Patent Publication Number: US-2007099663-A1

Title: Electronic Device and Access Device Thereof

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The invention relates to an electronic device and an access device thereof, and in particular to an access device for accessing predetermined object.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      In general, a SIM card disposed in a mobile phone cannot be easily removed and the card is difficult to dispose on a card holder. Particularly, a tendency forward damages to a user&#39;s nail during process of retrieving the card.  
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The invention provides an electronic device and an access device for easily accessing an object or card.  
      An electronic device comprises a card and an access device for accessing the object. The access device comprises a substrate, a receiver and a first elastic member. The receiver for receiving the object is rotatably disposed between a reference position and a predetermined position with respect to the substrate. The first elastic member is rotatably disposed between the substrate and the receiver. The first elastic member is for moving the receiver toward the reference position when the receiver is located at the predetermined position.  
      A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
       FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of an electronic device (E) and an access device (J) thereof of a first embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 1B  is an exploded view of the electronic device (E) and the access device (J) of  FIG. 1A ;  
       FIG. 2A  is a perspective view the electronic device (E) and the access device (J) stored with a predetermined object (C), e.g., a card;  
       FIG. 2B  is a perspective view of the electronic device (E) and the access device (J) stored with the object (C), wherein the object (C) is positioned at a predetermined position;  
       FIG. 3A  is a partially enlarged view the access device (J) of  FIG. 2A ; and  
       FIG. 3B  is a partially enlarged view the access device (J) of  FIG. 2B . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims.  
      In  FIGS. 1A and 1B , an electronic device E comprises a housing H, an access device J and an object C. In this embodiment, the electronic device E is a mobile phone, and the object C is a memory unit, e.g. SIM card.  
      The housing H is an outer structure of the mobile phone E for receiving the access device J and the object C. The access device J comprises a substrate  1  and a holding mechanism  3 . The card C received in the holding mechanism  3  is positioned on the substrate  1 .  
      In  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the access device J is respectively located at a reference position ( FIG. 2A ) and a predetermined position ( FIG. 2B ) with respect to the substrate  1 . When the access device J is located at the reference position ( FIG. 2A ), the card C can be disposed in the access device J by an acting force P. When the access device J receiving the card C is rotated to the predetermined position ( FIG. 2B ) from the reference position ( FIG. 2A ), the card C is securely positioned on the substrate  1 .  
      The substrate  1  comprises a base surface  100 , a contact region  101  located below the base surface  100 , a circuit unit  102 , a first positioning portion  110  and a buffer zone  111 . The contact region  101  has a plurality of contact spots  1011  electrically connected to the circuit unit  102 . In this embodiment, the first positioning portion  110  is a recess formed at one side of the contact region  101 , and the buffer zone  111  are composed by two recesses respectively formed on the sidewall  101  f of the contact region  101 .  
      The holding mechanism  3  comprises a receiver  30 , a first elastic member  31  disposed between the substrate  1  and the receiver  30  and a second elastic member  32  disposed on one side of the sidewall  101   f  of the contact region  101 . The receiver  30  comprises a space  300  for accessing the card C and a second positioning portion  310  disposed next to the space  300 . In this embodiment, the second positioning portion  310  is a protrusion with respect to the first positioning portion  110  of the substrate  1 . The first elastic member  31  comprises a pair of torsion springs  31 S 1  and  31 S 2 . The torsion spring  31 S 1 , for example. comprises a first end  311  and a second end  312  connected to the substrate  1  and the receiver  30 . respectively. Thus. the movable receiver  30  disposed between the reference position ( FIG. 2A ) and the predetermined position ( FIG. 2B ) can be positioned at the substrate  1  via the torsion springs  31 S 1  and  31 S 2 . In this embodiment, the second elastic member  32  is a U-shaped reed having a contacting portion  320  facing the contact region  101 .  
      In  FIGS. 3A and 3B , when the receiver  30  is rotated from the reference position ( FIG. 2A ) to the predetermined position ( FIG. 2B ), the deformed torsion springs  31 S 1  and  31 S 2  of the first elastic member  31  correspondingly exert a rebound or recover force to return the receiver  30  to the reference position ( FIG. 2A ). That is to say, when the receiver  30  is released between the reference position ( FIG. 2A ) and the predetermined position ( FIG. 2B ), the receiver  30  is automatically returned to the reference position ( FIG. 2A .  
      When the receiver  30  is rotated to the predetermined position ( FIG. 2B ), the contacting portion  320  of the reed  32  pressing on the receiver  30  keeps the second positioning portion  310  properly located at the first positioning portion  110 . Thus, the receiver  30  is fixedly positioned at the predetermined position ( FIG. 2B ) and the card C received in the holding mechanism  3  is electrically connected to the contact spots  1011  of the contact region  101 .  
      Conversely, when the holding mechanism  3  is moved to push the reed  32  and disengage the second positioning portion  310  from the first positioning portion  110 , the holding mechanism  3  can be automatically returned to the reference position ( FIG. 2A ) while the applied acting force is gradually or suddenly released. Thus, the card C can be removed.  
      Note that the deformed portion of the first and second elastic members  31  and  32  can freely pass through the buffer zone  11 . Thus, the holding mechanism  3  can be smoothly rotated between the reference position ( FIG. 2A ) and the predetermined position ( FIG. 2B ).  
      While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.