Patent Application
20060064849
The present invention generally relates to a hinge for connecting two housings of a foldable, portable electronic device such as a foldable mobile phone, and in particular to a hinge which facilitates opening and closing of the device.
With the development of the technologies of wireless communication and information processing, portable electronic devices such as foldable mobile phones are now in widespread use. These electronic devices enable consumers to enjoy the convenience of high-tech services anytime and anywhere. Foldable electronic devices are particularly favored by consumers for their convenience.
Foldable electronic devices generally have two housings joined by a type of hinge that allows the housings to fold upon one another. Many such foldable electronic devices have most of the electronics in one housing, called the main housing, and a few electronics in the other housing, called the cover. Other such foldable electronic devices have all the electronics in the main housing, with the cover serving only to cover a keypad and a display of the main housing. Manufacturers are constantly seeking to reduce the volume, size and weight of these foldable electronic devices. Thus, it is desirable that the hinge coupling the main housing with the cover is modularized and miniaturized. A common modularized hinge device has moving parts such as a cam member, a cam follower and a spring held together in a unified structure. The structure is easily and quickly attached to the main housing and the cover during mass production. A miniaturized hinge device has as few parts as possible, with the parts being as small as practicable.
Referring first to
When the main housing and the cover of the mobile phone are in an open state, the spring 14 has an original length, and an end surface of the cam 16 and an end surface of the follower 18 cooperate with each other compactly. When the cover is rotated toward a closed state of the mobile phone, the follower 18 makes the cam 16 rotate. The spring 14 is twisted and acquires elastic potential energy, and finally the cover is locked at the closed state by a flip-latch. When the cover is unlocked, it automatically rotates back to the open state by reason of the spring 14 releasing its potential energy.
However, the cam 16 cannot engage steadily with the follower 18. In addition, when the cover is opened, the spring 14 is liable to drive the cover to impact the main housing. The impact may damage the cover, the main housing, or the hinge 10. Furthermore, the hinge 10 is complex and difficult to assemble.
What is needed, therefore, is a simple, stable hinge mechanism which can be operated steadily and safely.
In a preferred embodiment, a hinge for joining the housings of a foldable electronic device together comprises an axle with a screw thread thereon, a clip at one end of the axle, a block with a screw hole therein and a spring around the axle. The block is retained on the axle with engagement of the screw thread in the screw hole, and the spring is retained between the clip and the block.
Another embodiment provides a foldable electronic device, which includes a main housing, a cover and the above-described hinge joining the main housing and the cover together. The foldable electronic device may, for example, be a foldable mobile phone.
The structure of the hinge is stable, by reason of the connection provided by the axle between the clip and the block. The mobile phone using the hinge can reduce or eliminate damaging impact that would otherwise occur when the cover is opened up from the main housing and reaches an open state.
Other advantages and novel features of the embodiments will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring now to the drawings in detail,
Referring also to
When the hinge is used in the mobile phone, the axle 22 and the block 26 are respectively received in the cover or the main housing of the mobile phone. The following detailed description of movement of the hinge assumes that the axle 22 is received in the cover, and the block 26 is received in the main housing.
The spring 24 keeps its original length when the cover and the main housing of the mobile phone are in an open state. The polygonal shaft 226 of the axle 22 is received in the cover, and the knobs 260 of the block 26 are received in the main housing. When the cover is rotated down toward the main housing, the axle 22 rotates clockwise relative to the block 26 (as viewed in
In the process of the cover opening, because of the engagement of the screw thread 224 in the screw hole 262 of the block 26, the decompression of the compressed spring 24 is slowed down. This helps prevent the cover from impacting the main housing when the cover reaches the open state. In addition, the hinge 10 is steady and reliable, because the axle 22 is mounted substantially between the clip 220 and the block 26. Furthermore, the hinge 10 has relatively few components, making it simple and easy to manufacture.
In an alternative embodiment, opposite ends of the spring 24 can be formed such that they are fixed to the clip 220 and the block 26 respectively. The clip 220 can be rotatably fixed in the round groove 222. With this configuration, if the cover opens too far relative to the main housing, the distance between the clip 220 and the block 26 increases too much, and the spring 24 is overstretched. Thus, the spring 24 rebounds and draws the clip 220 back toward the block 26. That is, the spring 24 corrects the overstretching, and helps bring the cover to the correct position at the open state.
In another alternative embodiment, the clip 220 is fixed in the round groove 222, and a first end of the spring 24 can be fixed to the clip 220, with an opposite second end of the spring 24 being fixed to the block 26. In a further alternative embodiment, the clip 220 can be omitted, and the first end of the spring 24 can be directly fixed to the first end of the axle 22, with the second end of the spring 24 being fixed to the block 26. With either of these configurations, the spring 24 can acquire more potential energy when the cover is rotated down to the closed state. Furthermore, the spring 24 can be replaced by another kind of suitable elastic member such as a resilient cylinder.
It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200410051681.0 | Sep 2004 | CN | national |
This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/012,945, entitled “HINGE ASSEMBLY” and filed on Dec. 14, 2004. The disclosure of the above identified application is incorporated herein by reference.
