Patent Application
20110035905
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hinge and an electronic device with the same, especially to a hinge that is rotatable by 180 degrees both clockwise and anticlockwise.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
Conventional electronic devices such as notebook computers, cell phones and the like comprise a cover, a base and a conventional hinge. The conventional hinge is mounted between the cover and the base to allow the cover to be tilted and rotated relative to the base. To protect internal electrical wires, the conventional hinge has a limiting structure to prevent the cover from over rotating. The limiting structure comprises a stationary limit and a rotating limit respectively connected to the base and the cover. So when the cover is rotated about a longitudinal axis to adjust a viewing angle of a screen, the rotating limit abuts the stationary limit to limit the rotation of the cover.
Conventionally, both the rotating limit and the stationary limit have certain, tangible sizes, and are firmly provided on the cover and base respectively so that those elements, though they prevent the wires from damage, also prevent the cover from being rotated clockwise and anticlockwise by 180 degrees relative to the base. There are several ways to overcome the shortcomings, but most require complicated designs so are costly to implement and may not be as reliable in use.
Therefore, the present invention provides a hinge and an electronic device with the hinge to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the present invention is to provide a hinge that is rotatable by 180 degrees in two planes. The hinge is mounted between a cover and a base of an electronic device and has a first actuating unit, a pivoting limit and a second actuating unit. The first actuating unit has two tops. The pivoting limit is mounted pivotally between the stops. The second actuating unit selectively abuts a first side and a second side of the pivoting limit. When the second actuating unit abuts one of the sides of the pivoting limit to pivot the pivoting limit, one of the sides of the pivoting limit abuts one of the stops to limit the rotating angle. With the pivot of the pivoting limit, the rotating angle is increased. Therefore, the cover of the electronic device is rotatable by a full 180 degrees in both directions, and the hinge still provides limiting function to protect inner wires.
Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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The seat (10) is U-shaped in cross section and has a top surface, a bottom surface, a pivoting hole (11) and two positioning recesses (12). The pivoting hole (11) is formed through the top and bottom surfaces. The positioning recesses (12) are formed through the top and bottom surfaces and communicate with the pivoting hole (11).
The central bracket (20) is connected to the seat (10) and has a body (21), a pivoting shaft (22) and two tilting assemblies (23). The pivoting shaft (22) is formed on and protrudes out from a bottom of the body (21) and is mounted rotatably through the pivoting hole (11) of the seat (10). The tilting assemblies (23) are attached respectively to and protrude transversely out from two sides of the body (21).
The washer assembly (40) is mounted around the pivoting shaft (22) and comprises a limiting washer (310), a positioning washer (41) and a fastening washer (43). The limiting washer (310) is mounted securely around the pivoting shaft (21) adjacent to the top surface of the seat (10). The positioning washer (41) is mounted securely around the pivoting shaft (21) adjacent to the bottom surface of the seat (10) and has two positioning protrusions (42). The positioning protrusions (42) are formed on a top surface of the positioning washer (41) and selectively engage the positioning recesses (12) of the seat (10) to provide positioning function. The fastening washer (43) is attached securely to an end of the pivoting shaft (21) to hold the washer assembly (40) and the seat (10) firmly.
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The hinge and the electronic device as described have following advantages. With the pivot of the pivoting limit (33), the rotating angle of the central bracket (20) is increased. The increased rotating angle remedies the angles occupied by the pivoting limit (33) and the second actuating unit (32). Then the central bracket (20) and the cover (60) are rotatable by 180 degrees either clockwise or anticlockwise. Therefore, the cover (60) has a full range of viewing angles and the hinge as described also provides limiting function to protect the interior wires.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
