U.S. patent application number 13/274569 was filed with the patent office on 2012-09-06 for housing for portable electronic device.
This patent application is currently assigned to FIH (HONG KONG) LIMITED. Invention is credited to MING-CHUN HSIUNG.
Application Number | 20120223071 13/274569 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46731223 |
Filed Date | 2012-09-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120223071 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
HSIUNG; MING-CHUN |
September 6, 2012 |
HOUSING FOR PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE
Abstract
A housing includes a first section and a second section. The
first section is made of metal. The first section includes two
opposite first sidewall and a first connecting panel connecting the
first sidewall. The second section is made of plastic. The second
section is integrally molded on the first sidewalls. Each first
sidewall defines a number of retaining holes, the second section
has a number of retaining pins, and each retaining pin is retained
in the retaining hole to fix the first section to the second
section.
Inventors: |
HSIUNG; MING-CHUN;
(Shindian, TW) |
Assignee: |
FIH (HONG KONG) LIMITED
Kowloon
HK
|
Family ID: |
46731223 |
Appl. No.: |
13/274569 |
Filed: |
October 17, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/4.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 1/0252 20130101;
H04M 1/0283 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/4.01 |
International
Class: |
B65D 6/28 20060101
B65D006/28 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 4, 2011 |
CN |
201110052487.4 |
Claims
1. A housing, comprising: a first section, the first section
including two opposite first sidewalls and a first connecting panel
connecting the first sidewalls; and a second section, the second
section integrally molded on the first sidewalls; wherein each
first sidewall defines a plurality of retaining holes, the second
section has a plurality of retaining pins, each retaining pin is
retained in the retaining hole to retain the first section to the
second section.
2. The housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein each first sidewall
has a distal end opposite to the first connecting panel, the
retaining holes are defined through the distal ends.
3. The housing as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second section
includes two opposite second sidewalls and a second connecting
panel connecting the second sidewalls, each second sidewall is
retained to one of the distal ends.
4. The housing as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a
decorative element, wherein the first section includes an outer
surface; the decorative element is retained on the outer
surface.
5. The housing as claimed in claim 4, wherein the decorative
element is retained on the outer surface by laser beam welding.
6. The housing as claimed in claim 4, wherein the decorative
element is made of metal.
7. The housing as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first section is
made of metal and the second section is made of plastic.
8. A housing, comprising: a first section, the first section
including a first sidewall; and a second section, the second
section integrally molded on the first sidewall; wherein the first
sidewall defines at least one retaining hole, the second section
has at least one retaining pin, each retaining pin is retained in a
corresponding retaining hole to retain the first section to the
second section.
9. The housing as claimed in claim 8, wherein each first sidewall
has a distal end opposite to the first connecting panel, the
retaining holes are defined through the distal ends.
10. The housing as claimed in claim 9, wherein the second section
includes two opposite second sidewalls and a second connecting
panel connecting the second sidewalls, each second sidewall is
retained to one of the distal ends.
11. The housing as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a
decorative element, wherein the first section includes an outer
surface; the decorative element is retained on the outer
surface.
12. The housing as claimed in claim 11, wherein the decorative
element is retained on the outer surface by laser beam welding.
13. The housing as claimed in claim 11, wherein the decorative
element is made of metal.
14. The housing as claimed in claim 13, wherein the first section
is made of metal and the second section is made of plastic.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The disclosure generally relates to housings, and
particularly relates to housings used in portable electronic
devices.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] With the development of wireless communication and
information processing technology, portable electronic devices,
such as mobile telephones and electronic notebooks are now in
widespread use. External appearance of the housing of the portable
electronic device can be one of the key factors attracting
consumers.
[0005] The housing typically includes a first section and a second
section molded to the first section to achieve an attractive
external appearance. However, the sections can easily separate from
each other because the binding force between the sections is
usually not large enough.
[0006] Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Many aspects of the exemplary housing for portable
electronic device 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 exemplary housing. 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 is a schematic and assembled view of a housing
according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0009] FIG. 2 is another view of the housing of FIG. 1 viewed from
another aspect.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view of the housing shown in
FIG. 2.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the housing shown in
FIG. 2 along the line of IV-IV.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] For illustrative purposes, the device is an electronic
device such as a radiotelephone. The radiotelephone described
herein is a representation of the type of wireless communication
device that may benefit from the present disclosure. However, it is
to be understood that the present disclosure may be applied to any
type of hand-held or portable device including, but not limited to,
the following devices: cordless phones, paging devices, personal
digital assistants, portable computers, pen-based or keyboard-based
handheld devices, remote control units, portable media players that
have wireless communication capability and the like. Accordingly,
any reference herein to the radiotelephone should also be
considered to apply equally to other portable wireless electronic
devices.
[0013] An exemplary embodiment of a housing 100 of an electronic
device is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The housing 100 includes a first
section 10, a second section 20 retained (e.g., integrally molded)
to the first section 10, and a decorative element 30 fixed (e.g.,
by laser beam welding) on the first section 10. In this exemplary
embodiment, the first section 10 and the decorative element 30 are
both made of metal, and the second section 20 is made of
plastic.
[0014] Referring to FIG. 3, the first section 10 is substantially
U-shaped in this exemplary embodiment. The first section 10
includes two opposite first sidewalls 11 and a first connecting
panel 13 connecting ends of the first sidewalls 11. The first
section 10 defines a first opening 15 opposite to the first
connecting panel 13. Each first sidewall 11 includes a distal end
112 opposite to the first connecting panel 13 and defines a
plurality of retaining holes 1122 through the distal end 112. The
retaining holes 1122 a retain the second section 20 to the first
section 10. The first section 10 further includes an outer surface
17 and an inner surface 19 opposite to the outer surface 17. Each
first sidewall 11 further includes a plurality of latching elements
114 protruding from corresponding inner surface 19, for latching
the housing 100 to a main body (not shown) of the electronic
device.
[0015] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the second section 20 is
substantially U-shaped in this exemplary embodiment. The second
section 20 includes two opposite second sidewalls 21 and a second
connecting panel 23 connecting ends of the second sidewalls 21. The
second section 20 defines a second opening 25 opposite to the first
connecting panel 13. The second opening 25 communicates with the
first opening 15 when the second section 20 is connected to the
first section 10. Each second sidewall 21 includes a plurality of
retaining pins 212 corresponding to corresponding retaining holes
1122. Each retaining pin 212 is retained in one of the retaining
holes 1122 to reinforce the engagement between the first section 10
and the second section 20.
[0016] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the decorative element 30 is
substantially U-shaped in this exemplary embodiment. The decorative
element 30 is fixed on the first section 10.
[0017] Referring to FIGS. 2-4, a method for manufacturing a housing
100 may include the following steps. A first section 10 defining a
plurality of retaining holes 1122 is located in a mold cavity of a
mold. Molten plastic is injected into the mold cavity to mold a
second section 20 with portions of the molten plastic flowing into
the retaining holes 1122 to mold one retaining pin 212 in each
retaining hole 1122. A decorative element 30 is fixed to the first
section 10 by some conventional method such as laser beam
welding.
[0018] The housing 100 includes the first section 10 with a
plurality of the retaining holes 1122 and the second section 20
with a plurality of retaining pins 212, and each retaining pin 212
is retained in one of the retaining holes 1122, so the first
section 10 can be firmly fixed to the second section 20 by the
combination of the retaining holes 1122 and the retaining pins
212.
[0019] It is to be understood, however, that even through numerous
characteristics and advantages of the exemplary disclosure have
been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details
of the structure and function of the disclosure, 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 disclosure to the full extent indicated by the
broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are
expressed.
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