Miscellaneous hardware (e.g. – bushing – carpet fastener – caster – Hinge – Resiliently biased hinge
Reexamination Certificate
2003-02-14
2004-08-17
Walsh, John B. (Department: 3676)
Miscellaneous hardware (e.g., bushing, carpet fastener, caster,
Hinge
Resiliently biased hinge
C016S285000, C016S300000, C016S319000, C016S321000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06775883
ABSTRACT:
This application claims the benefit of Taiwan application Serial No. 091103878, filed Mar. 1, 2002.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a hinge mechanism, and more particularly to a hinge mechanism with a release button by using spring elasticity.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cellular phones have come into general use with the close communication and the frequent need to exchange data and thus have become indispensable tools for modern people due to the features of compactness, portability, and convenience.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, an exploded view of a flip phone is shown. The flip phone
100
includes a housing
102
and a flip
104
. The housing
102
includes a display section
103
, an operation section
105
, buttons
106
, and a liquid crystal display (LCD)
108
. The display section
103
is situated higher than the operation section
105
. The buttons
106
are disposed on the operation section
105
and are used as the method of input. LCD
108
is positioned on the display section
103
and is used for display.
The flip
104
has a sleeve
110
connected with one end of the flip
104
. The shafts
112
a
and
112
b
are disposed at two ends of the sleeve
110
respectively. The housing
102
has a sunken part
114
, which includes two holes
116
a
and
116
b
for receiving two shafts
112
a
and
112
b
respectively at opposite sides of the sunken part
114
. When assembling the flip
104
to the housing
102
, the sleeve
110
is installed in the sunken part
114
along the direction of the arrow sign
150
in
FIG. 1
, and then the shafts
112
a
and
112
b
are installed in the respective holes
116
a
and
116
b
for the rotation of the flip
104
.
In general, the sleeve
110
, the shafts
112
a
and
112
b
, the sunken part
114
, and the holes
116
a
and
116
b
are called a hinge mechanism, which pivots the flip
104
on the housing
102
. Since the housing
102
, the sunken part
114
, and the holes
116
a
and
116
b
are formed as an unit and the flip
104
, the sleeve
110
, and the shafts
112
a
and
112
b
are formed as an unit as well, it requires a strenuous effort to assemble and disassemble the flip phone
100
. The sleeve
110
and the sunken part
114
are easily damaged in the attempt to separate the flip
104
from the housing
102
due to the tight configuration of the hinge mechanism, while the flip phone
100
requires repairing. Additionally, all components of the hinge mechanism would have to be discarded along with the damaged flip
104
and housing
102
, which is a costly waste.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a hinge mechanism applied to a foldable device for easy assembly and disassembly. The hinge mechanism pivots a flip on a housing and prevents the flip and the housing from being damaged during the assembly or disassembly of the foldable device. In addition, it makes the foldable device easy to operate and convenient to use for a one-handed operation.
The invention achieves the above-identified objects by providing a hinge mechanism, for pivotally connecting a flip onto a housing so that the flip is rotatable around a pivoting axis. The hinge mechanism includes a bush, a compression spring, and a release button. The bush has a sidewall, a protrusion, and a receiving space defined by the sidewall. The protrusion is protruded from the sidewall. The release button has a first end, a second end, and a shaped notch. The shaped notch has a concave portion, a stop portion, and a convex portion formed between the concave portion and the stop portion. The stop portion extends substantially parallel to the pivoting axis. The protrusion is slidably received within the shaped notch. The first end of the release button is slidably coupled to the bush, and the second end of the release button is restrictedly coupled to the housing, so that the release button is only slidable relative to the housing substantially along the pivoting axis. The compression spring is disposed within the receiving space and pressed by the release button and the bush. When the flip pivots from the opened position to the closed position, the bush simultaneously rotates around the pivoting axis so that the protrusion moves from the concave portion to the stop portion. Only when the release button is moved toward the bush till the protrusion moves out of the stop portion and reaches the convex portion, the flip is capable to pivot from the closed position to the opened position.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred but non-limiting embodiments. The following description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4788746 (1988-12-01), Idler
patent: 5586363 (1996-12-01), Fanuzzi
patent: 5996179 (1999-12-01), Huong
patent: 6148480 (2000-11-01), Cooke
patent: 6256481 (2001-07-01), Jeong et al.
patent: 6459887 (2002-10-01), Okuda
patent: 6678539 (2004-01-01), Lu
Chen Hsiao-Wu
Pan Long-Jyh
BenQ Corporation
Rabin & Berdo P.C.
Walsh John B.
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