Auto-aligning and connecting structure between electronic device and accessory

The present application is based on, and claims priority from, Taiwan Application Serial Number 94139006, filed Nov. 7, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to an auto-aligning and connecting structure. More particularly, the present invention relates to an auto-aligning and connecting structure between an electronic device and an accessory.

2. Description of Related Art

With the popularization of personal computers, electronic devices have continued to develop and flourish substantially in recent years. Conventional personal computers integrate many functions, such as video or audio signal playing, image data processing, and network communications, etc. However, conventional personal computers are often too heavy and bulky. As a result, many portable electronic devices have been created for more convenient and specialized use, including MP3 players, digital cameras, cellular phones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs).

Recent advances in the design and fabrication of both software and hardware have generated a trend to integrate these mini-sized portable electronic devices into one single apparatus. For example, smart phones and PDAs are equipped not only with the functions of a normal cellular phone but also with digital cameras, music players etc. Portable electronic devices are becoming users' portable personal computers.

Since portable electronic devices have become smaller and lighter, it is foreseeable that more and more portable electronic device accessories will be designed to increase the accessibility and functionality of the devices. These accessories may also protect portable electronic devices from wear and tear. An external keyboard or a protective cover for the electronic device are examples.

No matter what kind of accessory is used, it must be physically compatible with the electronic device. For instance, a protective cover needs to cover the surface of the electronic device closely. Furthermore, some accessories need to be coupled electrically to the device's internal circuits at a predetermined and fixed angle for precise coupling. For example, a keyboard needs to couple electrically with the electronic device in a specific direction so that the keyboard can work as an interface of the electronic device. Therefore, this kind of accessory requires not only a proper connection but also the correct alignment.

Traditionally, connectors were utilized to facilitate the connection between the electronic device and the accessory of the electronic device. However, for some electronic devices and their accessories, the connectors such as mortises and tenon joints are too complicated to manufacture, too fragile, and too large. These connectors can no longer satisfy the connectivity and alignment needs of modern electronic devices and their associated accessories.

For the forgoing reasons, there is a need for a novel connecting and aligning structure that is small, light, and easy to fabricate to connect modern electronic devices to their accessories.

The present invention provides an auto-aligning and connecting structure that facilitates the connection between an electronic device and an accessory. The structure is small, light, easy to fabricate, sturdy, and it allows users to connect and disconnect accessories from electronic devices in a quick and proper manner.

In accordance with the foregoing and other aspects of the present invention, an auto-aligning and connecting structure is provided that comprises a first surface installed with a plurality of first magnetic units, and a second surface installed with a plurality of second magnetic units. When the second surface approaches the first surface, some of the plurality of the second magnetic units and some of the first magnetic units are aligned and mutually attracted such that the second surface is attracted to connect to the first surface.

In the foregoing, it is seen that the mutual attraction between the first magnetic units and the second magnetic units facilitates the alignment and connection between the electronic device and its accessory.

In conclusion, the invention facilitates the connection between an electronic device and its accessory with the help of a simple structure adopting magnetic units.

Moreover, the invention implements alignment between the electronic device and its accessory with the help of the same simple structure adopting magnetic units.

In this auto-aligning and connecting structure, a magneto-resistance layer could further be provided to cover each of the first magnetic units and the second magnetic units for reducing interference with other electronic components and for improving practicability of the present auto-aligning and connecting structure.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, figures, and appended claims.

Is It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are by examples, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1A is a diagram of an auto-aligning and connecting structure according to one preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 1B is an assembly diagram of an electronic device and a display protective cover according to one preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2A is a diagram of an auto-aligning and connecting structure according to another preferred embodiment of this invention; and

FIG. 2B is an assembly diagram of an electronic device and a keyboard according to one preferred embodiment of this invention.

An auto-aligning and connecting structure utilizing magnetic units and the related arrangement for implementing the alignment is herein introduced to solve the problems in the prior art.

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1A illustrates an embodiment of the auto-aligning and connecting structure of the present invention. A portable electronic device 100 and its protective cover 120 are used to implement the embodiment.

It is observed in FIG. 1A that a display 104 is set on a first surface 102 of the electronic device 100 . The portability of the electronic device 100 makes the display 104 more susceptible to damage. Hence a display protective cover 120 is needed to protect the display 104 . The display protective cover 120 has to be fixed at a specific position on the first surface 102 of the electronic device 100 to cover the whole display 104 and to provide sufficient protection to the display 104 . Therefore, in the present embodiment, the first magnetic units 106 a, 108 a , 110 a and 112 a comprise any kind of magnetic material, such as magnetic material, magnet, magnetic susceptible material, or electromagnetic inductive material, and the magnetic units 106 a , 108 a , 110 a and 112 a are set around the display 104 .

There are an equivalent number of second magnetic units 106 b , 108 b, 110 b and 112 b set on a second surface 122 of the display protective cover 120 that covers the display 104 . The magnetism of the second magnetic units 106 b, 108 b , 110 b , and 112 b are opposite to the magnetism of the first magnetic units 106 a , 108 a , 110 a , and 112 a , respectively. For instance, if the magnetism of the first magnetic units 106 a , 108 a , 110 a and 112 a are all positive, the magnetism of the second magnetic units 106 b , 108 b , 110 b and 112 b are all negative. In this way, when the second surface 122 of the display protective cover 120 and the first surface 102 of the electronic device 100 approach each other, they will be attracted to each other and connect with each other through the connection between the first magnetic unit 106 a and the second magnetic unit 106 b , the first magnetic unit 108 a and the second magnetic unit 108 b , the first magnetic unit 110 a and the second magnetic unit 110 b , and the first magnetic unit 112 a and the second magnetic unit 112 b , as demonstrated in FIG. 1B .

With an appropriate arrangement of the magnetisms, the aforementioned magnetic units are not only connecting structures that connect objects, but also aligning structures.

Please refer to FIG. 1A again. There is a window 124 on the display protective cover 120 for the user to observe the display status of the display 104 when the display protective cover 120 is connected to and covering the display 104 . If the electronic device 100 is designed such that the window 124 may be positioned in the direction 126 or the direction 128 when the display protective cover 120 is shut to the first surface 102 , the magnetisms of the first units 106 a and 112 a can be positive, and the magnetism of the first units 108 a and 110 a can be negative, while the magnetisms of the second units 106 b and 112 b can be negative, and the magnetism of the first units 108 b and 110 b can be correspondingly positive. Hence the display protective cover 120 can successfully connect to the electronic device 100 whether in the direction 126 or in the direction 128 .

However, if the electronic device 100 is designed such that the window 124 can be positioned only in the direction 126 as illustrated in FIG. 1B , the magnetisms of the first units 106 a and 108 a can be positive, and the magnetisms of the first units 110 a and 112 a negative, while the magnetisms of the second units 106 b and 108 b can be negative, and the magnetisms of the first units 110 b and 112 b correspondingly positive. Hence the display protective cover 120 can be successfully connected to the electronic device 100 only in the direction 126 . The display protective cover 120 will be repulsed and not able to connect to the electronic device 100 when the window 124 is rotated near the direction 128 . Hence the alignment is accomplished.

Another embodiment of the aligning and connecting structure of the present invention is shown in FIG. 2A . A portable electronic device 200 and its keyboard 220 are applied herein.

It is illustrated in FIG. 2A that there is a first contact 204 a on the electronic device 200 for electrically coupling with a second contact 204 b on the external keyboard 220 . Hence the keyboard 220 is capable of transmitting and receiving signals to and from the electronic device 200 . As displayed in FIG. 2A , the first contact 204 a is located on the first surface 202 of the electronic device 200 , and the second contact 204 b on the second surface 222 of the keyboard 220 . The alignment is even more important because the first contact 204 a and the second contact 204 b have to be in contact with each other for the keyboard 220 to function correctly.

As illustrated in the previous embodiment, there are a plurality of first magnetic units allocated on the first surface 202 of the electronic device 200 and a plurality of second magnetic units allocated on the second surface 222 of the electronic device 200 ; that is, the first magnetic units 206 a , 208 a and 210 a are installed on the first surface 202 of the electronic device 200 , and the second magnetic units 206 b , 208 b and 210 b are installed on the second surface 222 of the keyboard 220 . With the appropriate arrangement and design, these magnetic units are not only capable of attracting one another, but also able to connect the first contact 204 a and the second contact 204 b.

For example, when the polarities of the first magnetic units 206 a , 208 a and 210 a are positive, positive, and negative respectively, and the polarities of the second magnetic units 206 b , 208 b and 210 b are negative, negative, and positive respectively, the electronic device 200 and the external keyboard 220 can couple to each other only when the first magnetic unit 206 a and the second magnetic unit 206 b , the first magnetic unit 208 a and the second magnetic unit 208 b , and the first magnetic unit 210 a and the second magnetic unit 210 b connect to each other respectively such that the first contact 204 a and the second contact 204 b are connected to each other as illustrated in FIG. 2B . Otherwise, the alignment and connection between the electronic device 200 and the keyboard 220 cannot be fulfilled.

As the connecting structure of the present invention may be applied to any kind of electronic device, it must be considered that the influence of magnetism on components inside the electronic device is inevitable, especially for some portable electronic devices with components of high integration density. Therefore, a magneto-resistance layer surrounds each magnetic unit of the present embodiment to decrease the influence of the magnetism from the magnetic units on the components inside the electronic device. For instance, the magneto-resistance layer 206 c surrounding the magnetic units 206 a and 206 b concentrates the attractive magnetism so as not to interfere with other electronic components. The functions of the magneto-resistance layer 208 c surrounding the magnetic units 208 a and 208 b , and the magneto-resistance layer 210 c surrounding the magnetic units 210 a and 210 b are the same. Please note that the magneto-resistance layer can be made up of any kind of material that guides magnetism; metal, alloy, and ceramics are examples.

In addition, for the user to find the connecting position more quickly and more accurately, some non-magnetic assistant aligning structures are further installed around the magnetic units. For example, the first non-magnetic assistant aligning structures 212 a and 214 a are installed on the first surface 202 , and the second non-magnetic assistant aligning structures 212 b and 214 b are installed on the second surface 222 . In the present embodiment, the first non-magnetic assistant aligning structures 212 a and 214 a are concave structures, and the second non-magnetic assistant aligning structures 212 b and 214 b are convex structures that are able to be coupled with the first non-magnetic assistant aligning structures 212 a and 214 a respectively. Hence, the user can recognize the alignment position more easily and more clearly using these assistant aligning structures.

Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. For example, the numbers of the aforementioned magnetic units and assistant aligning structures are not limited to the present embodiments, and may be arranged and designed in various ways for different requirements. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments contained herein.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.