JPH11324469A - Hinge mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a rounded curved design, to reduce the number of parts and to simplify a manufacturing process by installing a molded pin to the external surface of the closed end section of a barrel integrally formed to a cover, arranging a spring, a cam and a follower on the inside and mounting the spring, the cam and the follower into recessed sections formed by the left and right shoulders of a main body. SOLUTION: In an openable portable radio communication device, a molded pin 127 is mounted on the surface of the closed end section of a barrel 124 integrally molded to a cover 104, a spring 116, a cam 118 and a follower 120 are inserted into the barrel 124, the flat front of the cam 118 is combined with the spring 116, and a follower head is united with the curved surface of the cam 118. In a recessed section 103, in which edges are formed by the left and right shoulders of a main body 102, the molded pin 127 is received in a cavity in the left shoulder, the positioning rib 130 of the follower 120 is received in a cavity 107 in the right shoulder 111, the follower 120 is introduced to a specified place, and the cover is locked by force transmitted through the cam 118 from the spring 116 while force transferring from an open place to a closed place is worked.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for attaching a hinge to a housing of a portable radio communication device. Although the present invention is directed to a wide variety of applications, it is particularly suited for use in handheld wireless telephones and will be described with particular reference thereto.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Portable radiotelephones are increasingly being used to allow users to communicate by telephone over a wireless system at virtually any location.
The mobile phone transmits a low wattage radio frequency signal to a receiving station, which can be connected to a conventional landline telephone system.

[0003] Portable radiotelephones having two housings joined by a kind of hinge so that the housings open and close to each other are well known in the art. In such a retractable radio telephone, most of the electronic components are contained in one housing called a main housing, and almost no electronic components are contained in the other housing called a cover. Other such openable radio telephones have all the electronics inside the body, with a keypad or a cover that only serves to cover the keypad and the phone display. .

Some of the known portable cellular radio telephones include:
As shown in FIG. 1, a hinge mechanism is utilized, which includes a spring 742 and hinge pins 736, 748 disposed within a tubular hinge arm 724 formed at the end of the cover 706; It has a bushing 760 formed in the body 712. The spring 742 is located between the hinge pins 736 and 748 and always moves the hinge pin 73 from the cover 706 toward the body 712.
6,748 apply outward force. Examples of such known radiotelephones are described in PCT Application Publication No. WP93 / 18592 (issued September 16, 1993) and US Pat. No. 5,274,882 issued Jan. 4, 1994. You. A radiotelephone using the above hinge mechanism is usually a bushing 7
To accommodate 60, the bottom of the main housing is square. A "square" appearance may be desirable for some, but may want a less bulky and more curvilinear design.

[0005] Another mobile phone is a radiotelephone having a self-contained hinge.
ined Hinge), granted on May 13, 1997,
No. 5,628,089 to Wilcox et al., Assigned to Motorola Corporation.
Use The hinge 301 includes a spring 405 and a cam 404.
And a follower 403, which is assembled to a cylindrical hollow can 303 through the open end of the can, and the assembly is held by a cap 305 coupled to the can 303 through the open end. The hinge 301 assembled in the can 303 is attached to the cavity 30 of the cover 103.
7 and in the cavity 503 of the body 101. Self-contained hinges are desirable to some wireless telephone manufacturers because they can be purchased as one separate unit, eliminating the steps involved in assembling the hinge during manufacture.
However, for other wireless telephone manufacturers who manufacture hinges themselves, self-contained hinges add complexity to the manufacturing process and increase the number of parts used.

[0006]

For this reason, while opening and closing a portable radio telephone or the like, a rounded curved design is possible, while minimizing the number of parts and simplifying the manufacturing process. There is a need for a hinge for use in a formula device.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a hinge mechanism for a wireless communication device. In a preferred embodiment, the hinge mechanism includes a body and a cover of the wireless communication device, the body having a recess defined by a left shoulder and a right shoulder for attaching the cover thereto. The hinge is further a barrel integrally formed on the cover, the barrel having a closed end and an open end; a pin formed on an outer surface of the closed end of the barrel; A cam having a body having a front surface in contact with the spring and a curved back surface and disposed in a barrel and having a key formed on a cam body; a head having one end contacting the contour of the cam A follower partially disposed within the barrel having a connector extending at an opposite end to an open end of the barrel, the connector comprising a first portion, and an outer surface of the first portion. Is formed by the second portion.
A pin formed on the barrel is rotatably disposed within a cavity on the left shoulder, and the connector is moved in a manner such as to limit movement of the follower when the cover moves from the open position to the closed position. It is located in a cavity in the shoulder.

[0008] The hinge arrangement of the present invention eliminates a pin that is pushed into the bottom of the body of the radiotelephone, thereby allowing the bottom to have a rounded and curved design.
Cost savings are realized by eliminating the pins and the effort to push them into the radiotelephone body. Also, the hinge of the present invention can be placed directly on a portion of the radiotelephone cover, thereby eliminating the cost and effort associated with providing a separate housing for the hinge element.

Further advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described. Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments constructed in accordance with the invention.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A radiotelephone includes two housings, a cover and a body, rotatably coupled about a rotational axis by hinges. The hinge has a stationary element, such as a follower, and two movable elements, such as cams and springs, that are supported in engagement with the stationary element in a barrel formed at the end of the cover. The cover with the hinge element therein is at one end of the barrel, by a cylindrical pin molded at the top of the barrel, and at the opposite end, at the top of a follower that extends through the opposite end of the barrel. It is connected to the main body by an integrally formed pin. Such an arrangement minimizes the number of hinge members and allows the bottom of the device to have a rounded, curved design.

A wireless communication device incorporating a preferred embodiment of the hinge of the present invention is shown in FIG. The wireless telephone 100 is composed of a main body 102 and a cover 104.
With two parts. FIG. 2 shows cover 104 in an open position so that a user of wireless telephone 100 can listen through earpiece 106 and speak into microphone 108. The body 102 includes a keypad 110 having a number from one to zero and a plurality of # and * buttons, in a conventional telephone arrangement. The keypad 110 may also include buttons, such as power, functions, and other buttons associated with transmission and telephone number recall. The main body 102 also has an antenna 112 that enables wireless communication between the radiotelephone 100 and a base station (not shown) of the cellular radiotelephone system.

Referring to FIG. 3 for this embodiment, an exploded view from the left side of the hinge 114 of the present invention is shown. FIG. 3 shows the cover 104 and the main body 10 of the wireless telephone 100.
2 is a cutaway perspective view of FIG. As shown in the figure, hinge 1
14 is a spring 116, a cam 118 and a follower 120.
including. During assembly, the hinge 114 is preferably located within the open end 122 of the barrel 124 of the cover 104. The cover 104 is then disposed in the recess 103 of the body 102 and the cover 104 can be moved relative to the body 102 between the open and closed positions.
Are rotatably coupled to the shoulders 109 (FIG. 4) and 111 of FIG.

Here, the hinge 114 will be described in detail. Hinge 114 preferably has a stationary element (follower 120 in the preferred embodiment) and two movable elements (cam 118 and spring 116 in the preferred embodiment). In FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the follower 120 is
Are shown as generally cylindrical. Follower 120
Is preferably injection molded using an acetal resin, such as DelrinR500, commercially available from DuPont, or other suitable material. Also, the follower 120 has three integral parts joined along the axis 122:
It is desirable to have the main body 121, the head 123, and the connector 125.

The follower body 121 is formed by a cylindrical portion. One end of the body 121 is preferably defined by a flat front surface 126. Body 121
Is desirably defined by a flat back surface 128 (FIG. 6).

The connector 125 is formed by a cylindrical portion having a positioning rib 130 integrally formed thereon. The diameter of this cylindrical portion is
It is desirable that the diameter is slightly smaller than the diameter. Connector 125
Both the front end 132 and the rear end (not shown) are defined by a flat surface. The rear end 132 is connected to the flat back surface 128 of the main body 121.

The head 123 of the follower 120 is coupled to the body 121 at its flat surface (not shown). The head 123 has a conical shape and is approximately 2.00 m
It is desirable to have a depth D of m. The function of the head 123 is to trace the curved surface of the cam 118 when the operation of moving the cover 104 from the open position to the closed position is performed periodically (described in detail below).

The cam 118 is shown in FIGS.
It is shown as having a generally cylindrical shape with an anterior-posterior central axis 146.
Cam 118 is a DelrinR5 commercially available from DuPont.
It is desirable to be injection molded using acetal resin or other suitable material. The cam 118 has two distinct integral parts joined along an axis 146: a cam body 148 and a cam head 150.

The cam body 148 is formed by a cylindrical part. In a preferred embodiment, the cam body 148 desirably has a length L of about 3.00 mm and a diameter of about 3.25 mm. Also, one end of the cam body 148 is desirably defined by a flat circular front surface 154. The opposite end of the cam body 148 is preferably defined by a flat circular back surface 156. The surface of the cam body 148 has a key 152 formed thereon.
(Preferably a rectangle).

The cam head 150 is generally cylindrical.
One end (not shown) of cam head 150 is defined by a flat circular surface and mates with flat circular back surface 156 of cam body 148. The other end of cam head 150 is defined by curved surface 158.

The spring 116 (FIG. 3) has an outer diameter of the cover 10.
4 has a spiral shape slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the barrel 124. Spring 116 is a compression spring composed of piano wire or other suitable material, having an outer diameter of about 3.00 mm, a length of about 12.4 mm in a free state, a coil of about 12 turns, and about 63 lbs /. in spring rate
It is desirable to have Both ends of the spring 116 are closed,
Hinges 114 are polished (ie, flattened) to facilitate a fit when assembled.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the barrel 124 of the cover 104 has a molded pin 1 integrally formed at one end.
27 and an opposite end 122 that is open to receive a hinge member. Open end 122 defines a substantially circular opening having a keyway 129 (FIG. 4) extending into barrel 124 to receive and fit key 152 secured to cam body 148 (FIG. 8). Combine. Barrel 124 preferably has an inner diameter of about 3.12 mm. Preferably, the forming pin 127 has a diameter of about 2.50 mm and a length of about 2.00 mm. Cover 1
04 (including barrel 124 and forming pin 127)
Preferably, it is injection molded using a polycarbonate blend such as Cycoloy®, commercially available from ral Electric.

Here, the assembly of the hinge will be described.
First, a spring 116 is inserted into the barrel 124 of the cover 104. Next, the cam 118 is inserted into the barrel 124 and the flat front surface 154 of the cam 118 is
To be combined with Then, the follower 120 is inserted into the barrel 124, and the follower head 123
It is coupled to the curved surface 158 of the cam 118. Next, cover 1
04 is arranged in the concave portion 103 of the main body 102 of the wireless telephone 100. In the recess 103, the left shoulder 109 (FIG. 4)
It includes a first cavity 105 formed to receive a forming pin 127 of barrel 124. Recess 103 also includes a right shoulder 111 (FIG. 3) having a second cavity 107 formed to receive connector 125 of follower 120. As shown, the cavity 107 has a connector 125.
Including a rectangular portion for receiving the positioning rib 130 of FIG.

The molding pin 127 of the barrel 124 is
When received in the first cavity 105 of 09, the connector 125 of the follower traverses the right shoulder 111 in the second cavity 107. Follower connector 12
The fifth positioning rib 130 is connected to the fitted rectangular portion of the second cavity 107 and serves to guide the follower to a predetermined position. The follower 120 moves the spring 118 from the cam 118.
Is permanently locked in place by the force transmitted via the The cover 104 of the wireless telephone 100 is the main body 1
When coupled with 02, the spring 116 provides the body 102 with the necessary force to move from the open position to the closed position.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10, when the cover 104 moves from the open position to the closed position, the spring 1
It can be seen that 16 respectively expand and contract.
This movement causes cam 118 to move horizontally along axis 146. Cam 118 also rotates about axis 146 as cover 104 moves from the open position to the closed position. The key 152 of the cam body 148 located in a keyway 129 extending into the barrel 142
However, it can remain coupled with the cover 104 when the cover 104 is opened and closed. As previously mentioned,
The follower remains locked in place when the cover 104 opens and closes.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the cover 104 is in the open position, the valley 160 of the curved surface 158 of the cam (FIG. 8)
The head 1 of the follower 120 is received and the cover 1
04 in the open position. As the cover 104 moves from the open position to the closed position, the cam 118 moves the follower 12
0, the head 123 is located on the curved surface 1 of the cam as shown in FIG.
Axis 1 until it is just past mountain 58 162
Rotate around 46.

The hinge of the present invention offers advantages over known hinges. This eliminates the need to push a pin into the bottom of the radiotelephone body, which allows the bottom to have a rounded and curved design. Also, cost savings are realized by eliminating the pins and the labor associated with assembling these pins into the radiotelephone body. Also, the hinge of the present invention can be placed directly within a portion of the radiotelephone cover, thus eliminating the cost and effort associated with providing a separate housing for the hinge element.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and variations may be made in the device of the present invention and in assembling the same without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a known wireless telephone.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a wireless telephone including a preferred embodiment of the hinge of the present invention in an open position.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view from the left side of the wireless telephone of FIG. 2, showing a hinge member in detail.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view from the right side of the wireless telephone of FIG. 2, showing the hinge member in detail.

5 is a left side perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the hinge follower shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a right side perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the hinge follower shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a left-side perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the hinge cam shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a right side perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the hinge cam shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the wireless telephone of FIG. 2 in an open position, showing the coupling of the hinge members.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the wireless telephone of FIG. 2 in a closed position, showing the coupling of the hinge members.

[Explanation of symbols]

 706 Cover 712 Body 724 Tubular hinge arm 736, 748 Hinge pin 742 Spring 100 Radiotelephone 102 Body 103 Recess 104 Cover 105 Cavity 106 Handset 107 Cavity 108 Microphone 109 Left shoulder 110 Keypad 111 Right shoulder 112 Antenna 116 Spring 114 Hinge 118 Cam 120 Follower 121 Follower main body 122 Open end, front and rear central axis 123 Head 124 Barrel 125 Connector 126 Front 127 Molding pin 128 Back 129 Key groove 130 Positioning rib 132 Front end, rear end 146 Front and rear central axis 148 Cam main body 150 Cam head 152 Key 154 Front 156 Back 158 Curved surface 160 Valley 162 Mountain

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Derek Edward Jensen Grace Lake, Illinois, USA, Number 302, Country Drive 1819

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A wireless communication device having a body and a cover, wherein the body has a recess formed by a left shoulder and a right shoulder for attaching the cover to the body, the device comprising: A barrel integrally formed on the cover, the barrel having a closed end and an open end;
A pin formed on an outer surface of the closed end of the barrel; a cam disposed in the barrel and having a front surface in contact with the spring and a back surface having a curved surface, wherein the cam body has an upper portion; A cam having a key formed thereon; a head contacting the curved surface of the cam at one end;
And a follower partially disposed within the barrel having a connector extending through an open end of the barrel at an opposite end, the connector comprising: a first portion; A follower formed by a second portion formed on an outer surface of the portion;
The pin is rotatably disposed within the cavity at the left shoulder, and the connector is configured to limit movement of the follower when the cover moves from an open position to a closed position. A wireless communication device disposed in the cavity at the right shoulder. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said curved surface of said cam forms a valley. 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said curved surface of said cam forms a plurality of peaks. 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said head of said follower is positioned within said trough of said curved surface when said cover is in an open position. 5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the head of the follower contacts the plurality of peaks of the curved surface when the cover is in the closed position. 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said open end of said barrel forms a keyway extending into said barrel. 7. The key formed on the upper portion of the body of the cam fits into the keyway of the barrel, whereby the cam moves as the cover moves from the open position to the closed position. So that it can rotate with the cover. 8. A wireless telephone comprising: a body; a cover; and a hinge having a recess formed by a left shoulder and a right shoulder, wherein the hinge rotatably couples the cover to the body. A barrel integrally formed on the top of the cover and having a closed end and an open end; a pin formed on an outer surface of the closed end of the barrel; a spring disposed in the barrel; A front surface in contact with the spring,
A cam having a body with a back surface having a curved surface and disposed in the barrel, wherein the cam body has a key formed thereon; the curved surface of the cam at one end; And a follower partially disposed within the barrel having a connector extending through the open end of the barrel at an opposite end, wherein the connector comprises a first portion. And a hinge having a follower formed by a second portion formed on an outer surface of the first portion, wherein the pin is rotatably inserted into the cavity at the left shoulder. And wherein the connector is positioned within the cavity on the right shoulder in such a way as to limit movement of the follower as the cover moves from the open position to the closed position. Line phone.