Locking device of a casing

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a locking device of a casing. More particularly, the present invention relates to a locking device of a casing applied to an information product such as a notebook, a PDA, a cell phone and the like.

2. Description of Related Art

Referring to FIG. 1 , a first prior art-locking device includes buckling matching portions 20 a protruding from edges on the same side of a cover 31 a and a seat 32 a of a casing, respectively, and two movable buckles 10 a located relative to the buckling matching portions 20 a for the closing and opening the casing.

The first prior art-locking device is operated by first moving the two movable buckles 10 a , respectively, in opposite directions and then to lift vertically the cover 31 a , such that the case is opened. The direction of the lifting of the cover 31 a doesn't correspond to the motion of the movable buckles 10 a , and is not ergonomically pleasing. Furthermore, the alignment between the movable buckle 10 a and the buckling matching portion 20 a often doesn't add to easy use of the prior art-locking device because of slides between the buckling matching portions 20 a.

As shown the FIG. 2 and FIG. 2A , a second prior art-locking device includes an upper buckling mechanism 20 b disposed on a cover 31 b of a casing and a lower buckling mechanism 10 b disposed on a seat 32 b of the casing and matching the upper buckling mechanism 20 b for buckling and locking to each other.

The upper buckling mechanism 20 b has an upper hook 21 b , while the lower buckling mechanism 10 b has a release button 11 b and a slot 12 b relative to the upper hook 21 b . However, complex components and assembly steps are expensive to manufacture. Further, operation of the second prior art-locking device is ergonomically displeasing, involving first inwardly pushing the release button 11 b and then vertically lifting the cover 31 b to open the casing, such that the direction of the lifting of the cover 31 b doesn't correspond to the motion of the release button 11 b.

Hence, the examples of prior art mentioned above obviously have disadvantages and an improved locking device is needed.

A primary object of the present is to provide a locking device in which the cover-lifting direction corresponds to the rotation of the roller so that a direction of applied force is continuously unchanged for improved ergonomics while simultaneously simplifying assembly steps to reduce manufacturing costs.

A locking device according to the present invention is applied in a casing having a cover and a seat for opening and closing thereof. The locking device includes a recess formed on an edge of the seat, a buckle downwards protruding from the cover and matching the recess, and a roller parallel-disposed in the recess and pivoted to the seat. The buckle has an arcuate face that smoothly presses against an upper slot of the roller for the closing and opening of the casing. A direction of applied force is continuously unchanged and thus ergonomic.

To provide a further understanding of the invention, the following detailed description illustrates embodiments and examples of the invention. Examples of the more important features of the invention thus have been summarized rather broadly in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the contributions to the art may be appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject of the claims appended hereto.

The drawings included herein provide a further understanding of the invention. A brief introduction of the drawings is as follows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first prior art-locking device;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second prior art-locking device;

FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of the second prior art-locking device;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a locking device;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a locking device according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the cross-section of a locking device according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating buckling of the locking device of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the cross-section illustrating buckling a locking device according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the roller surface of the locking device according to the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the roller surface of the locking device according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , a locking device 1 according to the present invention is applied in a casing 2 having a cover 21 and a seat 22 for the opening and closing of the casing. The seat has a first edge 23 pivotally hinged to the cover 21 and the second edge 24 in an opposite direction of the first hinging edge 23 . The locking device 1 includes a roller 11 , a buckle 12 and a recess 13 . The recess 13 is formed on the second edge 24 of the seat 22 , the buckle 12 protrudes downward from the cover 21 into the recess 13 when the cover 21 is closed against the seat 22 . The roller 11 is parallel-disposed in the recess 13 and pivoted to the seat 22

Reference is made to FIG. 5 , in which a diameter (a) of the roller 11 is larger than a depth (b) of the recess 13 so that the roller 11 partially protrudes out of the seat 22 . The roller 11 has an upper slot 1 ll relative to the buckle 12 and a pattern 113 formed on an outer surface thereof. When a user rotates the roller 11 upwards, the cover 21 can be lifted to open the casing 2 .

Reference is made to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , in which the buckle 12 has a projecting portion 121 at an end thereof and an arcuate face 122 on an inner side facing the hinging edge 23 . To close the casing 2 , the projecting portion 121 of the buckle 120 hooks the upper slot 111 when the cover 12 is rotated down. To open the casing 2 , the arcuate face 122 of the buckle 120 is moved upward and smoothly against the upper slot 111 to slide out of the upper slot 111 when the cover 21 is lifted.

The roller 11 further includes an inner recess 112 to contain the projecting portion 121 of the buckle 120 . The roller 11 further includes resilient elements 114 disposed on each side thereof for recovering the roller 11 to a predetermined position when the roller 11 is rotated to release the buckle 12 .

Reference is made to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 , in which the pattern 113 is alternatively arranged to be rough and uneven on the outer surface and the pattern 113 includes parallel grooves and embossing arrayed with a predetermined distance therebetween and in an order.

The present invention utilizes the roller 11 rotated in a clockwise direction corresponding to an opening direction of the cover 21 to identify the direction operation and achieve an ergonomic product, and further utilizes simple components and assembly steps to reduce manufacturing costs.

It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above description is only illustrative of specific embodiments and examples of the invention. The invention should therefore cover various modifications and variations made to the herein-described structure and operations of the invention, provided they fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the following appended claims.