Patent Publication Number: US-2010124955-A1

Title: Sliding-type portable terminal

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a sliding-type portable terminal. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Generally, a sliding-type portable terminal includes a main body, a cover, and a driving mechanism. The driving mechanism provides an elastic force for sliding the cover relative to the main body between closed and open states. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a typical sliding-type portable terminal  10  includes a main body  11  and a cover  12  slidably connected to the main body  11 . However, the main body  11  and the cover  12  are easily scratched over a period of time, thereby decreasing the engagement precision. In addition, elasticity of elastic components in the portable terminal  10  also deteriorate over repeatedly usage. As a result, the cover  12  may not securely and closely engage with the main body  11 , and a side surface  121  of the cover  12  can not be coplanar with a side surface  112  of the main body  11 . 
     Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of an embodiment of a sliding-type portable terminal, including a cover and a main body, in an open state. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded, isometric view of the sliding-type portable terminal of FIG  1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an isometric view of the sliding-type portable terminal of  FIG. 1  without the top housing and the bottom housing. 
         FIG. 4  is similar to  FIG. 3 , but showing a closed state. 
         FIG. 5  is an isometric view of a typical sliding-type portable terminal in an almost fully closed state. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a sliding-type portable terminal  100  includes a main body  20 , a cover  30 , a first magnetic module  25 , a second magnetic module  35 , a driving mechanism  40 , and a plurality of electronic components (not shown). 
     The cover  30  is slidably engaged with the main body  20  via sliding rails  226  and sliding grooves  323  slidably engaged with the sliding rails  226 . The sliding rails  226  can be formed on the main body  20  and the sliding grooves  323  can be formed in the cover  30 . The driving mechanism  40  is configured to facilitate sliding the cover  30  relative to the main body  20  between closed and open states. The electronic components such as printed circuit board (PCB) and keyboard (not shown) can be received in the main body  20 , and a display (not shown) can be received in the cover  30 . 
     The main body  20  includes a bottom housing  21  and a bottom sliding plate  22 . The bottom housing  21  defines a cavity  211  for receiving the electronic components. The bottom sliding plate  22  includes a first end  221  and a second end  223  opposite to the first end  221 . A keypad  222  can be positioned on the first end  221 . The bottom sliding plate  22  forms two first protrusions  224  on a bottom surface thereof. The first protrusions  224  are adjacent to the first end  221 . The bottom sliding plate  22  is configured to cover the cavity  211  and defines a groove  225  for receiving the driving mechanism  40 . Two parallel sliding rails  226  are formed on a top surface of the bottom sliding plate  22 . 
     The first magnetic module  25  includes a first connecting member  251  and a first magnetic member  252  received in the first connecting member  251 . The first magnetic member  251  is elongated and made of magnetic materials. The first connecting member  251  may be made of rubber and includes a connecting portion  2511  and two wing portions  2512  extending symmetrically with respect to the connecting portion  2511 . The connecting portion  2511  defines a groove  2513  to receive the first magnetic member  252 . Each wing portion  2512  defines a hole  2514  to receive the first protrusion  224 , thereby fixing the connecting member  251  to the bottom sliding plate  22 . 
     The cover  30  includes a top housing  31  and a top sliding plate  32 . The top housing  31  includes a top wall  313  and a sidewall  315  connected to the top wall  313 . The top wall  313  and the sidewall  315  cooperatively define a cavity (not labeled) for receiving the electronic components. The top wall  313  further defines an opening  312  communicated with the cavity. The opening  312  is configured to receive the display. A function keypad  314  may be positioned adjacent to the opening  312 . 
     The top sliding plate  32  includes a first end  326  and a second end  327  opposite to the first end  326 . The first end  326  defines a notch  321 . The top sliding plate  32  forms two second protrusions  322  on the first end  326 . The second protrusions  322  are positioned at two opposite sides of the notch  321  respectively. The top sliding plate  32  is configured to cover the cavity. The top sliding plate  32  defines two parallel sliding grooves  323  slidably and respectively engaged with the parallel sliding rails  226  in the main body  20 . 
     The second magnetic module  35  includes a second connecting member  351  and a second magnetic member  352  received in the second connecting member  351 . The second magnetic member  351  is elongated and made of magnetic materials. The second connecting member  351  may be made of rubber and includes a connecting portion  3511  and two wing portions  3512 . The connecting portion  3511  defines a groove  3513  to receive the second magnetic member  352 . Each wing portion  3512  defines a hole  3514  to receive the second protrusion  322 , thereby fixing the second connecting member  351  to the bottom sliding plate  32 . 
     The driving mechanism  40  includes a first connecting end  41 , an opposite second connecting end  42 , and an elastic module  43  connecting the first connecting end  41  to the second connecting end  42 . The elastic module  43  provides an elastic force to drive the first connecting end  41  to move relative to the second connecting end  42 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 through 4 , to assemble the sliding-type portable terminal  100 , the first protrusions  224  are inserted into the holes  2514  such that the first magnetic module  25  is fixed on the bottom sliding plate  22 . The bottom sliding plate  22  is fixed on the bottom housing  21  in such manner that the bottom sliding plate  22  covers the cavity  211 . 
     The connecting portion  3511  of the second connecting member  351  is inserted into the notch  321 , and the two wing portions  3512  engage with the second protrusions  322  correspondingly, thereby the second magnetic module  35  is fixed on the first end  326  of the top sliding plate  32 . The top sliding plate  32  is fixed on the top housing  31  in such manner that the top sliding plate  32  covers the cavity defined by the top housing  31 . 
     The driving mechanism  40  is received in the groove  225  of the bottom sliding plate  22 . The first connecting end  41  of the driving mechanism  40  is fixed to the top sliding plate  32 , and the second connecting end  42  is fixed to the bottom sliding plate  22 . The first magnetic member  252  and the second magnetic member  352  are arranged in opposing polarities with respect to each other, thereby a magnetic force is generated between the first magnetic module  25  and the second magnetic module  35 , thus, yielding the sliding-type portable terminal  100 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 through 4 , to close the cover  30 , the cover  30  is moved relative to the main body  20 , the second magnetic module  35  moves towards the first magnetic module  25 . As the distance between the first magnetic module  25  and the second magnetic module  35  decreases, the magnetic force generated between the first magnetic module  25  and the second magnetic module  35  increases. When the cover  30  is in the closed state, the second magnetic module  35  is on top of the first magnetic module  25  and is substantially aligned with the first magnetic module  25  so that the cover  20  securely and closely contacts with the main body  30  by the strong magnetic force. As a result, the first end  326  of the top sliding plate  32  can be substantially aligned with the first end  221  of the bottom sliding plate  22 . 
     To open the cover  30 , an external force is applied to slide the cover  30 . The elastic module  43  is compressed, accumulating elastic force, and reaches the largest elastic force when the cover  30  is at a predetermined position about mid-way between the closed and open positions. At this time, the elastic force of the elastic module is released and the cover  30  slides semi-automatically along the main body  20  by the elastic force applied by the driving mechanism  40 . When the cover  30  is open, due to the distance between the first magnetic module  25  and the second magnetic module  35 , the magnetic force generated between the first magnetic module  25  and the second magnetic module  35  does not affect the position of the cover  30 , thus the cover  30  is capable of securely maintaining in the open state. 
     It should be understood that, one of the first magnetic member  251  and the second magnetic member  351  may be made of ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, cobalt, nickel and their combinations, and the other one may be made of magnet. 
     It should be understood that, the magnetic module  25  may be in contact with the second end  327  of the top sliding plate  32 , and the second magnetic module  35  may be in contact with the second end  223  of the bottom sliding plate  22  accordingly. In addition, the first magnetic member  25  and the second magnetic module  35  also can be respectively positioned on the middle of the main body  20  and the cover  30 . When the cover  30  moves to the closed state relative to the main body  20 , the cover  20  is capable of contacting with the main body  30  closely and securely by the magnetic force generated between the first magnetic module  25  and the second magnetic module  35 . 
     It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments.