Self-locking enclosure for electronic circuitry and method of assembling the same

Claim 2

A self-locking enclosure for electronic circuitry comprising: a unitary body member having first and second open ends, and a plUrality of side walls defining therein a hollow cavity; engaging means positioned on said side walls of said body member adjacent said first and said second open ends, said engaging means comprising: grooves formed in the side walls within hollow cavity, said grooves extending inwardly from said first and second open ends; engaging openings through said side walls at the inward end of said grooves; protecting means positioned over said engaging openings on the outside of said body member so that direct access to said engaging openings cannot be made from the outside of said body member; electronic circuit support means having the electronic circuitry positioned thereon, said electronic circuit support means positioned within said hollow cavity of said body member; a first closure member; first locking means on said first closure member for interacting with said engaging means to lock said first closure member over said first open end of said body member when said first closure member is positioned over said first open end; a second closure member; second locking means on said second closure member for interacting with said engaging means to lock said second closure member over said second open end of said body member when said second closure member is positioned over said second open end; connecting means extending through the enclosure to convey signals to and from the electronic circuitry; and breakable sealing means to prevent opening of the enclosure without breaking the sealing means.

Claim 3

A self-locking enclosure as claimed in claim 1 wherein said body member and said first and second closure members are formed of a resilient plastic material.

Claim 4

A self-locking enclosure as claimed in claim 1 wherein: said body member has four side walls joined in an essentially rectangular parallelepiped configuration; and said first and second closure members are essentially flat comating rectangular members.

Claim 5

A self-locking enclosure as claimed in claim 3 wherein said first and second locking means comprise integrally molded resilient extensions extending essentially perpendicularly from said first and second closure members, respectively, each of said extensions dimensioned to slidably mate with said grooves and having a protrusion at the free end thereof, each of said protrusions having an engaging surface essentially perpendicular to the extension on which it is located and a cam surface at an angle to the extension on which it is located, said engaging surface for engaging with said engaging openings, thereby locking said first and second closure members over said first and second open ends of said body member.

Claim 6

A self-locking enclosure as claimed in claim 3 wherein said electronic circuit support means comprises at least two printed circuit boards positioned essentially parallel to one another and essentially perpendicular to said side walls of said body member.

Claim 7

A self-locking enclosure as claimed in claim 5 wherein said connecting means comprises one or more extensions of said printed circuit boards having electrical contacts thereon extending through one or more openings between said side walls and said closure members.

Claim 8

A self-locking enclosure as claimed in claim 4 wherein access means are provided through said protecting means to said engaging openings in said side walls to permit an appropriate tool to be inserted in a direction essentially parallel to said side walls so that the tool contacts said cam surface on said protrusion so that the corresponding extension is pivoted inwardly and the corresponding engaging surface disengages the associated engaging opening thereby permitting said closure members to be detached from said body member.

Claim 9

A self-locking enclosure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sealing means comprises at least one screw to connect said first and second closure members to said body member to retain said first and second closure members in a cLosed relationship with said body member, and a warranty seal placed over said screws to prevent opening the enclosure without breaking the seal and thereby indicating unauthorized opening of the enclosure.

Claim 10

A self-locking enclosure as claimed in claim 1 wherein flange means are integrally molded to the interior of said side walls of said body member for positioning electronic circuit support means within said hollow cavity of said body member.

Claim 11

A self-locking enclosure for electronic circuitry comprising: a unitary body member having an open end and a plurality of walls defining therein a hollow cavity; engaging means positioned on said walls adjacent said open end, said engaging means comprising: grooves formed in the side walls within said hollow cavity, said grooves extending inwardly from said open end; engaging openings through said side walls at the inward end of said grooves; protecting means positioned over said engaging openings on the outside of said body member so that direct access to said engaging openings cannot be made from the outside of said body member; electronic circuit support means having the electronic circuitry positioned thereon, said electronic circuit support means positioned within said hollow cavity of said body member; a closure member; locking means on said closure member for interacting with said engaging means to lock said closure member over said open end of said body member when said closure member is positioned over said open end; connecting means extending through the enclosure to convey electrical signals to and from the electronic circuitry; and breakable sealing means to prevent opening of the enclosure without breaking the sealing means.

Claim 12

A self-locking enclosure for electronic circuitry comprising: a unitary body member having an open end and a plurality of walls defining therein a hollow cavity; engaging means positioned on said walls adjacent said open end, said engaging means comprising: grooves formed in the side walls within said hollow cavity, said grooves extending inwardly from said open end; engaging openings through said side walls at the inward end of said grooves; protecting means positioned over said engaging openings on the outside of said body member so that direct access to said engaging openings cannot be made from the outside of said body member; electronic circuit support means having the electronic circuitry positioned thereon, said electronic circuit support means positioned within said hollow cavity of said body member; a closure member; locking means on said closure member for interacting with said engaging means to lock said closure member over said open end of said body member when said closure member is positioned over said open end; connecting means extending through the enclosure to convey electrical signals to and from the electronic circuitry; and breakable sealing means to prevent opening of the enclosure without breaking the sealing means.

Claim 13

A self-locking enclosure for electronic circuitry comprising: a base member; a first electronic circuit support means having a portion of the electronic circuitry positioned thereon, said first support means positioned against and essentially parallel to the interior surface of said base member; a unitary body member having first and second open ends and four side walls joined in an essentially rectangular parallelepiped configuration defining therein a hollow cavity, said first open end dimensioned to comate with said base member; engaging means positioned on said side walls adjacent said first and second open ends, said engaging means comprising; grooves formed in the side walls within said hollow cavity, said grooves extending inwardly from said first and second open ends; engaging openings through said side walls at the inward end of said grooves; protecting means positioned over said engaging openings on the outside of said body member so that direct access to said engaging openings cannot be made from the outside of said body member; interconnecting means positioned on said first electronic circuit support means for interconnecting the electronic circuitry; first locking means on said base member for interacting with said engaging means to lock said first open end of said body member over said base member when said body member is positioned over said base member thereby retaining said first circuit support means within said hollow cavity of said body member; a second electronic circuit support means having a portion of the electronic circuitry thereon; receptive means positioned on said second circuit support means for receiving and interacting with the interconnecting means to provide electrical continuity between the portions of the electronic circuit on said first and second circuit support means, said second circuit support means positioned within the second open end so that said receptive means interact with said interconnecting means; a top member, said top member dimensioned to comate with said second open end; second locking means on said top member for interacting with said engaging means to lock said top member over said second open end of Said body member when said top member is positioned over said second open end thereby retaining said second circuit support means within said hollow cavity of said body member; connecting means extending through the enclosure to convey signals to and from the electronic circuitry; access means through said protecting means to said engaging openings in said side walls to permit an appropriate tool to be inserted to disengage said locking means from said engaging means.

Claim 14

A self-locking enclosure for electronic circuitry comprising: a base member; a first electronic circuit support means having a portion of the electronic circuitry positioned thereon, said first support means positioned against and essentially parallel to the interior surface of said base member; a unitary body member having first and second open ends and four side walls joined in an essentially rectangular parallelepiped configuration defining therein a hollow cavity, said first open end dimensioned to comate with said base member; engaging means positioned on said side walls adjacent said first and second open ends, said engaging means comprising; grooves formed in the side walls within said hollow cavity, said grooves extending inwardly from said first and second open ends; engaging openings through said side walls at the inward end of said grooves; protecting means positioned over said engaging openings on the outside of said body member so that direct access to said engaging openings cannot be made from the outside of said body member; interconnecting means positioned on said first electronic circuit support means for interconnecting the electronic circuitry; first locking means on said base member for interacting with said engaging means to lock said first open end of said body member over said base member when said body member is positioned over said base member thereby retaining said first circuit support means within said hollow cavity of said body member; a second electronic circuit support means having a portion of the electronic circuitry thereon; receptive means positioned on said second circuit support means for receiving and interacting with the interconnecting means to provide electrical continuity between the portions of the electronic circuit on said first and second circuit support means, said second circuit support means positioned within the second open end so that said receptive means interact with said interconnecting means; a top member, said top member dimensioned to comate with said second open end; second locking means on said top member for interacting with said engaging means to lock said top member over said second open end of Said body member when said top member is positioned over said second open end thereby retaining said second circuit support means within said hollow cavity of said body member; connecting means extending through the enclosure to convey signals to and from the electronic circuitry; access means through said protecting means to said engaging openings in said side walls to permit an appropriate tool to be inserted to disengage said locking means from said engaging means.

Claim 15

A self-locking enclosure, as claimed in claim 11 wherein said interconnecting means comprise elongated metal members extending upwardly from and essentially perpendicular to the first circuit support means, and the receptive means comprise electrical jacks for receiving and comating with the elongated metal members.

Claim 16

In an electronic circuit modular unit comprising first and second detachably interconnecting circuit boards, a unitary hollow body member having first and second open ends, engaging means positioned on the body member adjacent the first and second open ends, first and second closure means, locking means on the first and second closure means for engaging with the engaging means and locking the closure means over the first and second open ends, and positioning means within the enclosure body to position and retain the circuit boards in a fixed position, a method of assembly comprising the steps of: placing the first circuit board into the first open end against the positioning means; positioning the first closure means over the first open end; causing relative motion to occur between the body member and the first closure means until the locking means engage with the engaging means thereby locking the first closure means over the first open end thereby retaining the first circuit board against the positioning means; placing the second circuit board into the second open end against the positioning means; detachably interconnecting the first and second circuit boards thereby forming two layers of circuit boards within the enclosure; positioning the second closure means over the second open end; and causing relative motion to occur between the body member and the second closure means until the locking means engage with the engaging means thereby locking the second closure means over the first open end thereby retaining the second circuit board against the positioning means.

Claim 17

In an electronic circuit modular unit comprising first and second detachably interconnecting circuit boards, a unitary hollow body member having first and second open ends, engaging means positioned on the body member adjacent the first and second open ends, first and second closure means, locking means on the first and second closure means for engaging with the engaging means and locking the closure means over the first and second open ends, and positioning means within the enclosure body to position and retain the circuit boards in a fixed position, a method of assembly comprising the steps of: placing the first circuit board into the first open end against the positioning means; positioning the first closure means over the first open end; causing relative motion to occur between the body member and the first closure means until the locking means engage with the engaging means thereby locking the first closure means over the first open end thereby retaining the first circuit board against the positioning means; placing the second circuit board into the second open end against the positioning means; detachably interconnecting the first and second circuit boards thereby forming two layers of circuit boards within the enclosure; positioning the second closure means over the second open end; and causing relative motion to occur between the body member and the second closure means until the locking means engage with the engaging means thereby locking the second closure means over the first open end thereby retaining the second circuit board against the positioning means.