WO2009072701A1

WO2009072701A1 - Elasticity lever mechanism for mobile phone and slid type cover opening and shutting device using the same

Info

Publication number: WO2009072701A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/002157
Authority: WO
Inventors: Do-Hyun Nam
Original assignee: Prexco Co., Ltd
Priority date: 2007-12-03
Filing date: 2008-04-17
Publication date: 2009-06-11
Also published as: KR100861074B1

Abstract

An elastic lever mechanism includes a first supporting lever formed in a H-shape and including a pair of supports spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and a connecting portion interconnecting middle portions of the supports, a pair of second supporting levers provided with supporting grooves in which the supports of the first supporting lever are slidably assembled and disposed on opposite sides of the first supporting lever, and a plurality of elastic members that are installed between the first supporting lever and the pair of the second supporting levers to bias the second supporting levers in a direction away from the connecting portion of the first supporting lever.

Description

ELASTICITY LEVER MECHANISM FOR MOBILE PHONE AND SLID TYPE COVER OPENING AND SHUTTING DEVICE USING THE SAME

Technical Field The present invention relates to an elastic lever mechanism for a mobile device and a slide-type cover opening/ closing device using the elastic lever mechanism. More particularly, the present invention relates to an elastic lever mechanism that is designed to support elastic members such that the elastic members can apply elastic force in an accurate biasing direction, to be increased in strength, to reduce the number of components thereof, to increase assemblability thereof, and to be simplified in a structure, and to a slide-type cover opening/ closing device using the elastic lever mechanism. Background Art Generally, mobile devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, digital multimedia broadcasting terminals, and the like have been used for mobile broadcasting and communication services while on the move.

The mobile devices serve as major essential items that allow a user to enjoy daily living in the information age. Particularly, mobile phones are widely used regardless of age (from elementary school students to the elderly).

Different types of cover opening/ closing devices have been used for the mobile devices. For example, the cover opening/ closing devices may be classified into hinge-type devices, sliding-type devices, swing-type devices, and the like.

Particularly, since the slide-type cover opening/ closing devices are convenient in use, are not easily damaged, and make it possible to make the mobile device slim, they have been widely used. A typical mobile device of the slide-type cover is basically structured such that a cover having a display unit is designed to slide on a main body having a key pad and the like. Based on this basic structure, a variety of slide-type cover opening/ closing devices have been developed by manufacturers.

For example, a typical slide-type cover opening/ closing device includes a first sliding member fixed on a main body of a mobile device, a second sliding member that is formed in a plate shape, fixed on a cover of the mobile device, and slidably coupled to the first sliding member, and an elastic member having first and second ends that are rotatably coupled to the first and second sliding members to enable the sliding motion between the first and second sliding members to be effectively realized. In a state where the cover of the mobile device is closed or opened, after a user applies force to the cover until the cover is opened or closed in a predetermined range, the elastic member applies elastic force to the cover so that the cover can naturally slide until it is fully closed or opened.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Technical Problem In the typical slide-type cover opening/ closing device for the mobile device, a coil spring or twisting spring is used as the elastic member. In this case, when the cover slides for opening or closing, a first sliding member contacts a second sliding member and thus the first and second sliding members may be damaged by being, for example, scratched. Further, when the elastic member is formed of metal, ring-shaped loops must be formed on opposite ends of the elastic member so that the first and second sliding members can be rotatably coupled to the elastic member. This makes it difficult to manufacture the elastic member and deteriorates productivity. In addition, as the elastic member contacts the first and second sliding members and the like, noise and frictional resistance are generated and thus the opening/ closing operation is not smoothly realized. Furthermore, since the elastic member may move up and down, an accurate and smooth opening/ closing operation cannot be realized. Technical Object

The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above problems and therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide an elastic lever mechanism for a mobile device, which is designed to have excellent elastic force and to apply the elastic force in an accurate biasing direction by simultaneously supporting a plurality of elastic members and enabling the elastic members to apply elastic force through levers that are slidably coupled to each other, and a slide-type cover opening/ closing device using the elastic lever mechanism.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an elastic lever mechanism for a mobile device, which is designed to improve productivity and reduce manufacturing cost by reducing the number of manufacturing processes and the number of components by being designed in a simple structure with improved strength, and a slide-type cover opening/ closing device having the elastic lever mechanism.

An elastic lever mechanism for a mobile device of the present invention includes a first supporting lever formed in an H-shape and including a pair of supports spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and a connecting portion interconnecting middle portions of the supports, a pair of second supporting levers provided with supporting grooves in which the supports of the first supporting lever are slidably assembled and disposed on opposite sides of the first supporting lever, and a plurality of elastic members that are installed between the first supporting lever and the pair of the second supporting levers to bias the second supporting levers in a direction away from the connecting portion of the first supporting lever.

The supports of the first supporting lever may be provided at opposite ends thereof with hook protrusions, and the second supporting levers may be provided at supporting grooves with hook steps corresponding to the hook protrusions. The first supporting lever may include a plurality of sub-supports perpendicularly extending from both sides of the connecting portion and spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, and the second supporting levers may be provided with assembling holes in which the sub- supports are slidably assembled.

The first supporting lever may include a central support that perpendicularly extends from middle portions of both sides of the connecting portion, and the second supporting levers may be provided with central supporting grooves in which the central support are slidably assembled.

The first supporting lever may includes a reinforcing portion formed on a central portion and extending in a length direction through a bending process, and the second supporting levers may be provided at sides thereof with rotational supporting portions. The elastic members are formed in a cylindrical shape while being spirally formed around the sub-supports.

A slide-type cover opening/ closing device for a mobile device of the present invention includes a first sliding member formed in a plate shape, a second sliding member slidably coupled to the first sliding member, and an elastic lever mechanism installed between the first and second sliding members and having a first end rotatably coupled to the first sliding member and a second end rotatably coupled to the second sliding member. Advantageous Effect

According to the elastic lever mechanism for the mobile device and the slide-type cover opening/ closing device of the present invention, since the first supporting lever is formed of a thin metal plate in an H-shape, the elastic lever mechanism is thin and simple in structure while strength thereof is improved.

Further, since the reinforcing portion is formed on the connecting portion, supporting strength against elastic force of the elastic members is improved. In addition, since central supports are formed on both sides of the connecting portion, assembling strength is improved and accurate linear reciprocation becomes possible.

Additionally, since the first supporting lever can be formed of a metal plate through a shearing process using a press, the productivity can be improved as compared with a conventional injection molding process or a conventional insert molding process and thus the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

According to the elastic lever mechanism for the mobile device of the present invention, since the elastic members are supported together with each other and the elastic force is exerted through the first and second supporting levers that are slidably coupled to each other, the elasticity is increased and the elastic force is applied in an accurate biasing direction. Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an elastic lever mechanism for a mobile device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an elastic lever mechanism for a mobile device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an elastic lever mechanism for a mobile device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating hook protrusions and hook steps of supports of an elastic lever mechanism for a mobile device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a partly enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a reinforcing portion of an elastic lever mechanism for a mobile device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a partly enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a rotational supporting portion of a second supporting lever of an elastic lever mechanism for a mobile device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a slide-type cover opening/ closing device for a mobile device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a slide-type cover opening/ closing device for a mobile device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when a cover is closed.

FIG. 11 is a top plane view illustrating a slide-type cover opening/ closing device for a mobile device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when a cover is opened and closed halfway.

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of a slide-type cover opening/ closing device for a mobile device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when a cover is opened. Best Mode

As shown in FIGS. 1 through 3, an elastic lever mechanism of a mobile device includes a first supporting lever 20, a pair of second supporting levers 30 and 40 respectively installed on opposite sides of the first supporting lever 20, and a plurality of elastic members 60 installed between the first supporting lever 20 and the second supporting lever 30 and between the first supporting lever 20 and the second supporting lever 40.

The first supporting lever 20 is formed in a roughly H-shape.

That is, the first supporting lever 20 includes a pair of supports 21 spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, and a connecting portion 24 for interconnecting middle portions of the supports 21.

As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of hook protrusions 22 are formed on opposite ends of each of the supports 21.

The hook protrusions 22 formed on the opposite ends of one of the supports 21 face the hook protrusions 22 formed on the opposite ends of the other of the supports 21.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 6, and 7, the first supporting lever 20 may further include a reinforcing portion 25 formed by bending a central portion in a width direction of the connecting portion 24.

By forming the reinforcing portion 25 as described above, the strength of the connecting portion 24 is enhanced and thus the interconnection strength between the supports 21 is also enhanced, thereby enhancing the overall strength of the first supporting lever 10.

The first supporting lever 10 may be formed in a roughly Ξ -shape. That is, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the first supporting lever 10 may further include a central support 28 perpendicularly extending from opposite sides of a middle portion 24 of the connecting portion 24. The first supporting lever 10 may further include a plurality of sub- supports 26 perpendicularly extending from opposite sides of the connecting portion 24.

The first supporting lever 20 described above is formed of a thin metal plate through a shearing process using a press. The second supporting levers 30 and 40 are formed in a roughly rectangular plate shape. The second supporting levers 30 and 40 are provided at both sides with supporting grooves 31 and 41 in which the supports 21 are fitted.

The supporting grooves 31 and 41 are formed by cutting the opposite sides of the second supporting levers 30 and 40 in a i= -shape section.

Although not shown in the drawings, the supporting grooves 31 and

41 may be formed to have a variety of sectional shapes corresponding to a section of the support 21. For example, the supporting grooves 31 and 41 may be formed in tunnel shapes through the second supporting levers 30 and 40.

As shown in FIG. 4, the supporting grooves 31 and 41 may be provided with hook steps 32 and 42 corresponding to the hook protrusions 22 of the first supporting lever 20.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, the second supporting levers 30 and 40 may be provided with assembling holes 36 and 46 in which the sub-supports

26 of the first supporting lever 20 are slidably inserted. The second supporting levers 30 and 40 may be further provided with central supporting groove portions 38 and 48 in which the central support 28 is slidably inserted.

At this point, the second supporting levers 30 and 40 may be provided at sides facing the central support 28 with extending portions 37 and 47 through which the central supporting groove portions 48 extend. The second supporting levers 30 and 40 may be further provided with rotational supporting portions 34 and 44 extending from outer sides thereof.

The rotational supporting portions 34 and 44 are provided at centers with hinge holes 35 and 45. Cutting lines may be formed on outer ends of the rotational supporting portions 34 and 44.

As described above, when the outer ends of the rotational supporting portions 34 and 44 are provided with the cutting lines, the hinge holes 34 and 44 become flexible and thus hinge pins can be easily inserted into the hinge holes 34 and 44.

The second supporting levers 30 and 40 are mainly formed of a synthetic resin through an injection molding process.

The elastic members 60 are disposed between the connecting portion

24 of the first supporting lever 20 and facing sides of the second supporting levers 30 and 40. The elastic members 60 are installed to bias the second supporting levers 30 and 40 in a direction away from the connecting portion

24.

The elastic members 60 may be compressive coil springs installed around the respective sub-supports 26 of the first supporting lever 20. Lengths of the elastic members 60 may be gradually increased toward the middle portion of the connection portion 24.

That is, the elastic members 60 are formed and installed such that the middle portions of the facing sides of the second supporting levers 30 and 40 and the middle portion of the connecting portion 24 can be applied with a greater elastic force.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, a slide-type cover opening/ closing device for a mobile device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a first sliding member 10 formed in a plate shape, a second sliding member 14 slidably coupled to the first sliding member 10, and an elastic lever mechanism 16 installed between the first and second sliding members 10 and 14. The first sliding member 10 includes a body 11 formed of a metal plate, and a pair of rail groove members 12 formed on opposite sides of the body 11 and provided with rail grooves 13.

The second sliding member is formed of a metal or synthetic resin and is provided at opposite sides with a pair of rail protrusions 15 that are slidably coupled to the rail grooves 13.

The first and second sliding members 10 and 14 may be formed in a structure of a typical slide-type cover opening/ closing device for a mobile device that is well known in the art.

The elastic lever mechanism 16 has a first end that is rotatably coupled to the first sliding member 10 by, for example, a hinge pin 18, and a second end that is rotatably coupled to the second sliding member 14 by, for example, another hinge pin 18.

The hinge pins 18 are coupled to the first and second sliding members 10 and 14 through hinge holes 35 and 45 formed through rotational supporting portions 34 and 44 of second supporting levers 30.

Since the elastic lever mechanism 16 may be structured as described in FIGS. 1 through 5, a detailed description thereof will be omitted herein.

Next, an operation of the sliding-type cover opening/ closing device using the elastic lever mechanism according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, in a state where a cover 6 is closed on a main body 4 of a mobile device 2, a state where the first and second sliding members 10 and 14 are coupled to each other at their first sides (upper sides) is maintained. In addition, the elastic lever mechanism 16 is obliquely disposed relative to a moving direction of the cover 6. No elastic force is generated by the elastic members 60 or a relatively small compressive elastic force is applied by the elastic members 60 to bias the second supporting levers 30 and 40 in a direction away from the connecting portion 24 of the first supporting lever 20

(see FIG. 10).

In the above state, when the cover 6 is pushed upward to open the main body 4 about halfway, the middle portions of the first and second sliding members 10 and 14 are coupled to each other and the first supporting lever 20 and the second supporting levers 30 and 40 rotate about the respective hinge pins 18 to be disposed in a direction that is approximately perpendicular to the moving direction of the cover 6 (see FIG. 11).

In the above state, the elastic members 60 are compressed to increase the compressive elastic force and thus the second sliding members 30 and 40 automatically move upward even when no force is applied thereto by the user.

As the second sliding member 14 moves as described above, the first and second sliding members 10 and 14 are coupled to each other at their second sides (lower sides), and thus the cover 6 is fully opened. The first supporting lever 2 and the second supporting levers 30 and 40 rotate about the respective hinge pins 18 to be obliquely positioned relative to the moving direction of the second sliding member 14 (see FIG. 12).

At this point, like in the case where the cover 6 is closed, the elastic members 60 are returned to their initial positions to release the compressive elastic force.

When the cover 6 is closed from an opened state from the main body of the mobile device 2, the operation is performed in reverse order and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted herein. While this invention has been described in connection with exemplary embodiments of an elastic lever mechanism of a mobile device and a slide cover opening/ closing device using the elastic lever mechanism, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CALIMED IS

1. An elastic lever mechanism for a mobile device, comprising: a first supporting lever formed in an H-shape and comprising a pair of supports spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and a connecting portion interconnecting middle portions of the supports; a pair of second supporting levers provided with supporting grooves in which the supports of the first supporting lever are slidably assembled and disposed on opposite sides of the first supporting lever; and a plurality of elastic members that are installed between the first supporting lever and the pair of the second supporting levers to bias the second supporting levers in a direction away from the connecting portion of the first supporting lever.

2. The elastic lever mechanism of claim 1, wherein the first supporting lever comprises a plurality of sub-supports perpendicularly extending from both sides of the connecting portion and spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance; the second supporting levers are provided with assembling holes in which the sub-supports are slidably assembled; and the elastic members are formed in a cylindrical shape spirally formed around the sub-supports.

3. The elastic lever mechanism of claim 2, wherein the elastic members are compressive coil springs, and lengths of the coil springs are gradually increased toward a middle portion of the connecting portion.

4. The elastic lever mechanism of claim 1, wherein the first supporting lever comprises a reinforcing portion formed on a central portion and extending in a length direction through a bending process.

5. The elastic lever mechanism of claim 1, wherein the supports of the first supporting lever are provided at opposite ends thereof with hook protrusions; and the second supporting levers are provided at supporting grooves with hook steps corresponding to the hook protrusions.

6. The elastic lever mechanism of claim 1, wherein the first supporting lever comprises a central support that perpendicularly extends from middle portions of both sides of the connecting portion; and the second supporting levers are provided with central supporting grooves in which the central support are slidably assembled.

7. The elastic lever mechanism of claim 1, wherein the second supporting levers are provided at sides thereof with rotational supporting portions provided at centers thereof with hinge holes.

8. The elastic lever mechanism of claim 1, wherein the first rotational lever is formed of a thin metal plate through a shearing process; and the second rotational lever is formed of a synthetic resin through an injection molding process.

9. A slide-type cover opening/ closing device for a mobile device, comprising: a first sliding member formed in a plate shape; a second sliding member slidably coupled to the first sliding member; and an elastic lever mechanism installed between the first and second sliding members and having a first end rotatably coupled to the first sliding member and a second end rotatably coupled to the second sliding member, wherein the elastic lever mechanism comprises a first supporting lever formed in a H-shape and comprising a pair of supports spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and a connecting portion interconnecting middle portions of the supports, a pair of second supporting levers provided with supporting grooves in which the supports of the first supporting lever are slidably assembled and disposed on opposite sides of the first supporting lever, and a plurality of elastic members that are installed between the first supporting lever and the pair of the second supporting levers to bias the second supporting levers in a direction away from the connecting portion of the first supporting lever, wherein the first supporting lever is provided at opposite ends with hook protrusions and the connecting portion is provided at a central portion in a width direction with a reinforcing portion, wherein the second supporting levers are provided with assembling holes in which the sub-supports are slidably assembled and central supporting grooves in which the central support are slidably assembly, wherein the second supporting levers are provided at sides thereof with rotational supporting portions provided at centers thereof with hinge holes, and wherein the elastic members are formed in cylindrical shapes while being spirally formed around the sub-supports.