Slide cover for a communication unit

• US 6,370,362 B1
• Filed: 02/26/1999
• Issued: 04/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Mobile Phones UK Limited (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Bestle, Nikolaj, Kraft, Christian, Saxbøl, Morten, Koleda, Eugeniusz Zachariusz, Hansen, Lars Stecher, Hansen, Jacob
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): CRAVER, CHARLES R
• Application Number:
  US09/259,102
• Time in Patent Office: 1,138 Days
• Field of Search: 455/90, 455/550, 455/575, 455/566, 379/422, 379/1, 379/426, 379/428, 379/433-434, 379/440
• US Class Current: 455/90.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0237 Sliding mechanism with one degree of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/725 Cordless telephones user interfaces specially adapted therefor H04M1/724

Abstract

A communication unit has a housing part provided with means for entering information, and a slide assembly. The housing part is provided with a set of tracks along which the slide assembly is slidable relatively to the housing part. The slide assembly includes a cover part and a set of sliding rails extending from said cover part in the sliding direction for being received in said set of tracks on the housing part.

Claims

1. A communication unit having a housing part provided with means for entering information, and a slide assembly that is adapted to be disassembled into two parts upon being dropped to thereby avoid being damaged;

the housing part being provided with a set of tracks along which the slide assembly is slidable relative to the housing part;

the slide assembly including a first cover part which at least partly covers the means for entering information in one position of the slide assembly, and a second slide part carrying a set of rod-shaped sliding rails extending from one end of the cover part in the sliding direction for being received in the set of tracks on the housing part;

at least a part of the set of tracks being arranged inside the housing part; and

a housing wall of the housing part being provided with holes aligned with the set of tracks through which the sliding rails extend.

2. A communication unit according to claim 1, wherein the cover part and the slide part are provided as two separate items snapped together.

3. A communication unit according to claim 1, wherein said cover part is provided as an injection molded plastic item, and wherein said slide part is provided as a punched sheet metal item.

4. A communication unit according to claim 1, wherein a wall of the cover part of the slide assembly facing the housing is provided with a set of conducting paths for a microphone mounted on an inner surface of the slide assembly, and said conducting paths extend in continuation of one of the sliding rails and co-operate with a microphone connector extending through the housing walls at the end of said tracks.

5. A communication unit according to claim 4, wherein a connector comprises a carrier structure carrying a set of telescopic legs, each of these comprising a tip part biased to an extended position by biasing means associated with the respective telescopic legs for establishing a reliable connection with said set of conducting paths for the microphone.

6. A communication unit according to claim 1, wherein the unit furthermore comprises a biased mechanism for moving the slide assembly to a position in which the means for entering information are accessible, and a release mechanism for activating said biased mechanism.

7. A communication unit according to claim 6, wherein the biased mechanism co-operates with at least one of said set of sliding rails extending from said cover part.

8. A communication unit according to claim 6, wherein the biased mechanism includes a guide profile along which said at least one sliding rail is movable, a traveller fixed to said at least one sliding rail and guided by the guide profile, means for biasing the traveller in a position in which the cover part at least party covers said means for entering information, and locking means for locking the traveller in this position.

9. A communication unit according to claim 8, wherein the locking means includes a push button pivotally attached to one end of the guide profile and extending through the housing wall, and a resilient latch spring fixed to the same end of the guide profile and engaging the traveller, said push button being provided with a pin acting on the resilient latch spring for releasing the traveller when the push button is pressed.

10. A communication unit according to claim 8, wherein the biasing means includes a coil spring aligned with said at least one sliding rail and having one end attached to the traveller and the other end attached to the housing of the communication unit.

11. A communication unit according to claim 1, and including means for detecting when the slide assembly is moved to a closed position in which the cover part at least partly covers said means for entering information, wherein said means for entering information includes a key for accepting an action suggested in an associated part of a display, and said suggested action is disabling of the means for entering information when the slide assembly is in closed position.

12. A communication unit according to claim 11, wherein said key is a soft key, and the functionality of the soft key changes to an idle mode functionality after a time-out period when the action has not been accepted.

20. A microphone connector for a communication unit having a housing part and a slide assembly in accordance to claim 1, said connector comprising a carrier structure carrying a set of telescopic legs, each of which comprises a tip part biased to an extended position by biasing means associated with the respective telescopic legs.

21. A microphone connector according to claim 20, wherein the set of telescopic legs are conducting, and an outer part of a tube-shaped base part of the legs is connected to respective conductive leaf springs.

23. A communication unit according to claim 1, wherein said cover part is provided as an injection molded plastic item, and wherein said slide part is provided as a bent sheet metal item.

13. A front cover for a communication unit, the front cover including a housing part through which means for entering information may be accessed, and a slide assembly that is adapted to be disassembled into two parts upon being dropped to thereby avoid being damaged,

the housing part being provided with a set of tracks along which the slide assembly is slidable relatively to the housing part;

the slide assembly including a cover part which at least partly covers the means for entering information in one position of the slide assembly, and a slide part carrying a set of rod-shaped sliding rails extending from one end of the cover part in the sliding direction for being received in the set of tracks on the housing part;

at least a part of set of tracks being arranged inside the housing part; and

a housing wall of the housing part being provided with holes aligned with the set of tracks through which sliding rails extends.

14. A front cover according to claim 13, wherein the cover part and the slide part are provided as two separate items snapped together.

15. A front cover according to claim 13, wherein the cover part is provided as an injection moulded plastics item, and wherein the slide part is provided as a punched and/or bent sheet metal item.

16. A front cover according to claim 13, wherein a wall of the cover part of the slide assembly facing the housing is provided with a set of conducting paths for a microphone mounted on an inner surface of the slide assembly, and said conducting paths extend in continuation of one of the sliding rails and co-operate with a microphone connector extending through the housing wall at the end of said tracks.

17. A slide assembly for mounting on a housing part provided with means for entering information, the slide assembly being movable along a set of tracks on the housing part and being adapted to be disassembled into two parts upon being dropped to thereby avoid being damaged, wherein the slide assembly includes a first cover part which at least partly covers the means for entering information in one position of the slide assembly, and a second slide part carrying a set of rod-shaped sliding rails extending from one end of the cover part in the sliding direction for being received in the set of tracks on the housing part.

18. A slide assembly according to claim 17, wherein the cover part and the slide part are provided as two separate items snapped together.

19. A slide assembly according to claim 18, wherein the cover part is provided as an injection moulded plastics item, and wherein the slide part is provided as a punched and/or bent sheet metal item.

22. A communication unit having

a housing part provided with means for entering information;

a slide assembly; and

a slide moving mechanism, the mechanism including

a biased mechanism for moving the slide assembly to a position in which the means for entering information is accessible, and

a release mechanism for activating the biased mechanism,

the housing part being provided with a set of tracks along which the slide assembly is slidable relatively to the housing part, at least a part of the set of tracks being arranged inside the housing part, and the housing wall of the housing part being provided with holes aligned with the set of tracks through which the sliding rails extends for engaging with the slide moving mechanism;

the slide assembly including;

a cover part which at least partly covers the means for entering information in one position of the slide assembly,

a slide part carrying a set of rod-shaped sliding rails extending from one end of the cover part in the sliding direction for being received in the set of tracks on the housing the said slide part being provided as two separate snapped together items.