Patent Publication Number: US-6906917-B2

Title: Web pad module with coupling devices installed on a rear side of a web pad

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a web pad module, and more particularly, to a web pad module with coupling devices installed on a rear side of a web pad. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     A web pad is a simplified portable computer that helps a user to connect to the Internet anywhere and anytime. Generally, the web pad is designed to have a flat shape and be pocket sized for portability. With the prevalence of the Internet, the web pad has gained substantial interest as the best solution for acquiring data from the Internet whenever needed. 
     Please refer to FIG.  1 .  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a prior art web pad module  10 . The prior art web pad module  10  comprises a portable web pad  12  and a pedestal  14 . The portable web pad  12  includes a housing  16 , a display panel  18  for displaying images, and a first coupling device  20  installed on a bottom of the housing  16  for providing electrical and mechanical connections between the portable web pad  12  and the pedestal  14 . The pedestal  14  has a second coupling device  22  for coupling with the first coupling device  20 . The portable web pad  12  further has a battery installed inside the housing  16  for supplying power. When a user desires to use the portable web pad  12  on a table, the portable web pad  12  can be placed onto the pedestal  14  for convenient use. 
     Nevertheless, several disadvantages arise with the prior art web pad module  10 . First, since the battery is installed inside the housing  16 , when the battery is run down, it is not replaced easily and quickly with another new battery. 
     Additionally, the possibility of utilizing various kinds of batteries is restricted as well. Furthermore, since the first, and the second coupling devices  20 ,  22  are respectively disposed on the portable web pad  12  and the pedestal  14 , the placement of the battery on the bottom of the housing  16  causes difficulties in the arrangement and fabrication of the relevant elements and mechanisms. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     It is therefore a primary objective of the claimed invention to provide a web pad module with coupling devices installed on a rear side of a web pad to solve the above-mentioned problem. 
     According to the claimed invention, the web pad module comprises a portable web pad and a pedestal. The portable web pad has a housing including a front side and a rear side, a processing circuit installed inside the housing for controlling the portable web pad, a display panel installed on the front side of the housing for displaying images, and a first coupling device installed on the rear side of the housing and having a first connector electrically connected to the processing circuit. The pedestal has a second coupling device detachably coupling with the first coupling device so as to place the portable web pad onto the pedestal. The second coupling device includes a second connector corresponding to the first connector. When the first coupling device is coupled with the second coupling device, the first connector is connected to the second connector so as to transmit signals between the portable web pad and a peripheral device through the pedestal. 
     It is an advantage of the claimed invention that the wed pad module with the coupling devices installed on the rear side of the web pad has a simpler structure, a simple fabrication, and a convenient use to overcome the prior art shortcomings. 
     These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a prior art web pad module. 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of a web pad module according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a rear view of the web pad module shown in FIG.  2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of first and second coupling devices shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a function block diagram of the web pad module shown in FIG.  2 . 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of the web pad module shown in  FIG. 2  when assembled. 
         FIG. 7  is an alternative side view of the web pad module shown in  FIG. 2  when assembled. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 2 and 3 .  FIG. 2  is a front view of a web pad module  30  according to the present invention.  FIG. 3  is a rear view of the web pad module  30  shown in FIG.  2 . The web pad module  30  comprises a portable web pad  32  and a pedestal  34 . The portable web pad  32  can be placed on the pedestal  34 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the portable web pad  32  comprises a housing  36 , a display panel  40  for displaying images, a first coupling device  42  (please refer to FIG.  3 ), and a first battery  44  installed on a bottom of the housing  36  in a replaceable manner for supplying power. The housing  36  includes a front side  36   a  and a rear side  36   b  (see FIG.  3 ). The display panel  40  is installed on the front side  36   a  of the housing  36 , and the first coupling device  42  is installed on the rear side  36   b  of the housing  36 . The pedestal  34  has a second coupling device  46  used for coupling with the first coupling device  42 , thereby placing the portable web pad  32  onto the pedestal  34 . 
     Additionally, the pedestal  34  further comprises a plurality of expanding ports  60  installed on the pedestal  34  for allowing electrical connection to corresponding expanding devices. The expanding ports  60  may be interfaces such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB), a Personal System 2 (PS2), and a mini Video Graphics Array (VGA). The pedestal  34  further has a power port  62  installed on the pedestal  34  for being electrically connected to a power supply so as to supply power. 
     Please refer to FIG.  4 .  FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of the first and the second coupling devices  42 ,  46  shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The first coupling device  42  is a socket, which is cut out of the rear side  36   b  of the housing  36  in a concave manner, such that the first coupling device  42  has one shallow end and one deep end. The second coupling device  46  is a protrusion capable of being inserted into the first coupling device  42  so as to place the portable web pad  32  onto the pedestal  34 . The first coupling device  42  comprises two sliding slots  48 ,  50  installed on two sides of the first coupling device  42 , and the second coupling device  46  comprises two corresponding protrusions  52 ,  54  for clamping with the two sliding slots  48 ,  50 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the first coupling device  42  has a first connector  56 , and the second coupling device  46  has a second connector  58  corresponding to the first connector  56 . The first connector  56  is installed on a first upper side  64  of the first coupling device  42 , and the second connector  58  is installed on a second upper side  66  of the second coupling device  46  corresponding to the first upper side  64 . Through this design, the first coupling device  42  of the portable web pad  32  can be inserted downward to the second coupling device  46  on the pedestal  34  so as to connect the first connector  56  to the second connector  58 . 
     Please refer to FIG.  5 .  FIG. 5  is a function block diagram of the web pad module  30  shown in FIG.  2 . The portable web pad  30  further comprises a processing circuit  38  installed inside the housing  36  for controlling the portable web pad  32 . 
     Both the display panel  40  and the first connector  56  of the portable web pad  32  are electrically connected to the processing circuit  38 . Likewise, both of the expanding ports  60  and the power port  62  of the pedestal  34  are electrically connected to the second connector  58 . When the first coupling device  42  clamps the second coupling device  46 , the first connector  56  is connected to the second connector  58  so as to transmit signals between the portable web pad  32  and a peripheral device through the pedestal  34 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 6 and 7 .  FIG. 6  is a side view of the web pad module  30  shown in  FIG. 2  when assembled.  FIG. 7  is an alternative side view of the web pad module  30  shown in  FIG. 2  when assembled. As described previously, the portable web pad  32  comprises the first battery  44  installed on the bottom of the housing  36  in a replaceable manner for supplying power. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 6 , the pedestal  34  further comprises a first support  68  detachably installed on the pedestal  34 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , when the first coupling device  42  clamps with the second coupling device  46 , the first support  68  is against a bottom of the first battery  44  so as to support the portable web pad  32 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , when the first battery  44  is replaced by a second battery  45  with a longer length, the pedestal  34  is against a bottom of the second battery  45  at a contact portion  70  so as to support the portable web pad  34 . Therefore, with this design, the portable web pad  32  can be firmly placed on the pedestal  34  no matter what kinds of batteries are used. 
     Surely, when the first battery  44  is replaced by a battery that has a length between the lengths of the first and the second batteries  44 ,  45 , the first support  68  can also be replaced by a second support with a lower height. At this time, the second support is against a bottom of the battery so as to support the portable web pad  32 . 
     In contrast to the prior art, the web pad module according to the present invention adopts a design in which the coupling devices of the portable web pad and the pedestal are installed on the rear side of the portable web pad. In addition, the pedestal also has a detachable support. Consequently, the web pad module according to the present invention has the advantages of simple structure, easy fabrication, and convenient use. Moreover, when different kinds of batteries are utilized in the portable web pad, the portable web pad can be firmly placed on the pedestal for convenient use. 
     Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.