JP2010032031A - Hinge unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hinge unit that implements reduced part and manufacturing costs by the reduction in the number of basic parts to two and includes a click mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: The hinge unit includes a first hinge base having a pair of shaft support parts raised from a hinge base and shaft projections formed on the same side of the shaft support parts, and a second hinge base having a pair of bearing parts raised from a hinge base to accommodate the shaft projections for turning motion. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a hinge structure capable of reducing the number of parts.

  At present, the folding type is the mainstream in electronic devices such as mobile phones and notebook personal computers, and a hinge structure is used to connect the first housing and the second housing of these devices in an openable and closable manner. ing. Apart from these, the hinge structure is also used in many everyday items such as ashtrays.

  In the hinge structure used in the above devices and articles, the elastic engagement structure is used to configure the first casing and the second casing to be held with a predetermined holding force at a predetermined rotation angle. It's being used. As such an elastic engagement structure, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 or 2, the first hinge fitting attached to the first casing and the second hinge fitting attached to the other casing are used. A first engagement member configured to be rotatable with respect to a rotation shaft at least one of the hinge metal fittings, and inserted into the rotation shaft and fixed to be rotatable with respect to the first housing; A second engagement member that can be engaged with the first engagement member in the axial direction of the rotation shaft is attached to the second housing, and the first engagement member, the second engagement member, There is known a structure in which an elastic member such as a coil spring is provided for press-contacting the wire in the axial direction.

  In particular, in the foldable electronic device as described above, the hinge structure has a predetermined rotation resistance so that the first housing and the second housing can maintain a fixed position other than the predetermined rotation angle. There is a case where it is desired to give, and in such a case, there is a problem that the structure becomes more complicated.

  Therefore, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 3, a flat portion is provided on the rotation shaft, and a rotation shaft is provided using a friction plate having an arcuate contact surface provided with a flat portion corresponding to the flat portion. Is held by a plurality of friction plates that are pressed from both sides to give a predetermined rotational resistance, and the flat portion of the rotating shaft and the flat portion of the friction plate are joined together to establish a hinge at a predetermined rotational angle position. A hinge structure is proposed that is configured to hold the structure.

JP 2004-52892 A JP-A-2005-3125 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-16604

  In the hinge structure having the above-described elastic engagement structure, it is necessary to provide an elastic engagement structure including a plurality of parts in addition to the shaft support structure for rotatably supporting the rotation shaft. As the number of such components increases, it is necessary to assemble these components, which increases the manufacturing cost.

  On the other hand, in the hinge structure using a plurality of friction plates sandwiching the rotating shaft, it is necessary to assemble the plurality of friction plates so that they are pressed against the rotating shaft. There is a problem that mitigation is difficult.

  Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object to realize a hinge unit including a click mechanism that reduces the parts cost and the manufacturing cost by reducing the number of parts basically to two. And

  In order to solve the above problems, in the hinge unit according to the present invention, a first hinge base having a pair of shaft support portions rising from the hinge base, and shaft protrusions provided on the same side surface of each of the shaft support portions, and the hinge base And a second hinge base provided with a pair of bearings that pivotably accommodate the shaft protrusion.

  It is desirable that the first hinge base is provided with a stopper for preventing the hinge base from dropping off from the bearing portion provided on the second hinge base when the hinge base is rotated. It is preferable that the stopper has a length that reaches the side surface of the bearing portion of the second hinge base when the first hinge base is assembled with the second hinge base. The stopper is provided in the vicinity of the shaft support portion having a shaft protrusion protruding inside the first hinge base, and the distance between the shaft support portion and the stopper is the width of the bearing portion of the second hinge base. Is preferably approximately equal to. The position of the stopper may be formed so as to extend from the first hinge base toward the hinge shaft, or provided on the end face of the shaft protrusion of the first hinge base so as to protrude from the outer peripheral surface of the shaft protrusion. It can also be configured.

  In addition, it is desirable that the shaft protrusion of the first hinge base has a plurality of recesses on the outer peripheral surface.

  Each of the pair of bearing portions provided on the second hinge base is preferably provided with at least one discontinuous portion.

  Moreover, it is desirable that each of the pair of bearing portions provided on the second hinge base holds the shaft protrusion by two bearing pieces in at least the shaft protrusion storage portion. It is more effective if one of the bearing pieces is formed with an inner peripheral surface capable of accommodating the shaft protrusion and the other is formed with a convex portion so that the shaft protrusion can be elastically pressed.

  As for the shaft protrusion, it is also possible to provide a cavity penetrating to the shaft support portion on which the shaft protrusion is formed, and to pass an electric wiring or the like inside.

  Since the hinge unit according to the present invention is basically composed of two parts, the number of parts of the hinge can be greatly reduced, and further a click mechanism can be realized. Thereby, the manufacturing cost can be significantly reduced. In addition, by providing a through cavity in the shaft projection, it is possible to make electrical connection between the first and second housings to which hinges are attached through electric wiring or the like.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. A perspective view of a first embodiment of a hinge unit according to the present invention is shown in FIG. A perspective view of the first hinge base 11 of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 2A, and a front view is shown in FIG. A perspective view of the second hinge base 21 is shown in FIG. 3A, and a side view thereof is shown in FIG. The hinge unit according to the present embodiment includes only the first hinge base 11 and the second hinge base 21.

  The first hinge base 11 has shaft support portions 12A and 12B rising vertically at both ends, and shaft protrusions 13A and 13B sharing the shaft center are provided on the same surface of each of the shaft support portions 12A and 12B. One feature of the present invention is that the pair of shaft projections 13A and 13B are provided on the same side surface of the shaft support portions 12A and 12B. Each of the shaft protrusions 13A and 13B has an outer peripheral surface formed in an arc shape centered on the axis center, and a plurality of concave portions 15 partially recessed from the outer peripheral surface are formed. A stopper 14 extending toward the axis center is provided on the first hinge base body 11 in the vicinity of the shaft support 12A.

  On the other hand, the second hinge base 21 is also formed with bearing portions 22A and 22B that rise vertically at both ends, and each of the bearing portions 22A and 22B has a main bearing piece 23A, 23B and a restriction bearing piece 24A, 24B from the middle. And branching. The main bearing pieces 23A and 23B are formed in an arc shape having an inner peripheral surface 26 having substantially the same radius as that of the shaft protrusions 13A and 13B, so that the shaft protrusions 13A and 13B can be slidably supported. Further, the restriction bearing pieces 24A and 24B are formed in a key shape at the tip, and a convex portion 25 is provided toward the opening of the inner peripheral surface 26 of the main bearing pieces 23A and 23B. This convex part 25 is arrange | positioned so that it may protrude inside rather than the inner periphery circular arc of main bearing piece 23A, 23B, and can restrain a position elastically when supporting axial protrusion 13A, 13B.

  FIG. 1 is a completed view in which the first hinge base 11 and the second hinge base 21 are assembled. The shaft protrusions 13A and 13B are housed in the main bearing pieces 23A and 23B so that the two hinge base bodies 11 and 21 face each other, and dropping is restricted by the restricting bearing pieces 24A and 24B. The convex portions 25 of the restricting bearing pieces 24A, 24B are formed in a shape that fits into the concave portions 15 on the shaft projections 13A, 13B, and elastically press-regulate the shaft projections 13A, 13B. When the convex portion 25 comes to the position of the convex portion 25, the convex portion 25 is fitted to generate a rotational resistance for maintaining the angle between the hinge bases. Further, the main bearing piece 23A is sandwiched between the stopper 14 and the shaft support portion 12A, so that the first hinge base 11 is prevented from dropping from the second hinge base 21 in a normal hinge operation state. is doing. The hinge unit is connected and fixed to the respective housings by the mounting holes 16 and 27.

  FIG. 4 shows a method of assembling the hinge unit of the above embodiment. A discontinuous portion 28 is formed between the main bearing piece 23 </ b> A and the restricting bearing piece 24 </ b> A of the second hinge base 21, and the width of the discontinuous portion is slightly wider than the stopper 14. Since the shaft protrusions 13A and 13B on the first hinge base 11 are formed on the same side surfaces of the shaft support portions 12A and 12B, the stopper 14 coincides with the discontinuous portion 28 as shown in FIG. By fitting the shaft protrusions 13A and 13B to the main bearing pieces 23A and 23B at an angle, the hinge bases can be assembled without being obstructed by the stopper 14. After fitting the shaft projections 13A and 13B, the main bearing piece 23A is pivoted counterclockwise with respect to the second hinge base 21 in FIG. Therefore, there is no possibility of the hinge bases falling off.

  FIG. 5 shows the operation status of the hinge unit according to the above embodiment. FIG. 5A shows the hinge unit in the closed state, and FIG. 5B shows the hinge unit in the opened state. In the closed state of the housing, the first hinge base body 11 and the second hinge base body 21 are vertically parallel to each other, and at this position, the shafts are fitted to the convex portions 25 of the restricting bearing pieces 24A and 24B. If the recess 15 is formed on the projections 13A and 13B, the rotation resistance can be generated and the angle can be maintained when the housing is closed. Next, the housing can be opened by rotating the first hinge base 11 by 90 degrees counterclockwise with respect to the second hinge base 21 as shown in FIG. Even in this position, if the concave portion 15 is formed on the shaft projections 13A and 13B so as to be fitted to the convex portion 25 of the restricting bearing pieces 24A and 24B, a rotational resistance is generated when the housing is open, and the angle is increased. Can be held.

  In the above embodiment, the concave portion 15 on the shaft projection is provided in both the shaft projections 13A and 13B. Moreover, although the stopper is provided on the first hinge base 11, it can also be provided on the shaft protrusion. The hinge unit according to the present invention can be produced by plastic molding, but can also be produced by metal press molding.

  FIG. 6 shows a first hinge base structure for a second embodiment according to the present invention. The basic configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment except that a cavity 17 penetrating to the shaft support portions 12A and 12B is provided inside the shaft protrusions 13A and 13B. By providing such a cavity, for example, in a foldable electronic device such as a mobile phone, it is possible to pass an electrical wiring that electrically connects the first housing and the second housing. FIG. 7 shows a completed view of the hinge of the second embodiment.

  Since the hinge unit according to the present invention is basically composed of two parts, the number of parts of the hinge can be greatly reduced, and further a click mechanism can be realized. Thereby, the manufacturing cost can be significantly reduced. In addition, by providing a through cavity in the shaft projection, it is possible to make electrical connection between the first and second housings to which hinges are attached through electric wiring or the like. Therefore, it is possible to provide a low-cost and high-performance hinge unit that can be used not only for electronic equipment but also for daily use hinges.

It is a perspective view which shows the 1st Example of the hinge unit by this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the 1st hinge base | substrate used for the hinge unit shown in FIG. 1, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a front view. It is a figure which shows the structure of the 2nd hinge base | substrate used for the hinge unit shown in FIG. 1, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a side view. It is sectional drawing which shows the assembly method of the hinge unit shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the hinge unit shown in FIG. 1, (a) is a closed state, (b) is an open state. It is a perspective view which shows the 1st hinge base | substrate used for the 2nd Example of the hinge unit by this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the 2nd Example of this invention using the 1st hinge base | substrate shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

11: First hinge base body, 12A, 12B: Shaft support, 13A, 13B: Shaft protrusion, 14: Stopper, 15: Recess, 16: Mounting hole, 17: Cavity, 21: Second hinge base body, 22A , 22B: bearing portion, 23A, 23B: main bearing piece, 24A, 24B: regulating bearing piece, 25: convex portion, 26: inner peripheral surface, 27: mounting hole, 28: discontinuous portion

Claims (11)

A first hinge base having a pair of shaft support portions rising from the hinge base, and shaft protrusions provided on the same side surface of each of the shaft support portions, and a pair of the shaft protrusions rising from the hinge base and rotatably storing the shaft protrusions A hinge unit comprising: a second hinge base provided with a bearing portion. The first hinge base is provided with a stopper for preventing the hinge base from dropping off from the bearing portion provided on the second hinge base when the hinge base is rotated. 1. The hinge unit according to 1. The hinge unit according to claim 1, wherein the shaft protrusion has a plurality of recesses formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof. 2. The stopper according to claim 1, wherein the stopper has a length that reaches a side surface of the bearing portion of the second hinge base when the first hinge base is assembled with the second hinge base. 4. The hinge unit according to any one of 3. The stopper is provided in the vicinity of the shaft support portion having a shaft protrusion protruding inside the first hinge base, and the distance between the shaft support portion and the stopper is equal to the width of the bearing portion of the second hinge base. 5. The hinge unit according to claim 4, wherein the hinge unit is substantially equal. The hinge unit according to claim 5, wherein the stopper extends from the first hinge base toward the hinge shaft. The hinge unit according to claim 5, wherein the stopper is provided on an end surface of the shaft protrusion of the first hinge base and protrudes from an outer peripheral surface of the shaft protrusion. The hinge unit according to claim 1, wherein each of the pair of bearing portions provided on the second hinge base is provided with at least one discontinuous portion. 9. The hinge according to claim 8, wherein each of the pair of bearing portions provided on the second hinge base holds the shaft projection by two bearing pieces in at least the shaft projection storage portion. unit. One of the bearing pieces provided on the second hinge base has an inner peripheral surface capable of accommodating the shaft protrusion, and the other has a convex portion and elastically presses the shaft protrusion. The hinge unit according to claim 9, wherein the hinge unit is formed to be possible. The hinge unit according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the shaft protrusion is formed with a cavity penetrating to the shaft support portion.