Folding cellular phone

• US 7,587,226 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2005
• Issued: 09/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Makino, Minoru
• Primary Examiner(s): Corsaro; Nick
• Assistant Examiner(s): AJAYI, JOEL
• Application Number:
  US11/304,729
• Publication Number:
  US 20060199606A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,362 Days
• Field of Search: 455/550.1, 455/575.3
• US Class Current: 455/575.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1622 with enclosures rotating around an axis perpendicular to the plane they define or with ball-joint coupling, e.g. PDA with display enclosure orientation changeable between portrait and landscape by rotation with respect to a coplanar body enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1677 for detecting open or closed state or particular intermediate positions assumed by movable parts of the enclosure, e.g. detection of display lid position with respect to main body in a laptop, detection of opening of the cover of battery compartment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1679 for locking or maintaining the movable parts of the enclosure in a fixed position, e.g. latching mechanism at the edge of the display in a laptop or for the screen protective cover of a PDA G06F1/1681 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1681 Details related solely to hinges hinge details related to the transmission of signals or power are classified in G06F1/1683
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1683 for the transmission of signal or power between the different housings, e.g. details of wired or wireless communication, passage of cabling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0214 Foldable telephones, i.e. with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position combined with translation movement H04M1/0235
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0227 Rotatable in one plane, i.e. using a one degree of freedom hinge
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0233 Including a rotatable display body part
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0247 comprising more than two body parts

Abstract

A folding cellular phone includes a hinge for connecting a first housing and a second housing having an operation part in a pivotable manner to open/close the folding cellular phone. A liquid crystal display part is supported on the first housing by a support mechanism such that the orientation of the liquid crystal display part is changeable between portrait and landscape. The folding cellular phone further includes a rod-shaped restriction member (an open/close restriction means) which is operated together with the support mechanism and the hinge such that the movement of the first and second housings is restricted so as not to reduce the angle formed between the first and second housings less than the predetermined angle (e.g., 120°).

Claims

1. A folding cellular phone comprising:

a first housing provided with a liquid crystal display part on the surface thereof;

a second housing including an operation part formed on the surface thereof; and

a hinge for connecting the first housing and the second housing in a pivotable manner to open/close the folding cellular phone between an open position and a closed position and a predetermined angle between the open position and the closed position, wherein

the liquid crystal display part is supported on the first housing such that the orientation of the liquid crystal display part is changeable between a portrait position and a landscape position and

the movement of the first and second housings is restricted by an open/close restriction means to prevent movement between the predetermined angle and the closed position if the liquid crystal display part is not in the portrait position.

2. A folding cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein

the orientation of the liquid crystal display part is changeable between portrait and landscape only when the angle formed between the first and second housings is greater than the predetermined angle.

3. A folding cellular phone according to claim 2, wherein

the liquid crystal display part is supported on the first housing by a support mechanism such that the orientation of the liquid crystal display part is changeable between portrait and landscape and

the open/close restriction means is operated together with the support mechanism and the hinge such that the movement of the first and second housings is restricted so as not to form an angle less than the predetermined angle therebetween when the liquid crystal display part is not in the portrait orientation.

4. A folding cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein

the first housing is provided with a recess which is formed at a portion shifted to the right or left from the horizontal center of the first housing for installing therein the support mechanism and has an opening in part of the sidewall thereof close to the hinge,

the support mechanism is attached to the rear surface of the liquid cryptal display part and includes a mounting bracket to be installed in the recess of the first housing and a rotation axis provided in the recess to support the liquid crystal display part on the first housing via the mounting bracket such that the orientation of the liquid crystal display part is changeable between portrait and landscape, the mounting bracket having a cam surface which is a side surface of a convex portion thereof bulging toward the hinge,

the hinge includes an open/close shaft for connecting the first and second housings in a pivotable manner to open/close the folding cellular phone and a restriction hole formed in a predetermined position of the circumference surface of the open/close shaft and

the open/close restriction means is a rod-shaped restriction member which is inserted in the opening in the recess and abuts on the cam surface of the mounting bracket at one end such that when the orientation of the liquid crystal display part is changed from portrait to landscape, the open/close restriction means is pushed by the cam surface toward the hinge and an insertion part formed at the other end is inserted in the restriction hole of the hinge, thereby restricting the open/close movement of the first and second housings.

5. A folding cellular phone according to claim 4, wherein

part of the outer circumference surface of the hinge which is positioned laterally outside the restriction hole serves as a cam surface,

the mounting bracket attached to the liquid crystal display part includes a protrusion which is formed slightly laterally inside the cam surface of the hinge and protrudes toward the hinge for restricting the rotation of the liquid crystal display part and

a rod-shaped rotation stopping member for restricting the rotation of the liquid crystal display part is provided laterally outside the rod-shaped restriction member and inserted in the opening in the recess such that, when the angle formed between the first and second housings is less than the predetermined angle, one end of the rod-shaped restriction member abutting on the cam surface of the hinge is pushed by the cam surface of the hinge toward the mounting bracket and the other end positioned laterally outside the protrusion of the mounting bracket abuts on the protrusion of the mounting bracket to restrict the rotation of the liquid crystal display part.

6. A folding cellular phone according to claim 5, wherein

an elastic member for biasing the liquid crystal display part to be in the portrait or landscape orientation is provided.

7. A folding cellular phone according to claim 6, wherein

the elastic member is a compression coil spring which abuts on a first abutting plate attached to the rod-shaped restriction member at one end and on a second abutting plate attached to the rotation stopping member at the other end.

8. A folding cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein

the horizontal center of the portrait- or landscape-oriented liquid crystal display part is positioned substantially at the horizontal center of the first housing.

9. A folding cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein

the liquid crystal display part has a liner side which comes to the bottom when the liquid crystal display part is in the portrait orientation.