Hinge assembly for a computing device

• US 9,500,013 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2013
• Issued: 11/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Senatori, Mark David
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Courtney
• Assistant Examiner(s): Augustin, Christopher L
• Application Number:
  US14/786,337
• Publication Number:
  US 20160123054A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,216 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 11/081 with both radial and axial friction, e.g. conical friction surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 3/12 with two parallel pins and one arm
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 3/18 with sliding pins or guides
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1618 the display being foldable up to the back of the other housing with a single degree of freedom, e.g. by 360° rotation over the axis defined by the rear edge of the base enclosure
• 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

Abstract

Examples disclosed herein provide a hinge assembly for a computing device. The hinge assembly includes a first barrel coupled to a second barrel. The first barrel has a first groove that extends circumferentially and longitudinally along at least a length of the first barrel, and the second barrel has a second groove that extends circumferentially and longitudinally along at least a length of the second barrel. The hinge assembly includes a first hinge pivot shaft that rotates about a first axis via the first barrel, and the first shaft includes a first guide pin to follow the first groove along the first barrel. The hinge assembly includes a second hinge pivot shaft that rotates about a second axis via the second barrel, and the second shaft includes a second guide pin to follow the second groove along the second barrel. The hinge assembly includes a bracket that aligns a point along a length of the first shaft with a point along a length of the second shaft.

Claims

1. A hinge assembly for a computing device, comprising:

a first barrel with a first groove that extends circumferentially and longitudinally along at least a length of the first barrel;

a second barrel with a second groove that extends circumferentially and longitudinally along at least a length of the second barrel, wherein the second barrel is coupled to the first barrel;

a first hinge pivot shaft to rotate about a first axis via the first barrel, wherein the first shaft includes a first guide pin to follow the first groove along the first barrel;

a second hinge pivot shaft to rotate about a second axis via the second barrel, wherein the second shaft includes a second guide pin to follow the second groove along the second barrel; and

a bracket to align a point along a length of the first shaft with a point along a length of the second shaft.

2. The hinge assembly of claim 1, wherein the bracket is to synchronize rotation of the first and second shafts as the first and second guide pins follow the grooves along the barrels.

3. The hinge assembly of claim 2, wherein the barrels are to traverse a length of the first and second shafts as the first and second guide pins follow the grooves along the barrels.

4. The hinge assembly of claim 1, wherein the first hinge pivot shaft is to attach to a display housing of the computing device and the second hinge pivot shaft is to attach to a base housing of the computing device.

5. The hinge assembly of claim 4, wherein the first groove is to allow the display housing to rotate 180 degrees in one direction and the second groove is to allow the base housing to rotate 180 degrees in an opposite direction to enable the base housing to be substantially parallel to the display housing to operate the computing device in a tablet mode.

6. The hinge assembly of claim 1, wherein diameters of the first and second hinge pivot shafts vary along their length such that the first and second barrels are to provide varying amounts of rotational resistance as the hinge pivot shafts rotate to operate the computing device in different modes.

7. The hinge assembly of claim 6, wherein the first and second barrels are to provide varying amounts of rotational resistance based on the diameters of the first and second hinge pivot shafts at a particular point along their length with respect to diameters of the first and second barrels.

8. The hinge assembly of claim 1, wherein the first groove extends along at least the length of the first barrel in an opposite direction from the second groove extending along at least the length of the second barrel.

9. A computing device, comprising:

a base housing including a top surface and a bottom surface opposite the top surface;

a display housing coupled to the base housing by a hinge assembly comprising;

a first barrel with a first groove that extends circumferentially and longitudinally along at least a length of the first barrel;

a second barrel with a second groove that extends circumferentially and longitudinally along at least a length of the second barrel, wherein the second barrel is coupled to the first barrel;

a first hinge pivot shaft attached to the display housing to rotate about a first axis via the first barrel, wherein the first shaft includes a first guide pin to follow the first groove along the first barrel;

a second hinge pivot shaft attached to the base housing to rotate about a second axis via the second barrel, wherein the second shaft includes a second guide pin to follow the second groove along the second barrel; and

a bracket to align a point along a length of the first shaft with a point along a length of the second shaft.

10. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the first groove is to allow the display housing to rotate 180 degrees in one direction and the second groove is to allow the base housing to rotate 180 degrees in an opposite direction to enable the base housing to be substantially parallel to the display housing to operate the computing device in a tablet mode.

11. The computing device of claim 10, wherein computing device can be operated in a tablet mode by rotating the display housing to cover the bottom surface of the base housing.

12. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the base housing and the display housing are to rotate in unison with respect to the hinge assembly as the first and second guide pins follow the grooves along the barrels.

13. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the barrels are to traverse a length of the first and second shafts as the first and second guide pins follow the grooves along the barrels.

14. A hinge assembly for a computing device, comprising:

a first barrel with a first groove that wraps around the first barrel along at least a length of the first barrel;

a second barrel with a second groove that wraps around the second barrel along at least a length of the second barrel, wherein the second barrel is coupled to the first barrel;

a first hinge pivot shaft to rotate about a first axis via the first barrel, wherein the first shaft includes a first guide pin to follow the first groove along the first barrel;

a second hinge pivot shaft to rotate about a second axis via the second barrel, wherein the second shaft includes a second guide pin to follow the second groove along the second barrel; and

a bracket to align an end of the first shaft with an end of the second shaft.

15. The hinge assembly of claim 14, wherein the bracket is to synchronize rotation of the first and second shafts as the first and second guide pins follow the grooves along the barrels.