Abstract:
An exemplary stylus includes a housing, a stylus body, a latching element and an elastic element. The housing has a receptacle defined therethrough. The stylus body is rotatably assembled to the receptacle. The latching element is slidably accommodated in the receptacle, the latching element is configured for interacting with the stylus body so that the stylus body rotates relative to the housing about an axis and the latching element moves linearly along another axis. The elastic element is resisted between the housing and the latching element, the elastic element is used for accumulating an elastic force with rotation of the stylus body relative to the housing and the movement of the latching element.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 12/848,334, 12/848,337, and 12/848,343, all entitled “STYLUS”, and all invented by Liang et al. All these related applications have the same assignee as the present application and have been concurrently filed herewith. The above-identified applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     This exemplary disclosure generally relates to styluses. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     It is well-known that a variety of devices include a touch screen. Examples of such devices include smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, personal organizers, and the like. These devices typically include a display module under the touch screen. The display module generates target images associated with menu options, programs, user choices, and other operations. The user controls the device by pressing the touch screen over the target image with a stylus. However, stylus bodies of typical styluses are stiff or rigid, and may not be convenient to use. 
     Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the exemplary stylus 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 exemplary stylus. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the diagrams. 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of an exemplary stylus. 
         FIG. 2  is an assembled view of the stylus shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the stylus shown in  FIG. 2  along the line III-III, and wherein the stylus is in a retracted state. 
         FIG. 4  is similar to  FIG. 3 , but wherein the stylus is in a tilted state. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the stylus shown in  FIG. 2  along the line V-V. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In this exemplary embodiment, the stylus is used to contact a touch screen display of an electronic device such as a mobile telephone. The mobile telephone described herein is a representation of the type of wireless communication 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 handheld or portable device including, but not limited to, the following devices: radiotelephones, cordless phones, paging devices, personal digital assistants, portable computers, pen-based or keyboard-based handheld devices, remote control units, portable media players (such as an MP3 or DVD player) that have wireless communication capability, and the like. Accordingly, any reference herein to the mobile telephone should also be considered to apply equally to other portable wireless electronic devices. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the stylus  100  includes a housing  10 , a shell  20  mounted in the housing  10 , a stylus body  30  rotatably mounted to one end of the shell  20 , a latching element  40  elastically latching with the stylus body  30 , a resisting element  50  mounted to another end of the shell  20 , and an elastic element  60  located between the latching element  40  and the resisting element  50 . The stylus body  30  is rotatably mounted to the shell  20  by a pin  70 , and two ends of the pin  70  are retained to the housing  10  to mount the shell  20  to the housing  10 . The resisting element  50  is mounted to the shell  20  by a post  80 . 
     The housing  10  is hollow, and longitudinally defines a receptacle  12  therethrough. The housing  10  further includes two aligned retaining holes  14  defined at one end thereof. The retaining holes  14  are for retaining the pin  70  to the housing  10 . 
     The shell  20  is tubular and has generally the same shape as, but is slightly smaller than, the receptacle  12  of the housing  10 —so that the shell  20  can be accommodated in the receptacle  12 . The shell  20  includes a compartment  24  longitudinally defined therethrough for accommodating the latching element  40  and the elastic element  60 . One end of the shell  20  transversely defines two aligned troughs  222  for retaining the post  80  therein, two aligned positioning slots  2242  for positioning the resisting element  50  therein, and two aligned guiding grooves  2244  for guiding the latching element  40  to slide relative to the shell  20 . Another end of the shell  20  transversely defines two apertures  226  for retaining the pin  70  therein. When the shell  20  is located in the housing  10 , the apertures  226  are aligned with the retaining holes  14 . 
     The stylus body  30  includes a joint  32 , a link  34  protruding from the joint  32 , and a tip  36  positioned at a distal end of the link  34 . The joint  32  is substantially spherical; and defines an orifice  322  for engagingly receiving the pin  70 , and a latching recess  324  for latchingly receiving the latching element  40 . The tip  36  is for touching a touch panel of an electronic device (not shown). 
     The latching element  40  includes a resisting board  42  resisting the elastic element  60 , a latching portion  44  protruding from one end of the resisting board  42  for latching in the latching recess  324 , two sliding blocks  46  oppositely protruding from a periphery of the resisting board  42 , and a retaining portion  48  protruding from another end of the resisting board  42 . The latching portion  44  is sized and shaped to latch with the latching recess  324 , so that the stylus body  30  is held in a retracted state like that shown in  FIG. 3 . The latching portion  44  can slide out of the latching recess  324  so that the stylus body  30  can stand in a tilted state like that shown in  FIG. 4 . Each sliding block  46  is slidably accommodated in one of the guiding grooves  2244 , so that the latching element  40  can slide relative to the shell  20 . The retaining portion  48  is received in a bottom end of the elastic element  60 , for holding the elastic element  60  in position. 
     The resisting element  50  includes a plate  52  for resisting the elastic element  60 , a protrusion  54  protruding from one surface of the plate  52 , and two positioning blocks  56  oppositely protruding from a peripheral wall of the plate  52 . The protrusion  54  defines a securing hole  542  for securing the resisting element  50  to the shell  20 . When the resisting element  50  is accommodated in the shell  20 , the securing hole  542  is aligned with the troughs  222 , and the post  80  is tightly fitted in the securing hole  542  and the troughs  222  so that the resisting element  50  is firmly mounted to the shell  20 . Each positioning block  56  is located in one of the positioning slots  2242  so that the resisting element  50  can precisely mounted to the shell  20 . 
     The elastic element  60  is located between the latching element  40  and the resisting element  50 . The elastic element  60  exerts a force on the latching element  40 , causing the latching element  40  to slide relative to the shell  20  so that the latching element  40  slides toward the stylus body  30 . Thereby, the latching portion  44  latches in latching recess  324  and resists against the joint  32  of the stylus body  30 . The elastic element  60  may be an expansion spring, a compression spring, or an elastic band. One elastic element  60  is shown in this embodiment. However, it is understood that a plurality of elastic elements  60  may instead be used. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1-3 , in assembly, the latching element  40  is received in the shell  20  and each sliding block  46  is located in one of the guiding grooves  2244 . The bottom end of the elastic element  60  is retained around the retaining portion  48  of the latching element  40  and resists the resisting board  42 . The resisting element  50  is received in the shell  20  and the securing hole  542  is aligned with the troughs  222 . The post  80  is inserted into the troughs  222  and the securing hole  542  to hold the resisting element  50  in the shell  20 , and the plate  52  resists a top end of the elastic element  60 . The shell  20  is inserted in the receptacle  12 , and the apertures  226  are aligned with the retaining holes  14 . The joint  32  is inserted in the compartment  24 , the orifice  322  is aligned with the apertures  226 , and the latching recess  324  latchingly receives the latching portion  44 . The pin  70  is inserted in the retaining holes  14 , the apertures  226  and the orifice  322 , to assemble the housing  10 , the shell  20  and the stylus body  30  together. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3-5 , in operation, the stylus body  30  can rotate about the pin  70  relative to the shell  20  and the housing  10  so that the stylus body  30  is tilted for convenience of use. In this motion, the latching portion  44  slides out of the latching recess  324 , and the sliding blocks  46  slide in the corresponding guiding grooves  2244  so that the latching element  40  slides away from the stylus body  30 . Thus, the elastic element  60  is compressed to accumulate elastic potential energy for providing force to drive the latching element  40  to slide back toward the stylus body  30  until the latching portion  44  latches in the latching recess  324  once more. Thus, the stylus body  30  is located in the retracted state shown in  FIG. 3  again. 
     It is to be further understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the exemplary 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 exemplary embodiments to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.