Patent Publication Number: US-2017354045-A1

Title: Electronic device housing and disassembly fixture thereof

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application also claims priority to Taiwan Patent Application No. 105208464 filed in the Taiwan Patent Office on Jun. 4, 2016, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to an electronic device housing, in particular to an electronic device housing easily to be disassembled. The present invention further relates to a disassembly fixture for disassembling the electronic device housing. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Generally speaking, if a repair technician needs to check and repair an electronic device, the repair technician should use a disassembly fixture to disassemble the housing of the electronic device before checking and repairing the circuit board and other electronic components of the electronic device. 
     However, the housing of the electronic device usually has a front cover and back cover fixed with each other by several screws; therefore, the repair technician should loosen and remove these screws before disassembling the housing of the electronic device. Thus, if the repair technician needs to deal with a lot of electronic devices, the repair technician should loosen and remove the screws of all of these electronic devices one by one, which is extremely inefficient. 
     In addition, the repair technician should further align the performed holes of the back cover with a specially-designed fixture so as to insert the fixture into the performed holes to fix the back cover, and the use both of his hands to remove the front cover, which is very inconvenient in use; besides, the surface of the front cover tends to be scraped or even broken. 
     Therefore, it has become an important issue to provide an electronic device housing and a disassembly fixture thereof so as to improve the shortcomings of conventional electronic device housings and disassembly fixtures. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention is related to an electronic device housing. In one embodiment of the present invention, the electronic device housing may include a front cover and a back cover. The front cover may include at least two flexible hooks and at least one fixation hook, and each flexible hook may include a hook body and a flexible member; one end of the flexible member may be connected to the front cover and the other end thereof may provide support force to one side of the hook body. The back cover may include at least two first fasteners, at least one second fastener and at least three holes; the holes may be corresponding to the first and the second fasteners; the first fasteners may be corresponding to the flexible hooks and caught on the flexible hooks; the second fastener may be corresponding to the fixation hook and caught on the fixation hook, whereby the front cover can be combined with the back cover. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the flexible hooks may be symmetrically distributed. 
     In a preferred embodiment, one end of the hook body may be fixed at the front cover, and the first fastener may be caught on the other end of the hook body. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the hook body may gradually taper and then gradually widen from one end to the other end thereof. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the flexible member may be a spring; one end of the spring may be fixed at the front cover and the other end of the spring may be fixed at one side of the hook body. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the flexible member may be an elastic arm; one end of the elastic arm may be fixed at the front cover, and the other end of the elastic arm may press against one side of the hook body. 
     In a preferred embodiment, one end of the fixation hook may be fixed at the front cover, and the other end of the fixation hook may include a slope and be caught on the second fastener. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the holes may be ventilation holes, and each of the holes may partially overlap the first fastener or the second fastener corresponding to the hole in the vertical direction. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the elastic arm may be curved. 
     In a preferred embodiment, one side of the hook body may include a protrusion, and the protrusion may press against the other end of the elastic arm. 
     The present invention is further related to a disassembly fixture for disassembling an electronic device housing. In one embodiment of the present invention, the disassembly fixture may include a base, at least two first disassembly pins and at least one second disassembly pin. The first disassembly pins may be disposed on the base, and respectively corresponding to the flexible hooks and the first fasteners. The second disassembly pins may be disposed on the base, and respectively corresponding to the fixation hooks and the second fasteners. 
     In a preferred embodiment, each of the first disassembly pins may include a pin base and a pin body, and the pin body may gradually taper from one end to the other end thereof. 
     In a preferred embodiment, each of the second disassembly pins may include a pin base and a pin body, and the pin body may gradually taper from one end to the other end thereof. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the disassembly fixture may further include a plurality of dowel pins, and the dowel pins may be disposed on the base so as to fix the electronic device housing. 
     In a preferred embodiment, one end of each of the dowel pins may be fixed on the base, and the other end thereof may include a slope. 
     The present invention is still further related to a disassembly fixture for disassembling an electronic device housing. In one embodiment of the present invention, the disassembly fixture may include a base, a plurality of dowel pins, at least two first disassembly pins and at least one second disassembly pin. The dowel pins may be disposed on the base so as to fix the electronic device housing. The first disassembly pins may be disposed on the base, and respectively corresponding to the flexible hooks and the first fasteners. The second disassembly pin may be disposed on the base, and corresponding to the fixation hook and the second fastener. 
     In a preferred embodiment, each of the first disassembly pins may include a pin base and a pin body, and the pin body may gradually taper from one end to the other end thereof. 
     In a preferred embodiment, each of the second disassembly pins may include a pin base and a pin body, and the pin body may gradually taper from one end to the other end thereof. 
     In a preferred embodiment, one end of each of the dowel pins may be fixed on the base, and the other end thereof may include a slope 
     The electronic device housing and the disassembly fixture thereof according to the present invention may have the following advantages: 
     (1) According to one embodiment of the present invention, the front cover of the electronic device housing may include at least one fastener hook capable of being caught on the second fastener of the back cover of the electronic device housing, which can provide higher interlocking force to compensate for the insufficient interlocking force provided by the flexible hooks and the first fasteners; therefore, the front cover and the back cover of the electronic device housing can be firmly combined with each other without screws; in this way, a repair technician can more efficiently disassemble the electronic device housing. 
     (2) According to one embodiment of the present invention, the front cover of the electronic device housing may include at least one flexible hook with a flexible member, and the flexible member can push and lift the front cover at the moment of the flexible hook separating from the first fastener; therefore, the repair technician can lightly press the front cover by single hand to remove the front cover instead of both hands; accordingly, the front cover will not be damaged. 
     (3) According to one embodiment of the present invention, the dissemble fixture may further include a plurality of dowel pins, so the repair technician can directly put the electronic device housing between the dowel pins to precisely insert the dowel pins of the disassembly fixture into the holes of the back cover of the electronic device housing, which is more convenient in use. 
     Further scope of applicability of the present application will become more apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a first schematic view of a first embodiment of an electronic device housing in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a second schematic view of the first embodiment of the electronic device housing in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a third schematic view of the first embodiment of the electronic device housing in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a fourth schematic view of the first embodiment of the electronic device housing in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a fifth schematic view of the first embodiment of the electronic device housing in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a sixth schematic view of the first embodiment of the electronic device housing in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a first schematic view of a first embodiment of a disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a second schematic view of the first embodiment of the disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a third schematic view of the first embodiment of the disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a fourth schematic view of the first embodiment of the disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a fifth schematic view of the first embodiment of the disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a schematic view of a second embodiment of a disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 13  is a schematic view of a third embodiment of a disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  is a schematic view of a fourth embodiment of a disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  for a first and a second schematic views of a first embodiment of an electronic device housing in accordance with the present invention,  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  illustrate a preferred structure of the electronic device housing in accordance with the present invention. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the electronic device hosing  1  may include a front cover  11  and a back cover  12 . The front cover  11  may include a plurality of hooks, and the back cover  12  may include a plurality of fasteners respectively corresponding to the hooks. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the front cover  11  and the back cover  12  can be firmly fixed with each other after the hooks are caught on the fasteners. 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  for a third, a fourth and a fifth schematic views of the first embodiment of the electronic device housing in accordance with the present invention,  FIG. 3 ˜ FIG. 5  illustrate a preferred structure of the front cover of the electronic device housing in accordance with the present invention. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the hooks of the front cover  11  of the electronic device housing  1  may include flexible hooks  111  and fixation hooks  112 . The flexible hooks  111  and the fixation hooks  112  may be symmetrically distributed. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , each of the flexible hooks  111  may include a hook body, a flexible member and a hook base  1113 . One end of the hook body  1111  may be fixed on the hook base  1113 , and the hook body  1111  may gradually taper and then gradually widen from one end to the other end thereof; one side of the hook body  1111  may include a protrusion P. In the embodiment, the flexible member may be an elastic arm  1112 , and one end of the elastic arm  1112  may be fixed on the hook base  1113 , and the other end of the elastic arm  1112  may press against the protrusion P on one side of the hook body  1111  so as to provide support force to one side of the hook body  1111 ; in another preferred embodiment, the flexible member may be a spring and the like. 
     In the embodiment, the flexible hooks  111  may be symmetrically distributed, and disposed on two sides of the front cover  11  because the central area of the electronic device housing  1  may be used to contain the main circuit board or other electronic components. However, if the central area of the electronic device housing  1  has additional space for containing the flexible hook  111 , the front cover  11  can have only one flexible hook  11  disposed at the center thereof; similarly, the front cover  11  can have only one fixation hook  12  disposed at the center of any one of the lateral sides thereof. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , each of the fixation hooks  112  may include a hook body  1121  and a hook base  1123 ; one end of the hook body  1121  may be fixed on the hook body  1123 , and the other end of the hook body  1121  may include a slope. 
     With reference to  FIG. 6  for a sixth schematic view of a first embodiment of an electronic device housing in accordance with the present invention,  FIG. 6  illustrates a preferred structure of the back cover of the electronic device housing in accordance with the present invention. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the back cover  12  may include a plurality of first fasteners  121 , a plurality of second fasteners  122  and a plurality of ventilation holes  123 . The first fasteners  121  may be respectively corresponding to the flexible hooks  111 , and caught on the flexible hooks  111 ; each of the first fasteners  121  may be disposed in the vicinity of one ventilation hole  123  and may partially overlap the ventilation hole  123 . The second fasteners  122  may be respectively corresponding to the fixation hooks  112  and caught on the fixation hook  112 ; similarly, each of the second fasteners  122  may be disposed in the vicinity of one ventilation hole  123  and may partially overlap the ventilation hole  123 . 
     In another preferred embodiment, the back cover  12  may have only one second fastener  122 , and the second fastener  122  may be disposed at the center of any one of the lateral sides of the back cover  12  and corresponding to the fixation hook  112  of the front cover  11 . 
     As described above, the front cove  11  of the electronic device housing  1  may include the fixation hooks  112  capable of being caught on the second fasteners  122  of the back cover  12 , which can provide higher interlocking force to compensate for the insufficient interlocking force provided by the flexible hooks  111  and the first fasteners  121 . In this way, the front cover  11  and the back cover  12  of the electronic device housing  1  can be firmly combined with each other without screws. 
     With reference to  FIG. 7 ,  FIG. 8 ,  FIG. 9 ,  FIG. 10  and  FIG. 11  for a first, a second, a third, a fourth and a fifth schematic views of a first embodiment of a disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention,  FIG. 7 - FIG. 11  illustrate a preferred structure of the disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention for disassembling the aforementioned electronic device housing  1 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the disassembly fixture  2  may include a base  23 , a plurality of first disassembly pins  21 , a plurality of second disassembly pins  22  and a plurality of dowel pins  24 . 
     The first disassembly pins  21  may be disposed on the base  23 , and respectively corresponding to the flexible hooks  111  and the first fasteners  121 ; each of the first disassembly pins  21  may include a pin base  121  and a pin body  211 , and the pin body  211  may gradually taper from one end to the other end thereof. 
     The second disassembly pins  22  may be disposed on the base  23 , and respectively corresponding to the fixation hooks  112  and the second fasteners  122 ; each of the second disassembly pins  22  may include a pin base  222  and a pin body  221 , and the pin body  221  may gradually taper from one end to the other end thereof. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , when disassembling the electronic device housing  1 , the use can put the electronic device housing  1  between the dowel pins  24  of the disassembly fixture  2 , such that each of the first disassembly pins  21  may penetrate through one ventilation hole  23  to press against the hook body  1111  of one flexible hook  111  of the front cover  11 ; then, the hook body  1111  can separate from the first fastener  121  of the back cover  12 . Meanwhile, the protrusion P of the hook body  1111  may press against the elastic arm  1112 , such that the elastic arm  1112  may push and lift the front cover  11  at the moment of the hook body  1111  separating from the first fastener  121 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , each of the second disassembly pins  21  may penetrate through one ventilation hole  23  to press against the hook body  1121  of one fixation hook  112  of the front cover  11 ; then, the hook body  1121  can separate from the second fastener  122  of the back cover  12 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , when disassembling the electronic device housing  1 , the use can put the electronic device housing  1  between the dowel pins  24  of the disassembly fixture  2 , and then lightly press the front cover  11  toward the direction of the arrow shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , the front cover  11  of the electronic device housing  1  can be pushed and lifted by the flexible hooks  111 , but the back cover  12  can stay on the disassembly fixture  2 , such that the user can easily and efficiently disassemble the electronic device housing  1 . 
     It is worthy to point out that a conventional electronic device housing is usually fixed by several screws, so a repair technician should loosen and remove these screws before disassembling the electronic device housing; therefore, if the repair technician needs to deal with a lot of electronic devices, the repair technician should loosen and remove the screws of all of these electronic devices one by one, which is extremely inefficient. On the contrary, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the front cover of the electronic device housing may include at least one fastener hook capable of being caught on the second fastener of the back cover of the electronic device housing, which can provide higher interlocking force to compensate for the insufficient interlocking force provided by the flexible hooks and the first fasteners; therefore, the front cover and the back cover of the electronic device housing can be firmly combined with each other without screws; in this way, a repair technician can more efficiently disassemble the electronic device housing. 
     Besides, the repair technician should further align the performed holes of the back cover with a specially-designed fixture so as to insert the fixture into the performed holes to fix the back cover, and the use both of his hands to remove the front cover, which is very inconvenient in use; moreover, the front cover tends to be scraped or broken. On the contrary, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the dissemble fixture may further include a plurality of dowel pins, so the repair technician can directly put the electronic device housing between the dowel pins to precisely insert the dowel pins of the disassembly fixture into the holes of the back cover of the electronic device housing, which is more convenient in use; in addition, the front cover of the electronic device housing may include at least one flexible hook with a flexible member, and the flexible member can push and lift the front cover at the moment of the flexible hook separating from the first fastener; therefore, the repair technician can lightly press the front cover by single hand to remove the front cover instead of both hands; accordingly, the front cover will not be damaged. 
     With reference to  FIG. 12  for a schematic view of a second embodiment of a disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention,  FIG. 12  illustrate another preferred structure of the disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention. 
     As shown in  FIG. 12 , the disassembly fixture  2  may include a base  23 , a plurality of first disassembly pins  21  and a plurality of second disassembly pins  22 . The difference between the embodiment and the previous embodiment is that the disassembly fixture  2  of the embodiment has no dowel pins. 
     With reference to  FIG. 13  for a schematic view of a third embodiment of a disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention,  FIG. 13  illustrate a further preferred structure of the disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention. 
     As shown in  FIG. 13 , the disassembly fixture  2  may include a base  23 , a plurality of first disassembly pins  21 , a plurality of second disassembly pins  22  and a plurality of dowel pins  24 . The difference between the embodiment and the previous embodiment is that the disassembly fixture  2  of the embodiment has only 3 dowel pins, and the dowel pins  24  may be distributed according to the shape of the electronic device housing  1  so as to fix the electronic device housing  1 . Similarly, one end of each of the dowel pins  24  may be fixed on the base  23  and the other end thereof may include a slope. 
     With reference to  FIG. 14  for a schematic view of a fourth embodiment of a disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention,  FIG. 14  illustrate a still further preferred structure of the disassembly fixture in accordance with the present invention. 
     As shown in  FIG. 14 , the disassembly fixture  2  may include a base  23 , a plurality of first disassembly pins  21 , a plurality of second disassembly pins  22  and a plurality of dowel pins  24 . The difference between the embodiment and the previous embodiment is that the disassembly fixture  2  of the embodiment has only 4 dowel pins, and the dowel pins  24  may be distributed according to the shape of the electronic device housing  1  so as to fix the electronic device housing  1 . Similarly, one end of each of the dowel pins  24  may be fixed on the base  23  and the other end thereof may include a slope. 
     To sum up, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the front cover of the electronic device housing may include at least one fastener hook capable of being caught on the second fastener of the back cover of the electronic device housing, which can provide higher interlocking force to compensate for the insufficient interlocking force provided by the flexible hooks and the first fasteners; therefore, the front cover and the back cover of the electronic device housing can be firmly combined with each other without screws; in this way, a repair technician can more efficiently disassemble the electronic device housing. 
     Besides, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the front cover of the electronic device housing may include at least one flexible hook with a flexible member, and the flexible member can push and lift the front cover at the moment of the flexible hook separating from the first fastener; therefore, the repair technician can lightly press the front cover by single hand to remove the front cover instead of both hands; accordingly, the front cover will not be damaged. 
     Further, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the dissemble fixture may further include a plurality of dowel pins, so the repair technician can directly put the electronic device housing between the dowel pins to precisely insert the dowel pins of the disassembly fixture into the holes of the back cover of the electronic device housing, which is more convenient in use. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed embodiments. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents.