Abstract:
An electrical connector fixation device having at least a connector housing and a fastening piece is proposed. The connector housing has at least a receiving portion for accommodating the electrical connector and a compressing board portion to deform the receiving portion by compression. The fastening piece is used to hold the compressing board portion and to fix the connector housing on a body of electrical device. With such design, an electrical connector is assembled in the body of electric device, so that the body of electric device is expanded with device interconnection function.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1) Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     This invention relates to an electrical product assembly technology, in particular, to an electrical connector fixation device applicable to an electrical connector, such as a Universal Serial Bus-type (USB-type) connector, a FireWire-type connector, an Ethernet-type connector, or a phone line-type connector, assembled in a body of an electrical device, which, for example, can be a USB-type peripheral storage device.  
         [0003]     2) Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     A majority of personal computer (PC) platforms are usually equipped with a plug-and-play type of external communication interface, such as a USB-type or a FireWire-type communication interface, so that a computer peripheral, such as an external (removable) micro drive, a pocket drive (i.e., a removable flash memory drive), a printer or a digital camera, and so on can be connected to the PC platform via the external communication interface. As the USB-type or FireWire-type communication interface is equipped with plug-and-play function, such plug-and-play communication interface has become a necessary external communication interface for the majority of PC platforms.  
         [0005]     A current assembly of the USB-type electrical connector and the body of electrical device is an external plug-in design outside the body of the electrical device. That is, the design is merely applicable to connecting the USB-type connector outside the body of the electrical device. In view of the design of the USB-type storage device, the USB-type connector is often needed to assemble inside the body of the electrical device to expand device interconnection of the USB-type storage device. Therefore, there is a growing demand in the industry for an assembled structure applicable to assemble the USB-type connector in the body of electrical device.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     In view of the drawbacks associated with the prior art, an objective of the invention is to provide an electrical connector fixation device that can assemble an electrical connector in a body of an electric device.  
         [0007]     The electrical connector fixation device is designed to assemble the electrical connector, such as a USB-type connector, a FireWire-type connector, an Ethernet-type connector, or a phone line-type connector, inside the body of the electrical device, wherein the electrical device can be a USB-type peripheral storage device.  
         [0008]     To achieve the aforementioned and other objectives, the invention provides an electrical connector fixation device for assembling at least an electrical connector in the body of the electrical device. The electrical connector fixation device comprises a connector housing, which is mounted inside the body of the electrical device and contains at least a receiving portion for accommodating the electrical connector, and a compressing portion, which clamps the electrical connector by compressive deforming the receiving portion, and a fastening piece, which is used to fix the connector housing on the body of the electrical device and to hold the compressing board portion.  
         [0009]     The above-mentioned fastening piece comprises a first attachment piece, which is fixed on the body of the electrical device, and a second attachment piece that can be engaged with the first attachment piece. The first and second attachment pieces respectively have first thread and second thread to engage with each other. For example, the first thread can be an inner thread and the second thread can be an outer thread. Alternatively, the first thread can be the outer thread and the second thread can be the inner thread. Preferably, the first attachment piece can be a stud having inner thread formed on a top end thereof, and the second attachment piece can be a bolt. Also, the first attachment piece can be a bolt and the second attachment piece can be a nut.  
         [0010]     The bottom end of the connector housing further comprises a protruded leg portion, and the device body is formed with a positioning portion for engaging with the protruded leg portion, thereby the connector housing is prevented from coming off from the body of the electrical device when the connector housing is subjected to a rotational torque.  
         [0011]     While the fastening piece is designed as an engagement of the first and second attachment pieces, the fastening piece may also be an elastic structure, which elastically recoils after being compressed, so as to cap on connector housing for fastening.  
         [0012]     Moreover, the connector housing further comprises a receiving portion that is formed on a side of the compressing board portion for accommodating the fastening piece. Preferably, the receiving portion may vary according to different fastening piece designs. For example, the receiving portion can be divided into a first receiving portion for containing the first attachment piece and a second receiving portion for containing the second attachment piece. In the above-mentioned example, the receiving portion can be divided into receiving portions for containing a stud and a bolt, or receiving portions for containing a bolt and a nut.  
         [0013]     Moreover, the electrical connector can be either one of a USB-type connector, a FireWire-type connector, an Ethernet-type connector, or a phone line-type connector. Preferably, the electrical device is a USB-type storage device. The electric connector fixation device is characterized by assembling an electric connector in the body of electric device, so that the body of the electrical device is expanded with device interconnection to improve its utility and applicability. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective, exploded view showing an electrical connector fixation device as well as associated electrical connector and body of electrical device before being assembled in one integral body according to the invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view showing a cross-sectional profile of the electrical connector fixation device and the device body according to the invention;  
         [0016]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  are perspective views showing a method of plugging the electrical connector into the connector housing of the electrical connector fixation device according to the invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a structure after the electrical connector fixation device as well as associated electrical connector and body of electrical device are assembled in one integral body according to the invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional diagram showing a cross-sectional structure after the electrical connector fixation device as well as associated electrical connector and body of electrical device are assembled in one integral body according to the invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional diagram showing the cross-sectional profile of the electrical connector fixation device and the associated device body according to another embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0020]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  are cross-sectional diagrams showing operations of the electrical connector fixation device, the associated electrical connector and device body when assembled in one integral body according to the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0021]     To enable a further understanding of the structural features and the technical contents of the invention, the brief description of the drawings below is followed by the detailed description of embodiments.  
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a perspective, exploded view showing each of the components in the electric connector fixation device, and an electric connector  10  and body of electrical device (or a device body)  20  associated with the electric connector fixation device before being assembled into one integral body according to the invention. Practically, the electrical connector fixation device serves to assemble the electrical connector  10  in the device body  20 , wherein the electrical connector  10  can be a USB-type connector, a FireWire-type connector, an Ethernet-type connector, or a phone line-type connector. And the device body  20  belongs to the electrical device such as a USB-type storage device, a desktop PC, a notebook computer, or a network server, and so on.  
         [0023]     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the electrical connector fixation device comprises at least a connector housing  200  and a fastening piece  30  for fixing the connector housing  200  in the device body  20 . The fastening piece  30  comprises a first attachment piece and a second attachment piece that matches with the first attachment, thereby enabling the electrical connector  10  to be fixed on the connector housing  200  when the first attachment piece is engaged with the second attachment piece. The connector housing  200  is then mounted on the device body  20 .  
         [0024]     The first attachment piece is embodied as a stud  110  having a first thread  111 , such as an inner thread (the first thread  111  may also be an outer thread in other embodiments) formed on a top end of the stud  110 , while a bottom end of the stud  110  is fixed at a first predetermined position on the device body  20 . Practically, the first predetermined position may be a specific position inside the device body  20  (i.e., the position preserved for positioning the electrical connector  10 ).  
         [0025]     The device body  20  forms a positioning portion  120 , such as a groove or a through hole at a second predetermined position. And the positioning portion  120  is adjacent to the location of the stud  110  (i.e., the position preserved for installing the electrical connector  10 ).  
         [0026]     The second attachment piece is embodied as a bolt  130 , which comprises a second thread  131  such as an outer thread whose size and specification fits perfectly with the first thread  111  of the stud  110 , thereby the second thread  131  of the bolt  130  is screwed into the first thread  111  of the stud  110 . If the stud  110  has the outer thread instead, the bolt  130  should be designed as having the corresponding inner thread.  
         [0027]     The connector housing  200  is formed as an integral structure having a top end  201  and a bottom end  202 , and is at least divided into five structural portions, including (d 1 ) a receiving portion  210  for accommodating the electrical connector, (d 2 ) a receiving portion  220  for accommodating the stud, (d 3 ) a compressing board portion  230 , (d 4 ) a recess  240  for holding the bolt, and (d 5 ) a protruded leg portion  250 .  
         [0028]     The receiving portion  210  is open through from the front surface to the back surface and is formed between the top end  201  and the bottom end  202  of the connector housing  200 . The accommodating space of receiving portion  210  approximately matches the volume of the electrical connector  10  so as to accommodate the electrical connector  10  therein.  
         [0029]     The receiving portion  220  is formed on a lateral side of the receiving portion  210  to vertically extend from the top end  201  toward the bottom end  202 . The accommodating space of the receiving portion  220  approximately matched the diameter of the stud  110 , so as to accommodate the stud  110  therein.  
         [0030]     The compressing board portion  230  is formed on the top end  201  of the connector housing  200  and is adjacent to upper parts of the receiving portions  210  and  220 . When the compressing board portion  230  is pressed down by pressure, the receiving portion  210  is slightly deformed to diminish.  
         [0031]     The recess  240  is formed in the compressing board portion  230  of the connector housing  200  and is located right on top of the receiving portion  220 . And an inner diameter of the recess  240  is designed to match an outer diameter of the bolt  130 , so that the bolt  130  can pass through and engage with the recess  240 .  
         [0032]     The protruded leg portion  250  is formed on the bottom end  202  of the connector housing  200 . And the size of the protruded leg portion  250  would match to the positioning portion  120 , in order to engage the protruded leg portion  250  with the positioning portion  120 .  
         [0033]     In an actual assembly operation, the stud  110  is fixed to a predetermined location inside the device body  20 , by either integrally formed with the electric device body  20 , or fixed to the device body  20  through a bolt. Subsequently, when the electrical connector  10  is assembled to the device body  20 , as shown in  FIG. 3A , the electrical connector  10  is inserted from the front surface into the receiving portion  210  of the connector housing  200  (positioning of the electric connector after insertion is shown in  FIG. 3B ). As shown in both  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the receiving portion  220  of the connector housing  200  is aligned with the stud  110  on the device body  20  so as to accommodate the stud  110  within the receiving portion  220 . Meanwhile, the protruded leg portion  250  is aligned with the positioning portion  120  on the device body  20  to enable engagement of the protruded leg portion  250  with the positioning portion  120 , so that the connector housing  200  is mounted on the device body  20 .  
         [0034]     After the connector housing  200  is mounted and positioned on the device body  20 , the second thread  131  of the bolt  130  pass through the recess  240  on the compressing board portion  230  of the connector housing  200  and engage with the first thread  111  of the stud  110 , thereby enabling the connector housing  200  to be fixed on the device body  20 . As the bolt  130  is tightly screwed, a downward pressure applied to the compressing board portion  230  for tightly pressing against the electrical connector  10 . Therefore, the receiving portion  210  is slightly deformed to diminish, so as to clamp the electric connector  10  in the connector housing  200 . Accordingly, the assembly of the electric connector  10  and the device body  20  is completed.  
         [0035]      FIG. 6  illustrates another embodiment showing the first attachment piece and the second attachment piece of the fastening piece  30 . The first attachment piece is embodied as a bolt  130 , having a second thread  111 , such as an outer thread on one end and the other end of bolt  130  is fixed on a first predetermined position on the device body  20 . The second attachment is embodied as a nut  150 , having a first thread  151 , such as an outer thread. In addition, the size and specification of the first thread  151  is designed to match with the second thread  131  of the bolt  130 , thereby the first thread  151  of the nut  150  can be engaged with the second thread  131  of the bolt  130 . Moreover, a positioning portion  120  is formed at a second predetermined position of the device body  20 , and the second predetermined position is adjacent to the location of the bolt  130  (i.e., the position for mounting the electrical connector  10 ). In addition, in order to correspond to the fastening piece  30 , the connector housing  200  is embodied as an integral component having a top end  201  and a bottom end  202 . And the connector housing  200  is divided into at least five portions, including (d1) a receiving portion  210  for accommodating the electrical connector, (d2) a recess  221  for holding a first bolt, (d3) a compressing board portion  230 , (d4) a recess  241  for holding a second bolt, and (d5) a protruded leg portion  250 . The five portions are respectively described as follows.  
         [0036]     The receiving portion  210  is open through from the front surface to the back surface and is formed between the top end  201  and the bottom end  202  of the connector housing  200 . The accommodating space of receiving portion  210  approximately matches with the volume of the electrical connector  10  so as to accommodate the electrical connector  10  therein.  
         [0037]     The receiving portion  221  is formed on a lateral side of the receiving portion  210  to vertically extend from the top end  201  toward the bottom end  202 . The accommodating space of the receiving portion  221  approximately matched the diameter of the bolt  113 , so as to accommodate the bolt  113  therein.  
         [0038]     The compressing board portion  230  is formed on the top end  201  of the connector housing  200  and is adjacent to upper parts of the receiving portions  210  and  221 . When the compressing board portion  230  is pressed down by pressure, the receiving portion  210  is slightly deformed to diminish.  
         [0039]     The recess  241  is formed in the compressing board portion  230  of the connector housing  200  and is located right on top of the receiving portion  221 . And an inner diameter of the recess  241  is designed to match with an outer diameter of the bolt  130 , so that the bolt  130  can pass through and engage with the recess  241 .  
         [0040]     The protruded leg portion  250  is formed on the bottom end  202  of the connector housing  200 . And the size of the protruded leg portion  250  would match to the positioning portion  120 , in order to engage the protruded leg portion  250  with the positioning portion  120 .  
         [0041]     In addition, as shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , the fastening piece  30  can be embodied as an elastic structure, which possesses the characteristic of recoiling after being compressed and is capped on the housing  200  and fastened thereto. Since the correspondent structures related to the connector housing  200  and the device body  20  are identical in design illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the detailed description thereof is omitted herein.  
         [0042]     Summarizing from the above, the present invention provides an electrical connector fixation device, which is adapted to assemble an electrical connector  10  in the body  20  of the electrical device, and the invention is characterized in that the electric connector  10  can be assembled in the body  20  of the electrical device. Thus, the body  20  of the electric device is expanded with device interconnection to improve its utility and applicability.  
         [0043]     It is understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various forms. The substance of the invention is broadly defined as claimed below. In the event any technical embodiments or methods completed by those skilled in the art are found completely identical to the definitions as claimed below, or can be regarded as an equivalent substitution, such embodiments or methods are regarded as within the intended scope of the invention.