WO2008038843A1

WO2008038843A1 - Sliding module of mobile phone

Info

Publication number: WO2008038843A1
Application number: PCT/KR2006/003810
Authority: WO
Inventors: Myung Hoon Choi
Original assignee: Myung Hoon Choi
Priority date: 2006-09-25
Filing date: 2006-09-25
Publication date: 2008-04-03

Abstract

Disclosed is a sliding module of a mobile phone which can realize compactness and slimness of the mobile phone, thereby improving the durability and productivity. The sliding module includes a main unit, a sliding unit, and an elastic unit. The elastic unit includes an elastic portion spirally wound in a direction as the elastic portion progresses outward, and a stress dispersion unit spirally wound in a direction opposite to the direction in which the elastic portion is wound as the stress dispersion unit progresses inward. Thus, according to the present invention, a height of the elastic unit is reduced, thereby realizing slimness of the mobile phone, and stress concentration on the elastic portion is prevented, thereby improving durability of the elastic portion and improving productivity due to a simplified assembly process.

Description

SLIDING MODULE OF MOBILE PHONE

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a sliding module of a mobile phone, and more particularly, to a sliding module of a mobile phone which realizes compactness and slimness of the mobile phone by improving a structure of the mobile phone, thereby improving the durability and productivity.

Background Art Usually, a slide type mobile phone of mobile phones includes a main body, and a cover slidingly moved with respect to the main body. Sliding movement between the main body and the cover is performed by a sliding module.

The sliding module includes a main unit coupled with the main body, and a sliding unit slidingly connected with the main unit and coupled with the cover. Also, the sliding module includes an elastic unit mounted between the main unit and the sliding unit, so that sliding movement between the main unit and the sliding unit is elastically performed.

A structure of the elastic unit which enables elastic sliding movement between the main unit and the sliding unit will be described herein with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an elastic unit of a sliding module of a conventional mobile phone, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 1.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional elastic unit 10 includes an elastic portion 12 spirally wound in one direction, a first wire portion 14 integrally extended from a free end of the elastic portion 12 which progresses outward, and a second wire portion 16 integrally extended from another free end of the elastic portion 12 which progresses inward and further extended outward in such a manner as to cross over the elastic portion 12 in a direction different from a direction in which the first wire 14 is extended.

The elastic unit 10 is mounted between objects performing mutual sliding movement, so that each object is elastically moved. However, the conventional elastic unit and the sliding module having the same have several problems which will be described as follows.

First, the elastic unit has a restriction in reducing the thickness due to its structural characteristic, which results in restriction in slimness of the mobile phone. Specifically, since the wire portion of the conventional elastic unit is disposed crossing over the elastic portion, a thickness of a spring gets greater as a part of the wire portion crossing over the elastic portion is greater, thereby failing to reduce the thickness the mobile phone.

Moreover, the conventional unit has problems such as deteriorated stability and reliability due to interference occurring between the elastic unit and the wire portion. That is, mutual friction between the elastic portion and the wire portion is caused by mutual operation therebetween, thereby generating interference on the sliding movement of the mobile phone, and generating abrasion on the mutual contact portion. Also, an operation noise is created due to the interference. Second, elastic force with respect to rotation is generated in the elastic portion, and deformation occurring due to the elastic force is concentrated on the elastic portion and thus, stress is concentrated on the elastic portion.

To this end, fatigue fracture of the elastic portion is caused by a significantly large number of repeated sliding operations of the mobile phone, and it becomes a cause of plastic deformation or damage of the elastic portion.

Third, when relative rotation occurs between the elastic unit and the main body or between the elastic unit and the sliding unit, a noise is created by mutual friction therebetween.

Fourth, when the elastic unit is connected at a free end thereof with the main unit and at another free end thereof with the sliding unit upon manufacturing the conventional sliding unit, the both ends of the elastic unit, each formed in a ring-shape, are required to be fixed by a fixing means such as a rivet. As a result, the assembly process becomes complex and the manufacturing time becomes longer.

Disclosure of Invention Technical Goals

An aspect of the present invention provides a sliding module of a mobile phone which realizes compactness and slimness of the mobile phone.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a sliding module of a mobile phone which prevents stress from being concentrated on a specific portion of an elastic unit of the mobile phone, thereby improving the durability. Still another aspect of the present invention provides a sliding module of a mobile phone which prevents generation of mutual friction between components of the mobile phone and also prevents occurrence of a noise due to the mutual friction.

Yet, another aspect of the present invention provides a sliding module of a mobile phone which simplifies the mutual connection between a main unit, an elastic unit, and a sliding unit of the mobile phone upon manufacturing the mobile phone, thereby improving the productivity.

Technical solutions

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sliding module of a mobile phone including a main unit; a sliding unit slidingly coupled with the main unit; and an elastic unit mounted between the main unit and the sliding unit, wherein the elastic unit includes an elastic portion spirally wound either in a clockwise direction or in a counterclockwise direction as the elastic portion progresses outward, the elastic portion having a coupling part, formed in a middle portion of the elastic portion, rotatably connected with the main unit, and also the elastic unit includes a stress dispersion portion integrally extended from the elastic portion and spirally wound in a direction opposite to the direction in which the elastic portion is wound as the stress dispersion portion progresses inward, the stress dispersion portion having a coupling part, formed in a middle portion of the stress dispersion portion, rotatably connected with the sliding unit.

Preferably, the coupling part of the elastic portion and the coupling part of the stress dispersion portion are disposed with a predetermined slope with respect to an imaginary horizontal line and opposed to each other.

Preferably, a number of times the elastic portion is wound is greater than a number of times the stress dispersion portion is wound. More specifically, the number of times the elastic portion is wound is about 1.2 to 3.5 times the number of times the stress dispersion portion is wound. Preferably, the elastic portion and the stress dispersion portion are formed on a single imaginary plane.

Preferably, at least one of the respective coupling parts of the elastic portion and the stress dispersion portion is connected with either the main unit or the sliding unit by a rivet. Here, a bushing made of a lubricant material is mounted between the coupling part of either the elastic portion or the stress dispersion portion and the rivet.

Preferably, at least one of the respective coupling parts of the elastic portion and the stress dispersion portion has a diameter equal to or slightly less than that of the rivet, so that at least one of the respective coupling parts is latched and connected with the rivet in a state where the rivet is previously mounted in either the main unit or the sliding unit.

Preferably, a main body of the mobile phone coupled with the main unit includes a first body and a second body rotatably coupled with the first body. Here, rotation between the first body and the second body is preferably performed within a predetermined angle.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an elastic unit of a sliding module of a conventional mobile phone; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view illustrating a mobile phone according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view illustrating a mobile phone according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating a sliding module of FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a sliding module of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating an elastic unit of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating an elastic unit relating to a modified example of FIG. 7; FIG. 9 is a front perspective view illustrating a state where a cover of a mobile phone is closed according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a front perspective view illustrating a state where a cover of a mobile phone is opened according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a sliding module of FIGS. 9 and 10.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a main configuration of a mobile phone according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be hereinafter described in detail.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are a front perspective view and a rear perspective view of a mobile phone, respectively, according to the present exemplary embodiment of the invention.

According to the present exemplary embodiment of the invention, the mobile phone comprises a main body 200, a cover 300 slidingly moved with respect to the main body 200, and a sliding module 100 performing a sliding movement between the main body 200 and the cover 300.

The main body 200 includes an input unit 210 formed on a side surface thereof and having a plurality of input buttons for inputting telephone numbers or short messages, and a transmission unit 230 formed below the input unit 210 for transmitting a user's voice or recoding voice massages. The cover 300 includes a display portion 310 formed on a side surface thereof for displaying transceiving information, and an auxiliary input unit 350 having various functional buttons. Also, the cover 300 includes a reception portion 330 formed above the display portion 310 for listening to an opposing party's voice. Here, specific arrangement and configuration of the main body 200 and the cover 300 may vary according to a designer's intention.

Also, although not shown, the main body 200 and the cover 300 may be additionally provided with a camera or various devices for performing other additional functions.

The sliding module 100 is connected at a side thereof with the main body 200 and at another side thereof with the cover 300, so that a sliding operation between the main body 200 and the cover 300 is performed. A specific configuration of the sliding module 100 of the mobile phone according to the first exemplary embodiment of the invention will be herein described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

The sliding module 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment of the invention comprises a main unit 110, a sliding unit 130 slidingly coupled with the main unit 110, and an elastic unit 150 mounted between the main unit 110 and the sliding unit 130.

The main unit 110 is formed in a flat-plate shape, and is coupled with the main body 200. Right and left end portions of the main unit 110 are bended downward and inward in such a manner as to be formed in a '^c ' shape defining a recess therein, respectively. An intermediate member 116 is inserted into the recess.

The sliding unit 130 is formed in a flat-plate shape, and is coupled with the cover 300. A guide protrusion 136 is formed on right and left end portions of the sliding unit 130 along a longitudinal direction of the sliding unit 130, respectively, in conformity with the shape of the intermediate member 116. The guide protrusion 136 of the sliding unit 130 is accommodated in a recess formed in the intermediate member 116 in a state where the intermediate member 116 is inserted into the recess of the main unit 110, and serves to guide a vertical sliding movement between the main unit 110 and the intermediate member 115.

The elastic unit 150 allows the mutual sliding movement between the main unit 110 and the sliding unit 130 to be elastically performed.

The elastic unit 150, which is mounted between the main unit 110 and the sliding unit 130, stores elastic force when the main unit 110 is moved from a side end portion of the sliding unit 130 to a middle portion of the same along the longitudinal direction of the sliding unit 130, and then, after passing the critical point of the elastic unit 150, the elastic unit 150 is restored to the former state by its restoration force. As a result, the main unit 110 is automatically moved to another side end portion of the sliding unit 130 by the restoration force. The elastic unit 150 includes an elastic portion 152 spirally wound either in a clockwise direction or in a counterclockwise direction as the elastic portion 152 progresses outward, and a stress dispersion portion 154 integrally extended from the elastic portion 152 and spirally wound in a direction opposite to the direction in which the elastic portion 152 is wound as the stress dispersion portion 154 progresses inward.

According to the present exemplary embodiment of the invention, the elastic portion 152 of the elastic unit 150 is spirally wound in a counterclockwise direction as the elastic portion 152 progresses outward, and the stress dispersion portion 154 is spirally wound in a clockwise direction as the stress dispersion portion 154 progresses inward. A specific shape of the elastic unit 150 will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

The elastic portion 152 and the stress dispersion portion 154 are preferably mounted on an identical flat-plate of a single layer. To this end, an overall height of the elastic unit 150 is reduced, which results in minimizing the thickness of the sliding module 100.

The elastic portion 152 has a coupling part 152a (see FIG. 7) formed in a middle portion thereof, and rotatably connected with the main unit 110. The stress dispersion portion 154 has a coupling part 154a (see FIG. 7) formed in a middle portion thereof, and rotatably connected with the sliding unit 130. As illustrated in FIG. 5, according to the present exemplary embodiment of the invention, the coupling part 152a of the elastic portion 152 and the coupling part 154a of the sliding unit 130 are disposed with a predetermined slope with respect to an imaginary horizontal line and opposed to each other. Specifically, the coupling part 152a is connected with a middle portion of the main unit 110 in a transversal direction of the main unit 110, and the coupling part 154a is connected with a side portion of the sliding unit 130 in a transversal direction of the sliding unit 130.

Here, there is no limitation in the connection method in which the elastic unit

150 is rotatably connected with the main unit 110 or the sliding unit 130. However, according to the present exemplary embodiment of the invention, it is preferable that the elastic unit 150 is rotatably connected with the main unit 110 and the sliding unit 130 by rivets 112 and 132, respectively.

Also, according to the present exemplary embodiment of the invention, bushings 114 and 134 are mounted between the elastic unit 150 and the rivets 112 and 132. The bushings 114 and 134 serve to minimize frictional force between the elastic unit 150 and the rivets 112 and 132 in order to enable smooth sliding and prevent a noise generated due to the friction. To this end, the bushings 114 and 134 are preferably made of a lubricant material for enabling to minimize the frictional force.

In the sliding module of the mobile phone including the elastic portion 152 and the stress dispersion portion 154 according to the present exemplary embodiment of the invention, the connections between the rivet 112 and the elastic portion 152, and between the rivet 134 and the stress dispersion portion 154 are not removed due to geometric characteristics in the structure of the elastic portion 152 and the stress dispersion portion 154 even when each diameter of the coupling parts 152a and 154a is almost same as each diameter of the rivets 112 and 132.

In the case where the elastic portion 152 and the stress dispersion portion 154 are individually provided, as in the present exemplary embodiment of the invention, each diameter of the coupling parts 152a and 154a is preferably equal to or slightly less than the diameter of each of the rivets 112 and 132.

Unlike a conventional method in which the elastic unit 150 is precisely positioned on a connection position on the main unit 110 and the sliding unit 130 and then fixed by rivets 112 and 132, the rivets 112 and 132 are mounted in advance on the main unit 110 and the sliding unit 130, respectively, and then the coupling parts 152a and 154a are fit around the rivets 112 and 132, thereby permitting the elastic unit 150 to be readily coupled with the main unit 110 and the sliding unit 130.

In this manner, the elastic unit 150 is readily coupled with the main unit 110 and the sliding unit 150 while the connection between the main unit 110 and the elastic unit 150 is not removed by elastic force of the elastic unit 150 resulting from adjustment of each diameter of the coupling parts 152a and 154a of the elastic portion 152 and the stress dispersion unit 154, thereby simplifying the assembly process.

A specific shape of the elastic unit 150 will be herein described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating the elastic unit 150 of FIG. 5, and FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating the elastic unit 150 relating to a modified example of FIG. 7.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the elastic unit 150 according to the present exemplary embodiment of the invention includes the elastic portion 152 spirally wound in a counterclockwise direction as the elastic portion 152 progresses outward, and the stress dispersion portion 154 spirally wound in a clockwise direction as the stress dispersion portion 154 progresses inward. A connection portion 156 connecting the elastic portion 152 and the stress dispersion portion 154 has a point of inflection, the point at which the curve changes its direction of curvature, formed thereon.

Here, the coupling part 152a of the elastic portion 152 is rotatably coupled with a middle portion of the main unit 110, and the coupling part 154a of the stress dispersion unit 154 is connected with a side portion of the sliding unit 130. It was found by an applicant of the present invention that when the stress dispersion unit 154 spirally wound in a direction opposite to the direction in which the elastic portion 152 is wound is provided, stress concentration on the elastic portion 152 is significantly reduced, which leads to uniform dispersion of stress, thereby improving durability of the elastic portion 152. In particular, when a number of times the elastic portion 152 is wound is about

1.2 to 3.5 times a number of times the stress dispersion portion 154 is wound, a stress concentration phenomenon is most remarkably reduced, and also a phenomenon where a greater amount of stress is locally exerted on a portion of the elastic portion 150 is remarkably reduced. According to the present exemplary embodiment of the invention, the number of times the elastic portion 152 is wound is about 3.5, and the number of times the stress dispersion portion 154 is about 2.2, which results in a ratio therebetween of about 1 :1.6.

Above, one elastic unit 150 is used for the sliding unit according to the present exemplary embodiment of the invention. However, unlike this, two elastic units 150 are arranged either right-and-left symmetrically with each other, or point-symmetrically with each other in order to adjust imbalance of the elastic unit 150, thereby increasing elastic force of the elastic unit 150 upon sliding-movement of the sliding unit of the mobile phone.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, an elastic unit 250 according to the present exemplary embodiment of the invention includes an elastic portion 252 spirally wound in a clockwise direction as the elastic portion 252 progresses outward, and a stress dispersion portion 254 spirally wound in a counterclockwise direction as the stress dispersion portion 254 progresses inward.

In this case, a coupling part 252a of the elastic portion 252 is connected with a middle portion of the main unit, and a coupling part 254a of the stress dispersion portion 254 is connected with a right side of the sliding unit 230. Hereinafter, configurations of a mobile phone and a sliding module for the mobile phone according to a second exemplary embodiment of the invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are front perspective views, respectively, illustrating a state where a cover of a mobile phone is closed and a state where the cover is opened according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Similar to the above-described first exemplary embodiment of the invention, the mobile phone according to the second exemplary embodiment of the invention includes a main body 500, a cover 600 slidingly moved with respect to the main body

500, and a sliding module 400 performing a sliding movement between the main body 500 and the cover 600.

Here, the main body 500 includes an input unit 531 and a transmission unit 533 formed thereon. The cover 600 includes a display portion 610, an auxiliary input unit 650, and a reception portion 630 formed thereon.

Meanwhile, unlike the first exemplary embodiment of the invention, the main body 500 is separately formed of a first body 510 and a second body 530. The first body 510 and the second body 530 are rotatably coupled with each other by a hinge unit.

The rotation between the first and second bodies 510 and 530 is performed within a predetermined angle.

Accordingly, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the first body 510 is bended within a predetermined angle in a state where the cover 600 is slidingly moved to an upper portion of the main body 500.

As a result, vertical movement of the cover 600 is prevented in a state where the cover 600 is opened, and the angle between the transmission unit 533 and the reception unit 630 of the mobile phone is suitable for a user on a call. A configuration of the sliding module of the mobile phone illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 11.

Similar to the first exemplary embodiment of the invention, the sliding module according to the present exemplary embodiment of the invention includes a main unit 410, a sliding unit 430 slidingly coupled with the main unit 410, and an elastic unit 450 mounted between the main unit 410 and the sliding unit 430.

The main unit 410 is coupled with the main body 500 and the sliding unit 430 is coupled with the cover 600.

The sliding unit 430 has four coupling holes 438 formed on four edge portions thereof. Here, a guide bar 436 is inserted into the coupling holes 438 in a longitudinal direction of the sliding unit 430, respectively. Also, the main unit 410 has a guide groove 438 formed on the right and left end portions thereof, respectively, in such a manner as to correspond to the guide bar 436, so that vertical sliding movement between the main unit 410 and the sliding unit 430 is guided.

Also, similar to the first exemplary embodiment of the invention, the elastic unit 450 includes an elastic portion 452 spirally wound either in a counterclockwise direction or a clockwise direction as the elastic portion 452 progresses outward, a stress dispersion portion 454 spirally wound in a direction opposite to the direction in which the elastic portion 452 is wound as the stress dispersion portion 454 progresses inward. A specific formation of the elastic unit 450 is the same as that in FIG. 8. Similar to the above-described first exemplary embodiment of the invention, bushings 414 and 434 are mounted between the elastic unit 450 and rivets 412 and 432, so that frictional force between the elastic unit 450 and the rivets 412 and 432 is minimized.

Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments. Instead, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A sliding module of a mobile phone comprising: a main unit; a sliding unit slidingly coupled with the main unit; and an elastic unit mounted between the main unit and the sliding unit, wherein the elastic unit includes an elastic portion spirally wound either in a clockwise direction or in a counterclockwise direction as the elastic portion progresses outward, the elastic portion having a coupling part, formed in a middle portion of the elastic portion, rotatably connected with the main unit, and also the elastic unit includes a stress dispersion portion integrally extended from the elastic portion and spirally wound in a direction opposite to the direction in which the elastic portion is wound as the stress dispersion portion progresses inward, the stress dispersion portion having a coupling part, formed in a middle portion of the stress dispersion portion, rotatably connected with the sliding unit.

2. The sliding module of claim 1, wherein the coupling part of the elastic portion and the coupling part of the stress dispersion portion are disposed with a predetermined slope with respect to an imaginary horizontal line and opposed to each other.

3. The sliding module of claim 1, wherein a number of times the elastic portion is wound is greater than a number of times the stress dispersion portion is wound.

4. The sliding module of claim 1, wherein the number of times the elastic portion is wound is about 1.2 to 3.5 times the number of times the stress dispersion portion is wound.

5. The sliding module of claim 1, wherein the elastic portion and the stress dispersion portion are formed on a single imaginary plane.

6. The sliding module of claim 1, wherein at least one of the respective coupling parts of the elastic portion and the stress dispersion portion is connected with either the main unit or the sliding unit by a rivet.

7. The sliding module of claim 6, wherein a bushing is mounted between the coupling part of either the elastic portion or the stress dispersion portion and the rivet.

8. The sliding module of claim 6, wherein at least one of the respective coupling parts of the elastic portion and the stress dispersion portion has a diameter equal to or slightly less than that of the rivet, so that at least one of the respective coupling parts is latched and connected with the rivet in a state where the rivet is previously mounted in either the main unit or the sliding unit.

9. The sliding module of claim 1, wherein a main body of the mobile phone coupled with the main unit includes a first body and a second body rotatably coupled with the first body.

10. The sliding module of claim 9, wherein rotation between the first body and the second body is performed within a predetermined angle.