Electronic device and its fixing module capable of fastening a board

Electronic device and its fixing module capable of fastening a board description/claims

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a fixing module, and more specifically, to a fixing module capable of fastening a board of an electronic device.

2. Description of the Prior Art

With improvements in electronic technology, traditional CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display devices have been gradually replaced by LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) devices. LCD devices are also the most widely used display devices so far due to the non-flicker, low radiation and small size features.

In common LCD products (LCD screens, LCD TVs . . . ), many PCBs (Printed Circuit Board) are disposed therein, such as power PCBs, interface PCBs, or control PCBs. Therefore, board positioning and assembly-sequences should be considered while performing an assembly process. In general, a common method involves utilizing screws. However, the said method reduces assembly-efficiency due to its complicated lock-up process. How to figure out a more efficient method should be a concern in modern mechanical design.

Therefore, the present invention provides a fixing module to solve the problem mentioned above.

The present invention provides a fixing module capable of fastening a board having an engaging portion, the fixing module comprising a bracket having a protrusion; an extending component for supporting the board in a first direction; and a fixing component for holding the board with the extending component comprising a baseboard; an elastic hook comprising an inclined structure connected to the baseboard; a first stopper connected to the inclined structure for holding the board with the extending component in the first direction; and a second stopper connected to the first stopper for constraining the board in a second direction; and a sheath connected to the baseboard for holding the protrusion.

The present invention further provides an electronic device comprising a board having an engaging portion and a fixing module engaging with the engaging portion of the board. The fixing module comprises a bracket having a protrusion, an extending component for supporting the board in a first direction, and an elastic hook. The elastic hook includes an inclined structure connected to the protrusion, a first stopper connected to the inclined structure for holding the board with the extending component in the first direction, and a second stopper connected to the first stopper for constraining the board in a second direction; wherein the engaging portion of the board is moved toward the bracket along the inclined structure until the board is fastened by the first stopper, the second stopper and the extending component.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded diagram of an electronic device according to one embodiment in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an assembly diagram of the electronic device in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged diagram of the fixing component in FIG. 1.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 1 is an exploded diagram of an electronic device 10 according to one embodiment in the present invention. FIG. 2 is an assembly diagram of the electronic device 10 in FIG. 1. The electronic device 10 comprises a fixing module 12 and a board 14. The board 14 has an engaging portion 22 (e.g. a recessed portion in the embodiment), and a conductive terminal 24 is preferably formed at a side of the engaging portion 22. The fixing module 12 comprises a bracket 16, an extending component 18, and a fixing component 20. The bracket 16 has a protrusion 26 with a hole 28. The extending component 18 is disposed at the protrusion 26. The extending component 18 is used for supporting the board 14 and holding the board 14 in a first direction, e.g. Z-axis direction shown in FIG. 2. In addition, the extending component 18 may be disposed at the fixing component 20 instead. In this embodiment, the board 14 is an LCD PCB, the bracket 16 is an LCD main bracket, and the fixing component 20 is made of metal material.

Please refer to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is an enlarged diagram of the fixing component 20 in FIG. 1. The fixing component 20 comprises a baseboard 30, an elastic hook 32, and a sheath 34. The baseboard 30 and the elastic hook 32 can be monolithically formed together. The elastic hook 32 comprises an inclined structure 36, a first stopper 38, and a second stopper 40. A first end 361 of the inclined structure 36 is connected to an end of the baseboard 30. A first terminal 381 of the first stopper 38 is connected to a second end 362 of the inclined structure 36. The first stopper 38 is used for holding the board 14 with the extending component 18 in the first direction (Z-axis direction shown in FIG. 2). The second stopper 40 is connected to a second terminal 382 of the first stopper 38. The second stopper 40 is used for constraining the board 14 in a second direction (e.g. X-axis direction shown in FIG. 2). The inclined structure 36, the first stopper 38, and the second stopper 40 are preferably monolithically formed together. The sheath 34 is connected to the baseboard 30, and the sheath 34 and the baseboard 30 is also preferably monolithically formed together. The sheath 34 comprises two L-shaped baffles 42 and 44 for sheathing the protrusion 26 shown in FIG. 1. The fixing component 20 further comprises a protruding piece 46 elastically connected to the baseboard 30 for inserting into the hole 28 shown in FIG. 1 so as to further fix the relative position of the fixing component 20 and the protrusion 26 shown in FIG. 2. The hole 28 and the protruding piece 46 are optional components. That is to say, the fixing component 20 may be disposed at the bracket 16 only via the connection of the protrusion 26 and the sheath 34.

Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3. More detailed description for assembly and disassembly of the board 14, the bracket 16, and the fixing component 20 will be provided. First, while assembling the board 14, the bracket 16, and the fixing component 20, a technician can move the sheath 34 of the fixing component 20 downward (along-Z-axis direction shown in FIG. 1) to sheath the protrusion 26 of the bracket 16 until the protruding piece 46 of the baseboard 30 inserts into the hole 28 of the protrusion 26. As a result, the fixing component 20 is disposed at the bracket 16 and two L-shaped baffles 42 and 44 of the sheath 34 surround the protrusion 26. Next, the technician moves the engaging portion 22 of the board 14 downward along the inclined structure 36 of the elastic hook 32 (along-Z-axis direction shown in FIG. 1) until the extending component 18 of the bracket 16 and the first stopper 38 hold the board 14 in the first direction (Z-axis direction) and the second stopper 40 abuts the engaging portion 22 of the board 14 to constrain the board 14 in the second direction (Z-axis direction). In such a manner, the board 14 can be fixed and disposed at the bracket 16 by the assembly of the engaging portion 22, the extending component 18, the first stopper 38, and the second stopper 40. Furthermore, the second stopper 40 is made of metal material and preferably formed as a ground terminal, and the engaging portion 22 of the board 14 preferably has a conductive terminal 24 through a common tin-coating method. Therefore, when the board 14 is engaged with the fixing module 12, the conductive terminal 24 contacting with the second stopper 40 makes a ground connection between the board 14 and the bracket 16 at the same time. In addition, when the technician wants to detach the board 14 from the bracket 16, the technician just needs to exert force upon the inclined structure 36 or the second stopper 40 of the elastic hook 32 to release the engagement of the board 14 and the fixing component 20.

It should be mentioned that number of the assembly set of the engaging portion 22, the fixing component 20, and the protrusion 26 can be not limited to one. Number of the said assembly set can be increased to make the engagement of the board 14 and the bracket 16 more firm.

It should be understood that, in order to simply the fixing module 12, the baseboard 30 of the fixing component 20 and the protrusion 26 may be combined as one without the sheath 34, the protruding piece 46, and the hole 28 in another embodiment. The extending component 18 may be deposed either on the bracket 16, or at the protrusion 26 and opposite to the first stopper 38. Besides, the protrusion 26 and the elastic hook 32 are preferably made of metal material and monolithically formed together. Further detailed description is as same as that in the aforementioned embodiment and omitted therefore.

The present invention utilizes the engagement of the fixing component and the bracket to simplify the assembly process. Compared with the prior art, the board can be engaged with the bracket just through moving the engaging portion of the board downward along the inclined structure of the fixing component to engage the board with the bracket. Meanwhile, the tin-coating layer of the engaging portion of the board can be utilized to make a ground connection between the board and the bracket. In such a manner, the present invention not only avoids a complicated lock-up process, but also achieves the purpose of quick assembly and ground connection.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.