Patent Publication Number: US-2010127515-A1

Title: Portable electronic device

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a portable electronic device. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A sliding-housing telephone generally includes a main housing, a movable housing, and a connecting the movable housing to the main housing. The slidable structure allows the main housing and the movable housing to be nested when carried and extended by sliding them apart in a longitudinal direction when in use. 
     The slidable structure generally includes a stationary plate fixed on the main housing and a slidable plate fixed on the movable housing to engage the stationary plate. The slidable plate is generally longer than the stationary plate. Therefore, the movable housing is unable to snugly engage the main housing when the portable electronic device is nested because an end of the slidable plate is not constrained by the stationary plate. 
     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 exemplary embodiment of a portable electronic device in an open state. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded, isometric view of the portable electronic device in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged view of the circled portion III in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-section of the portable electronic device taken along line IV-IV in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-section of the portable electronic device in a nested state. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 through 3 , a portable electronic device  20  includes a main housing  21 , a movable housing  23 , a keypad  24 , a plurality of function keys  25 , a display  26 , a stationary plate  27 , a sliding plate  28 , two guide rails  29 , two connecting members  31 , two latching members  32 , and two springs  33 . 
     The main housing  21  includes a first end  211  and a second end  212  opposite to the first end  211 . Two adjacent latching grooves  213  are defined in the first end  211  of the main housing  21 . Each latching groove  213  is substantially L-shaped. An open end of each latching groove  213  forms a curved sliding surface  2132  adjacent to the second end  212 . 
     The movable housing  23  includes a first surface  231  and a second surface  233  opposite to the first surface  231 . A shape of the movable housing  23  typically corresponds to a shape of the main housing  21 . Also referring to  FIG. 4 , two adjacent depressions  235  are defined in the first surface  231  of the movable housing  23  in an end of the movable housing  23 . Opposite sidewalls of each depression  235  define two coaxal pivot holes  2351  respectively. 
     Two limiting protrusions  271  are formed on the stationary plate  27 , and two adjacent receiving grooves  273  are defined in the stationary plate  27  to receive the guide rails  29 . 
     Two adjacent guide slots  281  are defined in an end of the sliding plate  28  to receive a portion of the connecting members  31 . Furthermore two adjacent elongated receiving holes  283  are also defined in a middle portion of the slide plate  28  to receive another portion of the connecting members  31 . The elongated receiving holes  283  extend along a longitudinal direction of the slide plate  28 . 
     The guide rails  29  are elongated and made of polyxymethylene (POM). Each guide rail  29  defines a slide groove  291  to receive a portion of the sliding plate  28 . 
     Each connecting member  31  forms a resisting end  311  and a connecting end  313  opposite to the resisting end  311 . The resisting end  311  extends towards a first direction and the connecting end  313  extends towards a second direction opposite to the first direction. Additionally, each connecting member  31  further forms a connecting portion  315  adjacent to the connecting end  313 . The connecting end  313  forms a driving portion  3131 . In the illustrated embodiment, the driving portion  3131  is substantially cylindrical. 
     Each latching member  32  is substantially L-shaped. Each latching member  32  is a hook and includes a first end  321  and a second end  323  opposite to the first end  321 . The first end  321  forms a pivot shaft  325  to engage the pivot holes  2351  of the movable housing  23 . Furthermore, each latching member  32  defines a depression  327  adjacent to the pivot shaft  325  to engage the driving portion  3131 . 
     Also referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , during assembly, the stationary plate  27  is fixed on the main housing  21 . The guide rails  29  are received in the receiving grooves  273  of the stationary plate  27 . The keypad  24  is positioned on the main housing  21  adjacent to the latching grooves  213 . The function keys  25  and the display  26  are positioned on the first surface  231  of the movable housing  23 . 
     A portion of the resisting ends  311  of the connecting members  31  passes through the receiving holes  283  of the sliding plate  28  in such manner that the resisting ends  311  of the connecting members  31  engage in the receiving holes  283 . One end of each spring  33  is fixed on the resisting end  311  of the corresponding connecting member  31  and another end of each spring  33  is fixed on a periphery of the corresponding receiving hole  283 . 
     The connecting ends  313  of the connecting members  31  engage the guide slots  281  of the sliding plate  28  such that the connecting members  31  are movable along the guide slots  281 . 
     The pivot shafts  325  of the latching members  32  engage the pivot holes  2351  of the movable housing  23  such that the latching members  32  are rotatably positioned in the depressions  235  of the movable housing  23 . The driving portions  3131  of the connecting members  31  engage the depressions  327  of the latching members  32  such that the latching members  32  are rotatable relative to the connecting end  313  as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     The sliding plate  28  is fixed on the movable housing  23  such that the connecting members  31  are between the sliding plate  28  and the movable housing  23 . A periphery of the sliding plate  28  is latched in the slide grooves  291  of the guide rails  29 , thus yielding the portable electronic device  20  as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     When the movable housing  23  is in an open state as shown in  FIG. 1 , the springs  33  are relaxed, and the second ends  323  of the latching members  32  are adjacent to the limiting protrusions  271  of the stationary plate  27 . 
     A first external force is applied to slide the movable housing  23  to, in turn, move the latching members  32  and the connecting members  31  towards the keypad  24 . Simultaneously, the connecting members  31  pull the springs  33  causing deformation thereof. When the resisting ends  311  of the connecting members  31  resist the limiting protrusions  271  of the stationary plate  27 , the movable housing  23  stops sliding, thus the portable electronic device  20  is in a nested state as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     In this position, the springs  33  exert a force on the connecting members  31 , which rotate the latching members  32  so that the second ends  323  move into and engage the latching grooves  213  of the main housing  21 , snugly fixing the movable housing  23  and the main housing  21  together. Since the movable housing  23  is snugly fixed on the main housing  21 , a space defined by the movable housing  23  and the main housing  21  is relatively small, the portable electronic device  20  is compact and provides a favorable appearance. Furthermore, the curved sliding surfaces  2132  allow the latching members  32  to be received in the latching grooves  213  of the main housing  21 . 
     To open the portable electronic device  20 , a second external force opposite to a direction of the first external force, is applied to slide the movable housing  23 . The latching members  32  rotate and detach from the latching groove  213 , thereby opening the movable housing  23 . 
     Notely, since the guide rails  29  are polyxymethylene, friction coefficient between the guide rails  29  and the sliding plate  28  is relatively small. 
     It should be understood that the guide rails  29  can be omitted, in which case two slide grooves  291  are defined in the stationary plate  27 . 
     Finally, while various embodiments have been described and illustrated, the embodiments are not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various modifications can be made to the embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the embodiments as defined by the appended claims.