Patent Publication Number: US-2007111656-A1

Title: Electronic device having movable and rotatable upper and lower housings

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to an electronic device having movable and rotatable upper and lower housings, and more particularly, to a foldable cellular phone having movable and rotatable upper and lower housings.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      With rapid development of technology, communication systems have greatly progressed and convenient small-sized electronic devices have been widely used in daily life. With these versatile electronic devices, people can exchange information, share experiences and communicate with others almost anywhere and anytime. Aside from the functionality, the price of the product is also a major factor when the user decides what to purchase from the vast variety of communication electronic devices. Many communication electronic devices commonly available in the consumer market include an upper housing and a lower housing, such as foldable cellular phones. The upper housing of a conventional foldable cellular phone includes a display panel, and the lower housing of the foldable cellular phone includes a control panel. The upper and lower housings of the foldable cellular phone, folded in standby mode, have to be unfolded for receiving incoming calls, transmitting data or performing short message service (SMS).  
       FIG. 1  shows a diagram of a prior art foldable cellular phone  10 . The foldable cellular phone  10  includes an upper housing  12 , a lower housing  14 , and a hinge  16  via which the upper housing  12  and the lower housing  14  are connected. The hinge  16  controls the movement of the upper housing  12  and the lower housing  14 . A user can open the foldable cellular phone  10  with the upper housing  12  and the lower housing  14  folded by providing a force in a direction indicated by an arrow shown in  FIG. 1 . When the angle between the upper housing  12  and the lower housing  14  becomes larger than an angle θ, the hinge  16  takes over and provides subsequent force required for opening the upper housing  12  and the lower housing  14 . Similarly, the user closes the foldable cellular phone  10  by providing a force opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow shown in  FIG. 1 . When the angle between the upper housing  12  and the lower housing  14  becomes smaller than the angle θ, the hinge  16  takes over and provides subsequent force required for closing the upper housing  12  and the lower housing  14 .  
      In the prior art foldable cellular phone  10 , the hinge  16  is used for controlling the movement of the upper housing  12  and the lower housing  14 , so that the upper housing  12  and the lower housing  14  can be folded or unfolded in a rotatable manner. However, the hinge  16  is very expensive and raises the manufacturing cost of the foldable cellular phone  10 , thus making the foldable cellular phone  10  less competitive.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The claimed invention provides an electronic device having movable and rotatable upper and lower housings comprising an upper housing including a first latching device and a groove; a lower housing including a second latching device for engaging with the first latching device; a connecting device having a plate portion disposed in the groove of the upper housing in a movable manner; and a circular component portion connected to the plate portion and having two ends connected to the lower housing in a rotatable manner; and a first elastic element having a first end connected to the lower housing and a second end connected to the circular component portion of the connecting device.  
      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  shows a diagram of a prior art foldable cellular phone.  
       FIG. 2  shows an explosive diagram of a foldable cellular phone according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  shows an enlarged diagram of the connecting device in  FIG. 2 .  
       FIG. 4  shows a diagram of the connecting device and the lower housing in connection with each other.  
       FIG. 5  shows an enlarged diagram of the foldable cellular phone according to the present invention.  
       FIGS. 6 and 7  are diagrams illustrating the movement between the upper housing and the lower housing of the foldable cellular phone according to the present invention.  
       FIGS. 8 and 9  are enlarged diagrams of the latching devices according to the present invention.  
       FIGS. 10-13  are diagrams illustrating methods of folding and unfolding the foldable cellular phone according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       FIG. 2  shows an explosive diagram of a foldable cellular phone  20  according to the present invention. The foldable cellular phone  20  includes an upper housing  30 , a lower housing  40 , a connecting device  50 , and elastic elements  22 ,  24 . The upper housing  30 , in which a display panel can be disposed, includes protrusions  32 ,  34 . The lower housing  40 , in which a control panel can be disposed, includes protrusions  42 ,  44 . The connecting device  50  includes a plate portion  52  and a circular component portion  54 . The plate portion  52  can be connected to the protrusions  32  and  34  of the upper housing  30  via the elastic element  22 . One end of the circular component portion  54  can be connected to the protrusion  44  of the lower housing  40  via the elastic element  24 . The methods with which the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  are connected to the elastic elements  22 ,  24  will be described in more detail later.  
       FIG. 3  shows an enlarged diagram of the connecting device  50  in  FIG. 2 . The connecting device  50  includes the plate portion  52  and the circular component portion  54 . One end of an elastic element  22  is attached to one side of a slot located a first end of the plate portion  52 , while the other end of the elastic element  22  is connected to the protrusion  42  of the lower housing  40  (as shown in  FIG. 3 ). Similarly, one end of an elastic element  22  is attached to one side of a slot located a second end of the plate portion  52 , while the other end of the elastic element  22  is connected to the protrusion  44  of the lower housing  40  (not shown in  FIG. 3 ). Therefore, the upper housing  30  and the connecting device  50  can be connected via two elastic elements  22 . The elastic elements  22  can include springs, whose natural force works in a direction  2  represented by an arrow in  FIG. 3 . When a force is applied externally in a direction  1  represented by an arrow in  FIG. 3 , the natural force of the elastic element  22  provides a reverse force in the opposite direction (the direction  2 ).  
       FIG. 4  shows a diagram of the connecting device  50  and the lower housing  30  in connection with each other. The circular component portion  54  of the connecting device  50  includes a hollow structure. One end of the circular component portion  54  is disposed in a concave cavity in the protrusion  42  of the lower housing  40 , and can move in a rotatable manner. The other end of the circular component portion  54  is connected to a concave cavity in the protrusion  44  of the lower housing  40  via the elastic element  24 , and can move in a rotatable manner. Since the elastic element  24  is disposed in the hollow structure of the circular component portion  54  and the concave cavity of the protrusion  44 , the elastic element  24  is not shown in  FIG. 4 . The elastic element  24  can include a torsional spring, whose natural force works in a direction  4  represented by an arrow in  FIG. 4 . When a force is applied externally in a direction  3  represented by an arrow in  FIG. 3 , the natural force of the elastic element  24  provides a reverse force in the opposite direction (the direction  4 ). When no force is applied externally, the natural force of the elastic element  24  provides a force in the direction  4  so that the lower housing  40  and the connecting device  50  remain unfolded with an angle, as shown in  FIG. 4 .  
       FIG. 5  shows an enlarged diagram of the devices of the foldable cellular phone  20  at the connecting location. The upper housing  30  and the connecting device  50  can move towards or away from each other in a linear direction, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . The lower housing  40  and the plate portion  52  of the connecting device  50  can move toward or away from each other in a rotatable manner, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . When no force is applied externally, the natural force of the elastic elements  22 ,  24  opens the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  so that the surfaces of the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  are disposed at a certain angle, as shown in  FIG. 5 .  
       FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrate the movement between the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  of the foldable cellular phone  20 . The upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  further includes latching devices  36 ,  46 , respectively. When a user applies a force in the direction  3 , the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  can be moved closer to each other. However, once the external force is removed, the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  will be pushed away from each other by the natural force of the elastic element  24  working in the direction  4 . Therefore, the latching devices  36 ,  46  are required for fastening the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40 . When the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  are in contact with each other due to a force applied by the user in the direction  3 , the natural force of the elastic element  22  applies a force in the direction  2 , thereby connecting the latching devices  36 ,  46  to each other, as shown in  FIG. 6 . Since the latching devices  36 ,  46  are connected to each other, the latching device  46  of the lower housing  40  is not shown in  FIG. 6 . In  FIG. 7 , the user can open the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  of the foldable cellular phone  20  by applying a force in the direction  1 , thereby separating the latching devices  36 ,  46  from each other. Subsequently, the natural force of the elastic element  24  applies a force in the direction  4 , thereby pushing the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  away from each other. Because the latching devices  36 ,  46  are separated from each other, the latching device  46  of the lower housing  40  is clearly shown in  FIG. 7 . The latching device  36  can include a hook, and the latching device  46  can include a slot. Or, the latching device  36  can include a slot, and the latching device  46  can include a hook.  
       FIGS. 8 and 9  are enlarged diagrams of the latching devices  36 ,  46 . As mentioned before, the latching devices  36 ,  46  can have different structures. In the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the latching device  36  forms a slot with the lower housing  40 , and the latching device  46  includes a hook. The latching device  36  has an inclined plane, along which a hook-shaped end of the latching device  36  can slide downwards when a force is applied in the direction  3 . When the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  are in contact with each other, the natural force of the elastic element  22  applies a force in the direction  2  so that the hook-shaped end of the latching device  46  is pushed under the bottom of the latching device  36 . Therefore, the latching devices  36 ,  46  are latched and the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  can remain folded. Similarly, the hook-shaped end of the latching device  46  can be separated from the bottom of the latching device  36  by applying a force in the direction  1 . Once the hook-shaped end of the latching device  46  is no longer in contact with the bottom of the latching device  36 , the natural force of the elastic element  24  applies a force in the direction  4  for separating the upper housing  30  from the lower housing  40 . At this time, the hook-shaped end of the latching device  46  slides upwards along the inclined plane of the latching device  36  until the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  are unfolded.  
       FIGS. 10-13  are diagrams illustrating methods of folding and unfolding the foldable cellular phone  20 . The method of folding the foldable cellular phone  20  according to the present invention includes the following steps and can be depicted using  FIGS. 10-13  sequentially:  
      Step 1: apply a force in a direction opposite to the natural force of the elastic element  22  for separating the latching devices  36 ,  46 ; and  
      Step 2: separating the upper housing  30  from the lower housing  40  in a rotatable manner using the natural force of the elastic element  24 .  
      The foldable cellular phone  20  shown in  FIG. 10  is folded. After separating the latching devices  36 ,  46  from each other in step 1, the foldable cellular phone  20  is shown in  FIG. 11 . When the natural force of the elastic element  24  begins to separate the upper housing  30  from the lower housing  40  in a rotatable manner, the foldable cellular phone  20  is shown in  FIG. 12 . After the steps 1 and 2 are completed, the foldable cellular phone  20  is shown in  FIG. 13 .  
      The method of unfolding the foldable cellular phone  20  according to the present invention includes the following steps and can be depicted using  FIGS. 13-10  sequentially:  
      Step 3: apply a force in a direction opposite to the natural force of the elastic element  24  for moving the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  towards each other in a rotatable manner; and  
      Step 4: connecting the latching devices  36  and  46  using the natural force of the elastic element  22  for connecting the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  with each other.  
      The foldable cellular phone  20  shown in  FIG. 13  is unfolded. In step 3, the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  are moved towards each other in a rotatable manner (as shown in  FIG. 12 ), and finally in contact with each other (as shown in  FIG. 11 ). In  FIG. 10 , the latching devices  36 ,  46  are connected by the natural force of the elastic element  22  and the foldable cellular phone  20  is folded, as shown in  FIG. 10 .  
      In the foldable cellular phone  20  of the present invention, the elastic elements  22 ,  24  and the connecting device  50  are used for controlling the movement of the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40 , so that the upper housing  30  and the lower housing  40  can be folded and unfolded in linear and rotatable manners. Compared to the expensive hinge  16  used in the prior art foldable cellular phone  10 , the elastic elements  22 ,  24  used in the present invention are inexpensive and simple. Therefore, the present invention can reduce the manufacturing cost and increase compatibility of foldable cellular phones.  
      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. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.