socket  50 . 
     The height  80  of each cap  70  is preferably equal to the height of the cap socket  50 , so that the head portion  72  of the cap socket  70  is preferably flush with the bottom surface  11  of the case assembly  10  when engaged therewith as shown in FIG.  14 . In this regard, it is preferable to have at least the head portion  72  of a cap  70 , and more preferably the outer, exposed surface of the head portion  72 , be formed from the same material as the bottom surface  11  of the case assembly  10 , so that the caps  70  blend into the environment of the case assembly  10 . The caps  70  serve a similar purpose as the legs  60  in that they serve as screw covering members. 
     However, it is not necessary that all screw covering members serve the additional function of the legs  60 , such as maintaining the case assembly  10  at a distance from a resting surface and protecting such resting surface from damage caused by sharp edges or the like inherent in the construction of a case assembly  10 . In fact, for flat placement it would be desirable if only the corners of the assembly were raised with legs, otherwise if the middle was also raised there would be a problem if the middle legs were not identical with the corner legs, i.e., there would be wobbling and the like. 
     The leg and cap sockets  40  and  50  respectively, as well as the legs and caps  60  and  70  respectively, are all to a certain extent visually similar. For example, the head portions  62  and  72  of the legs and caps respectively are preferably square (FIG. 12) and comprise the same area dimension, while the height of the leg  69  and the height of the cap  80  also appear to be dimensionally similar. Yet each are provided with structural features that safeguard the proper placement of a leg  60  only within a leg socket  40  and a cap  70  only within a cap socket  50 . Such structural features also prevent improper placement of a leg  60  within a cap socket  50  and a cap  70  within a leg socket  40 . For example, the radial distance between the center of a leg  60  and the insertions portions  66  is greater than the radial distance between the center of a cap  70  and the insertion portions  76 . Therefore, the insertion portions  66  of the leg  60  would not fit into the corner portions  56  of a cap socket  50 . Similarly, the thickness  78  (FIG. 9) of the insertion portion  76  of a cap  70  is greater than the thickness  68  (FIG. 7) of the insertion portions  66  of the legs  60 . Therefore, the insertion portion  76  of a cap  70  would not fit into the corner portion  46  of a leg socket  40 . 
     FIG. 13 is a view of the bottom surface  11  of the case assembly  10  with legs  60  and caps  70  arranged thereon. FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view of a cap socket with a cap received therein, while FIG. 15 is a cross sectional view of a leg socket with a leg received therein. The caps  70 , preferably being formed from the same material as the bottom surface  11  of the case assembly  10 , tend to blend into the case assembly  10 , while the legs  60  are preferably formed from a non-marring material that is different from the bottom surface  11  preferably protrude outwardly from the bottom surface  11  as shown in FIG. 15 to space the case assembly  10  a certain distance from a resting surface. Each leg  60  and cap  70  is removably engageable with the case assembly  10 . In order to remove the leg  60  from the case assembly  10 , which is initially slidably engaged within a leg socket  40 , one merely has to use one&#39;s fingernail (not shown) or an appropriate tool (not shown) to pull on the portion of the leg  60  that protrudes from the bottom surface  11  of the case assembly to slide such leg  60  out from a leg socket  40 . With respect to a cap  70 , which is preferably snap lock engaged with a cap socket  50 , an access channel  90  (FIGS. 13 and 14) is provided for access by one&#39;s fingernail (not shown) or an appropriate tool (not shown), which channel  90  is essentially the difference between the size of the head portion  72  of the cap  70  and the size of the cap socket  50  into which such cap  70  is received, the latter obviously being slightly larger on all sides than the former. 
     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. For example, while a certain number of legs and caps are shown on a case assembly, it will be understood that other variations and arrangements of legs and caps will be operable. Also, while the legs and caps have certain structural features that allow for proper engagement with their respective socket portions, such legs and caps may have different structural designs, so long as the legs only fit within leg sockets and the caps only fit within cap sockets.