Patent Application
20140044473
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a rotary shaft structure applied in an electronic apparatus, in particular relates to a rotary shaft location structure capable of improving conditions such as abrasion and deformation stress in conventional locating components by applying a locating function of fictional resistance generated from a variable diameter of a rotary shaft together with an elastic device so as to acquire efficacy of assembling simplicity.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rotary shafts (or pivot shafts), which are capable of being reciprocally freely rotated by an external force to be assembled on electric apparatuses (e.g., mobile phones. notebook computers, vehicle traveling data recorders a Id digital image capturing devices, etc.) to rotatable open and dose covers and display screens thereof, are generally known as conventional skills. Some typical cases provide combinations of the rotary shafts and the locating components (locating modules).
One topic related to operations, motions and structural designs above-described cases shall be concerned is that, based on embedded structures such as locating flanges, convex pockets or concavo-convex locating portions which are disposed on relative planes of washers, elastic plates or elastic members, friction plates or related components, the flange is formed with locating function in the rotation operation of the rotary shaft when he flange is rotated to the position of the convex pocket. However after an operation period, the locating effects of these flanges, convex pockets or concavo-convex locating portions applied on relative fitting planes of electronic products are soon inconsiderable due to abrasion constantly generated by rigid contacts.
As to the combination of the multiple washers and friction plates, together with in cooperation with energy storage and release of elastic rings or springs to attain rotational and locating functions of the rotary shaft or pivot shaft component applied in conventional skills, it will be understood by those who skilled in these arts in that the whole structural design and assembly fitting become more complicated, and an assembled arrangement length of the whole structure in an axial direction is greatly increased, thus to impair and limit the arrangement spaces of the rotary shaft and the electronic apparatus.
Another topic related to assembly and fitting of the rotary shaft and the locating component is that the elastic clamping function or the three regulation of frictional resistance is acquired by operating the lock-packing degree of the screw nut. If the packed washer is too slack, the rotary shaft (or the cover, display screen) cannot have an ideal locating effect. However, if the packed washer is too tight, the washer is regularly formed with stress and deformation, and abrasions are particularly formed between the fitted components to cause unstableness and slackness of the rotary shaft after the rotary shaft is operated.
Therefore, it is relatively inconvenient and difficult to adjust the screw nut to pack the washer by an assembling fitter for obtaining an ideal elastic clamping function or frictional resistance. In practice, the washer is often deformedly destroyed and therefore the condition of non-uniform elasticity or unequal resistance is generated from the elastic clamping function or frictional resistance in the operation process of the rotary shaft. It is not only to form the rotary shall as a defect product but also to increase the manufacturing cost; however, these conditions are not our expectations.
Representatively speaking, these reference data reveal the conditions of usage and structural design of the rotary shaft, the locating component or components connected therewith. If the structure and the above-described applications of the rotary shaft and components connected therewith can be properly and reconsidered, the use pattern and the application conditions of the rotary shaft can be advancedly altered and therefore distinguished from conventional methods, and it is actually not only can improve conditions such as easy-to-produce stress and deformation destructions or abrasion on the fitted components, but also can increase; the assembling convenience. For example, based on the structural design of the rotary shaft capable of satisfying without increasing fitting difficult and requirements of the assembled locating components, an adjusting mechanism of elastic clamping function or frictional resistance of the location structure can be obtained in accordance with the diameter variation of the rotary shaft or a structure different from conventional one can be provided to improve the condition of non-uniform elasticity or unequal resistance generated in the operation process of the rotary shaft in conventional methods.
However, these topics are not taught or disclosed in the above-mentioned reference data.
In view of this, the main purpose of the invention is to provide a rotary shaft location structure for ii improving conditions of complicated, inconvenient, time-consuming and troublesome installation of conventional locating components, based on a compact request. The rotary shaft includes a combination of a shaft body and a cylinder body, in which the cylinder body includes a rigid wall and a chamber defined by the rigid wall and utilized to receive the shaft body. The shaft body includes at least one arc region and a plane region gat least one elastic device is installed inside the chamber of the cylinder body to form a contact or interference condition with the shaft body, and the elastic device and the shaft body generate a frictional resistance in response to a movement of the shaft body, thereby improving conditions such as easy-to-produce deformation and abrasion in conventional locating components.
According to the rotary shaft location structure of the invention, the elastic device comprises a load portion and an arm portion, and the elastic device is an elastic sheet formed by type of a hexagonal-bracket shape. The load portion of the elastic device and the shaft body are formed in a contact or interference state, and the arm portion of the elastic device is supported by the rigid mall of the cylinder body. Therefore, when the shaft body is a rotated, the shaft body and the load portion of the elastic device generate a frictional resistance, thereby forming a locating function.
According to the rotary shaft location structure of the invention, the arc region and the plane region are formed on a surface of the shaft body, and the plane region of the shaft body comprises a first plane region and a second plane region, in which the first plane region and the second plane region are configured by type of an interval of 180 degrees.
A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The invention can be more fully understood by reading it e subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to
In these figures, it is showed that the shaft body 10 formed by type of a cylindrical body is pivoted to a head portion 13. The shaft body 10 comprises a plane region 11 and at least one arc region 12, in which the arc region 12 and the plane region 11 are formed on a surface of the shaft body 10. In an adopted embodiment, the plane region 11 of the shaft body 10 comprises a first plane region 11a and a second plane region 11b, in which the first plane region 11a and the second plane region 11b are configured by type of an interval of 180 degrees.
In
In the adopted embodiment, the elastic device 30 comprises a load portion 31 and an arm portion 32. The elastic device 30 is an elastic sheet formed by type of a hexagonal-bracket shape, so that the elastic device 30 is provided with one load portion 31 and two arm portions 32 in the figures. The load portion 31 of the elastic device 30 and the shaft body 10 are formed in a contact or interference state, and the arm portion 32 of the elastic device 30 is supported by the rigid wall of the cylinder body 20. Therefore, when the shaft body 10 is rotated, the shaft body 10 and the load portion 31 of the elastic device 30 generate a frictional resistance, thereby forming a locating function.
Specifically, the elastic device 30 comprises at least one end (i.e., a tail end of one arm portion 32) provided with an extended portion 33 Which is formed by type of a similar claw-shaped. Object to embed on the cylinder body 20 in the adopted embodiment, the cylinder body 20 further comprises a slit 23 assembled with the extended portion 33 of the elastic device 30, so that the elastic device 30 is fixed inside the chamber 22 of the cylinder body 20.
It is needed to explain that, with a clamping force generated from the elastic devices 30 to be pressed on the first plane region 11a and the second plane region 11b of the shaft body 10, the shaft body 10 and the head portion 13 do not rotate. Moreover, in the initial assembly position, it is presumed that the cover or the display screen of the electronic apparatus is located at a closed position.
Referring to
Due to a distance (or a radius) measured from the arc region 12 of the shaft body 10 to a center of the shaft body 10 being greater than a distance measured from the first plane region 11a or the second plane region 11b) of the shaft body 10 to the center of the shall body 10, when the shaft body 10 is rotated to a position shown in
Referring to
Representatively speaking, with the conditions of operative rotational and locating functions of the rotary shaft location structure, the invention provides the considerations and advantages as follows, compared with conventional skills.
Firstly, the structure of the rotary shaft and components (e.g., the cylinder body 20, the load portion 31 and the arm portion 32 of the elastic device 30, etc.) connected therewith, in cooperation with the first and second plane region 11a and 11b of the shaft body 10 and to generate an elastic movement type, have been redesigned and reconsidered, providing compact structural design and varied usage pattern to be distinguished from conventional skills. Moreover, it is obviously that the fitting structure of the shaft body 10, the cylinder body 20 and the carrier 30 is different from the structural pattern applied with multiple washers and friction plates in conventional skills. Besides, undesirable conditions, such as abrasion and improper locating effects often occurred in the embedded structure of the locating flange, the convex pockets or the concavo-convex locating portions of the related components in conventional skills after an operation period, can be greatly improved accordingly.
Secondly, with the fitting structure of the first plane region 11a and the second plane region 11b of the shaft body 10, the arc region 12 of the shaft body 10, the cylinder body 20 and the carrier 30 (e.g., the load portion 31 and the arm portion 32), conditions such as the whole structural design and the complicated and time-consuming assembly-fitting process in conventional skills which are applied with multiple washers and friction plates can he improved. Moreover, the condition of impair and limit to the arrangement spaces of the rotary shaft and the electronic apparatus due to the over-length assembled arrangement length of the locating mechanism in the axial direction can be obviously improved.
Thirdly with the fitting structure of the load portion 31 of the elastic devices 30 to normally press to and the shaft body 10 to generate the clamping force, the invention can provide the cover or the display screen of the electronic apparatus with a locating function when being situated at any position or angle between the opened position and the closed position.
Fourthly, compared to the conditions in convent skills such as obtaining the operations with ideal torsion or frictional resistance by regulating the screw nut to pack the washer by the assembling fitter but often resulting in the washer to be deformedly destroyed and the rotary shaft to be formed with unstable rotation or slackness and correspondingly to cause the rotary shaft as a defect product and to increase the manufacturing cost, these improper conditions in the conventional skills can be effectively improved by the aspects of the invention.
Accordingly, the invention effectively provides a rotary shaft location structure featuring of a unique spatial pattern and incomparable advantages and inventiveness, superior to conventional skills.
While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
