Patent Publication Number: US-RE46132-E

Title: Electronic device with biaxial pivoting mechanism

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electronic device with a biaxial pivoting mechanism, and more particularly, to an electronic device with a biaxial pivoting mechanism for ergonomic design. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  is a diagram of a portable electronic device  10  in the prior art. The portable electronic device  10  includes an upper housing  12  whereon a display  14  is disposed, and a lower housing  16  whereon a keyboard  18  and other electronic components are disposed. Generally, the portable electronic device  10  further includes at least one protrusion  20  disposed on a bottom of the lower housing  16  for preventing abrasion of the bottom of the lower housing  16 . The protrusion  20  of the portable electronic device  10  is small for preferred appearance, so that the lower housing  16  is horizontally placed on the table. Therefore, an inclined angle of the keyboard  18  of the portable electronic device  10  relative to the table does not correspond with a ergonomic design, and results ankylosis of a shoulder, a neck, and a wrist. In addition, a gap between the bottom of the lower housing  16  and the table is small, so that the portable electronic device  19  does not dissipate heat effectively. Thus, design of a portable electronic device having a pivoting mechanism with aesthetic and practicability is an important issue of the electronic industry. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides an electronic device with a biaxial pivoting mechanism for ergonomic design for solving above drawbacks. 
     According to the claimed invention, an electronic device includes a first housing, a first pivoting mechanism disposed on a side of the first housing, a second housing, a second pivoting mechanism disposed on a side of the second housing, and a bridging component. A first end and a second end of the bridging component are respectively pivoted on the first pivoting mechanism and the second pivoting mechanism. The bridging component includes a first contacting portion for contacting against the side of the first housing when the first pivoting mechanism pivots on the first end so that the first housing rotates around the second housing at a first angle, and a second contacting portion for contacting against the side of the second housing when the second end pivots on the second pivoting mechanism so that the first housing rotates around the second housing at a second angle greater than the first angle. 
     According to the claimed invention, a torque of the first pivoting mechanism pivoting on the first end is smaller than a torque of the second pivoting mechanism pivoting on the second end. 
     According to the claimed invention, the bridging component comprises a bending portion connected to the first contacting portion and the second contacting portion and disposed on a supporting surface, and the bending portion rotates around the supporting surface to drive the second end of the bridging component to pivot on the second pivoting mechanism so that a gap is formed between the second housing and the supporting surface when the side of the first housing contacts against the first contacting portion of the bridging component. 
     According to the claimed invention, a third angle is formed between the second housing and the supporting surface when the side of the second housing contacts against the second contacting portion of the bridging component. 
     According to the claimed invention, the third angle is substantially less than 5 degrees. 
     According to the claimed invention, the bridging component is a U-shaped structure. 
     According to the claimed invention, the first angle is substantially 67.5 degrees. 
     According to the claimed invention, the second angle is substantially 135 degrees. 
     According to the claimed invention, a covering component is for covering the bridging component. 
     According to the claimed invention, a buffer is disposed on an outer side of the covering component for preventing abrasion of the covering component. 
     These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram of a portable electronic device in the prior art. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded diagram of an electronic device according to a one of the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an assembly diagram of the electronic device according to one of the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram of the closed electronic device according to one of the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram of the electronic device in an opening process according to one of the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram of the electronic device at a maximal angle according to one of the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram of the electronic device at the maximal angle according to one of the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram of the electronic device in the closing process according to one of the embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram of the closed electronic device according to one of the embodiments of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Please refer to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 2  is an exploded diagram of an electronic device  30  according to an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 3  is an assembly diagram of the electronic device  30  according to the embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device  30  can be a portable computer device, such as a notebook computer. The electronic device  30  includes a first housing  32 , and a first pivoting mechanism  34  disposed on a side of the first housing  32 . The first housing  32  can be an upper housing of the electronic device  30  for containing a liquid crystal display. The electronic device  30  further includes a second housing  36 , and a second pivoting mechanism  38  disposed on a side of the second housing  36 . The second housing  36  can be a lower housing of the electronic device  30  for containing a keyboard and other electronic components, such as a main board, a hard disk, and so on. The electronic device  30  further includes a bridging component  40 . A first end  401  and a second end  402  of the bridging component  40  are respectively pivoted on the first pivoting mechanism  34  and the second pivoting mechanism  38 . Therefore, the first housing  32  can pivot on the bridging component  40  via the first pivoting mechanism  34 , and the bridging component  40  can pivot on the second housing  36  via the second pivoting mechanism  38 , so that the electronic device  30  can be folded by pivoting the first housing  32  on the second housing  36 . The electronic device  30  can further include a covering component  50  for covering the bridging component  40 , so as to prevent abrasion of the bridging component  40 . The electronic device  30  can further include a buffer  52  disposed on an outer side of the covering component  50 . When the electronic device  30  is placed on a supporting surface  48 , the buffer  52  can prevent abrasion of the covering component  50  due to rubbing with the supporting surface  48 . 
     In addition, the bridging component  40  includes a first contacting portion  42 . When the first pivoting mechanism  34  pivots on the first end  401  of the bridging component  40  so as to rotate the first housing  32  around the second housing  36  at a first angle θ 1 , the first contacting portion  42  contacts against the side of the first housing  32 , so as to constrain a rotation between the first housing  32  and the bridging component  40 . Generally, the first angle θ 1  can be 67.5 degrees. The bridging component  40  further includes a second contacting portion  44 . When the second end  403  of the bridging component  40  pivots on the second pivoting mechanism  38  so as to rotate the first housing  32  around the second housing  36  at a second angle θ 2  substantially greater than the first angle θ 1 , the second contacting portion  44  contacts against the side of the second housing  36 , so as to constrain a rotation between the bridging component  40  and the second housing  36 . Generally, the second angle θ 2  can be 135 degrees. Besides, a torque of the first pivoting mechanism  34  pivoting on the first end  401  is smaller than a torque of the second pivoting mechanism  38  pivoting on the second end  403 . That is to say, when the first housing  32  starts to rotate, the bridging component  40  does not rotate around the second housing  36  immediately until the side of the first housing  32  contacts against the first contacting portion  42 . When the side of the first housing  32  contacts against the first contacting portion  42 , the first pivoting mechanism  34  can not pivot on the first end  401  of the bridging component  40  and the second pivoting mechanism  38  starts to pivot on the second end  403  of the bridging component  40 . Values of the first angle θ 1  and the second angle θ 2  are not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and it depends on design demand. 
     Furthermore, the bridging component  40  can further include a bending portion  46  connected to the first contacting portion  42  and the second contacting portion  44  for placing on a supporting surface  48 . For example, the bridging component  40  can be a U-shaped structure. When the first housing  32  rotates around the bridging component  40  and the side of the first housing  32  contacts against the first contacting portion  42  of the bridging component  40 , the bending portion  46  can rotate around the supporting surface  48 , so as to drive the second end  403  of the bridging component  40  to pivot on the second pivoting mechanism  38 , and to form a gap H between the second housing  36  and the supporting surface  48 . The gap H varies with the rotation angle of the bending portion  46  relative to the supporting surface  48 . For example, there is the maximum gap H when the side of the second housing  36  contacts against the second contacting portion  44 . At this time, a third angle θ 3  is formed between the second housing  36  and the supporting surface  48 , and the third angle θ 3  can substantially less than 5 degrees. Values of the third angle θ 3  is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and it depends on design demand. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 4  to  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 4  is a diagram of the closed electronic device  30  according to one of the embodiments of the present invention.  FIG. 5  is a diagram of the electronic device  30  in an opening process according to one of the embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 6  is a diagram of the electronic device  30  at a maximal opening angle according to one of the embodiments of the present invention. When operating the electronic device  30 , a user can rotate the first housing  32  from a position as shown in  FIG. 4  to a position as shown in  FIG. 5  along a clockwise direction D 1 . Because the torque of the first pivoting mechanism  34  pivoting on the first end  401  is smaller than the torque of the second pivoting mechanism  38  pivoting on the second end  403 , which means the torque for driving the second pivoting mechanism  38  is greater than the torque for driving the first pivoting mechanism  34 , the user can not rotate the bridging component  40  around the second housing  36  when starting to push the first housing  32  to pivot on the bridging component  40 . At this time, a bottom of the second housing  36  is placed on the supporting surface  48 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , when the first housing  32  pivots on the second housing  36  at the first angle θ 1  along the clockwise direction D 1 , the side of the first housing  32  contacts against the first contacting portion  42  of the bridging component  40 , which means the first housing  32  pivots on the bridging component  40  at the maximal angle. Meanwhile, the first angle θ 1  can substantially be 67.5 degrees. 
     When the first housing  32  rotates from the position as shown in  FIG. 5  to a position as shown in  FIG. 6  along the clockwise direction D 1 , because the first housing  32  can not pivot on the bridging component  40  anymore, the torque of the second pivoting mechanism  38  applied by the user must be greater than the torque of the first pivoting mechanism  34 , so as to drive the second pivoting mechanism  38 . Afterward, the first housing  32  presses the bridging component  40 , so that the bending portion  46  of the bridging component  40  rotates around the supporting surface  48 , so as to drive the second end  403  of the bridging component  40  to pivot on the second pivoting mechanism  38 . Meanwhile, an end of the bending portion  46  contacts against the supporting surface  48  for arising the side of the second housing  36 , then, the gap H is formed between the second housing  36  and the supporting surface  48 . The gap H varies with the rotation angle of the bending portion  46  relative to the second housing  36 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , when the first housing  32  pivots on the second housing  36  at the second angle θ 2  along the clockwise direction D 1 , the second contacting portion  44  of the bridging component  40  contacts against the side of the second housing  36 , which means that is the maximum rotation angle of the bridging component  40  relative to the second housing  36 . The second angle θ 2  can substantially be 135 degrees. At this time, there is the maximum height of the side of the second housing  36  pushed by the bending portion  46  accordingly, and the third angle θ 3  is formed between the second housing  36  and the supporting surface  48 . The third angle θ 3  can substantially be less than 5 degrees. Therefore, when the first housing  32  rotates around the second housing  36  at the second angle θ 2  along the clockwise direction D 1 , the second housing  36  is tilted for comfortable operation of the keyboard disposed on the second housing  36  at the third angle θ 3 . Besides, when the first housing  32  rotates around the second housing  36 , the gap H formed between the second housing  36  and the supporting surface  48  can prevent the bottom of the second housing  36  from placing on the supporting surface  48  directly. Thus, the gap H can increase the heat convection space between the second housing  36  and the supporting surface  48  for increasing heat-dissipating efficiency of electronic components disposed inside the second housing  36 . 
     Similar to the above-mentioned opening procedure, the closing procedure of the electronic device  30  is introduced as follows. Please refer to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 7  to  FIG. 9 .  FIG. 7  is a diagram of the electronic device  30  at the maximum opening angle according to one of the embodiments of the present invention.  FIG. 8  is a diagram of the electronic device  30  in the closing process according to one of the embodiments of the present invention.  FIG. 9  is a diagram of the closed electronic device  30  according to one of the embodiments of the present invention. The first housing  32  can pivot from a position as shown in  FIG. 7  to a position as shown in  FIG. 8  along a counterclockwise direction D 2  when folding the electronic device  30 . The torque of the second pivoting mechanism  38  pivoting on the second end  403  is greater than the torque of the first pivoting mechanism  34  pivoting on the first end  401 . When the first housing  32  starts to pivot on the bridging component  40 , the bridging component  40  does not rotate around the second housing  36 , and the angle formed between the bridging component  40  and the supporting surface  48  keeps the third angle θ 3  until the side of the first housing  32  contacts against the first contacting portion  42  of the bridging component  40 . When the first housing  32  pivots on the first end  401  at the first angle θ 1  along the counterclockwise direction D 2 , the side of the first housing  32  contacts against the first contacting portion  42  of the bridging component  40 . Because the first housing  32  can not pivot on the bridging component  40  anymore, the user must apply a torque greater than the torque of the first pivoting mechanism  34  for driving the second pivoting mechanism  38 . Meanwhile, the bending portion  46  can rotate around the second housing  36 , so as to drive the second end  403  of the bridging component  40  to pivot on the second pivoting mechanism  38  at the second angle θ 2  along the counterclockwise direction D 2 , which means the first housing  32  can pivot from the position as shown in  FIG. 6  (the dotted line as shown in the  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9 ) to a position as shown in  FIG. 9 . The gap between the second housing  36  and the supporting surface  48  decreases accordingly, and the bottom of the second housing  36  is placed on the supporting surface  48  horizontally when the electronic device is folded completely. Thus, the electronic device  30  of the present invention can adjust the inclined angle between the second housing  36  and the supporting surface  48  according to the angle variation between the first housing  32  and the second housing  36 . 
     Comparing to the prior art, the electronic device with a biaxial pivoting mechanism of the present invention can adjust the inclined angle between the second housing and the supporting surface according to the angle variation between the first housing and the second housing. The present invention not only can adjust the inclined angle of the keyboard and the height of the liquid crystal display for comfortable operation, but also can form the gap between the housing and the supporting surface so as to increase the heat-dissipating efficiency of the electronic device. 
     Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention.