Electronic device capable of ejecting an external device
The present invention provides an electronic device having a ejector for an external device. The ejector includes a body, a first elastic member, a plate, a block, a rotating unit, and a second elastic member. The ejector of the present invention is able to eject the external device engaged therewith. Thus, the apparatus can be applied to an electronic device required for detaching the external device.
Latest Wistron Corp. Patents:
This application claims the priority based on a Taiwanese Patent Application No. 098104937, filed on Feb. 17, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an ejector. Particularly, the present invention relates to an electronic device capable of ejecting an external device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional electronic devices usually have an engaging mechanisms for an external device (e.g. hard disk drive, HDD), but without any ejector for ejecting the external device. Thus, users have to withdraw the external device from the electronic device manually. Such operation is not convenient to users, especially when the external device is embedded in the electronic device (e.g. inside the housing). Since the configuration of the electronic device may be very complicated and/or no appropriate mechanism is provided for ejecting the external device, manually withdrawing the external device is difficult or even possible to damage the electronic device.
Due to the drawbacks of conventional engaging design, operation of the electronic device becomes complicated and only a few people (e.g. professionals) can operate properly. Based on the above-identified drawbacks, the present inventor contemplates and studies, based on rationales, to overcome those drawbacks and provide a reasonable design for improvement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the present invention to provide an ejector, which allows users to eject an external device in a convenient way. Thus, people without sufficient strength (e.g. children or senior citizens) are able to use the ejector to eject the external device away from an electronic device.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an electronic device capable of ejecting an external device. With the use of the ejector, the electronic device and the external device can be easily engaged or disengaged.
In one embodiment, the electronic device having an ejector for an external device includes a body having a housing, a first elastic member, a plate, a first block, a first rotating unit, and a second elastic member. The first block includes a first engaging part and a first pin. The first rotating unit has a first base part and a first stem part. The first base part is formed with a first notch engaging with the first engaging part. The plate has a first end and a second end. The first end connects to a button. By pressing the button, the plate moves from a first location to a second location. Moreover, the plate has at least one guiding slot, in which at least a pin of a block is inserted. When the plate moves from the first location to the second location, the sidewall of the guiding slot guides the pin to move from a first end of the guiding slot to a second end of the guiding slot. Consequently, while the guiding slot guides the block to move, the notch is disengaged from the first engaging part. Therefore, the first stem part, which is moveable and driven by the second elastic member, moves from a third location to a fourth location so as to allow the ejector to eject the external device.
The first block has the first engaging part and the pin. The pin is movably disposed in the guiding slot. Thus, the moving direction of the first block is restrained by the guiding slot. The first rotating unit has a first stem part and a first base part formed with a first notch. The first notch of the first rotating unit is corresponding to the first block. In other words, the first notch is disposed on the first rotating unit close to the first block. Thus, the first notch of the first rotating unit detachably engages with the first engaging part of the first block. After the first engaging part disengages from the notch, the first rotating unit is released from the restraints of the first engaging part. In other words, by controlling the engagement/disengagement status of the first notch and the first engaging part, the first rotating unit could be selectively free from the control of the first engaging part. Besides, the first stem part is disposed perpendicular to the base surface of the first rotating unit. In other words, the first stem part protrudes from the base surface of the first rotating unit, or a vertical bending structure serving as the first stem part is formed on the edge of the first rotating unit. Therefore, when the first rotating unit actuates, the first rotating unit acts to drive the first stem part to disengage an object (e.g. the external device) from the housing of the body.
The second elastic member includes a first end and a second end. The second end is connected to the first rotating unit. When the first notch and the first engaging part are disengaged in guidance of the guiding slot, the torsion of the spring will drive the first rotating unit to rotate and drive the first stem part to eject the external device from the housing of the body.
In one embodiment of the invention, an electronic device with an ejector capable of ejecting an external device is provided. The ejector is preferrably applied to portable electric devices (e.g. laptops), electronic dictionaries, global positioning system (GPS) devices, game stations, portable music players, displays, or other electronic devices which are in need of ejecting a detachable device. The ejector of the present invention is preferably used for ejecting an external device such as 2.5 inch hard disk drive, 3.5 inch hard disk drive, flash drive, or other peripheral devices.
In an exploded view shown in
In the embodiments shown in
As shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
Consequently, the first rotating unit 500 and the second elastic member 600 move or rotate to regain the balance. When the first rotating unit 500 rotates, the first rotating unit 500 simultaneously drives the first stem part 510 to move. When the first stem part 510 moves from the third location C to the fourth location D to push against the external device 800, the external device 800 is ejected from the housing 200 of the body 190. In the embodiment shown in
One embodiment of the present invention achieves the purpose to eject the external device by the above-identified configuration of the ejector. Various embodiments are further described below.
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In alternative embodiments, the shaft (not shown) can be upwardly screwed to position the first rotating unit 500 and the spring 600 from the surface 210 of the housing 200 of the body 190. However, in another embodiment, the surface 210 of the housing 200 of the body 190 can be designed with an indent (not shown) to accommodate the spring 600 in accordance with the size of the spring 600 (not shown). The indent acts to hold the position of the spring 600. In this case, even if the ejector is provided without any shaft 640, the spring 600 still can drive the first stem part 510 to move from the third location C to the fourth location D with the indent serving as the rotation axle.
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment shown in
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein, the above description is merely illustrative. Further modification of the invention herein disclosed will occur to those skilled in the respective arts and all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. An electronic device capable of ejecting an external device, the electronic device comprising:
- a body having a housing;
- a first elastic member;
- a plate, connecting to the body through the first elastic member in the housing of the body, wherein the plate is formed with at least one guiding slot, and the plate is movable between a first location and a second location;
- a first block, having a first engaging part and a first pin, wherein the first pin is disposed in the guiding slot;
- a first rotating unit, having a first base part and a first stem part, wherein the first base part is formed with a first notch, and the first stem part is moveable between a third location and a fourth location; and
- a second elastic member, connecting to the body and the first rotating unit, wherein when the plate moves from the first location to the second location, the first pin of the first block moves from a first end of the guiding slot to a second end of the guiding slot, the first engaging part is disengaged from the first notch, and the first stem part is moved from the third location to the fourth location.
2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein a groove is defined on the body, and the first block moves in the groove when the first pin moves from the first end to the second end.
3. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a guide plate disposed on the body and engaging with the first block, wherein the first block moves along the guide plate when the first pin moves from the first end to the second end.
4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the second elastic member includes a spring having a first end and a second end, the second end of the spring connects to the first base part, and the first end of the spring connects to the body.
5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first rotating unit further comprises a shaft, and the shaft is connected to the first base part and the second elastic member.
6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the plate further includes a protruding portion, wherein the first elastic member connects to the protruding portion and the body.
7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the plate further has a first opening, and the first elastic member connects to the plate and the body via the first opening.
8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the plate has a first end, the first end connects to a button, a surface of the body corresponding to a position of the button is formed with a second opening, the button protrudes from the body through the second opening.
9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the body further has a positioning groove, wherein the plate moves between the first location and the second location along the positioning groove.
10. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising an engaging part, wherein one end of the engaging part is disposed on the body, and the other end of the engaging part engages with the plate to restrain the plate to move between the first location and the second location.
11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the plate corresponding to the engaging part is formed with a second groove, the engaging part has a plate guide, the plate guide slidably engages with the second groove to restrain the plate to move between the first location and the second location.
12. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the housing of the body further is formed with at least a third opening, and the first stem part protrudes from the third opening.
13. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a second rotating unit and a third elastic member, wherein the second rotating unit includes a second base part and a second stem part, the second base part has a second notch, when the plate moves from the first location to the second location, the second stem part rotates from a fifth location to a sixth location.
14. The electronic device of claim 13, further comprising a second block, a second engaging part, and a second pin, wherein the second pin is disposed in at least one guiding slot, when the plate moves from the first location to the second location, the second engaging part is disengaged from the second notch.
6137685 | October 24, 2000 | Morinaga |
6538972 | March 25, 2003 | Poulsen |
6643139 | November 4, 2003 | Tien |
6912132 | June 28, 2005 | Riddiford et al. |
6992886 | January 31, 2006 | Salinas et al. |
7088778 | August 8, 2006 | Barrett et al. |
7679899 | March 16, 2010 | Hsieh et al. |
7755888 | July 13, 2010 | Sun |
7848099 | December 7, 2010 | Zhang et al. |
20020089821 | July 11, 2002 | Weng et al. |
20030030991 | February 13, 2003 | Riddiford et al. |
20030112597 | June 19, 2003 | Smith |
20050111178 | May 26, 2005 | Bradley et al. |
Type: Grant
Filed: Apr 28, 2009
Date of Patent: May 17, 2011
Patent Publication Number: 20100208423
Assignee: Wistron Corp. (Taipei)
Inventor: Chun-Chiang Lai (Taipei)
Primary Examiner: Hung V Ngo
Attorney: Muncy, Geissler, Olds & Lowe, PLLC
Application Number: 12/431,417
International Classification: H05K 7/14 (20060101);