Patent Abstract:
An electronic device and an adjustment mechanism thereof. The electronic device includes a housing, an adjusting member, a lifting assembly, and a driving assembly. The adjusting member is moveably connected to the housing. The lifting assembly connects the adjusting member and the housing to move the adjusting member with respect to the housing. The driving assembly connects the lifting assembly and the housing to drive the lifting assembly to move the adjusting member. Thus, the housing is adjusted.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND  
       [0001]     The invention relates to electronic devices, and in particular, to electronic devices with adjustment mechanisms for quickly adjusting bodies thereof.  
         [0002]     When a conventional projector is placed on a desk to be operated, its body needs to be adjusted. To obtain accurate projection, desk levelness, desk smoothness, projecting direction and projecting size need to be considered during adjustment.  
         [0003]     The adjustment of the conventional projector is often operated separately by several adjustable feet.  FIG. 1  depicts a conventional electronic device  10  in need of adjustment. The electronic device  10  comprises a plurality of adjustable feet  12 . Note that only one adjustable foot  12  is shown in  FIG. 1 . A pad  13  is disposed on the adjustable foot  12 , which is fixed to a housing  11  via a nut  14 . The adjustment foot  12  may be moved upward/downward in a direction shown by arrow B 1  by rotating the adjustable foot  12  in a direction shown by arrow A 1 . Since the above adjustment is performed by manual rotation, its speed is extremely slow.  
         [0004]      FIG. 2  depicts another conventional electronic device  20  in need of adjustment. The electronic device  20  comprises a plurality of adjustable feet  22 . Note that only one adjustable foot  22  is shown in  FIG. 2 . A pad  23  is disposed on the adjustable foot  22 , which is positioned in a housing  21  via an elastic member  24 . The adjustable foot  22  can be roughly adjusted by releasing the elastic member  24 , and slightly adjusted to be moved up and down in a direction (shown by arrow B 2 ) by self-rotating in a direction (shown by arrow A 2 ).  
         [0005]     Although the elastic member  24  in  FIG. 2  shortens adjustment time, the operation is still inconvenient since moving the elastic member  24  and pulling the adjustable foot  22  occur at the same time. Additionally, different adjustable feet may need to be adjusted respectively, thus increasing adjustment time.  
         [0006]     Specifically, each adjustable foot in the conventional adjustment mechanism requires manual adjustment. Moreover, one adjustable foot may be adjusted by both hands. Thus, the adjustment time cannot be significantly shortened, nor can the position of the body be accurately adjusted, due to inconvenience of the adjustment operation.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0007]     Electronic devices are provided. An exemplary embodiment of an electronic device comprises a housing, an adjusting member, a first elastic member, a gear, a second elastic member, and a transmission unit. The adjusting member comprises a plurality of teeth, and is connected to the object in a moveable manner. The first elastic member abuts the adjusting member and the housing respectively to move the adjusting member with respect to the housing. The gear meshes with the teeth of the adjusting member for positioning the adjusting member. The second elastic member is connected to the housing and separably connected to the gear for positioning the gear. The transmission unit is separably connected to the second elastic member to separate the second elastic member from the gear. When the second elastic member is separated from the gear by the transmission unit, the adjusting member is moved with respect to the housing by the first elastic member. Thus, the position of the housing is adjusted.  
         [0008]     Note that the second elastic member may be a tension spring, and the electronic device may be a projector.  
         [0009]     Furthermore, the electronic device comprises a shaft, an intermediate wheel, a damper, and a brake plate. The shaft is connected to the housing. The gear is disposed on the shaft. The intermediate wheel is disposed on the shaft to connect to the second elastic member. The damper is disposed on the shaft to restrain the speed of the adjusting member. The brake plate is disposed on the second elastic member, such that the second elastic member is connected to the gear via the brake plate.  
         [0010]     Moreover, the transmission unit comprises a release member and a rod. The release member separably abuts the elastic member to separate the elastic member from the gear. The rod is connected to the release member.  
         [0011]     Additionally, the electronic device further comprises a button disposed on the housing and connected to the transmission unit so that the transmission unit is connected to the second elastic member. Alternatively, the electronic device further comprises a solenoid, a switch, and a delay circuit. The solenoid is connected to the transmission unit so that the transmission unit is connected to the second elastic member. The switch is disposed on the housing and electrically connected to the solenoid to actuate the solenoid. The switch may be a tactile switch. The delay circuit is electrically connected to the switch and the solenoid so that the transmission unit is connected to the second elastic member within a predetermined time after the solenoid is actuated by the switch.  
         [0012]     Adjustment mechanisms are provided. An exemplary embodiment of an adjustment mechanism is connected to an object to adjust the height of the object, and comprises an adjusting member, a lifting assembly, and a driving assembly. The adjusting member is moveably connected to the object. The lifting assembly is connected to the adjusting member to move the adjusting member. The driving assembly is connected to the lifting assembly to drive the lifting assembly to move the adjusting member. Thus, the height of the object is adjusted. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]     The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a conventional adjustment mechanism;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a schematic view of another conventional adjustment mechanism;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a schematic view of an embodiment of an electronic device;  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a schematic view of an adjustment mechanism in  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a side view of a gear, an intermediate wheel, and a damper in  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is a schematic view of another embodiment of an electronic device; and  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  is a schematic view of an adjustment mechanism in  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0021]      FIGS. 3 and 4  depict an embodiment of an electronic device  100  comprising a housing  110 , four adjusting members  120 , four lifting assemblies  130 , and two driving assemblies  140 . The adjusting members  120 , the lifting assemblies  130 , and the driving assemblies  140  constitute an embodiment of an adjustment mechanism.  
         [0022]     The housing  110  comprises two pads  111  on its upper surface, and a projection lens  112  at its front surface. While an embodiment of the electronic device is described based on a projector, it is not limited thereto, and may be applied to other electronic devices with a body required to be adjusted.  
         [0023]     Each adjusting member  120  is connected to the housing  110  via a first elastic member  131  of the lifting assembly  130  so as to be moveable with respect to the housing  110 . Each adjusting member  120  comprises a plurality of teeth  121  at its side surface. Note that each adjusting member  120  further comprises a hollow portion  122  at its upper portion, as shown in  FIG. 4 . Thus, when the adjusting member  120  moves upward/downward, a rod  113  of the housing  110  enters the hollow portion  122  of the adjusting member  120 .  
         [0024]     Each lifting assembly  130  is disposed on the housing  110 , and comprises the first elastic member  131 , a gear  132 , a shaft  133 , an intermediate wheel  134 , and a damper  135 . The first elastic member  131  surrounds the rod  113  to abut the adjusting member  120  and housing  110 . The first elastic member  131  may be a tension spring to move the adjusting member  120 .  
         [0025]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the shaft  133  is fixed to the housing  110 . The gear  132 , the intermediate wheel  134 , and the damper  135  are disposed on the shaft  133 . The gear  132  meshes with the teeth  121  of the adjusting member  120  to position the adjusting member  120  in a predetermined position. The intermediate wheel  134  abuts a brake plate  142  of the driving assembly  140  so that the adjusting member  120  may be moved upward/downward in a stepless manner. Moreover, the intermediate wheel  134  may reduce external pressure applied on the brake plate  142  via the gear  132  so that the adjustment can be quickly and accurately performed. The damper  135  restrains the speed of the adjusting member  120  so that the adjusting member  120  may be smoothly adjusted.  
         [0026]     Note that the intermediate wheel  134  and the damper  135  may be omitted based on requirements. When omitting the intermediate wheel  134 , the brake plate  142  of the driving assembly  130  abuts the gear  132 .  
         [0027]     Each driving assembly  140  is connected to the housing  110 , and comprises two second elastic members  141 , two brake plates  142 , two transmission units  143 , a button  144 , and a third elastic member  145 . That is, each driving assembly  140  is connected to two lifting assemblies  130 . Note that only one lifting assembly  130  and one driving assembly  140  are specifically shown in  FIG. 4  for simplicity.  
         [0028]     One end of the second elastic member  141  is connected to the housing  110 , and partially abuts the intermediate wheel  134  via the brake plate  142  in a separable manner to fix the intermediate wheel  134  in a predetermined position.  
         [0029]     The transmission unit  143  comprises a release member  143   a  and a rod  143   b . The release member  143   a  separably abuts the second elastic member  141 . When the release member  143   a  is pressed downward to abut the second elastic member  141 , the brake plate  142  on the second elastic member  141  is separated from the intermediate wheel  134 . The rod  143   b  is connected to the release member  143   a  and the button  144  respectively. When the button  144  is pressed, the release member  143   a  is pressed downward by the rod  143   b . Note that the rod  143   b  is represented by an arrow in  FIG. 4 , and is aligned with the release member  143   a  for simplicity. In practice, the rod  143   b  may be, for example, perpendicular to the release member  143   a.    
         [0030]     The button  144  is disposed on the housing  110 , and comprises a connecting portion  144   a  connected to the rod  143   b . When the button  144  is pressed, the rod  143   b  is pressed downward so that the release member  143   a  abuts the second elastic member  141 . The third elastic member  145  is disposed around the connecting portion  144   a , and abuts the housing  110  and a bottom of the button  144  respectively to return the button  144  to a predetermined position.  
         [0031]     To adjust the position of the body of the electronic device  100 , because the elastic spring force of the first elastic member  131  is much higher than the elastic spring force of the third elastic member  145 , the housing  110  is first slightly lifted while the buttons  144  are pushed.  
         [0032]     Thus, the rods  143   b  actuate the release members  143   a  to move the second elastic members  141  and the brake plates  142 . Once the brake plates  142  are released, the intermediate wheels  134  on the shafts  133  move freely so that the gears  132  on the shafts  133  and the adjusting members  120  are also released. As a result, the adjusting members  120  are ejected outward from the housing  110  to a maximum length by the first elastic member  131 . Then, the housing  110  is slightly depressed while the buttons  144  are still pushed. After the body reaches a desired position, the buttons  144  are released so that the position of the body is fixed.  
         [0033]     With the adjustment mechanism of the embodiment, the body may be adjusted without touching the adjusting members. Also, since the adjustment is stepless, the position of the body may be smoothly adjusted. Furthermore, the adjustment is performed by pushing the buttons, thus enhancing convenience. Moreover, the adjusting members may be quickly returned to within the housing by pushing the buttons while pressing the housing.  
         [0034]      FIGS. 6 and 7  depict another embodiment of an electronic device  100 ′ comprising a housing  110 , four adjusting members  120 , four lifting assemblies  130 , and a driving assembly  140 ′. While the housing  110 , the adjusting members  120 , and the lifting assemblies  130  in  FIG. 7  are the same as those in  FIG. 4 , they are labeled by the same references and their description is omitted.  
         [0035]     The difference between the electronic device  100 ′ in  FIG. 6  and the electronic device  100  in  FIG. 3  is that one driving assembly  140 ′ controls four lifting assemblies  130  in the electronic device  100 ′ in  FIG. 6 . Specifically, the driving assembly  140 ′ comprises four second elastic members  141 , four brake plates  142 , four transmission units  143 , a solenoid  146 , a switch  147 , and a delay circuit  148 . While the second elastic members  141 , the brake plates  142 , and the transmission units  143  in  FIG. 7  are the same as those in  FIG. 4 , they are labeled by the same references and their description is omitted.  
         [0036]     The solenoid  146  is connected to the rods  143   b  of the transmission units  143  so that the release member  143   a  of the transmission unit  143  is connected to the second elastic member  141 . The switch  147  is disposed on the housing  110 , and is electrically connected to the solenoid  146  to actuate the solenoid  146 . The delay circuit  148  is electrically connected to the switch  147  and the solenoid  146  so that the release member  143   a  of the transmission unit  143  abuts the second elastic member  141  within a predetermined time after the solenoid  146  is actuated by the switch  147 .  
         [0037]     To adjust the body of the electronic device  100 ′, the switch  147  is pressed by a single hand solely and no need to hold the button down so that the delay circuit  148  provides the predetermined time for adjustment. The operator could free his finger from the button and focus on accurate adjustment quickly and effortlessly.  
         [0038]     Specifically, after the switch  147  is pressed, the release member  143   a  is moved. Thus, the intermediate wheel  134  and the gear  132  are released, and the adjusting members  120  are ejected outward. During the predetermined time, the position of the body may be adjusted to a required position by a single hand depressing the housing  110 . After the predetermined time elapses, the position of the body is fixed.  
         [0039]     Note that the delay circuit  148  may be omitted based on requirements. When the delay circuit  148  is omitted, the switch  147  may be a tactile switch. Thus, when the tactile switch  147  is touched, the solenoid  146  is always turned on to be conveniently adjusted. Furthermore, even if the delay circuit  148  is provided in the electronic device  100 ′, the switch  147  may be a tactile switch.  
         [0040]     Since the adjustment of the body of the electronic device  100 ′ is controlled by a single switch, it may be performed by a single hand, thus enhancing the convenience.  
         [0041]     While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. 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.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5