Abstract:
A mobile terminal having a folder configured for protection against damage to a display module, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), due to an external impact is provided. Buffering members disposed in various positions between the display module and the upper cover of the folder are configured to absorb an impact generated due to an externally applied force, to prevent deformation of the upper cover, and to prevent subsequent damage to the display module. Additionally, a number of reinforcing mechanisms may be provided to enhance the strength of the upper and lower covers of the folder, making them less susceptible to deformation due to an externally applied force.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The invention relates to a mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a folder type mobile terminal.  
           [0003]    2. Background of the Related Art  
           [0004]    Folder type mobile terminals have become widely used due to a number of advantages associated with them. One such advantage is that a folder type mobile terminal can accommodate a large display, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), making it easier to view information displayed to a user via the display. For example, newly developed dual display folder type mobile terminals which have a display mounted not only on an inner side of the folders, but also on an outer side thereof are becoming increasingly popular.  
           [0005]    [0005]FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view of a related art folder type mobile terminal. FIG. 1B is a schematic disassembled perspective view of a related art folder of a folder type mobile terminal. FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the related art folder of FIG. 1.  
           [0006]    A related art folder type mobile terminal as shown in FIG. 1A includes a main body  200 , and a folder  100  rotatably attached to the main body  200 . The related art folder of a mobile terminal as shown in FIG. 1B, includes an upper cover  102 , which forms an outer surface of the terminal, and a lower cover  104 , which engages with the upper cover  102 . A hinge portion  116  connects the folder to a body of the terminal (not shown). An LCD module  106  is installed between the upper cover  102  and the lower cover  104 , and has a sub LCD  108  at the front surface thereof, a main LCD (not shown) at the rear surface thereof, and a receiver  110  at one side thereof A transparent window  120  is provided in the upper cover  102  for viewing information displayed on a display portion  128  of the sub LCD  108 . To minimize thickness of the folder, only the portion of the folder in which the transparent window  120  is installed protrudes from the folder.  
           [0007]    That is, the upper cover  102  is provided with an opening portion  122  in order to view information displayed on the sub LCD  108  through the transparent window  120 . A rib  124  for mounting the transparent window  120  is formed at an edge of the opening portion  122 , and a protrusion portion  126  is formed at a periphery of the opening portion  122 . A lower surface of the rib  124  and an upper surface of the sub LCD  108  maintain a constant gap in order to prevent the sub LCD  108  from being damaged by contact with the rib  124 .  
           [0008]    However, in the conventional art folder, because the area where the transparent window  120  of the upper cover  102  is attached protrudes, an external impact which may be applied when, for example, the terminal is dropped, will frequently be applied to the protrusion portion  126 , causing the protrusion portion  126  to be deformed, and the sub LCD  108  to be damaged. More particularly, if, as shown in FIG. 3, an external force F 1  is applied to an upper surface of the protrusion portion  126 , the rib  124  where the transparent window  120  is mounted is bent downward. The rib  124  comes into contact with the upper surface of the sub LCD  108 , thus damaging the sub LCD  108 .  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    An object of the invention is to solve at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described hereinafter.  
           [0010]    To achieve these and other advantages, in whole or in part, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a folder for a folder type mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the invention, comprising an upper cover, a lower cover configured to be attached to the upper cover, a display module disposed between the upper cover and the lower cover, the display module comprising at least a sub display and a main display, and a buffering member disposed between the upper cover and the sub display and configured to prevent an external force applied to the upper cover from being transmitted to the sub display.  
           [0011]    To further achieve these and other advantages, in whole or in part, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a folder type mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the invention, comprising an upper cover, comprising a main body, and a folder configured to be rotatably attached to the main body, the folder comprising an upper cover, a lower cover configured to be attached to the upper cover, a display module disposed between the upper cover and the lower cover, the display module comprising at least a sub display and a main display, and a buffering member disposed between at least a portion of the upper cover and the sub display and configured to prevent an external force applied to the upper cover from being transmitted to the display module.  
           [0012]    To further achieve these and other advantages, in whole or in part, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a folder type mobile terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, comprising an upper cover engaged with the upper cover and; a lower cover engaged with the upper cover and rotatably coupled to a body of the mobile terminal; and a display module disposed between the upper cover and the lower cover comprising at least a main display and a sub display; wherein a reinforcing member configured to reinforce a strength of the upper cover is integrally adhered to the upper cover at the time of fabrication of said upper cover.  
           [0013]    Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    The invention will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements wherein:  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view of a related art folder type mobile terminal.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1B is a schematic disassembled perspective view of a folder of a related art mobile terminal;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the related art folder type mobile terminal of FIG. 1 with the folder engaged;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of the related art folder of FIG. 1, an upper cover of which has been deformed due to an impact applied thereto;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 4 is a schematic disassembled perspective view of a folder of a folder type mobile terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5 is a schematic partial sectional view of the folder of FIG. 4;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a buffering member in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 7 is a schematic partial sectional view of a folder of a folder type mobile terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 8 is a schematic partial sectional view of a folder of a folder type mobile terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 9 is a schematic partial sectional view of a folder of a folder type mobile terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of an upper cover of a folder in accordance with embodiment of the invention;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of a reinforcing member in accordance with embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 12 is a schematic sectional view of a folder of a folder type mobile terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0028]    [0028]FIG. 4 is a schematic disassembled perspective view of a folder of a folder type mobile terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The folder of FIG. 4 is configured to be rotatably attached to a main body of a folder type mobile terminal, such as main body  20  of FIG. 1. The folder  100  of FIG. 4 includes an upper cover  2  which forms an outer surface of the folder, and a lower cover  4  provided with a hinge portion  10  configured to rotatably connect the folder to a main body of a folder type mobile terminal, as discussed above. A display module  6  is provided between the upper cover  2  and the lower cover  4 . The display module  6  has a sub display  12  at a front surface thereof and a main display (not shown) at a rear surface thereof. A buffering member  8  is provided between the upper cover  2  and the sub display  12  to prevent the sub display  12  from being damaged by an external impact applied to the upper cover  2 . A transparent sub window  18  for viewing information displayed on a display portion  16  of the sub display  12  from outside is provided in the upper cover  2 , and a transparent main window  28  for viewing information displayed on the main display is provided in the lower cover  4 .  
         [0029]    In order to minimize thickness of the folder  100 , only the portion of the folder  100  in which the transparent window  18  is installed protrudes from the folder  100 . That is&#39; the upper cover  2  is provided with an opening portion  14  in order to view information displayed on the sub display  12  through the transparent window  18 . Also, a rib  20  in which the transparent window  18  is mounted is formed at an edge of a lower surface of the opening portion  14 , and a protrusion portion  22  which extends upward at a predetermined angle is formed at an outer periphery of the opening portion  14 .  
         [0030]    The buffering member  8  is mounted between a lower surface of the rib  20  and the upper surface of the sub display  12 , thus preventing the rib  20  from being deformed when an external impact force F 1  is applied to an upper surface of the protrusion portion  22 , and minimizing any impact to the sub display  12 . For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the buffering member  8  may be a plate type member of a predetermined thickness with an open center portion. The buffering member may include a plurality of vent holes  26  to prevent circuit components which may be attached to the display module  6  from being damaged by environmental effects, such as moisture.  
         [0031]    The vent holes  26  may be grooves formed at predetermined intervals and of a predetermined depth along a surface of the buffering member  8  so as to connect an inside and an outside of the buffering member  8 . The buffering member  8  may be formed of any material capable of easily absorbing an impact, such as, for example, a resin material or a rubber material of a given elasticity. The buffering member  8  may be attached to either the lower surface of the rib  20  or the upper surface of the display module  6  by a material, such as an adhesive.  
         [0032]    Thus, if an external impact force F 1  is applied on the protrusion portion  22  of the upper cover  2  due to, for example, the terminal being dropped, and the rib  20  is impacted, the buffering member  8  mounted between the rib  20  and the sub display  12  absorbs the impact, thereby preventing the rib  20  from being deformed and preventing the impact from being transmitted to the sub display  12 . In this manner, damage to the display module  6  is prevented.  
         [0033]    A folder of a mobile terminal according to another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 7. The folder of FIG. 7 is configured to be rotatably attached to a main body of a folder type mobile terminal, such as main body  20  of FIG. 1.  
         [0034]    As shown in FIG. 7, a first buffering member  30  is mounted between the lower surface of the upper cover  2  and the upper surface of the sub display  12 . The first buffering member  30  is configured to absorb an impact of a force F 1  which is vertically applied to the upper cover  2 . A second buffering member  32  is mounted between a side surface of the sub display  12  and a lower surface of the upper cover  2 . The second buffering member  32  is configured to absorb an impact of a force F 2  which is laterally applied to the upper cover  2 .  
         [0035]    The upper cover  2  of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 has the same structure as the upper cover  2  previously discussed with respect to the embodiment of FIGS.  4 - 6 . Further, the first buffering member  30  is mounted between the lower surface of the rib  20  and the upper surface of the sub display  12 , and may have the same structure as the buffering member  8  previously discussed with respect to the embodiment of FIGS.  4 - 6 .  
         [0036]    The second buffering member  32  includes a first buffering portion  34  attached to an inner side of the protrusion portion  22 , and a second buffering portion  36  extending from the first buffering portion  34  and contacting the upper surface of the display module  6 . An upper surface of the first buffering portion  34  is bent at a predetermined angle so as to attach to an inner side of the protrusion portion  22 , and also contacts an outer surface of the sub display  12 . The second buffering portion  36  has a lower surface which contacts the upper surface of the display module  6  and a side surface which contacts another surface of the sub display  12 . The second buffering member  32  can be formed of any material capable of easily absorbing an impact, such as, for example, a resin material or a rubber material of a given elasticity.  
         [0037]    In the folder shown in FIG. 7, if an impact force F 1  is vertically applied to the protrusion portion  22  of the upper cover  2 , the impact is absorbed by the first buffering member  30 , thus preventing damage to the sub display  12 . Also, if an impact force F 2  is laterally applied to the protrusion portion  22  of the upper cover  2 , the impact is absorbed by the second buffering member  32 , thus preventing damage to the display module  6 .  
         [0038]    A folder of a mobile terminal according to another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 8. The folder of FIG. 8 is configured to be rotatably attached to a main body of a folder type mobile terminal, such as main body  20  of FIG. 1.  
         [0039]    The folder shown in FIG. 8 has substantially the same structure as previously discussed with respect to the embodiments of FIGS.  4 - 6  and  7 , except a second buffering member  38  is included. In this embodiment, the second buffering member  38  is a plate type member formed at a predetermined angle, and is attached to an inner surface of the protrusion portion  22  in a circumferential direction. The second buffering member  38  is preferably thin enough so that, when the upper surface thereof is attached to the inner surface of the protrusion portion  22 , the lower surface thereof does not come into contact with the display module  6 . If a force F 2  is applied on the upper cover  2  in a lateral direction, the second buffering member  38  acts as a buffer and absorbs the impact of force the F 2 , thereby preventing subsequent damage to display module  6  due to deformation of the protrusion portion  22 .  
         [0040]    A folder of a mobile terminal according to another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 9. The folder of FIG. 9 is configured to be rotatably attached to a main body of a folder type mobile terminal, such as main body  20  of FIG. 1. The folder shown in FIG. 9 has substantially the same structure as those previously discussed with respect to the embodiments of FIGS.  4 - 6 ,  7 , and  8 . However, the folder of FIG. 9 includes a reinforcing member  52  disposed at an inner surface of the upper cover  2 , for reinforcing strength of the upper cover  2 . The reinforcing member  52  is integrally formed at the inner side of the protrusion portion  22 . A buffering member  50  for absorbing an external impact, such as a force F 1 , is disposed between the lower surface of the rib  20  and the upper surface of the sub display  12 . The buffering member  50  is the same as buffering member  8  previously discussed, and therefore a detailed explanation is omitted.  
         [0041]    As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the reinforcing member  52  is integrally adhered to the inner side of the protrusion portion  22 , and is preferably formed of a metal material. The reinforcing member  52  may include one or more first cylindrical members  54 , and one or more second cylindrical members  56 . In this embodiment, the first and second cylindrical members  54  and  56 , respectively, intersect and are disposed at constant intervals in a longitudinal direction of the protrusion portion  22 . The reinforcing member  52  may be adhered to the inner side of the protrusion portion  22  when the upper cover  2  is molded, or may be integrally fabricated when the upper cover  2  is injection-molded.  
         [0042]    A folder of a mobile terminal according to another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 12. The folder of FIG. 12 is configured to be rotatably attached to a main body of a folder type mobile terminal, such as main body  20  of FIG. 1.  
         [0043]    The folder shown in FIG. 12 includes a reinforcing member, similar to the reinforcing member  52  discussed above, integrally adhered to the upper cover  2  and the lower cover  4 . That is, the upper cover  2  is reinforced by a reinforcing member  60  integrally adhered to the entire upper cover  2  when the upper cover  2  is fabricated. Also, strength of the lower cover  4  is reinforced by a reinforcing member  62  integrally adhered to the entire lower cover  4  when the lower cover  4  is fabricated. Thus, the strength of the upper cover  2  and the lower cover  4  of the folder type mobile terminal may be reinforced by providing reinforcing members  52 ,  60 , and  62 . In this manner, deformation of the upper and lower covers due to the impact of an externally applied force is prevented, thus preventing damage to the display module  6 .  
         [0044]    A folder for a folder type mobile terminal according to embodiments of the invention has at least the following advantages.  
         [0045]    A folder for a folder type mobile terminal according to embodiments of the invention is capable of preventing a display module from being damaged due to an external impact, which causes deformation of an upper cover, by installing a buffering member between the upper cover and the display module.  
         [0046]    A folder for a folder type mobile terminal according to embodiments of the invention is also capable of preventing a display module from being damaged by strengthening an upper cover and thus preventing the upper cover from being deformed.  
         [0047]    The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. The present teaching can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. The description of the invention is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures.