1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the housing of an optical disc drive, and more specifically, to an optical disc drive housing that can be assembled without the use of screws.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During the assembly of an electrical device, it is common to secure a housing of the device with screws. Screws and screwdrivers are universal parts, allowing the housing to be assembled or disassembled anywhere.
Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an optical disc drive 10 according to the prior art. FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the optical disc drive 10 after assembly. The optical disc drive 10 comprises an upper housing 12, a loader 14 for loading an optical disc, and a lower housing 16. When assembling the optical disc drive 10, the loader 14 is placed on the lower housing 16 and the upper housing 12 is then placed over the lower housing 16 to enclose the loader 14 between the upper housing 12 and the lower housing 16. A plurality of screws 24 is then used to secure the lower housing 16 to the upper housing 12. The screws 24 are inserted through openings 22 in the lower housing 16. Next, the screws 24 are fed through holes 20 in the loader 14, and screwed into receptacles 18 located in the upper housing 12.
Unfortunately, the use of screws 24 to secure the lower housing 16 to the upper housing 12 has many disadvantages. First of all, time is needed for inserting or removing the screws 24 whenever the optical disc drive 10 is assembled or disassembled, respectively. Since assembly personnel are required for assembling the optical disc drive 10, the more time and effort required to assemble the optical disc drive 10, the higher the cost will be.