Patent Publication Number: US-2006010649-A1

Title: Hinge assembly for media player

Description:
BACKGROUND  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention generally relates to hinge assemblies, and particularly to a hinge assembly for a media player such as an optical disk player.  
      2. Related Art  
      Media players are apparatuses for reproducing and/or recording electronic data from and/or onto various storage media. A media player usually comprises a main body and a cover body having a display screen. Electronic modules contained in the main body are for reproduction and/or recording of the data. The display screen of the cover body is for providing information or graphics thereon, such as system information of the media player, reproduced information, and so on. Generally, a hinge device is provided in the media player for pivotally attaching the display screen to the main body, and being able to adjust the display screen to a desired position for viewing.  
      Conventional hinge devices include a stationary piece, a movable piece, and a shaft interconnecting the stationary and movable pieces. The stationary and movable pieces are secured to the shaft, and are rotatable relative to each other. The movable piece is generally held and maintained at a predetermined position by an elastic force, a friction force, a torsion force, or the like. However, most hinge devices are not adjustable once assembled. That is, a retaining force applied to the movable piece is constant, once the hinge device is assembled. As the movable piece is generally fixed to (for example) a cover body to adjust the position of the cover body, the hinge device has to be capable of sustaining the weight of the cover body at any possible position. This means that any one conventional hinge device is only suited for media players with covers having a similar weight. When a media player has a cover with a different weight, another hinge device compatible with the cover needs to be obtained.  
      Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.  
     SUMMARY  
      Briefly described, one embodiment of a hinge assembly for a media player, among others, can be implemented as described herein.  
      The hinge assembly for a media player having a main body and a cover, comprises a first hinge subassembly. The first hinge subassembly comprises a first base plate adapted to be secured to the main body of the media player, a first joint axle secured to the first base plate, a first hinge arm adapted to be secured to the cover of the media player, at least one resilient bushing surrounding the first joint axle and arranged adjacent the first end of the first hinge arm, and an adjustable fastener coupled to the first joint axle for exerting an adjustable force applied to the first end of the first hinge arm. The first hinge arm has a first end pivotally coupled to the first joint axle. The adjustable fastener is positioned to generate a friction force between the first end of the first hinge arm and the at least one resilient bushing, and the friction force is sufficient to overcome gravitational force acting on the cover of the media player.  
      Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present invention will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.  
       FIG. 1  is an exploded, isometric view of a media player with a hinge assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged, exploded, isometric view of a first hinge subassembly of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3  is an enlarged, exploded, isometric view of a second hinge subassembly of  FIG. 1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the preferred embodiments of the present invention in detail.  
      Referring to  FIG. 1 , a media player  100  with a hinge assembly  3  is shown. The media player  100  is a portable disk player, and comprises a main body  1  and a cover body  2  pivotally mounted to the main body  1  by the hinge assembly  3 . The main body  1  includes a lower portion  12 , and an upper portion  14  attached to the lower portion  12 . The lower portion  12  and the upper portion  14  cooperatively form a space for receiving a reproduction and/or recording module (not labeled) therein. The cover body  2  includes an exterior cover shell  22 , and an interior cover shell  24  coupled to the exterior cover shell  22 . The exterior and interior cover shells  22  and  24  cooperatively form a space for receiving a liquid crystal display (not labeled) therein.  
      The hinge assembly  3  includes a first hinge subassembly  40  and a second hinge subassembly  50  coaxially disposed around rear edges of the main body  1  and the cover body  2 , for pivotally attaching the cover body  2  to the main body  1  and allowing the cover body  2  to be stationed at any desired angle relative to the main body  1 . The first hinge subassembly  40  is secured to both the main body  1  and the cover body  2 , while the second hinge subassembly  50  is secured to the main body  1 .  
      Now referring to  FIG. 2 , an exploded view of the first hinge subassembly  40  is illustrated. The first hinge subassembly  40  includes a first base plate  42 , a first joint axle  44 , and a first hinge arm  46 . The first joint axle  44  is secured to the first base plate  42  by a pair of rivets (not shown), and the first hinge aim  46  is pivotally coupled to the first joint axle  44 .  
      The first base plate  42  mainly includes a first base portion  422  with a pair of first mounting holes  423  defined therein, a first riveting portion  426  substantially perpendicular to the first base portion  422 , and a first intermediate portion  424  interconnecting the first base portion  422  and the first riveting portion  426 . A pair of first riveting holes  427  is defined in the first riveting portion  426 . The first mounting holes  423  of the first base portion  422  are adapted for the securing of the first base plate  42  to the main body  1  of the media player  100  by fasteners such as screw bolts.  
      The first joint axle  44  includes a fastening portion  442 , a columnar portion  444 , a pivot portion  446 , and a threaded portion  448 . A pair of first opposite flat faces  441 ,  441 ′ is formed on the fastening portion  442 , and a pair of first matching holes  443  is defined in the fastening portion  4 . The first flat face  441  abuts against a side surface (not labeled) of the first riveting portion  426 . The first matching holes  443  are aligned with the first riveting holes  427  for extension of a pair of rivets (not shown) therethrough, thereby securing the first joint axle  44  to the first base plate  42 . The pivot portion  446  has a smaller diameter than the columnar portion  444 . The pivot portion  446  has two opposite flat side surfaces (not labeled). The threaded portion  448  extends from the pivot portion  446 , and has a thread defined on an outer surface thereof. The columnar portion  444  is received in a space constructed between two semicircular notches (not labeled) defined at an end of the rear edge of the exterior cover shell  22  and the interior cover shell  24  of the cover body  2  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ). Thus, the cover body  2  is rotatable around the first joint axle  44  of the first hinge assembly  40 .  
      The first hinge arm  46  includes two substantially perpendicular portions; i.e., a cover-mounting portion  462  and a rotating portion  464 . A pair of fixing holes  463  is defined in the cover-mounting portion  462 , for securing of the first hinge arm  46  to the cover body  2  of the media player  100 . A fitting hole  465  is defined at a first end of the first hinge arm  46 . The fitting hole  465  has a slightly larger diameter than the pivot portion  446  of the first joint axle  44 . The first joint axle  44  extends through one or more plain washers  402 , the fitting hole  465 , and a plurality of resilient bushings  404  in that order. Each plain washer  402  has a through hole (not labeled) configured according to the profile of the flat portion  446  of the first joint axle  44 , so that the plain washers  402  cannot rotate relative to the first joint axle  44 . The resilient bushings  404  are for being springably engaged between the plain washers  402  and a nut  406 . The resilient bushings  404  may, for example, be disk-shaped spring washers. The nut  406  is coupled to the first joint axle  44  for exerting an adjustable force applied to the first end of the first hinge arm  46 . With this configuration, a friction force can be generated between the first end of the first hinge arm  46  and the plain washers  402 , with the friction force being sufficient to overcome gravitational force acting on the cover body  2 .  
      Now referring to  FIG. 3 , an exploded view of the second hinge subassembly  50  is illustrated. The second hinge subassembly  50  includes a second base plate  52 , and a second joint axle  54  secured to the second base plate  52 .  
      Similar to the first base plate  42 , the second base plate  52  mainly includes a second base portion  522  with a pair of second mounting holes  523  therein, a second riveting portion  526  substantially perpendicular to the second base portion  522 , and a second intermediate portion  524  interconnecting the second base portion  522  and the second riveting portion  526 . A pair of second riveting holes  527  is defined in the second riveting portion  526 . The second mounting holes  523  of the second base portion  522  are adapted for the securing of the second base plate  52  to the main body  1  of the media player  100  by fasteners such as screw bolts.  
      The second joint axle  54  has a second flat face  541 . A pair of second matching holes  543  is defined in the vicinity of one end of the second joint axle  54 . The second flat face  541  abuts against a side surface (not labeled) of the second riveting portion  526 . The second matching holes  543  are aligned with the second riveting holes  527  for extension of a pair of rivets (not shown) therethrough, thereby securing the second joint axle  54  to the second base plate  52 . The other end of the second joint axle  54  is received in a space constructed between two semicircular notches (not labeled) defined at the other end of the rear edge of the exterior cover shell  22  and the interior cover shell  24  of the cover body  2  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ). Thus, the cover body  2  is rotatable around the first second axle  54  of the second hinge assembly  50 .  
      Now referring back to  FIG. 1 , when installing the hinge assembly  3 , firstly, each of the first and second hinge subassemblies  40 ,  50  is separately assembled. The first and second hinge subassemblies  40 ,  50  are coaxially aligned, with the first and second joint axles  44 ,  54  being coaxially aligned accordingly. The first and second hinge subassemblies  40 ,  50  are secured to the main body  1  of the media player  100  via the first and second mounting holes  423 ,  523  of the first and second base plates  42 ,  52  and several screw bolts (not labeled). Then, the first hinge  40  is also secured to the lid body  2  of the media player  100  via the fixing holes  463  of the first hinge arm  46  and a pair of screw bolts (not shown).  
      When the cover body  2  of the media player  100  is opened up by a user, because the gravitational force acting on the cover body  2  is overcome by the friction force applied to the first hinge arm  46  of the hinge assembly  3 , the cover body  2  can thus be retained at any desired position.  
      Conveniently, the friction force applied to the first hinge arm  46  can be adjusted by adjusting the degree of fastening tightness of the nut  406 . In addition, the friction force applied to the first hinge arm  46  can also be adjusted by increasing the number of resilient bushings  404 . In other exemplary embodiments, two or more resilient bushings may be arranged on the first joint axle  44  in a face to face or back to back manner relative to each other. The inventive hinge assembly  3  is universally applicable for various media players which have cover bodies of different weights.  
      It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present invention, including any preferred embodiments, are merely possible examples of implementation of the principles of the invention, and are merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments of the invention without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the invention. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the present invention and be protected by the following claims.