U.S. patent application number 12/616317 was filed with the patent office on 2010-10-28 for elastic structure and shell assembly using the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to SHENZHEN FUTAIHONG PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to LEI HUANG.
Application Number | 20100269308 12/616317 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42990777 |
Filed Date | 2010-10-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100269308 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
HUANG; LEI |
October 28, 2010 |
ELASTIC STRUCTURE AND SHELL ASSEMBLY USING THE SAME
Abstract
An elastic structure includes a main board, two fixing portions,
and a latching arm. The two fixing portions disposed at opposite
sides of the main board and at the same plane with the main board.
The latching arm extends outwardly from a middle portion of the
main board and forms an acute angle with the main board. The
latching arm includes a resisting arm inclined toward the main
board. An electronic device using the elastic structure is also
described.
Inventors: |
HUANG; LEI; (Shenzhen City,
CN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Altis Law Group, Inc.;ATTN: Steven Reiss
288 SOUTH MAYO AVENUE
CITY OF INDUSTRY
CA
91789
US
|
Assignee: |
SHENZHEN FUTAIHONG PRECISION
INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
ShenZhen City
CN
FIH (HONG KONG) LIMITED
Kowloon
HK
|
Family ID: |
42990777 |
Appl. No.: |
12/616317 |
Filed: |
November 11, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
24/300 ;
361/679.56 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 1/026 20130101;
Y10T 24/314 20150115; G06F 1/1656 20130101; G06F 1/1626 20130101;
G06F 2200/1632 20130101; H04M 2250/22 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
24/300 ;
361/679.56 |
International
Class: |
A44B 18/00 20060101
A44B018/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 24, 2009 |
CN |
200910301824.1 |
Claims
1. An elastic structure comprising: a main board; two fixing
portions disposed at opposite sides of the main board and lying on
a same plane with the main board; and a latching arm extending
outwardly from a middle portion of the main board and bending to
form an acute angle with the main board; the latching arm having a
resisting arm at the distal end thereof inclined toward the main
body.
2. The elastic structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main
board is substantially T-shaped board and includes a first
extending arm, an opposite second extending arm, and a third
extending arm perpendicular to the first extending arm and the
second extending arm; the two fixing portions and the latching arm
extend from the first extending arm, the second extending arm and
the third extending arm respectively.
3. The elastic structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the fixing
portion is substantially L-shaped and includes a free end parallel
to the first extending arm and the second extending arm.
4. The elastic structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fixing
portion defines a bent portion at the substantially middle portion
thereof.
5. The elastic structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
latching arm is substantially V-shaped and disposed at the distal
end of the third extending arm, the latching arm includes an
elastic arm extending from the distal end of the third extending
arm and forms an acute angle with the third extending arm; the
resisting arm extends from the elastic arm and is bent towards the
third extending arm to form an acute angle with the elastic
arm.
6. The elastic structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elastic
structure is formed by punching and bending a piece of metallic
material.
7. The elastic structure as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cross
section of elastic structure is substantially E-shaped.
8. A shell assembly comprising: a shell comprising an upper wall
and a touch pen assembling portion defined in the upper wall; an
elastic structure fixedly mounted on the upper wall, comprising: a
main board; two fixing portions disposed at two opposite sides of
the main board and lying on the same plane with the main board; and
a latching arm extending from the main board and being bent to form
an acute angle with the main board; and a touch pen detachably
assembled to the touch pen assembling portion of the shell and
being latched by latching arm of the elastic structure.
9. The elastic structure as claimed in claim 8, wherein the touch
pen includes a touch head portion and an opposite tail portion; the
tail portion defines an assembling slot recessed in one surface
thereof; one end of the touch pen assembling portion defines an
accommodating cavity therein for corresponding the touch head
portion therein, the other end of the touch pen assembling portion
defines a through hole; the latching portion penetrates through the
through hole of the shell and latches into the assembling slot of
the touch pen.
10. The elastic structure as claimed in claim 9, wherein the touch
pen further includes a body portion defining stepped latching
portions at the two sides thereof respectively adjacent to the
touch head portion; the two sides of the accommodating cavity
defines two stepped latching grooves recessed therein corresponding
to the two latching portions of the touch pen respectively, for
assembling the touch head portion of the touch pen therein.
11. The elastic structure as claimed in claim 8, wherein the main
board is substantially T-shaped board and includes a first
extending arm, an opposite second extending arm, and a third
extending arm perpendicular to the first extending arm and the
second extending arm; the two fixing portions and the latching arm
extend from the first extending arm, the second extending arm and
the third extending arm respectively.
12. The elastic structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein the
latching arm is substantially V-shaped and disposed at the distal
end of the third extending arm, the latching arm includes an
elastic arm extending from the distal end of the third extending
arm to form an acute angle with the third extending arm, and a
resisting arm extending from the elastic arm and being bent towards
the third extending arm.
13. The elastic structure as claimed in claim 12, wherein the shell
further includes two sidewalls extending from the two longitudinal
lateral margins of the upper wall respectively and are parallel to
each other; the two sidewalls each defines several latching blocks
spaced protruding thereon.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The exemplary disclosure generally relates to an elastic
structure and a shell assembly using the elastic structure.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] With the development of wireless communication and
information processing technology, portable electronic devices such
as mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) are now
widely used. Consumers may enjoy the full convenience of the
portable electronic devices almost anytime and anywhere.
[0005] These portable electronic devices are often equipped with
elastic structures to provide elastic force between two components
thereof, to provide ground connection for electronic component
assembled there within, to serve as a protection shield of the
electronic components from electromagnetic interference, to
elastically latch or assemble with other components, etc.
Generally, when the elastic structure is used to provide elastic
force between two components, the elastic structure usually defines
a long elastic arm to ensure the elasticity thereof. Thus, such
structure of the elastic structure requires a large space to
assemble in the portable electronic device which defeats the trend
of miniaturization.
[0006] Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Many aspects of the exemplary elastic structure and shell
assembly using the same can be better understood with reference to
the following drawings. These drawings are not necessarily drawn to
scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating
the principles of the present elastic structure and shell assembly
using the same. Moreover, in the drawings like reference numerals
designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout
the drawings to refer to the same or like elements of an
embodiment.
[0008] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a shell assembly with an
elastic structure mounted thereon according to an exemplary
embodiment.
[0009] FIG. 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the shell
assembly shown in
[0010] FIG. 1.
[0011] FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2, but viewed from another
aspect.
[0012] FIG. 4 shows an enlarged, perspective view of the elastic
structure, according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0013] FIG. 5 shows a partial cross-sectional view taken along line
V-V of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] Please referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a shell
assembly 100 with an elastic structure 50 mounted thereon according
to an exemplary embodiment is shown. The shell assembly 100
includes a touch pen 10, a shell 30 and the elastic structure
50.
[0015] Also referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the touch pen 10 is
detachably mounted on the shell 30 and latched by the elastic
structure 50. The touch pen 10 includes a touch head portion 11, a
body portion 13 and a tail portion 15 opposite to the touch head
portion 11. The body portion 13 includes substantially stepped
latching portions 132 disposed at opposite sides of the touch head
portion 11 respectively. The tail portion 15 defines a
substantially V-shaped assembling slot 152 therein, and thereby
forms an inclined resisting wall 155 within the assembling slot
152, toward the touch head portion 11.
[0016] The shell 30 may be a battery cover of a portable electronic
device (e.g. mobile phone, personal digital assistant, etc.). The
shell 30 includes an upper wall 31, two sidewalls 33 and a touch
pen assembling portion 35. The upper wall 31 includes an outer
surface 311 and an opposite inner surface 313. The two sidewalls 33
extend from two longitudinal lateral margins of the upper wall 31
toward the inner surface 313 side respectively. The two sidewalls
33 each defines several latching blocks 331 spaced protruding
thereon for assembling the shell 30 to a body (not shown) of the
portable electronic device. The touch pen assembling portion 35 is
a groove recessed in the outer surface 311 of the upper wall 31,
for assembling the touch pen 10 therein. The touch pen assembling
portion 35 has an accommodating cavity 351 and two substantially
stepped latching grooves 352. The accommodating cavity 351 is
defined at one end of the touch pen assembling portion 35,
corresponding to the touch head portion 11 of the touch pen 10. The
latching grooves 352 are respectively defined at two opposite sides
of the accommodating cavity 351 corresponding to the two latching
portions 132 of the touch pen 10, for assembling the touch head
portion 11 of the touch pen 10 therein. An opposite end of the
touch pen assembling portion 35 defines a through hole 353
corresponding to the assembling slot 152 of the tail portion 15 of
the touch pen 10.
[0017] Also referring to FIG. 4, the elastic structure 50 is formed
by punching and bending a piece of metallic material, and is
configured to elastically latch the touch pen 10 to the shell 30.
The elastic structure 50 is substantially E-shaped and includes a
main board 51, two fixing portions 53 and a latching arm 55. The
main board 51 is a substantially T-shaped board and includes a
first extending arm 511, a second extending arm 512 opposite to the
first extending arm 511, and a third extending arm 513
perpendicular to the first extending arm 511 and the second
extending arm 512. The two fixing portions 53 are substantially
L-shaped, and are disposed at opposite sides of the main board 51
by extending out from the corresponding first extending arm 511 and
the second extending arm 512 respectively. The two fixing portions
53 are at substantially same plane with the main board 51 and each
fixing portion 53 includes a free end 535 parallel to the first
extending arm 511 and the second extending arm 512. In the
exemplary embodiment, each fixing portion 53 includes a bent
portion 533 at a substantially middle portion thereof for enhancing
the structural strength of the elastic structure 50. The latching
arm 55 is substantially V-shaped, and is disposed at a distal end
of the third extending arm 513 for latching with the tail portion
15 of the touch pen 10. The latching arm 55 includes an elastic arm
551 and a resisting arm 553. The elastic arm 551 extends outwardly
from the distal end of the third extending arm 513 and forms an
acute angle with the third extending arm 513. The resisting arm 553
extends from the distal end of the elastic arm 551 and is bent
toward the third extending arm 513 to form an acute angle with the
elastic arm 551, and thus forms an inclined portion toward the main
board 51.
[0018] Also referring to FIG. 5, when assembling the shell assembly
100, the elastic structure 50 is assembled to the shell 30 with the
two fixing portions fixedly mounted on the inner surface 313 of the
upper wall 31 of the shell 30. The latching arm 55 of the elastic
structure 50 is inserted into the through hole 353 and is
accommodated within the touch pen assembling portion 35 of the
shell 30 correspondingly. The resisting arm 553 of the elastic
structure 50 is disposed toward the accommodating cavity 351 of the
touch pen assembling portion 35. When the touch pen 10 is
detachably assembled to the shell 30, the touch head portion 11 is
inserted into the accommodating cavity 351 of the touch pen
assembling portion 35 of the shell 30 with the two latching
portions 132 latching into the two latching grooves 352 of the
touch pen assembling portion 35 simultaneously. The tail portion 15
of the touch pen 10 is pressed downwardly and accommodated within
the touch pen assembling portion 35 of the shell 30; the latching
arm 55 of the elastic structure 50 latches into the assembling slot
152 of the tail portion 15 of the touch pen 10 correspondingly, the
resisting arm 553 of the elastic structure 50 elastically resists
the resisting wall 155 of the touch pen 10.
[0019] When detaching the touch pen 10, the touch pen 10 is pushed
toward the tail portion 15 end to compress the resisting arm 553
until the touch head portion 11 of the touch pen 10 exits the
accommodating cavity 351 of the touch pen assembling portion 35.
Then, the touch pen 10 can be easily removed.
[0020] It is to be understood, however, that even through numerous
characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been
set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of
the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is
illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in
matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the
principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the
broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are
expressed.
* * * * *