Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-09
2004-04-27
Schuberg, Darren (Department: 2835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C361S679090, C361S689000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06728100
ABSTRACT:
This application incorporates by reference Taiwanese application Serial No. 90125604, Filed Oct. 16, 2001.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to the assembly of the display portion and the body portion in a portable computer, and more particularly to a method for easily assembling a well-constructed portable computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
The computer has become one of the indispensable tools for modern people. A portable computer, such as a notebook computer (or called a lap-top computer), is much lighter and smaller than a desktop computer, and therefore is used increasingly as more and more people require mobility in performing work duties, surfing the Internet, and sending/receiving e-mails. Additionally, the falling price of the portable computer gradually wins the favor of the consumers. Because of the reasonable selling price and the portability, the portable computer has a great potential for replacing the bulky desktop computer.
Generally, the display portion of a portable computer is mounted on the top of a main body housing by the hinges. Please refer to
FIG. 1
, which shows a partial exploded perspective view of a conventional portable computer. The portable computer
100
includes a display portion
110
and a body portion
120
. The display portion
110
includes a liquid crystal display (LCD)
112
and a display housing
114
. The body portion
120
includes an upper case
122
, a lower case
124
integrated with the upper case
122
, and a keyboard
126
coupled to the upper case
122
. Also, a main board
130
(partially shown in
FIG. 1
) is situated inside the body portion
120
. A pair of hinge assemblies
116
a
and
116
b
is respectively provided at the bottom-left and bottom-right of the display portion
110
.
Each of the hinge assemblies includes a first fastening portion (not show, embedded in the display portion
110
in this example), a second fastening portion
1161
a
,
1161
b
, and a pivot portion
1162
a
,
1162
b
for pivotably connecting the first fastening portion and the second fastening portion. Also, the support holes
128
a
,
128
b
and the threaded bolt holes
129
a
,
129
b
are formed in the body portion
120
at a predetermined depth. During assembling, the second fastening portions
1161
a
,
1161
b
are inserted into the support holes
128
a
,
128
b
, respectively. Then, the second fastening portions
1161
a
,
1161
b
are fixed to the body portion
120
by means of bolting, such as the bolts
1163
a
,
1163
b
respective through the threaded bolt holes
129
a
,
129
b
. Thereby, the display portion
110
can pivot between an open position and a closed position relative to the body portion
120
by the hinge assemblies
116
a
and
116
b
. Additionally, to transmit signals and supply with power, a cable
118
electrically couples the liquid crystal display (LCD)
112
to the main board
130
.
However, there is a drawback in such assembling design for the conventional portable computer. An elongated region formed on the body portion
120
, which is close to the keyboard
126
, exposes part of the main board
130
and the hinge assemblies
116
a
,
116
b
. Typically, a couple of covering plates, made of the same material as the upper case, are required to cover this exposed region. In
FIG. 1
, the exposed region is covered by a middle cover
250
and two hinge covers
240
a
,
240
b
for hiding the cable
118
, the main board
130
, and the hinge assemblies
116
a
,
116
b
.
FIG. 2
is a perspective view of the portable computer
100
, which has been completely assembled.
According to the illustration above, because the hinge assemblies on the display portion are mounted on the top of the body portion, the partial area of the body portion has to be exposed for connecting with display portion (i.e. a couple of holes for bolting to the hinge assemblies). For the manufactures, mounting additional cover assemblies for hiding the exposed region is not only time-consuming but also raises the production cost. Moreover, it makes the upper case subject to undue stresses while the display portion is mounted on the top surface of the body portion. Consequently, as the display portion is being rotated, an extraordinary sound is easily produced and distortion may occur. The yield of product is also decreased.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an assembly of the liquid crystal display (LCD) and the body portion of the portable computer, in which the extraordinary noises resulting from the rotation of the LCD is greatly reduced and some covering components can be eliminated to make the assembly more easy.
According to the objective of the invention, the portable computer of the invention comprises a body portion, a display portion, a cable, and a hinge assembly. The body portion comprises a housing and a main board provided inside the housing. An insertion hole is formed on the rear wall of the housing, and a cable connection region is formed on the rear wall or bottom wall of the housing. A first connector is provided on the main board at a position corresponding to the cable connection region. One end of the cable is electrically connected to the display portion, and the other end of the cable is provided with a second connector corresponding to the first connector for electrically connecting to the body portion.
The hinge assembly, provided for pivotably connecting the display portion to the body portion, comprises a first fastening portion for attaching to the display portion, a second fastening portion for attaching to the body portion, and a pivot portion for pivotably connecting the first fastening portion with the second fastening portion. The second fastening portion further has a first support arm for horizontally inserting into an insertion hole formed on the rear side of the body portion.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred but non-limiting embodiments. The following description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5103377 (1992-04-01), Kobayashi et al.
patent: 6125029 (2000-09-01), Sasaki et al.
Cheng-Hsing Liu
Jung-Shu Hsiao
Tsung-Lung Tang
Chang Yean-Hsi
Rabin & Berdo P.C.
Schuberg Darren
Wistron Corp.
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