JP2011106642A - Hinge unit and portable terminal using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hinge unit which can engage/separate a cam without enlarging an elastic force of elastic member 6. <P>SOLUTION: The hinge unit 1 is formed by a shaft 2, a flange 3, a fixed cam 4, a movable cam 5, and the elastic member 6; the shaft 2 works as a hinge shaft; the flange 3 is penetrated through the shaft 2; the fixed cam 4 is equipped with an engaging section 7 and penetrated through the shaft 2; the movable cam 5 is equipped with an engaged section 8 engaging with the engaging section 7 and interfits into the shaft 2; and the elastic member 6 is arranged at a location far at a predetermined amount from the hinge shaft between the flange 3 and fixed cam 4 and pushes the fixed cam 4. Thereby, the cam can be engaged/separated without enlarging the elastic force of the elastic member 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a hinge unit and a portable terminal using the hinge unit.

  There is known a portable terminal in which a display housing in which a display device such as a liquid crystal device is provided is rotatable with respect to an operation housing provided with an input device such as a numeric keypad. Such a mechanism that allows the display housing to rotate with respect to the operation housing is called a hinge mechanism, and includes a single-axis hinge that enables the display housing to rotate about one axis, and two orthogonal to each other. 2. Description of the Related Art Two-axis hinges that can be independently rotated around an axis are known.

  Such a hinge mechanism is disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 4, for example. The hinge mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a biaxial hinge having an opening / closing shaft 101 and a rotating shaft 107 as shown in FIG. A rotary cam 105 for the open / close shaft is disposed on the open / close shaft 101, and a friction force is generated by the coil spring 103 being pressed from both sides of the open / close shaft rotary cam 105. In addition, the rotating shaft 111 and the fixed cam 110 are pressed against the rotating shaft 107 by a spring 109 to generate a frictional force. Therefore, free rotation of the rotating shaft 107 is restricted by this frictional force.

  Further, the hinge mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes a rotating portion 203 and an engaging protrusion 205 as shown in FIG. The rotating unit 203 includes an engaging recess 204 and rotates. The engaging protrusion 205 is pressed against the rotating part 203 by the elastic member 206. As a result, the engagement protrusion 205 pressed by the elastic member 206 fits into the engagement recess 204, thereby restricting the free rotation of the rotation unit 203 while generating a click feeling during rotation.

  Further, the hinge mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 3 includes an uneven cam 303, a rectangular cam 307, and an extension spring 306, as shown in FIG. The uneven cam 303 is provided at one end of the first shaft member 302. The rectangular cam 307 is provided on the second shaft member 308 side and abuts on the surface of the concavo-convex cam 303. The extension spring 306 presses the concave / convex cam 303 toward the rectangular cam 307 side. The free rotation of the rectangular cam 307 is restricted while generating a click feeling due to the rapid fluctuation of the rotational force generated when the vertex of the rectangular rectangular cam 307 passes through the concave and convex cam 303.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the hinge mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 4 forms a flat surface 407 on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 406, supports the rotating shaft 406 with a bearing holder 419, and rotates the rotating shaft 406 with a leaf spring 422. Is pressed to the bearing holder 419 side. Thereby, a change occurs in the force for rotating the rotating shaft 406 between the state in which the leaf spring 422 is in contact with the flat surface 407 and the state in which the leaf spring 422 is in contact with the flat surface 407. Rotation is regulated.

JP 2002-155923 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-23469 JP 2005-337461 A JP 2009-30733 A

  However, in the hinge mechanisms according to Patent Documents 1 to 4, since the distance between the cam action point K1 and the spring action point K2 is close, a spring with a strong spring force is required to obtain a clear click feeling. Etc. had to be used.

  For example, in the hinge mechanism according to Patent Document 1, the fixed cam 110 and the rotating cam 111 are formed in a disk shape, and the cam shaft of the fixed cam 110 and the coil shaft of a spring (coil spring) are arranged coaxially. Therefore, when a spring having a large spring force is used, the cam portion is engaged / disengaged while the fixed cam 110 or the like is bent. When the fixed cam 110 or the like bends means that the spring force is absorbed by the bend, the spring force is not effectively used. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the fixed cam 110 and the like, which causes a problem that increases the size of the cam mechanism. Further, when the spring force is increased, the pressure contact force between the rotating cam 111 and the fixed cam 110 increases, and wear of the friction surface between the rotating cam 111 and the fixed cam 110 increases.

  Further, in the hinge mechanism according to Patent Document 2, the engagement protrusion 205 provided at the distal end portion of the wire-like elastic member 206 is engaged / disengaged with the engagement recess 204 of the rotating portion 203. Since the left and right engaging protrusions 205 are rotatably supported by one elastic member 206, the elastic member 206 extends over the entire length when the engaging protrusion 205 and the engaging recess 204 are engaged and separated. Deform. Therefore, in order to obtain a reliable engagement state, the spring force must be increased. In addition, while the rotation part 203 is rotating, since the engagement protrusion 205 is formed by a roller or the like, it is in a substantially free rotation state. For this reason, when the engagement protrusion 205 starts to engage with the engagement recess 204, the engagement protrusion 205 suddenly falls into the engagement recess 204 due to the spring force. This sudden drop increases as the spring force increases, and there is a disadvantage that the user feels uncomfortable.

  Further, the hinge mechanism according to Patent Document 3 obtains a click feeling as the first shaft member 302 advances and retracts toward the rectangular cam 307 against the spring force of the extension spring 306 as the rectangular cam 307 rotates. However, in this configuration, the rectangular cam 307 can be easily rotated as long as it is within a small angle range, so that it is difficult to obtain a clear click feeling. That is, if the rectangular cam 307 is rotated by an angle θ, the first shaft member 302 is advanced and retracted by sin (θ). If the rotation angle θ is very small, sin (θ) can be approximated to approximately “0” (sin (θ) ≈0). Accordingly, it is indicated that it is difficult to restrict the rotation of the first shaft member 302 by a small angle depending on the extension spring 306. This means that the hinge mechanism is rattled and gives the user non-sharpness in the click feeling. Therefore, it is conceivable to increase the spring force of the extension spring 306 to reduce the range of the small angle. In this case, however, the force required to rotate the rectangular cam 307 by “90 degrees” increases and the operability is increased. There arises a problem that the damage is caused.

  Furthermore, the hinge mechanism according to Patent Document 4 obtains a click feeling by being engaged when the leaf spring 422 is in contact with the rotating shaft 406 and is in contact with the flat surface 407 of the rotating shaft 406. However, also in this case, in order to obtain a clear click feeling, the spring force of the leaf spring 422 must be increased, and the area of the plane 407 must be increased. The area of the plane 407 is an area where the leaf spring 422 contacts when the rotation of the rotation shaft 406 is restricted. Increasing the area of the plane 407 means that the rotating shaft 406 is formed in a cylindrical shape, which means that the thickness of the portion of the plane 407 is reduced, which causes a decrease in strength.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, a main object of the present invention is to provide a hinge unit and a portable terminal capable of obtaining a certain click feeling while preventing the occurrence of rattling or the like due to engagement / disengagement of a cam without increasing the elastic force of an elastic member. That is.

  In order to solve the above problems, a hinge unit according to the present invention is engaged with a shaft that forms a hinge axis, a flange that is inserted through the shaft, a fixed cam that is provided with an engaging portion and is inserted through the shaft, and an engaging portion. A movable cam having an engaged portion and fitted to the shaft; and an elastic member that is disposed between the flange and the fixed cam and separated from the hinge shaft by a predetermined amount to press the fixed cam. It is characterized by providing.

  In addition, the mobile terminal includes a first housing in which a display device is installed, a second housing in which an input device is provided, and a hinge unit that connects the first housing and the second housing. The hinge unit includes a shaft that forms a hinge axis, a flange that is inserted into the shaft, a fixed cam that is provided with an engaging portion and is inserted into the shaft, and an engaged portion that is engaged with the engaging portion. And an elastic member that is disposed between the flange and the fixed cam at a predetermined distance from the hinge shaft and presses the fixed cam.

  According to the present invention, a reliable click feeling can be obtained without increasing the elastic force of the elastic member and preventing the occurrence of rattling due to engagement / disengagement of the cam.

It is a partial top view of the hinge unit concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the portable terminal concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the hinge unit concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is a disassembled perspective view of the hinge unit concerning 2nd Embodiment. In the top view of the hinge unit concerning a 2nd embodiment, (a) is a case where a cam mechanism is in an engagement state, and (b) is a case where a cam mechanism is in a separation state. It is a front view of the di unit for demonstrating the effect concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view of the hinge unit concerning the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the hinge mechanism concerning patent document 1. FIG. It is a top view of the hinge mechanism concerning patent document 2. FIG. It is an exploded view of the hinge mechanism concerning patent document 3. FIG. It is sectional drawing of the terminal containing the hinge mechanism concerning patent document 4. FIG.

<First Embodiment>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partial top view of the hinge unit according to the first embodiment. The hinge unit 1 includes a shaft 2, a flange 3, a fixed cam 4, a movable cam 5, an elastic member 6, and the like. The shaft 2 forms a hinge axis of the hinge unit 1. The flange 3 is rotatably inserted into the shaft 2. The fixed cam 4 includes an engaging portion 7 and is rotatably inserted into the shaft 2. The movable cam 5 includes an engaged portion 8 that engages with the engaging portion 7 and follows the rotation of the shaft 2. The elastic member 6 is disposed between the flange 3 and the fixed cam 4 at a position away from the hinge shaft by a predetermined amount, and presses the fixed cam 4.

Thereby, even when the elastic member separated from the hinge shaft by a predetermined amount does not have a large elastic force, a large force acts on the engaging portion and the engaged portion due to a moment proportional to the distance. Therefore, it is possible to provide a hinge unit that can prevent rattling or the like from occurring in the link mechanism and that can be engaged / disengaged while obtaining a certain click feeling.
<Second Embodiment>
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portable terminal to which the hinge unit according to the second embodiment is applied. In the following description, a mobile phone is described as an example of the mobile terminal, but a terminal such as a PHS (Personal Handy-phone System) may be used.

  The mobile terminal 10 includes a display housing 12, an operation housing 13, and a hinge unit 14 in which the display device 11 is installed, and the hinge unit 14 rotatably connects the display housing 12 and the operation housing 13. Yes.

  The hinge unit 14 connects the display housing (first housing) 12 and the operation housing (second housing) 13 so as to be rotatable about two axes as follows. That is, the hinge unit 14 includes an axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the display housing 12 (hereinafter referred to as X-axis) and an axis perpendicular to the X-axis and extending in the width direction of the mobile terminal 10 (hereinafter referred to as Y-axis). 2 axis hinge mechanism consisting of two rotating shafts. Hereinafter, the X axis is referred to as an inversion axis, and the Y axis is referred to as an opening / closing axis. An operation in which the display housing 12 rotates about the reversing axis is referred to as a reversing operation, and an operation in which the display housing 12 rotates about the opening / closing axis is referred to as an opening / closing operation.

  An electronic device necessary for transmission / reception of various types of information is arranged inside the operation case 13, and an input device 19 such as a numeric keypad used for inputting various types of information is provided on the operation surface 15 of the operation case 13. It has been. A pad 20 is provided at the tip of the operation surface 15 in the operation housing 13 (the end region farthest from the hinge unit 14).

  The pad 20 is formed of an elastic body such as resin or rubber, and the display housing 12 contacts the pad 20 when the mobile terminal 10 is closed. A predetermined clearance is secured during the period.

  Then, the mobile phone 10 is opened / closed by the display housing 12 being rotated about the opening / closing axis. When the mobile terminal 10 is in the closed state, the mobile terminal 10 has a state in which the front surface 17 of the display housing faces the operation surface 15 according to the inverted state of the display housing 12 and a rear surface 18 of the display housing 15 The state which faces is taken.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the hinge unit 14. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the hinge unit 14. An operation housing side hinge 30 is provided at one end of the hinge unit 14, and a display housing side hinge 40 is provided at the other end. The operation housing side hinge 30 includes a support shaft hole 31 for supporting the hinge unit 14 so as to be rotatable around an opening / closing axis (Y axis) with respect to the operation housing 13.

  The display housing side hinge 40 includes a first flange 41, a second flange (flange) 42, a shaft 43, and a cam mechanism 50. The first flange 41 is fixed to the operation housing side hinge 30 with screws or the like. The second flange 42 is fixed to the display housing 12 with screws or the like. One end of the shaft 43 is fixed to the first flange 41 and the other end is inserted into the second flange 42 to support the second flange 42 with respect to the first flange 41. The cam mechanism 50 regulates the second flange 42 to stop at a predetermined position while restricting the free rotation of the second flange 42.

  The cam mechanism 50 includes an elastic member 51 such as a plate spring, a disc spring, and a coil spring, a fixed cam 52, a movable cam 53, a cam stop ring 54, and a fixed cam support pin 55.

  In the end region of the shaft 43 on the second flange 42 side, an engagement groove 56 that engages with the cam stop ring 54 is formed, and a chamfered portion 57 is formed. Hereinafter, the end region of the shaft 43 is referred to as a shaft tip region 65.

  Further, the fixed cam 52 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and a concave cam storage portion 61 is formed in the center portion thereof, and a shaft hole 59 through which the shaft 43 is inserted is formed.

  Two engaging portions 60 are formed on the peripheral surface (cam surface) 62 of the shaft hole 59 so as to face each other. The shape of the engaging portion 60 is an isosceles trapezoid as shown in FIG. Further, pin holes 58 through which the fixed cam support pins 55 are inserted are formed in the left and right end regions of the fixed cam 52.

  The movable cam 53 is a substantially cylindrical body, and is formed with a shaft engagement hole 63 into which the shaft tip region 65 is fitted at the center and engaged with the engagement portion 60 on the peripheral end surface facing the cam surface 62. A joint portion 64 is formed. The engaged portion 64 has the same shape as the engaging portion 60 as shown in FIG.

  In addition, although the case where two engaging parts 60 are provided in a convex shape and two engaged parts 64 are provided in a concave shape will be described, the present embodiment is not limited to this. That is, the number N1 of the concave engaged portions 64 (or engaging portions 60) only needs to be larger than the number N2 of the convex engaging portions 60 (or engaged portions 64) (N1 ≧ N2). At this time, it is preferable that the number of the engaging portions 60 and the engaged portions 64 is an even number and is formed symmetrically with respect to the inversion axis (X axis). This is to allow the movable cam 53 to rotate symmetrically about the axis of the reversing shaft. When the movable cam 53 rotates symmetrically with respect to the axis of the rotation shaft, smooth rotation is possible. Moreover, when the engaging part 60 and the to-be-engaged part 64 are provided with two or more, the contact | abutting of the engaging part 60 and the to-be-engaged part 64 can be prevented. That is, the plurality of engaging portions 60 can be engaged / disengaged simultaneously with the corresponding engaged portions 64. Therefore, partial wear due to a single piece can be suppressed.

  Further, the engaging portion 60 may be concave and the engaged portion 64 may be convex. Further, the shape of the engaging portion 60 and the engaged portion 64 can be triangular or semicircular.

  Such a hinge unit 14 is assembled as follows. First, the second flange 42 is inserted into the shaft 43 erected on the first flange 41, and the elastic member 51 is inserted into the left and right fixed cam support pins 55 erected on the second flange 42. The shaft 43 is inserted into the shaft hole 59 of the fixed cam 52 and the fixed cam support pin 55 is inserted into the pin hole 58. Thereafter, the shaft engaging hole 63 of the movable cam 53 is inserted through the shaft 43.

  A chamfered portion 57 is formed in the shaft tip region 65, and a rotation restricting surface 63 a corresponding to the chamfered portion 57 is formed in the shaft engaging hole 63, so that the shaft engaging hole 63 is inserted into the shaft 43. As a result, the movable cam 53 rotates according to the shaft 43. Then, the fixed cam 52 is pushed toward the second flange 42 to contract the elastic member 51, and the cam stop ring 54 is engaged with the engagement groove 56. Thereby, the movable cam 53 can be attached to the shaft 43.

  Next, the operation of the hinge unit 14 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A is a top view of the hinge unit 14 showing a state where the engaging portion 60 and the engaged portion 64 are engaged, and FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating the engaging portion 60 and the engaged portion 64. It is a top view of the hinge unit 14 which shows the state which separated.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, in a state where the engaging portion 60 and the engaged portion 64 are engaged, the elastic member 51 has a substantially free length (a state in which neither the compression nor the extension is performed). From this state, the second flange 42 is rotated in the direction of the arrow D1 shown in FIG. 5B, and the engaged portion 64 and the engaging portion 60 are separated. Since the engaging portion 60 and the like have a predetermined height H, in order to release the engagement between the engaged portion 64 and the engaging portion 60, the fixed cam 52 moves by a dimension H in the direction of the arrow D2. There must be.

  If the action point of the movable cam 53 is P1, the action point of the second flange 42 is P2, the distance between the action point P1 and the action point P2 is L, the force balanced with the force F1 acting on the action point P1 is the action point. L / 2 times the force F2 acting on P2 (F1 = F2. L / 2). That is, since the action point P1 and the action point P2 are separated from each other by the distance L, even if the elastic force of the elastic member 51 is small, a large force can be applied to the action point P1. Accordingly, since the cam mechanism can be reliably engaged and disengaged without increasing the elastic force of the elastic member, a clear click feeling can be obtained when the display housing is rotated. Further, when the engaging portion 60 and the engaged portion 64 are separated from each other and the movable cam 53 rotates while the engaging portion 60 and the engaged portion 64 are in contact with each other, a frictional force is applied to the contact portion. Will not cause backlash in the link mechanism.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 6, if a coil spring 68 is provided coaxially with the shaft 43 and the radius of the coil spring 68 corresponds to the distance L described above, the configuration shown in Patent Document 1 is approximated. In this case, there is a problem that the coil spring 68 protrudes from the display housing 12. In recent years, since the display housing and the like have been reduced in size and thickness, the coil spring 68 easily protrudes from the display housing 12. FIG. 6 is a front view of the hinge unit when a coil spring having a large radius is used as an elastic member.

However, by disposing the elastic members 51 on the left and right sides of the movable cam 53 as in this embodiment, even if the elastic member 51 has a small elastic force, a large force expanded by the moment is engaged with the engaging portion 60. It acts on the joint 64. Therefore, even when applied to a thin mobile terminal, the rotation of the display housing can be reliably controlled without impairing the design, and a clear click feeling can be obtained.
<Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, about the same structure as 2nd Embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted suitably using the same code | symbol.

  In the second embodiment, the fixed cam has a structure in which the left and right ends thereof are pressed by an elastic force from the elastic member. On the other hand, the fixed cam according to the third embodiment is configured such that one end is rotatably supported by the second flange 42 and the other end receives an elastic force from the elastic member.

  FIG. 7 is a top view of such a hinge unit 14B. The fixed cam 70 is formed in an approximately L shape, and one end is pressed by the elastic member 51. Further, the other end of the fixed cam 70 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 72 inserted through the support plate 71.

  With such a configuration, the engaging portion 60 of the fixed cam 70 and the engaged portion 64 of the movable cam 53 are engaged / disengaged. The engaging force is L2 times the force generated by the elastic member 51, where L2 is the point of action of the engaging portion 60 and the point of action of the elastic member. Therefore, since the cam mechanism can be reliably engaged and disengaged without increasing the elastic force of the elastic member 51, a clear click feeling can be obtained when the display housing 12 is reversed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 14, 14B Hinge unit 2,43 Shaft 3 Flange 4,52,70 Fixed cam 5,53 Movable cam 6,50 Elastic member 7,60 Engagement part 8,64 Engagement part 10 Portable terminal 11 Display device 12 Display housing 13 Operation housing 41 First flange 42 Second flange 50 Cam mechanism 61 Cam housing

Claims (12)

A shaft forming a hinge axis;
A flange through which the shaft is rotatably inserted;
A fixed cam having an engaging portion, through which the shaft is rotatably inserted;
A movable cam that includes an engaged portion that engages with the engaging portion, and that follows the rotation of the shaft;
An elastic member disposed between the flange and the fixed cam and disposed at a position away from the hinge shaft by a predetermined amount to press the fixed cam in the direction of the movable cam. The hinge unit. The hinge unit according to claim 1,
The hinge unit, wherein the elastic member is provided on either the left or right side of the hinge shaft. The hinge unit according to claim 2, wherein
One end of the fixed cam is rotatably supported on a flange surface of the flange, and the other end is pressed in the direction of the movable cam by the elastic member. The hinge unit according to claim 1,
The said elastic member is provided in the both right and left sides of the said hinge axis | shaft, The hinge unit characterized by the above-mentioned. The hinge unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The hinge unit according to claim 1, wherein the fixed cam includes a concave cam storage portion that stores the movable cam at a central portion. The hinge unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The number of the engaging portions and the engaged portions is an even number, and the hinge unit is arranged point-symmetrically with a symmetry point on the hinge axis. A first housing in which a display device is installed;
A second housing provided with an input device;
A hinge unit that connects the first housing and the second housing;
The hinge unit includes a shaft forming a hinge shaft, a flange through which the shaft is rotatably inserted, a fixed cam through which the shaft is rotatably inserted, and an engagement with the engagement portion. A movable cam that includes an engaged portion that follows the rotation of the shaft, and is disposed between the flange and the fixed cam, and is disposed at a position separated from the hinge shaft by a predetermined amount, And an elastic member that presses the fixed cam in the direction of the movable cam. The mobile terminal according to claim 7,
The hinge unit, wherein the elastic member is provided on either the left or right side of the hinge shaft. The mobile terminal according to claim 8,
One end of the fixed cam is rotatably supported on a flange surface of the flange, and the other end is pressed in the direction of the movable cam by the elastic member. The mobile terminal according to claim 7,
The mobile terminal, wherein the elastic member is provided on both left and right sides of the hinge shaft. The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 7 to 10,
The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the fixed cam includes a concave cam storage portion that stores the movable cam in a central portion. The mobile terminal according to any one of claims 7 to 11,
A portable terminal characterized in that the number of the engaging parts and the engaged parts are both even and are arranged point-symmetrically with a symmetry point on the hinge axis.

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