Patent Publication Number: US-8123566-B2

Title: Electronic device, adapter and receptacle

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/310,706, filed on Mar. 5, 2010 and Taiwan application serial no. 99124178, filed Jul. 20, 2010. The entirety of each of the above-mentioned patent applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of specification. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The disclosure relates to an electronic device, an adapter, and a receptacle, and more particularly to an electronic device, an adapter, and a receptacle adapted for a Universal Serial Bus (USB) specification. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Nowadays, more and more manufacturers are investing in thin card-related product development and manufacturing. USB thin card products include the common Bluetooth module and the Global Positioning System (GPS) module, as well as the thin memory card equipped with a flash memory. Currently, the standard USB male plug and female receptacle exhibit a reliable connectivity due to a metallic outer shell design. However, thin cards are not equipped with the metallic outer casing. Accordingly, when thin cards purchased on the market today are plugged into a female receptacle, shaking typically results and causes a poor signal contact phenomenon. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional receptacle  10  of the USB 3.0 specification has a cavity height H 10  of approximately 2.56 mm, and a body thickness of a thin card  20  is approximately 2 mm. After the thin card  20  is plugged into the cavity of the receptacle  10 , since the body thickness H 12  of the thin card  20  is smaller than the cavity height H 10  of the receptacle  10 , the thin card  20  would shake and disorient by using a spring  12  of the receptacle  10  as a fulcrum. As shown by a region A 10  in  FIG. 1 , a solid contact cannot be made between a terminal  22  and a terminal  14  of the thin card  20 , thus causing a break in signal transmission. Moreover, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the terminal  22  of the USB 3.0 thin card  20  is a spring type. When storing or carrying the thin card  20 , the terminal  22  protruding from a surface of the thin card body comes easily into collision or friction with external objects, thereby causing accidental damages. On the other hand, changing the terminal  22  of the thin card  20  into a planar shape would also cause a contact issue, since the terminal  14  of the receptacle  10  is also planar and cannot contact the terminal  22  of the thin card  20 . 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     An electronic device is introduced herein capable of avoiding disorientation when connecting with the receptacle and a poor contact. 
     An adapter is introduced herein capable of combining with the electronic device and enhancing a compatibility property. 
     An receptacle is introduced herein capable of being compatible with a plurality of USB electronic devices. 
     An electronic device is introduced herein, including a card body, a plurality of first terminals, and at least one stub. The card body has a front edge, a first surface, and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The first terminals are arranged on the first surface and near the front edge. The stub is disposed on the second surface and near the front edge. 
     Another electronic device is introduced herein, adapted for plugging into a cavity of a receptacle. The electronic device includes a card body and a plurality of first terminals. The card body has a front edge, a first surface, and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The second surface has at least one lock hole. The first terminals are arranged on the first surface and near the front edge. The receptacle has a plurality of third terminals and at least one orientation spring. The third terminals are disposed on a top wall of the cavity, and the orientation spring is disposed on a bottom wall of the cavity. When the orientation spring is correspondingly disposed on the locked hole, the first terminals correspondingly contact the third terminals. 
     An adapter is introduced herein, including a body and a plurality of elastic terminals. The body has an accommodating portion for accommodating an electronic device. One ends of the elastic springs are fixed to the body. When the electronic device is accommodated at the accommodating portion, a plurality of flat terminals are disposed outside of the accommodating portion, and another ends of the elastic terminals are against the flat terminals correspondingly. 
     An adapter is introduced herein, including a body, a plurality of elastic terminals, and a plurality of second elastic terminals. The body has a cavity. The first elastic terminals are arranged as a row on a top wall of the cavity. The second elastic terminals are arranged as a row on the top wall of the cavity, and the row with the second elastic terminals is not the same as the row with the first elastic terminals. 
     In summary, an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure has a stub and/or a locked hole, thereby preventing disorientation and ensuring a reliable contact with the receptacle. An adapter according to an embodiment of the disclosure provides elastic terminals capable of enhancing a compatibility property of the electronic device. The receptacle according to an embodiment of the disclosure employs two types of elastic terminals, hence a preferable compatibility property is achieved. 
     Several exemplary embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below to further describe the disclosure in details. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic assembly view of a conventional thin card and a receptacle. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic assembly view of an electronic device and a receptacle according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIGS. 3A-3C  illustrate three arrangements of the stub of the electronic device depicted in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic assembly view of an electronic device and a receptacle according to another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a front view of the first surface of the electronic device depicted in  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic assembly view of an electronic device and a receptacle according to another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  is a partial schematic view of the second surface of the electronic device depicted in  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8A  is a schematic view of an electronic device according to another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 8B  is a schematic assembly view of the electronic device depicted in  FIG. 8A  and a receptacle. 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic view of an electronic device according to another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 10A  is a schematic assembly view of an electronic device and an adapter according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 10B  are schematic cross-sectional views of the electronic device and the adapter depicted in  FIG. 10A  before and after assembly. 
         FIGS. 11A-11E  are schematic assembly views of the electronic devices and the receptacles according to five exemplary embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 12  is a schematic view illustrating an arrangement of the terminals of the receptacle depicted in  FIG. 11 . 
         FIGS. 13A and 13B  are schematic views of the adapter according to another two exemplary embodiments of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic assembly view of an electronic device and a receptacle according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to  FIG. 2 , an embodiment provides an electronic device  100  including a card body  110 , a plurality of terminals  120  (only one terminal  120  is depicted in  FIG. 2 ), and at least one sub  130 . The card body  110  has a front edge  112 , a first surface  114 , and a second surface  116  opposite to the first surface. The terminals  120  are arranged on the first surface  114  and near the front edge  112 . The stub  130  is disposed on the second surface  116  and near the front edge  112 . A receptacle  50  has a cavity C 10 . A top wall of the cavity C 10  has a plurality of terminals  52  thereon. Moreover, a bottom wall C 14  of the cavity C 10  has at least one orientation spring  54  thereon, or the bottom wall C 14  has no orientation spring  54  thereon. After the electronic device  100  is plugged into the cavity C 10  of the receptacle  50 , the bottom wall C 14  of the cavity C 10  can contact the stub  130  of the electronic device  100 , and the orientation spring  54  of the receptacle  50  can also contact the second surface  116  of the card body  110 . Therefore, the electronic device  100  and the receptacle  50  do not contact each other at a single point, and the contact points are not arranged on a same line. Accordingly, the electronic device  100  can be firmly secured in the cavity C 10  of the receptacle  50 . Hence, a reliable electrical connection can be maintained between the terminals  120  of the electronic device  100  and the terminals  52  of the receptacle  50 . Moreover, since the electronic device  100  can be firmly secured in the cavity C 10  of the receptacle  50 , a thickness of the card body  110  does not need to be increased in order to have a reliable electrical connection. 
     The electronic device  100  provided in the present embodiment is a thin memory card, for example. Therefore, an electronic element  140  is embedded in the card body  110 , and the electronic element  140  is electrically connected to the terminals  120 . The electronic element  140  is, for example, a memory chip, an input output chip, an integrated circuit control unit, or other electronic elements. In other embodiments, the electronic device  100  may also be a Bluetooth device, a wireless network card, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, or other electronic device. The first surface  114  and the second surface  116  of the card body  110  according to the present embodiment are substantially planar, for example. Moreover, the stub  130  may also be conformally formed on the card body  110 . A USB 2.0/1.1/1.0 standard, for example, is used for the terminals  120  of the electronic device  100  to perform signal transmission with the receptacle  50 . Moreover, the terminals  120  of the electronic device  100  are, for example, flat terminals. In other words, an exposed portion of the terminals  120  outside the card body  110  has a flat shape. 
     Furthermore, a quantity of the stub  130  may be singular as shown in  FIG. 3A . Moreover, due to a stress balance consideration, the stub  130  is disposed in a middle position on the second surface  116  near the front edge  112 . Alternatively, the quantity of the stub  130  may also be plural, and the stubs  130  may be arranged as shown in  FIG. 3B  or  3 C. Further, the stub  130  may adopt a design avoiding the orientation spring  54  of the receptacle  50 . 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic assembly view of an electronic device and a receptacle according to another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.  FIG. 5  is a front view of the first surface of the electronic device depicted in  FIG. 4 . Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , an electronic device  200  provided in the present embodiment is similar to the electronic device  100  depicted in  FIG. 2 , and a difference therebetween will be illustrated hereinafter. Besides the terminals  120 , the electronic device  200  according to the present embodiment further includes a plurality of terminals  210 . The terminals  210  are arranged on the first surface  114 . More specifically, the terminals  120  are most arranged on a same row, the terminals  210  are also mostly arranged on a same row, and the terminals  120  are disposed between the terminals  210  and the front edge  112 . Besides the terminals  52 , a receptacle  60  further includes a plurality of terminals  56 . The terminals  52  and terminals  56  are disposed on the top wall C 12  of the cavity C 10 . Since the electronic device  200  according to the present embodiment has the stub  130 , the electronic device  200  can also be firmly secured in the cavity C 10  of the receptacle  50 . Moreover, a reliable electrical connection is maintained between the terminals  120  of the electronic device  200  and the terminals  52  of the receptacle  50 . Consequently, a reliable electrical connection is also maintained between the terminals  210  of the electronic device  200  and the terminals  56  of the receptacle  50 . 
     A USB standard, for example, is used for the terminals  120  and the terminals  210  of the electronic device  200  in the present embodiment to perform signal transmission with the receptacle  60 . The quantity of the terminals  120  is four, and the quantity of the terminals  210  is five. Moreover, the terminals  120  of the electronic device  200  are, for example, flat terminals. In other words, an exposed portion of the terminals  120  outside the card body  110  has a flat shape. The terminals  210  of the electronic device are, for example, elastic terminals. In other words, when an exposed portion of the terminals  210  outside the card body  110  is pressed by an external force, the terminals  210  are elastically deformed. After the external force is removed, the terminals  210  return to an original shape. In principle, a material of the terminals  210  has a conductive property, for example a metal. 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic assembly view of an electronic device and a receptacle according to another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.  FIG. 7  is a partial schematic view of the second surface of the electronic device depicted in  FIG. 6 . Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , an electronic device  300  provided in the present embodiment is similar to the electronic device  100  depicted in  FIG. 2 , and a difference therebetween will be illustrated hereinafter. The electronic device  300  according to the present embodiment omits the stub  130  depicted in  FIG. 2 , although a second surface  316  of a card body  310  has at least one locked hole  318 . In other embodiments, the electronic device may have both the stub and the locked hole. The recessed portion  318  is disposed corresponding to a position of the orientation spring  54  of the receptacle  50 . When the orientation spring  54  of the receptacle  50  is correspondingly disposed on the locked hole  318 , the terminals  52  correspondingly contact a plurality of terminals  320 . After the electronic device  300  is plugged into the cavity C 10  of the receptacle  50 , because the locked hole  318  can accommodate the orientation spring  54 , the second surface  316  of the card body  310  may possibly contact with the bottom wall C 14  of the cavity C 10 . However, the present embodiment does not require contact between the second surface  316  and the bottom wall C 14 . Accordingly, the electronic device  300  can be firmly secured in the cavity C 10  of the receptacle  50 . Hence, a reliable electrical connection can be maintained between the terminals  320  of the electronic device  300  and the terminals  52  of the receptacle  50 . Moreover, since the locked hole  318  can accommodate the orientation spring  54 , the thickness of the card body  110  may be increased so as to strengthen the card body  110  against bending. 
     Furthermore, the electronic device  300  provided in the present embodiment may concurrently adopt a stub design, as shown by a dotted line in  FIG. 7 . A shape and a recessed degree of the locked hole  318  may be adjusted as required, such that when the electronic device  300  is plugged into the cavity C 10  of the receptacle  50 , the card body  110  and the top wall C 1  of the cavity C 10  approach a horizontal plane, and the terminals  320  and  52  are properly contacted. 
       FIG. 8A  is a schematic view of an electronic device according to another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.  FIG. 8B  is a schematic assembly view of the electronic device depicted in  FIG. 8A  with a receptacle. Referring to  FIGS. 8A  and  8 B, an electronic device  400  provided in the present embodiment is similar to the electronic device  200  depicted in  FIG. 4 , and a difference is that besides the electronic device  400  having the stub  130 , a card body  410  has at least one locked hole  412 . The locked hole  412  has a similar function as the locked hole  318  depicted in  FIG. 6 . Accordingly, the electronic device  400  can be firmly secured in the cavity C 10  of the receptacle  50 . 
       FIG. 9  is a schematic view of an electronic device according to another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to  FIG. 9 , an electronic device  500  provided in the present embodiment is similar to the electronic device  400  depicted in  FIG. 8A , and a difference is that the electronic device  500  omits the stub  130 , such that the card body  410  has merely at least one locked hole  412 . Thus, the electronic device  500  can also be firmly secured in the cavity C 10  of the receptacle  50  depicted in  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 10A  is a schematic assembly view of an electronic device and an adapter according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to  FIG. 10A , an adapter  700  provided in the present embodiment includes a body  710  and a plurality of elastic terminals  720 . The body  710  has an accommodating portion  712  for accommodating an electronic device  800 . One ends  722  of the elastic terminals  720  are fixed (e.g., embedded or fastened) to the body  710 , and another ends  724  of the elastic terminals  720  are suspended. Each of the elastic terminals  720  is electrically independent. Due to the viewing angle, the elastic terminals  720  hidden at the bottom of an upper surface of the adapter  700  are represented by dotted lines, so as to provide easier understanding of the position of the elastic terminals  720 . When an electronic device  800  is accommodated at the accommodating portion  712 , a plurality of flat terminals  810  are disposed outside of the accommodating portion  712 , and another ends  724  of the elastic terminals  720  are against the flat terminals  810  correspondingly. 
     Due to the adapter  700 , the electronic device  800  does not require elastic terminals to be equipped therein, since a reliable electrical connection can be established with the receptacle  60  depicted in  FIG. 4 , for example, through the adapter  700 . More specifically, the flat terminals  810  of the electronic device  800  may contact the terminals  56  of the receptacle  60  depicted in  FIG. 4  through the elastic terminals  720 . Therefore, a simpler process can be adopted to manufacture the electronic device  800  having the flat terminals  810 , such that an expensive yet complicated process to manufacture the elastic terminals is not required. When the electronic device  800  needs to satisfy the USB 2.0 specification, only the flat terminals  820  are needed as an additional element. To satisfy the USB 3.0 specification, the flat terminals  810  are needed, in contrast to the electronic device  200  depicted in  FIG. 4  requiring the disposition of the terminals  210  of the elastic type. Moreover, the afore-described designs having locked holes and/or stubs as illustrated in each embodiment may be applied in the electronic device  800 . When combining the electronic device  800  and the adapter  700 , a side of the electronic device  800  having the flat terminals  820  may move towards the adapter  700 , as shown by the arrows depicted in  FIG. 10A . Alternatively, the electronic device  800  may also move towards the accommodating portion  712  from a side of the adapter  700  having the elastic terminals  720 . Further, the electronic device may also be integrated with the adapter  700  from other directions in accordance with a design of the accommodating portion  712 . Moreover, the adapter  700  may be suitably designed to orient the electronic device  800 . “Orient” herein means a head end of the adapter  700  and the electronic device  800  line up to each other. 
     The adapter  700  provided in the present embodiment may further include a cover  730 . The cover  730  is extended from the body  710  and fixed on a side having the elastic terminals  720 . The cover  730  can provide a suitable protection for the elastic terminals  720 . In other words, one ends  722  of the elastic terminals  720  are fixed to the body  710 , and another ends  724  of the elastic terminals  720  are suspended under the cover  730 . Moreover, when the electronic device  800  and the adapter  700  have been combined and about to be integrated with the receptacle  70  depicted in  FIG. 10A , for example, the cover  730  can guide the integration of the three elements and add extra security. Further, a quantity of the elastic terminals  720  according to the present embodiment is five, for example. Additionally, an outer appearance of the adapter  700  does not necessarily have to conform to  FIG. 10A . The adapter  700  may have other cosmetic appearances or auxiliary functions, although the internal functions are depicted as in  FIG. 10A  or  10 B. For example, another embodiment of the disclosure provides an adapter  702  having an outer appearance of a cartoon character, as shown in  FIG. 13A . Another embodiment of the disclosure provides an adapter  704  having an outer appearance as shown in  FIG. 13B . The adapter  704  has an auxiliary function of a can opener. 
       FIGS. 11A-11E  are schematic assembly views of the electronic device and the receptacle according to the five exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.  FIG. 12  is a schematic arrangement view of the terminals of the receptacle depicted in  FIG. 11A . Referring to  FIGS. 11A and 12 , an adapter  900  provided in the present embodiment includes a body  910 , a plurality of elastic terminals  920 , and a plurality of elastic terminals  930 . A body  910  has a cavity C 30 . The elastic terminals  920  are arranged as a row L 10  on a top wall C 32  of the cavity C 30 . The elastic terminals  930  are arranged as a row L 20  on the top wall C 32  of the cavity C 30 , and the row L 20  is a different row from the elastic terminals  920 . 
     By the design of the elastic terminals  920  and  930 , the adapter  700  depicted in  FIG. 10A  is not required. With the flat terminals  820  of the electronic device  800 , contact with the elastic terminals  930  of the receptacle  900  can be made reliably. Moreover, the flat terminals  810  of the electronic device  800  can also reliably contact with the elastic terminals  920  of the receptacle  900 . Additionally, the flat terminals  120  of the electronic device  200  depicted in  FIG. 4  can reliably contact the elastic terminals  930  of the receptacle  900 , and the elastic terminals  210  of the electronic device  200  can reliably contact the elastic terminals  920  of the receptacle  900 . In other words, the receptacle  900  provided in the present embodiment can be integrated with different types of electronic devices to produce reliable combinations, and thus the receptacle  900  has a preferable compatibility property. 
     Moreover, the elastic terminals  920  provided in the present embodiment are springs as an example, although other suitable designs may be adopted for the elastic terminals  920 . In other words, the terminals  920  is pressed by an external force, the terminals  920  are elastically deformed. After the external force is removed, the terminals  920  return to an original shape. Furthermore, a shape of the portion of the elastic terminals  920  contacting the other terminals may be as illustrated in  FIG. 11A . Alternatively, an interlaced design of the elastic terminals  922  and  930  shown in  FIG. 11B  may be adopted. Another option, for instance, is designing the shape of the elastic terminals  924  contacting the other terminals as a W shape, as shown in  FIG. 11C  (e.g., the design of two troughs may also be sharp or rounded). In  FIG. 11D , the elastic terminals  922  are adapted for contacting the spring type terminals  830 . The receptacle  900  may further include at least one orientation spring  940  disposed on a bottom wall C 34  of the cavity C 30 , or the orientation spring  940  may be omitted (e.g., only one orientation spring  940  can be seen in  FIG. 11A ). A quantity of the elastic terminals  930  provided in the present embodiment is four, and a quantity of the elastic terminals  920  is five. The elastic terminals  920  is closer to an entrance C 36  of the cavity C 30  than the elastic terminals  930 . 
     In the foregoing four exemplary embodiments, the receptacles have orientation springs, although a receptacle according to an embodiment of the disclosure does not necessarily need an orientation spring. For example, on a portable electronic device, a push-push design is typically adopted for the receptacle to omit the orientation spring and thereby decrease bulk, as shown in  FIG. 11E . In  FIG. 11E , the electronic device  800  employs the flat terminals  820 , and a receptacle  902  employs the elastic terminals  930 . However, a spring design may be adopted for the flat terminals  820 , and a flat design may be adopted for the elastic terminals  930 . 
     In view of the foregoing, an electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure has a stub and/or a locked hole, and therefore after connecting with a receptacle, a preferable stress balance can be achieved, thereby preventing disorientation and ensuring a reliable contact with the receptacle. Moreover, the receptacle according to an embodiment of the disclosure provides elastic terminals, hence the electronic device does not require elastic terminals thereon to achieve a preferable compatibility property. Furthermore, the receptacle according to an embodiment of the disclosure employs two types of elastic terminals. Therefore, whether the connected electronic device has elastic terminals or not, the receptacle is compatible whether the electronic device. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.