TWI531302B - Hinge structure - Google Patents

Description

Hinge structure

The present invention relates to a hinge structure, and more particularly to a hinge structure suitable for use in an electronic device.

In recent years, with the development of the technology industry, electronic devices such as notebooks (notebooks, NBs), tablet PCs, and smart phones have frequently appeared in daily life. The types and functions of electronic devices are becoming more and more diverse, and the convenience and practicability make these electronic devices more popular, and can be used for different purposes according to user needs.

Taking a notebook computer as an example, some electronic devices have two bodies, and the two bodies can be connected to each other by a hinge structure, and are brought into a collapsed or unfolded state by the hinge structure rotating relative to each other. A common hinge structure typically has a single axis of rotation that limits the angle of rotation of the hinge structure. In order to provide a wider range of operating angles for the electronic device, the hinge structure can also be designed in a two-axis configuration. In this way, the upper body can be in an unfolded state by rotating one of the rotating shafts relative to the lower body, and can be in a reversed state by rotating the other rotating shaft relative to the lower body, for example, flipping to the other side of the lower body, so that The operating angle of the upper body and the lower body is 360 degrees. However, the above-mentioned hinge structure adopting the two-axis design is limited to rotating in a single rotation axis, so that the operation mode of the electronic device is relatively monotonous, and the operation angle thereof is limited.

The present invention provides a hinge structure suitable for connecting two bodies in an electronic device, so that the electronic device is adapted to arbitrarily adjust its operating angle, and thus has a variety of operating modes.

The hinge structure of the present invention is suitable for connecting two bodies of an electronic device. The hinge structure includes an upper plate, a lower plate, and a plurality of rotating units. The upper plate is adapted to connect one of the two bodies. The lower plate is adapted to connect one of the two bodies. The rotating unit is pivotally connected together and has a plurality of rotating shafts, wherein the outermost two sides of the rotating unit are correspondingly connected to the upper plate and the lower plate, and the rotating unit is adapted to rotate relative to each other along the rotating axis, and drive the upper plate and The lower plate is such that the two bodies are rotated relative to each other by the hinge structure and are positioned by a frictional force between the rotating units.

Based on the above, in the hinge structure of the present invention, the rotating units are pivotally connected together and have a plurality of rotating shafts, wherein the outermost sides of the rotating units are correspondingly connected to the upper and lower plates, and the rotating unit is adapted to The rotating shafts rotate relative to each other. Thereby, the hinge structure is suitable for connecting the two bodies of the electronic device, so that the two bodies are rotated relative to each other by the hinge structure, and are positioned by the frictional force between the rotating units after the relative rotation. It can be seen that the two bodies of the electronic device can be deployed or flipped at a large angle by the hinge structure, and the operating angle is positioned by the frictional force between the rotating units. Accordingly, the hinge structure of the present invention is suitable for connecting two bodies in an electronic device to enable electronic mounting. It is suitable for arbitrarily adjusting its operating angle and thus has a variety of operating modes.

The above described features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

50‧‧‧Electronic devices

52, 54‧‧‧ body

52a, 54a‧‧‧Operation surface

100‧‧‧Hinged structure

110‧‧‧Upper board

120‧‧‧ Lower board

130a, 130b, 130c, 130d‧‧‧ rotating unit

132a, 132b, 132c, 132d‧‧‧ first pivotal

134a, 134b, 134c, 134d‧‧‧ second pivotal joint

136‧‧‧Limited structure

136a‧‧‧Limited convex

136b‧‧‧Limited recess

140‧‧‧ pivotal parts

150‧‧‧Shield

A1, A2, A3, A4, A5‧‧‧ rotating shaft

D1‧‧‧Rotary axis

O1‧‧‧ first opening

O2‧‧‧ second opening

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a hinge structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

2A and 2B are schematic views of the rotary unit of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a schematic view of the operation of the rotating unit of Figures 2A and 2B.

4A to 4C are schematic views showing the operation of the hinge structure of Fig. 1 for an electronic device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a hinge structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the hinge structure 100 includes an upper plate 110, a lower plate 120, and a plurality of rotating units 130a to 130d. The rotation units 130a to 130d are sequentially pivoted together and have a plurality of rotation axes A1 to A5, wherein the outermost sides of the rotation units 130a to 130d are, for example, the rotation units 130a and 130d illustrated in FIG. The upper plate 110 and the lower plate 120, and the rotation units 130a to 130d are adapted to rotate relative to each other along the rotation axes A1 to A5, and drive the upper plate 110 and the lower plate 120. It can be seen that the hinge structure 100 of the present embodiment has a multi-axis design. The rotating unit 130a is pivotally connected to the upper plate 110, and the rotating unit 130a and the upper plate 110 have a rotation axis A1. The rotating units 130a and 130b are pivoted together, and there is a rotation between the rotating units 130a and 130b Axis A2. Similarly, the rotating units 130b to 130d are sequentially pivoted together, and the rotating units 130b to 130d have rotation axes A3 and A4 therebetween. Further, the rotation unit 130d is pivotally connected to the lower plate 120, and the rotation axis A5 is provided between the rotation unit 130d and the lower plate 120. Thereby, the upper plate 110, the lower plate 120, and the rotation units 130a to 130d are adapted to rotate relative to each other along the corresponding rotation axes A1 to A5, and the upper plate 110 and the lower plate 120 are faced or unfolded to each other. In other words, the upper plate 110 can be unfolded relative to the lower plate 120 by rotating the rotating units 130a to 130d relative to each other, or flipped to the other side of the lower plate 120, or can be rotated by the rotating units 130a to 130d after being unfolded or inverted. Closed in relative rotation. Further, when the rotation units 130a to 130d are rotated relative to each other to a predetermined position, an angle is formed between the upper plate 110 and the lower plate 120, and can be positioned by the frictional force between the rotation units 130a to 130d.

Specifically, in the present embodiment, the rotation axes A1 to A5 extend in the rotation axis direction D1 to be parallel to each other, so that the upper plate 110 is rotated relative to the lower plate 120 in the rotation axis direction D1. In other words, the upper plate 110 and the lower plate 120 and the rotating units 130a to 130d are sequentially pivotally connected together by the rotating axes A1 to A5, and the rotating axes A1 to A5 extend along the same rotating axial direction D1 so as to be parallel to each other and do not overlap. The hinge structure 100 of the embodiment is a multi-axis design, wherein the upper plate 110, the lower plate 120 and the rotating units 130a to 130d are unfolded or folded by the relative rotation axes A1 to A5 rotating relative to each other, but the upper plate 110 and the upper plate 110 are The lower plates 120 are relatively rotated relative to each other along the rotational axis D1. Further, in the present embodiment, the rotation units 130a to 130d are tightly fitted to each other to have a frictional force between each adjacent one of the rotation units 130a to 130d. Thereby, the user needs to apply an external force greater than the frictional force to enable the rotation units 130a to 130d to rotate relative to each other and The upper plate 110 and the lower plate 120 are driven to adjust the operating angle of the hinge structure 100. Further, the frictional force between the rotating units 130a to 130d is preferably sequentially increased from the upper plate 110 to the lower plate 120. In other words, the friction between the rotating units 130a and 130b is the smallest, and the friction between the rotating units 130c and 130d is the largest. As such, when the user applies an external force to the hinge structure 100, the rotation unit 130a first rotates relative to the rotation unit 130b, after which the rotation unit 130b rotates relative to the rotation unit 130c, and finally the rotation unit 130c rotates relative to the rotation unit 130d. As such, the rotating units 130a to 130d can be sequentially moved, so that the hinge structure 100 has a relatively smooth operation mode. However, in other embodiments not shown, the amount of friction between the rotating units 130a to 130d can be adjusted according to actual needs, and the invention is not limited thereto. After the user adjusts the operating angle of the hinge structure 100 according to the demand by external force, and stops the application of the external force, the hinge structure 100 can be positioned by the frictional force between the rotating units 130a to 130d to fix the operating angle of the hinge structure 100.

2A and 2B are schematic views of the rotary unit of Fig. 1. Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 2B, in the embodiment, each of the rotating units 130a to 130d includes first pivoting portions 132a to 132d and second pivoting portions 134a to 134d, and each of the rotating units 130a to 130d has a position The first opening O1 of the pivotal portions 132a to 132d and the second opening O2 of the second pivotal portions 134a to 134d. From this, it is understood that the rotation units 130a to 130d of the present embodiment substantially assume a "8" shape, but the present invention does not limit the shapes of the rotation units 130a to 130d. The first pivoting portion 132a of the rotating unit 130a is connected to the upper plate 110, and the second pivoting portion 134a of the rotating unit 130a is connected to the first pivoting portion 132b of the rotating unit 130b. Similarly, the number of the rotating unit 130b The second pivoting portion 134b is connected to the first pivoting portion 132c of the rotating unit 130c, the second pivoting portion 134c of the rotating unit 130c is connected to the first pivoting portion 132d of the rotating unit 130d, and the second pivoting portion 134d of the rotating unit 130d is The lower plate 120 is connected. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the hinge structure 100 further includes a plurality of pivot members 140, such as pins, rivets or other suitable pivot members. The first opening O1 of each of the rotating units 130a to 130d corresponds to the second opening O2 of the upper plate 110 or another adjacent one of the rotating units 130a to 130d, and the second opening O2 of each of the rotating units 130a to 130d corresponds to The first opening O1 or the lower plate 120 of another adjacent one of each of the rotating units 130a to 130d. As such, the pivoting member 140 is correspondingly inserted into the first opening O1 and the second opening O2 corresponding to each other to pivotally connect the upper plate 110, the lower plate 120 and each of the rotating units 130a to 130d, and corresponds to the rotating shaft. A1 to A5. In other words, the pivoting members 140 are respectively inserted into the corresponding first opening O1 and the second opening O2 along the rotation axes A1 to A5, so that the upper plate 110 and the lower plate 120 and the rotating units 130a to 130d are sequentially pivoted together. And adapted to be unfolded or folded along the rotation axes A1 to A5 relative to each other.

Figure 3 is a schematic view of the operation of the rotating unit of Figures 2A and 2B. Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 , in the embodiment, each of the rotating units 130 a to 130 d includes a limiting structure 136 . The stopper structures 136 of each adjacent one of the rotation units 130a to 130d are fitted to each other to restrict the rotation stroke of the rotation units 130a to 130d. Specifically, in the present embodiment, one of the rotating units 130a to 130d, for example, the rotating unit 130a shown in FIG. 2A, has a limiting convex portion 136a as the stopper structure 136. In contrast, the other adjacent one of the rotating units 130a to 130d, for example, the rotating unit 130b shown in FIG. 2B, has the limiting recess 136b as the limiting structure 136. when When the rotating units 130a and 130b are pivoted together, the limiting protrusion 136a of the rotating unit 130a is fitted to the limiting recess 136b of the rotating unit 130b, and is adapted to move within the limiting recess 136b, such as the dotted line of FIG. Shown. Further, the limiting projection 136a can only move in the limiting recess 136b to abut against the side wall of the limiting recess 136b. Thereby, the rotational stroke between the rotating units 130a and 130b is restricted by the limiting convex portion 136a and the limiting concave portion 136b, and the unintended displacement of the rotating units 130a and 130b can be prevented. Similarly, the limiting protrusion 136a and the limiting recess as the limiting structure 136 may be disposed between the upper plate 110 and the rotating unit 130a, between the rotating units 130b to 130d, and between the rotating unit 130d and the lower plate 120. 136b, but the present invention does not limit the specific structure and configuration of the limiting structure 136, which can be adjusted according to requirements. Thereby, in the present embodiment, the number of rotation units 130a to 130d and the rotation stroke can be adjusted as needed. For example, when the operating angle of the hinge structure 100 is 360 degrees, the embodiment adopts four rotating units 130a to 130d and has five rotating axes A1 to A5, and the rotation stroke thereof may be between 70 and 80 degrees, Achieve 360 operating angles. When the number of rotating units used is large, the rotational stroke of each rotating unit can be relatively small, and when the number of rotating units used is small, the rotational stroke of each rotating unit may need to be relatively increased. In addition, when the operating angle of the hinge structure 100 is small (for example, 180 degrees), the required rotation unit or the rotation type of each rotation unit can also be reduced accordingly, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

Moreover, in the present embodiment, the more the number of the rotating units 130a to 130d, the more the operational state of the hinge structure 100 can be changed. For example, the rotation units 130a to 130d are adapted to rotate relative to the same clock direction along the rotation axis D1 In order to fold or unfold in sequence, the rotation units 130a to 130d are rendered in a "C" shape or a "one" shape. Further, the rotation units 130a to 130d are not limited to being sequentially expanded or folded in order to rotate in the same clock direction along the rotation axis D1. In other words, a part of the rotating units 130a to 130d can be rotated in the clockwise direction along the rotational axis D1, and another portion of the rotating units 130a to 130d can be rotated in the counterclockwise direction along the rotational axis D1, thereby causing the rotating unit 130a to 130d presents the "S" shape. Wherein, when the rotating units 130a to 130d exhibit a "C" shape, a "one" shape or an "S" shape, the level of the hinge structure 100 changes in addition to the operating angle of the hinge structure 100. . It can be seen that when the number of the rotating units 130a to 130d is large, the hinge structure 100 can have more operational modes, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be more varied according to requirements.

4A to 4C are schematic views showing the operation of the hinge structure of Fig. 1 for an electronic device. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 4A , in the embodiment, the hinge structure 100 is suitable for connecting the two bodies 52 and 54 of the electronic device 50 . The electronic device 50 is, for example, a notebook, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The upper plate 110 of the hinge structure 100 is adapted to connect one of the two bodies 52 and 54 , such as the body 52 , and the lower plate 120 is adapted to connect one of the two bodies 52 and 54 , such as the body 54 . Specifically, in the present embodiment, the electronic device 50 includes two bodies 52 and 54 and a hinge structure 100 connecting the two bodies 52 and 54. Further, the hinge structure 100 further includes a plurality of shielding members 150 disposed outside the rotating units 130a to 130d and adapted to connect the two bodies 52 and 54. That is, the shielding member 150 can be used after the hinge structure 100 is connected to the two bodies 52 and 54 of the electronic device 50 by the upper board 110 and the lower board 120. The rotating units 130a to 130d are shielded, and the surface of the shield 150 is coplanar with the surfaces of the two bodies 52 and 54. As such, the electronic device 50 has a smooth and aesthetic appearance. Thereby, the two bodies 52 and 54 of the electronic device 50 are adapted to overlap or expand each other by the hinge structure 100 rotating relative to each other, thereby exhibiting a collapsed, unfolded or inverted state, and by friction between the rotating units 130a to 130d. Force positioning.

In detail, in the present embodiment, when the two bodies 52 and 54 overlap each other to assume a collapsed state, the upper plate 110 and the lower plate 120 connecting the two bodies 52 and 54 also overlap each other, and the rotating units 130a to 130d are provided. The outermost two sides (for example, 130a and 130d) are disposed opposite each other as shown in FIG. 4A. At this time, the operation faces of the two bodies 52 and 54 are, for example, display screens or keyboard modules, and are hidden between the two bodies 52 and 54. Thereafter, the upper plate 110, the lower plate 120 and the rotating units 130a to 130d of the hinge structure 100 are adapted to rotate relative to each other along the corresponding rotation axes A1 to A5 (indicated in FIG. 1) to drive the upper plate 110 and the lower plate 120 to each other. Expanded, the process of which is shown in Figures 4A-4B. Thereby, the operation faces 52a and 54a originally hidden between the two bodies 52 and 54 are thus exposed, and the user can operate the required operation faces 52a and 54a accordingly, for example, by watching the movie on the display screen, or by means of a keyboard. Module input data. Furthermore, the two bodies 52 and 54 which have been deployed to each other can be brought back to each other by the hinge structure 100 to exhibit a collapsed state, as shown in FIGS. 4B to 4A. Alternatively, the two bodies 52 and 54 that have been deployed to each other can also continue to rotate relative to each other by the hinge structure 100, and assume an inverted state. The upper plate 110 and the lower plate 120 of the hinge structure 100 and the rotating units 130a to 130d are rotatable relative to each other along the corresponding rotating axes A1 to A5 (indicated in FIG. 1 ) to drive the upper plate 110 to move to the lower plate 120 . The other side overlaps with each other, so that the two bodies 52 and 54 are in an inverted state, and the process is as shown in FIGS. 4B to 4C. Similarly, the two bodies 52 and 54 that have been in an inverted state can be unfolded or overlapped with each other by the hinge structure 100 to assume an unfolded or collapsed state, as shown in FIG. 4C to FIG. 4B or as shown in FIG. 4C to FIG. 4A. Shown.

In addition to the above three states, since the rotating units 130a to 130d of the present embodiment have a frictional force in close cooperation with each other, in fact, the two bodies 52 and 54 of the electronic device 50 can be positioned at an angle according to requirements by the hinge structure 100. It is any angle between 0 and 360 degrees. For example, the body 52 of the present embodiment can be rotated by the hinge structure 100 relative to the body 54 such that the angle between the two bodies 52 and 54 is 0 degrees, 180 degrees, and 360 degrees (corresponding to FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C). Show). In addition, the body 52 can be rotated by the hinge structure 100 relative to the body 54 to make the two bodies 52 and 54 have an obtuse angle (for example, 120 degrees), and are positioned by the friction between the rotating units 130a to 130d for use. The operating surface 52a of the body 52 can also be used while operating the operating surface 54a of the body 54 (for example, by inputting information from a keyboard module) (for example, by displaying information on a display screen). Furthermore, the electronic device 50 of the present invention is not limited to a notebook computer, and may be a combined electronic device composed of two tablets and a hinge structure 100. The tablet computers as the two bodies 52 and 54 can be docked with each other by the hinge structure 100, and are adapted to overlap or expand each other by the hinge structure 100 rotating relative to each other, thereby exhibiting a folded, unfolded or inverted state. Thus, when the electronic device assumes the inverted state, the operating surfaces 52a and 54a of both the bodies 52 and 54 (for example, both of the display screens) are directed toward the outside of the electronic device 50, and the two bodies 52 and 54 that are in the inverted state can also be rotated. Friction between units 130a to 130d Positioning. In this manner, the electronic device 50 can stand on a fixed platform (for example, a desktop) by the sides of the two bodies 52 and 54 to allow the user to simultaneously operate the two operation surfaces 52a and 54a, for example, by the electronic device 50. Display the use of the screen. Therefore, since the hinge structure 100 of the embodiment adopts a multi-axis design and has various changeable operation modes, the two bodies 52 and 54 connecting the hinge structure 100 can adjust the operation angle or the operation state according to requirements ( For example, the electronic device 50 of the present embodiment can arbitrarily adjust its operation angle, and thus has a variety of operation modes.

In summary, in the hinge structure of the present invention, the rotating units are pivotally connected together and have a plurality of rotating shafts, wherein the outermost two sides of the rotating unit are correspondingly connected to the upper and lower plates, and the rotating unit is adapted to Rotate relative to each other along the axis of rotation. Thereby, the hinge structure is suitable for connecting the two bodies of the electronic device, so that the two bodies are rotated relative to each other by the hinge structure, and are positioned by the frictional force between the rotating units after the relative rotation. Therefore, since the hinge structure is pivotally connected by a plurality of rotating units and has a plurality of rotating shafts, the two bodies of the electronic device can be expanded or inverted at a large angle by the hinge structure, and The frictional force positions its operating angle. Accordingly, the hinge structure of the present invention is suitable for connecting two bodies in an electronic device, so that the electronic device is adapted to arbitrarily adjust its operating angle, and thus has a variety of operation modes.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some changes and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100‧‧‧Hinged structure

110‧‧‧Upper board

120‧‧‧ Lower board

130a, 130b, 130c, 130d‧‧‧ rotating unit

132a, 132b, 132c, 132d‧‧‧ first pivotal

134a, 134b, 134c, 134d‧‧‧ second pivotal joint

140‧‧‧ pivotal parts

A1, A2, A3, A4, A5‧‧‧ rotating shaft

D1‧‧‧Rotary axis

Claims (8)

A hinge structure, which is suitable for connecting two bodies of an electronic device, the hinge structure comprises: an upper plate adapted to connect one of the two bodies; a lower plate adapted to connect one of the two bodies; and Rotating units, which are pivotally connected together, and have a plurality of rotating shafts, wherein the outermost two of the rotating units are correspondingly connected to the upper plate and the lower plate, and the rotating units are adapted to be along The rotating shafts rotate relative to each other and drive the upper plate and the lower plate to rotate the two bodies relative to each other by the hinge structure, and are positioned by a frictional force between the rotating units. The rotation unit includes at least one limiting structure, and the limiting structures of each adjacent one of the rotating units cooperate with each other, wherein one of the rotating units has a limiting convex portion, and the rotating unit The other adjacent one has a limiting recess, and the limiting protrusion cooperates with the limiting recess and is adapted to move in the limiting recess until it abuts against a sidewall of the limiting recess to limit the Rotating unit Rotational travel. The hinge structure of claim 1, wherein the rotating shafts extend in a rotational axis parallel to each other to rotate the upper plate relative to the lower plate along the rotational axis. The hinge structure of claim 1, wherein each of the rotating units includes a first pivoting portion and a second pivoting portion, the first pivoting portion connecting the upper plate or the other of the rotating units The second pivoting portion of an adjacent one, and the second pivoting portion connects the first pivoting portion or the lower plate of another adjacent one of the rotating units. The hinge structure of claim 3, further comprising a plurality of pivoting members, wherein each of the rotating units has a first opening located at the first pivoting portion and a second pivoting portion a second opening corresponding to the second opening of the upper panel or another adjacent one of the rotating units, and the second opening corresponds to the other neighbor of the rotating units a first opening or a lower plate, and the pivoting members are correspondingly inserted into the first openings and the second openings to pivotally connect each adjacent one of the rotating units and correspond to the rotating shafts . The hinge structure of claim 1, wherein the rotating units are tightly fitted to each other such that each of the rotating units has a frictional force between the two adjacent rotating units The frictional force is sequentially increased from the upper plate to the lower plate. The hinge structure according to claim 1, wherein the outermost two of the rotating units are disposed opposite to each other when the upper plate and the lower plate overlap each other, and the rotating units are adapted to be along the The rotating shafts rotate relative to each other to drive the upper plate and the lower plate to unfold one another, or to move the upper plate to the other side of the lower plate. The hinge structure according to claim 1, wherein the rotating units exhibit a "C" shape, a "one" shape or an "S" shape by rotating each other. The hinge structure according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of shielding members disposed outside the rotating units and adapted to connect the two bodies.