ELECTRONIC DEVICE WITH SUPPORTING MEMBER

Abstract

An electronic device (10) includes a housing (30) and a supporting member (50) for supporting the housing. The housing includes a wall (31) and a plurality of vents (32) disposed on the wall. The supporting member includes a base (52) and a pair of upright walls (54). The base includes at least one securing member (522) and an opening (525). The securing member is engaged with one of the corresponding vents. The opening is aligned with the vents. The pair of upright walls bilaterally extend up from opposite edges of the base and defines a receiving space for receiving a part of the housing.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electronic device, and specifically to an electronic device with a supporting member.

2. Description of Related Art

Many devices, and particularly electronic devices such as access points, modems, ADSL's (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Lines), and so on, are commonly used nowadays. Conventionally, these devices are configured to be placed on a surface in a horizontal position when in use. However, in many circumstances, it may be inconvenient to place the device in a horizontal position because of limited space. Therefore, these devices sometimes need to be placed vertically. Nevertheless, without any help from other mechanism, these devices cannot be placed vertically by their own because an available placing area on their sides are usually narrow or small.

Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to overcome the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an aspect of the embodiment, an electronic device includes a housing and a supporting member for supporting the housing. The housing includes a wall and a plurality of vents disposed on the wall. The supporting member includes a base and a pair of upright walls. The base includes at least one securing member and an opening. The securing member is engaged with one of the corresponding vents. The opening is aligned with the vents. The pair of upright walls bilaterally extend up from opposite edges of the base, and define a receiving space for receiving a part of the housing.

Other advantages and novel features will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded, isometric view of an electronic device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the electronic device including a housing and a supporting member;

FIG. 2 is partly cut-away isometric view of the supporting member of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a circled portion III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the supporting member of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an assembled view of the electronic device of FIG. 1;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, an electronic device 10 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a housing 30 and a supporting member 50 for supporting the housing 30.

The housing 30 is used for receiving electrical components (not shown) such as chips, circuit boards, power supply devices and so on. The housing 30 comprises a wall 31, a plurality of vents 32 for dissipating heat generated by the electrical components received in the housing 30, a recessed portion 36, and a screw 34. The vents 32 are disposed on the wall 31 in line. Each vents 32 has a rounded rectangular cross-section. The recessed portion 36 is disposed on the wall 31 and is adjacent to the vents 32. The screw 34 is installed in the recessed portion 36.

Referring also to FIGS. 2-4, the supporting member 50 comprises a base 52, and a pair of upright walls 54. The base 52 and the upright walls 54 are integrally formed. The upright walls 54 bilaterally extend up from opposite edges of the base 52, and define a receiving space 53 for receiving a part of the housing 30. The base 52 comprises a protruding portion 521, a pair of securing members 522, a pair of through-holes 523, an opening 525, and a receiving portion 524. The opening 525 is disposed in a middle of the base 52, and extends through opposite surfaces of the base 52. The through-holes 523 are disposed adjacent to opposite edges of the opening 525. Each through-hole 523 partly encircles the corresponding securing member 522, thus increasing resilience of the securing member 522. The protruding portion 521 is disposed on an end of the base 52 and is adjacent to one of the securing members 522. The protruding portion 521 is semi-ring shaped, and defines a receiving portion in a middle thereof. The supporting member 50 further comprises a plurality of ribs 527. The ribs 527 are disposed on inner surfaces of the upright walls 54 thus reinforcing the supporting member 50.

Each securing member 522 comprises a resilient portion 5223, a first upright portion 5225, a second upright portion 5226, and a hook 5224. The resilient portion 5223 extends from an inner wall of the corresponding through-hole 523 toward the opening 525, and comprises a first surface 5221 and an opposite second surface 5222. A thickness of the resilient portion 5223 is thinner than that of the base 52. The first upright portion 5225 is perpendicular to the first surface 5221, and is disposed on a distal end of the resilient portion 5223. The hook 5224 is disposed on a distal end of the first upright portion 5225. The hook 5224 comprises an arced surface 5228, and an inclined surface 5227 connecting to the arced surface 5228. The inclined surface 5227 and the first upright portion 5225 cooperatively define an angle b therebetween. The angle b is an obtuse angle. The second upright portion 5226 is perpendicular to the second surface 5222, and is disposed on a distal end of the resilient portion 5223. The first upright portion 5225 is aligned with the second upright portion 5223.

Referring also to FIG. 5, in assembly, each second upright portion 5226 of the corresponding securing members 522 are pushed toward the opening 525 by external force to deform the resilient portions 5223, thereby urging the second upright portions 5226 and the corresponding hooks 5224 to move away from the opening 525. And thus, the hooks 5224 of the first upright portions 5225 are easily inserted into the corresponding vents 32, hooking edges of the vents 32, thereby engaging the securing member 522 with the corresponding vents 32. The base 52 of the supporting member 50 abuts against the wall 31 of the housing 30. The protruding portion 521 is received in the recessed portion 36. A header of the screw 34 is received in the receiving portion 524. The opening 525 is aligned with the vents 32.

In disassembly, each second upright portion 5226 of the corresponding securing member 522 is pushed toward the opening 525 by external force to distort the resilient portions 5223, thereby making the second upright portions 5226 and the corresponding hooks 5224 move away from the opening 525, and the hooks 5224 of the first upright portions 5225 disengage from the vents 32. Thus, the supporting member 20 can be easily removed from the housing 30.

With the hooks 5224 being engaged with edges of the vents 32, and the protruding portion 521 being received in the recessed portion 36 of the housing 30, the housing 30 is stably mounted on the supporting member 50. The opening 525 is aligned with the vents 32, thus facilitating heat-dissipation of the housing 30. In addition, because of the arced surface 5228, the securing member 522 is easily engaged with the corresponding vents 32. Furthermore, because the angle b is an obtuse angle, the securing member 522 is easily disengaged from the vents 32 thus the supporting member 50 is easily removed from the housing 30 when necessary.

While exemplary embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only and not by way of limitation. Thus the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a housing comprising a wall and a plurality of vents disposed on the wall; and

a supporting member for supporting the housing, comprising: a base comprising at least one securing member engaged with one of the plurality of vents, and an opening aligned with the vents; and a pair of upright walls bilaterally extending up from opposite edges of the base, and defining a receiving space for receiving a part of the housing.

2. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base defines at least one through-hole encircling the corresponding securing member.

3. The electronic device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the at least one through-hole comprises a pair of through-holes disposed adjacent to opposite edges of the opening.

4. The electronic device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the at least one securing member comprises a pair of securing members.

5. The electronic device as claimed in claim 4, wherein each through-hole partly encircles the corresponding securing member.

6. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the securing member comprises a resilient portion comprising a first surface and an opposite second surface, a thickness of the resilient portion being thinner than that of the base.

7. The electronic device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the securing member further comprises a first upright portion perpendicular to the first surface, the first upright portion being disposed on a distal end of the resilient portion.

8. The electronic device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the securing member further comprises a hook disposed on a distal end of the first upright portion.

9. The electronic device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the hook comprises an arced surface and an inclined surface connecting to the arced surface, the inclined surface and the first upright portion cooperatively defining an angle.

10. The electronic device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the angle is an obtuse angle.

11. The electronic device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the securing member further comprises a second upright portion perpendicular to the second surface, the second upright portion being disposed on a distal end of the resilient portion.

12. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises a recessed portion disposed on the wall of the housing.

13. The electronic device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the base further comprises a protruding portion received in the recessed portion.

14. The electronic device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the protruding portion is semi-ring shaped.

15. The electronic device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the protruding portion defines a receiving portion in a middle thereof.

16. The electronic device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the housing further comprises a screw installed in the recessed portion, a header of the screw being received in the receiving portion.

17. An electronic device comprising:

a housing of said electronic device; and

a supporting member for supporting said housing to be placed along a predetermined orientation, said supporting member comprising two securing members formed in said supporting member and spaced from each other, each of said two securing members comprising a resilient portion cantilevered and extending toward the other of said two securing members, a first upright portion formed at an extending end of said resilient portion and extending toward said housing, and a hook formed at an extending end of said first upright portion, said hook and said first upright portion of said each of said two securing members pivotally movable relative to said resilient member of said each of said two securing members between a first position of said hook and said first upright portion where said hook is moved closest to said other of said two securing members in order to engage with said housing and secure said supporting member to said housing, and a second position of said hook and said first upright portion where said hook is moved farthest away from said other of said two securing members in order to disengage from said housing and release said supporting member.

18. The electronic device as claimed in claim 17, wherein said each of said two securing members further comprises a second upright portion form at an extending end of said resilient portion and extending opposite to said first upright portion so as to be user-operable to control movement of said hook and said first upright portion between said first position thereof and said second position thereof.

19. An electronic device comprising:

a housing of said electronic device; and

a supporting member for supporting said housing to be placed along a predetermined orientation, said supporting member comprising two securing members formed in said supporting member and spaced from each other, each of said two securing members comprising a hook extending toward said housing and facing the other of said two securing members, said hook pivotally movable to engage with said housing and secure said supporting member to said housing by being moved toward said other of said two securing members, and to disengage from said housing and release said supporting member by being moved away from said other of said two securing members.

20. The electronic device as claimed in claim 19, wherein said hook of said each of said two securing members is formed at an extending end of a first upright portion extending toward said housing, and a second upright portion extends from another end of said first upright portion to extend opposite to said first upright portion so as to be exposable and user-operable to control movement of said hook.