Apparatus for a portable electronic device
View Patent ↗An apparatus comprising a first and second housing is described. The apparatus is configured to enable the sliding motion of a first housing with respect to a second housing from a first configuration to a second configuration via complementary sliding connectors on each of the first and second housings. In the second configuration the complementary sliding connectors are not connected allowing rotation of the second housing with respect to the first housing to a third configuration.
1. An apparatus for a portable electronic device, the apparatus comprising:
a first housing; and
a second housing with complementary sliding connectors,
wherein the complementary sliding connectors are configured to be engaged along a sliding connection axis such that the first and second housings can be slid with respect to one another between a first configuration and a second configuration along a plane parallel to the sliding connection axis,
wherein the complementary sliding connectors are configured to be disengaged in the second configuration and be rotated about a rotation axis to allow for relative rotation of the first and second housings away from the sliding plane to provide a third configuration, and
wherein the complementary sliding connectors provide a complementary dovetail joint in which a female complementary sliding connector is configured to match a shape of a male complementary sliding connector on only one side of surfaces engaged along the sliding connection axis to define one or more gaps between the female complementary sliding connector and the male complementary sliding connector, and
wherein the sliding connection axis is perpendicular to the rotation axis.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the sliding connection axis extends along a lateral side of the second housing.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first and/or second housing comprises a male dovetail joint and the other of the first or second housing comprises a female dovetail joint.
4. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first and/or second housing comprises a rotating member configured to provide for connection and rotation of the housings from the second configuration to the third configuration.
5. An apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the rotating member is configured to move along an axis parallel to the sliding connection axis when the first housing is slid with respect to the second housing between the first and second configurations.
6. An apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the rotating member is configured to slide within an opposing complementary sliding connector during sliding between the first configuration and the second configuration.
7. An apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the rotating member is configured to rotate within an opposing complementary sliding connector during rotation between the second configuration and the third configuration.
8. An apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the rotating member comprises a barrel hinge.
9. An apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the rotating member and an opposing complementary sliding connector are configured to prevent the first housing sliding beyond the second configuration.
10. An apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the apparatus is configured such to provide resistance to the rotation of the second housing with respect to the first housing in the third configuration such that the apparatus is stable in multiple third configurations with different angles being defined between the first and second housings.
11. An apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the resistance is provided by the rotating member and/or the opposing complementary sliding connector.
12. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second housings comprise opposing faces which overlap in the first configuration and overlap in the second configuration, wherein the second configuration area of overlap in is less than the first configuration area of overlap.
13. An apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the first and second faces comprise complementary guide members configured to facilitate guiding of the housings between the first and second configurations.
14. An apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein a user interface on the first and/or second housing(s) is/are revealed by sliding movement between the first and second configurations.
15. An apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the one of the first and/or second housing comprises a rotation recess configured to facilitate housing rotation between the second configuration and the third configuration.
16. An apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sliding connector connection axis is straight and/or curved.
17. An apparatus according to claim 1 where the sliding connector of the second housing is located at only one lateral side of the second housing.
18. An apparatus according to claim 1 where the apparatus is configured such that the complementary sliding connectors need to be disengaged before the first and second housings can be moved to the third configuration.
19. An apparatus according to claim 1 where the sliding connector of the first housing is provided along an entire length of a first side of the first housing, and where the sliding connector of the second housing is provided along a majority of a length of a first side of the second housing which is less than a full length of the first side of the second housing.
20. An apparatus for a portable electronic device, the apparatus comprising:
a first housing and
a second housing with complementary sliding connectors,
wherein the second housing sliding connector is configured to extend laterally from a lateral side of the second housing to allow for sliding connection with the complementary sliding connector from the first housing to allow for, when engaged, the first and second housings to be slid with respect to one another between a first configuration and a second configuration along a plane perpendicular to the lateral side,
wherein the complementary sliding connectors are configured to be disengaged in the second configuration to allow for relative rotation of the first and second housings away from the sliding plane to provide a third configuration; and
wherein the complementary sliding connectors provide a complementary dovetail joint in which a female complementary sliding connector is configured to match a shape of a male complementary sliding connector on only one side of surfaces engaged along the sliding connection axis to define one or more gaps between the female complementary sliding connector and the male complementary sliding connector, and
wherein the sliding connector is perpendicular to an axis that allows for the relative rotation of the first and second housings.
21. An apparatus of claim 20 wherein the female complementary sliding connector is configured to extend inwardly from a lateral side of the second housing.
22. An apparatus for a portable electronic device, the apparatus comprising:
a first housing; and
a second housing with complementary sliding connectors,
wherein the complementary sliding connectors being configured to provide a sliding axis, which extends in a plane parallel to opposing first faces of the respective housings, the complementary sliding connectors being further configured to allow for sliding connection such that the first and second housings can be slid with respect to one another between a first configuration and a second configuration along a plane parallel to the opposing first faces, and in the second configuration, the complementary sliding connectors are disengaged such that the apparatus is configured to allow for relative rotation of the first and second housings to provide a third configuration in which the opposing first faces of the first and second housings have been rotated away from each other,
wherein the complementary sliding connectors provide a complementary dovetail joint in which a female complementary sliding connector is configured to match a shape of a male complementary sliding connector on only one side of surfaces engaged along the sliding connection axis to define one or more gaps between the female complementary sliding connector and the male complementary sliding connector, and
wherein the sliding axis is perpendicular to an axis that allows for the relative rotation of the first and second housings.