JP2013104461A - Folding-type electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a folding-type electronic apparatus in which a pair of parallel biaxial hinges is size-reduced, and both of a load mechanism and a link mechanism function.SOLUTION: In the folding-type electronic apparatus, a first casing 10, a second casing 20, and a hinge mechanism 30 connecting the first casing and the second casing in an openable/closable manner are provided, the hinge mechanism is a pair of parallel biaxial hinges 34, 35 having mutually parallel first hinge shaft 31 and second hinge shaft 32, and has a pair of parallel biaxial hinges in which the first hinge shaft is connected to the first casing and the second hinge shaft is connected to the second casing. One of the pair of parallel biaxial hinges has a main load mechanism 90 for imparting rotational resistance force to the first hinge shaft and the second hinge shaft, and the other parallel biaxial hinges have a link mechanism 70 for restricting rotation so that the first hinge shaft and the second hinge shaft rotate in a reverse direction.

Description

  The present invention relates to a foldable electronic device in which a pair of casings are connected to each other by a hinge mechanism so as to be openable and closable, and more specifically, a foldable electronic device that can achieve downsizing of a parallel biaxial hinge constituting the hinge mechanism. It is about.

  As a foldable electronic device, there has been proposed an electronic device in which a pair of housings are connected by a hinge mechanism so as to be relatively openable and closable (see, for example, Patent Document 1). As a hinge mechanism, Patent Document 1 employs a parallel biaxial hinge having two hinge shafts parallel to each other and provided on the left and right sides of the housing.

  A parallel biaxial hinge generally includes a link mechanism that regulates the rotation of two hinge shafts so that the rotation direction of one casing and the rotation direction of the other casing are opposite to each other. Is maintained at an approximately central angle with respect to the opening angle of both housings.

  The parallel biaxial hinges are further in a closed state, in an open state, and so on, so that a predetermined resistance is generated on the hinge shaft when reaching these postures so that the postures of both housings can be maintained at a plurality of opening angles as required. There is also a hinge mechanism with a load mechanism.

JP 2010-249209 A

  There is a hinge mechanism in which the link mechanism and the load mechanism are provided in each parallel biaxial hinge, but in this case, each parallel biaxial hinge is enlarged in the width direction. For this reason, especially in small electronic devices such as smartphones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and mobile phones, the size of the electronic device itself increases due to the mounting of the parallel biaxial hinge, and the hinge mechanism protrudes from the side of the housing. May be subject to design restrictions.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a foldable electronic device in which both a load mechanism and a link mechanism function while downsizing a pair of parallel biaxial hinges.

In the folding electronic device according to the present invention,
A first housing;
A second housing;
A hinge mechanism for connecting the first housing and the second housing so as to be openable and closable;
In a foldable electronic device comprising
The hinge mechanism is a pair of parallel biaxial hinges having a first hinge axis and a second hinge axis that are parallel to each other, wherein the first hinge axis is the first casing, and the second hinge axis is the second hinge. Comprising a pair of parallel biaxial hinges connected to the housing;
One of the pair of parallel biaxial hinges includes a main load mechanism that applies a rotational resistance force to the first hinge shaft and the second hinge shaft,
The other parallel two-axis hinge includes a link mechanism that restricts the rotation of the first hinge axis and the second hinge axis in opposite directions.

According to the foldable electronic device of the present invention, one parallel biaxial hinge has a link mechanism, and the other parallel biaxial hinge has a main load mechanism.
Therefore, the main load mechanism can hold the postures of both housings at an arbitrary opening angle, and the link mechanism can regulate the rotation direction of the first housing and the rotation direction of the second housing to be opposite to each other. .
Thus, by separating the functions provided for each parallel biaxial hinge, it is possible to reduce the size of the parallel biaxial hinge as compared to the parallel biaxial hinge having both functions of the link mechanism and the load mechanism. it can.

  As a result, design restrictions can be reduced, and the restrictions on design variations of electronic devices can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a closed state of a foldable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an open state of the folding electronic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the back cabinet is removed from the second housing. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the folding electronic device in the open state is turned over and the second housing is disassembled. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a hinge mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway view of a parallel biaxial hinge having a main load mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway view of a parallel biaxial hinge including a link mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the foldable electronic device (1) according to an embodiment of the present invention can relatively swing between the first housing (10) and the second housing (20). It is configured to be connected and can be opened and closed between the closed state shown in FIG. 1 and the open state shown in FIG.

  The present invention includes a hinge mechanism (30) for connecting the casings (10) and (20) so as to be openable and closable, and one of the parallel two-axis hinges (34) and (35) of the hinge mechanism (30). The load mechanism (90) (90) (the shaft hinge (34) imparts rotational resistance to the hinge shafts (31) (32) (see FIG. 5 described later) and holds the housing (10) (20) at a desired opening angle. The other parallel two-axis hinge (35) regulates the relative rotation angle of the hinge shafts (31) and (32), and the hinge mechanism (30) is provided. A link mechanism (70) (see FIG. 7 to be described later) symmetric with respect to the opening angle of both housings (10) and (20) is provided as a center.

  In the following description, the “open state” means a panel body such as a display panel or a touch panel that is attached to both the casings (10) and (20) by relatively opening both casings (10) and (20). (60) (60) are aligned in the same direction on substantially the same plane (see Fig. 2), "closed state" is the direction in which the panels (10) and (20) approach each other The panel body is closed and the panel bodies are opposed to each other (see FIG. 1).

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first housing (10) is constructed by joining the front cabinet (11) and the back cabinet (12) to each other, and the second housing (20) The cabinet (21) and the back cabinet (22) (not shown in FIG. 3) are joined to each other.

  As shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, the 1st housing | casing (10) and the 2nd housing | casing (20) are connected by the hinge mechanism (30). The hinge mechanism (30) can be configured by parallel biaxial hinges (34) and (35) respectively provided on the left and right sides of the end side where the casings (10) and (20) are connected.

  In this embodiment, as shown in detail in FIG. 5, a parallel biaxial hinge (34) and a parallel biaxial hinge (35) are connected by a connecting rod (36). ) (35) so that the relative angle does not shift. The parallel biaxial hinges (34) (35) and the connecting rod (36) can be connected by welding, screwing, bonding, etc. The parallel biaxial hinges (34) (35) and the connecting rod (36) Can also be formed integrally.

  In order to provide strength to the parallel biaxial hinges (34) and (35) and the connecting rod (36), the parallel biaxial hinges (34) and (35) and the connecting rod (36) can be made of metal. .

  As shown in FIG. 5, the parallel biaxial hinges 34 and 35 are inwardly arranged such that the first hinge shaft 31 and the second hinge shaft 32 are parallel biaxial hinges 34 and 35, respectively. The first hinge shaft (31) is fixed to the first housing (10), and the second hinge shaft (32) is fixed to the second housing (20). .

  The axes A1 and A2 connecting the first hinge shaft (31) and the second hinge shaft (32) are parallel to each other.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the foldable electronic device (1) of the present embodiment includes a second hinge shaft (32 connected to one hinge shaft (shown and hereinafter, the second housing (20)). )) Is connected to the housing via a pair of left and right slide members (41) slidable with respect to the housing (illustrated and hereinafter referred to as second housing (20)).
Although a detailed description is omitted, the slide member (41) is configured so that the second housing (20) is replaced with the first housing (10) in the closed state shown in FIG. 2) in the open state shown in FIG. 2, the first casing (10) and the second casing (20) are brought close to each other with a slight gap G so that both casings are (10) The faces facing each other in the closed state of (20) are made to be substantially the same plane.

  Of course, the present invention can also be applied to a parallel two-axis hinge having a configuration in which the surfaces of both housings (10) and (20) are aligned on the same plane in an open state.

  One parallel biaxial hinge (34) includes a main load mechanism (90) as shown in FIG. The main load mechanism (90) applies a predetermined resistance around the axes A1 and A2 to the first hinge shaft (31) and the second hinge shaft (32), and the casings (10) and (20) are closed. An open state and other postures having a plurality of opening angles as required are maintained.

  In the figure, reference numeral 49 denotes wiring for electrically connecting various electronic components (not shown) housed in the first housing 10 and the second housing 20.

  The main load mechanism (90) is directed from the side pivotally supporting the first housing (10) and the second housing (20) in the directions of the axes A1 and A2 toward the inner wall (38) of the parallel biaxial hinge (34). A first flange 98 and a second flange 99 having a first hinge shaft 31 and a second hinge shaft 32 as rotation axes, respectively, a first flange 98 and a second flange 99; A structure comprising a contact plate (95) to be contacted, a wave washer (93) which is in contact with the contact plate (95) and the inner wall (38) of the parallel biaxial hinge (34) and can be elastically deformed in the directions of the axes A1 and A2. It can be.

  The first flange (98) and the second flange (99) are fixed to the first hinge shaft (31) and the second hinge shaft (32), respectively, and the contact plate (95) includes the first hinge shaft (31) and the second hinge shaft (31). The 2nd hinge axis | shaft (32) has penetrated rotatably. In addition, wave washers (93) are rotatably fitted to the tips of the first hinge shaft (31) and the second hinge shaft (32) in a state of being sandwiched between washers (92) and (94), respectively.

The wave washer (93) is pressed against the inner wall (38) of the parallel biaxial hinge (34) through the washer (92), and the contact plate (95) is pressed through the washer (94) to the first flange (98). ) And the second flange (99).
Since the contact plate (95) can move in the directions of the axes A1 and A2, the urging force of the wave washer (93) becomes the friction in the rotational direction of the first flange (98) and the second flange (99) against the contact plate (95). The rotational resistance of the first hinge shaft (31) and the second hinge shaft (32).

  Due to the resistance in the rotational direction, the first hinge shaft (31) and the second hinge shaft (32) are both closed and opened in the housings (10) and (20) and at other opening angles as required. The posture of the casing (10) (20) can be maintained.

The rotational resistance of the main load mechanism (90) is set larger than the rotational resistance of the auxiliary load mechanism (80) described later. For example, the rotational resistance can be set to approximately 30N.
Of course, this rotational resistance can be a force that is preferable for opening and closing the casings (10) and (20), and can be appropriately changed according to the size and weight of the casings (10) and (20).

  The main load mechanism (90) is not limited to the configuration described above, and may be configured using a spring, rubber, or the like.

  The other parallel biaxial hinge (35) includes a link mechanism (70) as shown in FIG. The link mechanism (70) is connected to the first hinge shaft (31) (axis A1) so that the rotation direction of the first housing (10) and the rotation direction of the second housing (20) are opposite to each other. The rotation of the second hinge shaft (32) (axis A2) is restricted.

  The link mechanism (70) includes a first gear (71) that rotates integrally with the first hinge shaft (31) (axis A1), and a second gear (1) that rotates together with the second hinge shaft (32) (axis A2). 72), and both gears (71) and (72) are linked by driven gears (73) and (74).

  That is, when the first housing (10) is rotated in the opening or closing direction, the turning force is transmitted to the first hinge shaft (31), and the first gear (71) is rotated. The rotation of the first gear (71) is transmitted to the second gear (72) via the driven gears (73) and (74), and the second gear (72) is opposite to the first gear (71). The second hinge shaft (32) rotates in the opposite direction to the first hinge shaft (31). Accordingly, the casings (10) and (20) can be swung by the same angle around the hinge mechanism (30), more specifically, the connecting rod (36).

When the second casing (20) is rotated in the opening or closing direction, the rotation in the reverse direction is transmitted from the second hinge shaft (32) to the first hinge shaft (31).
When both the casings (10) and (20) are relatively rotated in the opening or closing direction, the above operations are combined.

  By providing the link mechanism (70) on one parallel biaxial hinge (35) as described above, the rotation of both housings (10) and (20) is symmetrical with respect to the hinge mechanism (30). can do.

  The link mechanism (70) applicable to the present invention is not limited to the above-described configuration, and may be one that restricts the first hinge shaft (31) and the second hinge shaft (32) to rotate at substantially the same angle in opposite directions. For example, it is possible to use a link mechanism such as a belt staking or a cam.

  As described above, of the hinge mechanism (30) that connects the two cases (10) and (20), the main load that maintains the posture of the case (10) and (20) on one parallel biaxial hinge (34) By providing the mechanism (90) and the link mechanism (70) for rotating the housing (10) (20) symmetrically on the other parallel biaxial hinge (35), each parallel biaxial hinge (34) (35 ) Function can be separated. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the size of the parallel biaxial hinges (34) and (35), and particularly when applied to a small-sized folding electronic device, the occupied area can be reduced, so that restrictions on design variations of these electronic devices can be reduced. .

  Here, as described above, when the load mechanism is provided only on one parallel biaxial hinge (34), when the housing (10) (20) is opened and closed, the other parallel biaxial hinge without the load mechanism is provided. There is a possibility that twisting occurs in (35) and the casings (10) and (20) cannot be smoothly opened and closed.

  In view of this, a parallel biaxial hinge (35) having no main load mechanism (90) can be provided with an auxiliary load mechanism (80) as shown in FIG. The auxiliary load mechanism (80) has a smaller rotational resistance applied to the hinge shafts (31) and (32) than the main load mechanism (90).

  The auxiliary load mechanism (80) is directed from the side pivotally supporting the first housing (10) and the second housing (20) in the directions of the axes A1 and A2 toward the inner wall (39) of the parallel biaxial hinge (35). The first flange 88 and the second flange 89, the first flange 88 and the second flange 89 having the first hinge shaft 31 and the second hinge shaft 32 as rotation axes, respectively. A contact plate (85) to be contacted, and a structure including rubber (83) that is in contact with the contact plate (85) and the inner wall (39) of the parallel biaxial hinge (34) and is elastically deformable in the directions of the axes A1 and A2. can do.

  The first flange (88) and the second flange (89) are fixed to the first hinge shaft (31) and the second hinge shaft (32), respectively, and the contact plate (85) has the first hinge shaft (31) and The 2nd hinge axis | shaft (32) has penetrated rotatably. Further, rubber (83) is rotatably fitted to the tips of the first hinge shaft (31) and the second hinge shaft (32), respectively.

The rubber (83) is pressed against the inner wall (39) of the parallel biaxial hinge (35) through the washer (84), and the contact plate (85) is moved to the first flange (88) and the second flange (89). It is pressed against.
Since the contact plate (85) is movable in the directions of the axes A1 and A2, the urging force of the rubber (83) becomes friction in the rotational direction of the first flange (88) and the second flange (89) against the contact plate (85). It becomes the rotational resistance of the first hinge shaft (31) and the second hinge shaft (32).

  This rotational resistance can prevent twisting of the first hinge shaft (31) (axis A1) and the second hinge shaft (32) (axis A2) on the other parallel biaxial hinge (35) side. (10) The opening and closing of (20) can be performed smoothly.

The rotational resistance of the auxiliary load mechanism (80) is set smaller than the rotational resistance of the main load mechanism (90) as described above. For example, when the rotational resistance by the main load mechanism (90) is about 30N, it can be adjusted to be about 3N, which is about 1/10.
Of course, this urging force can be a preferable force for opening and closing the casings (10) and (20), and can be appropriately changed according to the size and weight of the casings (10) and (20).

  The auxiliary load mechanism (80) is not limited to the above configuration, and may be configured using a spring, a washer, or the like.

  Since the auxiliary load mechanism (80) has a smaller rotational resistance than the main load mechanism (90), a simple structure and downsizing can be achieved. Therefore, even if the auxiliary load mechanism (80) is provided on the parallel biaxial hinge (35) together with the link mechanism (70), the parallel biaxial hinge (35) can be prevented from being enlarged.

  As described above, the parallel biaxial hinge (35) without the main load mechanism (90) is provided with the auxiliary load mechanism (80) having a smaller rotational resistance than the main load mechanism (90), thereby providing a housing. (10) When opening and closing (20), the parallel biaxial hinge (35) can be opened and closed smoothly without causing twisting.

In the above, for the sake of easy understanding, the description has been made with the reference sign (10) as the first casing and the reference sign (20) as the second casing. Of course, the configuration can be changed.
In addition, the link mechanism (70) alone or the link mechanism (70) and the auxiliary load mechanism (80) are provided on one parallel biaxial hinge (34), and the main load mechanism (90) is provided on the other parallel biaxial hinge (35). It may be configured to include.

  The present invention is useful as a foldable electronic device in which both the load mechanism and the link mechanism function while reducing the size of the pair of parallel biaxial hinges.

(1) Foldable electronic equipment
(10) First housing
(20) Second housing
(30) Hinge mechanism
(31) First hinge shaft
(32) Second hinge shaft
(34) Parallel 2-axis hinge
(35) Parallel 2-axis hinge
(36) Linkage
(70) Link mechanism
(80) Auxiliary load mechanism
(90) Main load mechanism

Claims (2)

A first housing;
A second housing;
A hinge mechanism for connecting the first housing and the second housing so as to be openable and closable;
In a foldable electronic device comprising
The hinge mechanism is a pair of parallel biaxial hinges having a first hinge axis and a second hinge axis that are parallel to each other, wherein the first hinge axis is the first casing, and the second hinge axis is the second hinge. Comprising a pair of parallel biaxial hinges connected to the housing;
One of the pair of parallel biaxial hinges includes a main load mechanism that applies a rotational resistance force to the first hinge shaft and the second hinge shaft,
The other parallel biaxial hinge includes a link mechanism that restricts rotation so that the first hinge axis and the second hinge axis are opposite to each other;
A foldable electronic device.   2. The foldable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the other parallel two-axis hinge includes an auxiliary load mechanism that applies a rotation resistance smaller than that of the main load mechanism to the first hinge shaft and the second hinge shaft. .

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