Telecommunications – Transmitter and receiver at same station – Radiotelephone equipment detail
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-11
2004-06-15
Vo, Nguyen T. (Department: 2682)
Telecommunications
Transmitter and receiver at same station
Radiotelephone equipment detail
C455S550100, C455S090300, C379S433130
Reexamination Certificate
active
06751488
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a folding type mobile device that allows its cover to be selectively opened and closed automatically and manually, and more particularly to an apparatus for operating the cover of a folding type mobile device, which is capable of selectively and stably opening and closing the cover of the folding type mobile device by compensating for a change in the output characteristics of the apparatus and a difference in phase due to load, using the control of the position of the cover.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, mobile communications may be classified into the following categories; direct communications among moving stations (such as, radio transmitter-receiver), communications between a base station and multiple moving stations (such as, MCA radio communications), and communications selecting a neighboring base station among multiple base stations (such as, automobile devices). Recently, there have been commercialized Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), smart devices and Hand-held Personal Computers (HPCs), which allow data transmission and reception to be performed through compute work and network access using portable peripheral devices, regardless of locations.
The mobile devices can be easily carried and conveniently used, so a demand for mobile devices has tremendously increased. In order to meet the various desires of consumers, the mobile devices are miniaturized and have become multifunctional.
In general, the mobile devices may be classified into three types according to their shapes; a bar type in which push buttons are exposed to the outside, a flip type in which push buttons are covered with a flip, and a folding type in which a device body is folded in half. With the trend toward miniaturization, folding type mobile devices have been widely utilized.
FIG. 1
is a perspective view showing a general folding type mobile phone used as a mobile communication terminal.
The conventional folding type mobile device
100
is basically comprised of a body
110
and a cover
120
.
The device body
110
includes a variety of push buttons, a microdevice, various parts for the transmission and reception of voice, and a battery pack for power supply. The cover
120
includes a display window for indicating call and function information, a speaker and a variety of parts.
In such a folding type mobile device, the cover
120
is hingedly attached to the device body
110
at its one edge. The mobile device
100
is opened or closed by the rotation of the cover
120
in a forward or reverse direction.
In general, the opening and closing of the cover
120
of the mobile device
100
is carried out in the basis of a structure illustrated in FIG.
2
.
In the conventional folding type mobile device
100
, a hollow cylindrical housing
111
is formed on the lower end of the cover
120
. A coil spring
112
is arranged in the center portion of the housing
111
with its one end supported on the housing
111
and its other end kept free. A male coupling member
113
, the outer side of which is wedge-shaped, is secured to the free end of the coil spring
112
.
A female coupling member
114
having a wedge-shaped groove and a connecting projection
115
is situated to engage with the male coupling member
113
having a wedge-shaped projection, with the wedge-shaped groove of the female coupling member
114
engaging with the wedge-shaped projection of the male coupling member
113
.
The male coupling member
113
and the female coupling member
114
serve as a hinge shaft. When the cover
120
is rotated together with the male coupling member
113
, the rotational direction of the female coupling member
114
is restricted by the fixing groove of the fixing portion formed on the device body
110
. If the male coupling member
113
is rotated at an angle of a predetermined value or more, the male coupling member
113
causes the coil spring
112
to be pushed while being compressed, as shown in FIG.
3
.
As a result, when the cover
120
is opened and the rotational angle of the male coupling member
113
is less than the wedge angle of the male and female coupling members
113
and
114
, the male coupling member
113
is forcibly engaged with the female coupling member
114
by the elastic force of the coil spring
112
so that the cover
120
is returned to its closed position and kept at that position. When the rotational angle of the male coupling member
113
is greater than the wedge angle, the male coupling member
113
is rotated at about 180° so that the male coupling member
113
is engaged with the female coupling member
114
, thereby allowing the cover
120
to be kept open.
On the contrary, when the cover
120
is closed, the rotational angle of the male coupling member
113
is less than the wedge angle of the male and female coupling members
113
and
114
, the restoring force of the coil spring
112
is exerted on the male and female coupling members
113
and
114
so the cover
120
is forcibly kept open. When the rotational angle of the male coupling member
113
is greater than the wedge angle, the male coupling member
113
is rotated so that the male coupling member
113
is engaged with the female coupling member
114
, thereby causing the cover
120
to be closed.
However, the conventional folding type mobile device is inconvenient in that its cover
120
has to be opened with one hand while its body
110
is held by the other hand because the cover
120
is relatively heavy.
In order to overcome the above-described shortcoming, there have been proposed various folding type mobile devices that are capable of being easily opened and closed with one hand. One example of the mobile devices is the type in which its cover is opened and closed by an operating apparatus.
In this type mobile device, its cover
120
is automatically opened and closed using the operating apparatus manipulated with one hand. In this case, the cover
120
should be opened and closed manually as well as automatically.
FIG. 4
is a partially sectional view showing a principal portion of another conventional folding type mobile device with an operating apparatus. As illustrated in the drawing, the operating apparatus is comprised of a motor
116
elastically supported by a coil spring
112
and a gear box
117
connected to the output end of the motor
116
.
The motor
116
is operated, together with a switch manipulated by a user, and generates operating force for a time period set by a timer.
The gear box
117
is connected to the output end of the motor
116
, and serves to reduce the rotating ratio and prevent reversion. A male coupling member
113
is attached to the output end of the gear box
117
, and engaged with the female coupling member
114
.
In the conventional mobile device, when the switch is manipulated to automatically open the cover
120
, the male coupling member
113
is engaged with the female coupling member
114
, so the body of the motor
116
is rotated around its central axis. The cover
120
, provided with the housing
111
on which the motor
116
is mounted, is rotated for a predetermined time period, thereby opening the cover
120
away from the device body
110
.
On the contrary, when the switch is manipulated so as to close the cover
120
, the body of the motor
116
is rotated around the central axis in the opposite direction, the cover
120
is rotated in the opposite direction, thereby causing the cover
120
to be closed.
In the meantime, when the cover
120
is manually rotated in a direction or the opposite direction to be opened or closed, slippage occurs between the male coupling member
113
and the female coupling
114
and the coil spring
112
is compressed by the male coupling member
113
and the motor
116
. Accordingly, while the coil spring
112
is compressed, the male coupling member
113
and the motor
116
are rotated together with the cover
120
.
When the cover
120
reaches a predetermined position, the male coupling member
113
is retur
Behulu Alemayehu
Darby & Darby
Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. Ltd.
Vo Nguyen T.
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