Electronic Device With A Retractable Connector and Protective Door Mechanism
A hand held electronic device, such as a flash memory drive, includes a mechanism for extending and withdrawing a connector, such as a USB plug, that is adapted for engaging a mating connector of a host device. A positive latch holds the connector with respect to an outer shell when in the extended and withdrawn positions. Movement of a separate housing portion unlatches the connector and outer shell, and also provides movement of the connector. A protective door closes over a connector opening when the connector is withdrawn into the device, and the door is withdrawn into the device when the connector is extended, thereby not interfering with the extended connector.
This application is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 11/618,447 filed Dec. 29, 2006, which application is incorporated herein in its entirety.
This Application is also related to application Ser. No. 11/618,436 filed on Dec. 29, 2006 which application is incorporated herein in its entirety by this referenced.
BACKGROUNDThis application relates generally to hand-held electronic devices, such as flash drives containing non-volatile flash memory, that individually include a mating plug, such as an electrical plug following the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard, that allows removable connection of the devices with host systems.
A type of non-volatile semiconductor flash memory, commonly called a flash drive, is a small hand-held portable device that contains a USB plug as an integral part of it. The USB plug is inserted during use into a USB receptacle of a host system such as a personal computer (PC), notebook computer, portable digital assistant (PDA) and the like. The memory system within the flash drive is electrically connected to the host system through the USB connector plug for transferring data therebetween. The memory system also receives operating power through the USB connector plug. The USB connector plug conforms to the Universal Serial Bus Specification, chapter 6 of Revision 2.0 including mechanical specifications for the connectors. A line of USB flash drives is sold by SanDisk Corporation, assignee of the present application, under its Cruzer trademark.
One class of flash drives includes caps for the user to place on the USB connector plug when the device is not being used, in order to exclude dust and other particulate material from entering openings of the plug. Such caps are most commonly simple plastic coverings that are easily slipped on and off the plug by hand. Some removable caps, however, are provided with a more positive attachment mechanism that removably latches them to the plug. Such caps are commonly lost by users of flash drives when removed from the USB plug.
Another class of flash drives includes a mechanism that allows the user to withdraw the USB plug into the body of the flash drive when not in use. The plug assembly, including a flash memory module, are made to be slidable along the length of the flash drive body between extreme positions, one position being where the USB plug extends out of an end of the body a sufficient distance to be inserted into a mating receptacle of a host system, and the other extreme position being where the plug is withdrawn entirely into the body. SanDisk flash drives sold under the Cruzer Titanium and Cruzer Micro trademarks include such a sliding mechanism. A knob attached to the sliding mechanism extends out through an elongated opening on the top of the flash drive body so that it may be easily manipulated by hand to extend and withdraw the plug through another opening at an end of the body. The mechanism is positively held with respect to the body when in the fully extended and fully withdrawn positions by a resiliently engaged detent that is released by the user pushing the knob into the body at the same time as the knob is urged to extend or withdraw the mechanism from the end opening of the body.
SUMMARYIn order to protect the device from dust and other contaminants when the connector is withdrawn into the device, a cover or door is provided over an opening through which the connector is withdrawn. A door mechanism causes the door to be moved out of the way as the connector is extended from the device, such as by rotation about a pivot, and is then moved back into position over the opening in response to the connector being withdrawn back into the device, such as by a resilient force acting to rotate the door back into a closed position. The door is also withdrawn into the device in response to the connector being extended out of the device, so that the door does not interfere with the operation of the connector.
In accordance with the USB connector specifications, for example, a plug is required to be a certain length for insertion into a mating receptacle. If the door is merely swung out of the way as the connector plug is extended out of the device, it will lie along a portion of the length of the extended plug adjacent the device. This portion of the plug is therefore typically not useable for insertion into a mating receptacle. Therefore, in such a case, the plug is made to be longer than required by the USB specifications. By withdrawing the cover into the device as described herein, on the other hand, the connector need not be made longer than required by the specifications in order to accommodate the protective door.
Additional aspects, advantages and features of the present invention are included in the following description of an exemplary example thereof, which description should be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
All patents, patent applications, articles, books, specifications, other publications, documents and things referenced herein are hereby incorporated herein by this reference in their entirety for all purposes. To the extent of any inconsistency or conflict in the definition or use of a term between any of the incorporated publications, documents or things and the text of the present document, the definition or use of the term in the present document shall prevail.
Referring initially to
The device illustrated in
A third major part of the device is a connector assembly including the connector 11 and, preferably, a printed circuit board (PCB) on which one or more integrated circuits and other electronic components are mounted (not shown in
One stable position of the device is illustrated in
When it is desired to withdraw the connector 11 back into the housing 17, the housing is pushed forward from the position of
The door 13 is optional but preferably provided as part of the device in order to restrict movement of dust and other debris into the device when its parts are in the position shown in
But rather than attaching the door 13 to the housing 17 at an edge of its end opening 21, it is preferably carried by a separate element that is moveable along the length of the housing 17 to retract the door 13 into the housing 17 when the connector 11 is extended to the position shown by
Structural details of the mechanisms that function as described above are shown in the remaining figures. Initially, the main parts of the device illustrated in
Referring again to
The controllable latching of the connector assembly 23 to the shell 15 described above is provided, in this example, by a U-shaped spring element 31 having a portion 33 attached to an inside surface of the outer shell 15 (see
This positive latch occurs when the parts are moved into the positions of either of
The connector assembly is moved by application of hand motion to the housing 17, as described above. A controllable connection between the housing 17 and the connector assembly 23 is therefore desired for this purpose. This is provided, in this example, by protrusions 47 and 49 on ends of short plastic arms that are part of the connector assembly 23, and mating detents on inside surfaces of respective walls 51 and 53 of the housing portion 17b. Detents 55 and 57 are formed on the wall 51, as shown in
As shown best by the cross-sectional views of
A preferred structure for the door 13 and its supporting spring 27 is shown in
The spring 27 is shaped to work with the housing portion 17b (see
A bump 89 formed on the inside of the outer shell 15 (
Although the spring 27 moves a distance with the housing 17 as the housing is moved from the position of
When the housing 17 is moved from the position of
Although the various aspects of the present invention have been described with respect to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood that the present invention is entitled to protection within the full scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A portable electronic device, comprising:
- a housing that includes an opening,
- an electrical connector assembly carried by the housing and moveable with respect thereto between a first position wherein the connector extends outside of the housing through its opening and a second position wherein the connector is withdrawn into the housing, and
- a door mechanism including a door resiliently carried by an end of an element that is slideable with respect to the housing, and wherein (1) in response to movement of the connector assembly from the first to the second position, the element moves to a position wherein its end is adjacent the housing opening and the door is resiliently urged about the element end to cover the housing opening, and (2) in response to movement of the connector assembly from the second to the first position, the element moves to another position where the element end is withdrawn into the housing a sufficient distance so that the door is also withdrawn within the housing while being urged against the resilience at the element end.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein the element includes a wire having a pair of legs having one end connected to the door in a manner that a resilient force of the legs with respect to each other causes the door to rotate to a position substantially perpendicular to the wire legs.
3. The device of claim 1, wherein the element includes a wire having a pair of legs with one end connected to the door and another end shaped with segments substantially perpendicular to the legs and a crossbar joining the segments a distance from the legs, the element being carried by a wall of the housing with the element motion including sliding the element legs in slots in one surface of the wall, the element segments additionally extending through apertures in the wall so that the element motion includes sliding the crossbar along an opposite surface of the wall.
4. The device of claim 1, additionally comprising one or more integrated circuits positioned within the housing that form a non-volatile memory that is electrically connected with the connector.
5. The device of claim 1, wherein the connector assembly additionally includes one or more integrated circuits forming a non-volatile memory that is electrically connected with the connector.
6. The device of claim 1, wherein the connector of the connector assembly includes an USB plug.
7. A portable electronic device, comprising:
- an elongated outer shell,
- a housing that is moveable along the length of the shell and which has an opening at one end thereof,
- an electrical connector assembly carried by the housing and moveable with respect to the housing between one position extending the connector outside of the housing through its opening and another position where the connector is withdrawn into the housing,
- wherein the housing is also moveable with respect to the outer shell between one position extending the connector outside of the outer shell and another position wherein the connector is withdrawn into the outer shell,
- a door mechanism including a door carried by an element that in turn is slideably carried by the housing with a portion thereof extending to an outside of the housing adjacent an inside surface of the outer shell,
- abutments on the housing that engage the door element to move the element along the length of the outer shell, and
- a protrusion on the inside surface of the outer shell that restricts motion of the door element when there is relative motion between the housing and outer shell but no engagement of the door element with the housing abutments.
8. The device of claim 7, wherein the door element includes a wire having a pair of legs with one end thereof connected to the door in a manner that a resilient force of the legs with respect to each other causes the door to be biased in a position substantially perpendicular to the wire legs.
9. The device of claim 7, additionally comprising one or more integrated circuits positioned within the housing that form a non-volatile memory that is electrically connected with the connector.
10. The device of claim 7, wherein the connector assembly additionally includes one or more integrated circuits forming a non-volatile memory that is electrically connected with the connector.
11. The device of claim 7, wherein the connector of the connector assembly includes an USB plug.
12. A flash memory drive, comprising:
- an elongaged outer shell,
- an elongated housing that is moveable along a length of the shell and which has an opening at the first end,
- an assembly of a flash memory system and an electrical connector positioned within the housing and moveable along its length between extreme positions extending the connector outside of the housing through its opening and withdrawing the connector to a position within the housing,
- means responsive to movement of the housing and the assembly along the length of the shell for latching the assembly against movement with respect to the shell, means responsive to movement of the housing along the length of the shell when latched to the assembly for releasing the latch,
- means selectively holding the housing to the assembly for allowing the assembly to be moved with respect to the shell by movement of the housing, and
- means within the housing for covering the housing opening when the connector is withdrawn to the position within the housing and for withdrawing into the housing when the connector is extended to the position outside of the housing.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 20, 2007
Publication Date: Jul 3, 2008
Inventors: Michael Alan Morganstern (Saratoga, CA), Derek Niizawa (Sunnyvale, CA), Jeffrey A. Salazar (Palo Alto, CA), Junggi Sung (San Francisco, CA), Michael L. Simmons (San Francisco, CA), Arturo Meuniot (San Francisco, CA), Michael S. Roberts (San Francisco, CA)
Application Number: 11/943,437
International Classification: H01R 13/40 (20060101);