JPH06159347A - Hinge mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a compact and low-priced hinge mechanism which stops a first member and a second member at any opening angle and makes it possible to learn the reference opening angle. CONSTITUTION:A bracket 2 to be mounted on a first member is formed by providing a first engaging section 2c which is obtained by machining one sheet metal having the function like spring and wound in one direction and a second engaging section 2f which is wound in the other direction and has a recessed section 2h at the end. Also, a hinge shaft 3 is formed by providing one section 3a which is engaged with the first and second engaging sections 2c, 2f by the predetermined spring force and has a hole section 3b which fits in the recessed section 2h and the other section 3c which is fixed on the second member. The bracket 2 and the hinge shaft 3 stop at any opening angle due to friction force of the first engaging section 2c, and it is possible to learn the reference opening angle owing to the engagement of the recessed section 2h and the hole section 3b. It is possible to manufacture a compact and low-priced hinge mechanism because the composition is simple. It can be used in a device which demands these requirements, for example, an electronic book player which as a main body and a lid section which are connected together by a hinge.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hinge mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electronic book player that retrieves an electronic book consisting of an 8 cm CD (compact disk) containing dictionary information, English conversation information, legal information, leisure information, etc. and retrieves that information by characters, images, voice, etc.
It is composed of a main body on which an operation unit such as a keyboard is arranged and a lid on which a liquid crystal display (LCD) is arranged. The main body and the lid are hinged to each other, and the lid is closed when not in use. , The lid is opened at the time of use, the operation unit is used to input, for example, an English word, and the Japanese translation is viewed on the LCD of the lid.

Then, the user uses the lid portion not only at the reference opening angle defined by the manufacturer as the normal opening angle, but also at various opening angles for preventing light reflection and the like.

Further, since the user carries and uses the electronic book player, the electronic book player is required to be small in size and inexpensive so that it can be used by many people.

[0005]

By the way, like the electronic book player, it is necessary to hinge the first member and the second member, stop them at an arbitrary opening angle, and notify the reference opening angle. In order to make this device compact and inexpensive in a device having a certain configuration, the hinge mechanism part is provided with a mechanism capable of stopping at any of the above-mentioned opening angles and notifying the reference opening angle, Moreover, if the hinge mechanism portion can be manufactured in a small size and at a low cost by simplifying the structure of the hinge mechanism portion, the above device can also be reduced in size and cost, and thus the above object can be achieved.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a hinge which is provided with a mechanism capable of stopping at an arbitrary opening angle and notifying the reference opening angle, has a simple structure, and can be manufactured at a small size and at a low cost. A mechanism is provided, and thus, is applied to an electronic book player and other devices including the first member and the second member where the above conditions are required.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a hinge mechanism for swingably connecting a first member and a second member, which is attached to the first member to prevent rotation. And a first fitting portion formed by being continuously wound from the rotation blocking portion in the first direction, and being continuous from the rotation blocking portion and being opposite to the first direction. A second coil wound in a second direction and having a recess at its end
A bracket made of a single sheet metal having a spring property; and a first fitting portion and a second fitting portion with a spring force, and a recessed portion. It comprises a hinge shaft having one part provided with a hole and the other part fixed to the second member.

The hinge mechanism is applied to an opening / closing mechanism of the lid part with respect to the body part, the first member is the body part, the second member is the lid part, and the first fitting part is wound in a direction to close the lid part, The second fitting portion may be wound in a direction to open the lid portion.

The rotation preventing portion of the bracket may be provided with a slit-like groove for positioning, which is provided along the direction perpendicular to the axis of the hinge mechanism.

The rotation preventing portion of the bracket is a flat plate,
The first fitting portion and the second fitting portion may be tilted in one direction with respect to the surface of the rotation blocking portion.

[0011]

Since one part of the hinge shaft is fitted to the first fitting part of the bracket with a spring force, a pressing force is applied between the one part of the hinge shaft and the first fitting part of the bracket. Therefore, a frictional force is generated, and the first member and the second member can be maintained in the open state at an arbitrary opening angle. Moreover, since one part of the hinge shaft is fitted to the second fitting part of the bracket with a spring force, when the first member and the second member are opened to each other, the second fitting part is opened. The user can recognize this position as the reference opening angle by the recessed portion of the hinge shaft entering one hole of the hinge shaft together with the spring force, and the change in the opening force in the recessed state.

Further, since the hinge mechanism is composed of a bracket formed by bending, pressing, etc., one spring-like sheet metal, and a hinge shaft fitted to the bracket, the structure is simple, compact, and compact. It can be manufactured at low cost.

Further, since the first fitting portion and the second fitting portion are wound in opposite directions, the position of the gap portion ahead of the end portion of the fitting portion is not on the same line, Therefore, when the hinge shaft and the bracket are strongly kneaded with each other, the hinge shaft is sufficiently prevented from coming out of the gap portion, so that a strong hinge mechanism is obtained.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

This embodiment is applied to an electronic book player as shown in FIG. 2, in which the first member is the cabinet (main body) 7 and the second member is the lid 8. Figure 1
2 is applied to the hinge mechanism on the right side of FIG.

In FIG. 1, the bracket 2 of the hinge mechanism 1 is formed by one sheet metal having a spring property. Spring steel, nickel brass, spring phosphor bronze, or the like can be used as the material of the springy sheet metal.

The bracket 2 has a rotation blocking portion 2a which is mounted on the cabinet 7 and blocks rotation of the bracket as will be described later. The rotation blocking portion 2a has a flat plate shape that extends for a predetermined length, and is fitted to the fitting portion 7e of the cabinet as described later to rotate the bracket 2 that is about to rotate with the rotation of the hinge shaft 3 described later. Prevent. Next, the rotation blocking portion 2a is provided with a slit-shaped groove portion 2b along the direction perpendicular to the axis of the hinge mechanism (the axis of the hinge axis). The slit-shaped groove portion 2b fits into a positioning rib 7f provided in the fitting portion of the cabinet as described later, whereby the bracket 2 is positioned.

Next, the first fitting portion 2c with the hinge shaft is
It is formed continuously from the rotation blocking portion 2a and wound in the direction in which the lid portion 8 is closed. The first fitting portion 2c has a predetermined width, and the diameter thereof is smaller than the diameter of the hinge shaft 3. Therefore, when the hinge shaft 3 is fitted, the first fitting portion 2c and the hinge shaft 3 are caused by the spring force. A predetermined pressing force, that is, a frictional force is generated between the first fitting portion 2c and the first fitting portion 2c. A gap 2e is formed ahead of the end 2d of the first fitting portion 2c, and thus the end 2d becomes a free end to allow the spring force of the first fitting portion 2c described above. Has become.

Next, the second fitting portion 2f with the hinge shaft is
It is formed by being wound in the opening direction of the lid portion 8 continuously from the rotation blocking portion 2a. The end 2g of the second fitting portion 2f has a recess 2h that fits into a hole 3b of a hinge shaft, which will be described later.
However, the cross section is circular, and is formed in the shape of a mountain portion that rises in a steep slope. The diameter of the second fitting portion 2f is the first
The diameter of the fitting portion 2c is equal to that of the fitting portion 2c, and the depression portion 2h can be pulled out of the hole portion 3b by a predetermined rotational force of the hinge shaft 3 from the state where the depression portion 2h is fitted in the hole portion 3b of the hinge shaft. The width of the first fitting portion 2c is made smaller than that of the first fitting portion 2c so that the spring force of the second fitting portion 2f can be reduced.
It is smaller than that. Further, similarly to the first fitting portion 2c, a gap portion 2i is formed ahead of the end portion 2g.

When the bracket 2 is attached to the cabinet 7 by fitting the rotation blocking portion 2a into the fitting portion 7e provided vertically on the upper surface of the cabinet (see FIG. 3), the first and second The first and second fitting portions 2c and 2f are positioned relative to the surface of the rotation blocking portion 2a so that the lower surface 2j of the fitting portion of the above-mentioned can sufficiently come into contact with the upper surface 7h of the cabinet 7 to stabilize the bracket 2. It is greatly inclined to the right side of FIG.

The bracket 2 is made of one sheet metal of spring property,
Cut to form a developed shape and a cut, form a depression 2h by pressing, and bend the first fitting portion 2c.
And it is easily formed by forming the second fitting portion 2f and the like.

Next, the hinge shaft 3 will be described. One part 3a of the hinge shaft 3 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and fits into the first and second fitting parts 2c and 2f of the bracket as described above. Next, the recessed portion 2h is formed in the one portion 3a of the hinge shaft.
A hole 3b for fitting with is formed. The hole 3b has a circular cross section with a diameter larger than the recess 2h, for example, a diameter of 2 mm, and has a recessed shape in which the recess 3h falls sharply.
Deeper than the height of the formed.

The other part 3c of the hinge shaft 3 is composed of a flat part extending from the end face of the one side part 3a of the cylinder.
Moreover, a hole 3d for fixing to the lid 8 is formed.
The angular relationship between the hole 3b into which the recess 2h fits and the flat surface of the flat portion 3c is such that when there is an angle difference between the hole 3b and the recess 2h by the reference opening angle θ of the lid portion 8, The flat surface 3c is perpendicular to the surface of the rotation preventing portion 2a of the bracket, and the flat portion 3c is attached to the lid portion 8 by making the flat surface of the flat portion 3c parallel to the surface of the lid portion 8.

The hinge shaft 3 is easily manufactured by lathe processing, drilling, milling etc. of round steel.

After manufacturing the bracket 2 and the hinge shaft 3, the hinge mechanism 1 is manufactured by press-fitting the one part 3a of the hinge shaft 3 into the first and second fitting parts 2c and 2f of the bracket. As will be described later, since the hinge mechanism 1 is attached to the left and right of the lid portion 8, a pair of left and right symmetrical hinge mechanisms 1 is manufactured.

Since the hinge mechanism 1 of the present invention is composed of two parts and the processing and assembling thereof are extremely easy, the hinge mechanism can be manufactured at an extremely low cost. Further, since the number of parts is small, the management cost of parts is reduced.

Next, the structure of the electronic book player to which the hinge mechanism of the present invention is applied and the mounting portion of the hinge mechanism in the electronic book player will be described.

In FIG. 2, the electronic book player is
It is composed of a cabinet (main body) 7 and a lid 8. The cabinet 7 is further divided into upper and lower stages, and the upper stage portion 7a is opened with respect to the lower stage portion 7b so that the CD can be attached and detached. An operating portion 7c such as a keyboard is arranged on the upper surface of the upper step portion 7a. A liquid crystal display portion 8a is arranged on the lid portion 8. Then, at the time of use, the lid portion 8 is opened with respect to the cabinet 7 at a reference opening angle or an arbitrary opening angle, and the operation portion of the cabinet is operated to take out predetermined characters, images, voice information and the like.

Next, the lid portion 8 is hinged at the rear end portion and the left and right end portions of the cabinet 7. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the rear end portion and the left and right end portions of the lower step portion 7b of the cabinet extend vertically upward to form a bracket attachment portion 7d, and the upper surface of the bracket attachment portion 7d extends vertically downward. A slit-shaped bracket fitting portion 7e having a width substantially the same as the thickness of the rotation blocking portion 2a and deeper than the length of the rotation blocking portion 2a is formed. Further, in the bracket fitting portion 7e, there is provided a rib 7f projecting vertically upward for fitting into the groove portion 2b of the bracket and positioning the bracket 2. Next, the bracket attachment portion 7d is provided with a screw insertion hole 7g that penetrates vertically.

Next, a hinge retainer 9 made of resin is prepared. The hinge retainer 9 is provided with a bracket retainer 9a for preventing the upward movement of the bracket 2 by pushing the outer peripheral surface of the first fitting portion 2c of the bracket 2 from the upper side, and the above-mentioned screw insertion hole. Screw insertion hole 7 facing 7g
A screw hole 9b (thread groove is not shown) is provided for screwing the screw 11 inserted into g. The second fitting portion 2
A space 9c is provided above f so that the second fitting portion 2f can be freely expanded and contracted. Further, on the inner side surface of the hinge retainer 9, there is provided a semicircular cutout portion 9d facing the columnar portion of the one portion 3a of the hinge shaft 3 of the hinge mechanism 1.

Next, an end surface 8c of the hinge shaft mounting portion 8b of the lid portion 8 is formed with a hole 8d having a rectangular cross section which penetrates the other flat portion 3c of the hinge shaft 3, and the hinge shaft mounting portion 8b.
A screw insertion hole 8f having a diameter larger than the diameter of the screw head portion is formed on the surface portion of the liquid crystal display portion side toward the rectangular hole portion 8d. On the rear surface of the rectangular hole portion 8d, a flat member 12 of a predetermined size and made of a hard material is arranged in parallel with the surface of the lid portion 8, and the flat member 12 has a screw hole 12a (thread groove shown in the drawing). Omitted) is formed. The flat portion 3c is replaced by the rectangular hole portion 8
The flat portion 3c is firmly inserted into the flat member 3c by inserting the screw 13 into the screw insertion hole 8f, inserting the screw 13 into the hole 3d of the flat portion 3c, and screwing the screw 13 into the screw hole 12a of the flat member 12. Fixed at 12.

In the assembly, first, the pair of left and right symmetrical hinge mechanisms 1 are attached to the hinge shaft attaching portion 8b of the lid portion 8 and the flat portion 3c is fixed to the plane member 12 with the screw 13. Then, in this state, the rotation blocking portion 2a of each bracket 2 is connected to each fitting portion 7a.
The groove portion 2b is fitted into the positioning rib 7f and is fitted into e. Then, the hinge retainer 9 is covered from above the bracket 2, and the hinge retainer 9 is fixed by the screw 11, and the assembly is completed. As mentioned above, the first and second brackets
Since the fitting portions 2c and 2f of the above are tilted in one direction with respect to the surface of the rotation blocking portion 2a, the first and second fitting portions 2c and 2f.
The lower surface 2j of f contacts the upper surface 7h of the bracket mounting portion 7d, and the bracket pressing portion 9a of the hinge pressing member 9 is the first
Since the fitting portion 2c of the above is pressed from the upper side, the rotation blocking portion 2a is fitted in the fitting portion 7e of substantially the same size in the vertical direction, and the bracket 2 is loosened in the cabinet 7. It can be installed while sufficiently preventing such problems.

Since the hinge mechanism 1 of the present invention can be made extremely small, it is arranged in a very small space at the rear end portion and the left and right end portions of the electronic book player, which requires a compact design, in a small space. Therefore, the miniaturization of the electronic book player can be achieved.

Next, the operation will be described.

When the lid 8 is closed, the recess 2h is disengaged from the hole 3b and abuts on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder.

Next, when the lid 8 is opened in this state, the hinge shaft 3 rotates in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. At this time, since the first fitting portion 2c receives a force in the direction to release the winding, the frictional force at the first fitting portion 2c at this time is the lid portion 8
Is about 60 to 70% when the hinge shaft 3 is rotated in the direction of closing, that is, when the force is applied in the direction in which the first fitting portion 2c is wound. Further, although the second fitting portion 2f is in the winding direction, the recessed portion 2h abuts on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder and is not in close contact with the hinge shaft 3, so that a large frictional force does not occur. Therefore, the lid 8 can be opened with a predetermined torque force. It should be noted that because of the frictional force, the bracket 2 tries to rotate along with the rotation of the hinge shaft 3, but as described above, the rotation blocking portion 2a is fitted to the fitting portion 7e of the cabinet to block the rotation. Therefore, the circumvention is prevented. The first fitting portion 2c is pressed by the bracket pressing portion 9a, but since it is pressed by the resin, the rotational force of the hinge shaft 3 does not increase significantly.

Next, when the lid 8 is opened to the reference opening angle, the recess 2h fits into the hole 3b at the click stop. Since a spring force is generated in the second fitting portion 2f, the fitting can be reliably performed. Then, the second fitting portion 2f
The inner surface of is sufficiently close to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder of the hinge shaft. Next, when the lid portion 8 is further opened after the fitting, the second fitting portion 2f is in the winding direction, and the recessed portion 2h is further locked to the edge of the hole 3b. The fitting portion 2f is further pulled in the winding direction, the frictional force by the second fitting portion 2f becomes large, and it cannot be further rotated with the torque force so far, this open angle position is the reference position. If there,
The user can recognize.

Next, if a force greater than that is applied, the second fitting portion 2f rises because it is springy.
The recess 2h is disengaged from the hole 3b, and the hinge shaft 3 rotates. Therefore, the hinge mechanism 1 is not broken by applying a large torque force.

Next, when the lid portion 8 is closed, the first fitting portion 2c acts in the winding direction, so that the lid portion 8 is rotated with a slightly larger torque force than when opening. When a torque force in a closing direction is applied while the recess 2h is fitted in the hole 3b, the recess 2h is locked to the edge of the hole 3b in the direction in which the second fitting portion 2f floats. Because it is done
The locking is easily released, and the lid 8 can be easily rotated.

Next, when the user wants to use an arbitrary opening angle including an angle exceeding the reference opening angle, there is a predetermined frictional force with respect to the rotation of the hinge shaft 3 at the arbitrary opening angle position. The user can obtain predetermined information on the liquid crystal display unit 8a while stopping the lid unit 8 and operating the operation unit 7c at an arbitrary open angle position.

When an excessive twisting force is applied between the cabinet 7 and the lid 8 during the opening / closing operation of the lid 8 or the like, the gap portion of the first fitting portion 2c of the bracket 2 is formed. 2e
Since the gap portion 2i of the second fitting portion 2f and the gap portion 2i of the second fitting portion 2f are not on the same line, in FIG. 1, for example, when the hinge shaft 3 is about to be disengaged from the gap portion 2i of the second fitting portion 2f, First
It is prevented that the hinge shaft 3 is disengaged from the gap 2e of the fitting portion 2c, and therefore the hinge shaft 3 is prevented from being disengaged from the gap of the bracket 2.

In the above embodiment, the recess 2h and the hole 3b to be fitted therein are circular in cross section, but the recess is the second
The fitting portion 2f may have a continuous mountain shape extending in the width direction, and the hole portion may be a groove-shaped concave portion that is fitted thereinto, and these are also included in the meaning of the depression portion and the hole portion.

The hinge mechanism of the present invention can be applied not only to an electronic book player but also to an electronic notebook or the like. In addition, it is necessary to stop at an arbitrary open angle and inform the reference open angle of a small electronic device or the like. The present invention can be applied to various devices including a first member and a second member which are hinged to each other.

[0044]

Since the hinge mechanism of the present invention is constructed as described above, it is possible to stop the first member and the second member at an arbitrary opening angle and inform the reference opening angle. Further, since the hinge mechanism of the present invention can be manufactured in a small size and at a low cost, it is possible to greatly reduce the size and cost of the device using the hinge mechanism.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a hinge mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an electronic book player to which the hinge mechanism of FIG. 1 is applied.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a hinge mechanism mounting portion in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hinge mechanism 2 Bracket 2a Rotation prevention part 2b Slit-shaped groove part 2c First fitting part 2f Second fitting part 2h Dimple part 3 Hinge shaft 3a One part 3b Hole part 3c Other part 7 First member 8 Second Element

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A hinge mechanism for swingably connecting a first member and a second member, wherein a rotation blocking portion attached to the first member for blocking rotation and a rotation blocking portion continuous from the rotation blocking portion. The first fitting portion formed by being wound in one direction and the rotation blocking portion are continuously wound in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a recess is formed at an end thereof. A bracket made of a single sheet metal having a spring property and having a second fitting portion in which a portion is formed; and fitting the first fitting portion and the second fitting portion together with a spring force. And a hinge shaft having one part provided with a hole for fitting the recess and the other part fixed to the second member. 2. The hinge mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the hinge mechanism is applied to an opening / closing mechanism of a lid with respect to a main body, the first member is the main body, and the second member is the lid. The hinge mechanism, wherein the fitting portion is wound in a direction to close the lid portion, and the second fitting portion is wound in a direction to open the lid portion. 3. The rotation preventing portion of the bracket according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a slit-shaped groove portion for positioning which is provided along a direction perpendicular to an axis of the hinge mechanism is formed in the rotation preventing portion of the bracket. Hinge mechanism. 4. The rotation blocking part of the bracket according to claim 1, wherein the rotation blocking part has a flat plate shape, and the first fitting part and the second fitting part are the same as the rotation blocking part. A hinge mechanism characterized by being tilted in one direction with respect to a surface.