Patent Document

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-110861, filed on May 14, 2012, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to an attachment structure of an electronic device, particularly to an attachment structure of an electronic device attachable to and detachable from a support rail. 
         [0003]    Conventionally, as an attachment structure of an electronic device, for example, a plastic foot to be detachably latched onto two latching ribs of a support rail via an elastic leg portion and a support portion of an electronic device is disclosed (refer to EP0608482B1). 
         [0004]    However, with the above attachment structure of the electronic device, after an operation jig such as a screw driver is inserted toward an elastic leg portion 8 shown in the drawings of EP0608482B1, there is a need for bringing the operation jig down to the side of a support rail 2 and twisting the elastic leg portion 8. Therefore, there is a problem that the working man-hour required for detaching the electronic device is large and troublesome. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    An object of the present invention is to provide an attachment structure of an electronic device which reduces the working man-hour and the electronic device is easily detached. 
         [0006]    In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above problem, an attachment structure of an electronic device includes a latching claw portion provided on a lower surface of a base of the electronic device and a latching rib of a support rail, the latching rib for being latched by the latching claw portion during a latching state; and an operation receiving portion comprising an elastic arm deformable by a push-down operation of the operation receiving portion; wherein the latching claw portion and the operation receiving portion are provided in a leading end of the elastic arm portion extending from the base; and wherein the latching state is released by said pushing down operation. 
         [0007]    According to the present invention, the latching state of the latching claw portion can be cancelled only by the push-down operation, and the electronic device can be detached by one-touch operation. Thus, the simple attachment structure of the electronic device with which the working man-hour is small is obtained. 
         [0008]    In an embodiment of the present invention, among four corner portions of the base of the electronic device, at least in a corner portion on the one end side of the base, the elastic arm portion with the latching claw portion and the operation receiving portion for elastically deforming the elastic arm portion may be provided. 
         [0009]    According to this embodiment, there is no need for providing a pair of elastic arm portions. Thus, the attachment structure of the electronic device having a large support force is obtained. 
         [0010]    In an another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the latching claw portion and the operation receiving portion are disposed at an intermediate position of facing side surfaces of the base. 
         [0011]    According to this embodiment, the electronic device can be not only attached in parallel to the support rail but also attached in the orthogonal direction. Thus, the highly versatile attachment structure of the electronic device is obtained 
         [0012]    In still another embodiment of the present invention, the operation receiving portion may be provided so as to be pushed down via a guide groove, provided on an outside surface of the base. 
         [0013]    According to this embodiment, the operation receiving portion can be pushed down via the guide groove. Thus, the attachment structure of the electronic device with which a detachment operation is easily performed, is obtained. 
         [0014]    In an another embodiment of the present invention, the operation receiving portion may be exposed from an upper surface edge of the base and is visible. 
         [0015]    According to this embodiment, while viewing the operation receiving portion, the push-down operation can be performed. Thus, the attachment structure of the electronic device for giving a feeling of security to a worker is obtained. 
         [0016]    In still another embodiment of the present invention, the operation receiving portion may protrude sideways from an outside surface of the base and elastically deform the elastic arm portion by the push-down operation. 
         [0017]    According to this embodiment, the operation receiving portion can be pushed down by an operation jig such as a screw driver along the outside surface. Thus, there is an effect that a detachment task is easily performed and freedom of design is extended. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective view and  FIG. 1B  is a left side view showing a first embodiment of an electronic device according to the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  are left side views for illustrating a method for detaching the electronic device shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing a different method for attaching the electronic device shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  is a front view of the electronic device shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0022]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  are front views for illustrating the method for detaching the electronic device shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 6A  is a perspective view and  FIG. 6B  is a left side view showing a second embodiment of an electronic device according to the present invention; 
           [0024]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing a different method for attaching the electronic device shown in  FIGS. 6A and 6B ; 
           [0025]      FIG. 8  is a front view of the electronic device shown in  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0026]      FIG. 9A  is a perspective view and  FIG. 9B  is a left side view showing a third embodiment of an electronic device according to the present invention; 
           [0027]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view showing a different method for attaching the electronic device shown in  FIGS. 9A and 9B ; 
           [0028]      FIG. 11  is a front view of the electronic device shown in  FIG. 10 ; 
           [0029]      FIG. 12A  is a perspective view and  FIG. 12B  is a left side view showing a fourth embodiment of an electronic device according to the present invention; 
           [0030]      FIG. 13  is a perspective view showing a different method for attaching the electronic device shown in  FIGS. 12A and 12B ; and 
           [0031]      FIG. 14  is a front view of the electronic device shown in  FIG. 13 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0032]    An attachment structure of an electronic device according to the present invention will be described in accordance with the drawings of  FIGS. 1A to 14 . 
         [0033]    A first embodiment is a case of application to a connector terminal platform  20  attachable and detachable along or orthogonal to a DIN rail  10  as shown in  FIGS. 1A to 5B . 
         [0034]    In the DIN rail  10 , latching ribs  11 ,  12  respectively protrude sideways from opening edges of a U shape section, so that the connector terminal platform  20  as described later can be installed. 
         [0035]    The connector terminal platform  20  includes a base  21  formed by assembling terminal blocks  27  at both ends, a printed circuit board  40  assembled so as to cover an upper surface opening of the base  21 , side surface covers  41 , standing on the printed circuit board  40  so as to face each other with a predetermined gap, an upper surface cover  42  whose ends are placed on upper end corner parts of the side surface covers  41 , the upper surface cover being turnably assembled, and a plurality of terminal platform blocks  50  mounted on the printed circuit board  40  and adjacently arranged between the side surface covers  41 . 
         [0036]    The base  21  has contact portions  22  abuttable with the latching ribs  11 ,  12  of the DIN rail  10  in outside surface center parts thereof facing each other, and guide grooves  30  are provided on both sides of the contact portions  22 . In the base  21 , a pair of elastic arm portions  31  extends toward the contact portions  22  from a lower surface edge thereof. In a leading end portion of the elastic arm portion  31 , an operation receiving portion  31   a  operable via the guide groove  30  and a latching claw portion  32  capable of being latched onto the latching ribs  11 ,  12  of the DIN rail  10  are provided. 
         [0037]    In the terminal blocks  27 , as shown in  FIG. 1B , the pair of guide grooves  30  are provided on side end surfaces thereof, and the pair of elastic arm portions  31  respectively extends toward a center from a lower surface edge thereof. In the leading end portion of the elastic arm portion  31 , the operation receiving portion  31   a  operable via the guide groove  30  and the latching claw portion  32  capable of being latched on the latching ribs  11 ,  12  of the DIN rail  10  are provided. 
         [0038]    In the case where the connector terminal platform  20  is attached along the DIN rail  10 , the base  21  is positioned in parallel to the DIN rail  10 , and by pushing the operation receiving portion  31  a from upper side, i.e., from the electronic device side to the rail side, the elastic arm portions  31  provided in the terminal blocks  27  are elastically deformed. After the latching claw portions  32 ,  32  respectively get over the latching ribs  11 ,  12  of the DIN rail  10 , the elastic arm portions  31  are elastically returned to the original shape, and the latching claw portions  32 ,  32  are respectively latched onto the latching ribs  11 ,  12 . 
         [0039]    Therefore, the connector terminal platform  20  is supported on the DIN rail  10  by the four elastic arm portions  31 . Since the contact portions  22  of the base  21  is abuttable with the latching ribs  11 ,  12  of the DIN rail  10  from the side, drop-off can be more reliably prevented. 
         [0040]    In the case where the connector terminal platform  20  attached along the DIN rail  10  is detached, as shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , a leading end of a screw driver  60  is inserted into the guide groove  30  provided in the terminal block  27  ( FIG. 2A ) and the operation receiving portion  31   a  of the elastic arm portion  31  is pressed. Therefore, the elastic arm portion  31  is elastically outward deformed and the latching claw portion  32  is removed from the latching rib  11  of the DIN rail  10  ( FIG. 2B ), so that the connector terminal platform  20  can be detached from the DIN rail  10 . 
         [0041]    Further, as another use of the above described first embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 3 to 5B , there is a method for attaching the connector terminal platform  20  orthogonally to the DIN rail  10 . That is, the contact portions  22  of the base  21  are positioned orthogonally to a sectional center of the DIN rail  10  and pushed in from the upper side. Thereby, the elastic arm portions  31  are elastically deformed. After the latching claw portions  32  get over the latching ribs  11 ,  12  of the DIN rail  10 , the elastic arm portions  31  are elastically returned to the original shape. Therefore, the latching claw portions  32  are latched onto the latching ribs  11 ,  12  ( FIG. 4 ). 
         [0042]    In the case where the connector terminal platform  20  is detached from the DIN rail  10 , as shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , the screw driver  60  is inserted into the guide groove  30  ( FIG. 5A ), the operation receiving portion  31   a  extending from the elastic arm portion  31  is pressed, and the elastic arm portion  31  is elastically outward deformed. Thereby, the latching claw portions  32  are removed from the latching ribs  11 ,  12  of the DIN rail  10  ( FIG. 5B ), so that the connector terminal platform  20  can be detached from the DIN rail  10 . 
         [0043]    A second embodiment is substantially the same as the above first embodiment as shown in  FIGS. 6A to 8 . A different point is that a connector terminal platform  20  is detachably attached to the DIN rail  10  by one elastic arm portion  31  and one latching projection portion  33  in place of the pair of elastic arm portions  31 . By pressing the operation receiving portion  31   a  by the screw driver (not shown) via the guide groove  30  and deforming the elastic arm portion  31 , the latching claw portion  32  can be removed from the latching rib  11  of the DIN rail  10 . 
         [0044]    Further, as described in the above first embodiment, the connector terminal platform  20  can be attached in parallel ( FIGS. 6A and 6B ) or orthogonal ( FIGS. 7 and 8 ) to the DIN rail  10 . 
         [0045]    The other portions are the same as described in the above first embodiment. Thus, same parts will be given the same reference numerals and description thereof and is omitted. 
         [0046]    According to the present embodiment, rigidity of the latching projection portion  33  is large. Thus, there is an advantage that a support force is large. 
         [0047]    A connector terminal platform  20  according to third embodiment is substantially the same as the above first embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 9A to 11 . A different point is that an operation receiving portion  34  having a different shape is integrally formed in an intermediate portion of the elastic arm portion  31 . The operation receiving portion  34  has a substantially trapezoidal shape, and an upper end surface thereof is exposed from a cutout portion  30   a.  Therefore, by pushing down the upper end surfaces of the operation receiving portions  34 , the elastic arm portions  31  are elastically deformed, so that the latching claw portions  32  can be detached from the latching ribs  11 ,  12  of the DIN rail  10 . 
         [0048]    Further, as described in the above first embodiment, the connector terminal platform  20  can be attached in parallel ( FIGS. 9A and 9B ) or orthogonal ( FIGS. 10 and 11 ) to the DIN rail  10 . 
         [0049]    The other portions are the same as the above first embodiment. Thus, the same parts will be given the same reference numerals and description thereof and is omitted. 
         [0050]    A connector terminal platform  20  according to fourth embodiment is substantially the same as the above first embodiment as shown in  FIGS. 12A to 14 . A different point is that operation receiving portions do not extend from the elastic arm portions  31 , and operation receiving portions  35  respectively protruding sideways from outside surfaces are provided in the base  21  and the terminal blocks  27 . 
         [0051]    Therefore, by pushing down the operation receiving portions  35  by the screw driver (not shown) along the outside surfaces of the base  21  or the terminal blocks  27  and elastically deforming the elastic arm portions  31 , the locking claw portions  32 ,  32  can be removed from the latching ribs  11 ,  12  of the DIN rail  10 . 
         [0052]    Further, as described in the above first embodiment, the connector terminal platform  20  can be detachably attached in parallel ( FIGS. 12A and 12B ) or orthogonal ( FIGS. 13 and 14 ) to the DIN rail  10 . 
         [0053]    The other portions are the same as the above first embodiment. Thus, the same parts will be given the same reference numerals and description thereof and is omitted. 
         [0054]    According to the fourth embodiment, since no guide grooves are provided in the base  21  and the terminal blocks  27 , there is an advantage that mechanical strength of the base  21  and the terminal blocks  27  is high. 
         [0055]    In the above embodiments, a case where the contact portions are provided in the center parts of the base, is described. However, the contact portions are not necessarily provided in the center but may be provided at decentered positions. 
         [0056]    A support rail is not limited to the DIN rail but in the support rail, at least one latching rib may protrude sideways inward. 
         [0057]    The attachment structure of the electronic device according to the present invention can be applied not only to the connector terminal platform but also to attachment of other electronic devices such as a gauge and a monitor, as a matter of course. 
         [0058]    There has thus been shown and described an attachment structure of an electronic device which fulfills all the objects and advantages sought therefore. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the subject invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering this specification and the accompanying drawings which disclose the preferred embodiments thereof. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention, which is to be limited only by the claims which follow. 
         [0059]    Although the invention has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration based on what is currently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it is to be understood that the present invention contemplates that, to the extent possible, one or more features of any embodiment can be combined with one or more features of any other embodiment.

Technology Category: h