Abstract:
An apparatus for securing a cover over an opening defined in a housing of a portable electronic device includes a pair of latches along opposite edges of the cover. Each latch assembly has a cap affixed to the cover and partially housing a latch that is slideable therein. Each latch is biased by a separate spring into a first position, at which a tab on that latch projects from the cap and engages the housing. An actuator on each latch extends outside the respective cap for engagement by a user to slide the latch into a second position in which the associated tab is retracted from engaging the housing.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not Applicable 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0003]    1. Field of the Disclosure 
         [0004]    The present disclosure relates to portable electronic devices, including, but not limited, to handheld wireless communication devices; and more particularly to a cover by which a user gains access to a battery compartment in such a device. 
         [0005]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0006]    Certain portable electronic devices, handheld wireless communication devices in particular, are battery powered. The device typically has a metal or plastic housing defining a compartment for the battery. A cover releasably engages the housing to enable the user to access the battery for replacement. In conventional devices, the cover is generally closed by sliding it along a recessed opening of the battery compartment. As that sliding occurs, hook shaped tabs on the cover engage apertures in the housing and then travel into smaller sections of the apertures in which the hooks are captivated. Such captivation holds the cover on the housing. 
         [0007]    Sliding the cover in the opposite direction moves the hooks into the larger sections of the apertures enabling the cover to be moved away from the housing. In that manner, the cover can be removed to open the battery compartment. 
         [0008]    Because the cover must be secured tightly to the housing, some users find it physically challenging to slide the cover of conventional devices off and on the housing. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a rear side of a portable electronic device showing the cover over a battery compartment defined in a housing; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  illustrates the inside major surface of the cover showing latch assemblies for holding the cover on the housing; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged view of one of the latch assemblies with a cap removed; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a partial cross sectional view depicting engagement of a latch assembly with the housing; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  shows the cover partially removed from the housing; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  illustrates details of a ground spring on the housing in  FIG. 5 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]    A portable electronic device has a housing with a battery compartment that is closed by a cover. The cover has at least one and preferably two spring-loaded latch assemblies that are slideably located along opposite edges of the cover. In the normal positions, tabs on the latch assemblies extend under receiving surfaces on the housing to hold the cover in place. 
         [0016]    The user is able to simultaneously slide the two latch assemblies from their normal positions and thereby retract the tabs from engagement with the receiving surfaces. This permits the cover to be pivoted outward and removed from the housing, thereby exposing the battery compartment. 
         [0017]    With initial reference to  FIG. 1 , a portable electronic device  10  is provided, such as a handheld wireless communication device, and includes a housing  12  with a cover  14 . The cover  14  preferably is made of metal, while the housing may be either metal or molded plastic, although it is contemplated that alternative materials with similar properties may be appropriate. The cover  14  is removably secured over a battery compartment or opening  23  ( FIG. 5 ) defined in the housing  12 . Specifically the cover  14  fits into a recess  45  defined in the housing  12  that surrounds the battery compartment, thus when in place, the cover is flush with the exterior surfaces of the housing. The cover extends across a rear surface  15  of the housing wrapping around onto two side surfaces  11  and  13 . First and second latch assemblies  26  and  28  are slideably located along opposite edges of the cover  14  and engage the housing to secure the cover in place. 
         [0018]    With additional reference to  FIG. 2 , the cover  14  has first and second edges  19  and  20  spaced apart and extending along the length of the cover. Third and fourth edges  21  and  22  extend between the first and second edges  19  and  20  on opposite sides of the cover. A set of three fixed tabs  16 ,  17  and  18  project from the fourth edge  22  which extends across the width of the housing  12  when the cover is in place. The first and third fixed tabs  16  and  18  are adjacent the first and second edges  19  and  20  of the cover  14  and the second fixed tab  17  is located substantially at the middle of the fourth edge  22 , although it is appreciated that the tabs  16 - 18  are not limited to the above-described orientation. The fixed tabs  16 - 18  project outward from the cover&#39;s major inside surface  24  and engage corresponding receptacles (not shown) defined in the housing  12  to hold the fourth edge  22  in place. A lesser or greater number of fixed tabs may be provided as required to hold the fourth edge in place. 
         [0019]    A releasable first latch assembly  26  is located on the inside surface  24  of the cover  14  along the first edge  19  at a corner with the third edge  21 . A releasable second latch assembly  28  is similarly located along the second edge  20  at an opposing corner with the third edge  21 . As will be described, these latch assemblies  26 ,  28  also engage the housing  12  to hold the cover  14  in place. Each of the first and second latch assemblies  26  and  28  can be manually operated to disengage the housing  12  and enable removal of the cover  14 . 
         [0020]    Each latch assembly  26  and  28  has a cap  30  which is bonded to the inside surface  24  of the cover  14  by a suitable means, such as welding or an adhesive. Although alternative configurations may be appropriate, the cap  30  is preferably a rectangular polyhedron with a first open side  29  ( FIG. 4 ) against the inside cover surface  24  and a second open side  27  facing the respective cover edge. Other sides of the cap  30  define apertures into which other components of the latch assembly extend, as will be described. The cap  30  has a flange  25  extending around the first open side and abutting the inside cover surface  24  to aid in fastening those components together. 
         [0021]    The first and second latch assemblies  26  and  28  have identical construction, but are mirror images of each other. Therefore, the details of the first latch assembly  26  will be described with the understanding that the description applies equally as well to the second latch assembly  28 .  FIG. 3  illustrates details of the first latch assembly  26  with the cap  30  removed, however the outline of a cap wall is depicted by a dashed line. The first latch assembly  26  comprises a movable latch  32  that is slideably received within the cap  30  so as to move against the inside surface  24  of the cover  14 . When in place, the cap guides the sliding motion of the latch  32 . The latch  32  has a U-shaped central portion  34  formed by a pair of parallel legs  33  with a cross leg  37  there between and facing the fourth cover edge  22 . A guide pin  35  extends from the cross leg  37  and through an open interior  47  of the U-shaped central portion  34 . The guide pin  35  is slideably received in a guide aperture  49  ( FIG. 4 ) defined in a stop block  36  located within the open interior. One surface of the stop block  36  has a boss  38 , that in the assembled latch assembly projects into a first aperture  39  in the cap  30  (see  FIG. 2 ). This engagement locates the stop block  36  which is fastened by welding, adhesive, or similar means to the inside surface of the cap  30  thereby holding the stop block in a fixed position as the latch  32  slides. The guide pin  35  extends through a coil-type, compression spring  40 , that abuts the latch cross leg  37  and the stop block  36 . The spring  40  biases the latch  32  away from the stop block  36 , thereby providing a force that pushes the latch  32  toward the third edge  21  of the cover  14  and against an adjacent side wall of the cap  30 . In this position, a tab  44 , projecting from the latch&#39;s central portion  34 , extends outward through a second aperture  31  defined in the wall of the cap  30  that faces the third edge  21  (see also  FIG. 2 ). 
         [0022]    The latch  32  further includes a manual actuator  42  that is contiguous with one leg  33  of the central portion  34  and projects through the second open side  27  of the cap  30  and through a notch  41  defined in the first edge  19  of the cover  14 . The manual actuator  42  has a surface  43  for the finger of a person to engage. Preferably, the surface  43  includes texture such as ridges or ribbing, enabling the user to easily operate the actuator  42 . This enables the person using the portable electronic device  10  to apply force to the manual actuator  42  that causes the latch  32  to slide along the cover&#39;s inside surface  24  against the bias force of spring  40  and away from the cover&#39;s third edge  21 . 
         [0023]    The above-described sliding motion releases the latch  32  from engagement with the housing  12  of the portable electronic device  10  and enables removal of the cover  14 . Referring to  FIG. 4 , when the cover  14  is secured in place on the housing  12 , the spring  40  biases the latch  32  into a first position at which the tab  44  slides under and into engagement with a catch surface  50  on the interior of the housing. Both the catch surface  50  and a mating surface on the tab  44  are similarly tapered to provide tight engagement between those two components when the latch  32  is so biased. Those tapered surfaces also minimize friction when the tab  44  moves out of engagement with the catch surface  50 . When a user of the portable electronic device applies a finger to the actuator  42  and slides the latch along the first cover edge  19  toward the upper left as indicated by the arrow in  FIG. 4 , the tab  44  is retracted into the cap  30  and disengages the catch surface  50 . In this second position of both latches  32 , the cover  14  can be pivoted upward and away from the recess in the housing  12 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . From the pivoted position, the cover  14  can be pulled completed out of the recess  45  of the housing, and the battery (not shown), can be removed from the battery compartment  23 . The first and second latch assemblies  26  and  28  consume minimal volume inside the cover as compared to other latch designs. 
         [0024]    With continuing reference to  FIG. 5 , the housing  12  further includes a pair of spring-loaded pogo pins  52  located in apertures  53  on opposite sides of the housing recess  45 . The pogo pins  52  are electrically conductive and provide connections between a conductive portion of the housing  12  and either the metal cover  14  or an electrically conductive material applied to the interior surface of a plastic cover. The housing  12  also includes two ground springs  54  protruding through apertures in a wall  59  within the housing recess  45  to engage the inside surface of the cover  14  when the cover is fastened in place. 
         [0025]      FIG. 6  depicts the details of each ground spring  54  which comprises a base portion  56  that is secured to an interior surface of the housing recess  45  and from which project first and second leaf arms  57  and  58 . The first leaf arm  57  projects downward into the interior of the housing recess  45  for engagement by a ground conductor on a printed circuit board or other component of the portable electronic device (not shown). The second leaf arm  58  projects upward through an opening  55  in the housing recess  45  so as to engage the interior surface of the cover  14  when secured on the housing. 
         [0026]    The ground spring  54  provides an electrical path between the ground conductor on the printed circuit board and the cover  14 . Each pogo pin  52  and each ground spring  54  functions as an electrical contact that engages the cover  14  upon being secured to the housing  12  and provides an electrical connection between the housing  12  and the cover for electrical shielding purposes. The pogo pins  52  and ground springs  54  also aid in pivoting the cover  14  away from the housing  12  when the latch assemblies  26  and  28  are released, thereby assisting in the removal of the cover. Therefore, the pogo pins and each ground springs still could be used for a cover that was not electrically conductive. 
         [0027]    The foregoing description was primarily directed to a preferred embodiment of the present latch assembly. Although some attention was given to various alternatives within the scope of the disclosure, it is anticipated that one skilled in the art will likely realize additional alternatives that are now apparent from disclosure of embodiments of the present latch assembly. Accordingly, the scope of the disclosure should be determined from the following claims and not limited by the above disclosure.