Abstract:
An plug storage structure of a cleaning robot is presented. A charging structure includes a charging base and a main body of an electronic device. The charging base includes a charging terminal and a projecting portion. The main body has an external housing, charging plugs and an plug storage device. When the main body reaches the charging base, the projecting portion triggers the plug storage device, so that the charging plugs protrude from the external housing, so as to be connected to the charging terminal. When the main body leaves the charging base, the plug storage device automatically receives the charging plugs inside the external housing, so as to keep the plugs of the cleaning robot received inside the external housing during cleaning, thereby preventing the plugs of the cleaning robot from colliding with and damaging adjacent furniture.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 100205194 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Mar. 23, 2011, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a charging structure, and more particularly to a charging structure capable of automatically storage charging plugs. 
         [0004]    2. Related Art 
         [0005]    In order to provide a user with a more comfortable environment, many manufacturers actively provide different kinds of cleaning robots. When the user goes out to work, the cleaning robot is capable of automatically cleaning the home environment according to a schedule set by the user. 
         [0006]    Since the cleaning robot comes back and forth the same place for several times during the cleaning process, most cleaning robots are designed without power cables. In other words, in order to enable the cleaning robot to move around the house more conveniently and to operate for a longer cleaning time, rechargeable batteries that can be charged repeatedly are disposed inside most cleaning robots. Generally speaking, the cleaning robot has a corresponding charging base in addition to the main body. When the cleaning robot finishes working or is low in battery power, the cleaning robot will automatically move towards the charging base. When the cleaning robot enters the charging base, charging plugs of the cleaning robot contact plugs of the charging base, and then the rechargeable battery is charged. 
         [0007]    However, the charging plugs of the cleaning robot in the prior art cannot be received inside the cleaning robot. In other words, the charging plugs are exposed at the external housing of the cleaning robot all the time. Since the cleaning robot may contact various furniture or environments during the cleaning process, the charging plugs may contact wet objects. For example, when the charging plugs contact a wet obstacle (which may be a bucket or a beverage), the cleaning robot may be short-circuited. Or, when the cleaning robot collides with the furniture, the charging plugs may produce scratches on surfaces of the furniture. The charging plugs may deform due to the collision, so that the cleaning robot cannot be normally charged. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    Accordingly, the present invention is a charging structure with an automatic storage function, configured to improve storage of charging plugs of an electronic device, so that the electronic device automatically protrudes the charging plugs when entering a charging base, and receives the charging plugs inside the electronic device when leaving the charging base. 
         [0009]    The charging structure with an automatic storage function of the present invention comprises a charging base and a main body. The charging base further comprises a charging terminal and a projecting portion. The main body has an external housing, charging plugs, a deflector rod and a movable element. The deflector rod has a first end and a second end. The first end is connected to the charging plug. The movable element is connected to the first end and the external housing respectively. A pivot is further disposed between the first end and the second end. A first hole is disposed correspondingly between the charging terminal and the charging plug, and a second hole is disposed correspondingly between the projecting portion and the second end. 
         [0010]    When the main body approaches the charging base, the projecting portion presses against the second end through the second hole, so as to enable the deflector rod to rotate around the pivot in a direction towards the external housing; and the first end protrudes the charging plug from the external housing through the first hole, so as to be connected to the charging terminal. 
         [0011]    In addition, when the main body leaves the charging base, the movable element is compressed to push the deflector rod; and the first end of the deflector rod rotates around the pivot in a direction away from the external housing, so as to drive the charging plug to be received inside the external housing. 
         [0012]    In addition to the above embodiment, the present invention further provides another embodiment, in which the second hole is disposed at a bottom of the external housing and corresponding to the projecting portion of the charging base, and the movable element is disposed on the pivot. The movable element may be a torsion spring or an extension spring. One end of the torsion spring presses against an outer side of the external housing, and the other end of the torsion spring is disposed at the second end of the deflector rod. When the main body enters the charging base, the projecting portion presses against the second end, so as to enable the first end to rotate around the pivot in a direction towards the external housing; and the first end protrudes the charging plug from the external housing through the first hole, so as to be connected to the charging terminal and compress the movable element. When the main body leaves the charging base, the movable element pushes the deflector rod, so as to enable the first end to rotate around the pivot in a direction away from the external housing, thereby storage the charging plug inside the external housing. 
         [0013]    The present invention provides an electronic device capable of automatically storage the charging plugs, so that the charging plugs are pushed out only when the electronic device is connected to the charging base, thereby avoiding damages generated when the charging plugs are exposed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein: 
           [0015]      FIG. 1A  is a three-dimensional view of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 1B  is a partially enlarged three-dimensional view of a main body according to the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2A  is a side view when charging plugs do not protrude from a housing according to the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2B  is a side view when charging plugs protrude from a housing according to the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3A  is a schematic view before operation according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 3B  is a schematic view after operation according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 4A  is a schematic view before operation according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 4B  is a schematic view after operation according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 5A  is a schematic view of disposing a second hole at a top of an external housing according to the present invention; and 
           [0024]      FIG. 5B  is a schematic view of disposing a second hole at a side edge of an external housing according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0025]      FIG. 1A  is a three-dimensional view of the present invention, and  FIG. 1B  is a partially enlarged three-dimensional view of a main body according to the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B , the present invention comprises a charging base  100  and a main body  200  of an electronic device (briefly referred to as a main body  200  hereinafter). The charging base  100  has a charging terminal  110  and a projecting portion  120 . The electronic device may be, but not limited to, a cleaning robot, and the present invention may also be applied to an electronic device in which the main body  200  is separated from the charging base  100 . The main body  200  has an external housing  210 , a deflector rod  220 , a circuit connecting board  230 , charging plugs  240  and a movable element. The number of plugs of the charging terminal  110  may be determined according to the type of the rechargeable battery, but is not limited to the number of the plugs of this embodiment. Further, the number of the charging plug  240  is equal to that of the plugs of the charging terminal  110 . The charging terminal  110  and the charging plug  240  may be implemented by an plug plate or an plug bar. 
         [0026]    Two ends of the deflector rod  220  are respectively defined as a first end  221  and a second end  222 . The deflector rod  220  may be implemented by a single connecting rod, or may be constituted by a combination of multiple connecting rods. The shape of the deflector rod  220  is not limited to a straight rod, and the first end  221  and the second end  222  may be bent in the same direction or different directions as shown in  FIG. 1B . The deflector rod  220  with two bent ends may enable the charging plug  240  to move a longer distance inside the limited movement space of the external housing  210 . 
         [0027]    The first end  221  of the deflector rod  220  is connected to one side surface of the circuit connecting board  230 , and the other side surface of the circuit connecting board  230  is connected to the charging plug  240 . One end of the movable element is disposed at the circuit connecting board  230 , as shown in  FIG. 1B , and the other end of the movable element is disposed on an inner side of the external housing  210 . The movable element may be an extension spring  251 , a torsion spring  252  or multiple magnets  253 . The movable element in this embodiment is, for example, an extension spring  251 . A pivot  223  is disposed between the first end  221  and the second end  222  of the deflector rod  220 , and the deflector rod  220  may rotate around the pivot  223 , thereby forming a lever between the first end  221  and the second end  222 . 
         [0028]    The external housing  210  is further disposed with a first hole  211  and a second hole  212 . The first hole  211  is disposed on the external housing  210  at a position corresponding to the charging plug  240  and the charging terminal  110 , so as to enable the charging plug  240  to be correspondingly connected to the charging terminal  110  after protruding from the first hole  211 . The number of the first hole  211  is equal to that of the charging plug  240 , or the area of the first hole  211  comprises a range of the charging plug  240 , so that the charging plug  240  may extend and retract through the first hole  211 . In addition, the thickness of the first hole  211  of the external housing  210  may be increased, so as to form a tunnel for accommodating the charging plug  240 . The second hole  212  is disposed on the external housing  210  at a position corresponding to the projecting portion  120 . 
         [0029]    Taking this embodiment as an example, the projecting portion  120  extends from a base portion of the charging base  100  (as shown in  FIG. 1A ). Therefore, the second hole  212  is also disposed at a bottom of the main body  200  to accommodate the second end  222 . In order to prevent a foreign object from contacting the second end  222  during the movement of the main body  200 , bumps  213  are disposed on two sides of the second end  222  corresponding to the external housing  210 , and a space is formed between the two bumps  213  to enable the second end  222  to move and the projecting portion  120  to be accommodated. In addition, the bumps  213  may also be in other shapes, for example, in the shape of a cube, a cone or an ellipse. 
         [0030]    When the main body  200  needs to be charged, the main body  200  automatically moves to the charging base  100 , and detects a position of the charging terminal  110  relative to the charging plug  240 . A process that the main body  200  detects the charging base  100  is not covered in the protection scope of the present invention, so the detecting process will not be further described. After determining the position of the charging terminal  110  relative to the charging plug  240 , the main body  200  moves towards the charging base  100 . When the main body  200  enters the charging base  100 , the projecting portion  120  of the charging base  100  is received in the second hole  212  and presses against the second end  222  of the deflector rod  220 , as shown in  FIG. 2A , which is a side view of the present invention. The deflector rod  220  takes the pivot  223  as an axle center, so as to enable the second end  222  in  FIG. 2A  to rotate in a clockwise direction. 
         [0031]    When the deflector rod  220  starts to rotate, the first end  221  is driven to move towards the charging base  100 . Therefore, the first end  221  pushes the charging plug  240  of the circuit connecting board  230  outwards, so as to enable the charging plug  240  to protrude through the first hole  211  of the external housing  210 , as shown in  FIG. 2B . In addition, the movable element is compressed to generate a corresponding elastic force when the circuit connecting board  230  is pushed outwards. Therefore, when the main body  200  is separated from the charging base  100 , the movable element pushes the circuit connecting board  230  inwards (that is, the second end  222  rotates in a counter-clockwise direction in  FIG. 2B ), and drives the first end  221  and the second end  222  of the deflector rod  220  to return to the original positions. In other words, when the main body  200  completely leaves the charging base  100 , the deflector rod  220  is subjected to the elastic force of the movable element, so that the charging plug  240  is received inside the external housing  210 . 
         [0032]    In addition to the above manner of disposing the movable element, different movable elements may be disposed at different positions in the present invention.  FIG. 3A  and  FIG. 3B  are respectively schematic views illustrating operation of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the second hole  212  is disposed at a bottom of the external housing  210 , the second end  222  of the deflector rod  220  is exposed at the bottom of the external housing  210 , and the movable element is a torsion spring  252 . The pivot  223  is disposed at the second hole  212  and aligned with the deflector rod  220 . One end of the torsion spring  252  presses against the bottom of the external housing  210 , and the other end of the torsion spring  252  is connected to the second end  222  of the deflector rod  220 . The circuit connecting board  230  is further disposed with a sliding way, and the first end  221  of the deflector rod  220  is disposed inside the sliding way, so as to enable the first end  221  to move in the sliding way. 
         [0033]    When the main body  200  enters the charging base  100 , the projecting portion  120  presses against the second end  222 , so as to enable the first end  221  to rotate around the pivot  223  in a direction towards the external housing  210 ; and the first end  221  protrudes the charging plug  240  from the external housing  210  through the first hole  211 , so as to be connected to the charging terminal  110  and compress the movable element. Since the deflector rod  220  drives the circuit connecting board  230  to move towards the charging base  100 , the first end  221  moves from one end to the other end of the sliding way (as shown in  FIG. 3B ). When the main body  200  leaves the charging base  100 , the torsion spring  252  pushes the second end  222  of the deflector rod  220  to the original position, so as to enable the first end  221  to rotate around the pivot  223 , and to drive the first end  221  to rotate in a direction away from the charging base  100 , thereby storage the charging plug  240  inside the external housing  210 . 
         [0034]    In addition to the extension spring  251 , the movable element may also be magnets  253  with the same polarity disposed at corresponding positions on the external housing  210  and the circuit connecting board  230 , as shown in  FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B . When the second end  222  is pressed against by the projecting portion  120 , the first end  221  pushes the magnet  253  towards the magnet  253  of the external housing  210 . Since the magnets  253  have the same polarity and repel each other, a repulsion force is generated between the circuit connecting board  230  and the external housing  210 . When the projecting portion  120  does not press against the second end  222 , the circuit connecting board  230  drives the deflector rod  220  to return to the original position from the current position due to the repulsion force generated by the movable element, that is, the charging plug  240  is received inside the external housing  210 . 
         [0035]    In this embodiment, since the projecting portion  120  is disposed at the bottom of the charging base  100 , and the second end  222  of the deflector rod  220  is disposed on the outer side of the external housing  210 , the second hole  212  is disposed at the bottom of the external housing  210 . The second hole  212  may also be disposed at a top or a side edge of the external housing  210 , as shown in  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B . 
         [0036]    The present invention provides an electronic device capable of automatically storage the charging plugs  240 , so that the charging plugs  240  are pushed out only when the electronic device is connected to the charging base  100 , thereby avoiding possible damages to the main body  200  or other objects when the charging plugs  240  are exposed.