Patent Abstract:
A rotating mechanism is used for a portable electronic device including a housing body and a display. The rotating mechanism includes a primary plate, a subsidiary plate and the connecting plate. The primary plate is pivotally connected to the housing body. The subsidiary plate is pivotally connected to the primary plate. The connecting plate is rotatably connected to the subsidiary plate. The connecting plate is fixed to the display allowing the display to hold a variety of positions relative to the housing body.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to rotating mechanisms, and more particularly to a rotating mechanism for a portable electronic device (e.g., mobile phones). 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     A conventional mobile phone includes a phone body and a cover. The phone body and the cover are rotatably connected together by a hinge. The cover includes a display facing the phone body. During functioning of the phone, alphabet, numbers, and images are shown on the display when a user opens the cover from the phone body by pivoting. However, since the mobile phone can only be opened to preset angles, the display cannot realize wider angles of adjustment relative to the phone body. 
     Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the embodiments can be better understood with references to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present rotating mechanism for portable electronic device. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded, isometric view of an exemplary rotating mechanism used for portable electronic device; 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the display shown in  FIG. 1 , but viewed from another aspect; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged view of the rotating mechanism shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded, isometric view of the rotating mechanism shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an assembled, isometric view of the exemplary mobile phone shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a partially assembled view of the mobile phone shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 7 to 9  are sequential views of the rotating mechanism of  FIG. 6  showing the rotating mechanism at different positions; and 
         FIG. 10  is a state view of the rotating mechanism supporting the display of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows an exemplary embodiment of a rotating mechanism  30  used to a portable electronic device  100 , such as a mobile phone. 
     The mobile phone  100  includes a housing body  10  and a display  20 . The display  20  is attached to the housing body  10 . The housing body  10  includes a supporting portion  101  and a keypad  102 . The supporting portion  101  defines a rectangular cavity  11  with two sidewalls  111 . Each sidewall  111  defines a pin hole  112  at one end thereof. One end of the supporting portion  101  forms a latching portion  12  for releasable latching the display  20 . The latching portion  12  includes a slot  121 , and a latching hole  122  respectively defined two substantially perpendicular surfaces. A block  123  is slidably received in the latching hole  122 . 
     The display  20  includes a screen  201  and an inner surface  202 . The inner surface  202  defines a recess  21  at a middle portion thereof and a hook  22  at an end thereof. The recess  21  corresponds to the cavity  11  and includes two end walls  210 . Each end wall  210  defines a latching hole  211 . Each hook  22  is substantially L-shape, and is used for latching the block  123  of the housing body  10 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the rotating mechanism  30  includes a primary plate  31 , a subsidiary plate  33  and a connecting plate  35 . One end of the primary plate  31  forms two opposite arm portions  311  extending from two sides thereof. Each arm portion  311  defines a rod hole  3110  corresponding to the pin hole  112 . Two first hinge assemblies  32  are used for rotatably connecting the primary plate  31  to the housing body  10 . Each first hinge assembly includes a rod  321  and two washers  322 ,  323 . Each rod  321  includes a rod portion  3210  and a head portion  3211 . The washers  322 ,  323  are made of elastic material such as rubber or nylon. Each rod  321  passes through the rod hole  3110 , and is pivotally connected to the pin hole  112 . The two washers  322 ,  323  are respectively positioned at two sides of each arm portion  311 , and are placed around the rod portion  3210  for providing friction to allow the primary plate  31  to be held at any angle relative to the housing body  10 . The other end of the primary plate  31  forms two knuckle portions  312 . Each knuckle portion  312  defines a shaft hole  3120 . 
     The subsidiary plate  33  forms two opposite extending portions  333  for being positioned between the knuckle portions  312 . Each extending portion  333  longitudinally defines a connecting hole  3331  corresponding to the shaft hole  3120 . The subsidiary plate  33  traversely defines a circular notch  3302  away from the extending portions  333 . Two second hinge assemblies  34  are used for connecting the subsidiary plate  33  to the primary plate  31 . Each second hinge assembly  34  is similar to each first hinge assembly  32 , also includes a rod  341  and two washers  342 ,  343 . Each rod  341  includes a rod portion  3410  and a head portion  3411 . The washers  342 ,  343  are made of elastic material such as rubber or nylon. Each rod  341  passes through the washer  342 , the shaft hole  3120 , the washer  343 , and the connecting hole  3331 , in the order written, for pivotally connecting the subsidiary plate  33  to the primary plate  31 . The two washers  342 ,  343  are respectively positioned between the extending portion  333  and the knuckle portions  312  for providing friction to allow the subsidiary plate  33  to be held at any angle relative to the primary plate  10 . 
     The connecting plate  35  is narrow, substantially rectangular, and has a size that corresponds to the recess  210 . The connecting plate  35  forms two opposite pivotal portions  352  extending at two sides thereof. Each pivotal portion  352  longitudinally defines a pivotal hole  3521 . Two third hinge assemblies  36  are fixedly connected the connecting plate  35  to the display  20 . Each third hinge assembly  36  is similar to each second hinge assembly  34 , and includes a rod  361  and two washers  362 ,  363 . Each rod  361  includes a rod portion  3610  and a head portion  3611 . The washers  362 ,  363  are made of elastic material such as rubber. Each rod  361  passes through the pivotal hole  3521 , and is fixedly connected to the latching hole  211  for connecting the connecting plate  35  to the display  20 . The connecting plate  35  traversely defines a stepped hole  3510  at a middle thereof. A pin  371  and a washer  372  are used for connecting the stepped hole  3510  and the notch  3302  allowing the connecting plate  35  to pivotally connect the subsidiary plate  33 . The pin  371  includes a flange portion  3711  and a pin portion  3710 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4 to 6 , when the rotating mechanism  30  is assembled, the primary plate  31 , the subsidiary plate  33  and the connecting plate  35  are connected together. Firstly, the first hinge assemblies  32  are mounted to the arms portions  311 . The washer  322  is tightly placed around the rod  321 , and abuts the head portion  3211 . Then, the rod portion  3210  passes through the rod hole  3110 , and the washer  323  are tightly placed around the rod portion  3210  for assembling first hinge assembly  32  to the primary plate  31 . The extending portions  333  of the subsidiary plate  33  are positioned between the knuckle portions  312 . The shaft hole  3120  is aligned with the connecting hole  3331 . The two second hinge assemblies  34  are connected to the knuckle portions  312  and the extending portions  333 . Specifically, the washer  342  is placed around the rod portion  3410 , and the rod portion  3410  is inserted into the connecting hole  3331 , the washer  343 , and the shaft hole  3120 . After that, the connecting plate  35  is assembled to the subsidiary plate  33 . The pin portion  3710  passes through the stepped hole  3510 , the washer  372 , and is connected to the notch  3302 . The washer  352  is sandwiched between the connecting plate  35  and the subsidiary plate  33 . The third assemblies  36  are assembled to the connecting plate  35 . The assembling process is similar to that of the first hinge assembly  32 , and therefore is not detailed. The assembled rotating mechanism  30  is mounted to the housing body  10 . The rod  321  is connected to the pin hole  112  of the housing body  10  for rotatably connected the primary plate  31  to the housing body  10 . The connecting plate  35  is received in the recess  210  of the display  20 . One end of the rods  361  are fixedly connected to the latching holes  211  for connecting the connecting plate  35  to the display  30 . The hook  22  is received in the slot  121 , the block  123  is slid in the latching hole  122  to latch the hook  22 . Thus the display  30  is assembled to the housing body  10 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 7-10 , when the user wants to open the display  20  of the mobile phone  100 , the block  123  is pushed to slide to separate from the hook  22  so as to unlocked the display  20 . The display  20  is manually rotated relative to the housing body  10  along the first hinge assemblies  32 . The connecting plate  35  brings the subsidiary plate  33  and the primary plate  31  away from the cavity  11  until the display  30  can be adjusted to a state parallel to the housing body  10 . At that time, the primary plate  31  is tilted relative to the housing body  10 , and the subsidiary plate  33  with the connecting plate  33  is parallel to the housing body  10 . The washers  322 ,  323  provide friction between the housing body  10  and the arm portions  311  for allowing the primary plate  31  to be held at a desired angle relative to the housing body  10 . The washers  342 ,  343  are positioned between the primary plate  31  and the subsidiary plate  33  for allowing the subsidiary plate  33  to be held at a desired angle relative to the primary plate  31 . 
     Then, the display  20  with the connecting plate  35  can be rotated 90 degrees along the pin  371  relative to the subsidiary plate  33 . After that, the subsidiary plate  33  is rotated to a co-planner state with the primary plate  31  along the second hinge assemblies  34 . Thus, the subsidiary plate  33  and the primary plate  31  together support the display  20  to keep the display at a tilted state. 
     The rotating mechanism  30  allows the display  20  to be rotated a suitable angle such as a 90 degree. The screen  201  of the display  20  may have a wide area to show the information. 
     It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that different changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7