TWI837903B - Docking station for electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

The docking station is configured to be docked with an electronic device. The docking station includes a casing, a circuit board and at least one electrical connector. The casing has an accommodation space, an upper surface and at least one protrusion structure. The upper surface faces away from the accommodation space, and the protrusion structure protrudes from the upper surface. The protrusion structure has a wide portion and a narrow portion connected to each other. A width of the wide portion is larger than a width of the narrow portion. The circuit board is located in the accommodation space. The electrical connect protrudes from the upper surface of the casing and is electrically connected to the circuit board. The electrical connector is configured to be docked with the electronic device.

Description

Electronic device expansion socket

The present invention relates to a docking station, in particular to an electronic device docking station.

Generally speaking, a laptop currently available on the market can be placed on a docking station and docked with an electrical connector of the docking station so that an expansion socket of the docking station can be connected to an external device to expand the functions of the laptop.

After the laptop is placed on the docking station, the board of the docking station that supports the laptop bears the weight of the laptop, which may cause the board to deform over time, making it difficult for the laptop to accurately connect to the electrical connector of the docking station, resulting in poor contact. Therefore, researchers in this field are currently working to improve the above-mentioned problem.

The present invention provides an electronic device expansion base, which can avoid the occurrence of poor connection between a notebook computer and an electrical connector of the expansion base.

An electronic device expansion socket disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention is used for docking an electronic device, and includes a housing, a circuit board, and at least one electrical connector. The housing has a storage space, an upper surface, and at least one protruding structure. The upper surface is opposite to the storage space, and the protruding structure protrudes from the upper surface. The protruding structure has a wide portion and a narrow portion connected to each other, and the width of the wide portion is greater than the width of the narrow portion. The circuit board is located in the storage space. The electrical connector protrudes from the upper surface of the housing and is electrically connected to the circuit board.

According to the electronic device expansion socket disclosed in the above-mentioned embodiment, the upper surface of the casing has a protruding structure, and the protruding structure has a configuration of a wider portion with a larger width and a narrower portion with a smaller width, so that the structural strength of the casing can be increased to prevent the casing carrying the electronic device from being deformed due to the weight of the electronic device, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the connection between the electronic device and the electrical connector.

The above description of the content of the present invention and the following description of the implementation method are used to demonstrate and explain the principle of the present invention and provide a further explanation of the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

Please refer to Figures 1 to 3. Figure 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of an electronic device expansion base and an electronic device disclosed according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the electronic device of Figure 1 separated from the electronic device expansion base. Figure 3 is a partially exploded schematic diagram of Figure 1.

In this embodiment, the electronic device docking station 10 is used for docking an electronic device 20. The electronic device 20 is, for example, a laptop computer.

The electronic device expansion base 10 includes a housing 100 , a circuit board 200 and two electrical connectors 300 . In addition, the electronic device expansion base 10 may further include a floating base 400 .

Next, please refer to Figures 2 to 6. Figure 4 is a top view of the electronic device expansion base of Figure 1. Figure 5 is a rear view of the electronic device expansion base of Figure 1. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view along the cutting line 6-6 of Figure 4.

The housing 100 includes a base 110 and a cover 120 which are assembled together, and the base 110 and the cover 120 together form a receiving space 130. The cover 120 includes a supporting portion 121. The supporting portion 121 has an upper surface 1211, an outer peripheral surface 1212, and four protruding structures 1213 and 1214. The upper surface 1211 is opposite to the receiving space 130, and the outer peripheral surface 1212 is connected to the periphery of the upper surface 1211. The outer peripheral surface 1212 has a front portion 1212a, a rear portion 1212b, and two side portions 1212c. The front portion 1212a is opposite to the rear portion 1212b, and the two side portions 1212c are opposite to each other and connect the front portion 1212a and the rear portion 1212b. The four protrusion structures 1213 and 1214 all protrude from the upper surface 1211. The two protrusion structures 1213 are opposite to each other and extend from the front portion 1212a of the outer peripheral surface 1212 toward the rear portion 1212b. The two protrusion structures 1214 extend along one side portion 1212c toward the other side portion 1212c and connect the two protrusion structures 1213. The two protrusion structures 1213 form two grooves 1215 with the two side portions 1212c of the outer peripheral surface 1212 respectively, and the two protrusion structures 1213, one of the protrusion structures 1214 and the rear portion 1212b of the outer peripheral surface 1212 form another groove 1216, wherein the depth D1 of the groove 1215 is greater than the depth D2 of the groove 1216. In addition, the four protrusion structures 1213 and 1214 jointly surround another groove 1217.

In this embodiment, the two protrusion structures 1213 are the same structure, so only one of them is described in detail below. The protrusion structure 1213 has a wide portion 1213a, a gradually narrowing portion 1213b and a narrow portion 1213c. The wide portion 1213a is closer to the front portion 1212a of the outer peripheral surface 1212 than the gradually narrowing portion 1213b and the narrow portion 1213c. The gradually narrowing portion 1213b is located between the wide portion 1213a and the narrow portion 1213c and is connected to the wide portion 1213a and the narrow portion 1213c. The width W1 of the wide portion 1213a is greater than the width W2 of the narrow portion 1213c, and the width W2 of the narrow portion 1213c is, for example but not limited to, less than half of the width W1 of the wide portion 1213a, and the width of the gradually narrowing portion 1213b gradually decreases from the wide portion 1213a toward the narrow portion 1213c. In addition, the protruding structure 1213 also has a side surface 1213d. The side surface 1213d is, for example, an inclined surface, and the side surface 1213d is connected to the upper surface 1211 and extends from the wide portion 1213a to the narrow portion 1213c. The side surface 1213d has a first straight line segment 12131d, a turning segment 12132d, and a second straight line segment 12133d. The first straight line segment 12131d, the turning segment 12132d and the second straight line segment 12133d correspond to the wide portion 1213a, the gradually narrowing portion 1213b and the narrow portion 1213c respectively. The first straight line segment 12131d is connected to the second straight line segment 12133d through the turning segment 12132d. The first straight line segment 12131d and the second straight line segment 12133d extend in the same direction respectively. The extending direction of the turning segment 12132d is not parallel and not perpendicular to the extending directions of the first straight line segment 12131d and the second straight line segment 12133d.

In this embodiment, the supporting portion 121 of the cover 120 also has a movable groove 1218 and a first positioning protrusion 1219. The movable groove 1218 is formed by being recessed from the bottom of the groove 1217, and the first positioning protrusion 1219 is located in the movable groove 1218. In addition, the cover 120 also includes two external convex positioning portions 122. The two external convex positioning portions 122 are respectively located at two opposite corners of one side of the supporting portion 121, and each external convex positioning portion 122 is connected to the rear portion 1212b and one side portion 1212c of the outer peripheral surface 1212 and protrudes from the upper surface 1211. The two external convex positioning portions 122 each have a second positioning protrusion 1221. The distances from the first positioning protrusion 1219 to the two second positioning protrusions 1221 are different. That is, one of the second positioning bumps 1221 is closer to the first positioning bump 1219 than the other second positioning bump 1221. The first positioning bump 1219 and the two second positioning bumps 1221 are used to roughly position the electronic device 20 when the electronic device 20 is placed on the housing 100, which will be described in detail in the following paragraphs.

In this embodiment, the supporting portion 121 of the cover 120 further has a plurality of first through holes 1220a, a second through hole 1220b and two third through holes 1220c. The first through holes 1220a are arranged in an array, the second through hole 1220b is located between two rows of the second through holes 1220b, and the two third through holes 1220c are located at opposite sides of the second through hole 1220b. The first through hole 1220a, the second through hole 1220b and the two third through holes 1220c are located between the active groove 1218 and the accommodating space 130, and are connected to the active groove 1218 and the accommodating space 130.

The floating seat 400 includes a metal substrate 410, a carrier plate 420 and a plurality of fasteners 430. In addition, the floating seat 400 also includes two positioning members 440.

A portion of the metal substrate 410 is located in the accommodating space 130, and the metal substrate 410 has a plurality of locking structures 411, and these locking structures 411 are, for example, studs. These locking structures 411 are respectively located in these first through holes 1220a, and the size of these locking structures 411 is respectively smaller than the size of these first through holes 1220a.

The size of the carrier 420 is slightly smaller than the size of the active slot 1218. The carrier 420 can be movably positioned in the active slot 1218. The carrier 420 has a through slot 421, a plurality of first through holes 422, two second through holes 423, and two third through holes 424. The size of the through slot 421 is larger than the size of the first positioning protrusion 1219, and the first positioning protrusion 1219 passes through the through slot 421 of the carrier 420. The first through holes 422 correspond to the first through holes 1220a, the two second through holes 423 correspond to the second through holes 1220b, and the two third through holes 424 correspond to the two third through holes 1220c.

The fasteners 430 are, for example, screws 510. The fasteners 430 have a plurality of locking portions 431. The locking portions 431 respectively pass through the first through holes 422 of the carrier board 420 and are locked in the locking structures 411 of the metal substrate 410.

The circuit board 200 is located in the accommodation space 130 and fixed on the metal substrate 410. The two electrical connectors 300 are arranged on the circuit board 200 and pass through the second through hole 1220b of the supporting portion 121 of the cover 120 and the two second through holes 423 of the carrier 420 to be exposed to the outside. The size of the second through hole 1220b of the supporting portion 121 of the cover 120 is larger than the size of the two electrical connectors 300. The height H1 of the second positioning protrusion 1221 protruding from the top surface 1213e of the protruding structure 1213 is larger than the height H2 of the electrical connector 300 relative to the top surface 1213e of the protruding structure 1213. Preferably, the height H1 of the second positioning protrusion 1221 protruding from the top surface 1213e of the protruding structure 1213 is, for example, more than three times the height of the electrical connector 300 relative to the top surface 1213e of the protruding structure 1213. For example, the height H1 of the second positioning protrusion 1221 protruding from the top surface 1213e of the protruding structure 1213 is 22.00 mm, and the height H2 of the electrical connector 300 relative to the top surface 1213e of the protruding structure 1213 is about 2.99 mm.

The two positioning members 440 are, for example, columns made of metal material, and are, for example, formed integrally with the metal substrate 410. The two positioning members 440 pass through the two second through holes 1220b of the carrying portion 121 of the cover 120 and the two third through holes 424 of the carrier 420.

In this embodiment, the electronic device expansion seat 10 further includes a plurality of buffers 500, and the metal substrate 410 may also have a plurality of through holes 412. Each of the buffers 500 includes a screw 510 and a spring 520. The size of the through holes 412 of the metal substrate 410 is larger than the size of the screws 510. The screws 510 pass through the springs 520 and the through holes 412 of the metal substrate 410, respectively, and are locked to the supporting portion 121 of the cover 120. The opposite ends of the spring 520 respectively abut against a side of the metal substrate 410 opposite to the circuit board 200 and the head of the screw 510. The spring 520 is used to apply a force to the metal substrate 410 in a direction away from the base 110 so as to push the metal substrate 410 upward.

In the present embodiment, the size of the first through hole 1220a is larger than the size of the locking structure 411 into which the locking portion 431 of the fastener 430 is locked, and the size of the second through hole 1220b is larger than the size of the two electrical connectors 300, and the size of the through holes 412 of the metal substrate 410 is larger than the size of the screws 510. This configuration allows the entire floating seat 400, the circuit board 200 and the electrical connector 300 thereon to move relative to the camera housing 100 in directions A and B perpendicular to the normal line N of the upper surface 1211, so as to help the electronic device 20 be assembled on the electronic device expansion seat 10. In addition, by providing the buffer 500, the floating seat 400, the circuit board 200 thereon, and the electrical connector 300 can be allowed to move relative to the housing 100 along a direction C parallel to the normal line N of the upper surface 1211, so as to help the electronic device 20 be assembled on the electronic device expansion seat 10. The process of placing the electronic device 20 on the electronic device expansion seat 10 will be described in detail below.

First, two opposite corners of one side of the electronic device 20 are tilted against the two second positioning protrusions 1221, and then the electronic device 20 is put down so that the first positioning protrusion 1219 is inserted into the positioning groove 21 of the electronic device 20. Then, the electronic device 20 is slightly moved so that the two positioning members 440 are respectively inserted into the two positioning holes 22 of the electronic device 20, and the electronic device 20 is assembled to the electronic device docking station 10.

In this embodiment, the height H1 of the second positioning bump 1221 protruding from the top surface 1213e of the protruding structure 1213 is greater than the height H2 of the electrical connector 300 relative to the top surface 1213e of the protruding structure 1213, so that personnel can recognize the position of the second positioning bump 1221 at a glance to help assemble the electronic device 20 to the electronic device docking station 10.

Furthermore, by combining the first positioning protrusion 1219 of the supporting portion 121 of the cover 120 and the second positioning protrusion 1221 of the external convex positioning portion 122 of the cover 120, the electronic device 20 can be roughly positioned in the initial stage of assembling the electronic device 20 in the electronic device expansion seat 10, so as to help the subsequent precise positioning of the electronic device 20. It should be noted that the first positioning protrusion 1219 and the second positioning protrusion 1221 are optional structures. In other embodiments, the supporting portion of the cover may not have the first positioning protrusion, and the cover may not have the external convex positioning portion.

In this embodiment, the floating seat 400, the circuit board 200 thereon, and the electrical connector 300 are movable relative to the housing 100, while the relative positions between the two positioning members 440 and the two electrical connectors 300 are fixed. Therefore, the movable floating seat 400 can absorb the assembly tolerance between the two electrical connectors 23 of the electronic device 20 and the two electrical connectors 300 of the electronic device expansion seat 10, so as to ensure that the two electrical connectors 23 of the electronic device 20 and the two electrical connectors 300 of the electronic device expansion seat 10 are accurately connected after the two positioning members 440 are respectively inserted into the two positioning holes 22 of the electronic device 20.

In addition, in this embodiment, since the fastener 430 is locked to the metal substrate 410, the assembly strength between the fastener 430 and the metal substrate 410 can be ensured to avoid the problem that the connection between the fastener 430 and the metal substrate 410 is damaged due to the downward pressure of the electronic device 20 assembled on the electronic device docking station 10 or other external forces.

In this embodiment, by providing the buffer 500, when the electronic device 20 is placed on the electronic device expansion base 10, the floating base 400, the circuit board 200 thereon, and the electrical connector 300 are allowed to move toward the base 110 to absorb the impact, thereby ensuring that the two electrical connectors 23 of the electronic device 20 and the two electrical connectors 300 of the electronic device expansion base 10 are more stably connected.

It should be noted that the buffer member 500 and the positioning member 440 are optional components. In other embodiments, the floating seat can omit the buffer member and the positioning member.

In addition, the carrier plate 420 of the floating seat 400 is not limited to being movably positioned in the movable groove 1218 of the supporting portion 121 of the housing 100. In other embodiments, the supporting portion of the housing may not have an movable groove, and the carrier plate may be directly and movably positioned in the groove formed by the four protrusion structures. Furthermore, the two protrusion structures 1214 are optional structures. In other embodiments, the supporting portion of the cover may not have the two protrusion structures 1214, and the carrier plate may be directly and movably positioned on the upper surface of the supporting portion of the cover.

In addition, the floating seat 400 is also an optional component. In other embodiments, the electronic device expansion seat may not have a floating seat.

In the present embodiment, the upper surface 1211 of the housing 100 has a protruding structure 1213, and the protruding structure 1213 has a wider portion 1213a and a narrower portion 1213c. This can increase the structural strength of the housing 100 to prevent the housing 100 carrying the electronic device 20 from being deformed due to the weight of the electronic device 20. This can ensure the accuracy of the connection between the electronic device 20 and the electrical connector 300, and extend the service life of the electronic device expansion socket 10.

In addition, by extending the first straight line segment 12131d and the second straight line segment 12133d of the protruding structure 1213 in the same direction and the extending direction of the turning segment 12132d being neither parallel nor perpendicular to the extending directions of the first straight line segment 12131d and the second straight line segment 12133d, the area of the side surface 1213d of the protruding structure 1213 can be increased, so that the supporting portion 121 of the cover 120 has a stronger structural strength to resist the weight of the electronic device 20 and extend the service life of the electronic device expansion seat 10.

It should be noted that the extension direction of the turning segment 12132d is not perpendicular to the extension direction of the first straight line segment 12131d and the second straight line segment 12133d. In other embodiments, the extension direction of the turning segment may be perpendicular to the extension direction of the first straight line segment and the second straight line segment. In other words, the protruding structure may have no gradually narrowing portion, but only a wide portion and a narrow portion.

It should be noted that the number of electrical connectors 300 is not intended to limit the present invention. In other embodiments, the electronic device docking station may have only one electrical connector.

According to the electronic device expansion socket disclosed in the above-mentioned embodiment, the upper surface of the casing has a protruding structure, and the protruding structure has a configuration of a wider portion with a larger width and a narrower portion with a smaller width, so that the structural strength of the casing can be increased to prevent the casing carrying the electronic device from being deformed due to the weight of the electronic device, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the connection between the electronic device and the electrical connector.

In addition, by extending the first straight line segment and the second straight line segment of the protruding structure in the same direction and the extending direction of the turning segment being neither parallel nor perpendicular to the extending direction of the first straight line segment and the second straight line segment, the area of the side surface of the protruding structure can be increased, so that the supporting portion of the cover has a stronger structural strength to withstand the weight of the electronic device and extend the service life of the electronic device expansion socket.

Furthermore, by combining the first positioning protrusion of the supporting portion of the cover and the second positioning protrusion of the outer protruding positioning portion of the cover, the electronic device can be roughly positioned in the early stage of assembling the electronic device in the electronic device expansion seat to help the subsequent electronic device to be precisely positioned.

In addition, the floating seat, the circuit board and the electrical connector thereon can move relative to the housing, while the relative positions between the two positioning members and the two electrical connectors are fixed. Therefore, the movable floating seat can absorb the assembly tolerance between the two electrical connectors of the electronic device and the two electrical connectors of the electronic device expansion seat, so as to ensure that the two electrical connectors of the electronic device and the two electrical connectors of the electronic device expansion seat are accurately connected after the two positioning members are respectively inserted into the two positioning holes of the electronic device.

Since the fastener is locked to the metal substrate, the assembly strength between the fastener and the metal substrate can be ensured to avoid the problem that the connection between the fastener and the metal substrate is damaged due to the downward pressure of the electronic device when assembled on the electronic device docking station or other external forces.

By providing the buffer, when the electronic device is placed on the electronic device expansion seat, the floating seat, the circuit board and the electrical connector thereon are allowed to move toward the base to absorb the impact, thereby ensuring that the two electrical connectors of the electronic device and the two electrical connectors of the electronic device expansion seat are more stably connected.

Although the present invention is disclosed as above with the aforementioned preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone skilled in the art may make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of patent protection of the present invention shall be subject to the scope of the patent application attached to this specification.

10: Electronic device expansion socket

20: Electronic devices

21: Positioning groove

22: Positioning jack

23:Electrical connector

100: Chassis

110: Base

120: Cover

121: Carrying part

1211: Upper surface

1212: Outer surface

1212a: front

1212b: Rear

1212c: Side

1213,1214: Raised structure

1213a: Wide part

1213b: tapered part

1213c: Narrow part

1213d: Side surface

12131d: The first straight line segment

12132d: Turning point

12133d: Second straight line segment

1213e: Top

1215: Groove

1216: Groove

1217: Groove

1218:Activity Slot

1219: first positioning bump

1220a: First perforation

1220b: Second perforation

1220c: Third perforation

122: convex positioning part

1221: second positioning protrusion

130: Accommodation space

200: Circuit board

300:Electrical connector

400: Floating seat

410:Metal substrate

411: Locking structure

412: Perforation

420:Carrier board

421: Groove

422: first through hole

423: Second through hole

424: third through hole

430: Fasteners

431: Locking part

440: Positioning piece

500: Buffer

510:Screw

520: Spring

D1,D2: Depth

W1,W2: Width

H1,H2: Height

N:Normal

A,B,C: Direction

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of an electronic device expansion base and an electronic device disclosed according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the electronic device of FIG. 1 separated from the electronic device expansion base. FIG. 3 is a partially exploded schematic diagram of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a top view schematic diagram of the electronic device expansion base of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a rear view schematic diagram of the electronic device expansion base of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram along the cutting line 6-6 of FIG. 4.

10: Electronic device expansion socket

20: Electronic devices

21: Positioning groove

22: Positioning socket

23:Electrical connector

100: Chassis

121: Carrying part

1211: Upper surface

1212: Outer surface

1213,1214: Raised structure

1215: Groove

1216: Groove

1217: Groove

1219: First positioning bump

122: External convex positioning part

1221: Second positioning bump

300:Electrical connector

400: Floating seat

440: Positioning piece

N: Normal

A,B: Direction

Claims (11)

An electronic device expansion socket for docking an electronic device, comprising: a housing having a storage space, an upper surface and at least one protruding structure, the upper surface facing away from the storage space, the upper surface having two opposite long sides, the at least one protruding structure protruding from the upper surface and extending from one of the long sides of the upper surface to the other long side, the at least one protruding structure having a wide portion and a narrow portion connected to each other, the width of the wide portion being greater than the width of the narrow portion; a circuit board located in the storage space; and at least one electrical connector protruding from the upper surface of the housing and electrically connected to the circuit board. An electronic device expansion socket as described in claim 1, wherein the width of the narrow portion is less than half the width of the wide portion. The electronic device expansion seat as described in claim 1, wherein the at least one protruding structure further has a side surface, the side surface is connected to the upper surface and extends from the wide portion to the narrow portion, the side surface has a first straight line segment, a turning segment and a second straight line segment, the first straight line segment is connected to the second straight line segment through the turning segment, the first straight line segment and the second straight line segment extend in the same direction respectively, and the extending direction of the turning segment is not parallel to the extending direction of the first straight line segment and the second straight line segment. An expansion socket for an electronic device as described in claim 3, wherein the extension direction of the turning segment is not perpendicular to the extension direction of the first straight line segment and the second straight line segment. As described in claim 1, the at least one protruding structure further has a gradually narrowing portion, and the two opposite sides of the gradually narrowing portion are respectively connected to the wide portion and the narrow portion, and the width of the gradually narrowing portion gradually decreases from the wide portion toward the narrow portion. The electronic device expansion socket as described in claim 1, wherein the number of the at least one protruding structure of the housing is two, the two protruding structures are respectively located on two opposite sides of the housing, and the at least one electrical connector is located between the two protruding structures. The electronic device expansion seat as described in claim 1, wherein the housing includes a supporting portion and at least one protruding positioning portion, the accommodating space, the upper surface and the at least one protruding structure are located on the supporting portion, the supporting portion has an outer peripheral surface, the outer peripheral surface is connected to the periphery of the upper surface, and the protruding positioning portion is connected to the outer peripheral surface of the supporting portion and protrudes from the upper surface. As described in claim 7, the electronic device expansion seat, wherein the number of the at least one protruding positioning portion is two, and the two protruding positioning portions are respectively located at two opposite corners of one side of the supporting portion. The electronic device expansion seat as described in claim 7, wherein the at least one protruding structure has a top surface, and the height of the external protruding positioning portion protruding from the top surface is greater than the height of the at least one electrical connector protruding from the top surface. The electronic device expansion socket as described in claim 1, wherein the housing has two grooves, the two grooves are respectively located on two opposite sides of the at least one protruding structure, and the depths of the two grooves are different. An electronic device expansion seat for docking an electronic device, comprising: a housing having a storage space, an upper surface and at least one protruding structure, the upper surface facing away from the storage space, the upper surface having two opposite long sides, the at least one protruding structure protruding from the upper surface and extending from one of the long sides of the upper surface to the other long side, the at least one protruding structure having a side surface, the side surface having a first straight line segment, a turning segment and a second straight line segment, the first straight line segment connected to the second straight line segment through the turning segment, the first straight line segment and the second straight line segment extending in the same direction respectively, the extending direction of the turning segment is not parallel to the extending direction of the first straight line segment and the second straight line segment; a circuit board located in the storage space; and at least one electrical connector protruding from the upper surface of the housing and electrically connected to the circuit board.

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