Patent Publication Number: US-8995116-B2

Title: Docking station and electronic apparatus using the same

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a divisional application of and claims priority benefit of an U.S. application Ser. No. 13/087,382, filed on Apr. 15, 2011, now pending, which claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/349,215, filed on May 28, 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 INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a docking station and an electronic device using the same and, more particularly, to a docking station with a movable connector and an electronic device using the same. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Comparing with a conventional desktop computer, a portable computer is light, small, and thin. It is portable to facilitate the user operating the computer under various environments. However, the portable computer lacks expansibility due to its small size. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A docking station is provided for a portable computer to detachably connect to and allow the portable computer to move with a base. 
     The docking station includes a body, a base and a connector. The base is movably connected to the body, and the connector is disposed at the base to move with the base relative to the body. The body is electrically connected to the portable computer via the connector to allow the portable computer to move relative to the docking station. 
     An electronic apparatus is provided. The portable computer is detachably connected to the docking station and moves relative to the docking station. 
     The electronic apparatus includes a portable computer and a docking station. The docking station is adapted for the portable computer to detachably connect thereto, and it includes a body, a base and a connector. The base is coupled to the body. The connector is disposed at the base to move with the base relative to the body. The body is electrically connected to the portable computer via the connector to allow the portable computer to move relative to the body. 
     As stated above, the connector is disposed at the base of the docking station for the portable computer to electrically connect thereto. The docking station allows the base to move relative to the body, and the portable computer moves relative to the body of the docking station via the base. Thus, the portable computer can expand its function via the docking station, and the user can also adjust the state and the viewing angle of the portable computer according to different requirements. 
     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. 1A  is a schematic diagram showing an electronic apparatus in a first embodiment; 
         FIG. 1B  and  FIG. 1C  are schematic diagrams showing the electronic apparatus in  FIG. 1A  in different states, respectively; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram showing an electronic apparatus in  FIG. 1A  in another state; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram showing an electronic apparatus in a second embodiment; 
         FIG. 4A  is a schematic diagram showing an electronic apparatus in a third embodiment; and 
         FIG. 4B  is a schematic diagram showing an electronic apparatus in  FIG. 4A  in another state. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1A  is a schematic diagram showing an electronic apparatus in a first embodiment.  FIG. 1B  and  FIG. 1C  are schematic diagrams showing an electronic apparatus in  FIG. 1A  in different states, respectively. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1A  to  FIG. 1C , in the embodiment, the electronic apparatus  10  includes a portable computer  100  and a docking station  200 . The portable computer  100  may be a tablet computer or a portable computer with independent operation and display functions, which is not limited herein. The docking station  200  allows the portable computer  100  to be detachably connected thereto, and thus it can be used as an extension port of the portable computer  100  to improve the expandability and convenience of the portable computer  100  for the users. 
     In the embodiment, the portable computer  100  includes a display panel  110 . The docking station  200  includes a body  210 , a base  220  and a connector  230 . The base  220  is movably connected to the body  210 , and the connector  230  is disposed at the base  220 . When the portable computer  100  is connected to the base  220  of the docking station  200  via the connector  230 , the portable computer  100  can move relative to the body  210  via the base  220 . That is, the position (or the view angle) of the portable computer  100  disposed at the docking station  200  can be adjusted correspondingly according to the operating state and the users&#39; requirements. Thus, it is avoided that the portable computer  100  disposed at the docking station  200  is fixed at the docking station  200  and is not movable. 
     In detail, the base  220  includes a hinge  222  connected to the body  210  to make the base  220  rotate relative to the body  210 , and make the portable computer  100  disposed thereon move between an open state (shown in  FIG. 1B ) and a close state (shown in  FIG. 1C ) relative to the docking station  200 . Moreover, the docking station  200  further includes a physical input module  240 , such as a keyboard module or a touch pad module disposed at the body  210  and multiple connecting ports  250 , such as a power connecting port, a sound source connecting port or a universal serial bus (USB) connecting port. Consequently, after the portable computer  100  is disposed at the docking station  200  along the assembly direction D 1  parallel to the display panel  110 , the portable computer  100  can include electrical or signal communication with peripheral devices (not shown) to support or expand the portable computer  100 . 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram showing an electronic apparatus in  FIG. 1A  in another state. Please refer to  FIG. 1C  and  FIG. 2 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 1C , when the portable computer  100  is at the close state relative to the docking station  200 , the display panel  110  (shown in  FIG. 1A ) faces the body  210  of the docking station  200 . However, in the embodiment in  FIG. 2 , since the connector  230  at the base  220  is a multi-direction connector in the close state as shown in  FIG. 1C , the display panel  110  of the portable computer  100  can back towards the body  210  of the docking station  200  according to the operation environment, so as to expand the application scope of the portable computer  100 . 
     Moreover, please refer to  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B , in order to connect the portable computer  100  to the connector  230  of the docking station  200  more smoothly, the base  220  further includes a fixing part  224 , and the fixing part  224  holds the portable computer  100  along the fixing direction D 2  vertical to the display panel  110 . For example, in the embodiment, the base  220  of the docking station  200  is a concave portion, the fixing part  224  is two sidewalls of the concave portion, and the connector  230  is at the bottom of the concave portion. Consequently, when the portable computer  100  is connected to the connector  230 , the sidewalls of the concave portion hold the portable computer  100  along the direction D 2  to make the portable computer  100  embedded into the base  220 . 
     The fixing structure between the base and the portable computer is not limited.  FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram showing an electronic apparatus in a second embodiment. Please refer to  FIG. 3 , the difference between the embodiment in  FIG. 3  and the embodiments above is that the base  320  of the docking station  300  of the electronic apparatus  20  includes a first element  320 A and a second element  320 B. The first element  320 A includes a hinge  320 A 1 , which is the same as the hinge  222  in the above embodiment, to allow the first element  320 A to rotate relative to the body  310 . Moreover, the connector  230  is disposed at the second element  320 B, and the second element  320 B is movably connected to the first element  320 A. Consequently, the portable computer  100  is connected to the second element  320 B along the assembly direction D 3  parallel to the display panel  110 , and the fixing part  324  of the second element  320 B holds the portable computer along the fixing direction D 4  parallel to the display panel  110  (the direction D 3  is vertical to the direction D 4 ). 
     In other word, the portable computer  100  in the embodiment can be rotated and slid relative to the docking station  300  via the first element  320 A and the second element  320 B with different moving dimensions. The second element  320 B can slide along the first element  320 A via a slide rail or other structures, which is not limited. For example, the portable computer may also be fixed at the base via a magnetic structure. 
       FIG. 4A  is a schematic diagram showing an electronic apparatus in a third embodiment.  FIG. 4B  is a schematic diagram showing an electronic apparatus in another state in  FIG. 4A . please refer to  FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B , the difference between the third embodiment and the above embodiments is that the base  420  of the docking station  400  of the electronic apparatus  30  includes a third element  420 A and a fourth element  420 B, and the third element  420 A includes a hinge  420 A 1  connected to the body  410  to allow the third element  420 A to rotate along the direction D 5  relative to the body  410 . Furthermore, the fourth element  420 B is coupled to one end of the third element  420 A away from the hinge  420 A 1  to allow the fourth element  420 B to rotate along the direction D 6  relative to the third element  420 A. The direction D 5  is vertical to the direction D 6 . Thus, when the portable computer  100  is connected to the fourth element  420 B along the direction vertical to the display panel  110 , the portable computer  100  can rotate relative to the body  410  of the docking station  400  at different moving dimensions via the axial direction D 5  and the axial direction D 6 , so as to meet requirements of the users under different environments. 
     In sum, in the embodiments above, the electronic apparatus is electrically connected to the portable computer via the base which can move relative to the body, and thus the function of the portable computer is expanded via the docking station. Furthermore, the operating state and the view angle of the portable computer can be adjusted according to different usage requirements of the users, which is more convenience and comfort in using. 
     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. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments described above.