Patent Application
20050155183
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hinge for a notebook computer, and more particularly to a hinge with a simple structure for preventing an LCD monitor from striking a body under an excessive force to fold the notebook computer.
2. Description of Related Art
The versatility of notebook computers, particularly their portability, necessitates protection of the LCD screen and thus they were developed with the LCD screen hinged to a keyboard body whereby the delicate screen face can be protected from impact etc when not in use. It was found in early notebook computers that the raised screen would drop too quickly to the body when the computer was being closed, and the impact of the screen on the keyboard frequently caused damage to the computer. Thus, the notebook computer is generally provided with a hinge which can stop the lowering LCD monitor just prior to the final closed position, whereafter the user can carefully complete closing operation.
With reference to
The fastener assembly (40) has a first positioning disk (41) and a second positioning disk (42) in turn provided outside the pintle and at an exterior side of the upright portion, wherein the first positioning disk (41) is securely mounted on the upright portion, and the second positioning disk (42) matches the first positioning disk (41). The first positioning disk (41) has at least one lug (411) formed at a surface away from the upright portion of the seat (32), and the second positioning disk (42) has at least one recess (421) defined at a surface facing the first positioning disk (41). When the notebook is in a closed status, the lug (411) is received in the recess (421). The positioning disks (41, 42) are fastened by a nut engaged with a threaded end of the pintle, and a resilient member (43) is provided between the nut and the second positioning disk (41).
Therefore, when a user unfolds the notebook computer, the pintle (33) and the second positioning member (42) are driven by the connecting sheet (31) to rotate about the seat (32). The lug (411) of the first positioning member (41) will be disengaged from the recess (421), and the resilient member (43) is compressed. Then, the LCD monitor can be retained at any desired angle relative to the keyboard under the force of the compressed resilient member (43).
When the user folds the notebook computer, the pintle (33) and the second positioning member (42) can be inversely rotate until the lug (411) is positioned in the recess (421) again. Then, the LCD monitor will not strike the body even if the user folds with an excessive force.
However, the conventional hinge including two positioning members has a complex structure, which has a high manufacturing cost and it is very inconvenient to assemble the hinge.
Therefore, the invention provides a hinge to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the present invention is to provide a hinge for a notebook computer which has a simple structure to prevent an LCD monitor from striking a keyboard body of the notebook computer undergoing an excessive force to fold the notebook computer.
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.
With reference to
The hinge member (20) has a pintle (21) with a non-circular cross section. In this embodiment, the pintle (21) has two flat surfaces (211) respectively formed at two diametrically opposite sides thereof. An external thread (212) is formed at a first end of the pintle (21). A connecting part (22) is formed at a second end of the pintle (21) and fastened on an LCD monitor (not shown) of the notebook computer.
A seat (23) for being fastened on a body of the notebook computer (not shown) has a lateral portion (231) and an upright portion (232) substantially perpendicular to the lateral portion (231). The upright portion (232) has a hole (233) defined therethrough, and the pintle (21) extends through the hole (233). At least one first washer (24) is provided outside the pintle (21) and between the upright portion (232) and connecting part (22). Multiple recesses (234) are evenly defined at an exterior side of the upright portion (232). In this embodiment, the upright portion (232) has two recesses (234) formed symmetrically at two diametrically opposite sides of the hole (233). A nut (25) is engaged with the external thread (212) at the first end of the pintle (21).
The fastener assembly (10) is composed of a positioning member (11) and a resilient member (12) provided outside the pintle (21) and in turn between the upright portion (232) and the nut (25).
The positioning member (11) has multiple protrusions (112) formed at a surface facing the upright portion (232). In this embodiment, two protrusions (112) are formed at two diametrically opposite sides of the positioning member (11) and respectively positioned in the recesses (234). The outermost surfaces of the protrusions (112) in contact with the innermost surfaces of the recesses (234) are curved surfaces. An aperture (111) with a non-circular cross section corresponding to the pintle (21) is axially defined through the positioning member (11).
The resilient member (12) can be a spring, multiple springs or the like. In this embodiment, the resilient member (12) includes multiple elastic dished disks (121) each with a non-circular opening (not numbered) in series provided outside the pintle (21) with a back-to-back configuration. The axial thicknesses of the elastic dished disks (121) are gradually increased from the positioning member (11) to the nut (25). Namely, the elastic dished disk (121) nearest the positioning member (11) has the smallest thickness, and the elastic dished disk (121) nearest the nut (25) has the biggest thickness. A second washer (241) is provided between the nut (25) and the resilient member (12).
In use, with reference to
Therefore, according to the invention, the hinge is provided with only one positioning member, so the hinge has a simplified structure and a low manufacturing cost.
It is to be understood, however, that 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 function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, 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.
