MULTI-FUNCTIONAL SWITCH ASSEMBLY AND PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE USING THE SAME

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to switch assemblies, more particularly to a multi-functional switch assembly and a portable electronic device using the switch assembly.

2. Description of the Related Art

Portable electronic devices such as mobile phones typically include switches, such as latching switches or power switches. The latching switch can attach or detach a battery cover relative to a housing of the portable electronic device. The power switch can power on or off the portable electronic device. However, the switches are usually separately formed with the housing, causing inconvenience for single-hand switching operations.

Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present multi-functional switch assembly and a portable electronic device using the switch assembly can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present multi-functional switch assembly and the portable electronic device. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a switch assembly used with a portable electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partial enlarged view of the switch assembly shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an assembled view of the portable electronic device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a planar view of the switch assembly shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the portable electronic device shown in FIG. 3, taken along line IV-IV.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 and 3 show an embodiment of a portable electronic device 100 including a housing 10, a multi-functional switch assembly 20 assembled to the housing 10, a bottom cover 30, a top cover 40 and a circuit board 50 assembled inside the housing 10. The bottom cover 30 and the top cover 40 cooperate to cover two opposite sides of the housing 10. The multi-functional switch assembly 20 can be operated either to detach the bottom cover 30 from the housing 10, or to switch the circuit board 50, such as to power on or off the portable electronic device 100.

Referring further to FIG. 2, the housing 10 includes a bottom wall 11 and a sidewall 13. The bottom wall 11 has a resilient board 111 and a pin 113 protruding therefrom (best shown in FIG. 4). The resilient board 111 and portions of the sidewall 13 are substantially parallel with each other. The sidewall 13 and the bottom wall 11 enclose a mounting groove 15 for mounting the switch assembly 20. The resilient board 111 defines a cutout 1111 near the pin 113. The bottom wall 11 defines a through groove 115 between the sidewall 13 and the resilient board 111. The sidewall 13 includes a mounting hole 131, a latching slot 133, and a post 135. The latching slot 133 is positioned between the mounting hole 131 and the post 135. The mounting hole 131 is defined through the sidewall 13. The latching slot 133 aligns with the cutout 1111. The post 135 protrudes perpendicularly from the sidewall 13 towards the resilient board 111.

The switch assembly 20 includes a driving member 22, a switching member 24, a base member 26 and an elastic member 28. The driving member 22 is elastic including a step-shaped main body 221, a press portion 222, and a switching portion 223. The press portion 222 and the switching portion 223 are located at two opposite sides of the main body 221. The main body 221 defines a receiving slot 225, and extends a deformable arm 227 opposite to the receiving slot 225. The arm 227 defines a ring 228 at the distal end. When pressing the press portion 222, the arm 227 and the main body 221 can deform along the pressing direction. The ring 228 is used to secure the driving member 22 to the base member 26.

The switching member 24 is elastic and includes a handle portion 242, a main portion 243 and a resisting portion 244. The handle portion 242 and the resisting portion 244 are located at two opposite sides of the main portion 243. The main portion 243 has a coil portion 246 opposite to the handle portion 242 and the resisting portion 244. When pressing the handle portion 242, the main portion 243 can deform along the pressing direction. The coil portion 246 can coil around and secure the post 135, and accordingly, the switching member 24 is secured to the housing 10.

The base member 26 includes a base board 261, a through slit 262, two first hooking portions 263, a column 264, a securing portion 265 and a latching portion 267. The two first hooking portions 263, the column 264 and the latching portion 267 are located at the same side of the base member 26. The base board 261 extends an elastic bar 2611 from the interior wall of the through slit 262 to the outside. The elastic bar 2611 can be resisted by the resisting portion 244 to deform away from the base board 261. The through slit 262 is larger than the switching portion 223, and the switching portion 223 can pass through the through slit 262. The first hooking portions 263 are located at the bottom of the base board 261. Each of the first hooking portions 263 has a slanted wall 2631. The column 264 is used to secure the ring 228. Accordingly, the driving member 22 is secured to the base member 26. The securing portion 265 is adjacent to the distal end of the elastic bar 2611 for securing the elastic member 28 with the base member 26. The latching portion 267 protrudes from the distal end of the elastic bar 2611. The latching portion 267 can latch into the latching slot 133, latching the base member 26 with the housing 10.

Referring further to FIGS. 4 and 5, the elastic member 28 may be a coiled spring and has two opposite ends 281 securing to the securing portion 265 and the pin 113. The bottom cover 30 includes two second hooking portions 32 hooking with the first hooking portions 263. The circuit board 50 includes a switch 52 corresponding to the switching portion 223. The switch 52 may be a power switch for the portable electronic device 100.

Referring again to FIG. 1 through FIG. 5, during assembly of the portable electronic device 100, the ring 228 secures to the column 264, and the switching portion 223 passes through the through slit 262. The switching member 24 resists against the driving member 22. The elastic member 28 is secured to the base member 26. In this case, the resisting portion 244 resists against the elastic bar 2611, and the coil portion 246 is located at the outside of the base member 26. The assembly of the switch assembly 20 is completed.

The switch assembly 20 is mounted into the mounting groove 15. The base member 26 resists against the resilient board 111, and the first hooking portions 263 exposes out of the through groove 115. The cutout 1111 receives the securing portion 265, and the latching slot 133 latches the latching portion 267. The flange of the main body 221 resists against the circumferential wall of the mounting hole 131. The main portion 243 resists against the sidewall 13. The main body 221 and the handle portion 242 are located outside the mounting hole 131 and the housing 10. The coil portion 246 secures with the post 135. The elastic member 28 is extended, securing the end 281 to the pin 113. The assembly of the switch assembly 20 within the housing 10 is completed. After that, the circuit board 50 and the top cover 40 are mounted to the housing 10, and the switching portion 223 aligns with the switch 52.

To attach the bottom cover 30 to the housing 10, press the handle portion 242 downward to swing the main portion 243 and the resisting portion 244 about the post 135 further into the housing 10. Meanwhile, the resisting portion 244 resists against and bends the elastic bar 2611 away from the base board 261, until the latch of the latching portion 267 in the latching slot 133 is released. The bottom cover 30 is pressed against the housing 10, and the second hooking portions 32 resist against and slide along the slanted walls 2631 of the first hooking portions 263. During this process, the base member 26 slides within the housing 10 along a direction A (shown in FIG. 3) and the elastic member 28 extends to accumulate its potential energy, until the second hooking portions 32 pass over the peaks of the slanted walls 2631. The elastic member 28 releases the potential energy to automatically drive the base member 26 to move in a direction opposite to the direction A, until the second hooking portions 32 hook with the first hooking portions 263. The latching portion 267 re-latches into the latching slot 133, further maintaining the hook of the second hooking portions 32 and the first hooking portions 263. The attachment of the bottom cover 30 to the housing 10 is completed.

To power on or off the portable electronic device, the main body 221 is pressed with external force along a direction along B (shown in FIG. 3) to move the switching portion 223 further into the housing 10, until the switching portion 223 resists against the switch 52. The portable electronic device is switched to power on or off.

It is to be understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of assemblies and functions of various embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the present invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.