U.S. patent application number 09/853699 was filed with the patent office on 2001-11-15 for waterproof construction of communication equipment.
This patent application is currently assigned to NEC CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Negishi, Masayuki.
Application Number | 20010040037 09/853699 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 18649157 |
Filed Date | 2001-11-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010040037 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Negishi, Masayuki |
November 15, 2001 |
Waterproof construction of communication equipment
Abstract
Waterproof construction of communication equipment improved so
as to prevent even a little water from leaking in through the
section of a waterproof packing to electronic parts and electronic
circuits is provided. The waterproof construction of communication
equipment comprises a waterproof packing at an opening of a body of
the communication equipment, between a lid or a door which blocks
the opening and the equipment body, for sealing the joint of them,
and a water absorber having greater elastic contractibility than
that of the waterproof packing, placed on more inside of the
equipment body than a position of the waterproof packing, held
between the lid or the door and the equipment body.
Inventors: |
Negishi, Masayuki; (Tokyo,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
David A. Blumenthal
FOLEY & LARDNER
Washington Harbour
3000 K Street, N.W., Suite 500
Washington
DC
20007-5109
US
|
Assignee: |
NEC CORPORATION
|
Family ID: |
18649157 |
Appl. No.: |
09/853699 |
Filed: |
May 14, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
174/17CT |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05K 5/061 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
174/17.0CT |
International
Class: |
H05K 005/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 15, 2000 |
JP |
2000-142134 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Waterproof construction of communication equipment, comprising:
a waterproof packing at an opening of a body of the communication
equipment, between a lid or a door which blocks the opening and the
equipment body, for sealing the joint of them; and a water absorber
having greater elastic contractibility than that of the waterproof
packing, placed on more inside of the equipment body than a
position of the waterproof packing between the lid or the door and
the equipment body.
2. Waterproof construction of communication equipment, comprising:
a waterproof packing at an opening of a body of the communication
equipment, between a lid or a door which blocks the opening and the
equipment body, for sealing the joint of them; and a water absorber
having greater elastic contractibility than that of the waterproof
packing, placed on more inside of the equipment body than a
position of the waterproof packing between the lid or the door and
the equipment body; wherein the waterproof packing and the water
absorber are disposed linearly at predetermined intervals so as to
surround the opening, and on the occasion of blocking the opening,
the water absorber is held between facing surfaces of the equipment
body and the lid or the door before the waterproof packing is held
between them, and also the waterproof packing is held in a state of
implementing required elastic deformation in the process of elastic
deformation due to a blockade of the lid or the door and the
equipment body.
3. Waterproof construction of communication equipment, comprising:
a waterproof packing at an opening of a body of the communication
equipment, between a lid or a door which blocks the opening and the
equipment body, for sealing the joint of them; a water absorber
having greater elastic contractibility than that of the waterproof
packing, placed on more inside of the equipment body than a
position of the waterproof packing between the lid or the door and
the equipment body; and grooves for regulating the position of the
waterproof packing and the water absorber on the joints, formed at
least on the lid or the door, or the equipment body.
4. Waterproof construction of communication equipment, comprising:
a waterproof packing at an opening of a body of the communication
equipment, between a lid or a door which blocks the opening and the
equipment body, for sealing the joint of them; a water absorber
having greater elastic contractibility than that of the waterproof
packing, placed on more inside of the equipment body than a
position of the waterproof packing between the lid or the door and
the equipment body; and grooves for regulating the position of the
waterproof packing and the water absorber on the joints, formed at
least on the lid or the door, or the equipment body; wherein the
waterproof packing and the water absorber are disposed linearly at
predetermined intervals so as to surround the opening, and on the
occasion of blocking the opening, the water absorber is held
between facing surfaces of the equipment body and the lid or the
door before the waterproof packing is held between them, and also
the waterproof packing is held in a state of implementing required
elastic deformation in the process of elastic deformation due to a
blockade of the lid or the door and the equipment body.
5. The waterproof construction of communication equipment as
claimed in claim 1, wherein the water absorber is constituted of
material having greater elastic contractibility than that of the
waterproof packing.
6. The waterproof construction of communication equipment as
claimed in claim 2, wherein the water absorber is constituted of
material having greater elastic contractibility than that of the
waterproof packing.
7. The waterproof construction of communication equipment as
claimed in claim 3, wherein the water absorber is constituted of
material having greater elastic contractibility than that of the
waterproof packing.
8. The waterproof construction of communication equipment as
claimed in claim 4, wherein the water absorber is constituted of
material having greater elastic contractibility than that of the
waterproof packing.
9. The waterproof construction of communication equipment as
claimed in claim 3, wherein sectional area of the groove is set
corresponding to that of the water absorber so that when the
elastic deformation of the water absorber occurs in the groove by a
blockade of the lid or the door and the equipment body, the water
absorber fills the groove, and swells out to a crevice between
both.
10. The waterproof construction of communication equipment as
claimed in claim 4, wherein sectional area of the groove is set
corresponding to that of the water absorber so that when the
elastic deformation of the water absorber occurs in the groove by a
blockade of the lid or the door and the equipment body, the water
absorber fills the groove, and swells out to a crevice between
both.
11. The waterproof construction of communication equipment as
claimed in claim 3, wherein the water absorber includes a
waterproofing film for preventing water from leaking inside of the
equipment body in a blocked condition.
12. The waterproof construction of communication equipment as
claimed in claim 4, wherein the water absorber includes a
waterproofing film for preventing water from leaking inside of the
equipment body in a blocked condition.
13. The waterproof construction of communication equipment as
claimed in claim 3, wherein the water absorber is previously fitted
to a supporting frame in a prescribed shape, and also held between
the lid or the door and the equipment body.
14. The waterproof construction of communication equipment as
claimed in claim 4, wherein the water absorber is previously fitted
to a supporting frame in a prescribed shape, and also held between
the lid or the door and the equipment body.
15. The waterproof construction of communication equipment as
claimed in claim 3, wherein the water absorber is previously fitted
to a supporting frame in a prescribed shape and also held between
the lid or the door and the equipment body, and the supporting
frame is provided to the groove formed on the lid or the door, or
the equipment body on the side opposite to the groove housing the
water absorber.
16. The waterproof construction of communication equipment as
claimed in claim 4, wherein the water absorber is previously fitted
to a supporting frame in a prescribed shape and also held between
the lid or the door and the equipment body, and the supporting
frame is provided to the groove formed on the lid or the door, or
the equipment body on the side opposite to the groove housing the
water absorber.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to waterproof construction of
communication equipment which is settled outdoors, in particular,
to waterproof construction in which a waterproof packing is
provided at an opening of a body of the communication equipment,
between a lid or a door which blocks the opening and the equipment
body, for sealing joints of them.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
[0002] Conventionally, a body of radio communication equipment
settled outdoors such as a movable body communication base station
is provided with waterproof construction (here, all the
construction of waterproof, drip-proof and splash-proof is called
waterproof construction in general) at its opening in order to
protect electronic parts and electronic circuits on a printed board
mounted inside against submergence. Namely, in the waterproof
construction of the communication equipment, a groove 23 is
provided to one side (or both sides) of joints of an equipment body
21 and a cover (a lid or a door) 22, and an elastic waterproof
packing 24 is fit into the groove 23 as shown in FIG. 1. On the
occasion of combining the equipment body 21 and the cover 22, the
waterproof packing 24 is screwed up by a screw 25 etc. and deformed
by the pressure so that the waterproof packing 24 sticks fast to
the joint with the elasticity, for perfectly sealing a joint gap
between the equipment body 21 and the cover 22. Thus the waterproof
packing 24 prevents water from leaking in by its contact
pressure.
[0003] In such construction that a waterproof packing is held
between an equipment body and a cover, the equipment body and the
cover need to be screwed up tightly in order that the waterproof
packing is pressurized and deformed to have enough contact pressure
for preventing water leakage.
[0004] However, since compressing the waterproof packing 24 is a
necessary factor of the waterproof construction, when, for example,
the screw 25 is loose, there is a foreign substance stuck in the
joints between the equipment body 21 and the cover 22, or the
waterproof packing 24 is partly off the groove 23, the waterproof
packing 24 may not bring its intended resilience into full play,
and therefore, may not keep prescribed necessary contact
pressure.
[0005] In this situation, a crevice is generated between the
equipment body 21 and the cover 22 as shown in FIG. 2, letting
water leak inside the body, and consequently, causing trouble that
damages electronic parts and electronic circuits mounted inside. In
addition, as shown in FIG. 3, according to the construction where
the string-type waterproof packing 24 is set along a periphery of
an opening of the equipment body 21, there is a risk of leakage
from a joint 27.
[0006] Therefore, reliable waterproof construction, which is worked
out for protecting the electronic parts and electronic circuits on
the printed board mounted inside of the body against submergence
even when the water packing does not work efficiently due to an
unexpected accident and a crevice is generated between the
equipment body and the cover, is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide waterproof construction of communication equipment improved
to prevent even a little water from leaking in to electronic parts
and electronic circuits through the part of a waterproof
packing.
[0008] In accordance with the present invention, there is provided
waterproof construction of communication equipment comprising a
waterproof packing at an opening of a body of the communication
equipment, between a lid or a door which blocks the opening and the
equipment body, for sealing the joint of them, and a water absorber
having greater elastic contractibility than that of the waterproof
packing, placed on more inside of the equipment body than a
position of the waterproof packing, held between the lid or the
door and the equipment body.
[0009] In this case, it is preferred that the waterproof packing
and the water absorber are disposed on facing surfaces of the lid
or the door and the equipment body linearly at predetermined
intervals so as to surround the opening, and on the occasion of
blocking the opening, the water absorber is held between the facing
surfaces of the lid or the door and the equipment body before the
waterproof packing is held between them. Also it is preferred that
the waterproof packing is held in a state of performing required
elastic deformation in the process of elastic deformation due to a
blockade of the lid or the door and the equipment body.
[0010] According to another aspect of the present invention, it is
effective that grooves for regulating the position of the
waterproof packing and the water absorber are set at least to the
lid or the door, or the equipment body on the joints, and that the
water absorber is constituted of material having greater elastic
contractibility than that of the waterproof packing.
[0011] Furthermore, according to another aspect of the present
invention, it is preferable that sectional area of the groove is
set corresponding to that of the water absorber so that when the
elastic deformation of the water absorber takes place in the groove
according to the blockade of the lid or the door and the equipment
body, the water absorber fills the groove, and swells out to a
crevice between the both. Also it is preferable that the water
absorber includes a waterproofing film for preventing water from
leaking inside of the equipment body in a blocked condition, and
the water absorber is previously fitted to a supporting frame in a
prescribed shape and held between the lid or the door and the
equipment body with the frame, and particularly, the supporting
frame is provided to the groove formed on the lid or the door, or
the equipment body on the side opposite to the groove housing the
water absorber.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The above and further objects and the novel feature of the
invention will more fully appear from the following detailed
description when the same is read in connection with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a main part of a
conventional example;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing a main part of a
conventional example in a condition of a failure in
waterproofing;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a plane view showing a main part of a conventional
example;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view showing a main part of a
first embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIGS. 5A to 5C are vertical sectional views showing an order
of constructing the waterproof construction of the present
invention;
[0018] FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view showing a main part of a
second embodiment of the present invention; and
[0019] FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view showing a main part of a
third embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0020] Referring now to the drawings, a description of preferred
embodiments of the present invention will be given in detail.
Incidentally, FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view showing a main
part of a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a
vertical sectional view of the main part for explaining the
embodiment, FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view showing a main part
of a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a
vertical sectional view showing a main part of a third
embodiment.
[0021] The common part(s) to the construction of all the
embodiments is/are as follows. That is, a string-type waterproof
packing 4 is provided at an opening of a communication equipment
body 1, between a cover (a lid or a door) 2 which blocks the
opening and the equipment body 1 for sealing joints of them.
[0022] Besides, a string-type water absorber 5 composed of material
having greater elastic contractibility than that of the waterproof
packing 4, placed on more inside of the equipment body 1 than a
position of the waterproof packing 4, held between a flange 2A of
the cover 2 and a flange 1A of the equipment body 1.
[0023] In the first embodiment of the present invention, grooves 3
and 6 for regulating the position of the waterproof packing 4 and
the water absorber 5 are formed in line on facing surfaces between
the flange 2A of the cover 2 and the flange 1A of the equipment
body 1 at predetermined intervals so as to surround the periphery
of the opening, and the waterproof packing 4 and the water absorber
5 are fit into the grooves.
[0024] Besides, the waterproof packing 4 is set to a size (of
sectional form) adequate for its portion projecting out of the
groove 3 onto the joint of the equipment body 1 to be necessary
amount for producing enough contact pressure to perform the
waterproof function by the elastic deformation when screwed up by
the screw 7. Besides, as an example of the material for the water
absorber 5, there are a porous bag, a mesh cloth bag filled with an
absorptive polymer, urethane foam itself and so forth.
[0025] In addition, as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, on the occasion of
blocking the opening, the water absorber 5 is held between the
facing surfaces of the flange 2A of the cover 2 and the flange 1A
of the equipment body 1 before the waterproof packing 4 is held
between them (refer to FIG. 5A). In the process of blockade of the
cover 2 and the equipment body 1 being screwed up by the screw 7,
the elastic deformation of the water absorber 5 occurs in the
groove 6 (refer to FIG. 5B), and then the elastic deformation of
the waterproof packing 4 occurs. As the waterproof packing 4 is
being held between the facing surfaces of the flange 2A of the
cover 2 and the flange 1A of the equipment body 1, the water
absorber 5 performs required elastic deformation (to fill the
groove 6, and swell out to a crevice between the facing surfaces)
and is held (refer to FIG. 5C).
[0026] Incidentally, in this embodiment as shown in FIG. 4, the
grooves 3 and 6 which regulate the position of the waterproof
packing 4 and the water absorber 5 are formed on the flange 1A of
the equipment body 1. They can be formed on the flange of the cover
2 for convenience in the design, and of course they can be formed
on the both flanges also. The sectional area of the groove 6 is
designed corresponding to that of the water absorber 5 so that the
water absorber can swell therein.
[0027] In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the water
absorber 5 includes a waterproofing film 8 for preventing water
from leaking inside of the equipment body in a blocked condition.
Moreover, the water absorber 5 is previously fitted to the flange
2A of the cover 2 at the prescribed position opposite to the groove
6 on the side of the equipment body 1. Other construction or
function is the same as that of the first embodiment and not
described here.
[0028] In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the water
absorber 5 is previously fitted to a supporting frame 9, which is
made of metal or resin in a prescribed shape, in order to maintain
the shape at first fitting. With the frame, the water absorber 5 is
held between the flange 2A of the cover 2 and the flange 1A of the
equipment body 1. Particularly, in this embodiment, the supporting
frame 9 is set to the groove 10 formed on the flange 2A of the
cover 2 on the side opposite to the groove 6 housing the water
absorber 5 (when the groove 6 is provided to the cover, the
supporting frame 9 is set to the flange 1A on the side of the
equipment body 1). Besides, the supporting frame 9 can be put on
and taken off the cover 2 easily, and thereby improved in the
maintenance and replacement by means of loading the supporting
frame 9 with spring or resilience and fit it into the groove 10 on
the side of the cover 2. Other construction or function is the same
as that of the first embodiment and not described here.
[0029] As is clear by these embodiments, generally, by screwing up
the equipment body 1 and the cover 2 with a screw 7, the waterproof
packing 4 is deformed by the pressure, and with the elasticity, the
waterproof packing 4 perfectly seals a joint (flange) gap between
the equipment body 1 and the cover 2, and thus prevents water from
leaking in by its contact pressure.
[0030] However, in such construction that a waterproof packing 4 is
held between an equipment body 1 and a cover 2, when it is
impossible to secure enough contact pressure, that is, when the
screw 7 is loose, or there is a foreign substance stuck between the
joints of the equipment body 1 and the cover 2, etc., the
waterproof packing 4 may not produce its intended effect on
waterproofing, and therefore, let a little water leak inside the
body from the gap between the equipment body 1 and the cover 2.
[0031] In this situation, according to the constitution of the
present invention, it is made possible to prevent water from
leaking in to electronic parts and electronic circuits of the
equipment by the water absorber which is set on the inside of the
waterproof packing 4 on the equipment body and absorbs rain water.
Moreover, water can be stopped by the function of the waterproofing
film 8.
[0032] In accordance with the present invention, when even a little
water leak inside the equipment due to insufficient waterproof
function because the equipment body and the lid or the door (the
cover) are screwed up insufficiently and enough contact pressure
cannot be obtained, there is a crevice at a contact part of the
waterproof packing, or the waterproof packing itself is set
wrongly, the water absorber absorbs the water, and thereby it is
made possible to protect the electronic parts and electronic
circuits on the printed board mounted inside of the equipment body
against submergence. Thus more reliable waterproof construction for
communication equipment can be realized.
[0033] While the preferred embodiment of the present invention has
been described using specific terms, such description is for
illustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that changes
and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or the
scope of the following claims.
* * * * *