Abstract:
A sliding mechanism with variable sliding range thereof is disclosed, which is applied to a sliding type mobile phone and comprises: a slider; two sliding blocks for sliding on the slider and each having a sliding groove thereon; two rods, each having a fixed end and a free end, wherein the fixed ends are mounted on the slider, and the free ends are respectively located in the sliding grooves of the two sliding blocks; and two springs, respectively located in the sliding grooves of the two sliding blocks and connected the free ends of the two rods; whereby when the distance between the two sliding blocks is increased, the sliding range of the two sliding blocks is increased.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     (1) Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The invention relates to a sliding mechanism with variable sliding range thereof, and more particularly to a sliding mechanism applied to a sliding type mobile phone.  
         [0003]     (2) Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     Recently, the designs of modem mobile phones have become more complex, and now, the sliding type mobile phone is the mainstream in the mobile phone industry.  
         [0005]     The most important part of the sliding type mobile phone is the cover-sliding structure. In order to open the sliding cover easily, the design of the most sliding cover is semi-automatic. That is, user pushes the sliding cover for a certain distance, the sliding cover may reach an open position or a closed position thereof.  
         [0006]     Please refer to  FIG. 1A , which illustrates a sliding type mobile phone with a cover-sliding structure in the prior art. As shown in  FIG. 1A , the cover-sliding structure  10  includes a slider  12 , a sliding block  14 , a rod  16 , an expansion spring  18 , and a torsional spring  19 , wherein the sliding block  14  is installed on the slider  12 . On the sliding block  14 , there is a sliding groove  142 . The moving direction of the sliding groove  142  is perpendicular to the moving direction of the slider  12 . The rod  16  has a fixed end  162  and a free end  164 , wherein the fixed end is mounted on the slider  12 , and the free end  164  slides in the sliding groove  142 . The expansion spring  18  is in the sliding groove  142 . One end of the expansion spring  18  is connected to an end of the sliding groove  142 , and the other end of the expansion spring  18  is connected to the free end  164 . Both ends of the torsion spring  19  are respectively connected to the slider  12  and the sliding block  14 .  
         [0007]      FIG. 1A ,  FIG. 1B , and  FIG. 1C  illustrate the sliding process of the cover-sliding structure. As shown in the figures, the movement of the sliding block  14  can also make the rod  16  rotate, so that the free end  164  of the rod  16  can move along the sliding groove  142 . However, according to the design of the sliding groove  142 , the free end  164  of the rod  16  can only slides in a certain range of the sliding groove. In other words, the rod  16  can only rotate in the certain range as shown in  FIG. 1A  to  1 C, and thus, the sliding block  14  is limited to slide in a certain range. The range is the sliding range of the cover-sliding structure.  
         [0008]     Again, when the sliding block  14  moves from a position shown in  FIG. 1A  to a position shown in  FIG. 1B , the expansion spring  18  in the sliding groove  142  is expanded, so that an elastic restoration force is produced, which is applied to the free end  164  of the rod  16 . The elastic restoration force makes the length of the expansion spring  18  be shrunk back to the length as shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1C . That is, the elastic restoration force provided by the torsion spring  18  make the sliding block  14  move toward an end point of its sliding travel, as shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1C .  
         [0009]     Next, the movement of the sliding block can also change the torsion extent of the torsional spring  19 . The main purpose of the torsional spring  19  is to appropriately balance a force exerted by the expansion spring  18 , so that the sliding block  14  can move more stably. Furthermore, if the torsional spring  19  in  FIG. 1B  is in its original status, then the force provided by the torsional spring  19  make the sliding block  14  to move toward the center of the sliding range, as shown in  FIG. 1B . Therefore, the force provided by the torsional spring  19  may partially counterbalance the force provided by the expansion spring  18 , specially, at the ends of the sliding travel of the sliding block, as shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1C , and vibration caused by the sliding block  14  during sliding process can be greatly reduced.  
         [0010]     However, the sliding range of the cover-sliding structure  10  cannot be changed due to its structural design; therefore, in order to match different mobile phones with sliding covers, it is necessary to develop various sliding mechanisms having different sliding ranges, which means that not only the costs of design and production are increased, but also raw materials to be used are increased.  
         [0011]     In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a sliding mechanism with variable sliding range thereof, which can match, through changing the sliding range, with mobile phones having different sliding covers, so that production costs can be saved, and the raw materials to be used can be reduced.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     It is an object of the present invention to provide a sliding mechanism with variable sliding range thereof so as to match mobile phones having different sliding covers.  
         [0013]     The present invention provides a sliding mechanism with variable sliding range thereoffor use on a sliding type mobile phone. The sliding mechanism with variable sliding range thereof includes a slider, two sliding blocks, two rods, and two springs, wherein the two sliding block slide on the slider, the distance between the two sliding blocks is adjustable. Moreover, each sliding blocks has a sliding groove thereon. Each rod has a fixed end and a free end. The fixed ends are mounted on the slider, and the free ends are respectively located in the sliding grooves of these two sliding blocks. These two springs are located in the sliding groove of these two sliding blocks, and are respectively connected to the free ends of the correspondent rods. Thereby, when the distance between the two sliding blocks is increased, the sliding range of the sliding blocks on the slider can be increased as well.  
         [0014]     Through the sliding mechanism with its variable sliding range of the present invention, the present invention also provides a sliding type mobile phone. The sliding type mobile phone has an upper body, a lower body, and a sliding mechanism, wherein the sliding mechanism includes a slider, two sliding blocks, two rods, and two springs. The slider is mounted on the lower body. The two sliding blocks are mounted on the upper body and can slide on the slider. The distance between the sliding blocks is adjustable. Moreover, each sliding block has a sliding groove thereon. Each rod has a fixed end and a free end. The fixed ends are mounted on the slider and the free ends of the two rods are respectively located in the sliding grooves of the correspondent sliding blocks. The two springs are respectively located in the sliding grooves of the sliding blocks, and are respectively connected to the free ends of the correspondent rods. Thereby, when the distance between the two sliding blocks is increased, the sliding travel of the upper body in response to the lower body is also increased. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]     The present invention will now be specified with reference to its preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings, in which:  
         [0016]      FIG. 1A  to  FIG. 1C  illustrate a sliding mechanism and its sliding process of a sliding type mobile phone in the prior art;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 2C  illustrate a sliding mechanism with its variable sliding range and its sliding process of the present invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged view of sliding blocks of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  to  FIG. 5  illustrate that adjusting the distance between the first sliding block and the second sliding block to change the sliding range; and  
         [0020]      FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B  illustrate the sliding mechanism with variable sliding range of the present invention, which is applied to a sliding type mobile phone. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0021]     Please refer to  FIG. 2A , which illustrates a sliding mechanism with variable sliding range of a sliding type mobile phone of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the sliding mechanism  20  includes a slider  22 , a first sliding block  23 , a second sliding block  24 , two pieces of plates  29 , a first rod  25 , a second rod  26 , a first spring  27 , and a second spring  28 . The first sliding block  23  and the second sliding block  24  slide on the slider  22 . The two plates  29  are mounted at ends of the first sliding block  23  and the second sliding block  24  so as to determine the distance between the first sliding block  23  and the second sliding block  24 .  
         [0022]     The first sliding block  23  has a first sliding groove  232  thereon, and the second sliding block  24  has a second sliding groove  242  thereon. The first sliding groove  232  is perpendicular to the slider  22 , and the second sliding groove  242  is perpendicular to the slider  22 . The first rod  25  has a first fixed end  252  and a first free end  254 . The first fixed end  252  is mounted on the slider  22 , and the first free end  254  is located in the first sliding groove  232 . The second rod  26  has a second fixed end  262  and a second free end  264 . The second fixed end  262  is mounted on the slider  22 , and the second free end  264  is located in the second sliding groove  242 .  
         [0023]     The first spring  27  is located in the first sliding groove  232 . An end (top end as shown in the figure) of the first spring  27  is mounted on the first sliding block  23 , and another end of the first spring  27  is connected to the first free end  254 . The second spring  28  is located in the second sliding groove  242 . An end (bottom end as shown in the figure) of the second spring  28  is mounted on the second sliding block  24 , and the other end of the second spring  28  is connected to the second free end  264 .  
         [0024]     Please refer to  FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 2C , which illustrate the sliding process of the sliding mechanism  20  of the present invention. As shown in the figures, because the first fixed end  252  and the second fixed end  262  are respectively close to the ends of the slider  22 , and the first sliding block  23  and the second sliding block  24  slides from the right-hand end to the left-hand end, the movement of first sliding block  23  on the slider  22  makes the first rod  25  to rotate in a clockwise direction, indicated by an arrow as shown in  FIG. 2B . The movement of the second sliding block  24  on the slider  22  makes the second rod  26  to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, indicated by an arrow, as shown in  FIG. 2B . Simultaneously, the rotations of the first rod  25  and the second rod  26  also make the first free end  254  and the second free end  264  to slide along the first sliding groove  232  and the second sliding groove  242 .  
         [0025]     As shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , when the first sliding block  23  and the second sliding block  24  move from the right-hand end to the center of the slider  22 , the first free end  254  slides down along the first sliding groove  232 , and the second free end  264  slides up along the second sliding groove  242 . At the same time, the first spring  27  is stretched to produce an elastic restoration force which is applied to the first free end  254 , and the second spring  28  is stretched to produce an elastic restoration force which is applied to the second free end  264 . Please refer to  FIG. 2B  to  2 C, when the first sliding block  23  and the second sliding block  24  move from the center to the left-hand end of the slider  22 , the first spring  27  and the second spring  28  gradually recover to its original length, as shown in  FIG. 2C . Therefore, as the first spring  27  and the second spring  28  are stretched by an external force, the elastic restoration force is produced and making the first sliding block  23  and the second sliding block  25  to move toward the left-hand end and the right-hand end of the slider  22 , as shown in  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2C .  
         [0026]     it must be noted that the first fixed end  242  is located in the sliding range of the sliding groove  22  of the first sliding block  23 , and the second fixed end  262  is located in the sliding range of the sliding groove  22  of the second sliding block  24 . In other words, as the first sliding block  23  moves, the first free end  254  moves from one side to the other side of the fixed end  252 . As the second sliding block  24  moves, the second free end  264  moves from on side to the other side of the second fixed end  262 . During the movement, there is a balance position where the force applied to the first sliding block  23  by the first spring  27  counterbalances the force applied to the second sliding block  23  by the second spring  28 . When the two sliding blocks  23  and sliding blocks  24  depart from the balance positions, the forces provided by the two springs  27  and  28  make the sliding blocks  23  and  24  to move toward the left-hand end and right-hand end of the slider  22 .  
         [0027]     In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first spring  27  and the second spring  28  can be two torsional springs. Under the conditions as shown in  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2C , the first spring  27  and the second spring  28  are in an unexpanded status;, when the first sliding block  23  and the second sliding block  24  are sliding along the slider  22  as shown in  FIG. 2B , the first spring  27  and the second spring  28  are in an expanded status.  
         [0028]     Please refer to  FIG. 3 , which is an enlarged view of the sliding blocks  23  and  24 . Taking the first sliding block as an example, the first sliding groove of the first sliding block  23  is divided into an upper portion and a lower portion, wherein the width of the upper portion  232   b  is smaller than that of the lower portion  232   a,  so the free end  254  of the first rod can only slide in the lower portion  232   a  of the first sliding groove. In other words, the upper end of the lower portion limits the sliding range of the free end  254 . Similarly, the lower end of the upper portion  242   a  of the second sliding groove limits the sliding range of the free end  264 .  
         [0029]     As mentioned above, since the free ends  254  and  264  of the first rod and the second free end are limited, the first rod  25  and the second rod  26  can only slide in a certain range in the first sliding groove  232  and the second sliding groove  242 . Therefore, the rotating ranges of the first rod  25  and the second rod  26  are limited and can only rotate in a certain range as shown in  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2C , and the sliding ranges of the first sliding block  23  and the second sliding block  24  are also limited and can only slide in a certain range. The certain range means the sliding range of the sliding mechanism  20 .  
         [0030]     Please refer to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , which show the effect of changing the distance between the first sliding block  23  and the second sliding block  24  on the sliding range of the slider. As shown in the figures, when the distance between the first sliding block  23  and the second sliding block  24  is reduced from L 1  to L 2 , the sliding range of the first sliding block  23  and the second sliding block  24  is reduced from D 1  to D 2 .  
         [0031]     Please refer to  FIGS. 6A and 6B , which show the preferred embodiment, in which the sliding mechanism with its variable sliding range is applied to the sliding type mobile phone. As shown in the figures, the sliding type mobile phone has an upper body  30 , a lower body  40 . The slider  22  is disposed on the lower body  40 . The two sliding blocks  23  and  24  are mounted on the upper body  30  and slide on the slider  22 . Thereby, the upper body  30  of the sliding type mobile phone can slide relative to the lower body  40 . Basically, the upper body  30  can be the sliding cover of the sliding type mobile phone, and the lower body can be provided with a printed circuit board, a battery, and touch panel elements etc.  
         [0032]     As shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , adjusting the distance between the first sliding block  23  and the second sliding block  24  can change the sliding range of the sliding mechanism of the present invention; moreover, the distance between the first sliding block  23  and the second sliding block  24  can be determined through changing the position where they are mounted on the plates  29 . Therefore, the sliding mechanism of the present invention can match with different sliding type mobile phones through adjusting its sliding range. Thereby, the design and production costs can be reduced, and the raw materials to be used can be reduced also.  
         [0033]     While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.