Patent Application
20060123596
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to hinge assemblies and, more particularly, to a hinge assembly for hinging together housings of foldable electronic devices such as mobile telephones, electronic notebooks, and so on.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
With the development of the technologies of wireless communication and information processing, portable electronic devices such as mobile telephones and electronic notebooks are now in widespread use. These electronic devices enable consumers to enjoy the convenience of high technology services anytime and anywhere. Foldable electronic devices are particularly favored by consumers for their convenience.
Generally, foldable electronic devices have most of the electronics in one housing, called the body The other housing, called the cover, normally contains fewer electronic components than the body Other foldable electronic devices have all the electronics in the body, thus the cover contains no electronics and serves only to cover a keypad and a display of the body. Various types of hinge assemblies are used to join a body and a cover of a foldable electronic device, so that the cover can unfold up from and fold down upon the body.
As represented in
Such a hinge assembly is suitable for some foldable mobile telephones. However, the hinge assembly includes a variety of individual pieces that must be installed within the foldable mobile telephone when the foldable mobile telephone is assembled. This type of hinge does not meet the growing trend for foldable mobile telephone manufacturers to use integrated one-piece hinge assemblies, which can be quickly and easily press-fitted into foldable mobile telephone sub-assemblies during manufacturing.
What is needed, therefore, is a hinge assembly which is integrated and provides easy assembly.
In a preferred embodiment herein, a hinge assembly for a foldable electronic device is provided. The hinge assembly includes a shaft, a cam, and an elastic member. The shaft is in the form of a rod and provided with a projection. The cam includes a body and a center cavity. The body of the cam defines a cam face at one end thereof, and the projection of the shaft is engaged with the cam face. The shaft travels through the center cavity of the cam. One end of the elastic member is effectively resisted by the shaft, and an opposite end of the elastic member abuts an end of the cam opposite the cam face.
Other advantages and novel features of various embodiments will become more apparent from the following detailed description thereof when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Other aspects of the hinge assembly can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the hinge assembly. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
The shaft 10 is essentially in the form of a round rod. A keyed head 12 is formed at a first end of the shaft 10, and an annular slot 14 and a corresponding stop plate 15 are formed at an opposite second end of the shaft 10. The stop plate 15 may be either integrally or separately attached as part of the shaft 10. The keyed head 12 is an irregular polygonal block. The keyed head 12 is engaged with the body 801 of the foldable electronic device 800 so that the shaft 10 is rotatable with the body 801. A pair of projections 16 is formed on two opposite sides of the shaft 10 and adjacent the keyed head 12. The projections 16 are advantageously generally pole-shaped and are essentially diametrically aligned with each other. Further advantageously, the pole-shape and the positioning of the projections 16 (i.e., their configuration) is chosen so as to facilitate movement thereof relative to the cam 20. The projections 16 and the shaft 10 are either integral or separately attached. If separately attached, the shaft 10 could have a pair of holes defined in a periphery thereof, and the projections 16 of the shaft 10 could be respectively secured in the holes. Whether or not mounting holes are employed, the projections 16 could be mechanically or metallurgically fastened to the shaft.
The cam 20 is essentially in the form of a modified, hollow cylinder and includes a body 21 and a center cavity 23. The center cavity 23 is formed through the body 21 along a center axis of the cam 20. The center cavity 23 is engaged with the shaft 10, so that the cam 20 is both axially movable and rotatable relative to the shaft 10. A first end of the body 21 has a cam face 22, and an opposite second end of the body 21 has a flat face 24. The cam face 22 has two vertical slopes 226 and two angled slopes 228. Each angled slope 228 spans about half a circumference of the body 21 and is advantageously angled (roughly 15°-50° relative to the flat face 24) to promote a gradual yet significant change in loading in the compression spring 30 upon rotation of the cam 20. Each vertical slope 226 is essentially parallel to the center axis of the cam 20. In an alternative embodiment, each angled slope 228 spans about 160 degrees of a circumference of the body 21. The slopes 226, 228 are alternatively formed, thereby establishing a pair of respective ridges 222. A protrusion 28 is formed on a periphery of the body 21. The protrusion 28 is cuboid and is engaged with the cover 802 of the foldable electronic device 800 so that the cam 20 is rotatable with the cover 802.
The compression spring 30 advantageously is made of metal and is spiral-shaped (i.e., a coil spring). The disk 40 is C-shaped and is elastically snap fit and thus secured on the shaft 10 in the annular slot 14. The compression spring 30 abuts against the disk 40. The disk 40 is retained on the length of the shaft 10 by the stop plate 15, even under a force created by the compression spring 30.
In assembly of the hinge assembly 100, the second end of the shaft 10 extends through the center cavity 23 of the cam 20 and the compression spring 30, and the disk 40 is snap fit on the shaft 10 in the annular slot 14. The compression spring 30 is located between the cam 20 and the disk 40. One end of the compression spring 30 abuts against the disk 40. The disk 40, in turn, biases against the stop plate 15 due to the force of the compression spring 30 (i.e., conversely, the compression spring 30 is biased relative to the stop plate 15 in this manner). An opposite end of the compression spring 30 abuts against the flat face 24 of the cam 20. The compression spring 30 is slightly compressed, so that the compression spring 30 continuously presses the cam face 22 of the cam 20 against the projections 16 of the shaft 10. The hinge assembly 100 is thus completely assembled, as shown in
To open the foldable electronic device 800, the lock mechanism is manually unlocked. Hence, the compression spring 30 decompresses and drives the cam 20 to move relative to the shaft 10. The cover 802 is correspondingly rotated up from the body 801 and continuously rotated in an opening direction under the decompression force of the compression spring 30. The cover 802 is thus opened automatically to a fully opened position, a position at which the projections 16 abut against the vertical slopes 226 of the cam 20.
To close the foldable electronic device 800, the cover 802 is manually rotated down toward the body 801. As such, the cam 20 moves relative to the shaft 10. The angled slopes 228 of the cam 20 move relative to the projections 16 of the shaft 10, with the ridges 222 approaching the corresponding projections 16. Concurrently, the flat face 24 of the cam 20 axially moves toward the second end of the shaft 10 (i.e., toward the stop plate 15) and rotates relative to the shaft 10. As a result, the compression spring 30 is compressed. When the foldable electronic device 800 is in a closed position, the cover 802 is held by the lock mechanism.
It is to be understood that the compression spring 30 may alternatively be made of another material (e.g., plastic or rubber) and/or have a different configuration (e.g., leaf spring or 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 are merely preferred or exemplary embodiments of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200410077423.X | Dec 2004 | CN | national |
