Patent Application
20080039149
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein has been omitted for conciseness.
As shown in
If the portable terminal 100 is a general folder-type terminal, it may further include a display device and a receiving unit (or an earpiece) in the second housing 102. However, the portable terminal 100 according to the present invention further includes a third housing 103 coupled to the second housing 102 and the third housing 103 includes a display device 131. The third housing 103 rotates with respect to a second rotation axis A2 extending perpendicularly to the first hinge axis A1 and the second hinge axis A2 revolves around the first hinge axis A1 as the second housing 102 rotates with respect to the first hinge axis A1.
A keypad 111 and a transmitting unit 113 (or a mouthpiece) are installed in one face of the first housing 101 and a battery pack (not shown) is mounted on the other face of the first housing 101. Side hinge arms 117 are formed at both sides of an upper portion of the first housing 101 while facing each other. In some products, speaker devices 115 may be installed at both sides of the first housing 101. The speaker devices 115 may be installed adjacent to the side hinge arms 117.
The second housing 102 includes a center hinge arm 127 at its one end and the center hinge arm 127 is rotatably coupled between the side hinge arms 117. A hinge device that couples the first housing 101 and the second housing 102 is accommodated in the center hinge arm 127 and is connected to the first housing 101. The coupling of housings by a hinge device can be easily understood by those skilled in the art.
The second housing 102 serves as a connection member for connecting the third housing 103 to the first housing 101 and, although not shown in figures, a display device may be installed in the external side of the second housing 102 to display time, transmission/reception signal state, and remaining battery capacity. An opening can be formed in the center of the center hinge arm 127 for mounting of a camera unit 129.
The third housing 103 is coupled to the second housing 102 in opposition to the second housing 102 and rotates with respect to the second hinge axis A2. Another speaker device 133 is installed in at least one side of the display device 131 installed on one face of the third housing 103 to serve as a receiving unit.
When the second housing 102 is folded down to the first housing 101, the third housing 103 is interposed between the first housing 101 and the second housing 102 and the display device 131 faces one face of the first housing 101. Thus, the display device 131 is closed when the second housing 102 is folded down to the first housing 101, and the display device 131 is opened when the second housing 102 rotates and is opened.
The keys of the portable terminal 100 are manufactured by insert injection in which a metallic case is mounted in a mold and melted synthetic resin is injected. All the keys of the portable terminal 100 may be manufactured by insert injection, but a navigation key of the portable terminal 100 will be taken as an example for convenience of explanation.
Referring to
Referring to
The metallic case 13 includes an electro-forming layer 13a of
The electro-forming layer 13a is molded by performing electroplating and casting on the surface of a previously processed mold having a shape corresponding to the navigation key 111a using copper. If a plurality of keys are molded in the mold, a plurality of electro-forming layers 13a can be formed at the same time. An opened portion corresponding to the printed unit 15 has already been formed in the electro-forming layer 13a.
If the electro-forming layer 13a is formed to a thickness of 0.2-0.3 mm, it may be separated from the mold and be pressed to adjust its thickness according to the standards of a product or be polished to remove an unnecessary portion around the edge according to the shape of the product.
The plated layer 13b is formed by plating the pressed and the polished electro-forming layer 13a, thereby acquiring a surface having an anti-abrasion property and a metal-like gloss. The plated layer 13b can be formed by forming a first plated layer 13c on the external surface of the electro-forming layer 13a with an alloy of copper and tin, an alloy of copper, tin, and zinc, or a metal made of a palladium material and forming a second plated layer 13d on the first plated layer 13c with trivalent chromium.
If the navigation key 111a is completed on the condition that the exterior of the portable terminal can be formed only with the first plated layer 13c, it is not necessary to form the second plated layer 13d, but a gloss and various textures of the surface of the navigation key 111a can be implemented by forming the second plated layer 13d with trivalent chromium.
The metallic case 13 that is completed by plating the electro-forming layer 13a is mounted in the mold and insert injection is performed, thereby completing the navigation key 111a. Insert injection is a molding method in which a member made of a metallic material is mounted in a mold, melted synthetic resin is injected for the molding, and the member is fixed to an injection product along with the molding of the injection product.
A semi-permeable material or a transparent material is suitable for synthetic resin used for insert molding of the metallic case 13 to allow light generated from a backlighting device of a keypad to penetrate. The semi-permeable material or the transparent material can be PolyCarbonate (PC) resin.
The light generated from the backlighting device passes through the synthetic resin layer 11 and is emitted through the printed unit 15 of the metallic case 13. The user can recognize a signal assigned to each key with the aid of the light emitted through the printed unit 15 and manipulate a desired key in the dark environment.
A silicon pad 17 is attached under the navigation key 111a. More specifically, keys to be mounted on the portable terminal may be mounted on the silicon pad 17 and pressing protrusions 18 are formed under the silicon pad 17. The pressing protrusions 18 are formed in positions corresponding to the keys and if the user manipulates a key, a pressing protrusion in a position corresponding to the key manipulates a dome switch (not shown) to generate a corresponding signal.
As described above, the key for the portable terminal according to the present invention includes an electro-forming layer made of copper and a plated layer plated on the electro-forming layer on a surface for forming the exterior, thereby being easily manufactured and contributing to improvement of the exterior design of the portable terminal. Moreover, instead of plating the surface of a synthetic resin layer with nickel for forming a metallic case, a metallic case including an electro-forming layer made of copper and a plated layer is separately manufactured and insert injection is performed, thereby reducing the risk of causing allergy resulting from the use of nickel. Furthermore, since double injection of synthetic resin materials having different properties is not required, a defective proportion can be reduced and manufacturing efficiency can be improved.
While the present invention have been shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, although a navigation key allowing input of four directions is taken as an example in the embodiment of the present invention, a key including a metallic case and a synthetic resin layer may be used for a general input key such a number input key or a character input key as well as a volume control key installed at a side of a terminal housing.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 74769-2006 | Aug 2006 | KR | national |
