Housing for a hand-held remote control transmitter

• US 4,768,230 A
• Filed: 04/09/1986
• Issued: 08/30/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/1985
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: PREH Elektrofeinmechanische Werke Jakob PREH Nachf GmbH & Company
• Original Assignee: PREH Elektrofeinmechanische Werke Jakob PREH Nachf GmbH & Company
• Inventors: Viebrantz, Hans-Joachim, Vogt, Alfred
• Primary Examiner(s): Griffin, Robert L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PASCAL, LESLIE C
• Application Number:
  US06/849,711
• Time in Patent Office: 874 Days
• Field of Search: 455/89, 455/90, 455/128, 455/352, 455/603, 340/365 S, 340/696, 358/194.1, 361/399, 361/412, 200/302.2, 200/5 A, 200/5 E
• US Class Current: 398/106
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00944 Details of construction or manufacture
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 13/702 with contacts carried by or formed from layers in a multilayer structure, e.g. membrane switches
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2209/01 Increasing rigidity; Anti-creep
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2223/002 sealed
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2223/004 Evacuation of penetrating liquid
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2229/026 Riveting
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2231/032 Remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 9/0235 specially adapted for remote control, e.g. of audio or video apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/202 Casings or frames around the primary casing of a single cell or a single battery
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/24 adapted for protecting batteries from their environment, e.g. from corrosion thermal insulation H01M10/658
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/271 Lids or covers for the racks or secondary casings
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/202 by remote control
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A housing for a hand-held remote control transmitter including a battery, electronic transmission circuit, and a transmission device, including a housing frame having at least one opening for receiving a battery or otherwise accessing the interior of the housing and a cutout for receiving a touch keypad wherein a sealing rim is provided extending into the housing frame surrounding the cutout and an elastic contact mat is compressed against the rim sealing the cutout opening. A cover part is provided for covering the opening and a gasket surrounding the periphery of the opening and of the cover part is compressed between the cover part and the housing frame. Each other opening providing the housing frame is also sealed thereby protecting the contents of housing from liquids and other environmental factors.

Claims

1. In a housing for a hand-held remote control transmitter, of the type including a frame in which a battery, and an electronic transmission circuit and a transmission component, particularly an infra-red transmission component are housed, said frame having a removable cover part disposed on an opening of the frame, said frame also including a cutout portion for receiving a touch keypad, the improvment comprising:

gasket means placed and compressed between said cover part and the housing frame in a surrounding groove-like depression running around said frame for forming a water-tight seal therebetween, a surrounding sealing rim on said frame projecting inward into the housing frame on the periphery of the cutout portion and an elastic contact mat compressed against the sealing rim over the entire periphery of the sealing rim, an infra-red transparent disk placed on the housing frame in front of the transmission component covering a transmission opening in the frame and welded to the housing frame sealing said opening, and a peripheral collar, wedge-shaped in section, provided on the housing frame around the transmission opening, supporting and welded to said disk.

2. The housing according to claim 1 comprising the keypad extending obliquely with respect to a bottom surface of the housing frame opposite it.

3. The housing according to claim 2, wherein an outer surface of the housing frame is disposed to form an oblique angle with said cutout portion.

4. The housing according to claim 1 comprising a sealing surface of the sealing rim facing into the housing frame and rising at an angle to the plane of the contact mat.

5. The housing according to claim 4 comprising a groove in said contact mat for at least receiving the sealing rim.

6. The housing according to claim 1, comprising a circuit board in the region of the sealing rim for at least stiffening the contact mat.

7. The housing according to claim 1 comprising the contact mat comprising a stiffening carrier.

8. The housing according to claim 1, comprising lugs welded to the housing frame for compressing the contact mat between the sealing rim and the cover part to ensure a water-tight seal.

9. The housing according to claim 1, comprising threaded connectors attaching the cover part to the frame compressing the gasket means therebetween.

10. The housing according to claim 1, comprising snap connectors for coupling the cover part to the frame and compressing a gasket therebetween.

11. The housing according to claim 11, comprising a groove-like depression located in the cover part receiving said gasket means.

12. A housing for a hand-held remote control transmitter including a battery, electronic transmission circuit and a transmission device comprising:

a housing frame having one or more openings therethrough including at least a first opening for accessing the housing interior and a cutout for receiving a touch keypad;

a cover part for covering said first opening;

seal means around the periphery of said first opening and said cover part for sealing said first opening with said cover part;

a sealing rim on the housing frame surrounding the periphery of said cutout and extending inwardly into the housing frame;

a keypad elastic contact mat positioned against said sealing rim for covering said cutout;

means for compressing said contact mat against said sealing rim sealing said cutout, said seal means between said housing frame and cover part comprising a peripheral projecting rim surrounding said first opening and located on either said housing frame or said cover;

a groove-like perpheral depression on the remaining one of said housing frame and cover for receiving said projecting rim; and

a continuous gasket positioned in said depression and compressed by said projecting rim.

13. A housing for a hand-held remote control transmitter including a battery, electronic transmission circuit and a transmission device comprising:

a housing frame having one or more openings therethrough including at least a first opening for accessing the housing interior and a cutout for receiving a touch keypad;

a cover part for covering said first opening;

seal means around the periphery of said first opening and said cover part for sealing said first opening with said cover part;

a sealing rim on the housing frame surrounding the periphery of said circuit and extending inwardly into the housing frame;

a keypad elastic contact mat positioned against said sealing rim for covering said cutout;

means for compressing said contact mat against said sealing rim sealing said cutout;

an additional transmission device opening for exposing an infra-red transmission device;

an infra-red-transparent cover covering said transmission device opening;

sealing means for sealing said infra-red-transparent cover to said housing frame over said additional opening;

a wedge-shaped collar on said housing frame surrounding the periphery of said transmission opening and supported and receiving a disc; and

weld means surrounding said collar for attaching and sealing said disc to said collar.

14. The housing according to claim 13 wherein said housing frame further comprises:

a first major outer surface;

a second opposing major outer surface opposite said first major surface and including said cutout, a first portion of said second opposing major outer surface around said cutout forming a plane oblique to said first major surface and a portion of said second major outer surface being parallel to said first major planar surface.

15. The housing of claim 14 wherein said sealing rim projects into said housing frame around said cutout and includes a substantially planar bottom surface substantially parallel to said oblique plane.

16. The housing according to claim 15 wherein said elastic contact mat has a groove surrounding its periphery for receiving said housing frame sealing rim and wherein said planar bottom surface of the sealing rim forms an oblique angle with an opposing surface of the elastic contact mat at the bottom of the elastic contact mat depression before the mat is compressed.