KR20030042174A - Hinge device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A hinge apparatus is provided to allow an automatic rotation at some angle section of a device while stably maintain a stop state at an angle of the other remaining section. CONSTITUTION: A housing(30) is formed as a long tube. A cam member(60) is received in the housing(30) at one portion thereof and has a cam. A cam follower member(40) includes a cam follower part interworking with the cam at one portion thereof. An elastic member(80) applies force to either the cam member(60) or to the cam follower member(40) so that the cam follower part can be in contact with the cam. One of the cam member(60) and the cam follower member(40) is linearly moved in the housing(30), and at this time, as one of them is linearly moved, the other makes a rotational movement to rotate the moving member against a static member. The cam includes groove portions(77a,77b) which force one of the cam member(60) and the cam follower member(40) to be in a position nearest to the other, top portions(76a,76b) which force one of them to be in a position farthest from the other, and linear portions(78a,78b) which maintain a certain distance between the cam member(60) and the cam follower member(40).

Description

Hinge device {HINGE DEVICE}

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a hinge device, and more particularly, to a hinge device for connecting two members in a device (for example, a portable cordless phone) having two members that can be folded or folded with respect to one axis about one axis. will be.

Handheld devices, such as portable clamshell cordless telephones, have two members coupled to a hinge device. One member is provided with a keypad provided with a button, and the other member is usually provided with a liquid crystal display device. When the phone is not in use, the two members are folded so that the keypad and the liquid crystal display are inward. The hinge device combines the two members and at the same time allows the two members to fold and unfold smoothly.

Conventional cordless telephones are typically deployed at only one angle. This is because conventional hinge devices are designed to remain stationary only at one unfolded angle. However, in recent years, as the functions of the cordless phone have been diversified, it has become inconvenient to use the cordless phone only at a predetermined angle. Therefore, there is a need for a hinge device that enables the wireless telephone to be used at various angles.

An object of the present invention is to improve the existing hinge device to provide a hinge device that can be used to expand the cordless phone at various angles. Another object of the present invention is to provide a hinge device that is automatically rotated in some angular sections, and can be stopped at an arbitrary position within another angular section and is fixed at another angle.

1 is a perspective view of a folding type cordless telephone having a hinge device according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a first case member and a second case member separately, and showing an enlarged view of the separated hinge device.

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the hinge device of Figure 1

3 is an exploded view of the cam surface of the hinge device of FIG.

4 (a) to (d) are diagrams showing the operation of the hinge device of FIG. 1 step by step to show the inside of the housing by cutting it.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing an extended and folded state of the wireless telephone of FIG.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

20: hinge device 22: extension shaft

30 housing 40 cam follower member

44: guide bar 60: cam member

74: cam surface 76: top portion

77 goal 78 flat part

80: elastic member

According to an aspect of the present invention, a hinge device for connecting a stop member and a movable member that can be folded or unfolded relative to the stop member, the housing, at least a portion of which is received in the housing, the cam having a cam A cam follower member provided with a member, a cam follower with at least a portion interacting with the cam of the cam member, and at least one of the cam member and the cam follower member such that the cam follower of the cam follower member contacts the cam of the cam member. And an elastic member for applying a force, wherein one of the cam member and the cam follower member is capable of linear movement in the housing, and the other rotational movement is made by the linear movement to move the movable member relative to the stop member. And the cam of the cam member is in a state in which one of the cam member and the cam follower member is moved to the other side to the maximum. Is a hinge device having a top part to be in the state of maximum movement in the opposite direction to the valley part, and a straight part positioned between the top part and the valley part and keeping a relative distance between the cam member and the cam follower member constant. Is provided. The cam can have a slope around the top. The housing may be fixed to one of the stop member and the movable member, and the cam follower member may be connected to the other of the stop member and the movable member. A guide rod extending along the rotation axis is fixed to one of the cam member and the cam follower member, and a guide hole into which the guide rod is inserted is formed in the cam member and the other member of the cam follower member. A relative motion between the cam member and the cam follower member can be guided. The cam follower member may include an extension shaft portion protruding to the outside of the housing and further include a connection member fixed to the extension shaft portion.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, the folding portable cordless telephone 10 includes a first case member 12 provided with a keypad and a second case member 14 provided with a liquid crystal display. Hinges 20 are mounted on both sides of the coupling portion between the first case member 12 and the second case member 14. After the hinge device 20 is inserted into the mounting hole of the first case member 12, the second case member 14 is engaged with the hinge device 20. The mounting hole is such that its shape and size generally match the shape and size of the housing of the hinge device 20. This is to prevent the hinge device 20 from being easily removed from the mounting hole and fixed to the first case member 12 so as not to rotate relative to the first case member 12.

The hinge device 20 has a rotatable extension shaft portion 22 protruding toward the second case member 14. A coupling coupling member 24 is fitted to the extension shaft portion 22. The coupling member 24 has a mating surface 26. The second case member 14 is provided with a coupling hole 28 into which the coupling member 24 is fitted. The engaging hole 28 is provided with a engaging surface which interacts with the engaging surface 26. Alternatively, a shaft may be formed in the second case member and a coupling hole may be provided in the hinge device. In addition, the extension shaft portion 22 may be directly connected to the second case member 14 without the coupling member 24.

Referring to FIG. 2, the hinge device 20 includes a housing 30, a cam follower 40, a cam member 60, an elastic member 80, and a coupling member 24, which are sequentially received in the housing 30. It is provided.

The housing 30 consists of an elongate barrel. The longitudinal center line of the housing 30 becomes the rotation axis 100 of the hinge device 20. The housing 30 has an end wall 32 formed at one end, a side wall 34 formed to extend from the end wall 32, and an extension protrusion 36 partially extending from the side wall 34. The opposite end 38 of the end on which the end wall 32 is formed is open. The end wall 32 is provided with a shaft hole 33. The side wall 34 has flat walls 35 and 35a facing each other and arced walls 37 and 37a facing each other. The flat walls 35 and 35a serve as keys to prevent rotation of the hinge device when assembled into the case member of the radiotelephone. In addition, as will be described later, it also serves to prevent the cam member 60 accommodated therein from rotating. The extension projection 36 is formed extending from two opposite flat walls 35 and 35a. The extension protrusion 36 is closed after the cam follower member 40, the cam member 60, the elastic member 80 which will be described later is inserted into the housing 30 to be bent open end 38.

However, the present invention is not limited to the above blocking method. As a method of preventing the spring 80 from protruding by blocking the open end 38 side, other methods other than the bending of the extension protrusion 36 may be used. It is also possible to close the open end after inserting the part by deforming the open end side wall of the housing without a separate protrusion. It is also possible to close the open end after inserting the part by making and fixing the cap.

The housing 30 is made of a metal (for example, a metal such as a brass plate), and is preferably manufactured by a method of deep drawing. Alternatively, the plastic resin material may be formed by injection molding.

The cam follower member 40 has a disc-shaped support 42, an extension shaft portion 22 extending from the support 42 along the rotation axis 100, and an extension shaft from the support 42 along the rotation axis 100. A guide rod 44 extending to the opposite side of the section 22, and a cam driven protrusion 46 formed on both sides of the guide rod 44 are provided.

The extension shaft portion 22 has a coupling surface 48 and a coupling protrusion 50 formed on the coupling surface 48. When there is no coupling member 24, the engagement surface 48 and the engagement protrusion 50 are directly engaged with the case member. Guide rod 44 is a thin, long circular rod extending from the center of support 42. Two cam driven protrusions 46 are formed by being attached to the guide bar 44. The cam driven protrusion 46 extends in a direction parallel to the rotation axis 100 together with the guide bar 44, and extends to a height lower than the guide bar 44. Two cam driven protrusions 46 are arranged to be symmetrical about the axis of rotation 100 of the hinge device 20. Two cam follower protrusions 46 form a cam follower. The cam follower refers to a portion that interacts with the cam surface described later. Cam driven protrusion 46 is provided with an inclined surface 52 to reduce the thickness toward the end, the end is rounded. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the thickness, inclination and curvature of the ends are determined to interact with the stop valley provided on the cam surface described later. Of course, the configuration of the cam follower is not limited to the shape of the cam follower protrusion 46, and may be formed of a pillar separated from the guide rod.

The cam follower member 40 is inserted through the open end 38 of the housing 30. The cam follower member 40 in the housing 30 is rotatable about the rotation axis 100. The extension shaft portion 22 of the cam follower member 40 protrudes through the shaft hole 33 of the housing 30.

The coupling member 24 is fitted to the extension shaft portion 22. The coupling member 24 is to increase the arm distance from the axis of rotation to the engagement surface, the area of the engagement surface, and the size of the engagement projection so that the rotation of the cam follower member 40 can be transmitted to the case member of the wireless telephone. Is made. The coupling member may not be necessary depending on the configuration of the case member.

The cam member 60 has a side wall 62, a cam portion 64 formed on the surface facing the cam follower member 40, and a cylindrical boss 66 extending from the center portion on the opposite side of the cam portion 64. The cam member 60 is provided with a through hole 68 penetrating the boss 66 from the cam portion 64 along the rotation axis 100. A guide rod 44 fixed to the cam follower member 40 is fitted into the through hole 68 penetrating the boss 66 from the cam portion 64 to guide relative movement.

The side wall 62 has an arcuate wall 72 facing the flat wall 70 facing the same as the shape of the side wall 34 of the housing 30. The cam member 60 having such a shape may be inserted into the housing 30 so that linear movement is possible along the rotation axis 100, but not rotational movement. The cam portion 64 has a cam surface 74 provided on the side facing the cam follower member 40. The cam portion 64 is a valley of two fixing tops (mountains) 76a and 76b which are symmetric about the rotation axis 100 and two fixing concave grooves which are symmetric about the rotation axis 100 ( 77a, 77b) are provided. The top portion 76a and the valley 77a are first connected to the inclined surface 79a from the top portion 76a, and then the flat portion (straight portion) 78a extends to the valley 77a. An inclined surface 791a is provided between the top 76a and the valley 77b. The inclined surface 79b and the flat part 78b are similarly provided between the top part 76b and the valley 77b. An inclined surface 791b is formed between the top 76b and the valley 77a.

The cam member 60 is inserted into the open end 38 of the housing 30. At this time, the cam surface 74 faces the cam follower 46 of the cam follower 40. In general, the cam member 60 is inserted into the housing 30, so that linear movement is possible in the direction of the rotation axis 100 in the housing 30, but rotation is limited.

The elastic member 80 pushes the cam member 60 toward the cam follower member 40. The elastic member 80 is preferably a compression coil spring.

After inserting the cam follower member 40, the cam member 60, and the elastic member 80 into the housing 30 in sequence, the extension protrusion 36 of the housing 30 is bent along the bend line 31. The open end of 30 is partially closed.

The cam member, cam follower member and coupling member may be manufactured by injection molding a plastic resin, preferably an engineering plastic resin. The cam member and the cam follower member may be made of a metal material. For example, the cam member and the cam driven member may be manufactured by sintering the metal material or by cold forging the metal material.

3, 4, and 5, the operation of the hinge device 20 according to the embodiment will now be described.

In Fig. 5, when the position of the second case member is at P1, the radiotelephone 10 is completely folded. The state of the hinge device in this position is shown in Fig. 4A and the position of the cam follower 46 on the cam face 74 is P1 in Fig. 3. In this state, the cam follower 46 is located on the inclined surface 791a between the top 76a and the valley 77b on the cam surface 74. In this position P1, the cam member 60 pushes the cam follower member 40 by the force of the elastic member 80. At this time, the cam driven member 40 is subjected to the rotational force by the elastic member 80 and the inclined surface 791a of the hinge device, the rotational force of the second case member 14 is rotated toward the first case member 12. Do it. That is, in the P1 position, a rotational force that causes the first case member 12 and the second case member 14 to be in close contact with each other is generated by the hinge device, so that the cordless telephone 10 can maintain the folded state stably.

In this state, the cam driven protrusion 46 reaches the top portion 76a of the cam surface 74 when the cordless phone 10 is spread out between the case members so as to be deployed. This is the state of Fig. 4B, and the position of P2 in Figs. If it continues to open, the cam follower 46 will pass the top 76a of the cam surface 74. When the cam follower 46 passes the top 76a of the cam face 74, the elastic member 80 pushes the cam member 60 toward the cam follower 40, so that the cam follower 46 does not require external force. Is lowered along the inclined surface 79a of the cam surface 74 to stop at the position P3 in FIGS. 3 and 5 where the inclined surface 79a ends.

From P3, rotational force must be continuously applied from the outside in order to further open the second case member 14. When the application of the rotational force is stopped in the middle, the second case member 14 stops at the position and is maintained by the force of the elastic member 80. At this time, the cam follower protrusion of the cam follower member 40 ( 46 is in any position on the flat portion 78a. 3 and 5, P4 and FIG. 4C illustrate this state. When the second case member 14 is further opened at P4 to reach the P5 position, the cam follower blade 46 is inserted into and fixed to the valley 77a of the concave groove of the cam surface 74. The hinge device in this state is shown in Fig. 4D. That is, the second case member can maintain a stable stationary state at any angle between P3 and P5.

Now, the operation of the hinge device in the process of switching from the extended state to the folded state will be described. That is, the process of changing the position of the second case member from the P5 position to the P1 position in FIG. 5 will be described. In the state where the wireless telephone is fully deployed (the position P5 in FIGS. 3 and 5 and (d) in FIG. 4), the cam follower 46 is inserted into the valley 77a and fixed. In this state, rotation force must be applied to the P2 position to close the cordless telephone. When a force of more than a predetermined size is applied in a fixed state, an inclined surface is provided around the valley 77a, and thus the cam driven protrusion 77a reaches the flat portion 78a while climbing up the inclined surface. Since the cam driven protrusion 46 passes through the flat portion 78a to the P3 position, the cam driven protrusion 46 can be rotated with a constant rotational force. However, a greater rotational force is required since the inclined surface 79a must be passed from the P3 position to the P2 position. After the cam driven protrusion 46 passes through the inclined surface 791a that descends after the top portion 76a (P2 position), the cordless telephone is folded to reach the P1 position automatically without the external rotational force.

According to the configuration of the present invention, there is provided a hinge device for automatically rotating in some angular sections and stably maintaining the stationary state at any angle in the remaining sections. In addition, the hinge device according to the present invention maintains a stable fixed state at both ends of the rotating section. Therefore, when the hinge apparatus according to the present invention is used for the cordless telephone, the spreading angle of the cordless telephone can be arbitrarily adjusted. Therefore, the user of the cordless phone can enjoy the various services more conveniently by unfolding the cordless phone at a preferred angle.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and that such modifications and variations also fall within the present invention.

Claims (5)

In the hinge device for connecting the stop member and the movable member that can be folded or unfolded relative to the stop member, Housings, A cam member housed in at least a portion of the housing and having a cam; A cam follower member provided with a cam follower at least a portion of which interacts with the cam of the cam member; A cam follower of the cam follower member includes an elastic member for applying a force to at least one of the cam member and the cam follower member to be in contact with the cam of the cam member, One of the cam member and the cam follower member may be linearly moved within the housing, and the other one may be rotated by the linear movement to rotate the movable member with respect to the stop member. The cam of the cam member is a top for allowing any one of the cam member and the cam follower member to move to the other side to the maximum and the top to move in the maximum direction in the opposite direction, the top and the bone A hinge device having a straight portion positioned between and maintaining a constant distance between the cam member and the cam follower member. The hinge device of claim 1, wherein the cam has an inclined portion around the top portion. The hinge device of claim 1, wherein the housing is fixed to one of the stop member and the movable member, and the cam follower member is connected to the other of the stop member and the movable member. The guide bar extending along the rotation axis is fixed to one of the cam member and the cam follower member, and the guide member is fixed to the other member of the cam member and the cam follower member. A guide hole into which a rod is inserted is formed, so that the relative motion between the cam member and the cam follower member is guided. 4. The hinge device of claim 3, wherein the cam follower member includes an extension shaft portion protruding outside the housing, and further includes a connection member fixed to the extension shaft portion.