JPH0942271A - Electronic equipment with friction hinge - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] To obtain a friction hinge structure which has a low cost, a stable friction force, and a sufficient degree of freedom in an assembly process. SOLUTION: A pair of hinge brackets 3L, 3R,
A friction sleeve 5 whose base is fixed to one of these hinge brackets 3L and 3R, and a friction sleeve 5 which is coaxially inserted into the friction sleeve 5 and frictionally contacts the inner peripheral surface of the friction sleeve 5, and the hinge bracket 3L. , 3R, elastically deformable friction spring pin 6 whose base is fixed
And a hinge shaft 7 which is placed inside the friction spring pin 6 to prevent the hinge brackets 3L and 3R from being disassembled.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a friction hinge,
In particular, it relates to a friction hinge used for electronic application equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an electronic device such as a notebook type personal computer has a display unit hinged to a device body having a keyboard. Need to be able to adjust.

Therefore, in a conventional electronic application device having such a display device, a friction hinge as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is used to connect the device body and the display device. . That is, the reference numeral "A" in FIGS. 5 and 6 is, for example, a hinge bracket fixed to the device body of the electronic application device,
In the hinge hole B of the hinge bracket A, a hinge pin C having a collar c ₁ at its intermediate portion is supported so as to be freely rotatable, and a longitudinal key groove c ₂ is formed on the shaft peripheral surface of the hinge pin C. To be done. A plurality of rotating friction plates D each having a key d to be inserted into the key groove c ₂ are fitted in the coaxial portion so as to be movable along the shaft portion. The fixed side friction plate E, which is prevented from rotating with respect to the hinge bracket A by the bent piece a of the hinge bracket A shown in FIG. 6, is located. The rotation side friction plate D and the fixed side friction plate E are the ends of the hinge pin C. It is pressed toward the collar c ₁ by a plurality of disc springs G interposed between it and a plus nut F screwed into the portion c ₃ .

[0004] The a right end portion of the hinge pin C square shaft portion c ₄ is provided, the hinge bracket H of the indicator to the angle shank c ₄ by fixing nut screwed to the mounting screw c ₅ (not shown) It will be fixed.

[0005]

However, in the conventional friction hinge described above, the collar c ₁ , the male screw c ₃ , and the key groove c ₂ must be processed into the hinge pin C, and the structure of the hinge pin C is complicated. Not only is the processing cost relatively high, but the frictional force between the hinge bracket A and the hinge bracket H is maintained by the unstable pressure due to the disc spring G. In some cases, a heavy indicator cannot be stopped at an arbitrary angle, and with use, the plus nut F or the like may come off to maintain the frictional force. Also, in the same friction hinge,
Hinge bracket C on hinge bracket A, rotating friction plate D,
Since the fixed side friction plate E, the disc spring G, and the plus nut F are assembled and then the hinge bracket H needs to be fixed to the square shaft portion c ₄ of the hinge pin C, depending on the electronic application device to be incorporated, In some cases, such an assembly process cannot be adopted.

In view of the problems of the conventional friction hinge as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a friction hinge structure which is inexpensive, has stable friction force, and has a sufficient degree of freedom in the assembly process. To get.

[0007]

According to the invention, the object is to provide a pair of hinge brackets, a friction sleeve whose base is fixed to one of these hinge brackets, and coaxially inside the friction sleeve. An elastically deformable friction spring pin that is inserted and frictionally contacts the inner peripheral surface of the friction sleeve and has its base fixed to the other side of the hinge bracket, and the hinges that are placed in a penetrating state inside the friction spring pin. Achieved by a friction hinge having a hinge shaft that prevents disassembly of the bracket. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention described below, the device main body and the hinge joint for allowing the device to stand at a free angle. In an electronic application device including a display, one of the hinge brackets fixed to the device body,
An electronic application device is described that includes a friction hinge of the above-described structure having the other of the hinge brackets fixed to the display.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the following, the details of an electronic device incorporating the friction hinge of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a notebook type personal computer which is one of electronic application devices.
A pair of friction hinges of the present invention, the details of which will be described later, are used to support the display unit 2 on the device body 1 having the keyboard 1a so that the display unit 2 can be stopped at an arbitrary opening / closing angle.

As shown in FIG. 3, the friction hinge of the present invention includes a pair of hinge brackets 3L and 3R fixed to the device body 1 and the display 2, respectively, and the tips of these hinge brackets 3L and 3R. A pair of hinge holes 4L and 4R facing each other in the left-right direction are formed in the portion, and the base portion 5a of the friction sleeve 5 and the base portion 6a of the friction spring pin 6 are fixed to these hinge holes 4L and 4R, respectively.

That is, in the upper and lower end portions 4a and 4b of the right hinge hole 4R, which is a vertically elongated slot, a pair of fixing pieces projecting from the base portion 5a of the cylindrical friction sleeve 5 in the longitudinal direction. 5b and 5c are inserted, and these fixing pieces 5
The friction sleeve 5 is non-rotatably fixed to the right hinge bracket 3R by b and 5c. Further, the hinge hole 4L formed in the left hinge bracket 3L includes a circular hole portion 4c that can penetrate a shaft portion 7a of a hinge shaft 7, which will be described later, and a pair of fixing portion holes 4d that are connected to the upper and lower sides of the circular hole portion 4c. 4e
And the base portion 6 of the friction spring pin 6 inserted into the friction sleeve 5 is provided in these fixing portion holes 4d and 4e.
A pair of fixing claws 6b and 6c integrally formed with a is inserted and fixed.

The friction spring pin 6 has a longitudinal slot 8 formed therein. Since the outer diameter D1 of the friction spring pin 6 is larger than the inner diameter D2 of the friction sleeve 5, the friction sleeve 5 has a larger diameter. When the friction spring pin 6 is inserted inside, the friction spring pin 6 is elastically deformed and a stable friction force is generated between the inner peripheral surface of the friction sleeve 5 and the outer peripheral surface of the friction spring pin 6. Then, a pair of notches 9L, 9R facing each other in the front-rear direction are formed on the side edges of the tip end portions of the above-mentioned hinge brackets 3L, 3R. The rotation stoppers 10a and 11a of the fixed washers 10 and 11 are dropped into the corresponding notches 9L and 9R.

Further, a hinge shaft 7 having a retaining flange 7b at one end is put through the hinge holes 4L and 4R of the hinge brackets 3L and 3R.
The disassembly of both hinge brackets 3L and 3R is prevented by a plus nut 12 screwed into the tip portion 7c of the hinge shaft 7. Before tightening the plus nut 12, a pair of disc springs 13 are fitted to the shaft portion 7a of the hinge shaft 7. As a result, "backlash" between the hinge brackets 3L and 3R is prevented.

Since the friction hinge according to the illustrated embodiment has the above-mentioned structure, the hinge brackets 3L and 3R can be fixed to the device body 1 and the display 2 in advance to assemble them in any process. . That is, with the friction sleeve 5 in which the friction spring pin 6 is inserted positioned between the tips of the hinge brackets 3L and 3R, the shaft portion 7a of the hinge shaft 7 in which the fixed washer 10 is fitted is attached to the hinge of the right hinge bracket 3R. After inserting the fixing washer 11 and the disc spring 13 into the shaft portion 7a which is inserted from the hole 4R and protrudes from the left hinge bracket 3L, the tip end portion 7c of the hinge shaft 7 is inserted.
It can be assembled simply by press-fitting the plush nut 12 into. Further, the friction hinge of the illustrated embodiment is made of only members that can be easily obtained on the general market without using a particularly complicated member, so that the manufacturing cost is very low.

When the display device 2 is stopped at an arbitrary angle with respect to the device body 1, the weight moment applied from the display device 2 is borne by the stable frictional force acting between the friction sleeve 5 and the friction spring pin 6. Therefore, the friction hinge can exhibit a stable function, and the friction force can be maintained for a long period of time, resulting in a long-life friction hinge.

[0015]

As is apparent from the above description, the friction hinge of the present invention has a low manufacturing cost, a stable friction force can be obtained, and there is no limitation on the assembly process. Therefore, the assembly process of electronic application equipment can be simplified. Can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a notebook personal computer incorporating a friction hinge according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the friction hinge.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the friction hinge with a part cut away.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the friction hinge.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional friction hinge.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the friction hinge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Device Main Body 2 Display 3L, 3R Hinge Bracket 4L, 4R Hinge Hole 5 Friction Sleeve 6 Friction Spring Pin 7 Hinge Shaft

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pair of hinge brackets, a friction sleeve having a base portion fixed to one of the hinge brackets, a friction sleeve coaxially inserted into the friction sleeve, and frictionally contacting an inner peripheral surface of the friction sleeve. And an elastically deformable friction spring pin having a base fixed to the other side of the hinge bracket, and a hinge shaft that is placed inside the friction spring pin to prevent the hinge bracket from being disassembled. And a friction hinge. 2. An electronic application device comprising a device body and an indicator hinged so as to be able to stand at a free angle with respect to the device body, and the other of the hinge brackets fixed to the device body. An electronic application device having a friction hinge according to claim 1, further comprising one of the hinge brackets fixed to the display.