Abstract:
A positioning structure is applied to an electrode device, which includes a movable component and an elastic element. The movable component is moved towards the joining direction for the circuit board and a case to press the elastic element, so as to deform the elastic element. A stopper is against the circuit board to fix the circuit board. Once the being against stopper is released from the circuit board, the elastic element pushes the circuit board along a releasing direction, and thereby the circuit board being conveniently disassembled.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a positioning structure. More particularly, the present invention relates to a positioning structure of a circuit board. 
         [0003]    2. Related Art 
         [0004]    Recently, as the vigorous development of science and technology and information, computer equipment has become a quite popularized electronic device. As for the computer equipments available on the current market, no matter desktop computers, notebooks or servers, a motherboard must be installed therein to serve as a core member for the computer system, such that the central processing unit (CPU), memory module, peripheral controller interface (PCI) card, and other computer peripheral hardware electrically connected onto the motherboard are capable of successively executing preset functions. 
         [0005]    As for the common manner of fixing the motherboard, a plurality of conductive copper bosses is disposed on a case of computer device to serve as fixing components, and a plurality of through holes corresponding to the copper bosses is opened on the motherboard. The motherboard is placed on the copper bosses, and keeps a suitable distance from the case. Then, a plurality of bolts is used to pass through the through holes of the motherboard and then screwed on the copper bosses, such that the motherboard generates a suspension effect through using the copper bosses, so as to prevent the weld leg contacts on the back side of the motherboard from directly contacting the case to result in short circuit. 
         [0006]    In the conventional manner of screwing and fixing the motherboard through using the copper bosses, during the process of assembling and disassembling the motherboard, the user must repeatedly screw and unscrew the bolts one by one, so it is quite time consuming and complex, which is quite inconvenient in the practical operations. The current electronic devices are required to be light, thin, short, and small, too many copper bosses may occupy too much area on the motherboard, as a result, the circuit layout on the motherboard may become complicated, and the overall electronic device cannot be miniaturized. 
         [0007]    Therefore, currently, a thumb screw capable of being turned directly with fingers has been proposed to serve as a positioning component for fixing the motherboard, thereby greatly reducing the number of copper bosses used and thus solving problems generated when screwing and fixing the motherboard through using the copper bosses. Referring to  FIG. 1 , it is a schematic three-dimensional exploded view of a thumb screw, a circuit board, and a case in the conventional art. A case  10  has a plurality of positioning columns  11  and a screw hole  61 , and a neck portion  12  is opened at an upper portion of each positioning column  11 . A plurality of positioning holes  21  corresponding to the positioning columns  11  is opened on a circuit board  20 . Each positioning hole  21  is cucurbit-shaped and has a wide section  22  and a narrow section  23 , and the front end of the positioning column  11  passes through the positioning hole  21  via the wide section  22 . In this way, the circuit board  20  can slide on the case  10  through the positioning columns  11 , such that the narrow section  23  of the positioning hole  21  is made to be embedded in the neck portion  12  of the positioning column  11 . Then, the circuit board  20  can be fixed on the case  10 , as long as the thumb screw  60  passes through the circuit board  20  and is screwed into the screw hole  61 . 
         [0008]    However, the above manner of fixing the motherboard through using the thumb screw still belongs to a screwing manner, the process of assembling and disassembling the motherboard is quite complex, which is not only time-consuming, but the cost of the thumb screws is also higher than the conventional bolts, and as a result, both the material cost and the manpower cost are increased. Therefore, recently, it is an urgent problem to be solved by technicians in the relevant field how to truly confirm the assembling positions of the motherboard when being fixed through a screwless manner, which enables the user to quickly and conveniently assemble and disassemble the motherboard. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    In view of the above problems, the present invention is directed to a positioning structure to solve the problems in the conventional art when the motherboard is assembled and disassembled through the screwing manner, such as the electronic device cannot be miniaturized, the assembling and disassembling processes are too complex and time consuming, and certain tools are required for unscrewing, the manufacturing cost is too high, and it is inconvenient for the users to operate. 
         [0010]    The positioning structure provided by the present invention is applied to an electronic device. The electronic device has a case and a circuit board, the circuit board has at least one joining hole, and the case has at least one joining post corresponding to the joining hole. The joining post is disposed on one side of the case. The circuit board moves towards a joining direction relative to the case and then the circuit board is fixed on the case when the joining hole and the joining post are joined together. Thus, the circuit board is positioned on the case by the positioning structure. 
         [0011]    The positioning structure includes a base, a movable component, an elastic element, and a stopper. The base is disposed on the case. The movable component is disposed on the base, and moves relative to the base. The movable component has a sliding block and a pillar, the sliding block slides on the base towards the joining direction, and one end of the pillar is aligned with and corresponds to a through hole of the circuit board. At least one elastic element is disposed between the sliding block and the base. The sliding block slides towards the joining direction, so as to make the elastic element be elastically deformed. The stopper is disposed on the case, for being against one side edge of the circuit board and restricting the movement of the circuit board. 
         [0012]    The efficacy of the present invention lies in that, the positioning structure utilizes the matching effect of the base, the movable component, and the elastic element to make the movable component move along the joining direction together with the circuit board and the case to make the elastic element be elastically deformed. The stopper is used to being against the circuit board, so as to enable the circuit board to be stably installed on the case. The stopper is released from the circuit board to make the circuit board automatically move towards a releasing direction under the elastic restoring force of the elastic element, so as to make the circuit board be disassembled from the case. In this way, the user does not need to fix the circuit board through using a plurality of sets of bolts, so as to truly integrate the circuit board on the case through a screwless manner, such that the user can quickly assemble and disassemble the circuit board in a labor-saving way and the operating convenience is greatly improved. 
         [0013]    Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, which thus is not limitative of the present invention, and wherein: 
           [0015]      FIG. 1  is a three-dimensional exploded view of a thumb screw, a circuit board, and a case in the conventional art; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a schematic three-dimensional exploded view of a first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2A  is a schematic three-dimensional exploded view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a schematic three-dimensional exploded view of a positioning structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3A  is a partial cross-sectional enlarged side view of  FIG. 3 ; and 
           [0020]      FIGS. 4 to 6  are schematic three-dimensional exploded views of the circuit board installed on the case according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0021]    The positioning structure provided by the present invention is applied to the electronic device. The electronic device includes, but not limited to, desktop computers, notebooks, servers, and other computer devices having circuit boards to perform operations. The accompanying drawings of the present invention are merely intended to provide references for demonstrations, but not to limit the present invention. 
         [0022]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , it is a schematic three-dimensional exploded view of a first embodiment of the present invention. The positioning structure of the present invention is applied on an electronic device  100 . The electronic device  100  has an case  101  and a circuit board  200 , at least one joining post  110  is disposed on the case  101 , and at least one joining hole  210  is opened on the circuit board  200 . A neck portion  112  is opened on the top end of the joining post  110 , and the joining hole  210  is a cucurbit-shaped structure formed by a wide section  212  and a narrow section  214  extending from the peripheral edge of the wide section  212 , so as to accommodate the neck portion  112  of the joining post  110 . With the joining post  110  passing through the wide section  212  of the joining hole  210 , the circuit board  200  moves towards a joining direction S 1  or a releasing direction S 2  relative to the case  101 , so as to make the circuit board  200  be positioned or released from the case  101 . 
         [0023]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the positioning structure of the present invention includes a base  302 , a movable component  304 , an elastic element  306 , and a stopper  308 . The base  302  is disposed on the case  101 , and the base  302  may be an L-shaped base  302  having one side plate  302   a,  and two guide rails  302   b  are further disposed on the base  302 . The movable component  304  is disposed on the base  302 , so as to make the movable component  304  move relative to the base  302 . The movable component  304  has a sliding block  304   a  and a pillar  304   b  disposed on the sliding block  304   a.  The sliding block  304   a  slides along an orbit of the two guide rails  302   b  on the base  302 , and the diameter of the pillar  304   b  is smaller than the aperture of the through hole  202  of the circuit board  200 , so as to make the pillar  304   b  pass through the through hole  202  of the circuit board  200 . The elastic element  306  is disposed between the sliding block  304   a  and the side plate  302   a  of the base  302 , and when the movable component  304  moves along the joining direction S 1  of the circuit board  200 , the sliding block  304   a  makes the elastic element  306  be elastically deformed. The stopper  308  is disposed on the case  101  for being against one side edge of the circuit board  200  and restricting the movement of the circuit board  200 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the stopper  308  may be a rotating stopper pivoted on the case  101 , so as to horizontally rotate with respect to the case  101 . A depressed portion  308   a  of the stopper  308  is snapped with a column body  101   a  of the case  101 , so as to fix the stopper  308  on the case  101 . 
         [0024]    The elastic element  306  may be a compression spring or an extension spring. In the first embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the elastic element  306  is a compression spring. At this time, the elastic element  306  is disposed on a path of the joining direction for the circuit board  200  and the case  101 . In other words, when the movable component  304  moves along the joining direction S 1  of the circuit board  200 , the sliding block  304   a  compresses the elastic element  306 , such that the elastic element  306  is elastically deformed. 
         [0025]    Alternatively, the L-shaped base  302  may be disposed to be horizontally rotated for 180° with respect to the L-shaped base  302  of  FIG. 2 , as shown in  FIG. 2A . At this time, the elastic element  306  is an extension spring. That is, the elastic element  306  is disposed on the path of the releasing direction S 2  for the circuit board  200  and the case  101 . Therefore, when the movable component  304  moves along the joining direction S 1 , the sliding block  304  makes the elastic element  306  be extended, such that the elastic element  306  is elastically deformed. 
         [0026]    In addition, the base  302  may also be a base  302  having two opposite side plates  302   a,  that is, the base  302  is U-shaped (not shown), or a hollow housing  303  (as the second embodiment described below), but the shape of the base  302  is not used to limit the present invention. When the base  302  is a U-shaped base  302  having two opposite side plates  302   a,  the movable component  304  moves between the two opposite side plates  302   a.  The compression spring and the extension spring are respectively disposed on two sides of the sliding block  304   a  and between two opposite side plates, in which the compression spring is disposed on the joining direction S 1  for the circuit board  200  and the case  101 , and the extension spring is disposed on the releasing direction S 2  for the circuit board  200  and the case  101 . 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , it is a schematic three-dimensional exploded view of a positioning structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 3A , it is a partial cross-sectional enlarged side view of  FIG. 3 . In this embodiment, the base  302  is, for example, the hollow housing  303 . The hollow housing  303  has a chamber  303   a  and an opening  303   b  on the upper surface, and the aperture of the opening  303   b  is greater than the diameter of the pillar  304   b  of the movable component  304 , such that the pillar  304   b  protrudes out of the opening  303   b.  The sliding block  304   a  of the movable component  304  is accommodated within the chamber  303   a  of the hollow housing  303 , and the pillar  304   b  disposed on the sliding block  304   a  protrudes out of the opening  303   b  of the hollow housing  303  and passes through a through hole  202  of the circuit board  200 . The elastic element  306  is disposed between the sliding block  304   a  and the hollow housing  303 , and particularly, it is disposed between the sliding block  304   a  and one side plate  303   a  of the hollow housing  303 . It can be known that, when the movable component  304  moves along the joining direction S 1 , the sliding block  304   a  makes the elastic element  306  be elastically deformed. 
         [0028]      FIGS. 4 to 6  are schematic three-dimensional exploded views of the circuit board installed on the case according to the second embodiment of the present invention. When the circuit board  200  is installed on the case  101 , the neck portion  112  of the joining post  110  on the case  101  may be accommodated within the wide section  212  of the joining hole  210 . At this time, the pillar  304   b  of the movable component  304  may be accommodated in the through hole  202  of the circuit board  200 . Then, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the circuit board  200  moves relative to the case  101  along a joining direction, so that the neck portion  112  of the joining post  110  is embedded in the narrow section  214  of the joining hole  210 , and they are joined together, thus the circuit board  200  is made to be fixed with the case  101 . At this time, the pillar  304   b  of the movable component  304  is accommodated in the through hole  202  of the circuit board  200 . When the circuit board  200  moves relative to the case  101  along the joining direction, the sliding block  304   a  makes the elastic element  306  be elastically deformed, so as to generate an elastic restoring force. Then, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the rotating stopper  308  is rotated to being against one side edge of the circuit board  200 . In this way, the circuit board  200  is fixed on the case  101 . 
         [0029]    If it intends to disassemble the circuit board  200  from the case  101 , the rotating stopper  308  is rotated in the releasing direction, such that the circuit board  200  is released from the rotating stopper  308 . At this time, the elastic restoring force of the elastic element  306  forces the sliding block  304   a  to move to the initial position, and drives the circuit board  200  to restore to the releasing state shown in  FIG. 4 . Particularly, once the stopper  308  is released from the circuit board  200 , the sliding block  304   a  is pushed to make a movement under the elastic restoring force of the elastic element  306 . At this time, the pillar  304   b  of the movable component  304  is accommodated in the through hole  202  of the circuit board  200 , so the movable component  304  drives the circuit board  200  to move towards the releasing direction S 2 , and the neck portion  112  of the joining post  110  is made to move into the wide section  212  of the joining hole  210 , so as to disassemble the circuit board  200 . In this way, the circuit board  200  can be disassembled from the case  101 . 
         [0030]    The positioning structure provided by the present invention utilizes the matching effect of the base  302 , the movable component  304 , and the elastic element  306  to make the movable component  304  move together with the circuit board  200  and the case  101  along the joining direction S 1  and to make the elastic element  306  be elastically deformed. At this time, the stopper  308  is used to being against the circuit board  200 , such that the circuit board is stably installed on the case  101 . Once the stopper  308  is released from the circuit board  200 , the circuit board  200  automatically moves along a releasing direction under the elastic restoring force of the elastic element  306 , such that the circuit board  200  is disassembled from the case  101 . In this manner, the user can fix the circuit board without using a plurality of sets of bolts, so as to truly integrate the circuit board on the case through a screwless manner. Thus, the user can quickly assemble and disassemble the circuit board in a labor-saving way and the operating convenience can be greatly improved. 
         [0031]    The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.