Patent Application
20090051174
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an engaging apparatus applied to electronic equipment and, more particularly, to an engaging apparatus which utilizes magnetic forces to assist in turning back an engaging device to the original position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, many kinds of electronic equipments, such as laptop, have been getting more and more popular and favoring by many customers because they are light and portable; moreover, many novel models and functions are launched continuously on the market.
In the present, a spring locking apparatus is mostly adopted as a switch of a cover of commonly electronic equipment on the market. That is to say, when the cover of the laptop is closed by a user, the spring locking apparatus utilizes an elastic force generated by a spring to assist in engaging an engaging member (ex. tenon) located at the cover with a restraint member (ex. groove) located at a base to form a locking engagement. When the user wants to open the cover, he/she only has to operate the apparatus to move toward the opposite direction to release the locking engagement.
However, when the spring locking apparatus is used unceasingly, the elastic force of the spring will get fatigued gradually and broken down finally. Furthermore, the cover of the equipment will become unable to be locked and easy to be collided and damaged.
Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to provide an engaging apparatus applied to electronic equipment, so as to solve the aforesaid problems.
The invention provides an engaging apparatus applied to electronic equipment. The engaging apparatus utilizes magnetic forces generated among magnets to substitute for elastic forces generated by springs to assist in turning back an engaging device to the original position.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the invention provides an engaging apparatus applied to an equipment. The engaging apparatus comprises an engaging device and a second magnetic member. The engaging device is movably disposed in a cover of the equipment and comprises a first magnetic member and an engaging member. The second magnetic member is also disposed in the cover and corresponds to the first magnetic member. The cover thereon defines a first position and a second position. When the engaging device is operated to move from the first position to the second position, a magnetic force generated between the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member assists in turning back the engaging device to the first position. Besides, with the placement of the engaging apparatus, the magnetic members can cooperate with a reed switch of the electronic equipment to control a power switch on/off.
The advantage and spirit of the invention may be understood by the following recitations together with the appended drawings.
According to a first embodiment of the invention, the invention refers to an engaging apparatus which can be applied to any equipment required of locking a cover to a base, such as laptops, folding mobile phones and electronic entertainment devices. Please refer to
In the practical application, the engaging apparatus 10 can further comprise a restraint member (not shown in
For instance, the restraint member and the engaging member 18 of the engaging apparatus 10 can respectively be a groove and a tenon, and the tenon can be cooperated with the groove. After the cover of the equipment is closed with respect to the base, the tenon is located at the first position P1, and the tenon can be cooperated with the groove to form a locking engagement. The locking engagement represents that the cover is in the state of being locked to the base. On the other hand, when the tenon is located at the second position P2, the locking engagement formed by the tenon and the groove will be released. That is to say, when the tenon is located at the second position P2, the cover can be separated from the base.
Besides, the first magnetic member 16 and the second magnetic member 14 can respectively be a magnet, but not limited to this. According to the invention, terminal portions of two magnets in opposition to each other should be the same in polarity. For instance, assume that the first magnetic member 16 is a first magnet and the second magnetic member 14 is a second magnet. As shown in FIG, 1, if the first magnet utilizes S-terminal portion to face the second magnet, the second magnet has to utilize S-terminal portion to face the first magnet too. Similarly, if the first magnet utilizes N-terminal portion to face the second magnet, the second magnet has to utilize N-terminal portion to face the first magnet too. Accordingly, when the first magnet approaches the second magnet, a repulsively magnetic force will be generated between the first magnet and the second magnet. As mentioned above, when the engaging device 12 is operated to move from the first position P1 to the second position P2, the magnetic force generated between the first magnet and the second magnet assists in turning back the engaging device 12 to the first position P1.
According to a second embodiment of the invention, the invention relates to an electronic equipment. And, the electronic equipment can be any apparatus which needs to lock a cover to a base, such as laptops, folding mobile phones and electronic entertainment devices. Please refer to
In practical applications, the electronic equipment 22 can further comprise a restraint member 20. The restraint member 20 is disposed in a base 24 of the equipment. When the engaging device 12 is located at the first position P1, the engaging member 18 can be cooperated with the restraint member 20 to form a locking engagement. On the other hand, when the engaging device 12 is located at the second position P2, the locking engagement will be released.
In the embodiment shown in
Besides, the first magnetic member 16 and the second magnetic member 14 can respectively be a magnet, but not limited to this. According to the invention, the terminal portions of two magnets in opposition to each other should be the same in polarity. For instance, assume that the first magnetic member 16 is a first magnet and the second magnetic member 14 is a second magnet. As shown in
In practical applications, the electronic equipment 22 can further comprise a reed switch 28 or magnetic sensor, such as hall sensor, as shown in
Similarly, when an angle between the cover 26 and the base 24 is smaller than a threshold, the cover 26 is closed by a user; for example, since the reed switch 28 approaches the first magnetic member 16 and the second magnetic member 14 gradually, the detected magnetic field intensity is relatively increased gradually. Once the detected magnetic field intensity is larger than a predetermined value, the reed switch 28 will transmit a signal to the electronic equipment 22, and the electronic equipment 22 will switch off a part of components in the electronic equipment 22, such as a screen or a hard disc, according to the signal.
Compared with the prior art, the engaging apparatus and the electronic equipment applying the same according to the invention not only save them from utilizing the spring in prior art and avoid elastic fatigue, but also control a power switch on/off by cooperating with a reed switch, so as to save power consumption.
With the example and explanations above, the features and spirits of the invention will be hopefully well described. Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teaching of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 096131333 | Aug 2007 | TW | national |
