Patent Publication Number: US-2010118500-A1

Title: Handheld electronic device

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This Non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 097143966 filed in Taiwan, Republic of China on Nov. 13, 2008, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The invention relates to a handheld electronic device and, more particularly, to a handheld electronic device capable of being held easily. 
     2. Related Art 
     With the development of the science and the technology, many electronic devices have generally become necessary articles in modern people&#39;s daily life. More particularly, some handheld electronic devices, such as mobile phones, cameras, personal digital assistants (PDA) and so on, are small in size, and they are multifunctional and convenient to be used. Therefore, the handheld electronic devices can be taken by modern people with them. However, the pace of modern people&#39;s life is quick. When a handheld electronic device is used by a user, the handheld electronic device may fall from the hand of the user since the user may be in a hurry or hit other people or objects carelessly. Thus the handheld electronic device may be damaged. Furthermore, as the holding surface of the handheld electronic device is too smooth, the user may fail to grasp the handheld electronic device. Thus, the handheld electronic device easily slips out of the hand of the user. 
     At present, computer games have become more and more popular, and remote controllers for playing the computer games also become well known by people. A player usually holds a remote controller in his or her hands to play a computer game by controlling a role in the computer game. However, when playing the game, the player may move in a wide range, and he or she is also excited. Therefore, the remote controller in the hand of the player may easily fly off. Thus, the remote controller is easily damaged, and it may also injure the player or any other persons. 
     Some manufacturers provide silicone covers capable of protecting the remote controllers and neck straps capable of avoiding falling of the remote controllers. However, the silicone covers and the neck traps additionally manufactured may further increase manufacturing cost. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One objective of the invention is to provide a handheld electronic device to improve the prior art. 
     The invention provides a handheld electronic device including an electronic device body and a ring. The ring is connected with the electronic device body, and it has a plurality of extending portions extending toward the center of the ring. 
     The handheld electronic device provided by the invention may not easily fall from the hand of a user during operation. Thus the handheld electronic device may not be damaged or injure other persons. When the user uses the handheld electronic device provided by the invention, he or she can freely control the handheld electronic device via the ring. Thus, the user can operate the handheld electronic device easily, conveniently, and comfortably. 
     These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of a handheld electronic device according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the handheld electronic device in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3A  is an exploded diagram showing the handheld electronic device in  FIG. 2  after a ring module is removed. 
         FIG. 3B  is a partial enlarged view of a second casing in  FIG. 3A . 
         FIG. 4A  is a front view of a ring module in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4B  is a sectional diagram of the ring module in  FIG. 4A  along a section line A-A′. 
         FIG. 4C  is a top view of the ring module in  FIG. 4A . 
         FIG. 5A  is a front view of a ring module according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 5B  is a top view of the ring module in  FIG. 5A . 
         FIG. 6A  is a schematic diagram of a second casing according to the second preferred embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 6B  is a partial enlarged view of the second casing in  FIG. 6A . 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram of a second casing of a handheld electronic device according to a third preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  is a front view of a handheld electronic device according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention.  FIG. 2  is a side view of the handheld electronic device in  FIG. 1 . Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 . In the embodiment, a handheld electronic device  100  includes an electronic device body  110 , a plurality of operating buttons  120 , a joystick  130 , and a ring module  200 . The electronic device body  110  includes a first casing  112  and a second casing  114 . The ring module  200  includes two rings  220 , and each ring  220  has a first containing space  224 . In other embodiments, the handheld electronic device  100  may have only one ring  220 . The invention is not limited thereto. 
     In the embodiment, the handheld electronic device is a game remote controller. In other embodiments, the handheld electronic device may also be any other electronic devices such as a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) and so on. 
     In  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the operating buttons  120  and the joystick  130  are disposed at the first casing  112  of the handheld electronic device  100  for a user to operate. The first casing  112  and the second casing  114  are connected with each other to form the electronic device body  110 . The ring module  200  is disposed at the second casing  114 . 
       FIG. 3A  is an exploded diagram showing the handheld electronic device in  FIG. 2  after the ring module is removed. In  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3A , the first casing  112  and the second casing  114  can form a second containing space  160 . The handheld electronic device  100  further includes a circuit board  150  disposed in the second containing space  160 . The circuit board  150  is electrically connected with the operating buttons  120  and the joystick  130 , respectively, to receive operating signals transmitted by the operating buttons  120  and the joystick  130 . 
     In the embodiment, the second casing  114  further has a recessed hole  170  at the bottom for connecting the ring module  200 . In other embodiments, the ring module  200  may be connected with the second casing  114  in other modes. The invention is not limited thereto. 
       FIG. 3B  is a partial enlarged view of the second casing in  FIG. 3A . In  FIG. 3B , the second casing  114  has a recessed hole  170  and an opening  171 , the recessed hole  170  of the second casing  114  is cone-shaped. The area of the opening  171  is less than the base area of the recessed hole  170 . Thus, the connecting element  210  (as shown in  FIG. 4A ) is fastened to the recessed hole  170 . In other embodiments, the recessed hole  170  may have any other shapes. The invention is not limited thereto. 
       FIG. 4A  is a front view of the ring module in  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 4B  is a sectional diagram of the ring module in  FIG. 4A  along a section line A-A′.  FIG. 4C  is a top view of the ring module in  FIG. 4A . In  FIGS. 4A-4C , according to the embodiment, the ring module  200  has a cone-shaped connecting element  210  corresponding to the recessed hole. 
     In  FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 3B , the connecting element  210  can be fastened to the recessed hole  170  of the second casing  114  through the opening  171 . The ring module  200  may be made of plastic, and it is elastic. Thereby, the extending portions  222  are elastic. In other embodiments, the connecting element  210  may have any other shapes. The invention is not limited thereto. 
     In the embodiment, since the connecting element  210  is cone-shaped and disposed in the recessed hole  170 , the recessed hole  170  can be designed to be a litter larger than the connecting element  210 . Thus, the connecting element  210  can rotate in the recessed hole  170 . When a user exerts a force on the ring  220 , the connecting element  210  can rotate to avoid being damaged. The user can also adjust the position of the ring module  200  according to his or her custom. In other embodiments, the connecting element  210  and the recessed hole  170  may also be designed to be transitionally fitted or to be tightly fitted as needed. The invention is not limited thereto. 
     In the embodiment, the ring module  200  has two ring-shaped rings  220  as shown in  FIG. 4A . In other embodiments, the ring module  200  may have only one ring  220  or more than two rings  220 . The invention is not limited thereto. Each ring  220  may be integrally formed. The ring  220  may be circular, oval-shaped, or petal-shaped, or it may have any other shapes. The invention is not limited thereto. 
     Each ring  220  has an outer rim portion  221 , a plurality of extending portions  222 , a plurality of inner rim portions  223 , a first containing space  224 , and a plurality of gaps  228 . The outer rim portion  221  is located at the peripheral portion of the ring  220 . The extending portions  222  extend from the outer rim portion  221  to the inner rim portions  223 . The inner rim portions  223  correspond to the extending portions  222 , respectively. In  FIG. 4B , a thickness of the outer rim portion  221  is greater than that of the inner rim portions  223 , and the thickness of the inner rim portions  223  is greater than that of the extending portions  222 , thus to enhance holding comfort for the user. 
     The extending portions  222  extend toward the center of the ring  220  to form the first containing space  224 . When the user operates the handheld electronic device  100 , he or she can insert his or her finger into the first containing space  224 . Thus, the user need not worry that the handheld electronic device may fall from or fly off from the hand. In  FIG. 4B , sections of the inner rim portions  223  and the outer rim portion  221  may be circular, thus to provide better holding comfort. 
     In  FIG. 4A , each gap  228  is located between two extending portions, and one end of each gap  228  is connected to the first containing space  224 . Preferably, the gaps  228  are radially distributed in the ring  220 . Thereby, because of the gaps  228 , the ring  220  may not be easily damaged by an external force. For example, when the user holds the handheld electronic device  100  via the ring module  200 , and the user exerts a force on the rings  220 , the gaps  228  can prevent the force from damaging the rings  220 . For example, the gaps  228  can prevent the rings from splitting. 
     Preferably, the ring  220  can further have a plurality of openings  226 . The other end of the gap  228  is connected to the opening  226 , and the gaps  228  correspond to the openings  226 , respectively. The openings  226  can provide better protection to prevent the ring  220  from being damaged caused by the external force. 
       FIG. 5A  is a front view of a ring module according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention.  FIG. 5B  is a top view of the ring module in  FIG. 5A . In  FIG. 5A , a ring module  300  is similar to the ring module  200  in the first preferred embodiment. Therefore, it is not described for a concise purpose. The difference is that a connecting element  310  of the ring module  300  has two protrudent portions  312 . 
       FIG. 6A  is a schematic diagram of a second casing according to the second preferred embodiment of the invention.  FIG. 6B  is a partial enlarged view of the second casing in  FIG. 6A . A second casing  414  is similar to the second casing  114  in the first preferred embodiment. Therefore, it is not described for a concise purpose. The difference is that a recessed hole  470  of the second casing  414  has two recessed portions  472  to contain the protrudent portions  312 . 
     In  FIG. 5B  and  FIG. 6B , preferably, the width W 2  of the bottom of the recessed portions  472  can be greater than the width W 1  of the bottom of the protrudent portions  312 . Thereby, the protrudent portions  312  are fastened to the recessed portions  472  in a certain range. Thus, the ring module  300  can rotate in a certain range. 
       FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram of a second casing of a handheld electronic device according to a third preferred embodiment of the invention. Preferably, the handheld electronic device further includes a holding element  500  disposed at a second casing  614 . Preferably, the holding element  500  and the second casing  614  are integrally formed via a co-injection molding process. A recessed hole  570  is disposed at the holding element  500 . In the same way, the recessed hole  570  can have a recessed portion  572  for connecting the ring module. 
     According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, when the handheld electronic device is held by the user, it may not easily fall from or fly off from the hand of the user. Thus the handheld electronic device may not be damaged or injure other persons. Furthermore, when the user uses the handheld electronic device provided by the preferred embodiment of the invention, he or she can freely and comfortably operate the handheld electronic device via the ring module. 
     Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, the disclosure is not for limiting the scope of the invention. Persons having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments described above.