JP2002310132A - Rotary actuator for hinge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rotary actuator for a hinge formed to realize the automation of any one of opening and closing operations with a compact and simple structure without complicating the manufacturing process of a telephone body. SOLUTION: This rotary actuator for a hinge has a nearly cylindrical first part (a housing 12), a second part (a clutch rotor 13) engaged with the first part freely to move in the axial direction and rotate, a rotating force giving means (a densely wound part 15a of a coil spring) provided between the first part and the second part, a clutch means (a projecting part 19 and a recessed part 20), an axial force giving means (a roughly wound part 15b of a coil spring and a push button 24) for connecting/disconnecting the clutch means, a cylindrical body having a bottom (an outer tube 25), a shaft (an inner rod 26) inserted into a cylindrical hole of the cylindrical body having the bottom, and a rotational resistance giving means (a rotary damper 14) having a viscous fluid filled in a space 27 between the cylindrical hole and the shaft. At least one part of the rotational resistance giving means is wound with the coil spring. With this structure, a hinge device for a telephone body is assembled without complicating the assembling process.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotary actuator for a hinge for automating one of opening and closing operations of a hinge for connecting two members in a foldable manner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, portable telephones can be folded when carried and opened when used.
A transmission unit and a reception unit connected by a hinge device are widely used. In order to further enhance the convenience of such a two-fold telephone, a hinge device that can be stably maintained in a closed state and can be opened by one-touch operation with one hand is disclosed in Patent 2677247
No. 6,086,045. In this hinge device,
A torsion coil spring is used as driving means for applying a rotational force in the opening direction.

[0003]

However, in the torsion coil spring, the maximum rotational energy is stored when the transmitter and the receiver are closed, and the energy is increased as soon as the push button is opened. When they were released all at once, there was a fear that they would jump up too much.

In order to prevent such inconvenience, it is necessary to provide a damper mechanism for applying an appropriate frictional resistance. However, if a separate damper mechanism is provided, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps increase. I had to do it.

Further, according to the structure disclosed in the above publication, the fine parts constituting the hinge device must be directly assembled to the telephone body, which complicates the manufacturing process of the telephone and increases the manufacturing cost. There is a drawback that it is not possible to respond flexibly to changes.

The present invention has been devised in order to solve such problems of the prior art, and its main purpose is to make it possible to open or close the telephone without complicating the manufacturing process of the telephone body or the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hinge rotary actuator configured to be able to realize automatic operation with a compact and simple structure.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a first portion (housing 12) having a substantially cylindrical shape and an axially movable portion with respect to the first portion are provided. And a second portion (clutch rotor 13) rotatably engaged with the second portion (clutch rotor 13) and a rotational force applying means (closely wound portion 15a of a coil spring) provided between the first portion and the second portion. A clutch means (the convex portion 19 and the concave portion 20), an axial force applying means for connecting and disconnecting the clutch means (the loosely wound portion 15b of the coil spring and the push button 24), and a bottomed cylindrical body (the outer tube 25); Rotational resistance applying means (rotary damper 14) composed of a shaft (inner rod 26) inserted through the cylindrical hole of the bottomed cylindrical body and a viscous fluid filled in a gap (27) between the cylindrical hole and the shaft. And the rotation resistance imparting. At least a portion of the stage, a coil spring as the rotational force applying means has decided to provide a rotary actuator hinge (11), characterized in that the wound.

[0008] In this manner, since the rotary actuator can be assembled as a single rotary actuator in which all the functions are incorporated in an independent process, the assembly process of the hinge device such as the telephone body does not need to be complicated.

In particular, the clutch means is a meshing clutch which is engaged / disengaged by axially moving the second portion with respect to the first portion, and the axial force applying means is a first clutch.
It is preferable to include a loosely wound portion (15b) provided integrally with the coil spring so as to apply a pressing force between the portion and the second portion.

According to this, the urging means for connecting the clutch means and the urging means for applying the driving force in the opening (closing) direction can be constituted by a common coil spring. The score can be reduced.

Further, if the first portion forms the axis of the hinge, the structure can be further simplified.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a portable telephone to which the present invention is applied. The telephone 1 has a transmitting unit 2 provided with operation keys and a receiving unit 3 provided with a liquid crystal display connected by a hinge 4 so as to be folded in two. Since the basic configuration of the telephone itself is the same as that of a known telephone, a detailed description is omitted here.

As shown in FIG. 2, the hinge 4 has two bearings 5a and 5b formed integrally with the transmitting part 2, and three bearings 6a, 6b and 6c formed integrally with the receiving part 3. When,
The rotary actuator 11 extends so as to penetrate these bearings coaxially in a state where these bearings are alternately combined.

The rotary actuator 11 includes a housing 12 having a substantially cylindrical shape, a clutch rotor 13 mounted inside a right end portion of the housing 12 so as to be axially movable and rotatable with respect to the housing 12, and a housing 12. , A rotary damper 14 provided to extend from the left end to the center in the axial direction, a left end thereof is engaged with the clutch rotor 13, a right end thereof is engaged with the housing 12, and a right half of the rotary damper 14 is provided. And a coil spring 15 provided so as to surround. A clutch stator 16 is integrally fixed to the right end of the housing 12.

The housing 12 is formed in half along the axis, and is integrated by incorporating the above-described components inside one half and then joining the other half together. 2, the projections 17a and 17b formed on the portions corresponding to the two bearing portions 5a and 5b engage with the axial grooves 18a and 18b formed on the inner periphery of the bearing portions 5a and 5b, thereby transmitting the voice. It is non-rotatably connected to the part 2.

The clutch stator 1 of the clutch rotor 13
The projection 19 having a trapezoidal shape as viewed from the radial direction
Are formed in a pair on the diameter line. On the surface of the clutch stator 16 facing the clutch rotor 13, a concave portion 20 corresponding to the convex portion 19, and a cam connecting between the deepest portion of the concave portion 20 and the surface of the clutch stator 16 facing the clutch rotor 13. A pair of slopes 21a and 21b are formed. The cam slope is formed of a steeply angled first step portion 21a directly connected to the deepest portion of the concave portion 20, and a gentle angled second step portion 21b thereafter.

The clutch stator 1 of the clutch rotor 13
6, a clutch stator 1
A push rod 23 that penetrates the center of the housing 6 and the right end wall 22 of the housing 12 is integrally formed. The push rod 23 has, for example, a D-shape in cross section orthogonal to the axis thereof, and is connected to the bearing 6c on the right end side of the receiver 3 so as to be non-rotatable and axially displaceable. A push button 24 is mounted on the right end bearing 6c.

The rotary damper 14 is filled in an outer tube 25 having a bottomed cylindrical shape, an inner rod 26 inserted in the outer tube 25, and a gap 27 between the outer tube 25 and the inner rod 26. It is of a known type consisting of silicon grease and the outer tube 25
Is fixed to the housing 12.

A stopper 28 is integrally connected to the left bearing 6a of the receiver 3. The right end of the stopper 28 protrudes into the bearing 5a on the right side of the transmitting section 2, and the outer end of the inner rod 26 of the rotary damper 14 is fixed to the protruding section 29.

The coil spring 15 has tightly wound portions 15a at both ends.
And the central loosely wound portion 15b, and the densely wound portion 15a plays a role of storing the rotational force, and the loosely wound portion 15b plays a role of storing the axial force.

Next, the operation of the hinge rotary actuator 11 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the closed state in which the transmitting section 2 and the receiving section 3 are overlapped with each other, an axial force to the right is applied to the clutch rotor 13 by the axial force generated by the loosely wound section 15b of the coil spring 15. In this state, the convex portion 19 of the clutch rotor 13 has entered the deepest portion of the concave portion 20 of the clutch stator 16 (the clutch is in a connected state), so that the rotational force of the densely wound portion 15a of the coil spring 15 is acting. Nevertheless, the clutch rotor 13 cannot rotate with respect to the housing 12, and the receiver 3 integrated with the bearing 6c into which the push rod 23 of the clutch rotor 13 is inserted so as not to rotate is also stationary. Thus, the folded state of the transmitting unit 2 and the receiving unit 3 is maintained.

From this state, the loosely wound portion 1 of the coil spring 15
When the push button 24 is slightly pressed (to the left in the figure) against the axial force of 5b, the push rod 23 in contact with the inner end of the push button 24 moves leftward, and the clutch rotor 13 integrated with the push rod 23 Moves left. Since the push rod 23 is engaged with the bearing 6c on the right side of the receiver 3 so as not to rotate relatively, the projection 19 of the clutch rotor 13 integral with the push rod 23 comes out of the recess 20 of the clutch stator 16. The convex portion 19 of the clutch rotor 13 comes into contact with the first step portion 21a of the cam slope as it moves, and the clutch rotor 13 is driven by the action of the rotating force generated by the tightly wound portion 15a of the coil spring 15.
Begins to turn slowly. Due to the rotation of the clutch rotor 13, the earpiece 3 that is non-rotatably connected to the push rod 23 via the bearing 6c starts to open.

When the push button 24 is further depressed, the projection 19 of the clutch rotor 13 comes into contact with the second step portion 21b of the cam slope of the clutch stator 16. Then, the rotational force of the densely wound portion 15a of the coil spring 15 exceeds the frictional force due to the axial force of the loosely wound portion 15b due to the relationship of the friction angle between the convex portion 19 and the second step portion 21b of the cam slope. With this rotational force, the space between the transmitting section 2 and the receiving section 3 is automatically opened to the full.
At this time, the opening speed is appropriately suppressed by the shear resistance acting on the silicon grease sealed between the outer tube 25 and the inner rod 26 of the rotary damper 14.

Even if the pushing force to the push button 24 is released at a position where the space between the transmitting unit 2 and the receiving unit 3 is fully opened, the convex portion 19 of the clutch rotor 13 is kept at the top of the cam slope of the clutch stator 16. Surface, that is, the inner end surface 30 of the clutch stator 16 in the axial direction, and the clutch disengaged state is maintained. In this state, the clutch rotor 13 cannot move to the right despite the axial force of the loosely wound portion 15b of the coil spring 15 being applied, and an external force in the closing direction is applied between the transmitting unit 2 and the receiving unit 3. The open state is maintained unless otherwise specified. Note that the maximum opening angle between the transmitting unit 2 and the receiving unit 3 is determined by the mechanical rotation range of the hinge 4.

When the gap between the transmitting section 2 and the receiving section 3 is manually closed against the rotational force of the densely wound section 15a of the coil spring 15, the clutch rotor 13 rotates integrally with the receiving section 3 and the clutch stator is rotated. 16 until the protrusion 19 of the clutch rotor 13 pressed against the shaft spring 16 by the axial force of the loosely wound portion 15b of the coil spring 15 enters the deepest portion of the recess 20 of the clutch stator 16.
That is, the clutch rotates until the clutch is again connected.

When the convex portion 19 of the clutch rotor 13 enters the concave portion 20 of the clutch stator 16, the first slope of the cam slope is formed.
Coil spring 1 acting between step portion 21a and convex portion 19
5, the frictional force due to the axial force of the close winding portion 15a exceeds the rotational force, and the clutch rotor 13 cannot be rotated only by the rotating force generated by the close winding portion 15a of the coil spring 15. The closed state in which the receiver 3 completely overlaps is maintained.

Although the above description has been given of only an example of application to a portable telephone, the present invention connects a lid such as a hinge device for connecting a keyboard portion and a display portion of a laptop computer to a main body, for example. It is also applicable to hinge devices and the like. In the above description, the closed state is normally set, but the open state may be set to the normal state and automatically closed according to the setting of the position where the clutch is connected and the direction of the torsional force.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, the two members that are folded in two are gradually opened due to the inclination of the cam surface when the push button is slightly pressed, and when the push button is further pressed, the elasticity of the torsion spring is released. When it is automatically opened to the fully open position by the force and when it is closed, it can be closed in the same manner as the conventional one, so that the convenience of this type of folding device can be remarkably enhanced. In particular, since the damper for applying the rotational resistance is lengthened in the axial direction and provided inside the coil spring, the rotary actuator unitized as a single unit can be made compact. In addition, since the rotary actuator itself forms the axis of the hinge, the actuator itself can be diverted even if the specification of the main body changes, and a great effect can be obtained in simplifying the manufacturing process and parts management. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a portable telephone to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1 of a rotary actuator according to the present invention in a clutch connected state;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an essential part of a rotary actuator according to the present invention in a clutch disengaged state;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Rotary actuator 12 Housing 13 Clutch rotor 14 Rotary damper 15 Coil spring 15a Closely wound part 15b Sparsely wound part 19 Convex part 20 Concave part 24 Push button 25 Outer tube 26 Inner rod 27 Air gap

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3J069 AA43 3J105 AA13 AB11 AB24 AB46 AC10 BA32 BB07 DA04 DA13 DA34 DA50

Claims (3)

[Claims] A first portion having a generally cylindrical shape; a second portion axially movably and rotatably engaged with the first portion; and the first portion and the first portion. A rotating force applying means, a clutch means, and an axial force applying means for bringing the clutch means into and out of contact with the second portion; a bottomed cylindrical body; and a cylindrical hole inserted into the bottomed cylindrical body. A rotational resistance applying means made of a viscous fluid filled in a gap between the cylindrical hole and the shaft, and a coil as the rotational force applying means in at least a part of the rotational resistance applying means. A rotary actuator for a hinge, wherein a spring is wound. 2. The clutch means according to claim 1, wherein said clutch means engages with said first part by axially moving said second part.
A disengagement clutch, wherein the axial force applying means includes a loosely wound part integrally provided with the coil spring so as to apply a pressing force between the first part and the second part. The rotary actuator for hinge according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The hinge rotary actuator according to claim 1, wherein the first portion forms an axis of a hinge.