Abstract:
A battery cover latching mechanism ( 300 ) for latching a battery cover ( 20 ) on a housing ( 10 ) of a portable electronic device. The battery cover has a fixing portion ( 204 ) defining a hollow ( 206 ) therein. The latching mechanism includes a button ( 30 ), a locking member ( 40 ) and an elastic member ( 60 ). The button ( 30 ) has an inclined surface ( 308 ). The locking member has a claw ( 408 ) engaged with the hollow and a slanted surface ( 414 ) that resists the inclined surface. The button is mounted in the housing and is movable along a first direction. When the button moves along the first direction, the locking member is driven to slide along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, so as to move the claw from a first position where the claw engages in the hollow to a second position where the claw releases from the hollow.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention generally relates to battery cover latching mechanisms and, more particularly, to a battery cover latching mechanism for a portable electronic device.  
         [0003]     2. Discussion of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Batteries are widely used in portable electronic devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones and so on. A conventional battery is attachably received in a housing of the electronic device, and a battery cover is designed to connect with the housing so as to enclose and protect the battery. The battery has to be replaced by removing the battery cover when the battery is, for example, damaged, exhausted, and/or in need of recharging or replacement.  
         [0005]     A clasping structure or latching structure is used to engage a conventional battery cover with a housing of a portable electronic device. A typical latching mechanism includes a pair of hooks at one end of the battery cover and a locking pin protruding from the other end of the battery cover. Accordingly, a pair of grooves is defined in one end portion of a backside of a housing of the mobile phone, and a locking hole is defined in the other end portion of the backside of the housing. In assembly, the hooks are first inserted into the grooves in the backside of the housing, then, the battery cover is pressed downwardly to the housing until the locking pin on the battery cover is inserted into the locking hole in the backside of the housing. The battery cover is thus assembled to the housing of the mobile phone. The latching mechanism is simple in structure, and the engagement between the battery cover and the housing of the mobile phone is firm. However, during disassembly, great effort is needed to disassemble the battery cover, thereby requiring a relatively substantial force to be exerted thereon. Therefore, the battery cover is susceptible to damage. As a result, it is difficult for a user to replace a battery in the conventional housing of the mobile phone.  
         [0006]     Therefore, a new battery cover latching mechanism is desired in order to overcome the above-described shortcomings.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     A battery cover latching mechanism is used to latch a battery cover on a housing of a portable electronic device. The housing defines a receiving hole and a groove therein. The receiving hole of is in communication with the groove. The battery cover includes a fixing portion received in the groove of the housing. The fixing portion of the battery cover has a hollow defined therein. The battery cover latching mechanism includes a button, a locking member and an elastic member. The button has an inclined surface. The locking member has a slanted surface and having a claw corresponding to the hollow of the fixing portion. The button is mounted in the receiving hole of the housing and is movable along a first direction. The locking member is mounted on the housing, the inclined surface of the button engages with the slanted surface of the locking member in manner such that when the button moves along the first direction. The locking member is driven to slide along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, so as to move the claw from a first position where the claw engages in the hollow to a second position where the claw releases from the hollow. The elastic member provides force to return the locking member to its original position.  
         [0008]     Other advantages and novel features of the embodiments will become more apparent from the following detailed description thereof, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]     Many aspects of the battery cover latching mechanism can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present battery cover latching mechanism and its potential applications. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is an exploded, isometric view of a battery cover latching mechanism for connecting a battery cover and a housing of a portable electronic device, in accordance with a preferred embodiment;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is similar to  FIG. 1  but viewed from another aspect;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is similar to  FIG. 1 , but viewed from a third aspect;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is an exploded, isometric view of a part of the latching mechanism in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is an partially assembled, isometric view of the latching mechanism in  FIG.4 ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  is an partial cross-sectional view of the assembled latching mechanism in  FIG. 1 ; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 7  is an assembled, isometric view of a part of the latching mechanism in  FIG. 1 .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]     Referring now to the drawings in detail,  FIG. 1  shows a battery cover latching mechanism  300  for use in a mobile phone (not labeled). The mobile phone is taken here as an exemplary application, for the purposes of describing details of the battery cover latching mechanism of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The mobile phone includes a housing  10  and a battery cover  20 , connected together via the battery cover latching mechanism  300 . The latching mechanism  300  includes a button  30 , a locking member  40 , a first elastic member  50  and a second elastic member  60 . The latching mechanism  300  is mounted in the housing  10  and releasably locks the battery cover  20 , thereby interconnecting the housing  10  and the battery cover  20 .  
         [0018]     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the housing  10  is a rear cover of the mobile phone. A cavity  100  for accommodating a battery (not shown) is defined in a first side of the housing  10 , and a sidewall  103  is formed on the housing  10  to form the cavity  100 . Two slots  102  are symmetrically defined in the housing  10  and are opposite to the sidewall  103  relative to the cavity  100 . A groove  104  adjacent to the sidewall  103  and a receiving hole  106  adjacent to the groove  104  are defined on the first side of the housing  10 . The groove  104  is disposed between the cavity  100  and the receiving hole  106 . The groove  104  defined in the first side of the housing  10  forms a hollow block  105  on an opposite second side of the housing  10 . A cutout  112  is defined in the hollow block  105  to communicate the groove  104  and the receiving hole  106 . A protrusion  108  is formed on the sidewall  103  and a through hole  110  is defined in the bottom of the cavity  100  below the protrusion  108 . Two symmetrical strips  114  formed on the second side of the housing  10  extend from two sides of the cutout  112 . Two hems  115  are perpendicularly connected to the strips  114  respectively. Two blocks  116 , which are spaced to each other, are formed between the hems  115 . Two guiding slots  118  are respectively defined in the bottom of the strips  114 . The protrusion  108  and the through hole  110  are used to fit the battery.  
         [0019]     The battery cover  20  is approximately a rectangular board including a bottom wall  201  and two side walls  203 . A pair of hooks  202  are formed on one end of the battery cover  20  and a fixing portion  204  is formed on an opposite end of the battery cover  20 . Facing the exterior of the battery cover  20 , a hollow  206  is defined in the fixing portion  204 . The hooks  202  are configured to engage with the slots  100  of the housing  10 .  
         [0020]     Also referring to  FIG. 4 , the button  30  includes a pressing portion  302 , a flange portion  304 , and two symmetrical extending walls  306 . The pressing portion  302  and the flange portion  304  are ellipsoid cylinders. That is, the pressing portion  302  and the flange portion  304  are column-shaped, and have elliptic-shaped. The pressing portion  302  is connected to the flange portion  304 , and the extending walls  306  are formed on a mounting surface  305  of the flange portion  304  opposite to the pressing portion  302 . A notch  309  is defined in the flange portion  304 , and a first pole  310  is formed between the extending walls  306  at the bottom of the notch  309 . Each extending wall  306  has an inclined surface  308  at a slant to the axis of the first pole  310 . The button  30  is mounted in the receiving hole  106  of the housing  10 . The receiving hole  106  is larger than the pressing portion  302 , but smaller than the flange portion  304 . The first elastic member  50  surrounds the first pole  310 .  
         [0021]     The locking member  40  includes a base board  402 . Two bending boards  403  are perpendicularly formed at two opposite ends of the base board  402 . Shorter than the guiding slots  118  of the housing  10 , two guiding hooks  404  are perpendicularly formed at the ends of the bending boards  403 . The guiding hooks  404  engage with the guiding slots  118  to slidably mount the locking member  40  on the housing  10 . A second pole  406  and a claw  408  are formed at opposite ends of the base board  402 . An axis of the second pole  406  is parallel to the base board  402 . The second elastic member  60  surrounds the second pole  406 . The claw  408  is located in the hollow  206  of the battery cover  20 . Parallel to the axis of the second pole  406 , a protruding hole  410  and two inserting slots  412  are defined in the base board  402 . The inserting slots  412  are symmetrically defined either side of the protruding hole  410 . Surfaces facing the claw  408  and defining the inserting slots  412  each has a slanted surface  414 . The slanted surface  414  engages with the inclined surface  308  of the button  30 .  
         [0022]     The first and second elastic members  50 ,  60  are helical, column-shaped springs.  
         [0023]     In assembly, referring to  FIG. 5 , the button  30  is located in the receiving hole  106  of the housing  10  from the second side of the housing  10 , and the pressing portion  302  is exposed to the first side of the housing  10 . The button  30  is movable along the axis of the receiving hole  106  of the housing  10 . The flange portion  304  prevents the button  30  from falling off the housing  10 . The first and second elastic members  50  are mounted surrounding the first and second poles  310 ,  406 . Referring to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , the locking member  40  is located on the housing  10 . The guiding hooks  404  of the locking member  40  are slidably inserted into the guiding slots  118  of the housing  10 . The second pole  406  is set between the two blocks  116 , one end of the second elastic member  60  resists the locking member  40  and the other end resists the blocks  116 . The first pole  310  and the extending walls  306  respectively protrude out from the protruding hole  410  and the inserting slots  412 . The slanted surface  414  engages with the inclined surface  308  of the button  30 . Thereby, the locking member  40  will be pushed to slide when the button  30  is pressed. The claw  408  of the locking member  40  is thus inserted into the groove  104  via the cutout  112  of the housing  10 .  
         [0024]     When the battery cover  20  is assembled to the housing  10 , the battery cover  20  is located on the housing  10 . The hooks  202  engage with the slots  102 . Pressing the button  30 , the first elastic member  50  is compressed, and the button  30  urges the locking member  40  to slide relative to the housing  10  along the guiding slots  118  due to its engagement with the inclined surface  308  of the button  30  and the slanted surface  414  of the locking member  40 . Thus, the claw  408  retreats from the groove  104  of the housing  10 , and the second elastic member  60  is compressed. At this moment, pressing the battery cover  20 , the battery cover  20  engages with the housing  10 , and the fixing portion  204  of the battery cover  20  protrudes into the groove  104  of the housing  10 . Releasing the button  30 , the button  30  and the locking member  40  are reset to an original position for the elasticity of the first and second elastic members  50 ,  60  respectively. The claw  408  of the locking member  40  inserts into the groove  104  of the housing  10  again and protrudes in the hollow  206  of the fixing portion  204  of the battery cover  20 . Thus, the battery cover  20  is firmly mounted on the housing  10 .  
         [0025]     When the battery cover  20  is detached from the housing  10  by pressing the button  30 . This compresses the first elastic member  50 , and the button  30  urges the locking member  40  to slide relative to the housing  10  along the guiding slots  118 . The claw  408  retreats from the hollow of the fixing portion  204  of the battery cover  20 , and the second elastic member  60  is thus compressed. Thereby, the battery cover  20  is released and can be removed from the housing  10 . Then releasing the button  30 , the button  30  and the locking member  40  are reset to an original position due to the elasticity of the first and second elastic members  50 ,  60  respectively.  
         [0026]     As described above, the preferred embodiment provides a battery cover latching mechanism for portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones. The battery cover is removed easily by simply pressing the button. This button-activated latching mechanism gives the user a both quick and user-friendly method for latching/unlatching a structure. It is further to be understood that such a button-activated latching mechanism could prove useful in allowing releasable attachment of covers or doors of other devices, and such uses are considered to be within the scope of the present latching mechanism.  
         [0027]     In an alternative embodiment, the first and second elastic members  50 ,  60  can be other kinds of matters such as rubber tubes. The first pole  310  and the first elastic member  50  can be replaced by an elastic pole, and correspondingly, the second pole  406  and the second elastic member  60  can be replaced by an elastic pole. The first elastic member  50  can be omitted, and the button  30  and the locking member  40  can be returned to their original position by the second elastic member  60 . The guiding slots  118  of the housing  10  can be replaced by other kind of locking portions such as projections formed on the strips  114 . Accordingly, the guiding hook  404  of the locking member  40  can be replaced by other kind of locking portions such as slots or holes.  
         [0028]     It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structures and functions of the 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 invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.