U.S. patent application number 10/093370 was filed with the patent office on 2002-09-12 for attachment fixture, cabinet stand, and article attachment method.
Invention is credited to Momiyama, Hiroaki.
Application Number | 20020125394 10/093370 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 18924319 |
Filed Date | 2002-09-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020125394 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Momiyama, Hiroaki |
September 12, 2002 |
Attachment fixture, cabinet stand, and article attachment
method
Abstract
An article attachment method for attaching a stand that includes
at least one through-hole, to a cabinet that includes at least one
groove, is provided. The stand is attached to the cabinet by
aligning the grooves in the cabinet with the through-holes in the
stand, inserting attachment fixtures through the through-holes,
positioning the minor axis parts of attachment parts in the
attachment fixtures so as to face the side walls of grooves on the
cabinet, rotating the attachment fixtures by a prescribed angle in
one direction, and positioning the major axis parts of the
attachment parts so as to face the side walls of grooves.
Inventors: |
Momiyama, Hiroaki;
(Kanagawa, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KATTEN MUCHIN ZAVIS ROSENMAN
575 MADISON AVENUE
NEW YORK
NY
10022-2585
US
|
Family ID: |
18924319 |
Appl. No.: |
10/093370 |
Filed: |
March 7, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/346.01 ;
248/346.03 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16B 2/08 20130101; F16B
25/0078 20130101; F16M 2200/08 20130101; F16M 2200/02 20130101;
F16B 5/02 20130101; F16B 2/12 20130101; F16M 11/22 20130101; F16B
35/041 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
248/346.01 ;
248/346.03 |
International
Class: |
B65D 019/00; A47G
029/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 8, 2001 |
JP |
2001-065714 |
Claims
1. An attachment fixture comprising: a head part; and an attachment
part extending longitudinally from said head part; wherein the
attachment part includes a major axis part having a major axis
along a first direction and a minor axis part having a minor axis
along a second direction, said first and second directions being
contained in the plane that is perpendicular to said longitudinal
direction.
2. An attachment fixture as described in claim 1, further
comprising a screw thread formed on said major axis part.
3. A cabinet stand for supporting a cabinet that has at least one
groove defined between sidewalls, said cabinet stand comprising: a
stand main body having at least one through-hole; and an attachment
fixture adapted for attaching said stand main body to a cabinet by
insertion through said through-hole and rotation in one direction;
said attachment fixture further comprising a head part that has a
portion larger than the diameter of said through-hole and an
attachment part that extends from said head part in the direction
of the rotation axis and is adapted for passage through said
through-hole; wherein the attachment part includes a major axis
part having a major axis along a first direction and a minor axis
part having a minor axis along a second direction, said first and
second directions being contained in the plane that is
perpendicular to said longitudinal direction; and further wherein
said major axis is longer than the distance between the side walls
in said cabinet groove, and said minor axis is shorter than the
distance between said side walls.
4. A cabinet stand as described in claim 3, wherein said head part
on the attachment fixture has a shape that extends along the first
direction of said two directions.
5. A cabinet stand as described in claim 3, further comprising a
thread ridge formed on said major axis part.
6. A cabinet stand as described in claim 5, further comprising
stoppers provided on said stand main body for restricting said
attachment fixture to a prescribed range of rotation.
7. An article attachment method for attaching a first article that
includes at least one through-hole to a second article that has at
least one groove bounded by sidewalls, said method comprising the
steps of: aligning said at least one through-hole with said at
least one groove; inserting at least one attachment fixture through
said through-hole, said attachment fixture having a minor axis part
and a major axis part; positioning the minor axis part of the
attachment fixture so as to face the sidewalls of the at least one
groove; and rotating said at least one attachment fixture by a
prescribed angle in one direction to position the major axis parts
of said attachment fixture so as to face said groove sidewalls,
thereby to attach said first article to said second article.
8. An electronic apparatus comprising an apparatus main body, a
cabinet in which the apparatus main body is housed, and a cabinet
stand for installing the cabinet, wherein the cabinet includes at
least one groove; and wherein the cabinet stand comprises a stand
main body including at least one through-hole, and an attachment
fixture for attaching the stand main body to the cabinet by
inserting the attachment fixture through said through-hole of the
stand main body and rotating said attachment fixture; and further
wherein the attachment fixture comprises a head part including a
portion that is larger than the diameter of said through-hole, and
an attachment part extending longitudinally from said head part and
being sized so as to go through said through-hole; and also wherein
the attachment part includes a major axis part having a major axis
along a first direction and a minor axis part having a minor axis
along a second direction, said first and second directions being
contained in the plane that is perpendicular to said longitudinal
direction, said major axis being longer than the distance between
the side walls in said cabinet groove, and said minor axis being
shorter than the distance between said side walls.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to an attachment fixture for
attaching an article to another article, a cabinet stand having
said attachment, and an attachment method for attaching an article
to another article.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In general, various horizontal type main-body devices of
personal computers, their external memories and other peripheral
equipments, audiovisual equipments and so on are configured to
place in the horizontal orientation, for example, by providing leg
parts 102 on the bottom surface of the device main body 100, as
shown in FIG. 1, so that they can be used in a stable
condition.
[0003] However, in order to save space for installation, it has
been required to use such a device main body 100 in the vertical
orientation as well. In order to realize this requirement, it has
been needed to make it possible to use the device main body 100 not
only in the horizontal orientation but also in the vertical
orientation, without modifying its design shape. As shown in FIG.
2, simply placing a horizontal type device main body 100 in
vertical orientation makes it unstable, because its base area
becomes relatively small. Thus, there have been proposed stands for
preventing a horizontal type device main body from toppling over in
the vertical orientation.
[0004] In one example, stands 112 as shown in FIG. 3 are prepared,
each stand having a rectangular indentation or depression 110 that
is roughly the same as or slightly larger than the width of device
main body 100. Stands 112 are attached to device main body 100 by
pressing it against the body by means of tightening screws 116,
wherein damage prevention spacers 114 are interposed between the
body and the respective stands so as not to damage device main body
100. In general, such stands 112 are used to prevent tumble of
device main body 100.
[0005] The example of FIG. 3 illustrates that stands 112 are
attached to device main body 100 at two locations, one at front and
the other at rear, but the front and rear stands 112 may be
suitably joined to form an integral stand, as indicated by the
dotted lines of alternating long and two short dashes ("two-dot
chain lines").
[0006] In another example, board-shaped stands 120 as shown in
FIGS. 4 and 5 are used, each stand having a securing belt 122 such
as fabric belt, stretchable rubber belt or the like that is secured
to mounting surface 120a of the stand on which, for example, the
device main body is mounted. In this case too, as shown in FIG. 5,
stands 120 are attached to device main body 100 in two locations,
one in front and the other in rear, but the front and rear stands
120 may be suitably joined to form an integral stand, as shown by
the two-dot chain lines.
[0007] Further in another example, a board-shaped stand 132 as
shown in FIG. 6 is used. The stand has a mounting surface 130 of
relatively small area, and device main body 100 is secured by an
adhesive to mounting surface 130 of said stand 132 as shown in FIG.
7. In FIG. 6, region 134 indicated by the slanting lines is the
part that is coated with adhesive.
[0008] However, in the example shown in FIG. 3, it is necessary to
include damage prevention spacers 114 because of the danger of
scratching or otherwise damaging device main body 100 by part of
stand 112 being pressed against and coming into contact with side
surfaces 100a and 100b of device main body 100. This creates
problems that the number of parts becomes large, and that the size
of stand 112 itself becomes relatively large, which makes
meaningless the purpose of saving space for installation by placing
device main body 100 in the vertical orientation.
[0009] Moreover, upon carrying around device main body 100 to which
stand 112 is attached, if the user holds stand 112 side with device
main body 100 upside-down, device main body 100 is possible to come
loose and fall off from stand 112. Therefore, frictional force or
securing force is necessary to ensure that device main body 100
does not fall off. In the example of FIG. 3, device main body 100
is supported by contact between damage prevention spacers 114 and
one side surface 100a of device main body 100 and by contact
between the sidewall of stand 112 and the other side surface 100b
of device main body 100. In order to ensure sufficient frictional
force or securing force, it is necessary to make the area of each
contact surface between device main body 100 and stand 112 large or
to make damage prevention spacers 114 of a material that has large
frictional force. This might increase the manufacturing cost of
stand 112.
[0010] In the example of FIGS. 4 and 5, installation space can be
saved, because securing belts 122 are merely put on device main
body 100. But when carrying around device main body 100 to which
stand 120 is attached, fastening force and belt strength are
necessary to ensure that device main body 100 will not come loose
from stand 120 by holding the stand 120 side with device main body
100 upside-down. To ensure this fastening force, a material of
relatively high elastic force can be chosen for securing belt 122,
but this might make it difficult for the user to manually loop
high-elastic-force securing belt 122 over device main body 100.
[0011] In the example of FIGS. 6 and 7, device main body 100 is
affixed to stand 132 by an adhesive, so it is difficult or
impossible to remove stand 132 from the main body. Moreover, when
the main body is placed in the horizontal orientation, it cannot be
installed horizontally, so the main body device cannot fully
function, and such placement might detract from its appearance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] In view of such problems, the purpose of this invention is
to provide an attachment fixture, cabinet stand, and article
attachment method whereby, for example, there is no need to alter
the design shape of a device main body for attaching a stand to the
device main body, the stand can be securely attached to the device
main body, and the stand can be removed easily from the device main
body.
[0013] A further purpose of this invention is to provide an
attachment fixture for attaching a cabinet that houses electronic
apparatus to a cabinet stand, a cabinet stand that has said
attachment fixture, and an attachment method for these.
[0014] In one aspect of this invention, there is provided an
attachment fixture comprising a head part and an attachment part
extending longitudinally from said head part, the attachment part
including a major axis part having a major axis along a first
direction and a minor axis part having a minor axis along a second
direction, said first and second directions being diameter parts
contained in the plane that is perpendicular to said longitudinal
direction, and the head part being shaped so as to extend in the
first direction of said two directions.
[0015] When this attachment fixture is used, for example, to attach
one article to another, the attachment part is advanced through one
article toward the other and then rotated, whereby, since the
attachment part includes the major axis part having a major axis
along the first direction and the minor axis part having a minor
axis along the second direction, a portion of the attachment part
engages with the other article, and as a result the one article is
attached to the other article. Of course, rotation in the opposite
direction releases the engaged portion of said attachment part from
the other article, making it easy to remove the one article from
the other article.
[0016] Also, since the head part is shaped so as to extend along
the first direction of said two directions, it possible to easily
confirm the directionality when the attachment part is advanced to
said other article, thereby to simplify the attachment
operation.
[0017] Also, in said configuration, said attachment part may be
made so that a screw thread ridge is formed on said major axis
part. In this case, the screw thread ridge screwed into said other
article, so that the one article can be securely attached to the
other article.
[0018] In another aspect of this invention, there is provided a
cabinet stand for supporting a cabinet that includes at least one
groove therein, the cabinet stand comprising a stand main body
including at least one through-hole, and an attachment fixture for
attaching the stand main body to said cabinet by inserting it
through said through-hole in said stand main body and rotating it
in one direction, wherein said attachment fixture has a head part
including a portion that is larger than the diameter of said
through-hole, and an attachment part extending longitudinally from
said head part and being sized so as to go through said
through-hole; and also wherein the attachment part includes a major
axis part having a major axis along a first direction and a minor
axis part having a minor axis along a second direction, said first
and second directions being contained in the plane that is
perpendicular to said longitudinal direction; and further wherein
said major axis is longer than the distance between the side walls
in said cabinet groove, and said minor axis is shorter than the
distance between said side walls.
[0019] In one embodiment, the attachment part includes the major
axis part having a major axis along the first direction and the
minor axis part having a minor axis along the second direction.
Thus, by inserting the attachment part of the attachment fixture
through the through-hole of the stand main body into the groove of
the cabinet, and then rotating the attachment fixture, a portion of
the attachment part engages with the side walls of the groove in
the cabinet because of the anisotropy of the external shape of the
attachment part, whereby the stand main body is attached to the
cabinet.
[0020] In one embodiment, the attachment part includes the major
axis part having a major axis along the first direction and the
minor axis part having a minor axis along the second direction, and
said major axis is longer than the distance between the side walls
in said cabinet groove, while said minor axis is shorter than the
distance between said side walls. Thus, when inserting the
attachment part of the attachment fixture into the cabinet groove,
the attachment part is inserted into the groove simply, by creating
a state in which the major axis part lies along the groove, that
is, a state in which the minor axis parts are facing to the
sidewalls. And by rotating the attachment part in one direction,
the major axis part engages with the sidewalls, whereby the stand
main body is attached to the cabinet.
[0021] The head part on said attachment fixture may be shaped so as
to extend along the first direction of said two directions. That
is, by shaping the head part so as to extend in correspondence with
the major axis part or minor axis part in the attachment part, upon
inserting the attachment part into the groove of said cabinet, it
is simple to recognize the insertion direction by confirming the
position of the head, whereby wrong insertion of the attachment
fixture can be prevented.
[0022] Also, in said configuration, with regard to said attachment
part in said attachment fixture, a thread ridge may be formed on
said major axis part. This makes it possible to securely attach the
stand main body to the cabinet, because the thread ridge is screwed
into the sidewalls of the groove in the cabinet.
[0023] In addition, stoppers may be provided on said stand main
body to keep the range of rotation of said attachment fixture
within a prescribed range. This makes it simple for the user to
recognize how far the attachment fixture may be rotated, and can
make the operability more efficient.
[0024] In another aspect of this invention, there is provide an
article attachment method for attaching a first article including
at least one through-hole to a second article including at least
one groove, wherein said first article is attached to said second
article by aligning said through-holes in the first article with
said grooves in the second article, inserting the attachment
fixture through said through-hole, positioning the minor axis part
of the attachment part of the attachment fixture so as to face the
side walls of said groove, rotating said attachment fixture by a
prescribed angle in one direction, and positioning the major axis
part of said attachment part so as to face the side walls of said
groove. Thus in attaching the first article to the second article,
the first article can be securely attached to, and easily removed
from the second article without having to modify the design shape
of the second article.
[0025] In another aspect of this invention, there is provide an
electronic apparatus comprising an apparatus main body, a cabinet
in which the apparatus main body is housed, and a cabinet stand for
installing the cabinet, wherein the cabinet includes at least one
groove, and wherein the cabinet stand comprises a stand main body
including at least one through-hole, and an attachment fixture for
attaching the stand main body to the cabinet by inserting the
attachment fixture through said through-hole of the stand main body
and rotating said attachment fixture, and further wherein the
attachment fixture comprises a head part including a portion that
is larger than the diameter of said through-hole, and an attachment
part extending longitudinally from said head part and being sized
so as to go through said through-hole; and also wherein the
attachment part includes a major axis part having a major axis
along a first direction and a minor axis part having a minor axis
along a second direction, said first and second directions being
contained in the plane that is perpendicular to said longitudinal
direction, said major axis being longer than the distance between
the side walls in said cabinet groove, and said minor axis being
shorter than the distance between said side walls.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a horizontal type prior art
device placed in the horizontal orientation.
[0027] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a horizontal type prior art
device placed in the vertical orientation.
[0028] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of use
with a stand relating to the device of FIG. 1.
[0029] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a second example of a
prior art stand.
[0030] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing use of the stand of
FIG. 4.
[0031] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a third example of a
prior art stand.
[0032] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing use of the stand of
FIG. 6.
[0033] FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing the stand of
the present invention, together with the cabinet.
[0034] FIG. 9 is a front view showing the stand of the present
invention, together with the cabinet.
[0035] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the attachment of
the stand with the cabinet.
[0036] FIG. 11 is a side view showing, with part cut away, the
stand of the present invention attached to the cabinet.
[0037] FIG. 12 is a bottom view showing the stand of the present
invention attached to the cabinet.
[0038] FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the attachment fixture
of the present invention.
[0039] FIG. 14A is a plan view of the attachment fixture of FIG.
13, FIG. 14B is its side view, and FIG. 14C is its front view.
[0040] FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate the formation of the attachment
part of the attachment fixture of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0041] Referring to FIGS. 8-14, the attachment fixture, cabinet
stand, and article attachment method relating to this invention are
described herein below, by taking as an example an embodiment that
applies to the case in which various horizontal types of electronic
apparatus are attached to a stand and are used in vertical
orientation. Also, these various types of electronic apparatus
cover personal computers, their external memory devices,
audiovisual apparatus, etc.
[0042] (Cabinet Stand for Electronic Apparatus placed in vertical
orientation)
[0043] As shown in FIG. 8, an electronic apparatus 1 0 has a main
body that is housed inside a cabinet 12, and multiple grooves 14
formed around the substantially entire circumference of cabinet 12
(the side part of the cabinet in horizontal orientation). These
grooves 14 are formed for artistic design requirements and are not
formed on the rear side of electronic apparatus 10 (the side to
which power line 16 is connected). Cabinet 12 is formed of a
synthetic resin such as ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
resin).
[0044] Also, four legs 18 are provided on side surface 12a when
cabinet 12 is put in vertical orientation (the base in horizontal
orientation) for the purpose of raising side surface 12a from the
installation surface in order to dissipate heat efficiently.
[0045] Stand 20 comprises stand main body 22, which is formed in a
roughly board shape, and multiple attachment fixtures 24, which
will be described below. Also, note that in FIG. 8 these attachment
fixtures are pictured relatively large (not to scale) for
electronic apparatus 10 and stand 20 in order to make their shape
easy to understand.
[0046] As shown in FIGS. 8-10, stand main body 22 has cabinet
mounting part 26, whose top surface is flat, its both sides have
tapered surfaces 28, which slants downward toward the outside, and
space 32 is defined between the bottom surface of cabinet mounting
part 26 and stand installation surface 30. This stand installation
surface 30 means the surface on which stand 20 is installed, and
refers to, for example, the top surface of a desk, etc. (see FIG.
10). Inside this space 32, multiple (three, in example of FIGS. 11
and 12) reinforcing plates 36 are formed integrally between a pair
of side walls 34a and 34b that are formed in the lengthwise
direction of stand main body 22, and reinforce the strength of
cabinet mounting part 26 and prevent it from falling into said
space 32.
[0047] Multiple (four, in the example of FIG. 8) through-holes 40
are formed in cabinet mounting part 26 of stand main body 22. As
shown in FIG. 12, through-holes 40 are formed at positions
symmetrical with respect to the midline m extending along the
lengthwise direction of stand main body 22 and also at positions
symmetrical with respect to the midline n extending along the width
direction of stand main body 22 (see FIG. 12). Thus the positions
of through-holes 40 are set so as to stabilize the attachment state
of cabinet 12 when, as described below, attachment fixtures 24 are
advanced into cabinet 12 through through-holes 40 and then cabinet
12 is attached to stand 20.
[0048] Also, as shown in FIG. 8, multiple projections 42 that
project upward (toward electronic apparatus 10) are formed
integrally on the top surface (the mounting surface) of cabinet
mounting part 26 of stand main body 22. As shown in FIG. 9, these
projections 42 are formed in a size and position so as to grip the
inside of grooves 14 formed in the bottom surface of cabinet
12.
[0049] Moreover, in this embodiment, the positions of projections
42 are determined so that when the bottom surface of cabinet 12 and
the mounting surface of stand main body 22 are made to abut against
each other, and projections 42 on the mounting surface of stand
main body 22 are inserted toward the interior of grooves 14 in the
bottom surface of cabinet 12, multiple through-holes 40 in cabinet
mounting part 26 of stand main body 22 are automatically positioned
to align with the corresponding grooves 14 in the bottom surface of
cabinet 12 match. That is, said projections 42 function as
positioning members for mounting cabinet 12 on stand 20.
[0050] (Attachment Fixture)
[0051] Stated briefly, attachment fixture 24 corresponds to a
deformed screw. As shown in FIG. 13, it consists of head part 50
which is rotationally driven by a screwdriver in the attachment
state, and attachment part 52 which is screwed into another
member.
[0052] As shown in FIG. 13, attachment fixture 24 has head part 50
and attachment part 52 extending from head part 50 in the
longitudinal direction (the z-axis direction), and these parts are
integrally formed of stainless steel, for example. This attachment
fixture 24 is configured in such a way that the external shape of
attachment part 52 has anisotropy in two directions (the x-axis
direction and the y-axis direction) which are contained in the
plane (the x-y plane) that is perpendicular to said longitudinal
direction (the z-axis direction).
[0053] Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, attachment part
52 is formed by cutting thread on a cylinder, and then by cutting
away the side portion in parallel. Attachment part 52 thus formed
has major axis part 54 having major axis La in the x-axis
direction, and minor axis part 56 having minor axis Lb in the
y-axis direction (see FIG. 14A). In major axis part 54, each end
face thereof is formed in circular-arc shape, and on its upper
part, thread ridges 58 are formed up to a given range from the end
of attachment part 52. Minor axis part 56, whose end faces 56a are
made flat, has flat surfaces that continue as far as head part 50.
Alternatively, the cross-sectional shape of attachment part 52 may
be formed in that like a track-and-field track.
[0054] As shown in FIG. 14A, said major axis La of attachment part
52 denotes the distance between the tops of screw thread ridge 58
on the end faces of major axis part 54, and minor axis Lb denotes
the distance between end faces 56a of minor axis part 56.
[0055] Head part 50 of attachment fixture 24 has a shape that
extends along the x-axis direction, and formed in its top is a
groove 60 of a size to accommodate the insertion of, for example,
the tip of a flat-bladed screwdriver or the edge of a coin. FIG. 8
shows the state in which the tip 62 of a flat-bladed screwdriver
rotates attachment fixture 24.
[0056] Now, the relationships in size between said attachment
fixtures 24, said through-holes 40 of stand main body 22, and said
grooves 14 of cabinet 12 will be described.
[0057] As shown in FIG. 8, major axis La of attachment part 52 in
attachment fixture 24 is set smaller than diameter D of
through-hole 40 and larger than distance Lc between the side walls
of groove 14 in cabinet 12. Specifically, major axis La of
attachment part 52 is set to be such a length that thread ridge 58
on major axis part 54 will be screwed into the inside of the side
walls of groove 14 of cabinet 12.
[0058] Also, as shown in FIG. 10, height Ld of attachment part 52
(see also FIG. 14B) is set larger than thickness t of cabinet
mounting part 26 of stand main body 22 and to be no greater than
the total dimension of thickness t of cabinet mounting part 26 plus
depth Le of groove 14. Also, length Lf of the threaded portion (see
also FIG. 14B) is set to be no greater than said depth Le of groove
14.
[0059] On the other hand, maximum length Lg of head part 50 (see
also FIG. 14B) is set larger than diameter D of through-hole 40,
and height h of head part 50 (see also FIG. 14B) is set to be no
greater than height Lh of space 32 in stand main body 22.
[0060] Next, the method for attaching stand 20 to cabinet 12 will
be described.
[0061] First, bottom surface 12b of cabinet 12 and the top surface
of cabinet mounting part 26 of stand main body 22 are made to abut
against each other, and projections 42 on the mounting surface of
stand main body 22 are inserted into respective grooves 14 on the
bottom surface of cabinet 12. At this time, positioning is
automatically done so that through-holes 40 on cabinet mounting
part 26 of stand main body 22 and corresponding grooves 14 in
bottom surface 12b of cabinet 12 align to each other.
[0062] Then, attachment parts 52 of attachment fixtures 24 are
inserted into grooves 14 of cabinet 12 through through-holes 40
from the bottom surface of cabinet mounting part 26 of stand main
body 22. At this time, attachment parts 52 are inserted in such a
state that the extension direction of head parts 50 coincides with
the lengthwise direction of stand main body 22 because the
direction of major axis part 54 and the extension direction of head
part 50 are the same. This creates a state in which end faces 56a
in minor axis parts 56 of attachment parts 52 (see FIGS. 13 and
14A) face the side walls of grooves 14 in cabinet 12, so that
attachment parts 52 can be easily inserted into grooves 14.
[0063] Then, head parts 50 of attachment fixtures 24 are driven to
rotate by, for example, about 90 degrees using tip 62 of a
flat-bladed screwdriver or the edge of a coin. By this rotationally
driving operation, major axis parts 54 of attachment parts 52,
particularly the thread ridge 58, is cut into and secured by the
sidewalls of grooves 14. This stand main body 22 is securely
attached to cabinet 12 by attachment fixtures 24.
[0064] As shown in FIG. 12, if desired, it is preferable to provide
on the bottom surface of cabinet mounting part 26 of stand main
body 22 stoppers 70 that limit rotation of attachment fixture 24
around through-holes 40 to a prescribed range (for example, 0-90
degrees).
[0065] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, two stopper pieces
70a and 70b are formed at point-symmetrical positions about the
center of through-hole 40. By stopper pieces 70a and 70b thus
arranged, the range of rotation of attachment fixture 24 can be
regulated to a range from the position where the extension
direction of head part 50 approximately coincides with the
lengthwise direction of stand main body 22 to the position where
the extension direction of head part 50 becomes perpendicular to
the lengthwise direction when head part 50 is rotated clockwise as
indicated by arrow A. This can prevent attachment fixture 24 from
turning too far and damaging the side walls of groove 14, can
prevent the fastening effect of the screws from being lost, and can
prevent attachment units 52 from coming out.
[0066] And when removing cabinet 12 from stand main body 22, it can
be removed simply, by performing the opposite procedure from the
above-described procedure.
[0067] Thus, in this embodiment, since an attachment fixture 24 has
head part 50 and attachment part 52 extending from head part 50 in
the longitudinal direction (the z-axis direction), and the external
shape of attachment part 52 has anisotropy in two directions (the
x-axis direction and the y-axis direction) contained in the plane
that is perpendicular to said longitudinal direction (the z-axis
direction), one can readily attach stand 20 to cabinet 12 by
utilizing grooves 14 in cabinet 12, with no need to modify the
design shape of cabinet 12.
[0068] Moreover, because thread ridge 58 is provided on major axis
part 54 of attachment part 52, when attaching stand 20 to cabinet
12, said thread ridge 58 grips the side walls of groove 14 in
cabinet 12, whereby stand 20 is securely attached to cabinet
12.
[0069] In particular, the construction is such that each attachment
fixture 24 is inserted into cabinet 12 through cabinet mounting
part 26 of stand main body 22, so stand main body 22 can be made
thin, and further because the width of stand main body 22 does not
need to be larger than the minimum length enough to prevent
toppling over suffices for, the size of stand main body 22 can be
made small.
[0070] And even if stand 20 is removed from cabinet 12 and the
electronic apparatus is used, for example, in horizontal
orientation, the part that is gripped by thread ridge 58 is the
side walls of grooves 14, so any scratching or other damage caused
by the gripping of the thread is never conspicuous, and the
attractive appearance is never marred.
[0071] Because the extension direction of head part 50 in
attachment fixture 24 coincides with the extension direction of
major axis part 54 in attachment part 52, it is easy to identify or
confirm the directionality when inserting attachment part 52 into
groove 14 of cabinet 12, and the attachment operation becomes very
simple.
[0072] Also, in this embodiment, height Ld of attachment part 52 is
set larger than thickness t of cabinet mounting part 26 of stand
main body 22 and no greater than the total dimension of thickness t
of cabinet mounting part 26 plus depth Le of groove 14, making the
attachment of stand 20 by attachment fixture 24 more secure,
without any scratching of the base of groove 14 by the tip of
attachment part 52 and without lifting up cabinet 12, which is also
beneficial for sake of appearance.
[0073] Also, height h of head part 50 is set to be no greater than
height Lh of space 32 (the space formed below cabinet mounting part
26) of stand main body 22, so when attaching stand 20 to cabinet 12
using attachment fixtures 24, head part 50 is accommodated inside
said space 32 of stand main body 22, and in appearance, attachment
fixtures 24 cannot be visible, which is also beneficial for sake of
appearance.
[0074] In the above example, what is shown as groove 14 formed in
cabinet 12 is a groove that is formed continuously from one end
face of cabinet 12 to the other end face, but besides this, it
suffices if only a part is grooved. For example, groove 14 may be
formed in only the part that faces at least through-hole 40 when
bottom surface 12b of cabinet 12 is mounted on cabinet mounting
part 26 of stand main unit 22. In this case, any plane shape, such
as an oval or rectangle, is conceivable as a plane shape as the
part where groove 14 is formed.
[0075] Also, it should be noted that the attachment fixture,
cabinet stand, and article attachment method of this invention are
not limited to the above embodiment; various modification may be
adopted provided that they do not depart from the gist of the
invention as set forth in the claims.
[0076] As explained above, with the attachment fixture, cabinet
stand, and article attachment method of this invention, for example
when attaching a stand to a device main body, there is no need to
modify the design shape of the device main body, the stand can be
attached to the device main body securely, and its removal becomes
easy as well.
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