Patent Application
20090007382
The present invention relates to a hinge barrel and a manufacturing method thereof and particularly to a hinge barrel made from metal that has a holding trough and a manufacturing method thereof.
Many 3C electronic devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital cameras, mobile phones and the like have a display and a host coupled together through a hinge. When in use the display is lifted and extended. When not in use the display can be folded onto the host to reduce the size to facilitate storing and carrying.
The main concern of the design of the hinge is to provide a torsional force so that the display and the host can be coupled together and also can be extended relative to each other. Moreover, when the display and the host are extended at a selected position it should not be easily changed under an external force.
R.O.C. patent No. M249418, entitled “Pintle structure” discloses a pintle structure to control opening and folding of two articles. It has a pintle with a chamfered surface on the surface and a plurality of washers each having a pintle hole with an opening to receive the pintle. The pintle hole has a tangent surface corresponding to the chamfered surface. When the pintle is turned in the pintle hole a friction force is generated to provide a torsional force for the two articles to open and close. When the chamfered surface is mating the tangent surface the torsional force is released to provide an anchoring effect.
The pintle structure set forth above needs a lot of elements, including many washers to generate the required torsional force. The anchoring is accomplished by mating the chamfered surface of the pintle and the tangent surface of the washers. The anchoring effect is not desirable. Furthermore, the incessant turning of the pintle in the pintle hole of the washers tends to wear off the chamfered surface and the tangent surface. The tightness between the pintle and the washers could decrease. The torsional force being generated could be affected.
R.O.C. patent No. M251049, entitled “Hinge for multifunctional peripherals and lid thereof” has a coupling portion located at one end of an elastic structure and a pivotal connecting portion at another end of the elastic structure. It can be hinged on a lid body in a rotary manner. There is a gap between the pivotal connecting portion and the coupling portion. When the lid body is opened it gives the pivotal connecting portion a push force. The elastic structure releases an elastic force to change the gap between the pivotal connecting portion and the coupling portion. Thereby the lid body can be opened or closed through the hinge structure.
However, the hinge structure set forth above can only provide anchoring of the lid body at an opening and a closing positions. It cannot be adjusted at any position according to user's requirements. Moreover, elastic fatigue tends to occur to the elastic structure after used for a period of time or when not in use properly. The elastic structure could be broken when exceeding an allowable elastic range. All these issues are pending to be resolved in the industry.
The primary object of the present invention is to solve the aforesaid problems. The present invention provides a hinge barrel and a manufacturing method thereof. The hinge barrel is made of a metal of a good extensibility and a lower cost, and produced through a novel fabrication process. The resulting hinge barrel has a required stable friction coefficient. The structure is simpler. The probability of forming the hinge barrel with too much or too little friction coefficient due to an improper applying force during the manufacturing process decreases.
The method for manufacturing the hinge barrel of the invention includes the following steps:
providing a raw metal;
fabricating the metal through a first rolling process through a first rolling machine to form a body consisting of a base, a bracing portion and a holding trough;
placing a forming strut in the holding trough;
fabricating the body held the forming strut through a second rolling process through a second rolling machine to make an inner side of the bracing portion in contact with the forming strut to become an arched shape;
treating the body formed with the arched bracing portion and the forming strut through a heat treatment, and cutting the body at a selected length; and
removing the forming strut to form a finished product of the hinge barrel.
It is another object of the invention to provide a hinge barrel that generates a friction force during turning and provides a required torsional force while an active end and a passive end are extended relative to each other.
The structure of the invention includes a body which has a bracing portion with an opening and a base adjacent to the bracing portion. The bracing portion has a holding trough formed substantially in an arched shape.
The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
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While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been set forth for the purpose of disclosure, modifications of the disclosed embodiments of the invention as well as other embodiments thereof may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all embodiments which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.
