Patent Publication Number: US-6905352-B2

Title: USB mobile disk-pen

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   (a) Field of the Invention 
   The invention relates to a USB plug for mobile flash drive and disposed, at an upper end of a pen shaft, thereby ensuring stability thereof when being inserted to a computer as well as enabling up-and-down adjustment of a refill within the pen shaft. 
   (b) Description of the Prior Art 
   Referring to  FIG. 1  showing a common USB flash drive  100 , wherein an USB plug  101  is inserted into a USB receptacle of a computer for accessing data. However, the flash drive  100  has no other purpose besides data storage, and is also rather awkward to carried along with. Industrialists have later developed a portable mobile disk-pen  200  as shown in  FIG. 2 , the pen comprises a USB plug  202  secured at a top end of a lower pen shaft  201 . The USB plug  202  is stored in an upper pen sheath  203  when not in use, and an outer periphery of a refill  2011  at a lower end of the lower pen shaft  201  is fixed with a pen cap  204 , such that the pen is both capable of writing and serving ap a mobile disk. Yet, this prior mobile disk-pen  200  has the following drawbacks when put to practice:
     1. The USB plug  202  is installed at the lower pen shaft  201 , which has a relatively longer body and is heavier because of the refill  2011  contained. As a result, the USB plug.  202  inevitably bears a relatively larger load when being inserted into a USB receptacle of a computer, and thus often leading to poor contact.   2. The USB plug  202  is joined with the lower pen shaft  201  via a connected single printed circuit board (PCB)  2021 , and is therefore prone to wobble and again cause poor contact when being inserted into a USB receptacle of a computer.   3. The lower pen shaft  201  is secured with the USB plug  202  at an interior thereof, and thus no other refill can be replaced once the refill  2011  is consumed.   4. The outer periphery of the refill  2011  of the lower pen shaft  201  is necessarily accommodated within the pen cap  204 , and the pen cap  204  is easily lost for that it is a separate part from the lower pen shaft  201 .   

   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The primary object of the invention is to dispose a USB plug of a flash drive within an upper pen shaft, such that not only the USB plug offers better stability when being inserted to a computer, but also a refill in a lower pen shaft is designed as an adjustable structure. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a conventional elevational view of a prior art. 
       FIG. 2  shows a conventional exploded view of another prior art. 
       FIG. 3  shows an exploded view according to the invention. 
       FIG. 4  shows a sectional view according to the invention. 
       FIG. 5  shows a schematic view illustrating actions according to the invention. 
       FIG. 6  shows a schematic view illustrating the upper and lower pen shafts according to the invention being separated. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   To better understand the invention, detailed descriptions shall be given with the accompanying drawings hereunder. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the invention comprises a lower pen shaft  1 , an upper pen shaft  2 , a lower pen housing  3 , a refill  4 , a spring  5 , a sheath  6 , a USB plug  7  and a PCB  8 . An upper portion of the refill  4  is simultaneously extended into a pen opening  31  at a lower end of the lower pen housing  3  when the refill  4  is penetrated through the spring  5 . A lower outer periphery of the lower pen housing  3  is provided with a screw pillar  32  for coordinating with a screw opening  11  at an inner periphery of the lower pen shaft  1 , thereby fastening the screw pillar  32  of the lower pen housing  3  into the screw opening  11  of the lower pen shaft  1  as shown in FIG.  4 . When the screw pillar  32  of the lower pen housing  3  is turned to a lowermost position thereof, the lower pen housing  3  compresses the spring  5  and at the same time downward presses the refill  4  to outwardly stretch the lower pen shaft  1  as shown in FIG.  5 . When the lower pen housing  3  is turned in an upward direction, the refilled  4  is withdrawn and restored into the lower pen shaft  1 . In addition, an upper inner periphery of the lower pen shaft  3  is disposed with an internal screw thread  33 . 
   The characteristics of the invention are that, the USB plug  7  is joined as one body with the sheath  6 ; the PCB  8  connected with one end of the USB plug  7  is penetrated into the sheath  6 ; the sheath  6  and the PCB  8  are together inserted and secured in an only shaft opening  21  of the upper pen shaft  2 ; and a lower outer periphery of the sheath  6  is disposed with an external screw thread  61  for fastening with the internal screw thread  33  at the lower pen housing  3 , thereby combining the upper and lower pen shafts  2  and  1  into one body as shown in FIG.  4 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 6 , to insert the USB plug  7  into a USB receptacle of a computer, only the upper pen shaft  2  needs to be rotated, and the USB plug  7  positioned at a lower end of the upper pen shaft  2  may be separated from an opening of the lower pen housing  3 . 
   Conclusive from the above, according to the invention, a USB plug is combined within an upper pen shaft, thereby overcoming the aforesaid drawbacks of prior inventions and bringing the following excellences:
     1. The upper pen shaft is relatively short and also lighter in weigh for not containing a refill. The USB plug connected with the upper pen shaft is steadier and does riot incur poor contact when being inserted to a computer.   2. The USB plug is directly combined with the sheath but not with a PCB board having a smaller thickness, and therefore the USB plug is less likely to wobble, and also offers better contact quality when being inserted to a computer.   3. The lower pen shaft is not fixed with the USB plug, and hence the refill in the lower pen shaft may be designed as a structure capable of up-and-down adjustment, thereby eliminating parts such as a pen cap at an outer periphery of the refill.   4. The refill in the lower pen shaft is easily accessible on the market for replacement, thereby ensuring writing purposes at all time.   

   It is of course to be understood that the embodiment described herein is merely illustrative of the principles of the invention and that a wide variety of modifications thereto may be effected by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.