Abstract:
A cover member to be attached to an electronic device formed into a rectangular parallelepiped-like shape, and including a display section in at least one surface of the rectangular parallelepiped comprises a flat plate-like main cover configured to cover the surface of the electronic device, the surface including the display section formed therein, holding parts provided on both side surfaces of the main cover, and configured to hold the electronic device between the holding parts and the main cover; and an upper cover, and a lower cover provided on both end faces of the main cover.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-073443, filed Mar. 29, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a cover member to be attached to a housing of a portable electronic device such as a smartphone, electronic book or the like. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    In a transparent cover member of a display section of a portable electronic device such as a smartphone, electronic book or the like, glass or resin is used. Recently, scratch-resistant chemical tempered glass is used for a cover member. The manufacturing method of a cover glass is publicly known (see Japanese patent publication: Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2013-28510). 
         [0006]    In the aforementioned cover member, there has been a problem that a complicated structure is required, bonding positions are increased, manufacturing processes are increased, and so on in order to firmly fix the cover member to the housing. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    An objective of the present invention is to provide a cover member a structure which is not complicated, and which can be manufactured at low cost by reducing the bonding process as much as possible when the cover member is attached to the housing, and which can improve the facility of assembly. 
         [0008]    In order to achieve the objective, according to the present invention, a cover member to be attached to an electronic device formed into a rectangular parallelepiped-like shape, and including a display section at least in one surface of the rectangular parallelepiped comprises a flat plate-like main cover configured to cover the surface of the electronic device, the surface including the display section formed therein, holding parts provided on both side surfaces of the main cover, and configured to hold the electronic device between the holding parts and the main cover; and an upper cover, and a lower cover provided on both end faces of the main cover. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an attaching process of attaching a cover member according to a first embodiment of the present invention to an electronic device. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing the attaching process. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing a state where the cover member is attached to the electronic device. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a modification example of the cover member. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is an explanatory view showing an essential part of the cover member. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing another modification example of the cover member. 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing an attaching process of attaching a cover member according to a second embodiment of the present invention to an electronic device. 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing the attaching process. 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view showing an attaching process of attaching a cover member according to a third embodiment of the present invention to an electronic device. 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view showing the electronic device to which the cover member is attached. 
           [0019]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view showing a state where a lower cover is removed. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0020]    Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an attaching process of attaching a cover member  10  according to a first embodiment of the present invention to an electronic device W,  FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing the attaching process, and  FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing a state where the cover member  10  is attached to the electronic device W. Note that W denotes the electronic device, Wa denotes a display surface on which a liquid crystal panel or the like is provided, Wb denotes a side surface, and Wc denotes an end face. 
         [0022]    The cover member  10  is wholly formed of a glass material, includes a main body part  20  to be attached to the electronic device W, upper cover  30 , and lower cover  40  which are to be attached to an upper end, and lower end of the main body part  20 , respectively, and the main body part  20 , upper cover  30 , and lower cover  40  are integrated by means of an adhesive (see  FIG. 3 ). 
         [0023]    The main body part  20  includes a main cover  21  opposed to the display surface Wa, a pair of side covers  22  formed integral with the main cover  21 , and opposed to the side surfaces Wb, and turned-up parts  23  each of which is folded back from the side cover  22  toward the backside of the display surface Wa. It should be noted that a holding part is formed between the side cover  22  and turned-up part  23 . 
         [0024]    The cover member  10  configured in this manner is attached to the electronic device W in the following manner. First, the upper cover  30  is attached to the electronic device W. Next, the cover member  10  is fitted on the electronic device W in such a manner that the electronic device W is held between the main cover  21  and turned-up parts  23  of the cover member  10 . 
         [0025]    Next, an adhesive is applied to a contact part of the main cover  21 , the contact part being brought into contact with the upper cover  30 , thereby bonding the main cover  21  and upper cover  30  together. Next, the lower cover  40  is positioned on the end face Wc, and an adhesive is applied to a contact part of the main cover  21 , the contact part being brought into contact with the lower cover  40 , thereby bonding the main cover  21  and lower cover  40  together. Thereby, the cover member  10  is attached to the electronic device W. 
         [0026]    As described above, according to the cover member  10  associated with this embodiment, the cover member  10  has no complicated structure, and there are only two bonding positions required when the cover member  10  is assembled, and thus the cover member  10  can be manufactured at low cost, and the ease of assembly is improved. 
         [0027]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a cover member  10 A according to a modification example of the aforementioned cover member  10 , and  FIG. 5  is an explanatory view showing an essential part of the cover member  10 A. It should be noted that the same functional parts as  FIGS. 1 to 3  are denoted by the same reference symbols as those in  FIGS. 1 to 3 , and their detailed descriptions are omitted. 
         [0028]    The cover member  10 A is wholly formed of a glass material, includes a main body part  50  to be attached to the electronic device W, and upper cover  30 , and lower cover  40  which are to be attached to an upper end, and lower end of the main body part  50 , respectively, and the main body part  50 , upper cover  30 , and lower cover  40  are integrated by means of an adhesive. 
         [0029]    The main body part  50  includes a main cover  51  opposed to the display surface Wa, and a pair of side covers (holding parts)  52  formed integral with the main cover  51 , and opposed to the side surfaces Wb. 
         [0030]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , the side cover  52  is formed into an arc-like shape in cross section, and is formed within a range of 90° to 180° when the position of the main cover  51  is used as a criterion. 
         [0031]    The cover member  10 A configured in this manner is attached to the electronic device W in the following manner. First, the upper cover  30  is attached to the electronic device W. Next, the cover member  10 A is fitted on the electronic device W in such a manner that the electronic device W is held between the inner side parts of the arc-like parts of the side covers  52 . 
         [0032]    Next, an adhesive is applied to a contact part of the main cover  51 , the contact part being brought into contact with the upper cover  30 , thereby bonding the main cover  51  and upper cover  30  together. Next, the lower cover  40  is positioned on the end face Wc, and an adhesive is applied to a contact part of the main cover  51 , the contact part being brought into contact with the lower cover  40 , thereby bonding the main cover  51  and lower cover  40  together. Thereby, the cover member  10 A is attached to the electronic device W. 
         [0033]    In this modification example as well, the same advantage as the aforementioned cover member  10  can be obtained. 
         [0034]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing a cover member  10 B according to a modification example of the aforementioned cover member  10 . It should be noted that the same functional parts as  FIGS. 1 to 3  are denoted by the same reference symbols as those in  FIGS. 1 to 3 , and their detailed descriptions are omitted. 
         [0035]    The cover member  10 B is wholly formed of a glass material, includes a main body part  60  to be attached to the electronic device W, and upper cover  30 , and lower cover  40  which are to be attached to an upper end, and lower end of the main body part  60 , respectively, and the main body part  60 , upper cover  30 , and lower cover  40  are integrated by means of an adhesive. 
         [0036]    The main body part  60  includes a main cover  61  opposed to the display surface Wa, and turned-up parts (holding parts)  62  each of which is formed integral with the main cover  61 , and is folded back toward the side surface Wb side. The turned-up part  62  is formed within a range of 270° to 315° from the outside when the position of the main cover  61  is used as a criterion. 
         [0037]    The cover member  10 B configured in this manner is attached to the electronic device W in the following manner. First, the upper cover  30  is attached to the electronic device W. Next, the cover member  10 B is fitted on the electronic device W in such a manner that the electronic device W is held between the inner side parts of the turned-up parts. 
         [0038]    Next, an adhesive is applied to a contact part of the main cover  61 , the contact part being brought into contact with the upper cover  30 , thereby bonding the main cover  61  and upper cover  30  together. Next, the lower cover  40  is positioned on the end face Wc, and an adhesive is applied to a contact part of the main cover  61 , the contact part being brought into contact with the lower cover  40 , thereby bonding the main cover  61  and lower cover  40  together. Thereby, the cover member  10 B is attached to the electronic device W. 
         [0039]    In this modification example as well, the same advantage as the aforementioned cover member  10  can be obtained. 
         [0040]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing an attaching process of attaching a cover member  10 C according to a second embodiment of the present invention to an electronic device W, and  FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing the attaching process. 
         [0041]    The cover member  10 C is wholly formed of a glass material, includes a main body part  20  to be attached to the electronic device W, upper cover  30 A, and lower cover  40  which are to be attached to an upper end, and lower end of the main body part  20 , respectively, and the main body part  20 , upper cover  30 A, and lower cover  40  are integrated by means of an adhesive (see  FIG. 3 ). 
         [0042]    The main body part  20  includes a main cover  21  opposed to the display surface Wa, a pair of side covers  22  formed integral with the main cover  21 , and opposed to the side surfaces Wb, and turned-up parts  23  each of which is folded back from the side cover  22  toward the backside of the display surface Wa. It should be noted that a holding part is formed between the side cover  22  and turned-up part  23 . 
         [0043]    The cover member  10 C configured in this manner is attached to the electronic device W in the following manner. The cover member  10 C is fitted on the electronic device W in such a manner that the electronic device W is held between the main cover  21  and turned-up parts  23  of the cover member  10 C. 
         [0044]    Next, the upper cover  30 A is positioned on one end face Wc, and an adhesive is applied-to a contact part of the main cover  21 , the contact part being brought into contact with the upper cover  30 A, thereby bonding the main cover  21  and upper cover  30 A together. Next, the lower cover  40  is positioned on the other end face Wc, and an adhesive is applied to a contact part of the main cover  21 , the contact part being brought into contact with the lower cover  40 , thereby bonding the main cover  21  and lower cover  40  together. Thereby, the cover member  10 C is attached to the electronic device W. 
         [0045]    As described above, in the cover member  10 C according to this embodiment as well, the same advantage as the aforementioned cover member  10  can be obtained. 
         [0046]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view showing an attaching process of attaching a cover member  10 D according to a third embodiment of the present invention to an electronic device W,  FIG. 10  is a perspective view showing the electronic device W to which the cover member  10 D is attached, and  FIG. 11  is a perspective view showing a state where a lower cover  72  is removed. 
         [0047]    The cover member  10 D is wholly formed of a glass material; includes a main body part  70  to be attached to the electronic device W, upper cover  71 , and lower cover  72  which are to be attached to an upper end, and lower end of the main body part  70 , respectively, and the main body part  70 , upper cover  71 , and lower cover  72  are integrated by means of an adhesive. Mesh holes  71   a  used for a speaker provided in the electronic device W are provided in the upper cover  71 . Further, mesh holes  72   a  used for a microphone Wm (see  FIG. 11 ) provided in the electronic device W are provided in the lower cover  72 . 
         [0048]    The main body part  70  includes a main cover  70   a  opposed to the display surface Wa, and a pair of side covers  70   b  formed integral with the main cover  70   a,  and opposed to the side surfaces Wb. 
         [0049]    The cover member  10 D configured in this manner is attached to the electronic device W in the following manner. That is, the upper cover  71  is positioned on one end face Wc, and an adhesive is applied to a contact part of the main cover  70   a,  the contact part being brought into contact with the upper cover  71 , thereby bonding the main cover  70   a  and upper cover  71  together. Next, the lower cover  72  is positioned on the other end face Wc, and an adhesive is applied to a contact part of the main cover  70   a,  the contact part being brought into contact with the lower cover  72 , thereby bonding the main cover  70   a  and lower cover  72  together. Thereby, the cover member  10 D is attached to the electronic device W. 
         [0050]    As described above, in the cover member  10 D according to this embodiment as well, the same advantage as the aforementioned cover member  10  can be obtained. 
         [0051]    It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned embodiments. For example, although in the aforementioned examples, glass is used as the material for the cover member, tempered glass or plastic may also be used. Further, regarding the coupling between the main body part, and upper cover/lower cover, screws or the like may also be used in addition to an adhesive. Furthermore, a hole or holes to be used for a speaker, microphone, camera, and various types of switches may appropriately be provided in the main cover, upper cover, and lower cover of the cover member. The hole part may be in an opened state or may be covered with a mesh. Furthermore, part of the members (a lower cover or the like) may previously be formed integral with the electronic device. Of course the present invention can be variously modified and implemented within the scope of the present invention without deviating from the gist of the present invention.