Patent Publication Number: US-2007115628-A1

Title: Pushing structure for extension base

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a pushing structure of a portable electronic device and, more particularly to a pushing structure for an extension base of the portable electronic device.  
      2. Description of Related Arts  
      With great development in electronic technique, modern electronic devices become slighter, thinner, shorter and smaller for carrying conveniently. To take as an example, notebooks characterized by portability may gradually replace desktop PCs. However, as volume of the notebook is decreased, not all peripheral devices and interfaces can be disposed in the body of the notebook. For example, a modern notebook adopts a Universal Serial Bus (USB) replace parallel ports and serial ports. However, most traditional peripheral devices such as keyboard, mouse, printer, data engine, display and so on are still adopt parallel ports or serial ports. Therefore, notebooks usually need an extension base having various interfaces to connect to traditional peripheral devices.  
      On another hand, the extension base is convenient for a user to take a notebook outside, because the notebook may be a full-function computer while connecting to peripheral devices by using the extension base. The main character of the extension base is called Port Replicator to switch connection ports, accordingly the user needs not electrically connect to peripheral devices such as keyboard, mouse, printer or display every day. Another extension base which is called Docking Station has peripheral extensiveness such as hard disk, floppy disk, network card, compact disk and speaker except for switching connection ports, accordingly the extension base has larger volume. Thus, the extension bases can not only solve problems in plugging and pulling peripheral devices, but also satisfy expansion demands of notebooks.  
      Please referring to  FIG. 1 , which is a schematic diagram of an extension base  1  according to the prior art. The extension base  1  comprises a base  10 , an electrical connector  11  fixed to the base  10  for electrically connecting a notebook (not shown in  FIG.1 ), and a lid  12  for supporting the notebook. Generally, in order to electrically connect the extension base  1  to the notebook conveniently and effectively, guiding bodies  120  such as guiding bumps are installed in a region on the lid  20  and near the electrical connector  11 . Therefore, a user can connect the notebook to the extension base  1  quickly and correctly through the use of the guiding bodies  120 , and the electrical connector  11  of the extension base  1  can be electrically connected to an electrical connector of the notebook accordingly.  
      However, the extension base  1  is hard to be disassembled from the notebook. While demounting the extension base  1 , the user has to hold the extension base  1  and the notebook to detach the two electrical connectors forcedly by using both hands, thereby it is waste of time and power to detach the extension base from the notebook; moreover, high force must be applied in disassembling operation, accordingly damages such as bend or even fracture of pins of the electrically connectors may occur.  
      Please refer to  FIG. 2 , which shows another extension base having a propping body  13 , which makes the extension base easier to be disassembled from the notebook. The propping body  13  is installed on the base  10  and opposite to two sides of the electrically connector  11 . When the electrical connector  11  of the extension base  1  is electrically connected to the notebook, the notebook can be propped and detached from the extension base  1  by using the propping body  13 . However, the propping body  13  is distorted while the notebook is electrically connected to the extension base  1  by electrical connectors, and the electrical connectors may become loose to affect proper functions of the notebook if propping force is applied on the notebook.  
      To overcome the above problem caused by the propping body, another extension base having a fixing body is developed, wherein the fixing body is used to fix the extension base and the notebook firmly, yet the addition of the fixing body increases operations of mounting and demounting, thereby it is still inconvenient in use.  
      As a result, the present subject is to provide a pushing structure of an extension base which is convenient in mounting and demounting and has good bonding performance, such that defects in the prior art such as bad bonding performance, inconvenience in mounting and demounting, vulnerability of electrical connector and so on can be solved.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In views of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a pushing structure of an extension base for mounting and demounting conveniently.  
      It is another objective of the present invention to provide a pushing structure of an extension base having better bonding performance.  
      It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a pushing structure of an extension base having better controlling performance.  
      It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a pushing structure of an extension base for simplifying structure.  
      To achieve the above-mentioned and other objectives, a pushing structure of an extension base is provided according to the present invention. The pushing structure is used for the extension base to push a portable electronic device having a first bonding portion. The pushing structure includes a linked frame and a second bonding portion. The linked frame is jointed to the extension base and has a touching component and a propping component opposite to the touching component. The second bonding portion is jointed to the extension base and used for the linked frame to push the second bonding portion, so as to be bonded to or detached from the first bonding portion. The touching component is used to press the linked frame so as to detach the second bonding portion from the first bonding portion. The propping component is used to prop the portable electronic device so as to detach the portable electronic device from the extension base.  
      According to the preferred embodiment, the first bonding portion is a slot, and the second bonding portion is a hook. In another preferred embodiment, or both of the first and second bonding portions is a hook.  
      Preferably, the pushing structure further includes a first elastic component and a second component. The first elastic component is used to connect the linked frame to the extension base for providing restoring force to the touching component. The second elastic component is touched to the second bonding portion and the linked frame for providing elastic force to the second bonding portion. In one preferred embodiment, the first and second elastic components are both springs.  
      More preferably, the pushing structure further includes a locking component used to lock and fix the touching component. According to the preferred embodiment, the locking component has a drawbar structure.  
      By using the pushing structure of the present invention, the extension base can not only be bonded to the portable electronic device firmly, but also mounted and demounted to the portable electronic device easily. Accordingly, convenience and controllability in using the extension base can be increased largely.  
      Therefore, the pushing structure of an extension base of the present invention can provide effects such as convenience in mounting and demounting, good performance in controlling, enhancement in bonding performance and simplicity in structure, such that it solves defects in the prior art and the design flexibility of products can be increased, thereby it has high using value in industry. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIGS. 1 and 2  are two schematic diagrams of an extension base according to the prior art;  
       FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of a portable electronic device and the extension base of the preferred embodiment according to the prior art;  
       FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of a pushing structure of the extension base shown in  FIG.3 ; and  
      FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of the pushing structure and the extension base when the pushing structure is installed in the extension base. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      The following illustrative embodiments are provided to illustrate the disclosure of the present invention, these and other advantages and effects can be apparently understood by those in the art after reading the disclosure of this specification. The present invention can also be performed or applied by other different embodiments. The details of the specification may be on the basis of different points and applications, and numerous modifications and variations can be devised without departing from the spirit of the present invention.  
      Please refer to  FIG. 3 , which is a schematic diagram of a portable electronic device  4  and an extension base  2  of the preferred embodiment according, to the present invention. The portable electronic device  4  comprises a first bonding portion  40 . The extension base  2  comprises a pushing structure  3  and an electrical connector  20  capable of being electrically bonded to a connection port  41  of the portable electronic device  4 . According to the preferred embodiment, the portable device  4  is a notebook, or a smart hand-held electronic device and so on. The extension base  2  further comprises a connection port module for connection of varieties of connection ports, such as a USB, a PS/2, a VGA, an RJ-45, an S-Video, a PCMCIA, an IEEE1394 and so on. Therefore, the extension base  2  can work with varieties of expansion equipments, such as a hard disk, a floppy disk, a network card, a compact disk, a speaker and so on. A pushing structure of the preferred embodiment is merely used to describe, but not to limit the present invention.  
      Please refer to  FIGS. 4 and 5 .  FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of the pushing structure  3 . FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of the pushing structure  3  and the extension base  2  when the pushing structure  3  is installed in the extension base  2 . The pushing structure  3  comprises a linked frame  30 , two first elastic components  31 , two joint components  32 , two second bonding portions  33 , two second elastic components  34  and a locking component  35 .  
      The linked frame  30  is installed in the extension base  2 . The linked frame  30  comprises a touching component  36  and two propping components  37  opposite to the touching component  36 . The linked frame  30  comprises a cross bar  300  and two side bars  301  installed on two sides of the cross bar  300  respectively, and is in a shape of a Greek letter “Π”. The side bars  301  are jointed to the extension base  2  by the joint components  32 , such that the linked frame  30  has a lever structure. The linked frame  30  is connected to the extension base  2  by the first elastic components  31  on the cross bar  300  of the linked frame  30 .  
      According to the preferred embodiment, the first elastic component  31  is a spring or the like. The first elastic component  31  has one end connected to the side bar  301  of the linked frame  30 , and the other end connected to a lid  21  of the extension base  2 . The first elastic component  31  is therefore capable of providing a restoring force to restore the linked frame  30  back to an original position. The joint component  32  is used to joint the linked frame  30  to the extension base  2 . According to the preferred embodiment, the joint component  32  is a plug or the like capable of jointing the linked frame  30  to a base  22  of the extension base  2 .  
      The touching component  36  is installed on the cross bar  300  of the linked frame  30  and passes through the extension base  2  for a pressing force applied by a user to be applied on. In order that the pressing force can be evenly applied on the linked frame  30 , the touching component  36  is installed in a central region of the cross bar  300 . According to the preferred embodiment, the touching component  36  has a button structure.  
      The propping component  37  is installed on an end region of the side bar  301  of the linked frame  30  and passes through the extension base  2  for propping of the portable electronic device  4 . According to the preferred embodiment, the propping component  37  can be a column, a bump or the like. The pushing structure  3  is jointed in the extension base  2 . The electrical connector  20  is accommodated between the two side bars  301  and the two propping components  37  are installed in two end regions of the electrical connector  20  respectively.  
      The second bonding portion  33  is jointed to the extension base  2 . The second bonding portion  33  can move with the movement of the linked frame  30  and be bonded with or detached from the first bonding portion  40  of the portable electronic device  4  by an elastic force provided by the second elastic component  34  such as a spring. According to the preferred embodiment, the second bonding portion  33  is jointed to the base  22  of the extension base  2 , and against the end region of the side bar  301  of the linked frame  30 . The second bonding portion  33  is installed approximately collinearly with the propping component  37  and the electrical connector  20 . In operation, when the propping component  37  is pushed, the linked frame  30  will swing like a lever so that the end region of the side bar  301  will be applied by a great pushing force to push the second bonding portion  33 , and the second bonding portion  33  will swing and be detached from the first bonding portion  40  of the portable electronic device  4 . According to the preferred embodiment, the second bonding portion  33  is designed to have a structure mated with that of the first bonding portion  40 , so as to fix the extension base  2  to the portable electronic device  4 . The first and second bonding portions  40 ,  33  are preferably to be a slot and a hook respectively, but they are not limited thereto. For example, both of the first and second bonding portions  40 ,  33  can have hook structures capable of being coupled to each other.  
      The locking component  35  is installed on the touching component  36  for locking the touching component  36  on the linked frame  30 . According to the preferred embodiment, the locking component  35  has a drawbar structure. The locking component  34  comprises a drawbar  350 , a stopper  351  and a stirring switch  352 . The stirring switch  352  passes through the lid  21  of the extension base  2 . When the stirring switch  352  is pushed, the drawbar  350  is driven to move by the pushed stirring switch  352  and the stopper  351  is moved to a region under the touching component  36  and locks the touching component  36  accordingly, thereby preventing erroneous operations from occurring.  
      Furthermore, please refer to  FIGS. 3 and 5  again. Two big-powered speakers  23  are disposed in the extension base  2  for providing more sound effects and entertainment functions to the portable electronic device  4 . A guiding body  210  and an auxiliary body  211  are further installed on the lid  21 . According to the preferred embodiment, the guiding body  210  can be a guiding bump or the like and is installed for positioning electrical connector  20  and the connection port  41 . The auxiliary body  211  is used to touch and open a shield of the connection port  41 , for the electrical connector  20  to be plugged in and electrically connected to.  
      In a bonding process to bond the extension base  2  to the portable electronic device  4 , first the portable electronic device  4  is placed on the extension base  2 , then the electrical connector  20  is accurately positioned and electrically connected to the connection port  41  by the use of the guiding body  210 , and finally the second bonding portion  33  can be bonded to the first bonding portion  40  and therefore the portable electronic device  4  can be bonded to the extension base  2  firmly.  
      In a detaching process to detach the extension  2  from the portable electronic device  4 , first the touching component  36  is pushed to drive the linked frame  30  to swing like a lever, then the swinging linked frame  30  pushes the second bonding portion  33  to shift to be detached from the first bonding portion  40  of the portable electronic device  4 , and finally the touching component  37  is bounced to push the portable electronic device  4  and the electrical connector  20  is detached from the connection port  41  and the portable electronic device  4  is pushed to be detach from the extension base  2 .  
      As a result, by using the linked frame, the second bonding portion and the propping component of the pushing structure according to the present invention, the extension base can be mounted or demounted to the portable electronic device conveniently, so controllability in using the extension base can be increased. Meanwhile, bonding performance can also be increased by firmly bonding the second bonding portion of the pushing structure of the present invention to the extension base and the portable electronic device. Furthermore, misoperation of pressing the touching component by the user can be prevented from occurrence by the appended locking component locking the touching component effectively.  
      The foregoing descriptions of the detailed embodiments are only illustrated to disclose the features and functions of the present invention and not restrictive of the scope of the present invention. It should be understood to those in the art that all modifications and variations according to the spirit and principle in the disclosure of the present invention should fall within the scope of the appended claims.