JP5264867B2 - Hinge element and electronic device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hinge. <P>SOLUTION: The hinge is formed of an alloy containing at least 4-32 wt.% Mn, 16-37 wt.% Cr and Fe of the rest of weight percentage by metal injection molding process. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a hinge element and an electronic device using the hinge element.

  It is well known in the art that elements are referred to by their names or symbols. Table 1 below lists the names and symbols of the elements used in the specification and claims of the present invention.

  Conventional portable electronic devices, such as notebook computers, cell phones, or PDAs, include a base, a screen, and a conventional hinge element that connects the screen and the base and allows the screen to rotate relative to the base. Methods for rotating the base and screen include sliding, folding, or a combination of sliding and flipping. A conventional hinge element used in a sliding / reversing electronic device includes a hinge member and a sliding plate. This hinge member has both ends, two sliding slots formed at both ends, and a rotating portion. Since this rotating part is attached to the base of the electronic device, the hinge member can be rotated with respect to the base. The sliding plate is attached to the screen of the electronic device and is slidably mounted between the two sliding slots. When using the electronic device, the screen can be slid to a predetermined position on one side and used as a display of the electronic device.

  Conventional hinge elements are made of 304, 316L, or 420L series stainless steel, zinc alloys, or amorphous zirconium metal or amorphous titanium metal. However, the conventional hinge element made of the above material has the following drawbacks.

  Zinc alloys are low-strength materials, so parts made of zinc alloys are easily worn away over time, and undesirable gaps are formed between the parts, ultimately causing failure.

  Parts made of conventional stainless steel are made directly from stainless steel sheets by stamping to form the parts into the designed shape. However, it is limited by the original shape and punching of the stainless steel plate, and there is little freedom in designing the shape of the part. Also, 304 series and 316L series stainless steels do not provide lasting strength. Although 420L series stainless steel has high strength, it is strongly ferromagnetic and may interfere with the operation of the electronic device. The saturation induction strength of the 420L series stainless steel is 200 gauss, considerably higher than the 5-10 gauss of the 304 and 316L series stainless steels. Therefore, 420L series stainless steel is not suitable as a material for hinge elements used in electronic devices.

  A forming process is necessary to make parts from amorphous metal. While the molded parts are high in strength and hardness, they are low in accuracy and require further high precision processing to achieve adequate accuracy. The high strength and high hardness of this part are obstacles to high precision processing, which inevitably requires a long processing time and a high tip wear rate, thus resulting in a low yield and high cost.

Further, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a conventional hinge element includes an independent hinge member operable independently of the above-described sliding / reversing function and an independent sliding plate. However, since the independent hinge member and sliding plate are respectively attached to the main body and the screen with fasteners, the number of parts and complexity increase, and the manufacturing cost and the assembly cost increase.
In order to overcome these drawbacks, the present invention provides a hinge element that alleviates or solves the above problems.

Taiwan Utility Model No. M350212 Specification

  The main object of the present invention is to provide a hinge element and an electronic device using the hinge element.

  The hinge according to the present invention is made in a metal injection molding (MIM) process from an alloy containing at least 4-32 wt% Mn, 16-37 wt% Cr, and the remaining percent Fe.

  The hinge element is integrated into an integrated part and is structurally, physically and mechanically superior to the conventional hinge element, overcoming the disadvantages of the conventional hinge element and mitigating the problems of the conventional hinge element. Solve.

Preferably, the hinge element comprises a total of more than 12% Ni and Cr and is therefore stainless and has the following characteristics.
● Yield strength: 350MPa
● Tensile strength: 700MPa
● Elongation percentage: 10%
● Hardness:> HRB90
● Saturation induction strength: <10.0 gauss (equivalent to non-ferromagnetic stainless steel tested under 500 oersted induction field)

  Strength is higher than conventional non-ferromagnetic stainless steel or zinc alloy, and hardness is lower than amorphous metal. The hinge element according to the present invention not only provides higher strength and hardness than non-ferromagnetic stainless steel, but also solves the drawback of amorphous metal parts being too hard to process.

  Preferably, the hinge element according to the present invention is made of the above material and comprises an elongated rod and two elongated arms. The rod has both ends and the two elongate arms are attached to both ends of the rod, respectively. Each arm has an upper rotation end, a lower rotation end, an upper rotation hole formed on a side surface of the upper rotation end, and an upper rotation hole and a shaft formed on a side surface of the lower rotation end. Have parallel lower pivot holes.

  Another aspect of the present invention relates to an electronic device that includes the hinge, a base, and a screen. The base comprises a rod chamber for receiving the rod of the hinge and two lower chambers for receiving the lower pivot ends of the two arms of the hinge, respectively. Each of the lower chambers includes a rotation shaft that is inserted into the lower rotation hole of the arm. The screen includes two upper chambers for receiving the upper pivot ends of the two arms of the hinge, respectively. Each upper chamber includes a rotation shaft that is inserted into the upper rotation hole of the arm.

  With the above structure, the present invention provides a hinge element that can be quickly and easily made as an integrated part in a metal injection molding process. Compared with a conventional hinge element, this hinge element greatly reduces manufacturing and assembly costs and is easy to manufacture or design.

  Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

It is a perspective view of an electronic device provided with a hinge element concerning the present invention. FIG. 2 is a developed perspective view of the electronic device of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a partial side cross-sectional view of the electronic device of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is another partial side cross-sectional view of the electronic device of FIG. 1.

  The present invention provides a hinge element made from an alloy in a metal injection molding process. This alloy is high strength, corrosion resistant and non-ferromagnetic. The following embodiments disclose possible compositions and characteristics of this alloy. In the metal injection molding process, the alloy powder is mixed with various binders such as PP, PW, PE, SA, and other suitable binders to form the injection material. This injection material is injection molded, deoiled and sintered. The relevant details of the metal injection molding process are well known in the art and will be omitted.

  The first embodiment of the present invention is 9 wt% Mn, 16.5 wt% Cr, 9.5 wt% Ni, 3 wt% Si, 0.35 wt% N, 0.2 wt% C, 0.03 wt. Metal from an alloy consisting of% S, 0.02 wt% P, 1 wt% Al, 2 wt% Co, 1 wt% Mo, 0.2 wt% O, 0.5 wt% Zr, and the remaining percent Fe. The present invention relates to a hinge element made by an injection molding process.

The hinge element of the first embodiment has the following characteristics.
● Yield strength: 450MPa
● Tensile strength: 720 MPa
● Elongation percentage: 45%
● Hardness:> HRB90
● Saturation-induced strength: <1.43 Gauss

  The second embodiment of the present invention is 10.2 wt% Mn, 21 wt% Cr, 1.2 wt% Ni, 2 wt% Si, 0.85 wt% N, 0.2 wt% C, 0.03 wt. % S, 0.2 wt% P, 0.3 wt% Al, 2 wt% Co, 0.8 wt% Ti, 0.5 wt% Cu, 2 wt% W, 3 wt% Mo, 0.1 wt It relates to a hinge element made in a metal injection molding process from an alloy consisting of% O, 0.7 wt% Ta, less than 1 wt% Y and Zr, and the remaining percentage Fe.

The hinge element of the second embodiment has the following characteristics.
● Yield strength: 620 MPa
● Tensile strength: 790 MPa
● Elongation percentage: 25%
● Hardness:> HRC25
● Saturation-induced strength: <4.51 Gauss

  The third embodiment of the present invention is 30 wt% Mn, 25 wt% Cr, 3 wt% Ni, 0.9 wt% N, 0.2 wt% C, 2 wt% Ti, 0.5 wt% Cu, 4 From an alloy consisting of wt% W, 5 wt% Mo, 0.5 wt% B, 1 wt% Nb, 0.6 wt% Ta, less than 1 wt% Y, La, and Zr, and the remaining percent Fe. The present invention relates to a hinge element made by a metal injection molding process.

The hinge element of the third embodiment has the following characteristics.
● Yield strength: 560 MPa
● Tensile strength: 750 MPa
● Elongation percentage: 38%
● Hardness:> HRC22
● Saturation-induced strength: <2.43 Gauss

  The fourth embodiment of the present invention is 5 wt% Mn, 30 wt% Cr, 3 wt% Ni, 1.5 wt% Si, 0.4 wt% N, 0.02 wt% C, 0.05 wt% S. 0.03% by weight P, 0.5% by weight Al, 0.5% by weight V, 4% by weight W, 0.8% by weight Nb, 0.6% by weight Ta, less than 1% by weight La, Ce, And Hf, and a hinge element made by a metal injection molding process from an alloy consisting of the remaining percent Fe.

The hinge element of the fourth embodiment has the following characteristics.
● Yield strength: 820 MPa
● Tensile strength: 1150 MPa
● Elongation percentage: 12%
● Hardness:> HRC29
● Saturation-induced strength: <7.43 Gauss

  A fifth embodiment of the present invention comprises 32 wt% Mn, 16 wt% Cr, 0.7 wt% N, 0.01 wt% C, 4 wt% Mo, 0.9 wt% Nb, 1 wt% Ta, and It relates to a hinge element made by a metal injection molding process from an alloy consisting of the remaining percentage of Fe.

The hinge element of the fifth embodiment has the following characteristics.
● Yield strength: 600 MPa
● Tensile strength: 850 MPa
● Elongation percentage: 22%
● Hardness:> HRC25
● Saturation-induced strength: <3.12 Gauss

  The hardness of a conventional hinge element made of zinc alloy is about HRB30 and its yield strength is only 100 MPa. The hardness of 304 or 316 stainless steel is between HRB55 and HRB70, and the hardness of a conventional hinge element made of this stainless steel is about HRB55 to HRB60. The yield strength of a conventional hinge element made of stainless steel is only about 160 MPa, and is easily worn and deformed. The hardness of a conventional hinge element made of an amorphous metal is higher than that of HRC 66, so that further processing becomes difficult and processing time becomes longer.

  It is apparent that the hardness of the hinge element according to the present invention is higher than the hardness of the conventional hinge element made of zinc alloy and lower than the hardness of the conventional hinge element made of amorphous metal. The hinge element according to the present invention not only provides higher strength and hardness than non-ferromagnetic stainless steel, but also solves the drawback of amorphous metal parts being too hard to process. Also, the hinge element according to the present invention provides higher strength than conventional hinge elements made of 304 or 316 stainless steel.

  Moreover, since the hinge element according to the present invention is made by a metal injection molding process, it forms a complicated shape with high accuracy. On the other hand, conventional hinge elements made from 304 or 316 stainless steel by stamping or made from amorphous metal by a molding process cannot be mass-produced in 3D shape with high accuracy. Conventional hinge elements made from zinc alloys by liquid metal injection molding cannot provide sufficient strength for use as hinges or power transmission components.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, preferably, the hinge element according to the present invention is made of the above-described material and is mounted on an electronic device having a base 30 and a screen 40, and the screen 40 stands with respect to the base 30. Enable. Since the structure of the hinge element for use in this way belongs to the prior art in this field, its details are omitted. The following are examples to illustrate this structure and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

  A hinge element according to the present invention made by a metal injection molding process as described above comprises an elongated rod 10 and two elongated arms 20. The rod 10 has both ends and one or more receiving spaces 101. Two elongate arms 20 are attached to both ends of the rod 10, respectively. Each arm has an upper rotation end 21, a lower rotation end 22, an upper rotation hole 211 formed in a side surface of the upper rotation end 21, and an upper rotation hole 211 formed in a side surface of the lower rotation end 22. And a lower rotation hole 221 whose axes are parallel to each other.

3 and 4, the electronic device according to the present invention includes a hinge element, a base 30, and a screen 40.
The hinge element includes the rod 10 and the two arms 20 as described above, and further includes a positioning protrusion 222.

  The base 30 includes a rod chamber 31 for receiving the rod 10 of the hinge element, two lower chambers 32 for receiving the lower rotating ends 22 of the two arms 20 of the hinge element, and a stopper 34. Each lower chamber 32 includes a rotation shaft 33 that is inserted into the lower rotation hole 221 of the arm 20. The stopper 34 is attached to the lower chamber 32 and is separated from the rotating shaft 33 of the lower chamber 32.

  The screen 40 comprises two upper chambers 41 for receiving the upper pivot ends 21 of the two arms 20 of the hinge element. Each upper chamber 41 includes a rotation shaft 42 inserted into the upper rotation hole 211 of the arm 20.

The positioning protrusion 222 protrudes outward from the lower rotation end 22 so as to selectively engage the stopper 34 when the arm 20 rotates relative to the base 30.
Preferably, the rod 10 of the hinge element further comprises one or more receiving spaces 101 for receiving electronic components or members.

  With further reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the rod 10 is received in the rod chamber 31 of the base 30 when the screen 40 is rotated to a closed position in contact with the base 30 according to the structure disclosed above. The upper rotating end 21 and the lower rotating end 22 of the arm 20 are received in the upper chamber 41 of the screen 40 and the lower chamber 32 of the base 30, respectively. In order to make the screen 40 slide and stand, first, when the screen 40 is slid by pushing the front end of the screen 40, the screen 40 pulls the arm 20 of the hinge element and rotates it with respect to the lower rotation end 22. When the arm 20 rotates to a predetermined angle, the two arms 20 come into contact with the wall of the lower chamber 32, the positioning projection 222 is blocked by the stopper 34, the upper rotating end 21 of the arm 20 points upward, and the screen 40 is moved. Stand up.

  The hinge element according to the present invention may be integrated into an integrated part. This integrated part is structurally simple compared to conventional hinge elements, is non-ferromagnetic, corrosion resistant, and provides adequate strength and hardness. The hinge element according to the present invention is suitable to be manufactured by metal injection molding process, provides high precision and smooth surface, and reduces cost and processing time compared to conventional hinge element.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Rod 20 Arm 21 Upper rotation end 22 Lower rotation end 30 Base 31 Rod chamber 32 Lower chamber 33 Rotating shaft 40 Screen 41 Upper chamber 42 Rotating shaft 211 Upper rotating hole 221 Lower rotating hole

Claims (3)

Hinge element made from an alloy containing the following components in a metal injection molding process.
9 wt% Mn,
16.5 wt% Cr,
9.5 wt% Ni,
3 wt% Si,
0.35 wt% N,
0.2 wt% C,
0.03 wt% S,
0.02 wt% P,
1 wt% Al,
2 wt% Co,
1 wt% Mo,
0.2 wt% O,
0.5 wt% Zr, and
The remaining percentage of Fe In metal injection molding process,
4 to 32 wt% Mn,
16-37 wt% Cr,
0-14 wt% Ni,
0 to 4.5 wt% Si,
0.2-1 wt% N,
0 to 0.2% by weight C,
0-0.5 wt% S,
0-0.5 wt% P,
0 to 1 wt% Al,
0-5 wt% Co,
0 to 4 wt% Ti,
0 to 2 wt% Cu,
0-0.5 wt% V,
0-5 wt% W,
0 to 5 wt% Mo,
0 to 1% by weight B,
0 to 0.4 wt% O,
0-2 wt% Nb,
0 to 1 wt% Ta,
One or more trace elements at a concentration of less than 5% by weight selected from the group consisting of Y, La, Ce, Hf, and Zr; and
The remaining percentage of Fe,
Made from an alloy containing
An elongated rod having both ends;
Two elongated arms respectively attached to both ends of the rod;
Each elongated arm has an upper rotation end, a lower rotation end, an upper rotation hole formed in a side surface of the upper rotation end, and an upper rotation hole formed in a side surface of the lower rotation end. axis having a parallel lower times Doana Ruhi Nji element. The hinge element according to claim 2 , wherein each arm further has a positioning protrusion protruding outward from the lower rotation end.

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