1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable storage device; in particular, to a press portable storage device.
2. Description of Related Art
Portable storage devices have been widely used in the electronics field for consumer electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablet PCs, the mouse, and keyboards to store and transmit data among a variety of consumer electronic devices.
A press portable storage device in the market usually includes an outer housing case, an inner housing case disposed in and moved relatively to the outer housing case, a spring and a pendulum spring both disposed between the outer housing case and the inner housing case, wherein, a sliding-track is disposed on an inner surface of the outer housing case, one end of the pendulum spring is fixed at an outer surface of the inner housing case, and a folding arm is disposed at the other end of the pendulum spring and is located in the sliding-track of the outer housing case. A USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector of the inner housing case can be protruded from or retracted in the outer housing case via the spring cooperatively working with the pendulum spring.
However, a size of each component of this kind of press portable storage device has to be correspondingly designed to the size of the outer housing case and/or the inner housing case. For example, depending on products having different sizes and shapes, during the process of mass production of the press portable storage device, the pendulum spring and outer housing case will be remanufactured, redesigned, and remolded based on relative distances among each of the components, such that the pendulum spring and the sliding-track of the outer housing case are cooperated with each other to generate sufficient power for positioning the inner housing case by deformation of the pendulum spring.
To overcome the abovementioned drawbacks, it is necessary to provide a press portable storage device having standardized components that may be commonly used for simplifying the manufacturing procedure, is more suitable for mass production, and reduces the manufacturing cost.
The present invention provides a press portable storage device which includes an outer housing case, an inner housing case, a first elastic member, a pendulum member, and a second elastic member. The outer housing case has an inner surface, and a guiding column is protrudingly disposed on the inner surface. The inner housing case is disposed in the outer housing case slidably along a first direction. A USB connector is disposed in the inner housing case, and the outer housing case defining an opening corresponds to the USB connector. The pendulum member is set on the inner housing case, a positioning sliding-track is disposed on the pendulum member, the guiding column is located in the positioning sliding-track, and the positioning sliding-track has a retracted positioning track. The first elastic member extends along the first direction, and the second elastic member is disposed on the inner housing case and connected to the pendulum member.
When the inner housing case is slidden along the first direction and the USB connector is protruded from the opening of the outer housing case, the first elastic member is deformed to provide a first elastic force to the inner housing case, the positioning sliding-track having an inner margin abuts against the guiding column to push the pendulum member swaying from an initial state and along a second direction, and the second elastic member is deformed to provide a second elastic force to the pendulum member, wherein the first elastic force is used for returning the inner housing case back into the outer housing case, the second elastic force is used for returning the pendulum member back to the initial state.
In summary, the press portable storage device of the embodiment of the present invention may use the pendulum member to cooperatively work with the first and second elastic members, such that the USB connector of the inner housing case may be cyclically changed between hidden and protruded states. Furthermore, the pendulum member and/or the second elastic member may be one of the standardized components of the press portable storage device and be unifiedly manufactured so as to decrease the manufacturing cost.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the press portable storage device includes an outer housing case, an inner housing case, and a positioning assembly. The outer housing case has an opening. The inner housing case includes a USB connector disposed at a first end of the inner housing case, a press portion is disposed at a second end of the inner housing case, and the inner housing case is disposed in the outer housing case and relatively moved to the outer housing case. The positioning assembly is disposed between the outer housing case and the inner housing case, wherein the positioning assembly includes a pendulum member and a guiding column. The pendulum member defines a positioning sliding-track, and one end of the guiding column is disposed in the positioning sliding-track. The guiding column is moved in place with a position which the inner housing case is relative to the outer housing case. The pendulum member is swayed via a movement of the guiding column so as to change the guiding column's position in the positioning sliding-track. When the guiding column is located at a positioning area of the positioning sliding-track, the positioning assembly fixes the position which the outer housing case is relative to the inner housing case, and the USB connector is protruded from the opening of the outer housing case.
In order to further appreciate the characteristics and technical contents of the present invention, references are hereunder made to the detailed descriptions and appended drawings in connection with the present invention. However, the appended drawings are merely shown for exemplary purposes, rather than being used to restrict the scope of the present invention.
Please refer to
The present invention provides a press portable storage device 1 which includes an outer housing case 11, an inner housing case 12 disposed in the outer housing case 11 and relatively moved to the outer housing case 11, a first elastic member 13 located between the outer housing case 11 and the inner housing case 12, a pendulum member 14 disposed on an outer surface S2 of the inner housing case 12, and a second elastic member 15 disposed on an outer surface S2 of the inner housing case 12 and connected to the pendulum member 14.
As mentioned above, the inner housing case 12 includes a USB (Universal Serial Bus, USB) connector 121, and the outer housing case 11 defines an opening 112 corresponding to the USB connector 121. In the preferred embodiment, the USB connector 121 may further electrically connect to an electric circuit received in the inner housing case 12, and the electric circuit includes electric components such as chips so as to achieve an electric function of the press portable storage device 1. Via the USB connector 121, the press portable storage device 1 may transmit electrical signals between electric equipment such e.g., computer to store electronic data.
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Each component the press portable storage device 1 is described in detail as follows.
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As described above, specifically, the positioning sliding-track 141 includes a first slope 1411, a second slope 1412, and a retracted positioning sliding-track 1413. The first slope 1411 faces to the USB connector 121, the second slope 1412 backs to the USB connector 121, and the retracted positioning sliding-track 1413 is connected between the first and second slopes 1411, 1412. In the preferred embodiment, the pendulum member 14 includes a head end and a tail end relative to the head end, wherein the tail end of the positioning sliding-track 141 compared to the head end is more close to the USB connector 121. An example of the positioning sliding-track 141 is a heart shape, one side of the positioning sliding-track 141 is the first slope 1411, the other side of the positioning sliding-track 141 is the second slope 1412, and the retracted positioning sliding-track 1413 is located at the head end of the positioning sliding-track 141.
As mentioned above, the surface S3 of the pendulum member 14 further includes a linear sliding-track 142. The linear sliding-track 142 is located at the tail end of the positioning sliding-track 141, and the linear sliding-track 142 and the positioning sliding-track 141 are communicated with each other.
As shown in
As described above, the first end portion 151 of the second elastic member 15 is connected with the pendulum member 14 having a side portion. Specifically, the side portion of the pendulum member 14 has an ear part 144 which defines an aperture 145. When the pendulum member 14 is in the initial state, the aperture 145 substantially extends parallel with the first direction (X-axis direction). The first end portion 151 of the second elastic member 15 is set with a folding arm 154 located in the aperture 145, such that the first end portion 151 of the second elastic member 15 is slidden along the aperture 145 and connected to the ear part 144. The side portion of the pendulum member 14 is adjacent to the second slope 1412 of the positioning sliding-track 141. That is, the second slope 1412 of the positioning sliding-track 141 compared to the first slope 1411 of the positioning sliding-track 141 is more close to the second elastic member 15.
The second end portion 152 of the second elastic member 15 is fixed on the outer surface S2 of the inner housing case 12. Specifically, the outer surface S2 of the inner housing case 12 and the side portion of the pendulum member 14 having an adjacent place is protrudingly set with a stopper 125, and the stopper 125 is received in the accommodating space 122. In addition, the stopper 125 is located at a peripheral free space of pendulum member 14. Therefore, it does not occupy extra space. An example of the second end portion 152 of the second elastic member 15 is a half rectangular shape, and the second end portion 152 of the second elastic member 15 is sandwiched between the stopper 125 and the inner walls W1, W2 (shown
The pendulum member 14 is further set with a positioning part 146 so that the pendulum member 14 may be swayed more steadily. The outer surface S2 of the inner housing case 12 is set with an arcuate guiding groove 123 relative to the pendulum member 14. The positioning part 146 extends along a third direction (Z-axis direction) toward to the outer surface S2, and the positioning part 146 is located in the arcuate guiding groove 123. The positioning part 146 is slidden along the arcuate guiding groove 123 when the pendulum member 14 is swayed, and the arcuate guiding groove 123 having a radial direction is identical with the pendulum member 14 having a swaying radial direction.
As previously mentioned, when the first elastic member 13, the second elastic member 15, and the pendulum member 14 are cooperatively worked, the inner housing case 12 may be slidden between the first and second positions, so that the USB connector 121 of the inner housing case 12 may be changed between hidden and protruded states. Please refer to
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In particular, the positioning sliding-track 141 of the pendulum member 14 is designed for the USB connector 121 of the press portable storage device 1 having the abovementioned achievement by the first elastic member 13, the second elastic member 15, and the pendulum member 14 cooperatively working together. Specifically, as shown in
As previously said, when the pendulum member 14 is in the initial state, the linear sliding-track 142 extends parallel to the first direction (X-axis direction). In such way, in the initial state, the guiding column 111 is located in the linear sliding-track 142. Thus, the linear sliding-track 142 may be used to increase the distance of the inner housing case 12 slidden in the first direction, and to steady the inner housing case 12 slidden therein. In the preferred embodiment, the linear sliding-track 142 is connected to the first slope 1411. When the pendulum member 14 is in the initial state, the linear sliding-track 142 may be located at a common reference line L1. Additionally, when the pendulum member 14 is in the initial state, the main section 153 of the second elastic member 15 and the stopper 125 cooperatively define a gap G1 therebetween, such that the gap G1 may avoid the stopper 125 from hindering an actuation of the pendulum member 14 or the second elastic member 15.
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In particular, when the inner housing case 12 is slidden between the first and second positions, the USB connector 121 of the inner housing case 12 is changed between the hidden and protruded states. When the pendulum member 14, the first elastic member 13, and the second elastic member 15 are in the working state, the guiding column 111 of the outer housing case 11 remains stationary. Otherwise, the pendulum member 14 pivoted on the inner housing case 12 is slidden in pace with the inner housing case 12 along the first direction to push the pendulum member 14 to sway along the second direction, so that the relative position of the guiding column 111 in the positioning sliding-track 141 is changed, as above said. The movement about the guiding column 111 described previously is only for clearly explaining the actuation of the pendulum member 14. Actually, the guiding column 111 and the outer housing case 11 are not relatively moved.
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When the inner housing case 12 is slidden along the first direction and the USB connector 121 is protruded from the opening 112 of the outer housing case 11, the first elastic member 13 is deformed to provide a first elastic force to the inner housing case 12, the positioning sliding-track 141 having an inner margin abuts against the guiding column 111 to push the pendulum member 14 swaying from an initial state and along a second direction, and the second elastic member 15 is deformed to provide a second elastic force to the pendulum member 14, wherein the first elastic force is used for returning the inner housing case 12 back into the outer housing case 11, the second elastic force is used for returning the pendulum member 14 back to the initial state.
In summary, the press portable storage device 1 of the preferred embodiment of the present invention may use the pendulum member 14 to cooperatively work with the first and second elastic members 13, 15, such that the USB connector 121 of the inner housing case 12 may be cyclically changed between hidden and protruded states. When the pendulum member 14 is positioned, the USB connector 121 of the inner housing case 12 may stay in the protruded state without any change.
Additionally, the pendulum member 14 and/or the second elastic member 15 may be one of the standardized components of the press portable storage device 1 and be unifiedly manufactured so as to increase the utilization. In this way, different sizes and shapes of the press portable storage device 1 may commonly use the pendulum member 14 and/or the second elastic member 15 with standardized sizes to decrease the manufacturing cost.
Particularly, in the abovementioned embodiment, although the guiding column 111 is formed on the outer housing case 11, the pendulum member 14 is pivoted on the inner housing case 12, but it is not limited herein. For example, in another embodiment, the guiding column 111 may be formed on the inner housing case 12, and the pendulum member 14 is pivoted on the outer housing case 11. Specifically, the guiding column 111 may be formed on the outer surface S2 of the inner housing case 12, the pendulum member 14 may be pivoted on the inner surface S1 of the outer housing case 11, and the positioning sliding-track 141 may be formed on a surface facing to the outer surface S2 of the pendulum member 14. Furthermore, the second elastic member 15 may be disposed on the inner surface S1. The relative position, connection, and actuation of each component of the press portable storage device 1 of the embodiment are similar to the previous preferred embodiment, so there is no further explanation here.
To sum up, the present invention provides a press portable storage device which includes an outer housing case, an inner housing case, and a positioning assembly. The outer housing case has an opening. The inner housing case includes a USB connector disposed at a first end of the inner housing case, a press portion is disposed at a second end of the inner housing case, and the inner housing case is disposed in the outer housing case and relatively moved to the outer housing case. The positioning assembly is disposed between the outer housing case and the inner housing case, wherein the positioning assembly includes a pendulum member and a guiding column. The pendulum member defines a positioning sliding-track, and one end of the guiding column is disposed in the positioning sliding-track. The guiding column is moved in pace with a position which the inner housing case is relative to the outer housing case. The pendulum member is swayed via a movement of the guiding column so as to change the guiding column's position in the positioning sliding-track. When the guiding column is located at a positioning area of the positioning sliding-track, the positioning assembly fixes the position which the outer housing case is relative to the inner housing case, and the USB connector is protruded from the opening of the outer housing case.
Depending on different products, for example, the guiding column can be formed at the outer housing case and the pendulum member is pivoted at the inner housing case, or the guiding column is formed at the inner housing case and the pendulum member is pivoted at the outer housing case. In addition, when the guiding column is located at the initial area of the positioning sliding-track (e.g., the linear sliding-track of the abovementioned embodiment), the USB connector is hidden in the outer housing case. Moreover, the inner housing case is moved along the first direction (X-axis direction of the previous embodiment) which is relative to the outer housing case, and the guiding column is moved in pace with the position which the inner housing case is relative to the outer housing case and is moved along the first direction.
It is worth mentioning that the outer housing case, the inner housing case, and the positioning assembly of the embodiment of the present invention are not limited in the press portable storage device. For example, the positioning assembly may be used in a disc ejecting mechanism of a computer or other consumer electronic devices.
The descriptions illustrated supra set forth simply the preferred embodiments of the present invention; however, the characteristics of the present invention are by no means restricted thereto. All changes, alterations, or modifications conveniently considered by those skilled in the art are deemed to be encompassed within the scope of the present invention delineated by the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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104109522 | Mar 2015 | TW | national |