BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional locking device for an internal battery pack cover of a mobile phone;
FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of a conventional locking device for an internal battery pack cover of a mobile phone;
FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a conventional locking device for an internal battery pack cover of a mobile phone;
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a locking device for an internal battery pack cover of a mobile phone according to the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a locking device coupled to an internal battery pack cover of a mobile phone according to the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an internal battery pack cover of a mobile phone with a locking device coupled thereto according to the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a front view of an internal battery pack cover of a mobile phone with a locking device coupled thereto according to the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a rear view of an internal battery pack cover of a mobile phone with a locking device coupled thereto according to the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a rear view showing the operation of a locking device coupled to an internal battery pack cover of a mobile phone according to the present invention; and
FIG. 10 is an enlarged rear view of part A of FIG. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same element, although depicted in different drawings, is designated by the same reference numeral or character. Also, in the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention unclear.
Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a locking device 100 according to the present invention includes a locking member 200 and a locking module 300. The locking member 200 is formed on a lower case frame 1b of a main body 1 of the mobile phone. The locking module 300 includes first and second locks 302a and 302b which can be inserted into or released from the locking member 200. The locking module 300 is mounted on a cover 40 of a battery pack 10. The first and second locks 302a and 302b rotate along a hinge axis A1 with a sliding movement of a button unit 301 to be inserted into or released from the locking member 200. Accordingly, a cover 40 of a battery pack 10 can be secured into or detached from the main body 1.
Referring to FIGS. 4 and 8, the locking member 200 has a lock groove for detachably mounting the first and second locks 302a and 302b therein. The lock groove has a pair of stoppers 201 for preventing the first and second locks 302a and 302b from being released out.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the cover 40 has at least one mount groove 401 for mounting the button unit 301 and the locking module 300 therein. The mount groove 401 has guide holes 402 formed with a slope at a predetermined angle relative to the horizontal plane. The guide holes 402 guide the movement of sliding movement support members 301a which are formed on the button unit 301 and penetrate through the holes 402.
Referring to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the locking module 300 consists of the button unit 301, a locking member 302 having a pair of locks 302a and 302b, and a hinge member 303. The button unit 301 is slidingly movable within the mount groove 401 formed on the cover 40. The locking member 302 is movably coupled to the button unit 301. The pair of locks 302a and 302b rotate around a hinge axis A1 with a sliding movement of the button unit 301. The button unit 301 penetrate through the cover 40 in order to be coupled to the locking member 302. The button unit 301 has at least one sliding movement support member 301a for supporting the sliding movement thereof.
Referring to FIGS. 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10, the locking member 302 has first and second locks 302a and 302b, which are coupled in a X-shape or scissor-like fashion. The first and second locks 302a and 302 have projections 306 at the upper portions thereof. With the sliding movement of the button unit 301, the first and second locks 302a and 302b rotate around the hinge axis A1 in a direction to come together or separate from each other. At the same time, the projections 306 of the first and second locks 302a and 302b are released from or caught by the stoppers 201 of the locking member 200. A hinge hole 304 is formed at the intersection of the first and second locks 302a and 302b so that the hinge member 303 can be inserted therein. The first and second locks 302a and 302b have guide members 305 for guiding the movement of the sliding movement support members 301a of the button unit 301 at the lower portions thereof.
Referring to FIGS. 4, 9 and 10, an elastic member 400 is interposed between the lower parts of the first and second locks 302a and 302b in order to provide an elastic force for making the upper parts of the first and second locks 302a and 302b apart from each other. The first and second locks 302a and 302b are rotatably mounted on the mount groove 401 with the hinge member 303 inserted into the hinge hole 304. Then, an E-ring 500 is coupled to the hinge member 303 penetrating through the hinge hole 304 to support the first and second locks 302a and 302b.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, each guide member 305 consists of a guide movement hole 305a and a step-like stopper 306b. The sliding movement support members 301a of the button unit 301 penetrate through the guide movement holes 305a and are caught by the step-like stoppers 306b.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, the projections 306 have guide slopes 306a which facilitate the insertion of the projections 306 into the locking member 200 when the cover 40 is coupled to the lower case frame 1b of the main body 1.
The operation of the locking device having the above configuration for use in an internal battery pack cover of a mobile phone according to the present invention will be explained in further detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 10.
Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the locking device 100 for an internal battery pack cover of a mobile phone according to the present invention includes the locking member 200 and the locking module 300. The locking module 300 has the first and second locks 302a and 302b which are coupled in a X-shape or scissor-like fashion.
The first and second locks 302a and 302b are rotatably mounted onto the mount groove 401. At this time, the hinge member 303 formed on the mount groove 401 is inserted into the hinge hole 304 formed at the intersection of the first and second locks 302a and 302b. Then, the E-ring 500 is coupled to the hinge member 303 protruded from the hinge hole 304.
Under this condition, the button unit 301 is slidably coupled to the outer side of the cover 40.
The button unit 301 has at least one sliding movement support member 301a. According to the present invention, two sliding movement support members 301a penetrate through the guide holes 402 formed on the mount groove 401 and are slidably coupled to the guide members 305 of the first and second locks 302a and 302b.
The guide members 305 each consist of a guide movement hole 305a and a step-like stopper 306b. The sliding movement support members 301a of the button unit 301 penetrate through the guide movement holes 305a and are caught by the step-like stoppers 306b.
The guide members 305 can guide the sliding movement of the sliding movement support members 301a.
Then, the cover 40 is mounted onto the main body 1 of the mobile phone as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. At this time, the projections 306 formed at the upper ends of the first and second locks 302a and 302b are inserted into the locking member 200 of the lower case frame 1b of the main body 1.
As illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, the projections 306 are caught by the stoppers 201 formed at the lower end of the locking member 200 are not to be released from the locking member 200. In order to separate the cover 40 of the battery pack 10 from the main body 1, the user should first slidingly move the button unit 301 downward. With the movement of the button unit 301, the sliding movement support members 301a also moves along the guide holes 402 formed on the cover 40 and along the guide members 305 of the first and second locks 302a and 302b.
The guide holes 402 and the guide members 305 have a slope at a predetermined angle to support the inclined movement of the sliding movement support members 301a.
As illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, the first and second locks 302a and 302b rotate around the hinge axis A1 of the hinge member 303 in a direction to get closer to each other. At this time, the projections 306 formed at the upper ends of the first and second locks 302a and 302b become closer to each other and thereby become released from the locking member 200 of the lower case frame lb. Thus, the user can remove the cover 40 from the main body 1 and remove the battery pack 10.
Due to the elastic member 400 interposed between the lower parts of the first and second locks 302a and 302b, the first and second locks 302a and 302b are forced apart and return to their original positions.
In order to couple the cover 40 again to the lower case frame 1b of the main body 1 as illustrated in FIG. 8, the user should first insert the locking module 300 of the cover 40 into the locking member 200. The projections 306 of the first and second locks 302a and 302b are inserted into the locking member 200 with their sloping surfaces being in contact with the stoppers 201. Once inserted, the projections 306 are caught by the stoppers 201 to be kept within the locking member 200.
The projections 306 have guide slopes which guide and facilitate the insertion of the projections 306 into the locking member 200.
As described above, the present invention provide a locking device for detaching a cover of an internal battery pack from a main body of a mobile phone by a sliding movement of a button unit and the resulting rotation of locks. The locking device according to the present invention can reduce the space required for mounting a conventional locking device for an internal battery pack cover and improve appearance of a mobile phone.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims, including the full scope of equivalents thereof.
Patent Application
20080096617
