Compaq Computer Corporation, Inc.

Ian Kung

Troy Anthony Della Fiora

Kevin W Mundt

Daniel J Riccio, Jr

A drive bay opening in the front bezel portion of a tower type computer CPU unit is provided with a swing-out plastic access door. The door is pivotable between a closed position and a full open stop position in which it is outwardly pivoted more than ninety degrees away from its closed position. A specially designed concealed, break-away hinge structure removably interconnects the access door and front bezel portion and includes a pair of hinge arms projecting outwardly from the door and molded integrally therewith. Outer end tabs in the hinge arms have apertures therein that rotatably receive hinge pins within recessed pocket areas in the bezel. In the event that the access door is forcibly pivoted outwardly beyond its full open stop position, separate disconnect pins disposed laterally outwardly of the hinge pins act as cams that torsionally deflect the hinge tabs out of engagement with the hinge pins. AS a result, the door simply pops off the bezel without damaging either the door, the hinge structure or the bezel. The hinge arm tabs of the separated, undamaged access door may subsequently be snapped back onto the hinge pins with chamfered edge portions of the tabs initially engaging domed portions of the hinge pins to torsionally deflect the tabs in a manner facilitating their reconnection to the hinge pins on the bezel.

Pivotable computer access door structure having concealed, Break-away

A tower computer housing has a molded plastic exterior wall portion with an access opening therein, a molded plastic access door, and a specially designed hinge structure that supports the access door on the housing for pivotal movement relative thereto between closed and open positions in which the door respectively covers and uncovers the access opening. The hinge structure includes spaced pairs of hinge pins and cam arms molded integrally on opposite ends of the access door, and spaced apart first and second resilient mounting and spring tab sets molded integrally with the housing exterior wall portion. Each of these sets includes a resilient mounting tab having a mounting hole therein and positioned between an opposed pair of resilient spring tabs. The door pins are removably snap-fitted into the mounting tab holes, and each of the door cam arms is positioned between and slidingly engages a pair of the spring tabs. When the door is manually pivoted through an initial arc toward a selected one of its closed and open positions, the spring tabs are deflected and function to automatically drive the door through a final arc to its selected position.

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Houston, TX, United States of America

Ian Kung