JP2009150515A - Hinge device, slide device, and electronic apparatus using them - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hinge device, a slide device, and an electronic apparatus using them which has a strength, corrosion resistance, and is accurately molded even it is a complicated shape by using a metal glass for a sliding component (a hinge component or a slide component), and where sliding resistance is stabilized, and sliding durability is improved and a torque is hardly deteriorated even it is repeatedly used by applying a surface treatment with plating. <P>SOLUTION: In the hinge device, a bearing part 3 and a shaft part 4 relatively turnably connected with the bearing part 3 are composed of a metal glass component formed by a metal glass, and a plating layer is formed on the surfaces to be sliding surfaces in relative turning of the respective metal glass components 3, 4 and the sliding surfaces of the respective metal glass components 3, 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a hinge device and a slide device provided at a pivotally attached portion of an electronic device such as a notebook computer, a mobile phone, and a mobile device, and an electronic device such as a notebook computer, a mobile phone, and a mobile device using these.

  Conventionally, hinge parts such as bearings and shafts of hinge devices and slide parts such as slide guides and slide parts of slide devices are sliding parts that slide on each other, so they are made of metal such as stainless steel due to their strength and corrosion resistance. For those with complicated shapes, they were molded with resin because they cannot be molded with metal, but in the case of resins, they can be molded even with complex shapes, but they are inferior in strength and sliding durability. A resin material having excellent sliding durability may not be easily available or may be expensive.

  On the other hand, in recent years, metallic glass such as liquid metal has been developed, and although it has strength, it can be easily molded by melting even complex shapes, and further, there is little shrinkage after coming out of the mold, so complicated such as 3D cams are required. Even simple shaped parts can be easily and accurately molded. In addition, this metallic glass part has various advantages.

  However, it has been found that if the hinge part or the slide part is simply molded from this metallic glass to form a metallic glass part, the sliding durability is poor.

  That is, when an experiment in which metal glass parts are slid is performed, it is found that if sliding is repeated, the material may be scraped off to generate powder, resulting in wear and inferior durability.

  Therefore, if a hinge part or slide part is simply formed from metal glass, it has various advantages as described above. However, the sliding resistance (torque) important in a hinge apparatus or slide apparatus that repeatedly slides fluctuates and is not stable. There is a disadvantage inferior in sliding durability.

  Moreover, even if the cause of this sliding durability defect is due to strength, the hardness of metal glass cannot be adjusted by heat treatment such as annealing.

  The present invention uses metallic glass for sliding parts (hinge parts and sliding parts), that is, a shaft part and a bearing part (hinge part) which are sliding parts of a hinge device, or a sliding part of a sliding device. As a metal glass part in which the slide guide part and the slide part (slide part) are molded using metal glass, the hinge apparatus, the slide apparatus, and these which are strong and corrosion resistant and can be easily and accurately molded even in complicated shapes are used. In addition to providing electronic devices, the above-mentioned problems have been found, and this problem has been solved by controlling the surface hardness and surface properties by surface treatment by plating. Innovative hinge device and slide device with improved sliding durability and less torque deterioration even after repeated use And it has an object to provide an electronic apparatus using the same.

  The gist of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  A hinge device that rotatably connects a first member 1 and a second member 2, wherein the bearing unit 3 is provided on the first member 1 or the second member 2, and the bearing unit 3 is relatively rotatable. And the second member 2 or the shaft portion 4 provided on the first member 1, and the bearing portion 3 and the shaft portion 4 are made of metal glass parts formed of metal glass. The present invention relates to a hinge device characterized in that a plating layer is formed on a surface which becomes a sliding surface at the time of relative rotation of 3 or 4 or on the entire surface of each of the metallic glass components 3 and 4.

  2. The hinge apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plating layer is a nickel plating layer.

  3. The hinge device according to claim 2, wherein the plating layer is formed by performing nickel plating after copper plating as a base.

  Further, the main body part and the superposition part are swung up and down so that the superposition part can be rotated up and down relatively from the superposed state of the main body part provided with the operation part and the superposition part provided with the display part. The hinge device is movably connected. In the hinge device, the main body portion is the first member 1 or the second member 2, and the overlapping portion is the second member 2 or the first member 1. The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus using a hinge device, wherein the hinge device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is used.

  Further, the slide device is configured to slidably connect the first member 1 and the second member 2, and the slide guide portion 5 provided in the first member 1 or the second member 2 and the slide guide portion 5 are relative to each other. The slide member 6 is slidably connected to the second member 2 or the slide member 6 provided on the first member 1, and the slide guide portion 5 and the slide portion 6 are made of metal glass parts formed of metal glass. The present invention relates to a slide device characterized in that a plated layer is formed on the surface of the metal glass parts 5 and 6 which is a sliding surface at the time of relative rotation or on the entire surface of each of the metal glass parts 5 and 6.

  5. The slide device according to claim 4, wherein the plating layer is a nickel plating layer.

  6. The slide device according to claim 5, wherein the plating layer is formed by performing nickel plating after copper plating as a base.

  In addition, a main body portion provided with an operation portion and a superposition portion provided with a display portion are superposed, and the superposition portion is slid relative to the superposition surface relative to the main body portion to partially Alternatively, the main body portion and the overlapping portion are connected by a slide device so that the entire portion can be exposed. In this slide device, the main body portion is the first member 1 or the second member 2, and the overlapping portion is The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus using a slide device, wherein the slide device according to any one of claims 5 to 7 is used as the second member 2 or the first member 1.

  Since the present invention is configured as described above, the shaft part and the bearing part (hinge part) which are sliding parts of the hinge device or the slide guide part and the sliding part (slide part) which are sliding parts of the sliding device are made of metal glass. As a metallic glass part molded using the above, it has strength, corrosion resistance, and can be easily and accurately molded even in a complicated shape, and the sliding surface of the sliding part as the metallic glass part (or the entire surface may be sufficient). Although it is a metallic glass part by controlling the surface hardness and surface properties by plating treatment, the sliding resistance is stable, the sliding durability is improved, and the torque is not easily deteriorated even after repeated use The hinge device, the slide device, and the electronic apparatus using them.

  Further, in the inventions of the second and sixth aspects, the functions and effects of the present invention are further improved, and in the inventions of the third and seventh aspects, the functions and effects of the present invention are further improved. The hinge device and the slide device, which are well demonstrated and can realize the present invention more easily, have excellent practicality, and an electronic apparatus using these.

  Embodiments of the present invention that are considered suitable (how to carry out the invention) will be briefly described with reference to the drawings, illustrating the operation of the present invention.

  A bearing portion 3 that is a sliding part of the hinge device and a shaft portion 4 that engages with the bearing portion 3 in a freely rotatable manner, or a slide guide portion 5 that is a sliding component of the sliding device and a slide that engages with the slide portion relative to the slide portion. The portion 6 is not formed of a metal such as stainless steel or a simple hard resin as in the prior art, but is formed of a metal glass such as a liquid metal.

  Metallic glass is an amorphous metal with disordered atoms. It is stronger and supple than an ordinary metal in a crystal state where atoms are regularly arranged. In addition, it is excellent in moldability compared to ordinary metals.

  In other words, metallic glass is an amorphous metal material that does not have a crystal structure, and can be highly functional, highly accurate, energy-saving, and conventional amorphous metals can only be made very thin due to the need for rapid cooling. On the other hand, in recent years, research and development has advanced and products with thick shapes have become possible.

  Specifically, for example, an alloy made of titanium, zirconium, copper, and barium, which is an amorphous metal such as a liquid metal that can be freely molded like plastic with heat of about 800 ° C. It can be molded into a thick plate by slowly cooling, provided that the composition is a multi-element having 3 or more elements and the diameter of each atom is different by 12% or more and each element is easily compounded.

  Molding sliding parts (hinge parts and sliding parts) with metallic glass such as liquid metal with these characteristics makes them strong because of amorphous materials, excellent in corrosion resistance, and even in complicated shapes as easily as plastic. Molding is possible and the shrinkage rate after molding is low, and even a sliding part that requires high precision such as a 3D cam or a metal molding that is difficult to mold can be easily and accurately molded like plastic.

  On the other hand, simply molding with metallic glass does not stabilize the sliding resistance (torque) that is important in sliding parts, resulting in poor sliding durability. That is, it is necessary to endure 100,000 times of opening and closing use in a mobile phone, a notebook personal computer, a mobile phone, etc., but even if it is provided so that a desired sliding resistance (torque) is generated in a simple metal glass part, it is half the desired number It was found that the sliding resistance was reduced by half after about 50,000 times, and could not be put to practical use.

  The present invention, on the other hand, is a metal glass part obtained by forming the sliding part with metal glass, and further plating this entire surface or at least the surface that becomes the sliding surface, so that the sliding durability is an ordinary one such as stainless steel. It can maintain durability equal to or higher than that of metal.

  That is, for example, as shown in the examples, it was confirmed that the torque fluctuated by only a few percent with respect to the initial desired value even if the opening and closing were repeated 100,000 times.

  The present invention has the advantage of metallic glass by applying plating to the surface, and also has the advantage that the surface strength is controlled or the surface properties are controlled so that it is difficult to wear and the torque is stable and the sliding is repeated 100,000 times or more. It is possible to provide a hinge part or a slide part that is excellent in sliding durability in which the sliding resistance hardly changes.

  Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 9 show a case where the present invention is applied to a hinge device that rotatably connects a first member 1 and a second member 2, but the first embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5 and FIG. The second embodiment of FIG. 9 is applied to a hinge device used in a notebook computer, and a bearing portion 3 provided in a first connecting portion 7 connected to the first member 1, The shaft portion 4 is provided on the second connecting portion 8 that is engaged and connected so as to be rotatable relative to the second member 2. In the first embodiment, the shaft portion 4 is formed on the bearing portion 3 that is difficult to form metal. The shaft portion 4 is pressed by the urging body 12 through the pressing portion 11 to generate a desired sliding (rotation) resistance. In the second embodiment, the cross-sectional shape is The shaft section 4 is elastically held by the bearing section 3 having a C-shaped section by setting so that a desired sliding (rotation) resistance is generated. The bearing section 3 and the shaft section 4 is composed of metallic glass parts molded with metallic glass, and plating is performed on the whole surface including the surface which becomes the sliding surface at the time of relative rotation of each metallic glass part 3, 4 or on a part of the surface including the sliding surface. The hinge device is formed with layers.

  The plating layer is a nickel plating layer, but may be electrolytic plating or electroless plating.

  Specifically, it is formed by applying nickel plating after applying copper plating as a base layer after applying gloss barrel. As a result, the plating can be easily performed without increasing the cost, and the durability of the plating is also excellent. Further, as described above, this plating treatment can easily realize the epoch-making invention in which sliding resistance (torque) is stabilized and sliding durability is improved.

  That is, in this embodiment, the main body part (first member) 1 provided with the operation part and the superposition part (second member) 2 provided with the display part are relatively undulated from the superposed state. The main body portion 1 and the overlapping portion 2 are connected to each other by a hinge device so that the main body portion 1 and the overlapping portion 2 can freely rotate, and the bearing portion 3 and the shaft portion 4 which are hinge parts (sliding parts) of the hinge device are connected. Both are made of metal glass parts, and both have a structure in which nickel plating is applied to the entire surface or a part of the surface including sliding surfaces.

  10 to 12 show the case where the present invention is applied to a slide device for slidably connecting the first member 1 and the second member 2, and the third embodiment shown in FIGS. Is applied to a slide device used in a cellular phone, and is connected to a slide guide portion 5 provided in a first connection portion 9 connected to the first member 1 and is slidably engaged with and connected to the slide guide portion 5. The slide part 6 provided in the second connection part 10 connected to the second member 2 is constituted by a metal glass part formed of metal glass, and the sliding surface at the time of relative rotation of the metal glass parts 5 and 6 The slide device has the plating layer formed on the entire surface or a part of the surface including the surface.

  That is, in this embodiment, a main body part (first member) 1 provided with an operating part and a superposition part (second member) 2 provided with a display part are superposed and superposed on the main body part 1. The main body part 1 and the superposition part 2 are connected by a slide device so that the part 2 can be slid relative to the superposition surface to expose a part or the whole of the main body part 1, Both the slide guide part 5 and the slide part 6 of the sliding part are made of metal glass parts, and both sliding surfaces are plated.

  In any of the embodiments, the plating layer may be formed only on the sliding inner surface of each of the metallic glass parts 3, 4, 5 and 6, or, for example, as shown in FIG. A plating layer may be provided on the entire surface of only the sliding component 5A (this sliding component 5A) further provided inside the portion 5 or at least only on this sliding surface.

  Moreover, the experimental result of the sliding durability which performed the bearing part 3 and axial part 4 in the 1st Example as the metallic glass components 3 and 4 which gave the nickel plating layer is shown in FIG.

  In the first embodiment, which is a shape of the bearing 3 that is difficult to form with ordinary metals such as stainless steel, the bearing 3 and the shaft 4 are made of metal glass parts 3 and 4, and this is about several μm (8 μm). The nickel plating layer was applied to set a desired sliding resistance (rotation resistance) of about 2 N · cm, and the sliding durability test was repeated twice each for 100,000 times. As shown in this experimental result, even if the required sliding is performed 100,000 times, the torque (N) required for the sliding (turning) in the opening direction and in the closing direction is required.・ The value of cm) is about a few percent (3%) even if it is repeated 100,000 times, the sliding surface is not worn, the torque does not fluctuate, and it is always stable and the expected usage frequency of 100,000 times It was confirmed that it was durable.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and the specific configuration of each component can be designed as appropriate.

  For example, in the slide device, the slide guide part 5 and the slide part 6 that are sliding parts may be a linear rail part and a slider part that engages with the linear guide part. The engaging pin part may be used. In the case of this rotating slide, the pivoting part of the rotating fulcrum part may be a sliding part, and there is an embodiment in which these parts are formed of metal glass.

It is a description perspective view of a present Example. It is a perspective view of the principal part of a present Example. It is a disassembled perspective view of the principal part of a present Example. It is front sectional drawing of the principal part of a present Example. It is a sectional side view of the principal part of a present Example. It is an explanation perspective view of the 2nd example. It is a perspective view of the principal part of 2nd Example. It is a disassembled perspective view of the principal part of 2nd Example. It is a sectional side view of the principal part of 2nd Example. It is a description perspective view of a 3rd Example. It is a disassembled perspective view of the principal part of a 3rd Example. (A) is description front sectional drawing of the principal part of 3rd Example, (b) is explanatory front sectional drawing of the principal part which shows this another example. It is a table | surface which shows the experimental result for two times of the durability test which shows that the sliding durability of 1st Example improved.

Explanation of symbols

1 First member (main part)
2 Second member (overlapping part)
3 Bearing (metal glass parts)
4 Shaft (metal glass parts)
5 Slide guide (metal glass parts)
6 Slide part (metal glass parts)

Claims (8)

  A hinge device that rotatably connects a first member and a second member, wherein the first member or the second member is provided with a bearing portion, and the bearing portion is relatively rotatably connected to the second member. It comprises a shaft portion provided on the member or the first member, and the bearing portion and the shaft portion are constituted by metal glass parts formed of metal glass, which serve as sliding surfaces during the relative rotation of the metal glass parts. A hinge device, wherein a plating layer is formed on a surface or the entire surface of each of the metallic glass parts.   The hinge device according to claim 1, wherein the plating layer is a nickel plating layer.   3. The hinge device according to claim 2, wherein the plating layer is formed by applying nickel plating after copper plating as a base.   The main body part and the superposition part can be pivoted up and down so that the superposition part can be relatively swung up and down from the superposed state of the main body part provided with the operation part and the superposition part provided with the display part. The hinge device is connected to the hinge device, wherein the main body portion is the first member or the second member, and the overlapping portion is the second member or the first member. An electronic apparatus using a hinge device, wherein the hinge device according to any one of the above items is used.   A slide device for slidably connecting a first member and a second member, the slide guide provided on the first member or the second member, and the second guide connected to the slide guide so as to be slidable relative to the second member. A slide part provided on the member or the first member, and the slide guide part and the slide part are made of metal glass parts formed of metal glass, and sliding surfaces at the time of relative rotation of the metal glass parts A sliding device characterized in that a plating layer is formed on the entire surface or the entire surface of each of the metallic glass components.   The slide device according to claim 4, wherein the plating layer is a nickel plating layer.   6. The slide device according to claim 5, wherein the plating layer is formed by performing nickel plating after copper plating as a base.   A main body part provided with an operation part and a superposition part provided with a display part are arranged in a superposition, and the superposition part is slid relative to the superposition surface relative to this main body part to part or all of the main body part The main body portion and the overlapping portion are connected by a slide device so that the main body portion is the first member or the second member, and the overlapping portion is the second member. Alternatively, an electronic apparatus using a slide device, wherein the slide device according to any one of claims 5 to 7 is used as the first member.

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