Electronic apparatus with plug

An electronic apparatus with a plug is provided, which relates to the field of electronic technologies, and solves a technical problem of the plug is easily damaged when the plug in a state of extending out of a port is impacted by a force in a direction in which the plug retracts into the port. The electronic apparatus with a plug includes a housing opened with a port, a plug passing through the port, and a circuit board located inside the housing and electrically connected to the plug, where a locking mechanism is disposed between the plug and the housing, the locking mechanism is configured to lock the plug when the plug is in a state of extending out of the port, and the locking mechanism automatically becomes ineffective when the plug is impacted by the force in the direction in which the plug retracts into the port.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2010/078613, filed on Nov. 10, 2010, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 200920179928.5, filed on Nov. 11, 2009, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of electronic technologies, and in particular, to an electronic apparatus with a plug.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the ongoing development of electronic technologies, various electronic apparatuses with a plug such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive already become one of indispensable electronic apparatuses in the daily life and office work of people.

As shown inFIG. 1, an existing electronic apparatus with a plug includes a housing2opened with a port1, a plug3passing through the port1, and a circuit board4located inside the housing2and electrically connected to the plug3, where the circuit board4is fixedly connected to the plug3, a locking structure5is disposed between the circuit board4and the housing2, and the locking structure5is configured to lock the plug3when the plug3is in a state of extending out of the port1. The locking structure5includes a stop slot15disposed on an inner wall of the housing2, a support16fixedly connected to the circuit board4, and a button8having an end extending out of the housing2. The housing2is opened with a sliding slot in parallel with the direction in which the plug3retracts into or extends out of the port1. The end of the button8which is extending out of the housing2may slide inside the sliding slot, and a side of the button8located inside the housing2is fixedly disposed with a stop portion80having a shape matching with the stop slot15. The end of the button8which is far away from the stop portion80is inserted inside the support16, and a spring17is fixedly disposed between the end and the support16. An elastic force direction of the spring17extends in a direction towards the sliding slot.

When the electronic apparatus with a plug needs to be used, the button8is pushed in a direction towards the port1, so that the button8drives the circuit board4and the plug3to slide along the sliding slot in a direction towards the port1through the support16. When the plug3is in a state of extending out of the port1, under the effect of the spring17, the stop portion80on the button8is just sprung into the stop slot15, and at this time, the button8, the circuit board4, and the plug3are all locked by a fitting structure formed of the stop portion80and the stop slot15. After using the electronic apparatus with a plug is finished, the button8may be pushed to compress the spring17and press the stop portion80of the button8out of the stop slot15, and at the same time, the button8is pushed in a direction away from the port1, so that the plug3is pushed back to enable the plug3to be in a state of retracting into the port1.

The prior art has the following disadvantages. When the plug3shown inFIG. 1is in a state of extending out of the port1, the locking structure5locks the plug3to make the position thereof fixed so that the plug3is unable to move. When the apparatus that the plug3is in the state of extending out of the port1is dropped on the floor by accident and the plug3is impacted, or the apparatus that is already plugged into the slot is impacted by accident, the plug3is impacted by a force in the direction in which the plug3retracts into the port1. The impact force is usually greater than the push force applied on the plug3by people when the plug3is being plugged into the slot, the impact force is abrupt, and the force points are usually centralized, so the plug3is easily damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide an electronic apparatus with a plug, which solves the technical problem that a plug of an existing electronic apparatus with a plug is easily damaged when the plug in a state of extending out of a port is impacted by a force in a direction in which the plug retracts into the port.

In order to achieve the objects, the embodiment of the present invention adopts the following technical solutions.

An electronic apparatus with a plug includes a housing opened with a port, a plug passing through the port, and a circuit board located inside the housing and electrically connected to the plug, where a locking mechanism is disposed between the plug and the housing, the locking mechanism is configured to lock the plug when the plug in a state of extending out of the port, and the locking mechanism automatically becomes ineffective when the plug is impacted by a force in a direction in which the plug retracts into the port.

Compared with the prior art, the technical solutions provided in the present invention have the following advantages.

As in the embodiment of the present invention, the locking mechanism automatically becomes ineffective when the plug is impacted by a force in a direction in which the plug retracts into the port, when the apparatus that the plug is in the state of extending out of the port is dropped on the floor by accident and the plug is impacted, or the apparatus that is already plugged into the slot is impacted by accident, the locking mechanism automatically becomes ineffective. After the locking mechanism automatically becomes ineffective, the plug may slide in the direction in which the plug retracts into the port, and under the effect of the impact force, the plug slides back into the housing in the direction in which the plug retracts into the port. The larger the impact force is, the larger the distance that the plug is retracted in the direction in which the plug retracts into the port, so that a buffering effect is achieved for the impact force, thereby preventing the impact force from damaging the plug, which solves the technical problem that a plug of an existing electronic apparatus with a plug is easily damaged when the plug in a state of extending out of a port is impacted by a force in a direction in which the plug retracts into the port.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is obvious that the embodiments to be described are only a part rather than all of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by persons skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic apparatus with a plug having a simple structure and high reliability, where a plug in a state of extending out of a port is not easily damaged by impact.

As shown inFIG. 2toFIG. 4, an electronic apparatus with a plug provided in an embodiment of the present invention includes a housing2opened with a port1, a plug3passing through the port1, and a circuit board4located inside the housing2and electrically connected to the plug3, where a locking mechanism5shown inFIG. 5is disposed between the plug3and the housing2, the locking mechanism5is configured to lock the plug3when the plug3is in a state of extending out of the port1, and the loc king mechanism5automatically becomes ineffective when the plug3is impacted by a force in a direction in which the plug3retracts into the port1.

As in the embodiment of the present invention, the locking mechanism5shown inFIG. 5automatically becomes ineffective when the plug3is impacted by a force in the direction in which the plug3retracts into the port1, when the apparatus that the plug3is in a state of extending out of the port1is dropped on the floor by accident and the plug3is impacted, or when the apparatus that is already plugged into the slot is impacted by accident, the locking mechanism5automatically becomes ineffective. After the locking mechanism5automatically becomes ineffective, the plug3may slide in the direction in which the plug3retracts into the port1, and under the effect of the impact force, the plug3slides back into the housing2in the direction in which the plug3retracts into the port1. The larger the impact force is, the larger the distance that the plug3retracts in the direction in which the plug3retracts into the port1is, so that a buffering effect is achieved for the impact force, thereby preventing the impact force from damaging the plug3, which solves the technical problem that a plug3of the existing electronic apparatus with a plug shown inFIG. 1is easily damaged when the plug3in a state of extending out of the port1is impacted by a force in the direction in which the plug3retracts into the port1.

The locking mechanism5shown inFIG. 5includes elastic ribs6shown inFIG. 4andFIG. 7fixedly connected to the plug3shown inFIG. 2and extending towards a sidewall20of the housing2, a positioning projection7fixedly disposed at ends of the elastic ribs6away from the plug3, and a button8fixedly connected to the positioning projection7.

The sidewall20shown inFIG. 3is opened with a sliding way9in parallel with the direction in which the plug3retracts into or extends out of the port1, and the button8extends out of the sliding way9and may slide in the sliding way9.

The sidewall20is further opened with a positioning slot10shown inFIG. 4. Gradually descending slope surfaces11shown inFIG. 5andFIG. 7are disposed at the end of the positioning projection7away from the plug3, the positioning projection7is inserted inside the positioning slot10, and the slope surfaces11are held against an inner wall of the positioning slot10.

When the plug3is in a state of extending out of the port1, the positioning projection7is inserted inside the positioning slot10and the slope surfaces11are held against the inner wall of the positioning slot10. As the elastic ribs6extend towards one sidewall20of the housing2, the elastic forces of the elastic ribs6also extend in the direction towards the sidewall20. Under the effect of the elastic forces of the elastic ribs6, the positioning projection7is forcefully held against and inserted inside the positioning slot10, and with the blockage of the positioning slot10, the plug3in the state of extending out of the port1is locked.

When the apparatus that the plug3is in the state of extending out of the port1is dropped on the floor by accident and the plug3is impacted, or when the apparatus that is already plugged into the slot is impacted by accident, as the gradually descending slope surfaces11on the positioning projection7are held against the inner wall of the positioning slot10, the inner wall of the positioning slot10held against the slope surfaces11of the positioning projection7also must be an inclined surface. Under the effect of the impact force, the inclined surface of the inner wall of the positioning slot10applies reaction forces on the positioning projection7. Forces opposite to the elastic forces of the elastic ribs6may be split from the reaction forces. Under the effect of the forces, the positioning projection7is detached from the positioning slot10, and at the same time, under the effect of the impact force, the plug3slides back into the housing2in the direction in which the plug3retracts into the port1, so that the impact force is buffered.

The circuit board4and the plug3are fixedly connected, and the elastic ribs6and the circuit board4are fixedly connected. The circuit board4has a relatively large surface area, the operation space is large for disposing both the plug3and the elastic ribs6on the circuit board4, so at the same time, when the circuit board4and the plug3are fixedly connected, the structure of the electrical connection between the plug3and the circuit board4is more reliable. Of course, in this embodiment, the circuit board4and the plug3may also be electrically connected through wires, and at this time, the elastic ribs6may also be fixedly connected to the plug3directly.

The elastic ribs6are symmetrically disposed on the circuit board4about an axial center line of the port1, the positioning projection7is a strip and is disposed between the symmetrically disposed elastic ribs6, and the button8is located in the middle of the positioning projection7. In such a structure, not only the symmetrically disposed elastic ribs6are subject to relatively even forces and the elasticity is better, but also the connectivity between the elastic ribs6and the positioning projection7is better.

A cross-section at a top of the positioning projection7is a trapezoid, which has a relatively large bottom side fixedly connected to the elastic rib6. In such a structure, the surfaces where the positioning projection7and the inner wall of the positioning slot10away from and near the plug3are held against each other are all slope surfaces11. When the plug3is impacted by a force in the direction in which the plug3retracts into the port1, the inner wall of the positioning slot10near the plug3applies a smaller blocking force on the positioning projection7when the positioning projection7is detached from the positioning slot10, which is beneficial for the locking mechanism5to automatically become ineffective.

The sidewall20shown inFIG. 2is further provided with a sliding slot12shown inFIG. 6, the sliding way9shown inFIG. 3is opened on a bottom surface of the sliding slot12, the button8is fixedly connected to a board-shaped sliding block13, and the sliding block13is inserted inside the sliding slot12and may slide inside the sliding slot12in a direction in which the sliding way9extends.

The board-shaped sliding block13not only increases a surface area of the button8, so that when a user pushes the button8, a force application area is larger and the touch feels better, but also makes the button8more stable in the slide process and slide in a more accurate direction.

An inner side of the sidewall20, that is, a side near the elastic ribs6is further opened with retreat stop slot18having a shape matching with the top of the positioning projection7. When the plug3is in the state of retracting into the port1, the top of the positioning projection7is just inserted inside the retreat stop slot18. When the plug3is in the state of retracting into the port1, the retreat stop slot18accommodates the top of the positioning projection7, so as to prevent the elastic ribs6from staying at a state of being pressed by the inner side of the sidewall20, so that the situation that the elastic force decreases or even becomes unable to be restored is avoided.

A frame-shaped connecting seat14shown inFIG. 7is fixedly disposed on the circuit board4around the plug3, and the elastic ribs6are fixedly connected to the connecting seat14.

The frame-shaped connecting seat14increases joint areas between the circuit board4and the plug3and between the circuit board4and the elastic ribs6, so that the connection between the plug3and the circuit board4and between the circuit board4and the elastic ribs6is more reliable.

The connecting seat14, the elastic ribs6, and the button8shown inFIG. 7are all made of a plastic material. The plastic material has a low cost and the elastic force thereof may satisfy the requirement of the elastic ribs6, and at the same time, the connecting seat14, the elastic ribs6, and the button8made of the plastic material may be easily fabricated through welding or a one-step forming technology, so the fabrication becomes relatively convenient.

The sidewall20is one having the largest orthographic projection area of sidewalls of the housing2. The housing2of the electronic apparatus with a plug shown inFIG. 2usually has a simple structure, and the sidewall having the largest orthographic projection area of the housing2is usually the sidewall having a relatively large surface area, so an operation space is large when the sidewall20is disposed with various components or opened with various holes or slots.

The housing2shown inFIG. 2in this embodiment is a cuboid, and the sidewall20having the largest orthographic projection area of the housing2also has the largest surface area. Of course, the shape of the housing2may also be designed into various shapes such as an ellipsoidal shape or a prismatic shape.

The electronic apparatus with a plug is a data card or a USB flash drive. The data card or USB flash drive has a small volume and high portability, and at the same time falls off easily, so the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention are very applicable.

It should be understood that the above descriptions are merely specific embodiments of the present invention, but not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention. Any change or replacement readily apparent to persons skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention should fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention is subject to the appended claims.