Abstract:
A battery cover locking device including a battery cover configured to protect at least a portion of a battery detachably installed in a main body of an electronic device, a locking unit including a first locking mechanism disposed on the battery cover and a second locking mechanism disposed on the main body in which the first and second locking mechanisms engage with each other to couple the battery cover to the main body, and an unlocking unit mounted on the battery cover and configured to release the battery cover from the main body by pressing against the second locking mechanism such that the first and second locking mechanisms disengage from each other.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The present invention claims priority to Korean Application No. 10-2006-0043975, filed in Korea on May 16, 2006, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a battery cover locking device and a mobile terminal having the same. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Generally, an electronic device such as a mobile terminal includes a battery mounted on a main body of the device. The battery may be a hard pack battery type or a soft pack battery type. The hard pack battery type corresponds to a battery and battery cover that are integrally formed. A terminal is also exposed outside of the battery cover. The soft pack battery corresponds to a battery and battery cover that are separately provided. In the soft pack battery, the terminal of the battery is formed on the battery regardless of the battery cover. 
         [0006]    Further, the hard pack battery is easily attached to and detached from the main body of the electronic device, but is disadvantageously not compatible between different types or makes of electronic devices. Further, the soft pack battery is not as easily attached and detached from the main body of the electronic device, but is generally compatible with different types or makes of electronic devices. 
         [0007]    In more detail, there are generally two methods of coupling the battery cover of the soft pack battery to the main body of the electronic device. The first method uses hooks formed at mutually corresponding portions of the main body of the electronic device and the battery cover such that the hooks couple with each other. The hooks may be disengaged by sliding the battery cover in a particular direction away from the main body. However, the user must slide the entire cover with a sufficiently strong force to slide the cover away from the main body. 
         [0008]    The second method for coupling the battery cover to the main body uses a spring. That is, a locking mechanism elastically supported by the spring is formed on the main body. In addition, a hook to be coupled with the locking mechanism is formed on the battery cover. Thus, when the battery cover is attached to the main body, the locking mechanism engages with the hook to couple the battery cover to the main body. Further, the battery cover may be uncoupled from the main body by pushing the locking mechanism against the elastic force of the spring so that the hook releases from the locking mechanism. 
         [0009]    However, in the second method, a sufficient space must be made in the main body to accommodate the spring. Thus, a slimness or thickness of the electronic device is limited by the space required for the spring. In addition, the battery cover is spaced a particular distance from the main body of the device to thereby accommodate a thickness of the battery. However, the shape and size of the locking mechanism formed in the main body of the device is predetermined. Therefore, when the locking mechanism is fabricated to fit one battery with a certain capacity, another type of battery will not properly fit in the device. 
         [0010]    In addition, most components including the main body are fabricated using an injection molding process. However, the spring is not made using an injection molding process. Thus, because the spring is separately prepared, the cost of manufacturing the device increases. Further, because the locking mechanism is mounted at the main body, the user has to manipulate the locking mechanism with one hand and separate the battery cover from the main body with his or her other hand. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to address the above-noted and other problems. 
         [0012]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a battery cover locking device that is easy to use. 
         [0013]    Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a battery cover locking device that can be made with an injection molding process. 
         [0014]    Still another object of the present invention is to provide a battery cover locking device that does not require a spring nor a space to accommodate the spring and thereby reduce the thickness of the electronic device. 
         [0015]    To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the present invention provides in one aspect a novel battery cover locking device including a battery cover configured to protect at least a portion of a battery detachably installed in a main body of an electronic device, a locking unit including a first locking mechanism disposed on the battery cover and a second locking mechanism disposed on the main body and in which the first and second locking mechanisms engage with each other to couple the battery cover to the main body, and an unlocking unit mounted on the battery cover and configured to release the battery cover from the main body by pressing against the second locking mechanism such that the first and second locking mechanisms disengage from each other. The present invention also provides a corresponding mobile terminal including the battery cover locking device. 
         [0016]    Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings, which are given by illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein: 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view of the mobile terminal in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of a battery cover locking device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged perspective view of a main body locking part in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged perspective view of a cover locking part in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 6  is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in  FIG. 2  showing a coupled state of a main body and a battery cover; and 
           [0024]      FIG. 7  is a sectional view showing a state in which the battery cover is about to be separated from the main body. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0025]    Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
         [0026]    Turning first to  FIG. 1 , which is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the mobile terminal includes a main body  100  and a battery cover  200  detachably coupled with the main body  100 . In this example, the mobile terminal is a bar type mobile terminal. However, a flip type, folding type or sliding type mobile terminal may also be used. 
         [0027]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the main body  100  includes a display  110  at an upper front side portion and input units  120  at a lower front side portion. The display  110  outputs visual information and can be, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). Further, the input units  120  allow a user to input various numbers and characters to a control unit (not shown) included in the main body  100 , and can be, for example, key buttons that generate signals when being pressed. A microphone  130  and a speaker  140  are also mounted at a certain position on the main body  100  to input and output a sound, respectively. The mobile terminal also includes an antenna  150  for transmitting and receiving information in a communication network. 
         [0028]    Further, the main body  100  has a battery receiving part  160  on a rear portion for receiving a battery (not shown in  FIG. 1 ). The battery cover  200  is detachably coupled with the main body  100  and covers and protects the battery mounted in the battery receiving part  160 . Further, the battery cover  200  is detachably coupled to the main body  100  via a battery cover locking device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0029]    In more detail,  FIG. 2  illustrates such a battery cover locking device. As shown, the battery locking device includes an operation knob  410  mounted on the battery cover  200  and that is exposed through an operation hole  210  of the battery cover  200 . Further, the operation knob  410  includes an operation groove  411  so that a user can insert his or her fingernail and press the operation knob  410  to simultaneously detach the battery cover  200  from the main body  100  of the mobile terminal. 
         [0030]    In addition, as also shown in  FIG. 2 , the position of the operation knob  410  is below an upper edge of battery cover  200  and is centered longitudinally along the batter cover  200 . Further, the operation knob  410  is exposed through the operation hole  210  of the battery cover  200 . The position of the operation knob  410  and the operation hole  210  allow the user to easily open the battery cover  200  from the main body  100 . 
         [0031]    Turning next to  FIG. 3 , which is an exploded perspective view of the battery cover locking device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the battery cover locking device includes a locking unit  300  and an unlocking unit  400 . Further, a battery (B) in mounted in the receiving part  160  so as to be electrically connected with the main body  100 . In addition, the main body  100  includes at least one fastening recess  101  formed at portions of the battery receiving part  160 . Similarly, the battery cover  200  includes at least one fastening protrusion  201  corresponding to the at least one fastening recess  101 . The at least one fastening recess  101  and the at least one fastening protrusion  201  engage with each other to thereby help maintain the coupled state of the main body  100  and the battery cover  200 . 
         [0032]    In addition, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the locking unit  300  includes a main body locking part  310  formed at the main body  100  and a cover locking part  320  formed on the battery cover  200 . The main body locking part  310  and the cover locking part  320  may be formed integrally with the main body  100  and the battery cover  200 , respectively. Thus, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, because the locking parts  310  and  320  may be integrally formed with the main body  100  and battery cover  200 , respectively, a same injection molding process may be used to form each part. This simplifies the manufacturing process and reduces the manufacturing costs. 
         [0033]    In addition, the locking parts  310  and  320  engage with each other to thereby couple the battery cover  200  with the main body  100 . Thus, the battery B is secured to the main body  100 . Further, the unlocking unit  400  is mounted on the battery cover  200  and is operated to release the battery cover  200  from the main body  100 . That is, when the user presses the unlocking unit  400 , the unlocking unit  400  presses the main body locking part  310  to thereby deform the main body locking part  310  and move the cover locking part  320  away from the main body locking part  310 . Accordingly, the unlocking unit  400  unlocks the main body locking part  310  and the cover locking part  320  to thereby allow the battery cover  200  to be separated from the main body  100 . 
         [0034]    The locking unit  300  and the unlocking unit  400  will now be described in more detail with reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , respectively. That is,  FIGS. 4 and 5  are enlarged perspective views of the main body locking part  310  and the cover locking part  320  in  FIG. 3 , respectively. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the main body locking part  310  includes a main body protrusion wall  311  extending along a widthwise direction of the main body  100 . The locking part  310  also includes a support  313  having at least one support rib formed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main body protrusion wall  311 . The support  313  including the at least one support rib strengthens the main body protrusion wall  311 . 
         [0035]    Further, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the main body locking part  310  also includes a displacement slit  315  surrounding a partial circumference of the main body locking part  310 . The displacement slit  315  allows the main body part  310  to be flexibly moved. This feature will be discussed in more detail with respect to  FIGS. 6 and 7 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the main body locking part  310  also includes at least one support protrusion  317  formed at a portion where the main body  100  and the main body locking part  310  are connected. That is, the at least one support protrusion  317  strengthens the connection portion between the main body  100  and the main body locking part  310 . The support protrusions  317  also support the battery cover  200  coupled with the main body  100 . 
         [0036]    In addition, as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , the cover locking part  320  is formed at an end portion of the battery cover  200  where the fastening protrusions  201  are formed. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the cover locking part  320  includes a cover protrusion wall  321  formed along the widthwise direction of the battery cover  200 . The protrusion wall  321  corresponds to and engages with the main body protrusion wall  311 . Further, the cover locking part  320  also includes a support  323  having at least one support rib protruding from the battery cover  200  in a direction substantially perpendicular to the cover protrusion wall  321 . Similar to the at least one support rib  313  of the main body locking part  310 , the at least one support rib  323  strengthens the cover protrusion wall  321 . 
         [0037]    In addition,  FIG. 5  also illustrates the operation knob  410  that a user can press to unlock the cover  200  from the main body  100 . That is, the operation knob  410  presses the main body locking part  310  so the main body locking part  310  separates from the cover locking part  320 . Further, the operation knob  400  is exposed through the operation hole  210  of the battery cover  200 . 
         [0038]    The unlocking unit  400  also includes at least one pressing protrusion  413  formed as part of the operation knob  410 . Thus, when the user presses the operation knob  410 , the at least one pressing protrusion  413  presses the main body locking part  310  so as to separate the cover  200  from the main body  100 . In addition, the size of the at least one pressing protrusion  413  is determined based on a distance between the battery cover  200  and the main body locking part  310 . 
         [0039]    Therefore, because the thickness of the batter cover  200  is variably set based on whether the battery cover  200  is for a small capacity battery or a large capacity battery, the size of the at least one pressing protrusion  413  can be similarly set to accommodate the specific type of battery cover  200 . In addition, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the at least one pressing protrusion  413  includes a plurality of pressing protrusions  413  arranged at uniform intervals to fit between a plurality of support ribs  313  of the main body locking part  310 . 
         [0040]    Further, the unlocking unit  400  also includes a coupling part  420  used to elastically couple the operation knob  410  to the battery cover  200  in a pressing manner. As shown, the coupling part  420  includes at least one tension part  421  extending from the operation knob  410  and coupling ribs  422  for coupling the tension part  421  to the battery cover  200 . In addition, in the example shown in  FIG. 5 , the tension part  421  includes a pair of tension parts  421  extending from both sides of the operation knob  410 . Also, the tension part  421  preferably includes a bent portion  421   a  at a position in the extending direction to facilitate elastically deforming the tension part  421  so the tension part  421  returns to its original state after the operation knob  410  was pressed. 
         [0041]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , the coupling part  420  also includes a coupling hole  421   b  formed at end portions of the tension part  421  and into which the coupling ribs  422  are inserted. That is, the coupling ribs  422  of the battery cover  200  are inserted into the coupling holes  421   b  of the tension part  421  so as to couple the operation knob  410  to the battery cover  200 . Also, the unlocking unit  400  is preferably integrally formed using an injection molding process. In other words, the operation knob  410  and the tension part  421  are integrally formed, and the coupling ribs  422  are integrally formed with the battery cover  200 . 
         [0042]    Accordingly, because the tension part  421  provides an elastic force for displacing the operation knob  410 , an elastic member such as a spring is not necessary. In addition, because the unlocking unit  400  is integrally formed, the manufacturing process is simplified. Moreover, because a separate spring is not required, a space for securing a stroke of the spring can be omitted. Thus, the main body  100  can have a thin shape. 
         [0043]    A method for coupling and separating the battery cover locking device will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7 . That is,  FIGS. 6 and 7  are sectionals view taken along the line VI-VI in  FIG. 2  showing a coupled and about to be uncoupled state of the main body  100  and the battery cover  200 , respectively. 
         [0044]    When the battery cover  200  is coupled with the main body  100 , the fastening recesses  101  and the fastening protrusions  201  (see  FIG. 3 ) are fastened with each other. Further, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the cover protrusion wall  321  passes over the support  313  of the main body locking part  310  and engages with the main body protrusion wall  311 . Thus, because the cover locking part  320  engages with the main body locking part  310  and the fastening recesses  101  are fastened to the fastening protrusions  201 , the battery cover  200  and the main body  100  are coupled together. 
         [0045]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , when a user wants to remove the battery cover  200  from the main body  100 , he or she can press the operation knob  410 . That is, when the operation knob  410  is pressed in the pressing direction (P), the battery cover  200  is separated from the main body  100 . Then, the user can grasp the main body  100  with one hand, and insert their thumb or other finger into the operation groove  411  of the operation knob  410  to completely remove the battery cover  200  from the main body  100 . 
         [0046]    In more detail, when the operation knob  410  is pressed, the pressing protrusions  413  press the main body locking part  310 . As discussed above, the pressing protrusions  413  are aligned between the support ribs of the support  313 . Then, the main body locking part  310  makes a cantilever motion centering on the portion where the support protrusion  317  is formed, and the main body protrusion wall  311  moves gyratorily away from the cover body protrusion wall  321 . Accordingly, the user can remove the battery cover  200  from the main body  100 . 
         [0047]    In addition, in the above description, the main body protrusion wall  311  and the cover protrusion wall  321  are formed at corresponding portions of the main body locking part  310  and the cover locking part  320 . However, it is also possible not to form the main body protrusion wall  311  and the cover protrusion wall  321 , and rather have the supports  313  and  323  engage with each other. Also, the operation knob  410  and the tension part  421  are preferably made of plastic. However, these parts may also be made of a different material such as a metal that has a sufficient elasticity. 
         [0048]    As so far described, the user can advantageously detach the battery cover from the main body using only one hand, because the unlocking unit is mounted on the battery cover, Further, the unlocking unit can be fabricated to have a different size corresponding to each battery cover that can be different depending on a battery capacity. Thus, regardless of the size of the battery cover, the structural coupling of the main body and the battery cover can be optimally achieved. 
         [0049]    Moreover, because the operation knob and the tension part are fabricated using an injection-molding process with a plastic resin, a separate spring is not necessary. Thus, a separate space for supporting the spring is not required and the main body can be made to have a slim shape. In addition, because the tension part provides the appropriate elastic force rather than a separate spring, the operation knob can be pressed to remove the battery cover from the main body. Further, because the battery unlocking unit is formed on the cover  200  rather than the main body  100 , the main body  100  can be made to have a slim shape. 
         [0050]    In addition, in the above-examples, the electronic device was described as a mobile terminal. However, the electronic device may also be a camera, an MP3 player, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), etc. That is, any electronic device can be manufactured to include the novel locking device of the present invention. 
         [0051]    As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalence of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.