Patent ID: 7196901

Claim:
A portable electronic device comprising: an expansion base module including a housing that has front and rear ends and opposite first and second sides that extend between said front and rear ends in a longitudinal direction; a pair of sliding members mounted slidably and respectively on said first and second sides of said housing and slidable relative to said expansion base module in said longitudinal direction between said front and rear ends of said housing; a system module connected to said sliding members so as to co-slide therewith; and a synchronizing unit mounted in said housing and connected to said sliding members so as to synchronize sliding movements of said sliding members in said longitudinal direction, said synchronizing unit including a pair of first front and rear pulleys that are disposed adjacent to said first side of said housing and that are aligned with each other in said longitudinal direction, and a pair of second front and rear pulleys that are disposed adjacent to said second side of said housing and that are aligned with each other in said longitudinal direction, said synchronizing unit further including an endless cord that trains on said first front and rear pulleys and said second front and rear pulleys in such a manner to define a first segment thereof that extends from said first front pulley to said first rear pulley, and a second segment thereof that extends from said second front pulley to said second rear pulley, and in such a manner to permit synchronous sliding movements of said first and second segments in the same direction, said sliding members being respectively secured to said first and second segments of said cord so as to co-slide therewith.