Electronic devices continue to evolve rapidly with constant improvements in designs, features, materials, and components. Further, electronic devices continue to improve in performance and in overall design. One common goal among electronic device designers concerns designs that are rugged while not proving too cumbersome for daily use. Thus, many designs have been introduced to reduce the size of electronic devices without sacrificing performance or durability. Trends in designing have lead to smaller sized devices; however, such smaller sized devices require innovative housing designs to incorporate functions and features, particularly features not present in earlier designs.
Most electronic devices include a housing assembly that contains the electronic parts and components of the electronic device. While housing assemblies typically include an outer shell which functions to both hold the components of the device and to protect the components of the electronic device from external elements, typical user operation of the device requires that the housing be at least partially removable for inner device access. For instance, in many electronic devices, batteries that are internally housed during normal operation may need to be accessed by the user for replacements and/or re-charging. Similar to batteries, many other internally housed components of a device may need to be accessed by the user. Accordingly, such device housings cannot be sealed.
Thus, many housings have been designed to grant internal housing access to the user. For instance, some housings incorporate screws that must first be unscrewed before internal access can be gained. Other housings include covers that can be completely removed from the housing to gain access. While such a design provides internal access, in many instances, the cover can be misplaced and even lost. In such a situation, the internal space of the housing can remain permanently exposed to environmental elements until a replacement part is obtained and installed.