Patent Publication Number: US-2011050986-A1

Title: Window for portable electronic device

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to windows, particularly, to a window for use in a portable electronic device. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Digital cameras are widely used in portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). A flash is generally positioned adjacent to the camera for providing additional light to take a satisfactory exposure. To protect the camera and the flash from becoming scratched and dirty, a camera window and a flash window are used to cover the camera and the flash. Generally, the camera window and the flash window are separate units, which makes assembly more difficult. 
     Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the window can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the window, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded, isometric view of a portable electronic device with a window, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is similar to  FIG. 1 , but shown from another aspect; 
         FIG. 3  is an assembled, isometric view of the portable electronic device shown in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view of the portable electronic device along line IV-IV of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows an exemplary embodiment of a portable electronic device  100  with a window  20 . The portable electronic device  100  further includes a housing  10 , an adhesive layer  30 , a flash module  40 , a camera module  50 , and a gasket  60 . 
     The housing  10  defines a first through hole  12  and a second through hole  14 . The first through hole  12  and the second through hole  14  allow the flash module  40  and the camera module  50  to be exposed from the housing  10  correspondingly. 
     The window  20  includes a main body  22  and an annular wall  28  projecting from the main body  22 . The main body  22  includes a first transparent portion  24  and a second transparent portion  26  respectively corresponding to the first through hole  12  and the second through hole  14 . The main body  22  is opaque except for the first transparent portion  24  and the second transparent portion  26 . The first transparent portion  24  allows light out of the body  22  from the flash module  40 . The second transparent portion  26  allows light into the camera module  50  for taking photos. The annular wall  28  surrounds the first transparent portion  24  for preventing light emitted from the flash module  40  from interfering with the camera module  50 . The window  20  may be made of transparent material (e.g., polymethyl methacrylate) and opaquely colored except for the first transparent portion  24  and the second transparent portion  26 , or made of plastic (e.g., acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polycarbonate). 
     The flash module  40  includes a printed circuit board  42  and a light emitting portion  44  disposed on the printed circuit board  42 . The camera module  50  includes a base  52  and a lens  54  fixed on the base  52 . The gasket  60  is receivable in the second through hole  14  of the housing  10  and defines a receiving hole  62  for receiving the lens  54 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3-4 , to assemble the portable electronic device  100 , adhesive material (e.g., glue) is printed on the housing  10 , and forms the adhesive layer  30  when dry. The window  20  is attached to the housing  10  before the adhesive material is dry, with the first transparent portion  24  aligned with the first through hole  12  and the second transparent portion  26  aligned with the second through hole  14 . The annular wall  28  is received in the first through hole  12 . The gasket  60  is received in the second through hole  14  of the housing  10  and resists the second transparent portion  26  of the cover  20 . The lens  54  is received in the receiving hole  62 . The gasket  60  is positioned between the base  52  and the second transparent portion  26 , for preventing the lens  54  from touching the second transparent portion  26 . Since the annular wall  28  surrounds the light emitting portion  44  and the gasket  60  surrounds the lens  54 , light emitted from the light emitting portion  44  cannot directly shine into the lens  54 . 
     It is to be further understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.