Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Patent
1998-03-19
1999-10-19
Thompson, Gregory
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
361690, 361700, 361707, H05H 720
Patent
active
059699400
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mechanical structure for an information handling unit, such as a notebook computer or a laptop computer, in which many electric circuits are integrated into a small space, and in particular to the mechanical structure in areas adjacent to a component that generates heat. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a mechanical structure, for an information handling unit, with which both the cooling of a component that generates heat and their removal (their exchange with another component) can be effectively performed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND
In accordance with recent technological developments, personal computers (e.g, laptop and notebook computers) that are more compact and lighter than desktop computers are being manufactured and sold.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the appearance of a notebook computer (hereinafter referred to simply as a "PC" or a "system") 100. This is the same as a computer system disclosed in Japanese Design Application No. Hei 06-30003 (Our Docket No.: JA9-94-621) that was also assigned to the present applicant.
In FIG. 4, the PC 100 is a so-called "structure with a lid" that comprises a thin main body 110 and a lid 120 pivotally hinged on the main body 110.
The lid 120 has a shallow upper case 121. A pair of cylindrical protrusions 122 are integrally formed at the lower edge of the upper case 121, and are rotatively supported by the main body 110, so as to hinge the lid 120 with the main body 110. A liquid crystal display (LCD) 123, the display means for the PC 100, is provided about in the center of the opened face of the upper case 121 (i.e., the reverse side of the lid 120). The lid 120 can be opened and closed relative to the main body 110 by sliding forward and backward operating portions 124 that are formed at the front on either side of the upper case 121.
The main body 110 has a shallow lower case 111. A support board 112 having a predetermined size is provided on the lower case 111 to shield the rear portion of an upper opening in the case 111. A keyboard/TrackPoint 113 ("TrackPoint" is a trademark of IBM Corp.) is provided about in the center of the upper opening to serve as a coordinate pointing means for the PC 100. A pair of loudspeakers 114 for audio output are provided at the right and left corners at the front of the keyboard unit 113. A pair of tongue-shaped protrusions 115 that are integrally formed at the rear edge of the keyboard unit 113 so as to be pivotally hinged at the front edge of the support board 112. An indicator 115A is provided on about the rear end of the lower case 111. The indicator 115A indicates the remaining capacities of a battery, the state of a PC card, the state of a floppy disk drive (FDD) and of a hard disk drive (HDD), and the status of the system 100 when the power is on.
In FIG. 5 is shown the internal structure of the main body 110 when the lid 120 and the keyboard 113 of the PC 100 are opened. A partition wall 116, which defines a front chamber and a rear chamber, is formed in the lower case 111 by bending a thin metal plate into a predetermined shape. In the rear chamber, which is hidden by the support board 112 and the partition wall 116, are stored a system board (not shown), on the surface of which are mounted essential electric components, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a system memory, a memory controller, a ROM, a video controller and an audio controller. This rear chamber is relatively narrow and the installation density for the electric components mounted in this chamber is very high. In the front chamber, forward of the partition wall 116, input/output devices, such as an HDD pack 117 and a CD-ROM drive 118, and a battery pack 119, are removably and exchangeably mounted. Several connectors are provided on the front side of the partition wall 116 for mechanically and electrically coupling the terminals of the HDD pack 117, the CD-ROM drive 118 and the battery pack 119.
There has been a remarkable improvement in the performances of the
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Horiuchi Mitsuo
Ishii Shigeru
Sano Tadashi
Dillon Andrew J.
International Business Machines - Corporation
Magistrale Anthony N.
Musgrove Jack V.
Thompson Gregory
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