JP2009118228A - Hinge mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hinge mechanism having excellent operability making rotation and a slide mechanically associate with each other, and a mobile terminal using the hinge mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: In a hinge mechanism connecting a first unit and a second unit, in the first unit, at least two slide guides allowing the second unit to slide and move are disposed while being longitudinally connected in a sliding direction, a rotation allowing part allowing the rotation of the second unit is provided between the longitudinally arrangements of the slide guides, and the second unit includes a slide/rotation engaging part which slides and moves while being that the rotation is regulated to non-rotation by being engaged to the slide guides, and which is allowed to rotate by canceling the regulated rotation when positioned at the rotation allowing part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a hinge mechanism and a portable terminal used for a portable terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA in which a first casing and a second casing are connected so as to be rotatable and slidable.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a mobile phone that is one of mobile terminals, a mobile phone is provided in which a cover housing provided with a display means and a main body housing provided with an input key are connected by a hinge device.

  Such a mobile phone has not only a call function but also an Internet function and a mail function. Recently, a type with a television function capable of receiving radio waves of a television broadcast and viewing the television broadcast is also provided.

  The display means of the mobile phone is usually composed of a vertically long screen. However, when viewing a television broadcast, a horizontally long screen is preferable. For this reason, in order to secure both the conventional ease of use as a mobile phone and the ease of viewing a television broadcast, it is preferable to configure the display means to be able to rotate 90 degrees.

  As described above, a foldable mobile phone has been proposed in which the liquid crystal display unit can be switched between a portrait orientation and a landscape orientation so that the display means can be rotated 90 degrees (see Patent Document 1).

In this foldable mobile phone, the liquid crystal display section 2 is supported by a foldable first housing 3 so as to be rotatable by 90 degrees. Therefore, when the first casing 3 is folded open and closed from the closed state, a vertically long screen can be realized, and when the liquid crystal display unit 2 is further rotated 90 degrees, a horizontally long screen can be realized.
However, this system has a poor appearance due to the presence of the first housing 3.

  On the other hand, considering an extension line of a conventional hinge device, it is conceivable to combine a mechanism for sliding the liquid crystal side and the key side and a mechanism for rotating the liquid crystal side and the key side.

  However, when the slide mechanism and the rotation mechanism are simply combined, it is considered that the slide mechanism can be rotated at any position. When the slide and the rotation are performed independently as described above, there is a problem that each of them moves freely and becomes very difficult to use.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-21576

  In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a hinge mechanism with good operability in which rotation and slide are mechanically related, and a portable terminal using the hinge mechanism.

  The present invention is a hinge mechanism in which a first unit and a second unit are connected, and at least two slide guides that permit sliding movement of the second unit are arranged in a row in the sliding direction in the first unit. , Including a rotation allowing portion for allowing rotation of the second unit between the tandem arrangements of the slide guides, sliding on the second unit in a state in which the slide guide is engaged and engaged with the slide guide and is not rotated. And it is a hinge mechanism provided with the slide rotation engaging part by which the said rotation control is cancelled | released when it is located in the said rotation permission part, and rotation is permitted.

The slide guide may be configured with a portion that guides the slide movement, such as a rail-shaped protrusion or a rail-shaped groove.
The slide rotation engaging portion can be formed in an appropriate shape that can slide and move by engaging with the slide guide, such as a contact surface, a convex portion, or a concave portion that contacts the slide guide.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a hinge mechanism that can rotate and slide and does not rotate during the slide movement. Therefore, it is possible to provide a hinge mechanism with good operability in which rotation and slide are mechanically related.

As an aspect of the present invention, the first unit is allowed to release the slide restriction when it is at a predetermined rotation angle with respect to the slide rotation engaging portion, and is allowed to slide, and the slide is restricted at a time other than the predetermined rotation angle. A slide restricting portion that makes the slide non-slidable can be provided.
The predetermined rotation angle can be set to an appropriate angle according to the purpose, for example, 90 degrees or -90 degrees.
According to this aspect, it is possible to stabilize the rotation operation other than the predetermined angle, and smoothly shift to the slide movement when the predetermined rotation angle is reached.

Further, as an aspect of the present invention, the slide rotation engaging portion is formed of a rotating member having a substantially oval shape having parallel straight side surfaces and arc side surfaces, and the slide guide is formed by each parallel straight line of the slide rotation engaging portion. It is formed by two parallel linear guides that can come into contact with the side surfaces, and the slide restricting portion can be provided at the end portion of the linear guide on the rotation allowing portion side.
As a result, the slide operation and the rotation operation can be stabilized, the switching between the rotation operation and the slide operation can be performed smoothly, and good operability can be obtained.

Further, as an aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an angle restricting means for once stopping the rotation when the slide rotation engaging portion reaches the predetermined angle.
The angle restricting means can be constituted by means such as a cam or a click that can once lock the rotation.
Thereby, when switching from rotation operation | movement to a slide operation | movement, it can prevent rotating too much and can obtain favorable operativity.

As an aspect of the present invention, the angle restricting means can be constituted by a cam that rotates together with the slide rotation engaging portion, and an urging means that urges the cam from the rotating side surface.
Thereby, it can be rotationally locked by the urging force of the urging means, and it can be manually rotated against the urging force of the urging means to release the rotation locking.

As an aspect of the present invention, the cam can be constituted by an eccentric cam in which the center of rotation and the center of the outer shape are eccentric.
Thereby, rotation can be urged by the urging force of the urging means. Therefore, semi-automatic rotation that automatically rotates with the urging force of the urging means can be realized after rotating halfway.

As an aspect of the present invention, a rotation restriction guide that defines a rotation range can be provided on one of the first unit and the second unit, and a rotation restriction guide engaging portion that engages with the rotation restriction guide can be provided on the other.
Thereby, it can prevent rotating more than needed and rotating in the opposite direction, and can improve operativity.

As an aspect of the present invention, an intermediate unit is provided between the first unit and the second unit, the intermediate unit and the first unit are slidably connected in the sliding movement direction, and the intermediate unit and the A second unit is pivotally supported so as to be relatively rotatable in the rotational direction, and the slide rotation engagement portion is disposed on the first unit side of the intermediate unit and is attached to the second unit via the pivot support portion. Can be fixed.
Thereby, slide movement and rotation operation can be further stabilized, and smooth operation without backlash can be realized. Moreover, the whole intensity | strength can be raised and durability can be improved.

  The present invention also includes the hinge mechanism, the first casing on which the first unit is mounted, and the second casing on which the second unit is mounted. The first casing and the first casing It can be set as the portable terminal provided with at least one of the display means which displays an image, and the input means which accept | permit input operation in at least one of 2 housing | casing.

  Thereby, the portable terminal of favorable operativity which related rotation and a slide mechanically can be provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a hinge mechanism with good operability in which rotation and slide are mechanically related, and a portable terminal using the hinge mechanism.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining each state of the mobile phone 1 with a perspective view, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the mobile phone 1 as viewed from the front side, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged exploded perspective view of the hinge device 10 viewed from the front side, and FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged exploded perspective view of the hinge device 10 viewed from the back side. 6 is a perspective view of the hinge device 10 as seen from the front side, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the hinge device 10 as seen from the back side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the mobile phone 1, the back surface of the display side housing 2 is superimposed on the key arrangement surface 6 side of the rectangular key side housing 5, and in this state, the hinge device 10 (see FIG. 2). Connected by. A display unit 3 is provided on the front surface of the display-side housing 2. A plurality of input operation keys are arranged on the key arrangement surface 6 of the key-side casing 5. A display device such as a liquid crystal display device is disposed in the display unit 3 of the display-side housing 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the hinge device 10 includes a display side unit 11 fixed to the display side housing 2, a key side unit 14 fixed to the key side housing 5, and the display side unit 11 and the key side unit 14. It is mainly comprised by the intermediate unit 13 which connects.

The display side unit 11 is configured by a substantially rectangular display side plate 20.
The display-side plate 20 has left and right long sides bent symmetrically in a U-shape to form parallel guide grooves 21. Further, a concave portion 29 extending in the longitudinal direction is provided at the center of the display side plate 20.

  The two guide grooves 21 are formed in a straight line and are opposed to each other in parallel. Further, four guide rails 23 shorter than the guide groove 21 are formed in parallel with the guide groove 21 inside the guide groove 21 of the display side plate 20. The two guide rails 23 are arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction in the slide direction so that two pairs of the guide rails 23 are arranged in parallel with each other in the width direction and at equal intervals. In this vertical arrangement, the front and rear guide rails 23 are arranged in a straight line.

  Each guide rail 23 is formed by inserting one side of a plate member 22 having an L-shaped cross section into a slot 27 (see FIG. 6) formed in the display side plate 20. The opposite side piece of the plate member 22 is fixed to the display side plate 20 as a mounting piece 24 on the back side of the display side plate 20. This fixing is carried out by an appropriate method such as rivet-fitting with rivets, screwing, or adhesion.

  The guide rail 23 is not limited to being attached as the plate member 22 in this way, but may be formed by an appropriate method such as manufacturing a display-side plate 20 having the guide rail 23 by bending a single iron plate.

  Further, the display side plate 20 is provided with a rotation allowance space 28 between the guide rails 23 arranged in the front and rear directions in the sliding direction. Accordingly, the guide rails 23 are arranged in tandem on the front and rear sides in the sliding direction with the rotation allowable space 28 interposed therebetween.

  The display side plate 20 formed in this way is on the opposite side to the guide rail 23 in the recess 2a (see FIG. 3) formed on the back surface of the display side housing 2 (the overlapping surface with the key side housing 5). The surface of is fixed.

The intermediate unit 13 includes a holding member 30, a slide plate 60, and an eccentric cam 70 (see FIG. 5).
The holding member 30 has a cylindrical shaft support portion 33 erected on the back surface of the base material portion 32. The base member 32 is provided with a fixing arm 31 for fixing the holding member 30 to the slide plate 60. The rivet R is inserted into the hole formed in the fixed arm 31, and the holding member 30 is fixed to the slide plate 60. The holding member 30 may be fixed to the slide plate 60 by screws instead of the rivets R.

  The holding member 30 is provided with a cable hole 34. The cable hole 34 communicates with the shaft inner hole 35 of the shaft support portion 33. Therefore, each device of the display side casing 2 and the key side casing 5 can be electrically connected by wire from the recess 29 of the display side plate 20 through the cable hole 34 and the shaft hole 35.

  The slide plate 60 is composed of a metal plate 61. On both sides of the metal plate 61, slide rails 62 that are engaged with the guide grooves 21 of the display side plate 20 are formed symmetrically. Accordingly, the slide rail 62 can be slid up and down in the guide groove 21 of the display side plate 20, and smooth sliding movement between the display side plate 20 and the slide plate 60 is realized. In addition, the rotation restriction cam 50 is disposed in the overlapping gap portion between the display side plate 20 and the slide plate 60.

  A shaft hole 63 through which the cylindrical shaft support portion 54 of the rotation restricting cam 50 is inserted is formed at the center of the metal plate 61. Further, an insertion hole 64 (see FIG. 4) through which the rotation restricting projection 75 of the eccentric cam 70 is inserted is provided in the vicinity of the shaft hole 63.

  An eccentric cam 70 is fixed to the back surface of the metal plate 61. The eccentric cam 70 is substantially donut-shaped and has an inner periphery (insertion hole 77) and an outer periphery that are eccentric, and a rotation restricting projection 75 is formed on one surface. On the outer periphery of the eccentric cam 70, recesses 71, 72, 73 are formed at three locations. The eccentric cam 70 is non-rotatably fixed to the metal plate 61 of the slide plate 60 with four rivets R.

The key side unit 14 mainly includes a rotation restricting cam 50 and a rotation assist unit 80.
The rotation restricting cam 50 is formed in a substantially oval shape, and two guide side surfaces 51 are formed on the outer periphery in parallel with each other at equal intervals from the center. The length between the two guide side surfaces 51 is substantially the same as or slightly shorter than the width between the opposing guide rails 23. Therefore, when the guide side surface 51 is in a state parallel to the guide rail 23, the rotation restricting cam 50 can slide between the opposing sides of the guide rail 23.

  Further, the other outer peripheral portion (two places) of the rotation restricting cam 50 is provided with an engagement side surface 53 formed in an arc shape, and one of the arcuate projections convex toward the display side plate 20 side. A part 52 is provided. The two engaging side surfaces 53 arranged opposite to each other are configured such that the length of the diameter passing through the shaft center of the rotation restricting cam 50 is longer than the width between the opposing guide rails 23. Therefore, in a state where the guide side surface 51 is not parallel to the guide rail 23, the rotation restricting cam 50 does not enter between the opposed guide rails 23, and the slide is restricted.

  Further, the width from the end portion of the engaging side surface 53 to the end portion is configured to be substantially the same as or slightly shorter than the width between the opposed guide rails 23. Therefore, when the rotation restricting cam 50 is rotated, both ends of the one engagement side surface 53 are positioned inside the guide rails 23 arranged to face each other. At this time, the rotation restricting cam 50 enters a state where the rotation restricting cam 50 is opposed to the guide rail 23 and can slide.

  At the center of the rotation restricting cam 50, a cylindrical shaft support portion 54 that protrudes to one side is provided. The inner hole of the shaft support portion 54 passes therethrough. The shaft support portion 54 is inserted into the shaft hole 63 of the slide plate 60, the sliding ring 59, the insertion hole 77 of the eccentric cam 70, and the sliding ring 79.

  Further, a semicircular rotation restricting groove 56 is formed on the surface of the rotation restricting cam 50 on the shaft support portion 54 side. The rotation restricting groove 56 is concave and engages with the rotation restricting protrusion 75 of the eccentric cam 70. For this reason, the rotation restricting protrusion 75 can be rotated in the arc shape within the rotation restricting groove 56 by ± 90 degrees, and the other portions cannot be rotated.

  A locking recess 55 is formed at the end of the shaft support portion 54 so as to be partially cut so that the outer shape is substantially oval. The locking recess 55 engages with a linear portion of the insertion hole 86 formed in the base 85 of the rotation assist unit 80. Thereby, the rotation control cam 50 and the rotation assist unit 80 are fixed to non-rotation.

The rotation assist unit 80 mainly includes a base 85, a string winding spring S, a shaft 91, a pedestal 95, a slide arm 81, and a roller 83.
The base 85 has a substantially rectangular plate shape, and support arms 87 are formed on both upper shoulder portions. A substantially oval insertion hole 86 is formed in the center of the base 85. A pedestal 95 is fixed to the lower portion of the base 85 with a rivet R.

  The shaft 91 inserted through the string spring S is slidably inserted through the insertion holes 95a formed at both ends of the pedestal 95 and the insertion holes 87a formed in the support arm 87 of the base 85. One end 91 a of the shaft 91 is fixed to the mounting hole 81 a of the slide arm 81.

  A roller 83 is rotatably attached to the center of the slide arm 81 by a rivet R. The roller 83 is configured such that the outer peripheral surface is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the eccentric cam 70.

  With this configuration, the rotation assist unit 80 can move in a direction in which the slide arm 81 on which the roller 83 is mounted moves away from the base 85. During this movement, the string-wound spring S is compressed by the support portion 92 of the shaft 91. Therefore, the string spring S is biased in the returning direction. Thereby, when the roller 83 rolls along the outer peripheral surface of the eccentric cam 70, the relative rotation of the key side unit 14 and the intermediate unit 13 can be urged. Further, when the roller 83 comes into contact with the recesses 71, 72, 73, the relative rotation can be temporarily stopped.

A cylindrical boss 99 having a flange formed on the outer periphery of one of the openings is inserted through the insertion hole 86, the sliding ring 79, the insertion hole 77, the shaft hole 63, the sliding ring 59, and the shaft support 54. The rotation regulating cam 50, the slide plate 60, the eccentric cam 70, and the rotation assist unit 80 are attached.
When these parts are assembled, the hinge device 10 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is completed.

The hinge device 10 having the above configuration and the mobile phone 1 equipped with the hinge device 10 operate as follows.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of the hinge device 10 in the closed state as viewed from the back side, FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the hinge device 10 in the intermediately open state as viewed from the back side, and FIG. FIG. 11 is an explanatory view of the hinge device 10 as viewed from the back, and FIG. 11 is an explanatory view of the hinge device 10 in a fully opened state as viewed from the back.

  First, when the display-side housing 2 and the key-side housing 5 are completely overlapped as shown in FIG. 1A, as shown in FIG. 8A, as shown in FIG. 14 is located at the sliding direction closed side end (upper part in the drawing) of the display side plate 20.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 8B, the rotation restricting cam 50 enters between the two guide rails 23 on the left and right sides, and is in a slidable state. That is, the left and right guide side surfaces 51 of the rotation restricting cam 50 are parallel to the guide rail 23 and engaged with the guide rail 23 in surface contact with each other. For this reason, the slide movement can be stably performed. Further, the rotation restricting cam 50 is sandwiched between the two guide rails 23 so that the rotation is restricted to non-rotation.

  At this time, the rotation restricting protrusion 75 of the eccentric cam 70 is located at the center of the rotation restricting groove 56. The roller 83 is in contact with the recess 71 of the eccentric cam 70. Since the roller 83 is urged toward the eccentric cam 70 by the string spring S, the non-rotating state is stably held.

  Next, when the display side housing 2 and the key side housing 5 are slid relative to each other while the display side housing 2 and the key side housing 5 are overlapped with each other, they are temporarily stopped in the intermediate state shown in FIG. In this state, as shown in FIG. 9A, the intermediate unit 13 and the key side unit 14 have moved to an intermediate position of the slidable distance of the display side plate 20.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 9B, the left and right guide side surfaces 51 of the rotation restricting cam 50 are not in contact with all the guide rails 23. For this reason, the rotation restriction on the rotation restriction cam 50 is released, and the rotation restriction cam 50 and the key side unit 14 fixed to the rotation restriction cam 50 can be rotated relative to the display side unit 11.

Next, when the display side housing 2 and the key side housing 5 are rotated relative to each other while being overlapped from this intermediate state, the display side housing 2 and the key side housing 5 are stopped in the 90 ° rotation state shown in FIG. Thus, in the state where the display-side housing 2 is rotated 90 degrees with respect to the key-side housing 5, the central portion of the display-side housing 2 is located above the key-side housing 5. Therefore, the display unit 3 is horizontally long. This state is suitable for TV viewing, video viewing, games, and the like.
At the time of this rotation, as shown in FIG. 10 (B), the guide rail 23 is always rotated to each slide regulating end 23a of at least one guide rail 23 out of two guide rails 23 arranged before and after the sliding direction. Each engagement side surface 53 of the regulation cam 50 is in contact. Accordingly, when the relative rotation of the display side unit 11 and the key side unit 14 is started, the display side unit 11 and the key side unit 14 are slide-controlled so that they cannot slide and move due to the engagement of the engagement side surface 53 and the slide control end 23a.

  As shown in the drawing, the rotation restricting projection 75 of the eccentric cam 70 contacts the one end 56a of the rotation restricting groove 56 and is rotationally locked so as not to rotate any more when it is rotated by +90 degrees. The roller 83 is in contact with the recess 72 of the eccentric cam 70. Also at this time, since the roller 83 is urged toward the eccentric cam 70 by the string spring S, the state rotated by +90 degrees is stably held.

  Similarly, when rotated by −90 degrees, the rotation restricting protrusion 75 of the eccentric cam 70 is in contact with the other end 56 b of the rotation restricting groove 56. The roller 83 is brought into contact with the recess 73 of the eccentric cam 70 and is rotationally locked so as not to rotate any further. Also at this time, since the roller 83 is urged toward the eccentric cam 70 by the string spring S, the state of being rotated by −90 degrees is stably held.

  In this embodiment, it is configured to be rotatable by ± 90 degrees (both left and right), but it may be configured to be rotatable by 90 degrees only in one of them.

  When the display-side casing 2 and the key-side casing 5 are rotated 90 degrees in the direction in which the display-side casing 2 and the key-side casing 5 are returned by the user's operation from the 90-degree rotated state in this way, the intermediate state shown in FIGS. Return to.

  When the display-side casing 2 and the key-side casing 5 are further slid from this intermediate state by the user's operation, as shown in FIG. 1 (D), the display-side casing 2 and the key-side casing 5 Is in a fully open state with a long line. This state is a convenient state when making a call using the telephone function of the mobile phone 1, when sending and receiving e-mails, browsing the Internet, and the like.

  In the fully opened state, as shown in FIG. 11A, the intermediate unit 13 and the key side unit 14 are located at the sliding side open side end (lower part in the figure) of the display side plate 20.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 11 (B), the rotation restricting cam 50 enters between the two left and right guide rails 23 and is in a slidable state. That is, the left and right guide side surfaces 51 of the rotation restricting cam 50 are parallel to the guide rail 23 and engaged with the guide rail 23 in surface contact with each other. For this reason, the slide movement can be stably performed. Further, the rotation restricting cam 50 is sandwiched between the two guide rails 23 so that the rotation is restricted to non-rotation.

At this time, the rotation restricting protrusion 75 of the eccentric cam 70 is located at the center of the rotation restricting groove 56. The roller 83 is in contact with the recess 71 of the eccentric cam 70. Since this roller 83 is urged toward the eccentric cam 70 by the string spring S, the non-rotating state is stably held.
When returning from the fully open state to the intermediate state or the fully closed state, it can be slid back in the reverse operation to the above-described operation.

  With the configuration and operation described above, it is possible to provide the hinge device 10 that does not rotate when sliding and does not slide when rotating. Then, by using this hinge device 10, it is possible to provide a mobile phone 1 that realizes a fully closed state, a T-shaped viewing state, and a fully open state.

  By not rotating during the sliding movement, the user can smoothly slide the display-side casing 2 and the key-side casing 5. Therefore, the user can smoothly transition from the fully closed state to the intermediate state or the fully open state.

  In addition, since the user does not slide during the rotation operation, the user can smoothly perform the rotation operation of the display-side housing 2 and the key-side housing 5. Therefore, the user can smoothly shift from the intermediate state to the open state of 90 degrees.

  Further, the rotation stop state is maintained by the action of the rotation restricting cam 50 and the rotation assist unit 80 at +90 degrees and −90 degrees. Thereby, the user can conveniently use the mobile phone 1 at a stable rotation angle.

  Moreover, the external appearance of the mobile phone 1 is composed of the display-side casing 2 and the key-side casing 5 and can realize a simple and attractive appearance. In other words, in the case of the conventional example, a separate housing that is folded and opened with respect to the key-side housing is provided, and the display-side housing is rotatably attached to the separate housing. Was damaged. However, the mobile phone 1 using the hinge device 10 described above does not require such a separate casing, and can obtain a beautiful beauty.

  Further, since the oval type rotation restricting cam 50 and the linear guide rails 23 arranged in parallel are used, stable operation in which only one of the slide movement and rotation can be realized can be realized with a simple structure.

It should be noted that at each slide position in the fully closed state, the intermediate state, and the fully open state, it is preferable to provide a click feeling by slidingly locking by an appropriate method. For example, if each of the display side plate 20 and the rotation restricting cam 50 is provided with a convex portion and a concave portion, and the convex portion and the concave portion are arranged at positions where they are engaged in a closed state, an intermediate state, and a fully opened state, It becomes locked when it becomes stable.
In addition, a chevron-shaped cam and a biasing means for biasing the contact body toward the cam may be provided. In this case, if the slide is manually performed to some extent from the closed state, the abutting body may climb over the top of the cam, and thereafter automatically slide and move to the intermediate state. The slide movement from the intermediate state to the fully open state may be the same configuration.
By comprising in this way, the stop and operation | movement in each state are stabilized, and a user's operativity can be improved.

In correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the above-described embodiment,
The mobile terminal of the present invention corresponds to the mobile phone 1 of the embodiment,
Similarly,
The first housing corresponds to the display-side housing 2,
The display means corresponds to the display device of the display unit 3,
The second housing corresponds to the key-side housing 5,
The input means corresponds to the input operation keys on the key arrangement surface 6,
The hinge mechanism corresponds to the hinge device 10,
The first unit corresponds to the display side unit 11,
The intermediate unit corresponds to the intermediate unit 13,
The second unit corresponds to the key side unit 14,
The slide guide and linear guide correspond to the guide rail 23,
The slide restricting portion and the rotation allowing portion side end portion correspond to the slide restricting end 23a,
The rotation permission portion corresponds to the rotation permission space 28,
The slide rotation engagement portion corresponds to the rotation restricting cam 50,
The parallel straight side faces correspond to the guide side faces 51,
The arc side surface corresponds to the engagement side surface 53,
The shaft support portion corresponds to the shaft support portion 54,
The rotation restriction guide corresponds to the rotation restriction groove 56,
The angle restricting means and the cam correspond to the eccentric cam 70,
The rotation regulation guide engaging portion corresponds to the rotation regulation projection 75,
The biasing means corresponds to the rotation assist unit 80,
The predetermined rotation angle corresponds to 90 degrees,
The present invention is not limited only to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and many embodiments can be obtained.

Explanatory drawing explaining each state of a mobile telephone with a perspective view. The exploded perspective view which looked at the mobile telephone from the front side. The exploded perspective view which looked at the mobile telephone from the back side. The partial expansion disassembled perspective view of a hinge apparatus. The partial expansion disassembled perspective view of a hinge apparatus. The perspective view which looked at the hinge apparatus from the front side. The perspective view which looked at the hinge apparatus from the front side. Explanatory drawing which looked at the hinge apparatus of a fully closed state from the back surface. The perspective view which looked at the hinge apparatus of the intermediate state from the back. Explanatory drawing which looked at the hinge apparatus of a 90 degree rotation state from the back surface. Explanatory drawing which looked at the hinge apparatus of the fully open state from the back surface.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mobile phone, 2 ... Display side housing | casing, 3 ... Display part, 5 ... Key side housing | casing, 6 ... Key arrangement | positioning surface, 10 ... Hinge apparatus, 11 ... Display side unit, 13 ... Intermediate unit, 14 ... Key side Unit: 23 ... Guide rail, 23a ... Slide restricting end, 28 ... Rotation allowance space, 50 ... Rotation restricting cam, 51 ... Guide side, 53 ... Engagement side, 54 ... Shaft support, 56 ... Rotation restricting groove, 70 ... Eccentricity Cam, 75 ... rotation restricting projection, 80 ... rotation assist unit

Claims (9)

A hinge mechanism connecting the first unit and the second unit,
In the first unit,
Arranging at least two slide guides that permit sliding movement of the second unit in tandem in the sliding direction;
A rotation allowing portion for allowing rotation of the second unit between the tandem arrangements of the slide guide, the second unit being slid and moved while being engaged with the slide guide and restricted to non-rotation; and A hinge mechanism comprising a slide rotation engagement portion that is positioned at the rotation allowance portion and is allowed to rotate when the rotation restriction is released. A slide that allows the first unit to release the slide restriction at a predetermined rotation angle with respect to the slide rotation engaging portion and allows the slide, and restricts the slide at a position other than the predetermined rotation angle to make the slide unslidable. The hinge mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a restriction portion. The slide rotation engaging portion is formed of a rotating member having a substantially oval shape having parallel straight side surfaces and arc side surfaces,
Each slide guide is formed of two parallel linear guides that can contact each parallel linear side surface of the slide rotation engagement portion,
The hinge mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the slide restricting portion is provided at the end portion on the rotation permission portion side of the linear guide. The hinge mechanism according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising angle restricting means for once stopping the rotation when the slide rotation engaging portion reaches the predetermined angle. 5. The hinge mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the angle restricting means comprises a cam that rotates together with the slide rotation engaging portion, and an urging means that urges the cam from a rotating side surface. The hinge mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the cam is an eccentric cam in which a rotation center and a center of an outer shape are eccentric. The rotation control guide engaging part which engages with this rotation control guide is provided in one side of the said 1st unit and the 2nd unit which provided the rotation control guide which defines a rotation range, The any one of Claim 1 to 6 The hinge mechanism described in 1. An intermediate unit is provided between the first unit and the second unit,
The intermediate unit and the first unit are slidably connected in the sliding movement direction,
The intermediate unit and the second unit are pivotally supported so as to be relatively rotatable in the rotation direction,
The hinge mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the slide rotation engagement portion is disposed on the first unit side of the intermediate unit and fixed to the second unit via the shaft support portion. . A hinge mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the first housing to which the first unit is mounted, and the second housing to which the second unit is mounted.
A portable terminal comprising at least one of display means for displaying an image and input means for allowing an input operation on at least one of the first casing and the second casing.

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