Patent Description:
Various types of housings for housing electronic devices including sensors and wireless devices are used depending on application. For example, there is known the housing of a telephone, which is composed of an upper case and a lower case, wherein a waterproof structure is formed by forming a mating groove around the entire circumference of an opening end surface of one of the cases, a gasket is mated in this mating groove, and both cases are mated so that the respective opening end surfaces thereof are aligned.

There is known a case having a configuration in which a top cover, on which there is formed an arm portion having a hook, is mounted onto a body case having an engagement portion which engages with the hook, to lock the top cover to the body case. There is known a case for housing a transmitting/receiving device, which is composed of an upper half case and a lower half case, and which is configured such that a button battery, which is housed in a corner portion of the lower half case, is held between the lower case and a terminal member secured to a circuit board by an elastic biasing force of the terminal member.

<CIT> discloses relates an apparatus and/or system for housing a device. The apparatus includes a housing that is configured such that a device may be fitted within the housing and thereby be protected, such as from shocks and/or liquid. The housing may include top and bottom members that may be removably coupled together so as to form the housing. Each top and bottom member optionally includes front and back surfaces surrounded by a perimeter. The perimeter is defined by proximal and distal ends as well as opposing sides. The top and bottom members may include respective clasping mechanisms that extend along the perimeter of the top and bottom members. The clasping mechanisms are configured for coupling the top and bottom members with one another thereby sealing the housing, for instance, in a shockproof and/or water tight seal.

<CIT> discloses a protective case for an electronic device that includes a main housing and a lid. The main housing and lid are removably joined to define an air and water tight volume receiving an electronic device. Air trapped within the protective case transfers acoustic energy from a sound source within the case to at least one membrane wherein the membrane vibrates in response to an air pressure differential transmitting sound to an exterior of the case.

When designing a housing comprising an upper case and a lower case as described above so as to have a waterproof structure, it is common to provide a rubber gasket between the upper case and the lower case. At this time, it becomes necessary to precisely control how much pressure should be applied between the upper case and the lower case. For example, when adopting a structure in which an upper case and a lower case are screwed together, a special tool is required to manage the screwing torque. When adopting a structure in which an upper case is press-fitted into a lower case, there is a risk that the waterproof function will not be stably maintained as a result of a difference in the amount of press-fitting. Furthermore, an affixation method by press-fitting and rotating may not yield a stable waterproof function, depending on the amount of rotation. Thus, it is necessary to appropriately control the amount of press-fitting and the amount of rotation, and if there are individual differences among users, a waterproof function may not be achieved. In an embodiment, there is provided an electronic device housing in which a housing having an upper case and a lower case can easily be assembled such that a waterproof function is completely achieved.

One aspect of the present disclosure provides a housing for housing an electronic device, the housing comprising an upper case and a lower case which are formed so as to mate with each other, a gasket arranged between the upper case and the lower case, an elastically deformable cantilever, having a hook, which is formed on one of the upper case and the lower case, and an engagement portion formed on the other of the upper case and the lower case, wherein when an operation to mate the upper case and the lower case is performed, before the cantilever is completely engaged with the engagement portion, a gap between the upper case and the lower case is sealed by the gasket, wherein the upper case and the lower case each have a peripheral wall, and the gasket is arranged between the peripheral walls of the upper case and the lower case, and wherein the cantilever is formed so as to protrude from a distal end of the peripheral wall of the upper case.

Hereinafter, a description will be given of the embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

Next, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the attached drawings. In the referenced drawings, identical constituent portions or functional portions have been assigned the same reference sign. In order to facilitate understanding, the scales of the drawings have been appropriately changed. Furthermore, the illustrated aspects are merely one example for carrying out the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the illustrated aspects.

A housing <NUM> of an electronic product according to an embodiment will be described below. The housing <NUM> houses an electronic device <NUM> (for example, a wireless device comprising a sensor) in the interior space thereof (refer to <FIG>). The housing <NUM> in which the electronic device <NUM> is housed can be used as an electronic product for various purposes. <FIG> is a perspective view of the housing <NUM> as viewed from above, and <FIG> is a perspective view of the housing <NUM> as viewed from below. As shown in <FIG>, the housing <NUM> has an upper case <NUM> and a lower case <NUM>. Each of the upper case <NUM> and the lower case <NUM> is, for example, a resin molded product. <FIG> is an exploded perspective view of the housing <NUM> as viewed from above. As shown in <FIG>, the upper case <NUM> can be assembled and combined with the lower case <NUM> from above. The housing <NUM> also has a waterproof function. As shown in <FIG>, the interior space 1a of the housing <NUM> is maintained in a watertight state when the upper case <NUM> is combined with the lower case <NUM>. For convenience of explanation, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the side where the lower case <NUM> is arranged is defined as the lower side, and the side where the upper case <NUM> is arranged is defined as the upper side.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the housing <NUM> has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above and has a thin shape. An electronic device such as a wireless device driven by a button battery can suitably be mounted in the interior space 1a of the housing <NUM>.

<FIG> shows a perspective view of the lower case <NUM> as viewed from above. <FIG> shows the structure of an inner bottom surface 3a of the lower case <NUM>. <FIG> shows a perspective view of the lower case <NUM> as viewed from below (i.e., a perspective view of the lower surface of the lower case <NUM>). <FIG>, <FIG> show a top view, a front view as viewed from the direction of arrow A1, a side view as viewed from the direction of arrow A2, and a bottom view of the lower case <NUM>, respectively. The lower case <NUM> has a substantially rectangular outer shape when viewed from above. The lower case <NUM> has a bottom plate <NUM> having a substantially rectangular shape in top view, and has a lower peripheral wall <NUM> formed to be upright from the upper surface of the bottom plate <NUM> so as to define the interior space 1a of the housing <NUM> at a position more inside than the outer edge of the bottom plate <NUM>.

As shown in the front view of <FIG> and the side view of <FIG>, a groove 32c for mounting of a waterproof gasket (O-ring) P is formed in the outer peripheral surface of the lower peripheral wall <NUM> (refer to <FIG>).

<FIG> shows a perspective view of the upper case <NUM> as viewed from above. <FIG> shows a perspective view of the upper case <NUM> as viewed from below (i.e., a perspective view of the inner surface side of the upper case <NUM>). <FIG>, <FIG> show a top view, a front view as viewed from the direction of arrow A3, a side view as viewed from the direction of arrow A4, and a bottom view of the upper case <NUM>, respectively. The upper case <NUM> has an upper plate portion <NUM> and an upper peripheral wall <NUM> formed so as to extend downward from the outer edge of the upper plate portion <NUM> while slightly expanding in outer diameter.

As shown in <FIG>, inside the upper case <NUM>, the upper peripheral wall <NUM> has an inner peripheral surface <NUM> facing the interior space 1a. The upper peripheral wall <NUM> has a first peripheral wall portion 22a forming the inner peripheral surface <NUM> and a second peripheral wall portion 22b that forms the outer surface of the upper case <NUM> at the end of the upper case <NUM> on the inner side in <FIG>. In a state in which the upper case <NUM> is attached to the lower case <NUM>, the inner peripheral surface <NUM> of the upper peripheral wall <NUM> is formed at a position adjacent to the outer surface of the lower peripheral wall <NUM> of the lower case <NUM> (refer to, for example, <FIG>).

On the bottom side of the upper case <NUM> as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, downwardly-protruding elastically-deformable cantilevers <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> are formed near the center of each of the four sides defining the outer edge. These cantilevers <NUM> to <NUM> are formed in positions to engage with four engaging holes <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> (refer to <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>) formed in the four side portions defining the outer shape of the lower case <NUM>. Among these cantilevers <NUM> to <NUM>, the cantilevers <NUM> and <NUM> formed on two side portions facing each other in the front-rear direction have hooks 25a and 26a (refer to <FIG> and <FIG>) on the outer surfaces of their tip portions. By mating the upper case <NUM> to the lower case <NUM>, the hook 25a (26a) engages with the engaging hole <NUM> (<NUM>), forming a state in which the upper case <NUM> is locked to the lower case <NUM>. Specifically, the housing <NUM> employs a snap-fit structure as the structure for assembling the upper case <NUM> with the lower case <NUM>.

<FIG> are views detailing attachment of the upper case <NUM> to the lower case <NUM>. <FIG> shows the attachment of the upper case <NUM> to the lower case <NUM> by means of a side view, and <FIG> shows the attachment of the upper case <NUM> to the lower case <NUM> by means of a cross-sectional view. Note that the cross-sectional view of <FIG> corresponds to the cross-sectional view of arrow X1-X1 in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, the upper case <NUM> is attached to the lower case <NUM> by pressing from above. At this time, the hooks 25a, 26a of the cantilevers <NUM>, <NUM> engage with the engaging holes <NUM>, <NUM>, whereby the upper case <NUM> is locked to the lower case <NUM>.

<FIG> shows again the cross-sectional view of the state in which the upper case <NUM> is attached to the lower case <NUM> (the cross-sectional view in the arrow X1-X1 direction of <FIG>), and an enlarged cross-sectional view near the cantilever <NUM> and the engaging hole <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the engagement hole <NUM> is formed such that the size of the inlet portion thereof is small in the cross-sectional view of <FIG> and widens toward the far side. Due to this structure, when attaching the upper case <NUM> to the lower case <NUM> from above, first, the hook 25a of the cantilever <NUM> comes into contact with the projecting portion 31a defining the outer edge of the inlet opening of the engaging hole <NUM>, and the tip of the cantilever <NUM> is elastically deformed inward. By pushing the upper case <NUM> further into the lower case <NUM>, the hook 25a passes over the projecting portion 31a and engages with the engagement hole <NUM>. Through this series of operations, the user can perceive from a click feeling that the upper case <NUM> has completely combined with the lower case <NUM>. In a state in which the upper case <NUM> and the lower case <NUM> are assembled, as shown in <FIG>, the inner peripheral surface <NUM> of the upper peripheral wall <NUM> of the upper case <NUM> comes close to the outer surface of the lower peripheral wall <NUM> of the lower case <NUM>, and compresses the gasket with the outer surface of the lower peripheral wall <NUM>. As a result, the interior space 1a of the housing <NUM> is maintained in a watertight state.

<FIG> shows a cross-sectional view of the state in which the upper case <NUM> is assembled with the lower case <NUM> (a cross-sectional view in the arrow X2-X2 direction of <FIG>), and an enlarged cross-sectional view near the cantilever <NUM> and the engagement hole <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the cantilever <NUM> fits into the engagement hole <NUM> when attaching the upper case <NUM> to the lower case <NUM> from above. As shown in <FIG>, in a state in which the upper case <NUM> and the lower case <NUM> are combined, the outer peripheral surface of the cantilever <NUM> is in contact with the outer inner peripheral surface of the engagement hole <NUM>, and the inner surface of the upper peripheral wall <NUM> of the upper case <NUM> is in close proximity to the outer surface of the lower peripheral wall <NUM> of the lower case <NUM>, whereby the gasket P is compressed between it and the outer surface of the lower peripheral wall <NUM>. As a result, the gasket P is compressed across the entire area between the upper peripheral wall <NUM> and the lower peripheral wall <NUM>, achieving a waterproof function.

As described above, the interior space of the housing <NUM> is maintained in a watertight state when the upper case <NUM> is combined with the lower case <NUM>. As shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view of <FIG>, when the upper case <NUM> is attached to the lower case <NUM>, the tip of the inner peripheral surface <NUM> of the upper peripheral wall <NUM> of the upper case <NUM> is positioned below the lowermost part of the gasket P when the hook 25a of the cantilever <NUM> passes over the protrusion 31a on the lower case <NUM> side. Specifically, when the upper case <NUM> is assembled with the lower case <NUM>, the watertight state of the interior space 1a has already been achieved. In other words, when an operation to mate the upper case <NUM> and the lower case <NUM> is performed, before the cantilevers <NUM>, <NUM> (hooks 25a, 26a) are completely engaged with the engaging holes <NUM>, <NUM>, the gasket P is arranged in a position to seal the gap between the upper case <NUM> and the lower case <NUM>. Thus, when the user perceives that the upper case <NUM> is completely attached to the lower case <NUM> by a click feeling, the waterproof function has already been achieved. Such a configuration of the present embodiment makes it possible for the user to easily perceive that the housing <NUM> has been easily assembled in a state in which the waterproof function is completely achieved. Thus, it becomes unnecessary to separately prepare means for controlling how much pressure should be applied between the upper case <NUM> and the lower case <NUM>. Therefore, a situation in which the waterproof function is not achieved due to the difference in pressure can be prevented.

Note that in the configuration according to the present embodiment, the snap-fit structure and the waterproof function are realized in separate and independent locations. For this reason, for example, the configuration eliminates the need to strongly design the hooks for the waterproof function.

As shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view of <FIG>, the positions of the cantilevers <NUM>, <NUM> are determined so that they engage with the engagement holes <NUM>, <NUM> at positions recessed inward from the outermost surface defining the housing <NUM>. Specifically, the cantilevers <NUM>, <NUM> (hooks 25a, 26a) are hidden by the upper case <NUM>. Thus, it is possible to prevent the user from directly touching the hooks 25a, 26a with their fingers from above and from the sides of the housing <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, when the housing <NUM> is attached to an installation surface F on a flat plate, the upper case <NUM> cannot be removed by a simple operation. As a result, the upper case <NUM> is prevented from being easily detached by a simple operation, ensuring safety.

A notch 31c having a specific width is formed at a portion of a rim portion 31b of the lower case <NUM> where the engagement hole <NUM> is located (refer to <FIG>). As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, by sliding the tip of a flathead screwdriver <NUM> having a specific width into the notch 31c, the hook 25a is pushed inward, whereby the engagement state between the hook 25a and the engagement hole <NUM> can be released and the upper case <NUM> can be removed. Note that the width of the notch 31c may be set to a width such that only a specific flathead screwdriver can pass therethrough.

<FIG> shows an example of attachment (usage example) of the housing <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the housing <NUM> can also be used by affixing it to an affixation member <NUM> with screws <NUM>, <NUM> via screw holes 1c, 1d (refer to <FIG>) of the housing <NUM>. In this case, for example, the electronic device mounted inside the housing <NUM> may be an electronic device having a sensor that measures the environmental conditions where the housing <NUM> is installed and wirelessly communicates the measurement results.

The mounting structure of the electronic device <NUM> mounted in the interior space 1a of the housing <NUM> will be described below. <FIG> is a perspective view showing a state in which the electronic device <NUM> is incorporated in the lower case <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the electronic device <NUM> comprises a printed circuit board <NUM> on which components are mounted, and a button battery (hereinafter referred to simply as "battery") <NUM>.

<FIG> shows a cross-sectional view of the housing <NUM> in a state in which the electronic device <NUM> is mounted in the interior space thereof (this cross-sectional view corresponds to a cross-sectional view as viewed from the direction opposite to the arrow X1-X1 direction of <FIG>). <FIG> shows an enlarged view of the central portion of the cross-sectional view of <FIG>. As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, in the interior space 1a of the housing <NUM>, the printed circuit board <NUM> and the battery <NUM> are arranged in positions which are shifted relative to each other in the horizontal direction so that they do not overlap in the upward-downward directions (i.e., in the directions in which the upper case <NUM> mates with the lower case <NUM>).

<FIG> shows a state in which the battery <NUM> is removed from the state shown in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, the battery <NUM> is configured such that a bottom electrode of the battery <NUM> is electrically connected to the printed circuit board <NUM> by a first terminal member <NUM> and a side electrode of the battery <NUM> is electrically connected to the printed circuit board <NUM> by a second terminal member <NUM>.

The structure of the inner bottom surface 3a of the lower case <NUM> will be described with reference to <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, a total of six supporting protrusions <NUM> for supporting the printed circuit board <NUM>, two positioning pins <NUM>, <NUM> for positioning the printed circuit board <NUM>, and two pressing portions <NUM>, <NUM> which press the printed circuit board <NUM> from opposite directions are formed on the inner bottom surface 3a. Note that the positioning pins <NUM>, <NUM> and the pressing portions <NUM>, <NUM> are also shown in <FIG>.

A positioning pin <NUM> for positioning one end of the first terminal member <NUM>, and a recess <NUM>, which is formed so as to be recessed from the inner bottom surface, for accommodating the other end of the first terminal member <NUM> are also formed on the inner bottom surface 3a. A positioning pin <NUM> for positioning the other end of the first terminal member <NUM> is formed in the recess <NUM>. The positioning pin <NUM> is formed in a position so as to be accommodated in a notch <NUM> (refer to <FIG>) formed in the rim portion of the printed circuit board <NUM> in a state in which the printed circuit board <NUM> is attached to the inner bottom surface 3a. A support protrusion <NUM> for supporting the second terminal member <NUM> is further formed on the inner bottom surface 3a. Note that the positioning pins <NUM>, <NUM> are also shown in <FIG>.

<FIG> shows a plan view of the printed circuit board <NUM> alone. As shown in <FIG>, the printed circuit board <NUM> has a substantially rectangular shape, and among the four sides defining the outer shape of the substantially rectangular shape, the side <NUM> on which the battery <NUM> is mounted is formed in an arc-like shape along the outer shape of the battery <NUM>. A semi-circular notch <NUM> formed in the arc-shaped side <NUM> accommodates therein the positioning pin <NUM> for the first terminal member <NUM> in a state in which the printed circuit board <NUM> is mounted on the inner bottom surface 3a as described above. A rectangular notch <NUM> formed in the arc-shaped side <NUM> accommodates the support protrusion <NUM> for the second terminal member <NUM> in a state in which the printed circuit board <NUM> is mounted on the inner bottom surface 3a as described above. Two holes <NUM>, <NUM> through which the positioning pins <NUM>, <NUM> pass are further formed in the printed circuit board <NUM>. The printed circuit board <NUM> is horizontally positioned by the positioning pins <NUM>, <NUM> and the two pressing portions <NUM>, <NUM>.

Next, connection of the first terminal member <NUM> and the second terminal member <NUM> to the printed circuit board <NUM> will be described with reference to <FIG>. <FIG> show plan views of the first terminal member <NUM> and the second terminal member <NUM>, respectively.

For convenience of explanation, the end of a base <NUM> of the first terminal member <NUM> on which contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> are provided is defined as the proximal end, and the end on which a protrusion <NUM> is provided is defined as the distal end, and the central portion between the ends will be referred to as the central portion (refer to <FIG>). As shown in detail in <FIG> and <FIG>, the first terminal member <NUM> comprises a rectangular frame-shaped base <NUM> and a leaf spring portion <NUM> formed so as to extend from the proximal end side of the base <NUM> to the central portion space of the base <NUM>. Two arm-like contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> connected to the printed circuit board <NUM> are provided on the proximal end side of the base <NUM>. A substantially circular notch <NUM> is formed at the base portion between the two contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> to engage the positioning pin <NUM>. The protrusion <NUM> arranged in the recess <NUM> is formed on the distal end side of the base <NUM>, and a substantially circular notch 213a which engages with the positioning pin <NUM> in the recess <NUM> is formed on the distal end side of the protrusion <NUM>.

As shown in detail in <FIG> and <FIG>, the second terminal member <NUM> has a curved base <NUM> supported by the support protrusion <NUM>, and two contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> formed so as to extend from one end of the base <NUM>. The second terminal member <NUM> can be stably arranged on the inner bottom surface 3a by placing the base <NUM> on the support protrusion <NUM>.

<FIG> shows a view of the mounting state shown in <FIG> as viewed from below. As shown in <FIG>, a pad <NUM> for contacting the contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> of the first terminal member <NUM> and a pad <NUM> for contacting the contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> of the second terminal member <NUM> are provided on the bottom side of the printed circuit board <NUM>. The pad <NUM> is arranged in a position contacting the contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> when the first terminal member <NUM> is arranged at a predetermined position on the inner bottom surface 3a and the printed circuit board <NUM> is mounted at a predetermined position on the inner bottom surface 3a from above. The pad <NUM> is arranged at a position contacting the contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> when the second terminal member <NUM> is arranged at a predetermined position on the inner bottom surface 3a and the printed circuit board <NUM> is mounted at a predetermined position on the inner bottom surface 3a from above.

When the electronic device <NUM> is assembled on the inner bottom surface 3a, the first terminal member <NUM> is arranged on the bottom surface so that the protrusion <NUM> is positioned in the recess <NUM>, the notch 213a is engaged with the positioning pin <NUM>, and the notch <NUM> on the proximal end side is engaged with the positioning pin <NUM> on the bottom surface. Next, the second terminal member <NUM> is placed on the inner bottom surface 3a so that the base <NUM> hangs on the support protrusion <NUM>. The printed circuit board <NUM> is then placed on the inner bottom surface 3a from above (refer to <FIG>).

As a result, the printed circuit board <NUM>, the first terminal member <NUM>, and the second terminal member <NUM> are assembled on the inner bottom surface as shown in <FIG>. In the attachment state as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> of the first terminal member <NUM> contact the pad <NUM> on the bottom side of the printed circuit board <NUM>, and the contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> of the second terminal member <NUM> contact the pad <NUM> on the bottom side of the printed circuit board <NUM> (refer to <FIG>). From this state, the battery <NUM> is arranged so as to be fitted from above into an arrangement space 3d defined by the arc-shaped side <NUM> of the printed circuit board <NUM> and the arc-shaped inner peripheral surface portion of the lower peripheral wall <NUM> (refer to <FIG> and <FIG>). From this state, the upper case <NUM> is further attached to the lower case <NUM> and affixed. In this state, the battery <NUM> is held downward by the inner surface 21a of the upper plate portion <NUM> of the upper case <NUM>, and the printed circuit board <NUM> is also pressed downward by the inner surface 21a of the upper plate portion <NUM> (pressing projection <NUM> formed on the inner surface 21a, etc.). In this state, the contact between the contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> of the first terminal member <NUM> and the pad <NUM>, the contact between the leaf spring portion <NUM> of the first terminal member <NUM> and the bottom electrode of the battery <NUM>, the contact between the contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> of the second terminal member <NUM> and the pad <NUM>, and the contact between the base <NUM> of the second terminal member <NUM> and the side electrode of the battery <NUM> are maintained in a stable state (refer to <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>).

As described above, in the present embodiment, the printed circuit board <NUM> and the battery <NUM> are separated in the interior space 1a of the housing <NUM>, and the first terminal member <NUM> and the second terminal member <NUM> are electrically connected to the printed circuit board <NUM> in a contact manner. Solder attachment is not required in this configuration. As a result, as can be understood from <FIG> and <FIG>, the vertical size of the interior space 1a of the housing <NUM> can be reduced to a value equal (or substantially equal) to the sum of the thickness of the battery <NUM> and the plate thickness of the first terminal member <NUM>. Specifically, the thickness of the housing <NUM> is reduced to the thickness of the upper plate portion <NUM> of the upper case <NUM>, the thickness of the battery <NUM>, the plate thickness of the first terminal member <NUM>, and the thickness of the bottom plate of the lower case <NUM>.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the connection between the first terminal member <NUM> and the second terminal member <NUM> and the printed circuit board <NUM> has a spring contact structure which does not require soldering. As a result, electrical connection of the first terminal member <NUM> and the second terminal member <NUM> with the printed circuit board <NUM> can be achieved even if production by solder reflow is not possible.

In the present embodiment, the electrical connection of the first terminal member <NUM> and the second terminal member <NUM> with the printed circuit board <NUM> is of a contact type. Thus, it is preferable to use a configuration which prevents instantaneous disconnection of the electrical connection between the first terminal member <NUM> and the pad <NUM> and between the second terminal member <NUM> and the pad <NUM>.

First, each of the first terminal member <NUM> and the second terminal member <NUM> is configured for multi-point connection with the printed circuit board <NUM>. Specifically, as shown in <FIG>, the first terminal member <NUM> is configured to connect with the pad <NUM> by the two curved arm-shaped contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM>. The second terminal member <NUM> is configured to connect with the pad <NUM> by the two curved arm-shaped contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM>. As a result, the occurrence of momentary interruptions can be reduced as compared to a configuration in which a single contact is used for connection. As an example, a configuration example in which the number of connection contacts between the terminal and the pad is two is shown, but a larger number of connection contacts may be used.

Second, as shown in <FIG>, for the first terminal member <NUM>, by setting the widths d1, d2 of the two contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> to different sizes, the mechanical resonance frequencies of the two contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> are differentiated. As a result, the two contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> vibrate at different vibration frequencies, thereby preventing both of the two contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> from separating from the pad at the same time. As shown in <FIG>, for the second terminal member <NUM> as well, by likewise setting the widths d3, d4 of the two contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> to different sizes, the mechanical resonance frequencies of the two contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> become different. As a result, the two contact spring portions <NUM>, <NUM> vibrate at different vibration frequencies, thereby preventing both of the two contact spring portions <NUM>. <NUM> from separating from the pad at the same time.

Though an example of setting different mechanical resonance frequencies by making the widths of the two contact spring portions different has been described, other configurations for making the mechanical resonance frequencies different (for example, making the contact spring portions different in length) may be adopted.

For example, though a configuration example in which the gasket P is arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the lower peripheral wall <NUM> is described in the above embodiment, the gasket P can also be arranged at other positions for sealing the gap between the upper case <NUM> and the lower case <NUM>.

Though a configuration example in which a cantilever with a hook is provided in the upper case, and an engagement hole for engaging the hook is provided in the lower case is described in the above embodiment, a configuration in which a cantilever having a hook is provided in the lower case and an engagement hole for engaging the hook is provided in the upper case may also be adopted.

Claim 1:
A housing (<NUM>) for housing an electronic device (<NUM>), the housing (<NUM>) comprising:
a first case (<NUM>) and a second case (<NUM>) which are formed so as to mate with each other,
a gasket (P) arranged between the first case (<NUM>) and the second case (<NUM>),
an elastically deformable cantilever (<NUM>, <NUM>) which is formed on one of the first case (<NUM>) and the second case (<NUM>) and which has a hook (25a, 26a), and
an engagement portion (<NUM>, <NUM>) formed on the other of the first case (<NUM>) and the second case (<NUM>),
wherein when an operation to mate the first case (<NUM>) and the second case (<NUM>) is performed, before the cantilever (<NUM>, <NUM>) is completely engaged with the engagement portion (<NUM>, <NUM>), a gap between the first case (<NUM>) and the second case (<NUM>) is sealed by the gasket (P),
wherein the first case (<NUM>) and the second case (<NUM>) each have a peripheral wall (<NUM>, <NUM>), and
the gasket (P) is arranged between the peripheral walls (<NUM>, <NUM>) of the first case (<NUM>) and the second case (<NUM>),
wherein the cantilever (<NUM>, <NUM>) is formed so as to protrude from a distal end of the peripheral wall (<NUM>) of the first case (<NUM>).