KR200190936Y1 - Clip type friction hinge devices - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a clip-type friction hinge device which is easy to assemble and can freely adjust torque in a desired direction of rotation. The disclosed subject matter includes a housing having an axial hole and a fixed slot formed under the axial hole; A rotating shaft rotatably inserted into the axial hole of the housing; It is composed of a pair of substantially semi-cylindrical spring members which are inserted into and fixed to the rotation shaft so as to elastically support the rotation shaft with respect to the housing, and are coupled to each other. A torsion spring having a protrusion fixedly fitted to the fixing slot of the torsion spring; And a plurality of C-type clips for torque adjustment elastically fitted to the outer circumference of the torsion spring. The C-clip has radially open slits and is formed in a shape whose circumferential thickness gradually increases or decreases. In addition, the C-type clip may be formed in a square or a circular cross section.

Description

Clip type friction hinge devices

The present invention relates to a friction hinge device, and more particularly, to a clip-type friction hinge device that is easy to assemble and improved to adjust the torque as desired.

A friction hinge device is a very useful hinge device for holding an object at a constant position or angle. For example, the friction hinge device is used to keep the display of a notebook computer at a constant angle with respect to the main body or to properly adjust the screen angle of an LCD monitor. . That is, in the notebook computer, the friction hinge device is coupled to the main body to enable the opening and closing of the cover in the vertical direction, and by the pressing force of springs, clips, etc. incorporated in the friction hinge device when the cover is opened. It serves to maintain the cover at a proper angle to the body. At the same time, the friction hinge device functions to generate dynamic torque due to friction when an object such as a cover of a notebook computer moves or rotates, thereby suppressing sudden movement of the object and cushioning an impact.

Such a friction hinge device is implemented in various forms according to the operation principle and structure. Examples of representative types currently in use include wrap spring type, axial disk compression type, roll pin type, and clip spring type.

These friction hinge devices have their advantages, but most of them cannot be manufactured in a structure suitable for the recent trend of miniaturization / thinning of products, or even if manufactured, they are complicated to manufacture and maintain high torque. If necessary, the durability impairs rapidly. Therefore, to solve such a disadvantage, a torsion spring type friction hinge device has recently been developed.

The friction hinge device of the torsion spring type is configured to realize a structure in which the friction area and the pressing force of the spring can be adjusted at the same time so that a friction force of a constant size is always generated.

1 shows a conventional torsion spring type friction hinge device as described above.

As shown, the friction hinge device includes a housing 10, a rotation shaft 20, and a torsion spring 30.

The housing 10 has an axial hole 10a and a fixed slot 10b formed below the axial hole 10a.

The rotating shaft 20 has a first shaft portion 20a inserted into the axial hole 10a of the housing 10, a second shaft portion 20b and a second shaft portion 20b connected to ends of the first shaft portion 20a. And a fixing portion 20c extending to the opposite side of the first shaft portion 20a. The first shaft portion 20a, the second shaft portion 20b, and the fixing portion 20c may be formed as separate components or integrally, respectively, depending on manufacturing and assembly conditions. The fixing portion 20c has a screw hole 20d formed therein, the rotation shaft 20 being coupled to the cover of the notebook computer, for example, by a screw (not shown) fastened through the hole 20d. In this case, the housing 10 is similarly coupled to the body of the notebook computer by screwing or the like.

The torsion spring 30 is composed of a plurality of clip-shaped leaf spring, which is inserted into the housing 10 by being inserted into the axial hole 10a of the housing 10 together with the rotation shaft 20 while being pressed against the rotation shaft 20. It is fixed.

2 is a front view of the friction hinge device according to FIG. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the torsion spring 30 is inserted into the axial hole 10a of the housing 10. The torsion spring 30 is fixed to the housing 10 in such a way that the arrow-shaped downward protrusion 30a formed at the bottom thereof is fitted to the fixing slot 10b of the housing 10 to prevent rotation. In addition, the rotation shaft 20 is press-fitted into the center hole 30c of the torsion spring 30.

On the other hand, two oil grooves 30b opposed to each other are formed on the inner circumferential surface of the central hole 30c of the torsion spring 30, and the oil grooves 30b are filled with lubricating oil. Therefore, the frictional resistance generated between the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 20 and the inner peripheral surface of the center hole 30c of the torsion spring 30 at the time of rotation of the rotating shaft 20 can be reduced.

In the friction hinge device having such a structure, when the rotating shaft 20 rotates (for example, when the cover of the notebook computer is opened or the screen angle of the LCD monitor is adjusted), the rotating shaft 20 is connected to the torsion spring 30. It rotates while being subjected to torque due to friction, and thereby a shock absorbing effect is made while sudden rotational motion is suppressed. Subsequently, when the rotation is stopped at a constant rotation angle, the rotation shaft 20 is fixedly held at the position of the angle by the pressing force based on the tightening elasticity of the torsion spring 30. Since the torsion spring 30 is fixed to the housing 10 in such a way that rotation is impossible, the generation of torque due to friction during the rotation of the rotating shaft 20 is ensured, while the torsion spring 30 is closed. Since it is formed in the shape to not only stably support the rotation of the rotary shaft 20, but at the same time the frictional resistance is reduced by the lubrication of the oil, the rotation of the rotary shaft 20 is made smoothly.

However, in the conventional friction hinge device as described above, since the torsion spring 30 is formed in the form of a closed circle, it takes a lot of time and effort to assemble the rotary shaft 20 into the torsion spring 30. There is a problem.

In addition, the conventional friction hinge device has a disadvantage that the torque can be freely adjusted in the desired direction because the torque is generated in the same size in both sides of the rotation direction. In particular, in order to easily fix and hold a monitor or the like at an appropriate angle, it is necessary to generate differential torque in both directions of rotation, but conventionally it is impossible to adjust the torque at all.

The object of the present invention is to provide a clip-type friction hinge device that is devised to solve the above problems, which is easy to assemble and can freely adjust torque in a desired rotational direction.

1 is a partially broken perspective view showing the structure of a conventional clip-type friction hinge device,

2 is a front view of the friction hinge device shown in FIG.

3 is a partially broken perspective view showing the structure of a clip-type friction hinge device according to an embodiment of the present invention,

4 is a front view of the clip-type friction hinge device shown in FIG.

5 is a perspective view showing an example of a torsion spring used in the clip-type friction hinge device of the present invention,

6 is a perspective view showing another example of a torsion spring used in the clip-type friction hinge device of the present invention, and

7a and 7b are perspective views showing various embodiments of the clip used in the clip-type friction hinge device of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100; housing 110; axial hole

120; fixed slot 200; rotating shaft

210; first shaft portion 220; second shaft portion

230; fixed 300; torsion spring

Semi-cylindrical spring member 330;

400; C clip 410; Slit

Clip-type friction hinge device according to the present invention for achieving the above object, a housing, a rotating shaft that is rotatably inserted into the housing, a torsion spring for supporting the rotating shaft with respect to the housing, the outer periphery of the torsion spring And a plurality of C-type clips for torque adjustment, which are elastically fitted to each other.

The housing has an axial hole into which the rotating shaft is inserted and a fixing slot formed under the axial hole. The rotating shaft also has a first shaft portion into which the torsion spring is fitted, a second shaft portion connected to the end of the first shaft portion, and a fixing portion coupled to the second shaft portion.

The torsion spring is composed of a pair of spring members having a substantially semi-cylindrical shape, which are coupled to each other to form a center hole into which the rotating shaft is press-fitted and a protrusion fitted into the fixing slot of the housing. Here, the bent portion or the embossing may be formed in the protrusion to be vertically bent in the direction opposite to each other. In addition, opposite grooves of the pair of semi-cylindrical spring members may be formed to correspond to the positioning grooves and projections so as to easily match the center position thereof when they are coupled.

In addition, the C-type clip has radially open slits and has a shape in which the thickness in the circumferential direction gradually increases or decreases. The C-type clip may have a rectangular cross-sectional shape or a circular cross-sectional shape.

According to the clip-type friction hinge device of the present invention configured as described above, the torsion spring and the C-type clip can be easily assembled by the two-split structure of the torsion spring and the slits of the C-type clip. That is, the work of assembling the rotating shaft to the torsion spring and the assembling of the C-type clip is simplified, which can greatly reduce the time and effort required for assembly.

In addition, since the C-type clip is formed in a shape in which the thickness of the circumferential direction is gradually increased or decreased, it is possible to generate torques having different sizes in both directions of the rotational direction, and thus it is possible to adjust the torque as desired. Is provided.

The above objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent by describing the present invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 to 7 shows a clip-type friction hinge device according to the present invention.

As shown in Figure 3 and 4, the clip-type friction hinge device according to the present invention, the housing 100, the rotating shaft 200 is rotatably installed in the housing 100, the rotating shaft 200 is the housing It is provided with a torsion spring 300 elastically supported with respect to the (100) and a plurality of C-type clip 400 is elastically fitted to the outer periphery of the torsion spring (300).

The housing 100 includes an axial hole 110 for receiving the rotation shaft 200 and a fixing slot 120 formed under the axial hole 110.

The rotation shaft 200 has a first shaft portion 210 inserted into the axial hole 110 of the housing 100, a second shaft portion 220 coupled to the end of the first shaft portion 210, and the second shaft portion. The fixing unit 230 is connected to the 220. Here, the first shaft portion 210, the second shaft portion 220 and the fixing portion 230 may be formed as separate components or integrally, respectively, depending on the manufacturing and assembly conditions. In addition, a screw hole 231 is formed in the fixing part 230, and the rotating shaft 200 is coupled to, for example, a cover of a notebook computer by a screw (not shown) fastened through the hole 231. Can be. In this case, the housing 100 is coupled to the main body of the notebook computer by screwing as described above.

The torsion spring 300 is inserted into the axial hole 110 of the housing 100 together with the rotation shaft 200 while being fitted to the outer circumference of the first shaft portion 210 of the rotation shaft 200, and the housing is not rotatable. It is fixed to the axial hole 110 of the (100). The torsion spring 300 as described above resiliently supports the rotation shaft 200 with respect to the housing 100 so that the rotation shaft 200 rotates while receiving the torque caused by friction. do. The torsion spring 300 is composed of a pair of spring members 310 and 320 having a substantially semi-cylindrical shape, and the rotation shaft 200 is inserted by the pair of spring members 310 and 320 coupled to each other. The center hole is formed. In addition, one side of the torsion spring 300 is formed with a protrusion 330 that is fixedly fitted to the fixed slot 120 of the housing 100, the protrusion 330 is fixed to the fixed slot 120 of the housing 100 The fitting prevents rotation in the axial hole 110 of the housing 100. On both sides of the protrusion 330, a pair of bent portions 331 and 331 'are bent and formed vertically in a direction facing each other. The bent portions 331 and 331 'are provided so that the torsion spring 300 is not easily separated from the axial hole 110 of the housing 100, and instead of the bent portions 331 and 331'. As shown in FIG. 5, the same effect can be obtained by forming embossing portions 332 and 332 ′ which protrude in opposite directions on both sides of the protrusion 330. In addition, the contact surface of the pair of semi-cylindrical spring members 310 and 320 constituting the torsion spring 300, more specifically, the contact surface opposite to the protrusion 330, as shown in Figure 6, these combinations At least one or more positioning grooves 311 and protrusions 321 may be formed to correspond to each other at the same time.

The C-type clip 400 is elastically fitted to the outer circumference of the torsion spring 300 to couple the pair of spring members 310, 320 to each other and at the same time the rotary shaft 200 and the torsion spring 300 and It acts to generate torque due to friction between and. The C-type clip 400 can be installed in an appropriate number according to the size and use of the friction hinge device, by adjusting the number of the C-type clip 400 can be easily adjusted torque. The C-type clip 400 has a slit 410 open in the radial direction, thereby expanding the center hole, it can be assembled easily. In addition, the C-shaped clip 400 is formed in a shape in which the circumferential thickness thereof gradually increases or gradually decreases, thereby freely adjusting the torque in a desired direction. In addition, the C-shaped clip 400, as shown in Figures 7a and 7b, the cross section may be formed in a square or circular.

On the other hand, although not shown in the figure, an oil groove filled with lubricating oil may be formed on the inner circumferential surface of the torsion spring 300. As in the conventional art, the oil functions to reduce frictional resistance between the outer circumferential surface of the rotating shaft 200 and the inner circumferential surface of the central hole of the torsion spring 300 when the rotating shaft 200 is rotated.

Clip-type friction hinge device according to the present invention is configured as described above, a pair of semi-cylindrical spring member 310, 320 constituting the torsion spring 300 on the outer circumferential surface of the first shaft portion 210 of the rotating shaft 200 first; After fitting together, a plurality of C-type clips 400 are assembled to the outer circumference of the torsion spring 300. At this time, the pair of spring members 310 and 320 can be accurately and easily matched to the center position by the positioning grooves 311 and the projections 321 respectively formed on the engaging surface thereof. And the C-type clip 400 can adjust a torque by setting it to an appropriate number according to the magnitude | size and use of a friction hinge apparatus. Then, the torsion spring 300 and the plurality of C-shaped clip 400 coupled to the rotary shaft 200 is inserted into the axial hole 110 of the housing 100 and finally assembled.

Clip-type friction hinge device according to the present invention of the structure as described above, as applied to the hinge portion of a notebook computer or a motor as in the prior art, by opening the cover of the notebook computer or adjusting the screen angle of the motor, the cover Opening or tilting the motor, the rotary shaft 200 is rotated, the rotary shaft 200 is rotated while receiving a torque due to the friction with the torsion spring 300, thereby suppressing the rapid rotation operation Shock is cushioned. Subsequently, when the rotation is stopped at a constant rotation angle, the rotation shaft 200 is fixedly held at the position of the angle by the pressing force based on the tightening elasticity of the torsion spring 300 and the C-shaped clip 400. In this case, when the center of gravity of the monitor is biased to one side, the torque of the monitor is different from the torque of the center of gravity to the opposite side, so that the monitor can be easily fixed. Since the magnitude of the torque in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions is configured to be different, it can be very useful in this case.

In addition, in the present invention, the C-type clip in which the thickness in the circumferential direction gradually increases and the C-type clip in which the thickness in the circumferential direction gradually decreases may be alternately arranged. In this case, it is possible to adjust by varying the torque in both directions in the rotational direction in spite of using the same number of clips. For example, when a total of 10 clips are used, two clips: three clips: two: three, three: two: three whose circumferential thickness gradually increases and the clips whose circumferential thickness gradually decreases, respectively. Number: Two, etc., can be arranged alternately. In the former case, there are four clips in which the thickness in the circumferential direction gradually increases, and six clips in which the thickness in the circumferential direction gradually decreases. Is the opposite. That is, in both cases, the magnitude of torque in both directions of rotation direction is adjusted to 2: 3 or 3: 2. In other words, both cases correspond to cases where the ratio of the magnitudes of the torques in both directions of rotation is the same but the directions are opposite. That is, conventionally, only the torque can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the number of torsion springs, but the clip-type friction hinge device according to the present invention not only adjusts the torque by increasing or decreasing the number of C-type clips. The same number of clips can be used to vary the amount of torque in both directions of rotation.

According to the clip-type friction hinge device of the present invention as described above, since the torsion spring is separated and formed by a pair of cylindrical spring members, it is easy to assemble to the rotating shaft, and the radial slit formed on the C-type clip There is an effect that the time and effort required for assembling the friction hinge device can be greatly reduced, such as to facilitate assembly to the torsion spring while expanding the center hole.

In addition, since the C-type clip is formed in a shape in which the thickness in the circumferential direction gradually increases or decreases, it is possible to generate torques having different sizes in both directions of the rotational direction, so that the torque can be adjusted as desired. It also works.

Furthermore, the present invention can vary the magnitude of torque in both directions of rotation by alternately arranging its circumferential thickness gradually increasing and decreasing gradually using the same number of clips, so that the notebook It can be very useful as a hinge device for a computer or monitor.

As described above, the present invention has been described and illustrated with reference to a preferred embodiment for illustrating the principle of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration and operation as shown and described. Rather, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, all such suitable changes, modifications, and equivalents should be considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (5)

A housing having an axial hole and a fixed slot formed in the lower portion of the axial hole; A rotating shaft rotatably inserted into the axial hole of the housing; It is composed of a pair of spring members of approximately semi-cylindrical shape, which are inserted into and fixed to the rotation shaft so as to elastically support the rotation shaft with respect to the housing, and are coupled to each other by an axial hole of the housing. An end portion of the torsion spring having a protrusion fixedly fitted to the fixing slot of the housing; And Clip-type friction hinge device comprising a; a plurality of torque adjustment C-type clip is elastically fitted to the outer circumference of the torsion spring. The clip-type friction hinge device of claim 1, wherein a bent portion or an embossed portion is formed on both sides of the protrusion of the torsion spring in a direction perpendicular to the protrusion. 2. The clip-type friction hinge device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the positioning grooves and the projections are formed on the coupling surfaces of the pair of semi-cylindrical spring members so as to correspond to their center positions when they are engaged. 2. The clip-type friction hinge device according to claim 1, wherein the C-type clip has slits radially open and is formed in a shape in which the circumferential thickness thereof gradually increases or decreases. 5. The clip-type friction hinge device according to claim 4, wherein the C-type clip has a rectangular or circular cross section.