US20110005046A1

US20110005046A1 - Accessory securing mechanism for portable electronic device

Info

Publication number: US20110005046A1
Application number: US12/749,653
Authority: US
Inventors: Shui-Jin Dong
Original assignee: Shenzhen Futaihong Precision Industry Co Ltd; FIH Hong Kong Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Futaihong Precision Industry Co Ltd; FIH Hong Kong Ltd
Priority date: 2009-07-10
Filing date: 2010-03-30
Publication date: 2011-01-13
Also published as: CN101951746A; JP2011015961A

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.

Description

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an accessory securing mechanism for a portable electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
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.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

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.

FIG. 1 is an exploded, isometric view of an accessory securing mechanism for portable electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an exploded, isometric view of the accessory securing mechanism shown in FIG. 1 from another view.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an engaging member of the accessory securing mechanism shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an assembled, isometric view of the assembly structure shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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:

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.