Opening and closing device for cellular phone

Disclosed herein is an apparatus for opening and closing a portable terminal. The apparatus includes a second cam, which has an upper rib to be latched with the upper portion of the housing and a lower rib to be latched with the bottom of the housing, thereby providing structural stability. In addition, frictional wear and noise can be suppressed while the second cam moves, thereby improving the service life and reliability of the device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a 371 of PCT International Application No. PCT/KR2007/002917 filed Jun. 15, 2007 (Publication No. WO2007/145485), which claims priority to Korean Application No. 10-2006-0054333 filed Jun. 16, 2006 (now Korean Patent No. KR10-0701500 issued Mar. 23, 2007). The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an apparatus for opening and closing portable terminals. More specifically, the invention relates to a mechanism for opening and closing the cover of a portable terminal in a foldable and semi-automatic mode.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, portable terminals having a foldable cover have become popular.

FIG. 1is a perspective view showing a conventional foldable mechanism for opening and closing a portable terminal400.FIG. 2is an exploded perspective view a portion of the folding mechanism shown inFIG. 1.

This folding mechanism for a portable terminal includes a holder portion412fixed to a cover410, a housing300inserted into and fixed to the holder portion412, a first slip portion320rotatably housed inside of the housing300, a second slip portion330fixedly housed inside of the housing and contacting the first slip portion320, a spring340urging the second slip portion330towards the first slip portion320, a first support portion402formed in a main body so as to engage the first slip portion320, and a second support portion406formed in the main body so as to rotatably support the holder portion412.

The holder portion412is provided at one side thereof with an opening414into which the housing300is inserted, and at the other side thereof with a rotation shaft416protruding so as to be rotatably coupled with the second support portion406.

In addition, the housing300(FIG. 2) has an internal space302opened such that the first slip portion320, the second slip portion330and the spring340are housed inside thereof. Formed in one side of the internal space302is a through hole304and in the other side of the internal space302is a protrusion306.

The first slip portion320has a coupling shaft322passing through the through-hole304, and a connection shaft324formed in the opposite side to the coupling shaft322. Formed around the connection shaft324is a first cylinder portion326, on top of which a first waveform face328is formed. The first waveform face328has a wave of two periods per rotation around the connection shaft324.

The second slip portion330is provided with a connection hole332formed with which the connection shaft324is rotatably engaged. A second cylinder portion334is formed around the connection hole332. Formed on top of the second cylinder portion334is a second waveform face336corresponding to the first waveform face328.

The connection shaft324is inserted into the connection hole332so as to prevent the first and second slip portions320and330from being disengaged from each other, i.e., to allow a linear movement against each other when the first and second waveform faces328and336contact and rotate.

Further, the second slip portion330is formed with a sliding protrusion338at the lateral side. In the internal opening302of the housing300, a sliding groove308is formed along the moving direction of the second slip portion330for the sliding protrusion338to be inserted into the sliding groove308. Thus, the second slip portion330is allowed to carry out a linear movement, not a rotational motion.

On the other hand, one end of the spring340is coupled with the protrusion306and the other end thereof is housed in the internal space302so as to urge the second slip portion330. The connection shaft324passes through the connection hole332and then is inserted into the spring340center to prevent the spring340from bending.

The first support portion402is formed with a fixing hole404to which the connection shaft322is fixed. The second support portion406is formed with a rotation hole408to which the rotation shaft416is rotatably coupled.

In the above conventional mechanism, however a single sliding groove308is provided in the housing300and a single sliding protrusion338is provided in the second slip portion330. Thus, the connection between the housing300and the second slip portion330is unstable for this conventional foldable mechanism.

The first slip portion320is relatively stable since its coupling shaft322is coupled to the cover410to perform a rotational movement only. However, the second slip portion330may cause distortion during its linear movement along the connection shaft324. Due to this distortion, the second slip portion330incurs frictional wear with the housing300and produces frictional noises. In addition, this frictional wear leads to shortening of the service life of the second slip portion330.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Technical Problem

The present invention has been made in order to solve at least part of the problems in the art. It is an object of the invention to (and embodiments disclosed herein may) provide a foldable and semi-automatic mechanism for opening and closing the cover of a portable terminal.

Technical Solution

In order to accomplish the above objects, according to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for opening and closing a portable terminal. The apparatus comprises a housing having an internal space, a first cam rotatably installed inside of the housing, a second cam installed inside of the housing so as to contact the first cam and to be linearly movable inside of the housing, and a resilient member for urging the first and second cam towards each other. The housing is provided with an elongated cut-out groove formed at the bottom of the housing along the moving direction of the second cam, and the second cam is provided with a lower rib formed such that the lower rib passes through the cut-out groove from inside of the housing and is slidably latched with the cut-out groove in the outside of the housing.

In an embodiment, the housing is provided with a sliding face formed at the edge of the opening along the moving direction of the second cam, and the second cam is provided with an upper rib formed so as to be slidably latched with the sliding face.

In an embodiment, the cut-out groove is provided with an expanded portion formed to have a wider width so as to pass the lower rib.

Advantageous Effects

In the opening and closing apparatus of the invention embodiments, the second cam has an upper rib to be latched with the upper portion of the housing and a lower rib to be latched with the bottom of the housing, thereby providing for structural stability. In addition, frictional wear and noise can be suppressed while the second cam moves, thereby improving the service life and reliability of the device.

MODE FOR THE INVENTION

Hereafter, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be explained, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 3 and 4are exploded perspective views of a folding mechanism of a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the invention.FIGS. 5 and 6are perspective views of the folding mechanism ofFIGS. 3 and 4.

The foldable opening and closing mechanism of a portable terminal includes a housing10, to one end side of which a through-hole14is formed and towards the top of which is opened. A first cam20is housed in the housing10so as to be movable along the longitudinal direction of the housing10. An external connection shaft24is formed in the one side thereof so as to protrude through the through-hole14. Formed in the other side of the first cam20is a first waveform face22having an axis corresponding to its own moving direction. A second cam30is housed in the housing10so as to be movable inside the housing10. The second cam30has a second waveform face32formed correspondingly to the first waveform face22. The first and second waveform faces22and32are faced to each other. The first and second cams20and30are urged towards each other by means of a resilient member.

The housing10is provided with two sliding faces12formed along both longitudinal edges of the opening of the housing. An elongated cut-out groove16is formed in the bottom floor of the housing10in the longitudinal direction thereof. Formed in one end of the cut-out groove16is an expanded portion18(FIG. 5) having a larger width.

The second cam30is formed with two upper ribs36slidably latched with the respective sliding faces12of the housing10. Further the second cam30is formed with two lower ribs38, which pass through the expanded portion18from inside of the housing10and are then slidably latched with both edges of the cut-out groove16from outside of the housing10.

The first cam20is provided with a guide shaft26protruding towards the second cam30. The second cam30is formed with a guide hole34to which the guide shaft26is rotatably engaged.

The resilient member employs various types of springs generating a pushing force, such as a compression spring, a leaf spring and a dish spring. In this embodiment, a compression spring40is used.

When assembling the foldable mechanism having the above structure, first the guide shaft26of the first cam20is passed through the guide hole34of the second cam30.

Then, the first and second cams20and30are put into the housing10while the lower rib38of the second cam30passes through the expanded portion18. If the first and second cams20and30are moved towards the through-hole14of the housing10, the external shaft24of the first cam20protrudes externally through the through-hole14, the upper rib36of the second cam30is latched with the sliding face12, and the lower rib38thereof is latched with the edges of the cut-out groove16.

Two upper ribs36are latched with the sliding faces12of the housing10and the lower rib38is latched with the cut-out groove16, thereby providing structural stability. Thus, the second cam30can be prevented from being distorted while linearly moving.

Therefore, the second cam30can move without producing unacceptable frictional noises and its service life can be extended.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, the present invention provides embodiments of a foldable opening and closing mechanism for portable terminals in a semi-automatic mode. In this mechanism, movement of the cam does not cause frictional wear and noises, thereby extending the service life of the mechanism and improving reliability thereof.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to several exemplary embodiments, the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Various modifications and variations may occur to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.