Abstract:
A connector assembly includes a plurality of connectors packed together. Plug surfaces of connectors can either be arranged on one side or on two opposite sides. The connector assembly can have a plurality of connectors manufactured in one housing. The plug surfaces on the same side can be positioned on one surface or on different surfaces.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     The present application is based on, and claims priority from, Taiwan Application Serial Number 93217020, filed Oct. 26, 2004, 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 a connector assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to a connector assembly adapted for portable electronic devices.  
         [0004]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0005]     A portable electronic device needs several peripherals in order to operate properly. For instance, a notebook computer necessitates a hard disk to store data and a battery to supply power. The notebook computer, only equipped with a motherboard and a central processing unit, if cannot function. Many connectors adapted for the notebook computer are coupled to essential peripherals.  
         [0006]     Only one connector is available for one kind of essential peripheral in a conventional notebook computer because of size and weight constraints.  
         [0007]     As the manufacturing technology of the notebook computer advances, many essential peripherals can be designed thinner and lighter than prior designs. In some applications, the portable electronic device may need more than one peripheral for the same function. For instance, a portable electronic video device may need two or three hard disks to store many media files.  
         [0008]     For the foregoing reasons, the portable electronic device needs another connector to couple to a second or third hard disk, which will occupy more space and cost more.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0009]     It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a connector assembly so that the connector assembly can occupy less space and cost less.  
         [0010]     In accordance with the foregoing and other objectives of the present invention, a connector assembly includes a plurality of connectors packed together. Plug surfaces of connectors can be arranged on one side or on two opposite sides. The connector assembly can have a plurality of connectors manufactured in one housing. The plug surfaces on the same side can be positioned on one surface or on different surfaces.  
         [0011]     Thus, the connector assembly mentioned above can be applied to a portable electronic device so that the connector assembly can occupy less space and cost less.  
         [0012]     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  
       [0013]     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,  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of a connector assembly according to one preferred embodiment of this invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of a connector assembly application according to one preferred embodiment of this invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of a connector assembly according to another preferred embodiment of this invention; and  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  illustrates a perspective view of a connector assembly application according to another preferred embodiment of this invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]     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.  
         [0019]     In order to equip a portable electronic device with more than one peripheral of the same function, the present invention provides a connector assembly to connect with more peripherals of the same function such that the connector assembly can occupy less space and cost less.  
         [0020]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of a connector assembly according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. A connector assembly  100  includes two connectors  100   a  and  100   b,  which are preferably manufactured in one housing. Several screw holes  104  are formed on the connector assembly  100  for securing to a potable electronic device. Two plug surfaces  102   a  and  102   b  are arranged on the same side of two connectors  100   a  and  100   b.  Two plug surfaces  102   a  and  102   b  can either form a single surface or separate surfaces. If each plug surface forms a separate surface, a peripheral can be easily plugged into a correct plug surface. Although this preferred embodiment only illustrates a connector assembly with two connectors, it can be expanded to more than two connectors.  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of a connector assembly application according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. The connector assembly  100  in  FIG. 1  is applied in an electronic device  200  including an LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor  202 . The electronic device  200  can be an LCD in a personal computer or an LCD television. The LCD monitor  202  includes an LCD panel  202 . The connector assembly  100  is designed on a back side of the LCD panel  202 , wherein a connector  100   a  is positioned inside the back side of the LCD panel  202  (illustrated as a dashed line) and a connector  100   b  is positioned on the back side of the LCD panel  202 , which is outside the LCD panel  202 . Two connectors  100   a  and  100   b  are preferably manufactured in one housing. A hard disk  204   a  has been plugged into the connector  100   a  during an assembly procedure. A user can plug a backup hard disk  204   b  into the connector  100   b  if necessary.  
         [0022]      FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of a connector assembly according to another preferred embodiment of this invention. A connector assembly  300  includes two connectors  300   a  and  300   b,  which are preferably manufactured in one housing. Several screw holes  304  are formed on the connector assembly  300  for securing to a potable electronic device. Two plug surfaces  302   a  and  302   b  are arranged on opposite sides of the two connectors  300   a  and  300   b . Although this preferred embodiment only illustrates a connector assembly of two connectors, it can be expanded to four or any even number of connectors. Plug surfaces on one side can either form a single surface or separate surfaces.  
         [0023]      FIG. 4  illustrates a perspective view of a connector assembly application according to  FIG. 3 , another preferred embodiment of this invention. When the connector assembly  300  is secured to a portable electronic device with screw holes  304 , two peripherals  306   a  and  306   b  can be respectively plugged into the plug surfaces  302   a  and  302   b.    
         [0024]     According to above preferred embodiments, a connector assembly can be applied to a portable electronic device such that the connector assembly can occupy less space and cost less.  
         [0025]     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.