Battery cover latching mechanism and portable electronic device using same

A battery cover latching mechanism and a portable electronic device using the same are provided. The battery cover latching mechanism detachably locks a battery cover to the housing and includes an assembly portion, a locking assembly and a lock portion. The locking assembly is mounted to the assembly portion of the housing and includes an elastic piece and a latching member. The elastic piece is assembled within the receiving slot. The latching member is elastically and releasably assembled within the receiving slot by the elastic piece for locking or releasing the battery cover. The locking portion is formed on the battery cover and locked by the latching member.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to cover latching mechanisms and particularly, to a battery cover latching mechanism used in a portable electronic device.

2. Description of Related Art

Portable electronic devices often include latches for securing battery covers. The batteries must be able to be removed and installed multiple times. Therefore, the latches on the covers must be able to endure these multiple processes.

A typical cover latch mechanism includes at least one spring to facilitate its operation. However, the latching of the cover and a housing of the electronic device is often too firm to be easily released.

Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In this exemplary embodiment, the battery cover latching mechanism is applied to a mobile telephone. The mobile telephone described herein is a representation of one type of portable electronic device that may benefit from the exemplary embodiment. However, it is to be understood that the exemplary embodiment may be applied to any type of hand-held or portable electronic device including, but not limited to, the following devices: radiotelephones, cordless phones, paging devices, personal digital assistants, portable computers, portable media players (such as an MP3 or DVD player) and the like. Accordingly, any reference herein to the mobile telephone should also be considered to apply equally to other portable wireless electronic devices.

FIGS. 1 and 2show a portable electronic device100employing a battery cover latching mechanism (not labeled) including a housing10, a locking assembly30, and a battery cover50. The locking assembly30is mounted to the housing10and detachably latches the battery cover50to the housing10. The battery cover latching mechanism includes an assembly portion20defined in the housing10, the aforementioned locking assembly30and a locking portion60formed on the battery cover50.

The housing10includes a base board11, an end wall15, and two opposite sidewalls13substantially perpendicularly connected to opposite ends of the end wall15. The base board11includes a substantially rectangular battery accommodating cavity12recessed for receiving a battery (not shown). Each sidewall13defines at least one latching slot14opposite to each other. A latching groove16is recessed in the substantially middle portion of the end wall15(shown inFIG. 3). The assembly portion20is formed on the base board11substantially adjacent to the end wall15and is spaced from the battery accommodating cavity12for assembling the locking assembly30to the housing10. The assembly portion20includes a receiving slot21, two latching hooks23, a post25, and two fixable pins27. The receiving slot21is a substantially rectangular cavity recessed in the base board11near and substantially parallel to the end wall15. The two latching hooks23protrude from the bottom surface of the receiving slot21and are positioned substantially adjacent to opposite ends of the receiving slot21. Each latching hook23is received within the receiving slot21and include a guide arm231and a hook portion233. The guide arm231projects substantially perpendicularly from the bottom surface of the receiving slot21. The hook portion233is formed at the distal end of the guide arm231. The post25protrudes from the substantially middle portion of the bottom surface of the receiving slot21and is located between the two latching hooks23. The two fixable pins27are formed on the base board11substantially adjacent to the periphery of the receiving slot21.

The locking assembly30includes a latching member31, an elastic piece33and a fixing board35. The latching member31is elastically assembled to be released within the receiving slot21of the housing10for locking or releasing of the battery cover50. The latching member31includes a base board311, a locking block313and two latching blocks315. The base board311is substantially rectangular and defines a mounting hole312therethrough. The locking block313is substantially triangular prism-shaped, protruding from one surface of the base board311, being located above the mounting hole312. The locking block313includes two resisting slopes314and a peak portion316connected between the two resisting slopes314. The two latching blocks315are formed at opposite ends of the base board311away from each other and latch with the corresponding two latching hooks23, thereby assembling the latching member31within the receiving slot21of the assembly portion20of the housing10.

The elastic piece33is a coil spring in the present embodiment, and is assembled within the receiving slot21by coiling itself around the post25. The elastic piece33provides an elastic rebound force when the key button latching member31is pressed, to return to its original position. The fixing board35is fixed to the base board10and covers the corresponding receiving slot21. A substantially rectangular assembly hole351is defined through the substantially middle portion of the fixing board35corresponding to the locking block313. The assembly hole351exposes the locking block313out of the receiving slot21. Two fixing holes353are defined through the fixing board35and are located substantially adjacent to the periphery of the fixing board35respectively corresponding to the two fixable pins27.

The battery cover50can be detachably mounted to the housing10by the locking assembly30. The battery cover50includes a cover body51, two lateral walls53extending from two opposite sides of the cover body51, and an end wall55extending from one distal end of the cover body51. Each lateral wall53includes at least one latching block54corresponding to the at least one latching slot14. A fixed block56protrudes from an inner surface of the end wall55and is positioned at the substantially the middle portion of the end wall55corresponding to the latching groove16of the housing10.

The locking portion60protrudes from the inner surface of the cover body51and is positioned adjacent to the end wall55corresponding to the locking block313.

Referring further toFIG. 3, in assembly, the elastic piece33is assembled into the receiving slot21and coils around the post25; the latching member31is mounted to the receiving slot21, aligning the mounting hole312with the post25. The distal end of the post25and the distal end of the elastic piece33pass into and are received within the mounting hole312of the latching member31. The two latching blocks315of the latching member31latch to the corresponding hook portions233and resist against the corresponding guide arm231. When the latching member31is pressed downwardly with an external force, the two latching blocks315slide relative to the corresponding two guide arms231. After that, the fixing board35is placed on the housing10and covers the receiving slot21. The two fixable pins27pass through the corresponding two fixing holes353and are fixed with the fixing board35. The locking block313passes through and is exposed out of the assembly hole351of the fixing board35.

Referring toFIGS. 4-6, when assembling the battery cover50to the housing10, the two lateral walls53abut against the corresponding two sidewalls13of the housing10, the locking portion60resists on one slope314of the latching member31that opposes the end wall15(shown inFIG. 4). After that, the battery cover60is pushed toward the battery accommodating cavity12. Meanwhile, the latching member31is pushed and is resisted against by the locking portion60of the battery cover50. Thus, pressing the elastic piece33slides the latching member31towards the bottom surface of the receiving slot21along the guide arm231, until the locking portion60arrives at the peak portion316of the latching member31(shown inFIG. 5). By continuing to push the battery cover50toward the battery accommodating cavity12, the locking portion60overlies the peak portion316and slides relative to the other slope314substantially adjacent to the side of the battery accommodating cavity12. The elastic piece33is released to push the latching member31to return to its original position. The latching blocks54and the fixed block56latch into the corresponding latching slots14and latching groove16of the housing10. The locking portion60tightly resists against the slope314of the latching member31. Thus, the battery cover50is tightly assembled to the housing10.