TWI803391B - Hinge structure and terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

A hinge structure includes two hinge arms, a fixing structure, and at least one ball. Each hinge arm includes a hinge gear portion, a shaft hole and a groove are defined on the hinge gear portion, and the shaft hole is communicated with the groove. The fixing structure includes two central shafts, each of which is penetrated in the shaft hole; the at least one ball is accommodated in the groove. The at least one ball and the central shaft are in an interference fit, and the at least one ball and the central shaft generate damping when they rotate relative to each other or have a tendency to rotate relative to each other, so that the two hinge arms maintain an opening and closing angle. The above hinge structure has a long service life and saves space. The present disclosure also provides a terminal device.

Description

Hinge structure and terminal device

The present application relates to the field of mechanical technology, in particular to a hinge structure and a terminal device.

A hinge structure with a self-locking function is widely used in terminal devices. With the miniaturization design of the terminal device, the volume of the hinge structure in the terminal device is getting smaller and smaller, so that the strength of the components in the hinge structure is reduced due to the limitation of the volume of the hinge structure, and the service life of the hinge structure is shortened; in addition, some hinges The structural rotation is not smooth, which affects the user experience.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a hinge structure and terminal device with long service life, smooth rotation and small volume.

A hinge structure, comprising two hinge arms, a fixing structure and balls; each hinge arm includes a hinge gear part, the hinge gear part is provided with a shaft hole and a groove, and the shaft hole communicates with the groove; the fixing structure includes two central shafts, Each central shaft is passed through the shaft hole; the balls are accommodated in the groove; wherein, the balls are in interference fit with the central shaft.

In a possible implementation manner, the hinge gear part includes a toothed structure and a damping structure, the toothed structure and the damping structure surround the central axis, and a groove is provided on a surface of the damping structure facing the shaft hole.

In a possible implementation manner, the groove is also provided on the tooth-shaped structure.

In a possible implementation manner, the hinge structure further includes a connecting gear, the connecting gear is meshedly connected and located between the hinge gear parts, and the connecting gear is meshedly connected with the corresponding hinge gear part.

In a possible implementation, there are two connecting gears, the line connecting the axes of the two central shafts is the first line segment, the line connecting the axes of the two connecting gears is the second line segment, and the first line segment and The second line segment intersects.

In a possible implementation, there are two connecting gears, the line connecting the axes of the two central shafts is the first line segment, the line connecting the axes of the two connecting gears is the second line segment, and the first line segment and The second line segment is parallel.

In a possible implementation manner, the hinge structure further includes a hinge cap, and the opposite ends of the hinge cap are respectively provided with card slots; each hinge arm also includes a connection part connected with the hinge gear part, and each connection part passes through the corresponding card slot.

In a possible implementation manner, the fixing structure further includes a fixing cylinder, the fixing cylinder is fixedly connected to the two central shafts, and the fixing cylinder is fixedly connected to the hinge cap.

In a possible implementation, the hinge structure further includes a gear lock, the gear lock includes four through holes, two connecting gears, two central shafts and two connecting gears respectively pass through the through holes, the gear lock and the fixing cylinder Fixed connection.

A terminal device includes a hinge structure.

The hinge structure provided by the embodiment of the present application generates damping through the interference fit between the ball and the central axis, and the point contact between the ball and the central axis replaces the surface contact in the related art, thereby improving the service life of the hinge structure; Cam-type hinge structure, the hinge structure has no stutter during the rotation process, and the rotation is smooth; the ball is set in the groove of the hinge gear part, and there is no need to increase the volume of the hinge structure.

In order to more clearly understand the above objects, features and advantages of the present application, the present application will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that, in the case of no conflict, the embodiments of the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. A lot of specific details are set forth in the following description to facilitate a full understanding of the application, and the described implementations are only a part of the implementations of the application, but not all of the implementations.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the technical field to which this application belongs. The terminology used herein in the description of the application is only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and is not intended to limit the application. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes all and any combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

In each embodiment of the present application, for the convenience of description and not to limit the present application, the term "connection" used in the description of the patent application and the patent scope of the present application is not limited to physical or mechanical connection, whether direct or indirect of. "Up", "Down", "Above", "Bottom", "Left", "Right" and so on are only used to indicate the relative positional relationship. When the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship is also corresponding Change.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , a compression spring type hinge structure 101' is provided in the related art of the present application, and the elastic force of the compression spring 81' provides damping for the self-locking function of the hinge structure 101'. However, the hinge structure 101' produces damping changes through the compression and recovery deformation of the compression spring 81', so enough space is required to enable the compression spring 81' to compress and recover deformation, resulting in a large space occupied by the compression spring 81' type hinge structure 101' , when reducing the size of each component to meet the requirements of miniaturized terminal devices, the service life of the hinge structure 101 ′ will be shortened.

Please refer to Fig. 2. In the related art of this application, a hinge structure 102' combining a compression spring 81' and a cam 82' is provided. By changing the relative position of the two cams 82', the compression spring 81' is deformed and restored, and the same hinge The structure 102' occupies a large space, and reducing the size of each component to meet the requirements of miniaturized terminal devices will shorten the service life of the hinge structure 102'; in addition, the shape of the cam 82' is undulating, and the rotation of the hinge arm 10 will cause a pause , when the user uses the product with the hinge structure 102', he will feel that the rotation is not smooth.

Please refer to FIG. 3 . In the related art of the present application, there is provided a hinge structure 103 ′ in which the blocking piece 83 ′ interferes. The hinge structure 103 ′ includes a gear 85 ′. In surface contact with the gear 85', the friction between the blocking piece 83' and the gear 85' provides damping for the hinge structure 103'. The setting of the blocking piece 83' causes the length of the gear 85' to be reduced, and the life of the gear 85' is correspondingly reduced, or if the length of the gear 85' is not reduced, the volume of the hinge structure 103' is correspondingly increased; in addition, the blocking piece 83' In surface contact with the gear 85 ′, the loss caused by frictional heat generation is large, and without compensation, the damping attenuation is fast, resulting in a short service life of the hinge structure 103 ′.

Please refer to Fig. 4, a concave-convex wheel type hinge structure 104' is provided in the related art of the present application. The hinge structure 104' adopts the concave-convex wheel 86' and the shrapnel 87' (which can also be a compression spring) to provide damping. The relative rotation of the concave cam 86' makes the compression and recovery deformation of the elastic piece 87' produce damping changes, and also requires enough space to enable the compression and recovery deformation of the elastic piece 87', resulting in a large space occupied by the concave-cam hinge structure 104', which reduces the When the size of each component meets the requirements of miniaturized terminal devices, the service life of the hinge structure 104 ′ will be shortened; in addition, the hinge structure 104 ′ of concave-convex wheel type rotates on a single axis and has a large opening and closing stroke.

Therefore, it is necessary to improve the above technical problems.

Please refer to Fig. 5, the embodiment of the present application provides a terminal device 200, the terminal device 200 is a product that can use the hinge structure 100, the terminal device 200 can be an electronic product, including but not limited to mobile phones, notebook computers, cameras, drones , a desk lamp, etc.; the terminal device 200 may also be a non-electronic product, including but not limited to a Bluetooth earphone box, a glasses box, and the like. In this embodiment, it is taken that the terminal device 200 is a folding screen mobile phone as an example.

The terminal device 200 also includes a first body 210 and a second body 220 , the hinge structure 100 connects the first body 210 and the second body 220 , and the relative angle between the first body 210 and the second body 220 can be changed through the function of the hinge structure 100 .

The specific names of the first body 210 and the second body 220 are related to the actual application scenarios of the hinge structure 100 . For example, in this embodiment, both the first body 210 and the second body 220 are where the screen is located; in other embodiments, for example, when the terminal device 200 is a notebook computer, the first body 210 is where the keyboard is located, The second body 220 is where the screen is located.

Referring to FIG. 6 , FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 , the hinge structure 100 includes two hinge arms 10 , balls 30 , two connecting gears 40 , hinge cap 50 , fixing structure 60 and gear lock 70 . The fixed structure 60 includes two central shafts 20, each central shaft 20 passes through a hinge arm 10, and the ball 30 is located between the hinge arm 10 and the central shaft 20 to provide damping for the self-locking function of the hinge structure 100; the two connections The gear 40 meshes and connects the two hinge arms 10 , and the hinge cap 50 , the fixing structure 60 and the gear lock 70 are used to connect each element as a whole.

Each hinge arm 10 includes a hinge gear part 11, a connecting part 13 and a fixing part 15, and the connecting part 13 connects the hinge gear part 11 and the fixing part 15, wherein the fixing part 15 of one hinge arm 10 is used to fix the first body 210, and the other A fixing portion 15 of the hinge arm 10 is used for fixing the second body 220 .

Please also refer to FIG. 9 , the hinge gear part 11 defines a shaft hole 111 and a groove 1151 , and the groove 1151 communicates with the shaft hole 111 . The shaft hole 111 is used for the central shaft 20 to pass through, so that the hinge arms 10 can rotate around their respective central shafts 20; the balls 30 are accommodated in the grooves 1151, and the balls 30 and the central shaft 20 are interference fit, that is, the balls 30 and the central shaft 20 are in close contact with each other, and when the ball 30 and the central shaft 20 rotate relative to each other or have a tendency to rotate relative to each other, damping is generated, so that the two hinge arms 10 maintain an opening and closing angle. Wherein, the ball 30 used to generate damping is arranged in the hinge gear part 11, no additional space for accommodating the ball 30 is required, that is, the volume of the hinge structure 100 will not be increased; in addition, the ball 30 is in point contact with the central shaft 20, During the damping process, the contact area is small, the wear of the hinge structure 100 is small during use, and the service life of the hinge structure 100 is long.

Referring to FIG. 9 , the hinge gear part 11 includes a toothed structure 113 and a damping structure 115 arranged along the circumferential direction. Teeth 1131 are provided on the surface of the toothed structure 113 facing away from the shaft hole 111, and a plurality of grooves 1151 are provided on the surface of the damping structure 115 facing the shaft hole 111, that is, no teeth 1131 are provided at the positions where the grooves 1151 are opened, so that the toothed structure 113 The thicknesses of the damping structure 115 and the damping structure 115 are both moderate, which increases the service life of the hinge gear part 11 , thereby reducing or avoiding that some areas of the hinge gear part 11 are too thin and affect the service life.

The number of grooves 1151 can be one or more. In this embodiment, the damping structure 115 is provided with a plurality of grooves 1151, and each groove 1151 accommodates a plurality of balls 30, thereby increasing the damping, and making the damping evenly distributed. Wherein, two adjacent grooves 1151 are arranged at intervals, so that the thickness of the damping structure 115 between the two adjacent grooves 1151 is moderate, further improving the service life of the hinge gear part 11 .

There is a certain assembly gap between the inner surface of the hinge gear part 11 and the central shaft 20 , so that no friction occurs when the hinge gear part 11 rotates compared with the central shaft 20 , which can improve the user's opening and closing feel.

Two connecting gears 40 are arranged between the two hinge arms 10, and the two connecting gears 40 are meshed and connected, and one of the connecting gears 40 is meshed with one hinge gear part 11, and the other connecting gear 40 is meshed with the other hinge gear part 11. Mesh connection, the two hinge arms 10 are meshed and connected through two connecting gears 40, so that the two hinge arms 10 can move synchronously.

A rod portion 41 (see FIG. 8 ) is disposed at the end of each connecting gear 40 , and the rod portion 41 is used to limit the rotation of the hinge gear portion 11 without displacement.

In this embodiment, the connection of the axes of the two central shafts 20 is the first line segment L1, the connection of the axes of the two connecting gears 40 is the second line segment L2, and the first line segment L1 and the second line segment L2 The intersection means that the two central shafts 20 and the two connecting gears 40 are not on the same straight line, which can save the installation space of the hinge structure 100 .

In some embodiments, the two connecting gears 40 may also be omitted, or the number of connecting gears 40 is not limited to two, as long as the two hinge arms 10 can be rotated relative to each other.

The hinge cap 50 is roughly in the shape of a sheet. The hinge cap 50 is provided with two slots 51 at its opposite ends. Each slot 51 is roughly C-shaped, and the two slots 51 are opposite to each other. Each slot 51 is connected to the connecting portion 13 of each hinge arm 10 , the connecting portion 13 passes through the slot 51 , and the hinge cap 50 connects the two hinge arms 10 as a whole.

Two accommodating grooves 53 are defined on the surface of the hinge cap 50 facing the connecting gear 40 , and the concave direction of the two accommodating grooves 53 is perpendicular to the concave direction of the locking groove 51 . The accommodating groove 53 is used for accommodating the rod portion 41 of the connecting gear 40 so as to limit the connecting gear 40 so that the connecting gear 40 can only rotate but not move.

The fixing structure 60 also includes a fixing cylinder 61. The fixing cylinder 61 is roughly a hollow structure inside. The fixing cylinder 61 and the two central shafts 20 are fixed to each other. In this embodiment, the fixing cylinder 61 and the central shaft 20 are integrally formed. In other embodiments, the fixing method of the fixing cylinder 61 and the central shaft 20 is not limited, and the central shaft 20 is arranged in the fixing cylinder at intervals and in parallel. The two hinge gear parts 11 , the two connecting gears 40 and the hinge cap 50 are accommodated in the fixing barrel 61 , so that the components can be assembled as a whole, and the two hinge arms 10 can rotate around their respective central axes 20 .

The gear lock 70 is a sheet body, offering two through holes 71 and two through holes 73, and two central shafts 20 pass through the two through holes 71; the rods 41 of the two connecting gears 40 pass through the other two respectively. There are two through holes 73, and the gear lock 70 is accommodated in the fixed cylinder 61 and fixedly connected with the fixed cylinder 61.

In order to more clearly illustrate that the two hinge arms 10 in the hinge structure 100 realize the synchronous rotation and damping functions in this embodiment, please refer to FIG. 9 to FIG. 11 , and the closing process of the hinge structure 100 provided in this embodiment will be described in detail below.

Please refer to FIG. 9 , the two hinge arms 10 are on the same plane, that is, the angle between the two hinge arms 10 is 180°, and the two hinge arms 10 are in an open state.

Referring to FIG. 10 , an external force is applied to the hinge arm 10 so that the rotational moment on the hinge arm 10 can overcome the frictional force between the ball 30 and the central shaft 20 , the hinge arm 10 rotates relative to the central shaft 20 , and the hinge arm 10 The rotation drives the connecting gear 40 to rotate. When the angle between the two hinge arms 10 meets the angle required for actual use (in this embodiment, it is specifically 90°), the damping generated by the friction between the ball 30 and the central shaft 20 can be maintained when the external force is removed. The opening and closing angle between the two hinged arms 10. Wherein, each hinge arm 10 is rotated by 45° compared with its respective central axis 20 , which means that each hinge arm 10 can save half of the stroke.

Please refer to FIG. 11 , continue to apply external force to the hinge arm 10, so that the rotational moment received by the hinge arm 10 can overcome the friction force between the ball 30 and the central shaft 20, and the hinge arm 10 is further rotated compared with the central shaft 20, and the hinge The rotation of the arm 10 drives the connecting gear 40 to rotate until the angle between the two hinge arms 10 is 0°, that is, the hinge structure 100 is in a closed state.

Please refer to FIG. 12 . In other embodiments, a hinge structure 100a is provided. On the premise of satisfying the service life of the hinge gear part 11, a groove 1151a can also be provided on the surface of the toothed structure 113 facing the shaft hole 111. The groove 1151a A plurality of balls 30a are accommodated in the center, thereby increasing the damping and making the distribution of the damping more uniform.

Referring to FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 , in other embodiments, a hinge structure 100b ( FIG. 13 ) and a hinge structure 100c ( FIG. 14 ) are provided, and the first line segment L1 and the second line segment L2 are parallel to each other. Wherein, the first line segment L1 and the second line segment L2 are parallel to each other including the coincidence of the first line segment L1 and the second line segment L2 (as shown in FIG. 13 ), that is, the two central axes 20 and the two connecting gears 40b are on the same straight line. In some embodiments, when the first line segment L1 is parallel to the second line segment L2, the two central shafts 20 and the two connecting gears 40c may not be on the same straight line (as shown in FIG. 14 ).

The hinge structure 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application generates damping through the interference fit between the ball 30 and the central shaft 20, and the ball 30 is in point contact with the central shaft 20, replacing the surface contact in the related art, thereby improving the service life of the hinge structure 100; The structure 100 replaces the cam-type hinge structure 100 in the related art, and the hinge structure 100 has no pauses during the rotation process, and the rotation is smooth; the ball 30 is arranged in the groove 1151 of the hinge gear part 11, without additionally increasing the volume of the hinge structure 100 .

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application without limitation. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the above preferred embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the technical solutions of the present application can be modified or equivalently replaced All should not deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the present application.

200: terminal device 210: The first body 220: The Second Body 100, 100a, 100b, 100c, 101', 102', 103', 104': hinge structure 10: hinged arm 11:Hinge gear part 111: shaft hole 113: tooth structure 1131: teeth 115: Damping structure 1151, 1151a: groove 13: Connecting part 15: fixed part 20: central axis 30, 30a: Ball 40, 40b, 40c: connection gear 41: stem 50: hinged cap 51: card slot 53: storage tank 60: fixed structure 61: fixed barrel 70: gear lock 71, 73: through hole L1: first line segment L2: second line segment 81': Compression spring 82': cam 83': Blocking piece 85': gear 86': Concave cam 87': Shrapnel

FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a compression spring type hinge structure provided in the related art of the present application. Fig. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a hinge structure combining a compression spring and a cam provided in the related art of the present application. FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a hinge structure that prevents sheet interference provided in the related art of the present application. FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a concave-convex wheel-type hinge structure provided in the related art of the present application. FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device including a hinge structure provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 6 is a structural schematic diagram of the hinge structure shown in FIG. 5 . Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure in which the fixing cylinder is separated from other components in the hinge structure shown in Fig. 6 . FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the hinge structure shown in FIG. 6 . FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the hinge structure shown in FIG. 6 along the direction IX-IX. Fig. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of two hinge arms in the hinge structure shown in Fig. 9 when they are relatively rotated to an angle of 90°. FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of two hinge arms in the hinge structure shown in FIG. 10 when they rotate relative to each other until the included angle is 0°. Fig. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a hinge structure provided by other embodiments of the present application. Fig. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a hinge structure provided by some other embodiments of the present application. Fig. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a hinge structure provided by some other embodiments of the present application.

none.

100: hinge structure

10: hinged arm

11:Hinge gear part

111: shaft hole

1151: Groove

13: Connecting part

15: fixed part

20: central axis

30: ball

40: Connecting Gears

41: stem

50: hinged cap

51: card slot

53: storage tank

60: fixed structure

61: fixed barrel

70: gear lock

71, 73: through hole

Claims (10)

A hinge structure, the improvement of which includes: Two hinge arms, each hinge arm includes a hinge gear part, and the hinge gear part is provided with a shaft hole and a groove, and the shaft hole communicates with the groove; a fixing structure comprising two central shafts, each of which passes through one of the shaft holes to fix the hinge gear; and a ball, the ball is accommodated in the groove; Wherein, the ball is in interference fit with the central shaft. The hinge structure according to claim 1, wherein the hinge gear part includes a tooth structure and a damping structure, the tooth structure and the damping structure are arranged around the central axis, and the groove is opened on the The damping structure is on the surface facing the shaft hole. The hinge structure according to claim 2, wherein the groove is also provided on the tooth-shaped structure. The hinge structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, the hinge structure further includes a connecting gear, the connecting gear is meshed and connected and located between the hinge gear parts, the connecting gear and the corresponding The hinge gear part is meshedly connected. The hinge structure according to claim 4, wherein there are two connecting gears, the line connecting the axes of the two central shafts is the first line segment, and the connecting line connecting the axes of the two connecting gears is a second line segment, the first line segment intersects the second line segment. The hinge structure according to claim 4, wherein there are two connecting gears, the line connecting the axes of the two central shafts is the first line segment, and the connecting line connecting the axes of the two connecting gears is a second line segment, and the first line segment is parallel to the second line segment. The hinge structure according to claim 4, wherein the hinge structure further includes a hinge cap, and the opposite ends of the hinge cap are respectively provided with slots; each of the hinge arms also includes a hinge connected to the hinge gear part. connecting parts, and each connecting part passes through the corresponding card slot. The hinge structure according to claim 7, wherein the fixing structure further includes a fixing cylinder, the fixing cylinder is fixedly connected to the two central shafts, and the fixing cylinder is fixedly connected to the hinge cap. The hinge structure according to claim 8, wherein the hinge structure further includes a gear lock, the gear lock includes four through holes, there are two connecting gears, two central shafts and two The connecting gears are respectively passed through the corresponding through holes, and the gear lock is fixedly connected with the fixing cylinder. A terminal device, the improvement of which is that the terminal device includes the hinge structure described in any one of Claims 1-9.

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