CN110223721B

CN110223721B - Waterproof module and sealing element thereof

Info

Publication number: CN110223721B
Application number: CN201810173185.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄子久; 张瑞祺
Original assignee: Mitac Computer Kunshan Co Ltd; Getac Technology Corp
Current assignee: Mitac Computer Kunshan Co Ltd; Getac Technology Corp
Priority date: 2018-03-02
Filing date: 2018-03-02
Publication date: 2021-07-13
Anticipated expiration: 2038-03-02
Also published as: CN110223721A

Abstract

A waterproof module comprises a casing, an optical disk drive and a sealing element; the shell is provided with an inner surface, an outer surface and an opening, wherein the inner surface surrounds an accommodating space, and the opening penetrates through the outer surface and is communicated with the accommodating space; the CD-ROM drive comprises a main body and a tray, wherein the main body is arranged in the accommodating space, the tray comprises a tray body and a cover plate, the cover plate is arranged at one end of the tray body, and the tray body can slide relative to the main body to enable the tray to have a use position and a withdrawing position; the sealing element comprises a connecting part and a flexible part, wherein the connecting part is arranged on the cover plate in an overlapped mode, the flexible part surrounds the connecting part, and when the tray moves from the withdrawing position to the using position, the flexible part presses the outer surface and closes the opening. The invention forms a flange around the connecting part through the flexible part of the sealing element, and then pushes the flexible part by the outer periphery of the opening, so that the flexible part can be tightly pressed on the opening or tightly attached to the outer surface of the opening, and water is prevented from seeping into the shell from the opening and accumulating in the shell.

Description

Waterproof module and sealing element thereof

[ technical field ] A method for producing a semiconductor device

The present invention relates to a waterproof module and a sealing member thereof, and more particularly, to a sealing member for covering an opening and a waterproof module having the sealing member disposed on an insert.

[ background of the invention ]

With the continuous progress of information technology, in order to improve the performance of personal computers, industrial computers (industrial computers), Military computers (Military computers) or digital electronic products, the functions of the personal computers, industrial computers (industrial computers), Military computers (Military computers) or digital electronic products can be expanded by connecting various electronic devices with various functions, such as optical disk drives, compact disk drives, hard disks, floppy disk drives and rechargeable batteries. However, industrial computers and military computers have severe requirements for use, such as water resistance, dust resistance, corrosion resistance, and shock resistance, because the environment is more severe than that of personal computers.

Generally, in order to prevent dust, water or other foreign matters from entering the interior of the housing through the opening, a shielding object, such as a movable door structure, is disposed at the opening on the surface of the housing, so as to achieve the effect of opening or closing the opening and provide a certain protection without affecting the convenience of use. For the types of optical disc drives with waterproof requirements above IP65, the optical disc drives are usually designed in the waterproof door, and the product structure is usually complicated to meet the waterproof requirement, so that the production difficulty is high and the manufacturing cost is increased. However, in the case of a machine type with a lower waterproof requirement, the optical disk drive is basically not waterproof, and only the optical disk drive can be started after a rain test conforming to the IPX2 standard, but in this case, water enters the optical disk drive, and the machine type or the electronic product has a lower waterproof requirement and can only reach the water seepage prevention, so that if the configuration with a higher waterproof level, such as a waterproof door, is adopted, the product cost is increased, and if the cover arranged on the ordinary optical disk drive is adopted, the requirement of water seepage prevention cannot be met. Therefore, how to consider the requirement of water leakage prevention and the cost of electronic products is a problem to be solved by related developers in the field.

[ summary of the invention ]

The invention provides a waterproof module and a sealing element thereof, which are used for solving the problems that the product in the prior art is higher in waterproof grade, the cost of the product is increased, and the water seepage prevention requirement cannot be met by adopting a cover arranged on a common insert.

The waterproof module disclosed in an embodiment of the invention includes a housing, an optical disk drive, and a sealing member. The casing has an inner surface, an outer surface and an opening, wherein the inner surface surrounds a containing space, and the opening penetrates through the outer surface and is communicated with the containing space. The optical disk drive comprises a main body and a tray, wherein the main body is arranged in the accommodating space. The tray comprises a tray body and a cover plate, and the cover plate is arranged at one end of the tray body. The tray body can slide relative to the main body so that the tray has an application position and a withdrawing position. The sealing element comprises a connecting part and a flexible part, wherein the connecting part is arranged on the cover plate in an overlapped mode, and the flexible part surrounds the connecting part. When the tray moves from the withdrawing position to the using position, the flexible part presses the outer surface and seals the opening.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a waterproof module includes a housing, an insert, and a sealing member. The housing has an opening, and the insert enters and exits the housing through the opening. The sealing element comprises a connecting part and a flexible part, and the sealing element is fixed on the insert through the connecting part. The flexible portion surrounds the connecting portion. When the insert is in a position of use, the outer periphery of the opening catches the flexible portion.

According to the waterproof module and the sealing member thereof disclosed in the above embodiments, when the tray moves from the eject position to the use position, the flexible portion of the sealing member may interfere with the chassis to tightly press the outer surface of the chassis or the outer periphery of the opening and cover the opening of the chassis, so as to achieve the requirement of sealing the opening and further achieve the waterproof grade at least reaching the water seepage prevention grade.

The foregoing description of the present disclosure and the following description of the embodiments are provided to illustrate and explain the principles of the present disclosure and to provide further explanation of the scope of the invention as claimed.

[ description of the drawings ]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a waterproof module according to an embodiment of the invention, and an optical disk drive thereof is located at a use position.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the optical disk drive of FIG. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side plan view of the flashing module of fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the flashing module of fig. 1 along section line 4-4'.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the tray of the optical disk drive of FIG. 4 in an eject position.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a seal according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of a portion of the seal of fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a partial perspective cross-sectional view of the seal of fig. 6 taken along section line 6-6'.

FIG. 9 is a front perspective cross-sectional view of the seal of FIG. 6 taken along section line 6-6'.

Fig. 10 is a perspective sectional top view of the seal of fig. 6 taken along section line 6-6'.

Fig. 11 is a schematic perspective view of the other side of the seal of fig. 6.

Figure 12 is a partial perspective cross-sectional view of the other side of the seal of figure 6 taken along section line 6-6'.

[ detailed description ] embodiments

The detailed features and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, which is sufficient for one skilled in the art to understand the technical contents of the embodiments of the present invention and to implement the embodiments of the present invention, and the related objects and advantages of the present invention can be easily understood by one skilled in the art according to the disclosure, claims and drawings of the present specification. The following examples further illustrate aspects of the present invention in detail, but are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way.

Please refer to fig. 1 to 4. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a waterproof module according to an embodiment of the invention, and an optical disk drive thereof is located at a use position. FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the optical disk drive of FIG. 1. Fig. 3 is a side plan view of the flashing module of fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the flashing module of fig. 1 along section line 4-4'.

The waterproof module 1 of the embodiment includes a housing 10, an optical disk drive 20, and a sealing member 30, but the invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the optical disk drive may be an insert according to actual requirements, wherein the insert may be a mechanical docking component such as a dust cap, or an electrical docking device such as a recorder, a floppy disk drive, a rechargeable battery, or an external hard disk.

In the present embodiment, the casing 10 may be, for example, a casing of a military computer host, and has an inner surface 110, an outer surface 120 and an opening 130. The inner surface 110 surrounds a receiving space 111, and the opening 130 penetrates the outer surface 120 and communicates with the receiving space 111.

The optical disk drive 20 includes a main body 210 and a tray 220, and the main body 210 is disposed in the accommodating space 111.

The tray 220 includes a tray body 221 and a cover plate 222, and the cover plate 222 is disposed at one end of the tray body 221. The tray body 221 can slide relative to the main body 210 to enable the tray 220 to have a use position and a withdrawal position.

The cover 222 has a forced-exit hole 2221 and a wall 2222 away from the tray 221, and the forced-exit hole 2221 is located on the wall 2222. In the embodiment, when the tray 220 is located at the using position, the wall 2222 of the cover 222 is submerged below the outer surface 120 of the casing 10 and located in the opening 130, but the invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, when the tray is located at the use position, the wall of the cover plate may protrude from the outer surface of the housing or be coplanar with the outer surface of the housing, for example, according to the actual requirement.

As shown in fig. 3, in the present embodiment, a Clearance Fit (Clearance Fit) is used between the cover 222 and the opening 130, so that the cover 222 can easily enter the opening 130 when the tray 220 is in the use position, i.e. when the tray 220 is folded. Specifically, the orthographic projection of the cover plate 222 on the outer surface 120 of the casing 10 is located within the opening 130. In detail, a gap is maintained between an orthographic projection of the opening 130 on the outer surface 120 of the casing 10 and an orthographic projection of the cover plate 222 on the outer surface 120. Therefore, it can be avoided that the cover 222 interferes with the casing 10 when the tray 220 of the optical disk drive 20 slides to the use position relative to the main body 210, and further the movement of the tray 220 is blocked, which causes inconvenience in use.

The sealing member 30 is fixed to the cover plate 222, and includes a connecting portion 31 and a flexible portion 32 surrounding the connecting portion 31. In detail, the connection portion 31 is stacked on the cover plate 222, and the flexible portion 32 surrounds the connection portion 31. The connecting portion 31 is stacked on the wall 2222 of the cover 222 away from the tray 221. In the present embodiment, the sealing member 30 is disposed on the cover plate 222 in an attaching manner. In other embodiments, the sealing element may be disposed on the cover plate by injection molding or locking, but the invention is not limited thereto. For example, the cover plate 222 is first formed by injection molding of hard plastic, and then the sealing member 30 is integrally formed on the cover plate 222 by insert molding of soft plastic, wherein the sealing member 30 can be fixed to the cover plate 222 by the connection portion 31. Structurally, the sealing member 30 is fixed to the cover plate 222 by a connecting portion 31, and a flexible portion 32 integrally extends outward from the connecting portion 31 in a plane parallel to the cover plate 222.

In the present embodiment, the material of the flexible portion 32 of the sealing member 30 is a flexible material, so that when the tray 220 is located at the use position, the flexible portion 32 having an overall size larger than the opening 130 abuts against the outer periphery of the opening 130 or the outer surface 120 of the casing 10, and is subjected to a stop and a bias (bias) of the outer periphery of the opening 130 or the outer surface 120 of the casing 10 due to its flexible deformation property, so that the flexible portion 32 interferes with the outer periphery of the opening 130, or when the insert is located at the use position, the outer periphery of the opening 130 pushes the flexible portion 32. In this embodiment, when the tray 220 is located at the using position (as shown in fig. 4), the connecting portion 31 of the sealing member 30 is at least partially taken into the casing 10 along with the cover plate 222, and the flexible portion 32 abutting against the outer surface 120 is pulled toward the casing 10 to be deflected and elastically deviated from the cover plate 222, so that the flexible portion 32 can bias the outer periphery of the opening 130 by its elastic restoring force to tightly press against the outer surface 120 of the casing 10, thereby achieving the purpose of sealing the opening 130. However, in other embodiments, the insert is located at the use position, which means when part or all of the insert is electrically connected to the electronic device or mechanically connected to the housing 10, and the flexible material may be various waterproof rubbers such as NBR nitrile rubber, HNBR hydrogenated nitrile rubber, SIL silicone rubber, VITON fluorine rubber, FLS fluorine silicone rubber, EPDM ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber, CR chloroprene rubber, IIR butyl rubber, ACM acrylate rubber, NR natural rubber, PU polyurethane rubber, or metal rubber, but the invention is not limited thereto, and the material of the flexible portion may be silicone rubber or soft plastic rubber according to actual requirements. In addition, the material of the connecting portion can be made of hard plastic, inflexible material or the above flexible material according to actual requirements.

As shown in fig. 3, the flexible portion 32 of the sealing member 30 extends outwardly along the periphery of the cover plate 222, and the area of the sealing member 30, which is orthographically projected to the outer surface 120 of the casing 10, is larger than the area of the opening 130 of the casing 10. Thereby, it can be ensured that the sealing member 30 can completely cover the opening 130 of the casing 10 when the flexible portion 32 of the sealing member 30 abuts against the outer surface 120 of the casing 10.

In the present embodiment, the connecting portion 31 of the sealing member 30 has an insertion hole 311, and the insertion hole 311 is aligned with the forced withdrawing hole 2221 of the cover plate 222, so that the user can manually withdraw the tray 220. It is particularly noted that, when the sealing member 30 seals the opening 130, water is not easily infiltrated into the case 10 from the insertion hole 311 and the forcible withdrawal hole 2221 in succession as long as the cohesion of water is greater than the adhesion force of capillary action, and in this embodiment, the waterproof module 1 is expected to pass the waterproof test of IPX2, the dripping direction of which is not opposite to the opening direction, so that it is less likely to form water accumulation around the opening or cause an invasive water pressure, no matter water seeps into the optical disc drive 20 through the insertion hole 311 and the forcible withdrawal hole 2221. However, the feature of the connection portion having the insertion hole and the cover plate having the forced withdrawal hole in the embodiment is not intended to limit the present invention. In other embodiments, the connecting portion and the cover plate may not have an insertion hole or a forced withdrawal hole, for example, depending on the actual requirement.

Referring to fig. 4 and 5, fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a tray of the optical disk drive of fig. 4 in an eject position. When the tray 220 of the optical disk drive 20 is in the eject position, the user can replace the optical disk (not shown) on the tray body 221, and the cover plate 222 and the sealing member 30 disposed on the cover plate 222 are away from the housing 10. Next, as shown in fig. 4, when the tray 220 moves from the withdrawing position to the using position, the flexible portion 32 of the sealing member 30 presses against the outer surface 120 of the casing 10 and closes the opening 130, so as to achieve the sealing effect. In this embodiment, when the tray 220 is located at the using position, the wall 2222 of the cover 222 is recessed into the outer surface 120 of the casing 10. Therefore, the connection portion 31 of the sealing member 30 can be brought into the casing 10 along with the cover plate 222, so that the flexible portion 32 abutting against the casing 10 is deflected and deformed and elastically deviates from the cover plate 222, the flexible portion 32 can bias the periphery of the opening 130 by the elastic restoring force thereof to tightly abut against the outer surface 120 of the casing 10, and the sealing effect of the sealing member 30 on the opening 130 can be enhanced by the principle of the difference between the internal pressure and the external pressure, so as to provide the waterproof module 1 of the present embodiment with a better water seepage prevention effect.

Referring to fig. 6-12, wherein fig. 6 is a perspective view of a seal according to another embodiment of the present invention, fig. 7 is a partially enlarged view of the seal of fig. 6, fig. 8 is a partially perspective cross-sectional view of the seal of fig. 6 taken along a cross-sectional line 6-6 ', fig. 9 is a front perspective cross-sectional view of the seal of fig. 6 taken along a cross-sectional line 6-6', fig. 10 is an upper perspective cross-sectional view of the seal of fig. 6 taken along a cross-sectional line 6-6 ', fig. 11 is a perspective view of the other side of the seal of fig. 6, and fig. 12 is a partially perspective cross-sectional view of the other side of the seal of fig. 6 taken along a cross-sectional line 6-6'.

The sealing member 30 is fixed to the insert and adapted to seal the outer periphery of the opening 130, the insert can penetrate into or out of the casing 10 through the opening 130, the sealing member 30 includes a connecting portion 31 and a flexible portion 32, the sealing member 30 is fixed to the insert through the connecting portion 31, in this embodiment, the connecting portion 31 is attached to the cover plate 222 of the insert by its inner side 312. However, in other embodiments, the connecting portion 31 may be embedded in the insert or the cover plate 222 thereof by insert molding. The connecting portion 31 is provided with a key portion 313 in addition to the insertion hole 311, and the connecting portion 31 is formed with two recesses on an inner side surface 312 and a ridge on an outer side surface 314 of the connecting portion 31. The flexible portion 32 surrounds the connecting portion 31 and forms a wheel sealing surface 321 on a side of the outermost edge facing the outer periphery of the opening 130, such that the sealing surface 321 overhangs the periphery of the connecting portion 31, the sealing surface 321 is substantially parallel to the outer periphery of the opening 130, and the outer periphery of the opening 130 is substantially in the same plane. The other side of the outermost edge of the flexible portion 32 forms a wheel protruding surface 322, the protruding surface 322 protrudes from the outer side 314, and the height of the protrusion formed on the outer side 314 by the key portion 313 is not higher than the protruding surface 322, so as to prevent misoperation. When the insert is mated or in the use position, the outer periphery of the opening 130 stops against the sealing surface 321 of the flexible portion 32, wherein the thickness of the flexible portion 32 tapers towards the connecting portion 31 to allow a deformation (deformation) of the junction therebetween, which deformation is in principle an elastic deformation, in this particular embodiment the flexible portion 32 is thickest at the sealing surface 321 and forms a beveled concavity (rounded concavity) on the same side as the sealing surface 321 to gradually reduce its thickness from the sealing surface 321 until the junction with the connecting portion 31 and form a rounded corner at the junction. When the outer periphery of the opening 130 stops the sealing surface 321 of the flexible portion 32, the connecting portion 31 draws the flexible portion 32 toward the inside of the opening 130 so that the joint portion is deformed, and the flexible portion 32 abuts with its sealing surface 321 against the outer periphery of the opening 130 to prevent water penetration, when the sealing member 30 is not subjected to a force, the connecting portion 31 is biased (offset) toward the sealing surface 321, and when the outer periphery of the opening 130 stops the sealing surface 321, the connecting portion 31 is further biased toward the inside of the opening 130 from the sealing surface 321 by the tapered portion where the flexible portion 32 is easily elastically deformed.

According to the waterproof module and the sealing member thereof of the embodiment, the sealing member with flexibility is arranged on the insert or the cover plate of the optical disk drive, and the sealing member extends outwards along the periphery of the cover plate, and the area of the orthographic projection of the sealing member to the outer surface of the shell is larger than the area of the opening of the shell, so that when the tray is located at a use position or the insert is butted, the flexible part of the sealing member interferes with the outer periphery of the opening or the outer surface of the shell through the sealing surface of the flexible part, the sealing member tightly presses the outer periphery of the opening or the outer surface of the shell, and the opening peripheral area of the shell is completely covered, so that the requirement on sealing the opening is met, and the waterproof.

In addition, because the flexible part of the sealing element is made of flexible material, when the tray is positioned at the use position, the connecting part of the sealing element is at least partially taken into the shell along with the cover plate, and the flexible part abutting against the outer surface is pulled towards the shell to be bent and deformed and elastically deviate from the cover plate, so that the flexible part can bias the outer periphery of the opening through the elastic restoring force of the flexible part to tightly abut against the outer surface of the shell, and the effect of the sealing element on sealing the opening of the shell is further enhanced. In other words, the invention forms a flange around the connecting part through the flexible part of the sealing element, and then pushes the flexible part by the outer periphery of the opening, so that the flexible part can be pressed on the opening or tightly attached to the outer surface of the periphery of the opening, thereby preventing water from seeping into the shell through the opening and seeping into the shell.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above preferred embodiments, it should be understood that various changes and modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A water resistant module, comprising:

the shell is provided with an inner surface, an outer surface and an opening, the inner surface surrounds an accommodating space, and the opening penetrates through the outer surface and is communicated with the accommodating space;

an optical disk drive, comprising:

a main body arranged in the accommodating space; and

the tray comprises a tray body and a cover plate, wherein the cover plate is arranged at one end of the tray body, and the tray body can slide relative to the main body so as to enable the tray to have a use position and a withdrawing position; and

the sealing element comprises a connecting part and a flexible part, the connecting part is arranged on the cover plate in an overlapped mode, and the flexible part surrounds the connecting part;

when the tray moves from the withdrawing position to the using position, the flexible part presses the outer surface and seals the opening.

2. The flashing module of claim 1, wherein the sealing member protrudes from the perimeter of the cover plate, and wherein an area of the sealing member that is orthographically projected onto the outer surface is greater than an area of the opening.

3. The waterproof module of claim 1 wherein an orthographic projection of the cover plate on the outer surface is located within a perimeter of the opening.

4. The waterproof module of claim 1 wherein the cover plate has a forced exit hole and the seal has an insertion hole aligned with the forced exit hole.

5. The waterproof module of claim 1 wherein the flexible portion of the seal is made of rubber, silicone or plastic.

6. The waterproof module of claim 5 wherein the material of the connecting portion of the seal is rubber, silicone or plastic.

7. The waterproof module of claim 1 wherein the seal is injection molded or attached to the cover plate.

8. The flashing module of claim 1, wherein the cover has a wall facing away from the tray, the wall of the cover being recessed into the outer surface when the tray is in the in-use position.

9. A water resistant module, comprising:

a housing having an opening, wherein the opening penetrates through an outer surface of the housing;

an insert adapted to enter and exit the housing through the opening; and

a sealing member including a connection portion and a flexible portion, wherein the flexible portion surrounds and extends from a periphery of the connection portion, the connection portion is fixed to the insert, the connection portion is engaged with the opening, the flexible portion and the connection portion are configured such that when the insert moves from a retracted position to a use position, the connection portion at least partially enters the opening, the flexible portion presses against the outer surface of the housing around the opening, the flexible portion deforms at a joint of the flexible portion and the connection portion to deflect from the insert, and a waterproof seal is formed between the flexible portion and the outer surface of the housing.

10. The waterproof module of claim 9 wherein the flexible portion tapers in thickness toward the connecting portion to allow deformation of the junction therebetween.

11. The waterproof module of claim 9 wherein when the insert is in the use position and the flexible portion is pressed against the outer surface of the housing, the connection portion pulls the flexible portion to deform the joint therebetween.

12. The waterproof module of claim 9 wherein a sealing surface of the flexible portion abuts the outer surface of the housing around the opening to prevent water penetration when the insert is in the use position.

13. The flashing module of claim 12, wherein the connecting portion is biased toward the sealing surface when the insert is in the withdrawn position, the connecting portion being further biased away from the sealing surface when the insert is in the use position and the flexible portion is pressed against the outer surface of the housing.

14. A sealing member adapted to be secured to an insert and adapted to seal the outer periphery of an opening formed in an outer surface of a housing when the insert is in a use position, the sealing member comprising:

a connecting portion by which the sealing member is adapted to be secured to the insert; and

a flexible part surrounding and extending from the periphery of the connecting part;

when the insert moves from a withdrawing position to a using position, the connecting part at least partially enters the opening, the flexible part presses against the outer surface of the shell around the opening, the flexible part deforms at a joint of the flexible part and the connecting part to deflect from the insert, and waterproof sealing is formed between the flexible part and the outer surface of the shell.

15. The seal of claim 14, wherein when the insert is in the use position and the flexible portion is pressed against the outer surface of the housing, the connection portion pulls the flexible portion to deform the connection portion.

16. A seal according to claim 14, wherein the flexible portion has a sealing surface adapted to abut the outer surface of the housing around the opening to prevent water penetration when the insert is in the in-use position.

17. The seal of claim 14, wherein the flexible portion has a sealing surface, the connecting portion being biased toward the sealing surface when the insert is in a withdrawn position, wherein the flexible portion and the connecting portion are configured such that the connecting portion is further biased away from the sealing surface when the insert is in the use position and the flexible portion is pressed against the outer surface of the housing.