Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6601269?dq=5,973,252
Timestamp: 2017-03-23 03:00:36
Document Index: 241454298

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 3', 'art 3', 'art 3', 'art 22', 'art 22', 'arts 41', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 42', 'art 42', 'art 42', 'art 41', 'art 42', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 42', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 42', 'art 42', 'arts 33', 'arts 33', 'art 3', 'art 41', 'art 3', 'art 42', 'art 42', 'art 39', 'art 3', 'art 3']

Patent US6601269 - Hinge Assembly - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsA shaft part (3A) of a second hinge member (3) is press-fitted into a support hole (23) of a first hinge member (2). By this, frictional resistance is generated between an inner peripheral surface of the support hole (23) and an outer peripheral surface of the shaft part (3A). A coiled spring (4) is...http://www.google.com/patents/US6601269?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6601269 - Hinge AssemblyAdvanced Patent SearchTry the new Google Patents, with machine-classified Google Scholar results, and Japanese and South Korean patents.Publication numberUS6601269 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/980,553PCT numberPCT/JP2001/001924Publication dateAug 5, 2003Filing dateMar 12, 2001Priority dateMar 22, 2000Fee statusLapsedAlso published asCN1159509C, CN1364209A, EP1182316A1, EP1182316A4, US20020133907, WO2001071138A1Publication number09980553, 980553, PCT/2001/1924, PCT/JP/1/001924, PCT/JP/1/01924, PCT/JP/2001/001924, PCT/JP/2001/01924, PCT/JP1/001924, PCT/JP1/01924, PCT/JP1001924, PCT/JP101924, PCT/JP2001/001924, PCT/JP2001/01924, PCT/JP2001001924, PCT/JP200101924, US 6601269 B2, US 6601269B2, US-B2-6601269, US6601269 B2, US6601269B2InventorsKazuyoshi Oshima, Kenji TomizawaOriginal AssigneeSugatsune Kogyo Co., Ltd.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (13), Referenced by (20), Classifications (24), Legal Events (5) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetHinge Assembly
US 6601269 B2Abstract
What is claimed is: 1. A hinge assembly comprising a first hinge member having a support hole, a second hinge member having a shaft part and turnably connected to said first hinge member by said shaft part being turnably inserted into said support hole, and biasing means disposed between said first hinge member and said second hinge member, said shaft part being press-filled into said support hole so that frictional resistance is generated between an outer peripheral surface of said shaft part and an inner peripheral surface of said support hole, the biasing means biasing said first and second hinge members towards a neutral position when said first and second hinge members are turned in normal and reverse directions from the neutral position;
a receiving hole being formed in said shaft part such that said receiving hole extends from a front end face of said shaft part towards the inside, and said biasing means is received in said receiving hole; said biasing means being a coiled spring; and said first hinge member being formed with first and second engagement portions, and said second hinge member being formed with third and fourth engagement portions so that when said first and second hinge members are turned in one direction from the neutral position, said first and fourth engagement portions are engaged, respectively, with first and second end parts of said coiled spring to twist said coiled spring in accordance with turning motion of said first and second hinge members and said second and third engagement portions are brought away, respectively, from said second and first end parts of said coiled spring, and when said first and second hinge members are turned in the other direction from the neutral position, said first and fourth engagement portions are brought away, respectively, from said first and second end parts of said coiled spring and said second and third engagement portions are engaged, respectively, with said second and first end parts of said coiled spring to twist said coiled spring in accordance with turning motion of said first and second hinge members. 2. A hinge assembly in which a first of two articles is turnably connected with a lower end part of a second of the two articles about a generally horizontal rotation axis such that said second article can turn normally and reversely downward from an upright position where said second article is erected upward and downward, said hinge assembly comprising first and second hinge members fixed to said first and second articles, respectively, said first hinge member being formed with a support hole whose axis is aligned with the rotation axis and said second hinge member being formed with a shaft part which can turnably be inserted into said support hole, said shaft part being press-fitted into said support hole so that frictional resistance is generated between an outer peripheral surface of said shaft part and an inner peripheral surface of said support hole, biasing means being disposed between said first and second hinge members, said biasing means being adapted to bias said second article, which has been turned downward from the upright position, towards the upright position side through a hinge member fixed to said second article, a following relation being established among various turning forces acting on the second article,
|Fs−Fg|<Ff where Fg represents a force caused by a dead weight of said second article, Fs represents a force caused by a biasing force from said biasing means, and Ff represents a turning force corresponding to the frictional resistance, respectively; a receiving hole being formed in said shaft part such that said receiving hole extends from a front end face of said shaft part towards the inside, and said biasing means being received in said receiving hole; said biasing means being a coiled spring; and said first hinge member being formed with first and second engagement portions, and said second hinge member being formed with third and fourth engagement portions so that when said second article is turned in one direction from the upright position, said first and fourth engagement portions are engaged, respectively, with first and second end parts of said coiled spring to twist said coiled spring in accordance with turning motion of said second article and said second and third engagement portions are brought away, respectively, from said second and first end parts of said coiled spring, and when said second article is turned in the other direction from the upright position, said first and fourth engagement portions are brought away, respectively, from said first and second end parts of said coiled spring and said second and third engagement portions are engaged, respectively, with said second and first end parts of said coiled spring to twist said coiled spring in accordance with turning motion of said second article. 3. A hinge assembly comprising a pair of hinge members turnably connected together for turning in normal and reverse directions from a neutral position and a coiled spring for biasing said pair of hinge members, which have been turned in normal and reverse directions from the neutral position, towards the neutral position, a first hinge member of said pair of hinge members being formed with first and second engagement portions and a second hinge member being formed with third and fourth engagement portions so that when said pair of hinge members are turned in one direction from the neutral position, said first and fourth engagement portions are engaged, respectively, with first and second end parts of said coiled spring to twist said coiled spring in accordance with turning motion of said pair of hinge members and said second and third engagement portions are brought away, respectively, from said second and first end parts of said coiled spring, and when said pair of hinge members are turned in the other direction from the neutral position, said first and fourth engagement portions are brought away, respectively, from said first and second end parts of said coiled spring and said second and third engagement portions are engaged, respectively, with said second and first end parts of said coiled spring to twist said coiled spring in accordance with turning motion of said pair of hinge members.
4. A hinge assembly according to claim 3, wherein said coiled spring is twisted in a winding direction.
5. A hinge assembly according to claim 4, wherein said first hinge member is formed with a support hole extending on a rotation axis thereof, said second hinge member is formed with a shaft part turnably inserted into said support hole, said shaft part is formed with a receiving hole extending from a front end face of said shaft part towards the inside, and said coiled spring is received in said receiving hole.
6. A hinge assembly according to claim 3, wherein said first hinge member is formed with a support hole extending on a rotation axis thereof, said second hinge member is formed with a shaft part turnably inserted into said support hole, said shaft part is formed with a receiving hole extending from a front end face of said shaft part towards the inside, and said coiled spring is received in said receiving hole.
7. A hinge assembly according to claim 6, wherein said support hole is in the form of a through-hole whose opposite ends are open, said shaft part is inserted all the way through said support hole, opposite end parts of said coiled spring are projected outward from the opposite end parts of said support hole and also projected from an outer peripheral surface of said shaft part, said first and second engagement portions are formed on opposite end faces of said first hinge member which is formed with said support hole whose opposite end parts are open, and the opposite end parts of said shaft part projecting from said support hole is formed with said third and fourth engagement portions, respectively.
|Fs−Fg|<Ff where Fg represents a force caused by a dead weight of the second article, Fs, a force caused by a biasing force from the biasing means and Ff, a turning force corresponding to the frictional resistance, respectively.
FIG. 1 is an illustration showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1(A) is a front sectional view in a section containing an axis of a support hole of a first hinge member, and FIGS. 1(B) and 1(C) are sectional views taken on line B—B and line C—C of FIG. 1(A), respectively;
FIG. 2 is an illustration likewise showing the first embodiment, FIG. 2(A) is a front view thereof, FIG. 2(B) is a plan view thereof, FIGS. 2(C) and 2(E) are views when viewed in a direction as indicated by arrows C and E of FIG, 2(A), respectively, and FIG. 2(D) is a sectional view taken on line D—D of FIG. 2(A);
FIG. 4 is an illustration showing a notebook-type personal computer incorporated with the hinge assembly of the present invention in which a display thereof is turned to an upright position, FIG. 4(A) is a side view thereof, and FIGS. 4(B) and 4(C) are views like FIGS. 2(C) and 2(E), respectively;
FIG. 5 is an illustration showing a state in which the display of the personal computer is turned to an open position, FIG. 5(A) is a side view thereof, and FIGS. 5(B) and 5(C) are views like FIGS. 2(C) and 2(E), respectively;
FIG. 6 is an illustration showing a state in which the display of the personal computer is turned to a folded position, FIG. 6(A) is a side view thereof, and FIGS. 6(B) and 6(C) are views like FIGS. 2(C) and 2(E), respectively;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on line X—X of FIG. 7;
FIG. 10 is an illustration showing a third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10(A) is a front view thereof, FIG. 10B is a plan view thereof, and FIGS. 10(C) and 10(D) are views when viewed in directions as indicated by arrows C and D of FIG. 10(A), respectively;
FIG. 12 is an illustration showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 12(A) is a front view thereof, FIG, 12(B) is a plan view thereof, and FIGS. 12(C) and 12(D) are views when viewed in directions as indicated by arrows C and D of FIG, 12(A), respectively;
The second hinge member 3 is in the form of a shaft having a circular configuration in section. In this embodiment, since a receiving hole 31 is formed on the axis of the second hinge member 3 in such a manner as to extend from one end face to the other end face of the second hinge member 3, the second hinge member 3 is substantially in the form of a sleeve. A split groove 32 is formed in a peripheral wall part of the second hinge member 3. This split groove 32 extends from one end face to the other end face of the second hinge member 3. The split groove 32 is longer than the support hole 23. One end part (first end part) of the second hinge member 3 where the split groove 32 if formed serves as a shaft part 3A. The other end part (second end part) of the hinge member 3 serves as a fixed part 3B.
That is to say, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, one end face (end face away the fixed part 3B) of the connecting part 22 of the first hinge member 2 is formed with the first engagement portion 25 and the other end face of the connecting part 22 is formed with the second engagement portion 26. When the display C is located in the upright position, the first and second engagement portions 25, 26 are generally contacted with the abutment parts 41, 42, respectively. However, when the display C is turned in the open direction (direction as indicated by the arrow X of FIGS. 1(B), 1(C), and 3 from the upright position, the first engagement portion 25 is brought into abutment with the abutment part 41 so as to press move the abutment part 41 in the direction as indicated by the arrow X. In contrast, when the display C is turned in the close direction (direction as indicated by the arrow Y) from the neutral position, it is brought away in the direction as indicated by the arrow Y from the abutment part 41. On the other hand, when the display C is turned in the direction as indicated by the arrow X from the upright position, the second engagement portion 26 is brought away in the direction as indicated by the arrow X from the abutment part 42 and when the display C is turned in the direction as indicated by the arrow Y from the upright position, it is brought into abutment with the abutment part 42 so as to press move the abutment part 42 in the direction Y.
However, when the display C is turned in the direction as indicated by the arrow X from the upright position, as shown in FIG. 5, the abutment part 41 is press moved, by the first engagement portion 25, in the direction as indicated by the arrow X and the abutment part 42 tries to move in the direction as indicated by the arrow X following the movement of the abutment part 41. As a result, the third engagement portion 36 is brought away in the direction as indicated by the arrow Y relative to the abutment part 41, while the fourth engagement portion 37 is abutted with the abutment part 42 so as to be prevented from moving in the direction as indicated by the arrow X. Accordingly, when the display C is turned in the direction as indicated by the arrow X from the upright position, the coiled spring 4 is twisted by the first and fourth engagement portions 25, 37. In the case of this embodiment, the twisting direction of the coiled spring 4 is the same as the winding direction of the coiled spring 4.
|Fs−Fg|<Ff (1) where Fs represents a force exerted to the display C caused by a biasing force of the coiled spring, Fg, a turning force exerted to the display C caused by a dead weight of the display C, and Ff, a turning force corresponding to a static frictional resistance acting between the inner peripheral surface of the support hole 23 and the outer peripheral surface of the shaft part A, respectively. Accordingly, the display C can be stopped at an optional position between the folded position and the open position.
Even in the case where the display C is turned towards either the folded position side or open position side from the upright position, the coiled spring 4 is twisted in the same direction (in the winding direction in the case of this embodiment) and therefore, the amount of variation of the coiled spring 4 can be reduced. Accordingly, the coiled spring 4 can be prevented from being broken due to fatigue, thus enabling to prolong the service life of the hinge assembly 1. Should the coiled spring be twisted in the different direction when the display C is turned in normal and reverse directions from the upright position, the coiled spring would more likely be broken due to fatigue because the amount of variation of the coiled spring becomes twice as large as that of the case where the coiled spring is twisted in the same direction.
FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In a hinge assembly 1A of this embodiment, the winding direction of the coiled spring 4 is reversed to the winding direction of the coiled spring 4 of the above embodiment. Accordingly, in this hinge assembly 1A, even if the display C is turned in either the open or close direction from the upright position, the coiled spring 4 is twisted in the reversed direction to the case of the above embodiment, namely, in the rewinding direction.
FIGS. 10 and 11 show a third embodiment of the present invention. In a hinge assembly 1B of this embodiment, the first to fourth engagement portions 25, 26, 36, 37 are not employed. The first abutment part 41 of the coiled spring 4 inserted in the through-groove 24 of the first hinge member 2 such that the abutment part 41 cannot move in the circumferential direction about the rotation axis L. Moreover, the abutment part 41 is projected outside towards the axis from the receiving hole 31 of the second hinge member 3. Accordingly, the abutment part 41 can be turningly displaced with respect to the second hinge member 3. The second abutment part 42 is positioned by one pair of projection pieces 38, 38 formed on opposite side surfaces of the split groove 32 such that the second abutment part 42 cannot turningly displaced in the circumferential direction about the rotation axis L. Accordingly, in this embodiment, the coiled spring 4 is twisted in the winding direction when the display C is turned towards the open position side from the upright position, and the coiled spring 4 is twisted in the rewinding direction when the display C is turned from the upright position towards the folded position side.
FIGS. 12 and 13 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In a hinge assembly 1C of this embodiment, two each of the first hinge members 2 and the coiled springs 4 are used. The two first hinge members 2, 2 are fixed to the display C such that the axis of the support holes 23, 23 are aligned with the rotation axis L and they are generally contacted with each other in the direction of the rotation axis L. The two coiled springs 4, 4 are inserted in the receiving hole 31 of the second hinge member 3 such that the coiled springs 4, 4 are arranged in a row. The second hinge member 3 is formed with two sets of cutout parts 33, 34 which are arranged away from each other in the axial direction for the engagement portions 41, 42 of the two coiled springs 4, 4. Of course, each side facing the cutout parts 33, 34 is formed with the third and fourth engagement portions 36, 37. In this embodiment, since the two first hinge members 2, 2 are the two coiled springs 4, 4 are used, the frictional resistance and the biasing force against the display C can be increased. Accordingly, this embodiment is suited to be used for a notebook type personal computer having a large-sized display C.
FIG. 14 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is a modification of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. In this embodiment, two each of the first hinge members 2 and the coiled springs 4 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 are used. The first hinge member 2 and the coiled spring 4 which are located on the side remote from the fixed part 3B are designed such that as in the hinge assembly 1A shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, but the abutment part 41 of the coiled spring 4 which is located nearer to the fixed part 3B is prevented from turning about the rotation axis L by one pair of projection pieces 38, 38, while the abutment part 42 is prevented from turning about the rotation axis L with respect to the first hinge member 2 by being inserted in the through-groove 24 of the other first hinge member 2. In order to allow the turning displacement of the abutment part 42 with respect to the second hinge member 3, a cutout part 39 having a length slightly longer by 180 degrees in the circumferential direction is formed in an end part of the shaft part 3A on the fixed part 3B side.
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