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Mobile Phone Patent Abstract
A mobile phone cover hinge has a driven block slidably mounted in
a sleeve that is securely received in the mobile phone body and
a driving block rotatably mounted in the cover of the mobile phone.
When the cover pivots in a first direction, the driving block pushes
the driven block so as to compress the first spring received in
the sleeve. When the cover pivots in a second direction opposite
to the first direction, the compressed first spring will facilitate
the cover to return to its original position.
Mobile Phone Patent Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A cover hinge for a mobile phone having a mobile phone body
and a mobile phone cover pivotally connected with the mobile phone
body, the cover hinge comprising: a sleeve securely received in
the mobile phone body and having an axial blind hole defined to
receive a first spring that is compressibly received in the blind
hole; a driven block securely received in the sleeve to abut a free
end of the first spring and having a through hole and a transverse
curved extension formed on an end face opposite to an end face of
the driven block abutting the first spring; a driving block detachably
engaged with the driven block and partially and securely received
in the mobile phone cover, the driving block having an axial through
hole, a transverse concave groove defined to communicate with the
through hole of the driving block and correspond to the curved extension
of the driven block; and a second spring stretchably inserted through
the through hole of the driving block and the through hole of the
driven block.
2. The cover hinge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driven block
further has a transverse notch defined in an end of the driven block
abutting the first spring and orthogonal to the through hole of
the driven block so as to allow a pin to be received in the notch
to secure a free end of the second spring.
3. The cover hinge as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second spring
has a head portion having a diameter greater than a diameter of
the through hole of the driving block such that the head portion
of the second spring rests in an end face of the driving block.
4. The cover hinge as claimed in claim 3, wherein the driving block
has a recess defined to receive the head portion of the second spring.
Mobile Phone Patent Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile phone cover hinge, and
more particularly to a mobile phone cover hinge that allows the
mobile phone cover to be easily engaged with the mobile phone body.
The cover hinge includes a driving block partially received in the
mobile phone cover and a driven block received in the mobile phone
body and detachably engaged with the driving block. Springs respectively
received in the mobile phone body and the mobile phone cover provide
the required recovery force to the mobile phone cover detached from
the mobile phone body to facilitate the engagement of the mobile
phone cover with the mobile phone body.
2. Description of Related Art
Normally, a cover is attached to a mobile phone to unintentional
activation of the phone by the user and to prevent contamination
from environmental pollutants. Patents concerning the interrelationship
between the mobile phone body and the mobile phone cover introduce
all kinds of cover hinges to allow the mobile phone cover to be
pivotally connected with the mobile phone body. U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,089
and U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,096 are two patents most relevant to the
present invention and thus will be taken as reference in the description.
Most cover hinges include only one spring that is either compressed
or extended while the mobile phone cover is open with respect to
the mobile phone body. After the spring has frequently been in either
state for extended periods of time, the spring will fatigue and
lose its resilience, which inevitably allows the cover to inadvertently
open which obviates the original intention of having the cover prevent
unintentional activation of the phone and to prevent contamination.
Consequently, a retaining device is usually required to positively
hold the mobile phone cover close on the mobile phone body, which
increases the complexity of fabrication and the cost.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides an
improved mobile phone cover hinge to mitigate and obviate the aforementioned
problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The main objective of the invention is to provide an improved mobile
phone cover hinge that allows the mobile phone cover to be easily
opened with respect to the mobile phone body.
Another objective of the invention is to provide an improved mobile
phone cover hinge that does not require a retaining device to hold
the mobile phone cover closed.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will
become more apparent from the following detailed description when
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a cover hinge in accordance
with the present invention on a mobile phone;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the cover hinge
in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional front plan view of the cover hinge
in FIG. 2; and
FIG. 4 is an operational cross sectional front plan side view of
the cover hinge in FIG. 2 showing the extension of the second spring
and the compression of the first spring when the mobile phone cover
is opened with respect to the mobile phone body.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the mobile phone cover hinge
in accordance with the present invention has a sleeve (10), a first
spring (11), a driven block (120), a driving block (121) and a second
spring (13).
The sleeve (10) is adapted to be securely received in the mobile
phone body (14) and has an axial blind hole (100) defined to receive
the first spring (11).
The driven block (120) is slidably mounted in the sleeve (10) and
has a first end facing the sleeve (10), a second end, an axial through
hole (1200), a transverse notch (1201) on the first end orthogonal
to the through hole (1200) and a transverse curved extension (1202)
on the second end. A pin (122) is inserted and securely held in
the notch (1201).
The driving block (121) is partially and securely received in the
mobile phone cover (15) to detachably engage with the curved extension
(1202) on the driven block (120). That is, the driving block (121)
has a first portion extending into the mobile phone body (14) and
a second portion extending into the mobile phone cover (15). The
driving block (121) has an axial through hole (1210), a transverse
concave groove (1211) orthogonal to the through hole (1210) defined
on an end that abuts the driven block (120) and corresponding to
the curved extension (1202) on the second end of the driven block
(120). The second spring (13) is received in the through hole (1210)
and has a head portion (131) with a diameter greater than a diameter
of the through hole (1210), such that the head portion (131) rests
in a recess (1212) defined in an end opposite to the concave groove
(1211).
With reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, when the cover hinge is installed
in the mobile phone body (14) and the mobile phone cover (15), the
first end face of the driven block (120) abuts a free end of the
first spring (11). After the second spring (13) is inserted through
the through hole (1210) of the driven block (121) and the through
hole (1200) of the driven block (120) with the head portion (131)
securely received in the recess (1212), the pin (122) is inserted
and received in the notch (1201) through a loop in the second spring
(13) and therefore secures the free end of the second spring (13).
After the assembly, the curved extension (1202) mates with the concave
groove (1211), the first spring (11) is compressed, and the second
spring (13) is stretched.
When the mobile phone cover (15) pivots, the driving block (121)
also rotates due to the secure engagement of the driving block (121)
in the mobile phone cover (15). As the driving block (121) rotates,
the concave groove (1211) disengages from the curved extensions
(1202) and forces the driven block (120) to move away from the driving
block (121) and further into the blind hole (100) of the sleeve
(10). The movement of the driven block (120) further compresses
the first spring (11) and stretches the second spring (13).
When the mobile phone cover (15) pivots 180.degree., the curved
extension (1202) again aligns with the concave groove (1211). The
compression of the first spring (11) and tension on the second spring
(13) holds the curved extension (1202) in the concave groove (1211)
and keeps the cover (15) in the open position. When the mobile phone
cover (15) is pivoted to cover the mobile phone body (14), the stored
energy in the first and the second springs (11, 13) enables the
mobile phone cover (15) to quickly return to the closed position
with respect to the mobile phone body (14).
It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics
and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the
foregoing description, together with details of the structure and
function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only,
and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape,
size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention
to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the
terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
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