Abstract:
A housing combination includes a housing ( 51 ) and a shielding enclosure ( 55 ). The housing has a peripheral wall and a receiving hole ( 511 ). The peripheral wall surrounds the receiving hole configured for receiving a surface contact card. A guiding element ( 52 ) is positioned in at least one part of the peripheral wall of the receiving hole. The shielding enclosure is disposed at one side of the housing, one part of the shielding enclosure exposed from the receiving hole configured for supporting the surface contact card.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to housing combinations for a portable electronic device, particularly to a housing combination that may effectively utilize an inner space of the portable electronic device. 
         [0003]    2. Discussion of the Related Art 
         [0004]    With the development of wireless communication and information processing technologies, portable electronic devices such as mobile phones are now in widespread use. These electronic devices enable consumers to enjoy high-tech services almost anytime and anywhere. 
         [0005]    Referring now to  FIGS. 4-5 , a conventional housing combination  20  includes a housing  21  and a printed circuit board  23 . The housing  21  is substantially rectangular, and is made of plastics. A mounting section  211  is disposed in a back of the housing  21 . The mounting section  211  includes a support portion  214  and several guiding surfaces  215 . The support portion  214  is recessed downward relative to the housing  21  configured for providing a suitable strength to support a subscriber identification module (SIM) card. The guiding surfaces  215  are slantways connected between the support portion  214  and the housing  21 . A receiving hole  216  communicates with the housing  21 , and is adjacent to the support portion  214 . The printed circuit board  23  is disposed below the housing  21 . A SIM card connector  232  is electrically connected to the printed circuit board  23 . The position of the SIM card connector  232  corresponds to that of the receiving hole  216 . When the printed circuit board  23  is assembled with the housing  21 , the SIM card connector  232  of the printed circuit board  23  is exposed from the receiving hole  216 , thereby the support portion  214  with the SIM card connector  232  together defining a space for receiving the SIM card. 
         [0006]    Since the housing  21  is made of plastics, the support portion  214  of the housing  21  needs to provide enough thickness so as to secure the strength of the support portion  214 , thus the support portion  214  will occupy more inside space of the portable electronic device. Accordingly, the space in the portable electronic device is not fully used. 
         [0007]    Therefore, an improved housing combination is desired in order to overcome the above-described shortcoming. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    One embodiment of the present housing combination includes a housing and a shielding enclosure. The housing has a peripheral wall and a receiving hole. The peripheral wall surrounds the receiving hole configured for receiving a surface contact card. The guiding element is positioned in at least one part of the peripheral wall of the receiving hole. The shielding enclosure is disposed at one side of the housing and one part of the shielding enclosure is exposed from the receiving hole configured for supporting the surface contact card. 
         [0009]    Other advantages and novel features of the present housing combination will become more apparent from the following detailed description thereof when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    Many aspects of the housing combination can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present housing combination. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, in which: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is an exploded, schematic view of a preferred embodiment of the present housing combination; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is an assembled, schematic view of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a partially cross-sectional view along III-III line of  FIG. 2  thereof; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a schematic view of a conventional housing combination; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a partially cross-sectional view along V-V line of  FIG. 4  thereof. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the present housing combination  50 , in one illustrated embodiment, is applied in a portable electronic device such as mobile phone or personal digital assistant (PDA). The housing combination  50  includes a housing  51 , a metal piece  52 , a printed circuit board  53  and a shielding enclosure  55 . 
         [0017]    The housing  51  is substantially rectangular, and is made of plastic. The housing  51  defines a receiving hole  511  in a substantially right corner position. The shape of the receiving hole  511  is similar to that of SIM card configured for receiving a surface contact card such as SIM card, secure digital card (SD) and so on. 
         [0018]    The metal piece  52  is extended from one part of a peripheral wall of the receiving hole  511  of the housing  51 . The metal piece  52  includes a first guiding flange  523 , a second guiding flange  524  and a third guiding flange  525  adjacent to each other. The above guiding flange  523 ,  524 ,  525  are integrally formed with the housing  51  by insert-molding method. Each guiding flange  523 ,  524 ,  525  is tilted with the peripheral wall of the receiving hole  511 , allowing the SIM card to be easily removed from the receiving hole  511 . The guiding flanges  523 ,  524 ,  525  of the metal piece  52  shown herein for illustrative purposes is rectangular, however, any shape such as square or irregular shape may be used. 
         [0019]    The printed circuit board  53  is disposed below the housing  51 , and the shape of the printed circuit board  53  corresponds with the shape of the housing  51 . The printed circuit board  53  includes a SIM card connector  532 , a first function area  535  and a second function area  537 . The SIM card connector  532  is adjacent to the first function area  535 . The first function area  535  with the second function area  537  together forms a T-shape, used for disposing electronic elements and function modules. When the printed circuit board  53  is assembled to the housing  51 , the SIM card connector  532  and the first function area  532  may be exposed from the receiving hole  511  of the housing  51 . 
         [0020]    The shielding enclosure  55  is substantially T-shape in shape to correspond to the first function area  535  and the second function area  537  described generally above. As previously discussed with respect to the first function area  535  and the second function area  537 , the shielding enclosure  55  may be configured in a shape other than T-shape. The shielding enclosure  55  includes a cover  551  and a plurality of flange edges  553  perpendicularly bended downward therefrom. The shielding enclosure  55  is configured for shielding one or more electric or electronic components on the printed circuit board  53  in order to reduce the electromagnetic interference with adjacent components. The cover  551  is recessed downward in the position corresponding to the first function area  535 , thereby forming a support portion  555 . When the shielding enclosure  55  is fixed on the printed circuit board  53 , a thickness of the support portion  555  relative to the printed circuit board  53  is substantially equal to that of the SIM card connector  535 . The support portion  555  with the cover  551  is connected with three connecting walls  558 . The shape of the connecting walls  558  is corresponding to that of the flange edges  523 ,  524 ,  525 . When the shielding enclosure  55  is fixed on the printed circuit board  53  below the housing  51 , the SIM card connector  532  and the support portion  555  are exposed from the receiving hole  511  of the housing  51 . At the same time, the flange edges  523 ,  524 ,  525  resist on the connecting walls  558 . 
         [0021]    In assembly, the shielding enclosure  55  is firstly fixed on the printed circuit board  53  by soldering/welding and covers the first function area  535  and the second function area  537 . The support portion  555  is basically coplanar with the SIM card connector  532 . After that, the printed circuit board  53  with the shielding enclosure  55  together is assembled into the housing  51 . Accordingly, the SIM card connector  532  and the support portion  555  of the shielding enclosure  55  are exposed from the receiving hole  511 . The connecting walls  558  resist the guiding flanges  523 ,  524 ,  525 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , the metal piece  52 , the support portion  555  and the SIM card connector  532  cooperatively defines a receiving cavity  510  for receiving a SIM card. When the SIM card is placed in the receiving cavity  510 , the SIM card not only directly contact the SIM card connector, but also is effectively supported by the support portion  555 . 
         [0022]    A main advantage of the housing combination is that the support portion is replaced with one part of the shielding enclosure so that the support portion does not be need to be extra provided. Therefore, the shielding enclosure not only shields the electronic components on the printed circuit board, but also supports the SIM card. In addition, the shielding enclosure directly function as the support portion. This may allow the distance between the housing and the printed circuit board to be reduced, thereby effectively utilizing the inner space of the portable electronic device. 
         [0023]    It is to be understood that the metal piece  52  functioning as a guiding element may be formed with the housing  51  by other methods other than insert-molding. It is also to be understood that the metal piece  52  may be integrally formed with the shielding enclosure  55 . 
         [0024]    It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the invention.