Patent Publication Number: US-7212834-B2

Title: Mobile device having an improved roller feel

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a mobile device; more particularly, relates to that, when rolling the hollow metal cylinder, a mobile device produces explicit and regular stress variations between the terminals and the interference areas of the hollow metal cylinder so that the sense of feel is clearer and the effect of durability is improved. 
   DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ARTS 
   The technology of mobile communication has progressed a lot during the past years, so the role of roller construction is becoming increasingly important. Traditionally, the prior art as shown in  FIG. 5  comprises a copper ring  4  with an insulated bushing around the outside. The copper ring  4  shaped as a hollow cylinder can be a conductor acting as an encoder which comprises a leaf spring  41  near the center being convex toward the hollow part of the copper ring  4 . The copper ring  4  is propped up by two cantilevers  42 , 43  plugged into the hollow part where one of the cantilevers  42  comprises raised teeth  44  on the outward surface. When the copper ring  4  rolls, the leaf spring  41  of the copper ring  4  interferes with the raised teeth  44  of the cantilever  42  (stresses varying) so that the terminal is stirred and recovered to produce a sense of feel. 
   Although the structure mentioned above can produce a sense of feel by the leaf spring  41 , the stress variations are not conspicuous so that the sense of feel is not clear. Besides, on using, the leaf spring  41  keeps interfering with the raised teeth  44  so that the leaf spring  41  made of metal will continuously make an effect of somewhat like ‘turning’ on the raised teeth  44 . As a result, the interferences made between the leaf spring  41  and the raised teeth  44  are getting fewer and fewer so that the above structure of the prior art can only be used before long 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The main purpose of the present invention is that, by improving the structure of the roller of the mobile device, the sense of feel can be clearer and the effect of durability is improved. 
   To achieve the above purpose, the present invention is a mobile device having an improved roller feel, comprising a hollow metal cylinder, a support and a plurality of terminals firmly disposed on the support. The hollow metal cylinder comprises a plurality of interference areas at an end thereof. The support comprises two braces. The terminals comprise spring contacts in contact with the inner surface of the hollow metal cylinder while some of the spring contacts stretch into the hollow metal cylinder in a depth not exceeding the region of the inner surfaces of the interference areas. By this structure, when rolling the hollow metal cylinder, explicit and regular stress variations are made between the terminals and the interference areas of the hollow metal cylinder to obtain a sense of feel. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the structure according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a view of the contacting between the hollow metal cylinder and the terminals according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 4A  is a sectional view showing a status of use according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 4B  is another sectional view showing a status of use according to the present invention; and 
       FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the structure according to the prior art. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   The following descriptions of the preferred embodiments are provided to understand the features and the structures of the present invention. 
   Please refer to  FIG. 1  through  FIG. 4B , which are a perspective view, an exploded view showing the structure, a view of the contacting between the hollow metal cylinder and the terminals, a sectional view and another sectional view, according to the present invention. As shown in the figures, the present invention is a mobile device having an improved roller feel, comprising a hollow metal cylinder  1 , a support  2  and a plurality of terminals  3 , 3   a , wherein the hollow metal cylinder  1  comprises interference areas  11  and the terminals  3 , 3   a  comprise spring contacts  30 , 31 , 30   a , 31   a . On rolling the hollow metal cylinder  1 , explicit and regular stress variations are made between the spring contacts and the interference areas  11  of the hollow metal cylinder  1  to create a sense of feel. And by the structure improvement, the interactions between the hollow metal cylinder  1  and the spring contacts of the terminals  3 , 3   a  are enhanced so that a sense of feel is clear; and durability is achieved. 
   The hollow metal cylinder  1  mentioned above has a plurality of interference areas  11  at an end thereof, wherein the interference areas  11  can be inflection surfaces or flat surfaces whose shapes are different from the shape of the inner surface of the hollow metal cylinder  1 . 
   The support  2  comprises two braces  21 , 22 , wherein an end of one brace  22  comprises a fixture part  221  and an end of the other brace  21  comprises a fixture hole  211  to fix with the fixture part  221 . The two braces  21 , 22 , each with a cantilever  212 , 222 , stretch into the hollow metal cylinder  1  from the two ends of the hollow metal cylinder  1 , respectively; and the braces  21 , 22  comprise perforations  213 , 223  at two sides of an end thereof, respectively. The terminals  3 , 3   a  are made of a metal, comprising spring contacts  30 , 31 , 30   a , 31   a . The spring contacts  30 , 31 , 30   a , 31   a  stretch into the hollow metal cylinder  1  from both ends of the hollow metal cylinder  1  to produce normal forces on the inner surface of the hollow metal cylinder  1  to butt with the hollow metal cylinder  1 . The shorter spring contact  31  of the terminal  3  stretches into the inner surfaces of the interference areas  11  of the hollow metal cylinder  1  to produce a sense of feel. The spring contacts  30 , 31 , 30   a , 31   a  are put through the perforations  213 , 223  so that the terminals  3 , 3   a  are firmly disposed on the braces  21 , 22  by the spring contacts  30 , 31 , 30   a , 31   a  plugged in through the perforations  213 , 223 . The terminals  3 , 3   a  are contacted with the inner surface of the hollow metal cylinder  1 . So, on rolling the hollow metal cylinder  1 , explicit and regular stress variations are made between the interference areas  11  and the spring contacts to produce a sense of feel. And the terminals  3 , 3   a  can transmit electrical signals. 
   The spring contacts  30 , 31  according to the present invention can also be of the same length so that all the spring contacts  30 , 31  are within the region of the inner surfaces of the interference areas  11  to enhance the sense of feel made by the terminals  3 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B , a bushing (not shown in the figures) can be set around the outside of the hollow metal cylinder  1 . When rolling the bushing, the hollow metal cylinder  1  follows. The butted interference areas  11  and the terminals  3  produce a phenomenon of stirring and recovering. Further on rolling the hollow metal cylinder  11 , a sense of feel is produced by the spring contact  31  and the interference areas  11 . Besides, the spring contacts  30 , 31 , 30   a , 31   a  are used to transmit the electrical signals of the mobile device. In order to enhance the sense of feel and to keep the spring contact  31  at some certain position when the hollow metal cylinder  1  stays, the inner inflection surfaces of the interference areas  11  can be used to make the spring contactor  31  of the terminals  3  stop at one of the concave parts within the inflection surfaces when the hollow metal cylinder  1  stops rolling. 
   The preferred embodiments herein disclosed are not intended to unnecessarily limit the scope of the invention. Therefore, simple modifications or variations belonging to the equivalent of the scope of the claims and the instructions disclosed herein for a patent are all within the scope of the present invention.