Patent Abstract:
An electronic device includes a housing, at least two latching members, an inner frame received in the housing, and at least two bonding films. The latching members are fixed to the inner frame by the bonding films, the housing defines at least two locking portions latched with the at least two latching members.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present disclosure relates to electronic devices, and particularly to an electronic device with enhanced appearance and relatively low cost. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Electronic devices with a touch panel have become popular because of their enhanced appearance. A typical electronic device often includes a housing, an inner frame, and a touch panel mounted on the inner frame. One of the housing and the inner frame forms a number of latching hooks, and the other one of the housing and the inner frame defines a plurality of latching portions receiving the corresponding latching hooks. The electronic device employs no fixing members exposed on an outer surface of the housing. 
         [0005]    The housing of the electronic device is typically manufactured by punching a metal sheet or injecting one or more plastic materials into a mold. It is difficult to form the latching hooks in the inner surface of the housing due to complexity of the housing structure, such that the manufacturing process becomes more costly. 
         [0006]    Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the views. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is an assembled, isometric view of one embodiment of an electronic device. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is an exploded, isometric view of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is similar to  FIG. 2 , but viewed from another aspect. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a partial cross section of the electronic device taken along line IV-IV in  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]    The disclosed electronic device may be a personal digital assistant (PDA), a MP3 player, a digital photo frame, a liquid crystal display monitor, or other device. Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , an embodiment of an electronic device  100  includes a housing  10 , four latching members  30 , four bonding films  50 , an inner frame  70 , and a panel  90 . 
         [0013]    The housing  10  includes a base  12  and four sidewalls  14 . The base  12  is a substantially rectangular board. Each sidewall  14  is a curved border and extends from an edge of the base  11 . An end of the sidewall  14  is joined to an end of the adjacent sidewall  14 . Each sidewall  14  includes an inner surface  141  and a receiving groove  142  defined therein. The receiving groove  142  includes a restriction surface  144  (shown in  FIG. 4 ) away from the base  12 , and a bonding surface  146  extending from the restriction surface  144  to the base  12 . The restriction surface  144  is substantially parallel to the base  12 . The bonding surface  146  is a curved surface having a shape similar to that of the sidewall  14 . 
         [0014]    The latching member  30  is a substantially U-shaped clip and includes a fixing portion  32 , a latching portion  34 , and a bent portion  36  interconnecting the fixing portion  32  and the latching portion  34 . The fixing portion  32  is a curved section having a shape similar to that of the bonding surface  146 , such that the latching member  30  can substantially adhere to the bonding surface  146 , thereby improving a bonding strength between the latching member  30  and the bonding surface  146 . 
         [0015]    The bonding film  50  is of a shape similar to that of the bonding surface  146 , such that the bonding film  50  can substantially adhere to the bonding surface  146 . In the illustrated embodiment, the bonding film  50  is a double-sided adhesive tape. Alternatively, the bonding film  50  may be a thermoplastic adhesive bonding film. 
         [0016]    Referring to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the inner frame  70  includes four connecting edges  72 . One end of each connecting edge  72  is joined to an end of the adjacent connecting edge  72 . The connecting edge  72  includes a contact surface  722  and an end surface  724  adjoining the contact surface  722 . The contact surface  722  is a curved surface of a shape similar to that of the inner surface  141 , thereby substantially abutting the inner surface  141 . The end surface  724  is a planar surface. The inner frame  70  includes a receiving portion  74  and four locking portions  76  corresponding to the four latching members  30 . The receiving portion  74  is a recess depressed from the inner side of the end surface  724  for receiving the panel  90 . The locking portion  76  is formed in the contact surface  722 . The locking portion  76  includes a locking recess  762 , an assisting recess  764 , and a resisting protrusion  766  positioned between the locking recess  762  and the assisting recess  764 . The locking recess  762  is adjacent to the end surface  724 , and the assisting recess  764  is away from the end surface  724 . The resisting protrusion  766  forms a rounded corner adjacent to the assisting recess  764 . The locking recess  762  has an oblique surface  7622  inclined relative to the end surface  724  and a resisting surface  7624  substantially parallel to the end surface  724 . The oblique surface  7622  and the resisting surface  7624  cooperatively define an acute angle therebetween. The assisting recess  764  runs through another end surface that is opposite to the end surface  724 . 
         [0017]    The panel  90  is a rectangular plate, and can be received in the receiving portion  74 . In the illustrated embodiment, the panel  90  is a touch panel. 
         [0018]    Each bonding film  50  is adhered to the corresponding bonding surface  146  of the receiving groove  142 , and the fixing portion  32  of each latching member  30  is adhered to the bonding film  50 . Thus, the bent portion  36  faces or abuts the restriction surface  144 , and the latching portion  34  protrudes from the inner surface  141 . The inner frame  70  is positioned in the housing  10 , and each locking portion  76  faces the latching portion  34  of the corresponding latching member  30 . The inner frame  70  is moved toward the housing  10 , and the assisting recess  764  is moved over the latching portion  34 . As the inner frame  70  is moved further, the resisting protrusion  766  resists and deforms the latching portion  34 , which is, accordingly, received in the locking recess  762 . The contact surface  722  of each connecting edge  72  abuts the inner surface  141  of the corresponding sidewall  14 . The latching portion  34  is restored back to original shape, where an end of the latching portion  34  away from the bent portion  36  abuts the resisting surface  7624 , and a surface of the latching portion  34  away from the fixing portion  32  abuts the oblique surface  7622 . Thus, the inner frame  70  is fixed to the housing  10 . The panel  90  is securely received in the receiving portion  74  of the inner frame  70  by adhesive bonding or other bonding technology. 
         [0019]    The latching member  30  is fixed to the inner surface  141  of the housing  10  by the bonding film  50 , such that the structure of the housing  12  is relatively simple, and the housing thereby may be more easily manufactured. Therefore, the electronic device  100  has a lower cost. 
         [0020]    It should be pointed out that two or more latching members  30 , rather than four, such as the two latching members  30 , can be fixed to the opposite sidewall  14  respectively. The electronic device  100  may employ more than two latching members  30 , whereby the number of the receiving grooves  142 , the bonding films  50 , and the locking portions  76  are changed accordingly. 
         [0021]    The receiving groove  142  may be omitted, whereby the bonding film  50  is fixed to the inner surface  141  of the housing  10  directly. The assisting recess  764  may also be omitted. 
         [0022]    It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure or sacrificing all of its material advantages.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7