WO2003036804A1

WO2003036804A1 - Hinge device

Info

Publication number: WO2003036804A1
Application number: PCT/KR2001/001595
Authority: WO
Inventors: Young-Soo Han
Original assignee: Phoenix Korea Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2000-03-27
Filing date: 2001-09-24
Publication date: 2003-05-01
Also published as: KR100335343B1; KR20010092850A

Abstract

A hinge device couples a first case and a second case so that the second case is positioned at a folded first position or a opened second position relatively to the first case. A third position locates between the first position and the a second position. The hinge device has a housing, a first hinge member, a second hinge member, a resilient member and a push button. The housing has opposing ends, wherein one is partially closed and another is opened. The push button can be engaged with the housing so as to close the opened end of the housing. The second member has a cam and the first member has a cam follower so that the first member rotates during the second member linearly moves. The resilient member urges the second member toward the first member. The push button moves linearly into the rotation of the first member.

Description

HINGE DEVICE

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a hinge device, and more particularly to a hinge device wherein the number of parts can be reduced, resulting in miniaturization, easy assembly and convenient operation.

Background Art

Portable radiotelephones of various structures have been developed and are currently sold on the market. Typically, there are bar-type, flip-type and folder-type radiotelephones. Since the folder-type radiotelephone has a reduced size when folded, it is becoming more popular and widely used. The folder-type radiotelephone comprises two bodies, which are usually moved to folded and unfolded positions of the radiotelephone. A first case member is provided with basic circuits mounted thereon to form a first body of the radiotelephone, on which a plurality of keys are disposed so that a desired telephone number can be inputted. A second case member is provided with a speaker and a liquid crystal display to form a second body of the radiotelephone. The two case members are coupled together by a hinge mounted therebetween, which allows the two case members to be freely moved to the folded or unfolded positions.

Portable radiotelephones are being constantly modified for the convenience of the user. Accordingly, the movement of the two members to the folded and unfolded positions of the radiotelephone should come into the category of convenience. Particularly, when the two members are moved to the unfolded position, i.e. the radiotelephone is opened, for answering the telephone, it is common that the first body is grasped with one hand while the second body is moved up to the unfolded position with the other hand. However, it is difficult to perform this operation using only one hand. This is due to the heavy weight of the liquid crystal display and the speaker contained within the second case member. Therefore, there is a need for a structure which allows the case members to be easily moved to the unfolded position. In addition, there is a need for a structure which retains its form when the radiotelephone is in the folded state.

Summary of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hinge which has a structure for facilitating the operation of the article it is mounted upon. It is another object of the present invention to provide a hinge which has a simple and convenient structure that can be easily manufactured and coupled to the body of an article such as a radiotelephone on which the hinge is mounted.

In order to accomplish the above object, according the present invention, there is provided a hinge for coupling a first case member with a second case member which can be moved to a first folded position and a second unfolded position with respect to the first case member, a third position being defined between the first and second positions, said hinge causing the second case member to be moved to the folded position when the second case member is positioned between the first and third positions, and to the unfolded position when the second case member is positioned between the second and third positions, comprising a housing with one end at least partially closed and with the other end opened; a first member, a second member and a resilient member sequentially inserted into the housing; and a push button coupled with the housing which at least partially covers the open end of the housing, wherein one of the first and second members is provided with a cam and the other of the first and second members is provided with a cam follower portion corresponding to the cam, so that while one of the first and second members can perform a linear motion, the other of the first and second members can perform a rotational motion in response to the linear motion; wherein the resilient member urges the second member against the first member; and wherein when the push button is pressed to move itself toward the first member, the second case member positioned at the first position can be moved to go over the third position.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent to a person skilled in the art when reading the following description of preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a portable radiotelephone including a hinge according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the hinge of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the hinge of FIG. 1; FIG. 4a shows a first hinge member of the hinge of FIG. 1 when viewed from the side of a cam follower portion; FIG. 4b shows the relationship between the first hinge member and a push button; and

FIG. 5 shows the relationship between a cam surface and the cam follower portion in the hinge of FIG. 1.

Detailed Description of the Embodiments

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, a portable folder-type radiotelephone 10 comprises a first case member 11 and a second case member 12. A hinge 14 is mounted between the first case member 11 and the second case member 12 to couple the two members. After the first case member 11 and the second case member 12 are coupled, the hinge 14 is inserted into a mounting hole 22 of the first case member 11. The mounting hole 22 has a rectangular shape substantially matching with that of the hinge 14 to prevent rotation of the entire hinge 14. In addition, the mounting hole is sized such that there is a degree of frictional force between the mounting hole 22 and the exterior surface of the hinge 14 to be disengaged only with considerable external force.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the hinge 14 includes a rotatable shaft 16 protruding toward the second case member 12. The shaft 16 includes engaging surfaces 18. The second case member 12 is provided with a bushing 19 for accommodating the shaft 16. The bushing 19 includes engaging surfaces 20 interacting with the engaging surfaces 18. Alternatively, the second case member 12 may be provided with the shaft 16, whereas the hinge 14 may be provided with the bushing 19. Referring to FIG. 2, the mounting hole 22 of the first case member 11 is provided with a stopper 22a at an inner portion of the mounting hole. The hinge 14 is inserted into the mounting hole 22 from the outside until the hinge 14 is caught on the stopper 22a. When the hinge 14 is inserted into the mounting hole 22 until it is caught on the stopper 22a, the shaft 16 is fitted into the bushing 19 fixed to the second case member 12.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the hinge 14 according to the embodiment of the present invention comprises a housing 24, and a first hinge member 26, a second hinge member 28, a resilient member 30 and a push button 31, which are sequentially accommodated in the housing 24. The housing 24 is comprised of a rectangular elongated can of which edges are chamfered (consequently, it may be considered as an octagonal can). A longitudinal centerline of the housing 24 defines a rotation axis 100 of the hinge 14. The housing 24 has an end wall 36 with a shaft hole 34 formed therein at one end 32 of the housing. The other end opposite this end is opened. A side wall 38 of the housing 24 is provided with a cut-away portion 40 extending in the longitudinal direction. A side wall opposite the side wall 38 is also provided with the same cut-away portion as the side wall 38. Engaging holes 41 are formed in both side walls 39 adjoining to the side wall 38. The respective engaging holes 41 cause the push button 31 to engage the housing 24, as will be described later. It is preferred that the housing 24 be formed of metallic material such as a brass plate and be manufactured by using a drawing method. After the drawing, the respective longitudinal cut-away portions 40 and the respective engaging holes 41 are formed by using a metallic mold for a sheet metal press.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the first member 26 includes a disk-shaped body 52 and the shaft 16 protruding from the center of the body 52 along the rotation axis 100. The shaft 16 includes the engaging surfaces 18 which allow the shaft 16 to rotate together with the second case member 12 when they are engaged with each other, as described above (see FIG. 1). On the opposite side of the shaft 16, two cam follower pillars 56 protrude and extend in a direction parallel to the rotation axis 100 (hereinafter, referred to as "direction of rotation axis"). The two pillars 56 are symmetrically, that is, diametrically, disposed with respect to the rotation axis 100 of the hinge 14. The two pillars 56 function as a cam follower portion or cam follower. The cam follower portion or cam follower means a portion interacting with a cam surface to be described later. Each pillar 56 is comprised of a cylinder and includes a semi-hemispherical end 57. Of course, the configuration of the respective pillars 56 is not limited to the above shape. The respective pillars may be polygonal pillars, and may be pillars having cross-sections with some sides arch-shaped, for example, semi-circular shape.

The first member 26 is inserted through an open end of the housing 24 thereinto. The first member 26 can rotate about the rotation axis 100 within the housing 24. As described above, the shaft 16 of the first member 26 protrudes through the shaft hole 34 of the housing 24, and is fitted into the bushing 19 of the second case member 12 when the hinge 14 is inserted into the first case member 11 of the radiotelephone 10 (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the disc-shaped body 52 of the first member 26 is provided with a plurality of rotatable actuating protrusions 202. Each actuating protrusion 202 is provided with a slant surface 205 having a predetermined radial width and slanting circumferentially at a circumferential corner of the protrusion.

At both sides of each actuating protrusion 202, the actuating protrusion 202 is provided with two stepped portions 206 formed at a position radially inwardly retracted from the body 52 of the first member 26 and extending circumferentially by a predetermined angle, for example, 150°or more. The respective stepped portions 206 and the respective rotatable actuating protrusions 202 are formed symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis. The stepped portions 206 form spaces for allowing a plurality of actuating legs 301 of the push button 31 to be accommodated, as will be described later. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the second member 28 includes a plate-like body 58 which has a substantially rectangular shape adapted to be accommodated in the interior of the housing 24 and of which edges are chamfered. A guide protrusion 62 protrudes from each of both opposite sides 60 of the body 58. The respective guide protrusions 62 are fitted into the respective cut-away portions 40 of the side walls 38 of the housing 24 so that rotation of the second member 28 can be prevented but movement thereof in the rotation axis direction can be guided. A groove 63 is formed on each of other both opposite sides 61 adjoining to the opposite sides 60 with the respective guide protrusions 62 formed thereon. The respective actuating legs 301 of the push button 31 pass through the respective grooves 63, as will be described later. A cylindrical cam portion 64 is formed on a side of the second member 28 facing the first member 26. The cam portion 64 includes a cam surface 66 formed on a side of the body 58. The cam portion 64 includes two peaks 68, 69 opposing diametrically with respect to the rotation axis 100, and two valleys 70, 71 separated by the peaks 68, 69 and opposing diametrically with respect to the rotation axis 100. The cam surface 66 consists of the peaks 68, 69, the valleys 70, 71 and a curved surface connecting the peaks 68, 69 and the valleys 70, 71. A cam surface connecting the peak 68 and the valley 70 is a continuous curved surface. A cam surface connecting the peak 69 and the valley 71 is also a continuous curved surface. The cam surface between the peak 68 and the valley 71 is comprised of a curved surface descending gradually from the peak 68, a steeply descending precipice and a curved surface descending gradually to the valley 71. The cam surface between the peak 69 and the valley 70 also has the same structure as the cam surface between the peak 68 and the valley 71.

Referring FIGS. 3 and 5, it is preferred that when the cam surface of the second member 28 is cut by a radial plane into two parts and deployed circumferentially, the two parts be identical in their profiles.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 again, a cylinder 76 extending in the axial direction is preferably formed on the center of the cam portion 64. The cylinder 76 is provided with a throughhole 77 extending along the rotation axis 100 to penetrate through the second member 28. It is preferred that the throughhole 77 be sized to be equal to a throughhole 208 formed on the first member 26.

The second member 28 is inserted through the open end of the housing 24. At this time, the cam surface 66 is oriented to face the pillars 56 of the first member 26. The substantially rectangular-shaped body 58 is snugly inserted into the interior of the substantially rectangular-shaped housing 24, and the respective protrusions 56 of the opposite sides 60 are guided to and inserted into the respective elongated cut-away portions 40 of the housing 24. Then, the second member 28 can linearly move within the housing 24 in the rotation axis direction, but its rotational motion is limited.

The resilient member 30 urges the second member 28 against the first member 26. The resilient member 30 may preferably be a compression coil spring.

After the first member 26, the second member 28 and the resilient member 30 are sequentially inserted into the housing 24, the push button 31 is engaged with them. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the push button 31 includes a substantially circular-shaped body 300. On the body 300, the actuating legs 301 formed at positions symmetrically disposed with respect to the rotation axis 100 extend in a direction parallel to the rotation axis 100, respectively. Each actuating leg 301 is provided with an engaging protrusion 302 on an outer side thereof. The engaging protrusion 302 includes a slant surface 304 and a catching surface 306. When the push button 31 is inserted into the housing 24, the respective actuating legs 301 pass through the respective grooves 63 of the second member 26 and extend to the respective stepped portions 206 of the first member 26 (see FIG. 4b). Meanwhile, the actuating legs 301 are deformed (bended) inwardly by the slant surfaces 307 of the engaging protrusions 302, respectively. After the respective engaging protrusions 302 are inserted into the respective engaging holes 41 of the housing 24, the respective actuating legs 301 are returned to their original states. Consequently, the respective catching surfaces 306 are caught on edges of the respective engaging holes 41, so that the push button 31 cannot be disengaged. A distal end of each actuating leg 301 is provided with a slant surface 307 for interacting with the slant surface 205 formed on the actuating protrusion 202 of the first member 26. A guide pin 308 extending along the rotation axis 100 is coupled to the body 300. It is preferred that the guide pin 308 be coupled with the body 300 by insert molding (injection molding). As shown in FIG. 2, one end of the guide pin 308 passes through the throughhole 77 of the second member 28 and extends to the throughhole 208 of the first member 26. Accordingly, the guide pin 308 correctly guides the rotational motion of the first member 26 and the linear motion of the second member 28. The other end of the guide pin 308 passes through the body 300 and is exposed to the outside. A pin hole 310 is formed on the tip of the other end of the guide pin 308. The pin hole 310 facilitates extraction of the hinge 14 inserted into the mounting hole 22 of the first case member 11 of the radiotelephone 10 for the purpose of the repair of the radiotelephone, or the like. When a tool is fitted into the pin hole 310 and then pulled, the hinge 14 can be disengaged from the first case member 11.

The first member 26, the second member 28 and the push button 31 are manufactured by injection molding plastic resin material, and preferably engineering plastic resin material. Meanwhile, the actuating legs 301 of the push button 31 may be formed in such a manner that the legs are made of metal and then insert-molded. Hereinafter, the operation of the hinge 14 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2, 4b and 5. FIG. 2 shows the hinge 14 in a state where the first case member 11 and the second case member 12 are in the unfolded position of the radiotelephone. FIG. 4b shows the relationship between the first member 26 and the respective actuating legs 301 of the push button 31 in the hinge 14 in a state where the first case member 11 and the second case member

12 are in the folded position to face each other. FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the cam follower pillars 56 and the cam surface 66 in the hinge 14 when the first case member 11 and the second case member 12 are moved from the folded position to the unfolded position, or vice versa, upon opening and closing of the radiotelephone. In the state where the first case member 11 and the second case member 12 are in the folded position of the radiotelephone, the respective cam follower pillars 56 are disposed at (a) position of FIG. 5. Since the resilient member 30 urges the second member 28 against the first member 26, the respective cam follower pillars 56 are subject to force causing the respective cam follower pillars 56 to descend along the slant surface. The force serves to rotate the first member 26, and consequently, serves to urge the second case member 12 toward the first case member 11. Therefore, the first case member 11 and the second case member 12 are maintained stably in the folded position. The relationship between the first member 26 and the actuating legs 301 of the push button 31 in the folded position is shown in FIGS. 4b, and corresponds to (a) position of FIG. 5.

When the push button 31 is pushed in order to open the radiotelephone 10 so that the radiotelephone 10 can be in use, the respective actuating legs 301 moves toward the first member 26 in FIG. 4b. Then, the slant surfaces 307 of the respective actuating legs 301 come into contact with the slant surface 205 of the respective actuating protrusions 202 to interact with each other, so that the first member 26 is pushed and then rotated. Thus, the respective cam follower pillars 56 reach the peaks 68, 69 of the cam surface 66. This state corresponds to (b) position of FIG. 5. When the push button 31 continues to be further pushed, the respective cam follower protrusions 56 go over the peaks 68, 69 of the cam surface 66. From the state where the two case members 11, 12 are in contact with each other to the state where the respective cam follower protrusions 56 go over the peaks 68, 69 of the cam surface 66, the first member 26 should be rotated by an angle of β or more. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that in order to perform such rotation of the first member 26 during a predetermined stroke of the push button 31, the slant surfaces 307 of the actuating legs 301 and the slant surfaces 205 of the actuating protrusions 202 can be regulated in view of their sizes and slant angles.

When the cam follower protrusions 56 go over the peaks 68, 69 of the cam surface 66, the cam follower protrusions 56 slide down along the slant surface of the cam surface 66 without external force since the resilient member 30 urges the second member 28 against the first member 26. At this time, the first case member 11 and the second case member 12 are spontaneously moved away from each other. This state corresponds to (c) position of FIG. 5. The first and second case members 11, 12 are provided with a means for preventing them from moving away from each other beyond a predetermined angle (not shown), which allows the two case members 11, 12 to move away from each other by a predetermined angle (α in FIG. 5).

As can be seen from FIG. 5, the cam surface 66 extends to the valleys beyond the predetermined angle α , for example, 150°or more. According to the above constitution, when the two case members 11, 12 are suddenly subjected to external force such as impact, the hinge 14 can absorb the impact. When the fist case member 11 is urged toward the second case member 12 to be moved to the folded position, the cam follower pillars 56 are returned to (a) position of FIG. 5.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiment, it is not limited thereto. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that modifications and changes can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention, and that the present invention is intended to include these modifications and changes.

For example, the above embodiment has been explained on the assumption that the hinge according to the present invention is used in a folder-type radiotelephone. However, the hinge can also be used in a flip-type radiotelephone.

In the above embodiment, the housing has been explained as a substantially rectangular can, but the housing may be of circular form or be of polygonal form such as hexagonal. The body of the second member has also been explained as a substantially rectangular shape, but it is not limited thereto. As long as rotational motion of the second member within the housing is limited and only its linear motion in the rotation axis direction is allowable, it can be seen that any other shapes may be employed.

In the above embodiment, although the cam portion is formed on the second member while the cam follower portion is formed on the first member, it is not limited thereto. In other words, the cam portion may be formed on the first member while the cam follower portion may be formed on the second member. Although the housing is formed with metal in the above embodiment, it may be formed with plastic resin material.

In order to facilitate its assembly, it is preferred that the inlet of the hole of the bushing fixed to the second case member be chamfered. Then, when the hinge is inserted into the mounting hole of the first case member, the shaft of the first member is properly guided to and inserted into the bushing.

With such constitution of the hinge of the present invention, the case members of the radiotelephone can be easily moved to the unfolded position by only pressing the push button to open the radiotelephone. Further, the case members are maintained stably in the folded position. Furthermore, in addition to the above functions of the radiotelephone, since the radiotelephone has the reduced number of parts, its assembly becomes simpler and its manufacturing costs can be reduced.

Claims

1. A hinge for coupling a first case member with a second case member which can be moved to a first folded position and a second unfolded position with respect to the first case member, a third position being defined between the first and second positions, said hinge causing the second case member to be moved to the folded position when the second case member is positioned between the first and third positions, and to the unfolded position when the second case member is positioned between the second and third positions, comprising: a housing with one end at least partially closed and with the other end opened; a first member, a second member and a resilient member sequentially inserted into the housing; and a push button coupled with the housing which at least partially covers the open end of the housing, wherein one of the first and second members is provided with a cam and the other of the first and second members is provided with a cam follower portion corresponding to the cam, so that while one of the first and second members can perform a linear motion, the other of the first and second members can perform a rotational motion in response to the linear motion; wherein the resilient member urges the second member against the first member; and wherein when the push button is pressed to move itself toward the first and second members, the one of the first and second members that performs a rotational motion is rotated, so that the second case member positioned at the first position can be moved to go over the third position.

2. The hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cam includes two peaks and two valleys separated by the peaks, the peaks and the valleys are connected to each other so as to form a cam surface, and the cam follower portion includes two protrusions protruding toward the cam surface and being symmetrically disposed with respect to the rotation axis.

3. The hinge as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the push button includes a body and actuating legs, and the first member is provided with actuating protrusions interacting with the respective actuating legs of the push button, so that when the push button is pressed along the rotation axis, the first member can be rotated.

4. The hinge as claimed in any one of claims 1-3, wherein the push button includes a guide pin extending along the rotation axis, and each of the first and second members is provided with a guide hole which extends along the rotation axis and into which the guide pin is inserted.

5. The hinge as claimed in claim 5, wherein the guide pin passes through the body of the push button and protrudes to the outside.