U.S. patent application number 12/749653 was filed with the patent office on 2011-01-13 for accessory securing mechanism for portable electronic device.
This patent application is currently assigned to SHENZHEN FUTAIHONG PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to SHUI-JIN DONG.
Application Number | 20110005046 12/749653 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43426345 |
Filed Date | 2011-01-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110005046 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
DONG; SHUI-JIN |
January 13, 2011 |
ACCESSORY SECURING MECHANISM FOR PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE
Abstract
An accessory securing mechanism in electronic device includes a
housing, an engaging member and a tether. The housing defines an
assembling recess having an end wall, the end wall defines a
latching hole. The engaging member includes a hanging end and a
latching end. The latching end of the engaging member is latched
into the latching hole, the hanging end is received in the
assembling recess, the tether is affixed to the hanging end and
exposed to the outside.
Inventors: |
DONG; SHUI-JIN; (Shenzhen,
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: |
43426345 |
Appl. No.: |
12/749653 |
Filed: |
March 30, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
24/595.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45C 13/30 20130101;
Y10T 24/45262 20150115; H04M 1/0202 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
24/595.1 |
International
Class: |
A44B 99/00 20100101
A44B099/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 10, 2009 |
CN |
200910304196.2 |
Claims
1. An accessory securing mechanism, comprising: a housing defining
an assembling recess, the assembling recess having an end wall, the
end wall defining a latching hole; an engaging member having an
hanging end and a latching end; and a tether; wherein the latching
end of the engaging member is latched into the latching hole and
the hanging end is received in the assembling recess, and the
tether is affixed to the hanging end and exposed to the
outside.
2. The accessory securing mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the latching end includes two opposite latching blocks, and a space
is formed therebetween.
3. The accessory securing mechanism as claimed in claim 2, wherein
each latching block includes a main portion extending from the
hanging end, a first protruding flange, and a second protruding
flange, the two protruding flanges protrude from the periphery
surface and are parallel.
4. The accessory securing mechanism as claimed in claim 3, wherein
the second protruding flange is located adjacent to a tail end of
the main portion and includes a first guiding surface and a second
guiding surface, the two guiding surfaces are arranged back to back
and both are slanted relative to the main portion.
5. The accessory securing mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the hanging end is cylindrical and defines a first through hole
along the radial direction thereof and a second through hole along
the axial direction thereof, the two through holes are
interconnected for engaging with the tether.
6. The accessory securing mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the housing includes a top wall and a peripheral wall around the
top wall, the top wall defines a receiving cavity, the peripheral
wall is ridged and includes a lower wall portion and an upper wall
portion connecting the top wall, the upper wall portion defines the
assembling recess.
7. The accessory securing mechanism as claimed in claim 6, wherein
the assembling recess is enclosed by a bottom wall parallel top
wall, two opposite sidewalls and the end wall perpendicular to the
top wall.
8. The accessory securing mechanism as claimed in claim 6, wherein
the accessory securing mechanism includes a cover, the cover has a
periphery, the periphery has a cutout defined thereon, the cutout
corresponds to the assembling recess of the housing.
9. The accessory securing mechanism as claimed in claim 8, wherein
the upper wall portion of the housing defines a plurality of fixing
holes thereon, the periphery of the cover forms protrusions for
latching into the fixing holes.
10. The accessory securing mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the tether includes a string and a slider coiled around the string,
the slider separates the string into two semi-loops and can slide
relative to the string.
11. An accessory securing mechanism, comprising: a housing defining
an assembling recess, the assembling recess having an end wall, the
end wall defining a latching hole; an engaging member having an
hanging end and a latching end; a tether; and a cover defining a
cutout; wherein the latching end of the engaging member is latched
into the latching hole and the hanging end is received in the
assembling recess, and the tether is affixed to the hanging end,
the cover covers the housing and the cutout engages with the
assembling recess, the tether exposed to the outside through the
cutout.
12. The accessory securing mechanism as claimed in claim 11,
wherein the latching end includes two opposite latching blocks, and
a space is formed therebetween.
13. The accessory securing mechanism as claimed in claim 12,
wherein each latching block includes a main portion extending from
the hanging end, a first protruding flange, and a second protruding
flange, the two protruding flanges protrude from the periphery
surface and are parallel.
14. The accessory securing mechanism as claimed in claim 13,
wherein the second protruding flange is located adjacent to a tail
end of the main portion and includes a first guiding surface and a
second guiding surface, the two guiding surfaces are arranged back
to back and both are slanted relative to the main portion.
15. The accessory securing mechanism as claimed in claim 11,
wherein the hanging end is cylindrical and defines a first through
hole along the radial direction thereof and a second through hole
along the axial direction thereof, the two through holes are
interconnected for engaging with the tether.
16. The accessory securing mechanism as claimed in claim 11,
wherein the housing includes a top wall and a peripheral wall
around the top wall, the top wall defines a receiving cavity, the
peripheral wall is ridged and includes a lower wall portion and an
upper wall portion connecting the top wall, the upper wall portion
defines the assembling recess.
17. The accessory securing mechanism as claimed in claim 16,
wherein the upper wall portion of the housing defines a plurality
of fixing holes thereon, the cover forms a protrusion for latching
into the fixing holes when the cover engages with the upper wall
portion.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present disclosure relates to an accessory securing
mechanism for a portable electronic device.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] A typical accessory securing mechanism has a through
aperture defined in a housing of the portable electronic device,
forming a hanging wall of the housing. To assemble an accessory
such as a fob to the portable electronic device, a chain or string
of the fob is passed through the through hole and tied in some
manner. However, the hanging wall may break if the fob is
accidentally pulled.
[0005] Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0006] Many aspects of the present accessory securing mechanism for
portable electronic device can be better understood with reference
to the following drawings. The components in the various drawings
are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being
placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present
disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals
designate corresponding parts throughout the diagrams.
[0007] FIG. 1 is an exploded, isometric view of an accessory
securing mechanism for portable electronic device according to an
exemplary embodiment.
[0008] FIG. 2 is an exploded, isometric view of the accessory
securing mechanism shown in FIG. 1 from another view.
[0009] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an engaging member of the
accessory securing mechanism shown in FIG. 1.
[0010] FIG. 4 is an assembled, isometric view of the assembly
structure shown in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary accessory securing mechanism 100,
which can be used in mobile phones and other portable electronic
devices. The mechanism 100 includes an engaging member 10, a
housing 20, a cover 30, and a tether 40. The engaging member 10
latches to the housing 20 and the tether 40 hangs from the engaging
member 10. The cover 30 engages with the housing 20.
[0012] Referring further to FIGS. 2 and 3, the engaging member 10
includes a hanging end 11 and a latching end 13 integrally
connected to the hanging end 11. The hanging end 11 is cylindrical
and used to mount the tether 40 therewith. The hanging end 11
defines a first through hole 111 along a radial direction and a
second through hole 113 along an axial direction. The first through
hole 111 and the second through hole 113 communicate with each
other for receiving the tether 40. The latching end 13 includes two
opposite latching blocks 130. Accordingly, a space 14 is defined
between the two latching blocks 130. Each latching block 130 can be
made of an elastic material such as rubber. Each latching block 130
includes a main portion 131, a first protruding flange 133, and a
second protruding flange 135. The main portion 131 extends along
the radial direction of the hanging end 11. The protruding flanges
133, 135 are parallel with each other and protrude from the
periphery of the main portion 131. A clamping gap 134 is defined
between the protruding flanges 133 and 135. The first protruding
flange 133 is located adjacent to the hanging end 11 and the second
protruding flange 135 is located distal to the hanging end 11. The
second protruding flange 135 includes a first guiding surface 1351
and a second guiding surface 1353 formed thereon. The first guiding
surface 1351 and the second guiding surface 1353 are arranged back
to back and both are slanted relative to the main portion 131. The
first guiding surface 1351 facilitates assembly of the latching
member 10 in the housing 20, and the second guiding surface 1353
allows the engaging member 10 to be released when subjected to a
large pulling force, thereby preventing damage to housing 20 and
its connecting parts.
[0013] The housing 20 includes a top wall 21 and a peripheral wall
23 around the top wall 21. The top wall 21 defines a receiving
cavity 212 at the middle to receive a battery (not shown). The
peripheral wall 23 is ridged and includes a lower wall portion 232,
and an upper wall portion 234 protruding from the lower wall
portion 232 and connecting with the top wall 21. The lower wall
portion 232 defines a plurality of connecting holes 2322 configured
to receive connectors such as for USB components. The upper wall
portion 234 defines an assembling recess 236 and a plurality of
fixing holes 238. The assembling recess 236 runs through the top
wall 21 and is enclosed by a bottom wall 2361 parallel with the top
wall 21, two opposite sidewalls 2362, and an end wall 2363
perpendicular to the top wall 21. The end wall 2363 has
substantially the same thickness as the width of the clamping gap
134 of the engaging member 10. The end wall 2363 defines a through
latching hole 2364 communicating with the inside space of the
housing 20. The latching hole 2364 can engagably receive the
engaging member 10. The cover is configured to latch in the fixing
holes 238.
[0014] The cover 30 includes a plate portion 32 and a periphery 34
around the plate portion 32. The periphery 34 defines a cutout 342
at an end for receiving the tether 40. The periphery 34 forms a
plurality of protrusions 344 at the inner side for latching the
fixing holes 238.
[0015] The tether 40 includes a string 42 and a slider 44 coiled
around the string 42. The string 42 is annular, and the slider 44
divides the string 40 into two loops. The slider 44 can slide
relative to the string 42.
[0016] Referring further to FIG. 4, to assemble the mechanism 100,
the engaging member 10 is assembled into the assembling recess 236
of the housing 20. The latching end 13 aligns with the latching
hole 2364 and the second protruding flange 135 resists against the
latching hole 2364. The engaging member 10 is pushed toward the
latching hole 2364. The two latching block 130 are guided by the
first guiding surface 1351 to compress along the radial direction
and approached towards each other. Accordingly, the second
protruding flange 135 passes through the latching hole 2364. Thus,
the first protruding flange 133 resists against the end wall 2363
and the second protruding flange 135 latches with the end wall
2363, and the end wall 2363 is received in the clamping gap 134 of
the engaging member 10. The engaging member 10 is secured in the
housing 20, and the hanging end 11 is correspondingly received in
the assembling recess 236.
[0017] The tether 40 is installed, during which the string 42 is
tied to the hanging end 11 by passing through the first through
hole 111 and the second through hole 113. The cover 30 is assembled
on the housing 20, covering the upper wall portion 232 of the
housing 10. The cutout 342 of the cover 30 engages with the
assembling recess 236, and the protrusions 344 of the covers 30
latch into the fixing holes 238 of the housing 20. The accessory
securing mechanism 100 is assembled.
[0018] The accessory securing mechanism 100 used in an electronic
device facilitates an easy carrying of the electronic device. When
the tether 40 is pulled with a great enough force, the engaging
member 10 is released from the assembling recess 236 guided by the
second guiding surface 1353. Thus, damage to the accessory securing
mechanism 10 and other connecting parts can be avoided.
[0019] It is to be understood that even though numerous
characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been
set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of
structures and functions of various embodiments, 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 present invention to the full extent indicated by
the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims
are expressed.
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