Patent Document

BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to cover mechanisms used in electronic devices (e.g., mobile phones). 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Electronic devices usually have external interfaces (e.g., universal serial bus (USB)) for electrically connecting to peripheral devices (e.g., printers), accessories (e.g., USB flash drives) or other electronic devices. Such external interfaces should be protected by cover mechanisms from e.g., dust or water, to maintain proper functioning. 
     The cover mechanisms usually include a cover and a lock. The covers are typically locked to the electronic devices by latches to cover the area through which the interfaces of electronic devices are exposed. However, the covers are often not fixed or tethered to the electronic devices. Thus, the covers may easily be misplaced or lost when not locked to the electronic devices. 
     Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the embodiments can be better understood with references to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present cover mechanism. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded, isometric view of an exemplary cover mechanism used in an electronic device; 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of protective cover in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an isometric view showing the protective cover attached to the housing from inside; 
         FIG. 4  is an assembled, isometric view of the exemplary cover mechanism shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a bottom view of the cover mechanism of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is an opened position of the cover mechanism. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows an exemplary embodiment of a cover mechanism  100  used with an electronic device, such as a mobile phone. 
     The cover mechanism  100  includes a protective cover  10 , a housing  20 , a printed circuit board (PCB)  30 , a switch  40 , and an interface  50 . The switch  40  and the interface  50  are positioned on the PCB  30 . The interface  50  is exposed from the housing  20 . The protective cover  10  is for shielding the interface  50  and for activating the switch  40 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the protective cover  10  includes a base portion  11  and a cover portion  13  made of a different hardness material than the base portion by double-colored injection molding. In an exemplary embodiment, the base portion  11  is made of soft material such as thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU), and the cover portion  13  is made of hard material such as polycarbonate (PC). 
     The base portion  11  includes a plug  111 , a plurality of elastic arms  114 , a latching post  115 , and a hook  119 . The plug  111  is for filling the interface  50  for preventing electrical contacts in the interface  50  from being contaminated. The elastic arms  114  are oriented at some angle relative to the base portion  11 . The latching post  115  includes a shaft portion  1151  and a head portion  1153  integrally formed together. The head portion  1153  has a larger diameter than the shaft portion  1151 . The latching post  115  and the hook  119  latch the protective cover  10  to the housing  20 . The cover portion  13  is embedded in the base portion  11 , and includes a pin  113  extending through the base portion  11 . The pin  113  is surrounded by the elastic arms  114 . When the pin  113  is pressed, the elastic arms  114  provide return force to the pin  113 . A block  117  is formed at one end of the cover portion  13 . An outer surface of the cover portion  13  includes an operating end  131  and a pressing area  133 . The operating end  131  is opposite to the block  117 . The pressing area  133  corresponds to the pin  113  disposed at an opposite side. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the housing  20  may be portions of the electronic device and includes a main wall  21  and a sidewall  23  perpendicular to the main wall  21 . The sidewall  23  has a rectangular opening  231  and an extending plate  211  received in the opening  231 . The extending plate  211  is spaced from the sidewall  23 , and thus defines a receiving groove  233  for containing the block  117  of the protective cover  10 . The extending plate  211  defines a first hole  2111  and a second hole  2113 . 
     In  FIGS. 4-5 , when the cover mechanism  100  is assembled, firstly, the PCB  30  is positioned in the housing  20 , and allows the switch  40  to be aligned with the first hole  2111 . The protective cover  10  is aligned with the rectangular opening  231 . The head portion  1153  of the latching post  115  deformedly extends through the second hole  2113  to allow the cover  10  to be fixed to the housing  20 . The block  117  is received in the receiving groove  233 . The plug  11  is received in the interface  50 , and the pin  113  extends through the first hole  211  to allow the pin  113  to be aligned with the switch  40 . The hook  119  is latched to the sidewall  23 . Thus, the cover mechanism  100  is completely assembled. 
     To activate the switch  40 , the operator presses the pressing portion  133 . The pin  113  is caused to move to the switch  40  and activate the switch  40 . The elastic arms  114  provide return force to the pin  113 . Referring to  FIG. 6 , when the cover  10  is opened, the operator may turn the operating end  131  to allow the plug  111  to be separated from the interface  50 . The cover  10  may be rotated around the latching post  115  to provide more operating space. Thus, the interface  50  is exposed from the cover  10  for insertion of one of various kinds of plugs. 
     To close and lock the cover mechanism  100 , the above process is reversed and the cover  10  moved from the opened position to the closed position. 
     It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that different changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

Technology Category: h