Telecommunications – Transmitter and receiver at same station – Radiotelephone equipment detail
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-11
2004-06-22
Trost, William (Department: 2683)
Telecommunications
Transmitter and receiver at same station
Radiotelephone equipment detail
C455S575300, C455S575100, C379S433130, C379S433010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06754507
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a folding-type mobile terminal and, more particularly, to a folding-type mobile terminal, such as a cellular phone, that is folded when carried (when standing by, when not in communication), and is opened when used to make a phone call or to communicate.
Cellular phones are categorized, in terms of structure, a folding-type cellular phone having a structure capable of being folded, and a so-called stick-type cellular phone having a structure not capable of being folded. The folding-type cellular phone needs to have a mechanical strength so as not to be deformed when handled without care as does the stick-type cellular phone. The folding-type cellular phone is also required to have a less weight.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a conventional folding-type cellular phone (or a portable phone)
10
when disassembled, the cellular phone being devised to have an increased mechanical strength.
FIG. 2A
is an illustration of the conventional folding-type cellular phone
10
shown in
FIG. 1
when used to make a phone call.
FIG. 2B
is an illustration of the conventional folding-type cellular phone
10
shown in
FIG. 1
when being carried. The folding-type cellular phone
10
has an operation-key part
11
held by a user's hand
60
shown in
FIG. 2A
, a liquid-crystal part
12
to be opened and closed, and a hinge
13
coupling the operation-key part
11
and the liquid-crystal part
12
. The operation-key part
11
has: a board unit
20
and a housing
21
combined together; and a printed-board module
22
incorporated inside the combined board unit
20
and the housing
21
. The liquid-crystal part
12
has: a board unit
30
and a housing
31
combined together; and a printed-board module
32
incorporated inside the combined board unit
30
and the housing
31
. A battery pack
40
is attached to the undersurface of the housing
21
. The housing
21
has a deep recess
21
a
in the vicinity of the hinge
13
. The folding-type cellular phone
10
is folded when carried, as shown in
FIG. 2B
, and is opened by the liquid-crystal part
12
being revolved when used to make a phone call or to communicate, as shown in FIG.
2
A.
The housings
21
and
31
are molded components made of a synthetic resin. The board units
20
and
30
are painted die-cast components made of magnesium. The hinge
13
is composed of a circular-arc portion
20
a
protruding from an edge of the board unit
20
, and a circular-arc portion
30
a
protruding from an edge of the board unit
30
. The hinge
13
is also made of magnesium.
The folding-type cellular phone
10
has an increased mechanical strength by having the hinge
13
and the board units
20
and
30
made of magnesium. Magnesium is selected from among various metals because magnesium has a little weight.
Additionally, the folding-type cellular phone
10
has a built-in antenna
50
. The built-in antenna
50
is located so as to be contained in the deep recess
21
a
of the housing
21
inside the operation-key part
11
.
When the folding-type cellular phone
10
is opened as shown in
FIG. 2A
, the board units
20
and
30
form the front of the folding-type cellular phone
10
. Therefore, stress is put upon the appearance in regard to the board units
20
and
30
. For this reason, each of the board units
20
and
30
is completed as a final product by the following steps: retrieving a previous form of the board unit
20
or
30
from a metal die; taking out a gate; removing burrs; polishing the previous form when necessary; and painting the previous form.
Generally, a die-cast component made of magnesium tends to not only have more burrs, but also have a rough surface containing fine blowholes, compared with a die-cast component made of other metals. Therefore, before the step of painting, finishing steps, such as removing burrs and polishing, are required to be conducted. At this point, since the board units
20
and
30
form the front of the folding-type cellular phone
10
, the board units
20
and
30
have large areas requiring the finishing steps. This inevitably increases the amount of work in the finishing steps.
Additionally, if the finishing steps are not adequately conducted, part of the painted surface becomes rough, and thus the board units
20
and
30
have poor appearances.
Further, in some cases, the board units
20
and
30
have smooth surfaces just after the painting step. However, in a heating step to strengthen the painted layer after the painting step, fine blowholes present in the surfaces of the board units
20
and
30
are inflated so that the board units
20
and
30
have inferior appearances with swellings in the painted layers thereof.
As described above, the board units
20
and
30
do not provide a good yield, and thus the conventional folding-type cellular phone
10
cannot be manufactured efficiently.
In addition, the conventional folding-type cellular phone
10
does not have a good property regarding the built-in antenna
50
. Arranging metal boards so as to cover the built-in antenna
50
makes it difficult for the built-in antenna
50
to transmit electric waves, deteriorating the property of the built-in antenna
50
. To prevent this, the built-in antenna
50
is placed in the deep recess
21
a
of the housing
21
so as to be kept as far as possible from the board units
20
and
30
made of magnesium. However, since the folding-type cellular phone
10
is thinned down so as to have a reduced thickness, it is difficult to sufficiently keep the built-in antenna
50
away from the board units
20
and
30
made of magnesium. Additionally, since the housing
21
composes the operation-key part
11
, the deep recess
21
a
of the housing
21
is covered by the user's hand
60
, as shown in
FIG. 2A
, when used to make a phone call. In this state, the user's hand
60
deteriorates the property of the built-in antenna
50
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved and useful folding-type mobile terminal in which device the above-mentioned problems are eliminated.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a folding-type mobile terminal which can have an increased mechanical strength and can be manufactured with an increased efficiency.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, there is provided according to one aspect of the present invention a folding-type mobile terminal comprising:
a first body having a first printed-board module inside thereof and having an input unit on a surface of the first body;
a second body having a second printed-board module inside thereof and having a display unit on a surface of the second body;
a hinge coupling the first body and the second body so that the folding-type mobile terminal is capable of being folded, the hinge being made of a metal;
a first metal chassis incorporated into the first body, the first metal chassis extending from the hinge; and
a second metal chassis incorporated into the second body, the second metal chassis extending from the hinge,
wherein the first body has the first printed-board module fixed to the first metal chassis, a first upper case-member fixed to the first metal chassis, and a first lower case-member fixed to the first metal chassis so that the first upper case-member and the first lower case-member together cover the first metal chassis, the first upper case-member and the first lower case-member being made of a synthetic resin, and
the second body has the second printed-board module fixed to the second metal chassis, a second upper case-member fixed to the second metal chassis, and a second lower case-member fixed to the second metal chassis so that the second upper case-member and the second lower case-member together cover the second metal chassis, the second upper case-member and the second lower case-member being made of a synthetic resin.
According to the present invention, the metal hinge and the firs
Ferguson Keith
Fujitsu Limited
Katten Muchin Zavis & Rosenman
Trost William
LandOfFree
Folding-type mobile terminal having a metal hinge, metal... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Folding-type mobile terminal having a metal hinge, metal..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Folding-type mobile terminal having a metal hinge, metal... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3362040