Abstract:
An auto-aligning and connecting structure used to connect and align an electronic device and an accessory, wherein a plurality of first magnetic bodies are disposed on a first surface of the electrical device and a plurality of second magnetic bodies are disposed on a second surface of the accessory. The magnetic pole of the first magnetic bodies and the second magnetic bodies are appropriately arranged so the first magnetic bodies and the second magnetic bodies can attract each other when the first surface and the second surface approach each other. Then, the electronic device and the accessories are connected to each other when the first surface and the second surface connect.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     The present application is based on, and claims priority from, Taiwan Application Serial Number 94139006, filed Nov. 7, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     1. Field of Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to an auto-aligning and connecting structure. More particularly, the present invention relates to an auto-aligning and connecting structure between an electronic device and an accessory.  
         [0004]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0005]     With the popularization of personal computers, electronic devices have continued to develop and flourish substantially in recent years. Conventional personal computers integrate many functions, such as video or audio signal playing, image data processing, and network communications, etc. However, conventional personal computers are often too heavy and bulky. As a result, many portable electronic devices have been created for more convenient and specialized use, including MP3 players, digital cameras, cellular phones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs).  
         [0006]     Recent advances in the design and fabrication of both software and hardware have generated a trend to integrate these mini-sized portable electronic devices into one single apparatus. For example, smart phones and PDAs are equipped not only with the functions of a normal cellular phone but also with digital cameras, music players etc. Portable electronic devices are becoming users&#39; portable personal computers.  
         [0007]     Since portable electronic devices have become smaller and lighter, it is foreseeable that more and more portable electronic device accessories will be designed to increase the accessibility and functionality of the devices. These accessories may also protect portable electronic devices from wear and tear. An external keyboard or a protective cover for the electronic device are examples.  
         [0008]     No matter what kind of accessory is used, it must be physically compatible with the electronic device. For instance, a protective cover needs to cover the surface of the electronic device closely. Furthermore, some accessories need to be coupled electrically to the device&#39;s internal circuits at a predetermined and fixed angle for precise coupling. For example, a keyboard needs to couple electrically with the electronic device in a specific direction so that the keyboard can work as an interface of the electronic device. Therefore, this kind of accessory requires not only a proper connection but also the correct alignment.  
         [0009]     Traditionally, connectors were utilized to facilitate the connection between the electronic device and the accessory of the electronic device. However, for some electronic devices and their accessories, the connectors such as mortises and tenon joints are too complicated to manufacture, too fragile, and too large. These connectors can no longer satisfy the connectivity and alignment needs of modern electronic devices and their associated accessories.  
         [0010]     For the forgoing reasons, there is a need for a novel connecting and aligning structure that is small, light, and easy to fabricate to connect modern electronic devices to their accessories.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0011]     The present invention provides an auto-aligning and connecting structure that facilitates the connection between an electronic device and an accessory. The structure is small, light, easy to fabricate, sturdy, and it allows users to connect and disconnect accessories from electronic devices in a quick and proper manner.  
         [0012]     In accordance with the foregoing and other aspects of the present invention, an auto-aligning and connecting structure is provided that comprises a first surface installed with a plurality of first magnetic units, and a second surface installed with a plurality of second magnetic units. When the second surface approaches the first surface, some of the plurality of the second magnetic units and some of the first magnetic units are aligned and mutually attracted such that the second surface is attracted to connect to the first surface.  
         [0013]     In the foregoing, it is seen that the mutual attraction between the first magnetic units and the second magnetic units facilitates the alignment and connection between the electronic device and its accessory.  
         [0014]     In conclusion, the invention facilitates the connection between an electronic device and its accessory with the help of a simple structure adopting magnetic units.  
         [0015]     Moreover, the invention implements alignment between the electronic device and its accessory with the help of the same simple structure adopting magnetic units.  
         [0016]     In this auto-aligning and connecting structure, a magneto-resistance layer could further be provided to cover each of the first magnetic units and the second magnetic units for reducing interference with other electronic components and for improving practicability of the present auto-aligning and connecting structure.  
         [0017]     These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, figures, and appended claims.  
         [0018]     Is It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are by examples, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]     The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:  
         [0020]      FIG. 1A  is a diagram of an auto-aligning and connecting structure according to one preferred embodiment of this invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 1B  is an assembly diagram of an electronic device and a display protective cover according to one preferred embodiment of this invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 2A  is a diagram of an auto-aligning and connecting structure according to another preferred embodiment of this invention; and  
         [0023]      FIG. 2B  is an assembly diagram of an electronic device and a keyboard according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0024]     An auto-aligning and connecting structure utilizing magnetic units and the related arrangement for implementing the alignment is herein introduced to solve the problems in the prior art.  
         [0025]     Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.  
         [0026]      FIG. 1A  illustrates an embodiment of the auto-aligning and connecting structure of the present invention. A portable electronic device  100  and its protective cover  120  are used to implement the embodiment.  
         [0027]     It is observed in  FIG. 1A  that a display  104  is set on a first surface  102  of the electronic device  100 . The portability of the electronic device  100  makes the display  104  more susceptible to damage. Hence a display protective cover  120  is needed to protect the display  104 . The display protective cover  120  has to be fixed at a specific position on the first surface  102  of the electronic device  100  to cover the whole display  104  and to provide sufficient protection to the display  104 . Therefore, in the present embodiment, the first magnetic units  106   a,    108   a,    110   a  and  112   a  comprise any kind of magnetic material, such as magnetic material, magnet, magnetic susceptible material, or electromagnetic inductive material, and the magnetic units  106   a,    108   a,    110   a  and  112   a  are set around the display  104 .  
         [0028]     There are an equivalent number of second magnetic units  106   b,    108   b,    110   b  and  112   b  set on a second surface  122  of the display protective cover  120  that covers the display  104 . The magnetism of the second magnetic units  106   b,    108   b,    110   b,  and  112   b  are opposite to the magnetism of the first magnetic units  106   a,    108   a,    110   a,  and  112   a,  respectively. For instance, if the magnetism of the first magnetic units  106   a,    108   a,    110   a  and  112   a  are all positive, the magnetism of the second magnetic units  106   b,    108   b,    110   b  and  112   b  are all negative. In this way, when the second surface  122  of the display protective cover  120  and the first surface  102  of the electronic device  100  approach each other, they will be attracted to each other and connect with each other through the connection between the first magnetic unit  106 a and the second magnetic unit  106   b,  the first magnetic unit  108   a  and the second magnetic unit  108   b,  the first magnetic unit  110   a  and the second magnetic unit  110   b,  and the first magnetic unit  112   a  and the second magnetic unit  112   b,  as demonstrated in  FIG. 1B .  
         [0029]     With an appropriate arrangement of the magnetisms, the aforementioned magnetic units are not only connecting structures that connect objects, but also aligning structures.  
         [0030]     Please refer to  FIG. 1A  again. There is a window  124  on the display protective cover  120  for the user to observe the display status of the display  104  when the display protective cover  120  is connected to and covering the display  104 . If the electronic device  100  is designed such that the window  124  may be positioned in the direction  126  or the direction  128  when the display protective cover  120  is shut to the first surface  102 , the magnetisms of the first units  106   a  and  112   a  can be positive, and the magnetism of the first units  108   a  and  110   a  can be negative, while the magnetisms of the second units  106   b  and  112   b  can be negative, and the magnetism of the first units  108   b  and  110   b  can be correspondingly positive. Hence the display protective cover  120  can successfully connect to the electronic device  100  whether in the direction  126  or in the direction  128 .  
         [0031]     However, if the electronic device  100  is designed such that the window  124  can be positioned only in the direction  126  as illustrated in  FIG. 1B , the magnetisms of the first units  106   a  and  108   a  can be positive, and the magnetisms of the first units  110   a  and  112   a  negative, while the magnetisms of the second units  106   b  and  108   b  can be negative, and the magnetisms of the first units  110   b  and  112   b  correspondingly positive. Hence the display protective cover  120  can be successfully connected to the electronic device  100  only in the direction  126 . The display protective cover  120  will be repulsed and not able to connect to the electronic device  100  when the window  124  is rotated near the direction  128 . Hence the alignment is accomplished.  
         [0032]     Another embodiment of the aligning and connecting structure of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 2A . A portable electronic device  200  and its keyboard  220  are applied herein.  
         [0033]     It is illustrated in  FIG. 2A  that there is a first contact  204   a  on the electronic device  200  for electrically coupling with a second contact  204   b  on the external keyboard  220 . Hence the keyboard  220  is capable of transmitting and receiving signals to and from the electronic device  200 . As displayed in  FIG. 2A , the first contact  204   a  is located on the first surface  202  of the electronic device  200 , and the second contact  204   b  on the second surface  222  of the keyboard  220 . The alignment is even more important because the first contact  204   a  and the second contact  204   b  have to be in contact with each other for the keyboard  220  to function correctly.  
         [0034]     As illustrated in the previous embodiment, there are a plurality of first magnetic units allocated on the first surface  202  of the electronic device  200  and a plurality of second magnetic units allocated on the second surface  222  of the electronic device  200 ; that is, the first magnetic units  206   a,    208   a  and  210   a  are installed on the first surface  202  of the electronic device  200 , and the second magnetic units  206   b,    208   b  and  210   b  are installed on the second surface  222  of the keyboard  220 . With the appropriate arrangement and design, these magnetic units are not only capable of attracting one another, but also able to connect the first contact  204   a  and the second contact  204   b.    
         [0035]     For example, when the polarities of the first magnetic units  206   a,    208   a  and  210   a  are positive, positive, and negative respectively, and the polarities of the second magnetic units  206   b,    208   b  and  210   b  are negative, negative, and positive respectively, the electronic device  200  and the external keyboard  220  can couple to each other only when the first magnetic unit  206   a  and the second magnetic unit  206   b,  the first magnetic unit  208   a  and the second magnetic unit  208   b,  and the first magnetic unit  210   a  and the second magnetic unit  210   b  connect to each other respectively such that the first contact  204   a  and the second contact  204   b  are connected to each other as illustrated in  FIG. 2B . Otherwise, the alignment and connection between the electronic device  200  and the keyboard  220  cannot be fulfilled.  
         [0036]     As the connecting structure of the present invention may be applied to any kind of electronic device, it must be considered that the influence of magnetism on components inside the electronic device is inevitable, especially for some portable electronic devices with components of high integration density. Therefore, a magneto-resistance layer surrounds each magnetic unit of the present embodiment to decrease the influence of the magnetism from the magnetic units on the components inside the electronic device. For instance, the magneto-resistance layer  206   c  surrounding the magnetic units  206   a  and  206   b  concentrates the attractive magnetism so as not to interfere with other electronic components. The functions of the magneto-resistance layer  208   c  surrounding the magnetic units  208   a  and  208   b,  and the magneto-resistance layer  210   c  surrounding the magnetic units  210   a  and  210   b  are the same. Please note that the magneto-resistance layer can be made up of any kind of material that guides magnetism; metal, alloy, and ceramics are examples.  
         [0037]     In addition, for the user to find the connecting position more quickly and more accurately, some non-magnetic assistant aligning structures are further installed around the magnetic units. For example, the first non-magnetic assistant aligning structures  212   a  and  214   a  are installed on the first surface  202 , and the second non-magnetic assistant aligning structures  212   b  and  214   b  are installed on the first surface  202 . In the present embodiment, the first non-magnetic assistant aligning structures  212   a  and  214   a  are concave structures, and the second non-magnetic assistant aligning structures  212   b  and  214   b  are convex structures that are able to be coupled with the first non-magnetic assistant aligning structures  212   a  and  214   a  respectively. Hence, the user can recognize the alignment position more easily and more clearly using these assistant aligning structures.  
         [0038]     Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. For example, the numbers of the aforementioned magnetic units and assistant aligning structures are not limited to the present embodiments, and may be arranged and designed in various ways for different requirements. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments contained herein.  
         [0039]     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.