Telephonic communications – Terminal – Housing or housing component
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-21
2004-11-23
Chiang, Jack (Department: 2642)
Telephonic communications
Terminal
Housing or housing component
Reexamination Certificate
active
06823067
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a hinge device for implementing a hinged coupling. Furthermore, it relates to a portable electronic device which includes such a hinge device.
BACKGROUND ART
In recent years, along with the development of electronic technique, various sorts of portable electronic devices have come into widespread use, such as portable telephones, portable computers (including both ones which are equipped with a wireless communication function and ones which are not), electronic notebooks, electronic games machines and the like.
With these portable electronic devices, sometimes it is performed to provide a flip lid which is free to open and close to the portable electronic device. For example, with a portable telephone which is a typical example of such a portable electronic device, there are known both a flip lid type in which a flip lid is fitted to the main body of the portable telephone so that it is free to open and close, and an integral type which has no flip lid. Nowadays the integral type is becoming the mainstream one, from the point of view of weight reduction and convenience.
However there is a demand for increase of the compatibility of both types, due to the merits of the flip lid type in terms of prevention of erroneous switch actuation, increased compactness, diversity of design, and the like.
With the type of portable electronic device which is equipped with the above described kind of flip lid, there is a demand to perform opening and closing of the flip lid easily by one-touch operation.
When a prior art hinge device has been applied for connecting the flip lid to the main body of the portable telephone, it has been necessary to provide a lock mechanism for the flip lid and a drive mechanism such as a button or the like for releasing this lock, separately from the hinge device. Due to this, the problems arise that the number of parts becomes large, it is necessary to provide space for them, etc.
The present invention has been conceived in the light of the above circumstances, and its objective is to provide a hinge device which contributes to simplification and compactness of the structure of a portable electronic device by making it unnecessary to provide the device with a separate mechanism for opening and closing its locking.
Furthermore, an objective of the present invention is to provide a portable electronic device to which this type of hinge device is applied.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The hinge device according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises: a hinge element which is made up from an axis body and a hinge main body and which is constructed so that the axis body possesses a predetermined torque characteristic around a rotational axis with respect to the hinge main body; a lock mechanism which functions so as to lock rotational movement of the axis body around the rotational axis; and a lock release mechanism for releasing locking by the lock mechanism.
In the hinge device according to a second aspect of the present invention, the hinge main body is assembled to a first assembly member and the axis body is assembled to a second assembly member, the torque characteristic, when the rotation of the axis body is locked by the lock mechanism, possesses a torque characteristic such as to bias the first and second assembly members in the direction to mutually contact one another.
In the hinge device according to a third aspect of the present invention, the hinge main body is assembled to a first assembly member and the axis body is assembled to a second assembly member, the torque characteristic, at the moment that the locking by the lock mechanism has been released by the lock release mechanism, possesses a torque characteristic such as to rotate the first and second assembly members in the direction to mutually separate from one another.
In the hinge device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the lock mechanism comprises a first lock member which is provided on the side of the axis body so as to be unable to move rotationally relative to the axis body, and a second lock member which is provided on the side of the hinge main body so as to be unable to move rotationally relative to the hinge main body; the lock function by the lock mechanism is provided by concave and convex engagement of these first and second lock members; and the lock release mechanism is a mechanism which can release the concave and convex engagement.
In the hinge device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the first lock member comprises a stopper portion; the second lock member comprises an engagement body which can engage with respect to the stopper portion, and which is biased in the direction towards the first lock member by a biasing means; the lock function by the lock mechanism is provided by the engagement body engaging into the stopper portion; and the lock release mechanism is constituted by a push button which is provided on the side of the axis body and which comprises a projection which can be inserted into the stopper portion, and, by the projection being inserted into the stopper portion, the engagement body is pushed in against the resistance of the biasing force due to the biasing means, and thereby the lock is released.
In the hinge device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the surface of the engagement body which is pushed in by the projection is formed as a sloping surface, and thereby the pushing in force of the projection is converted into a shift force in the sideways direction of the projection and also into a rotational force of the push button.
In the hinge device according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the lock mechanism comprises a first lock member which is provided on the side of the axis body so as to be unable to move rotationally relative to the axis body, and a second lock member which is provided on the side of the hinge main body so as to be unable to move rotationally relative to the hinge main body; the lock function by the lock mechanism is provided by concave and convex engagement of the axis body and the second lock member; and the lock release mechanism is a mechanism which can release the concave and convex engagement.
In the hinge device according to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the second lock member comprises an axis portion which passes through the axis body extending along its axis, and which is biased so as to contact against the axis body by a biasing means; and the lock release mechanism is constituted by a push button which is linked to the axis portion of the second lock member, and, by the push button being pushed in, the second lock member is separated from the axis body against the resistance of the biasing force due to the biasing means, and thereby the lock is released.
In the hinge device according to a ninth aspect of the present invention, upon the concave and convex engagement surfaces of the axis body and the second lock member, there are provided sloping portions which guide an engagement convex portion into an engagement concave portion.
A portable electronic device according to a tenth aspect of the present invention comprises a portable electronic device main body and a flip lid which is linked to the portable electronic device main body so as to be able to open and shut with respect thereto, at at least one of both end portions in the widthwise direction of a linking region of the flip lid with respect to the portable electronic device main body, linking of the portable electronic device main body and the flip lid is performed via a hinge device according to the preceding aspects of the present invention.
The portable electronic device according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention comprises a portable electronic device main body and a flip lid which is linked to the portable electronic device main body so as to be able to open and shut with respect thereto, at at least one of both end portions in the widthwise direction of a linking region of the flip lid with respect to t
Chiang Jack
Scully Scott Murphy & Presser
Strawberry Corporation
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