WO2008050983A1

WO2008050983A1 - A bidirectional slider mechanism

Info

Publication number: WO2008050983A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/005189
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kwang- Duck Park
Original assignee: M2sys Co Ltd; Laird Technologies MAP Co Ltd
Current assignee: Laird Technologies Korea YH
Priority date: 2006-10-24
Filing date: 2007-10-23
Publication date: 2008-05-02
Anticipated expiration: 2009-04-24
Also published as: KR100756907B1

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a bidirectional slider mechanism for slidably opening and closing electronic apparatuses. The bidirectional slider mechanism comprises a first slider securely fixed to a first body of the electronic apparatuses; a second slider horizontally sidably combined to the first slider; and a third slider securely fixed to a second body of the electronic apparatuses and vertically slidably combined to the second slider. The bidirectional slider mechanism can slidably open and close the electronic apparatuses in both vertical and horizontal directions.

Description

AN OPENING AND CLOSING MECHANISM SLIDING IN THE DIRECTION OF 2 WAY FOR CELLULAR PHONE

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a bidirectional slider mechanism for electronic apparatuses, and more particularly, to a bidirectional slider mechanism for electronic apparatuses, which can slidably open and close the electronic apparatuses in both vertical and horizontal directions. Background Art

[2] Recently, as the spread of typical electronic apparatuses, i.e., portable wireless terminals are increased, there are needed additional functions conforming to the tastes of users even in the opening and closing operations of the portable terminal besides intrinsic functions of wireless communications.

[3] In response to these needs, the technology of such portable terminals has evolved to realize their various types including a general bar type, a flip type, a flip-up type, a folder type and the like. Presently, the folder-type portable terminal has been most widely utilized.

[4] The reason for this is that the folder-type terminal has a sufficient space to adopt a wide LCD module as a display device, and provides a good portability as compared to other type terminals as being held in a semi-folded state.

[5] On the other hand, there has been proposed a slide-type terminal which can be equipped with a wide LCD module display device having a similar size to that of the folder-type terminal. Simultaneously, the slide-type terminal can contribute to miniaturization of the portable terminals.

[6] Such a slide-type terminal is constructed such that a sub-body serving as a cover is slidably opened and closed on a main body to thereby provide an additional advantage of opening and closing in a more novel manner, while maintaining merits of an existing folder-type terminal.

[7] A typical slide-type portable terminal includes a guide means for guiding a sub- body on a main body, and at least one resilient means mounted between the sub-body and the main body for allowing its resilient force to be exerted in an opening or closing direction of the sub-body relative to a preset sliding point of the sub-body on the main body to cause the sub-body to be selectively slid against the main body.

[8] In addition, once the sub-body has been completely opened and closed, it can be kept in its maximally opened or closed state by the resilient means without any separate stopper. [9] However, such a conventional slide-type wireless terminal is constructed such that the sub-body is slid against the main body only in a vertical direction.

[10] Thus, in case of cellular phones having various state-of-the-art functions, there is a need for the opening and closing operations of the cellular phones in various directions depending on tastes of users, along with a need for the design of a new space to arrange lots of functional keys for realizing their functions. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[11] Accordingly, an object of the present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a bidirectional slider mechanism for electronic apparatuses, which can slidably open and close the electronic apparatuses in both vertical and horizontal directions so as to efficiently utilize a space to allow functional keys to be arranged in the space, and which can selectively open and close the electronic apparatuses in a desired direction depending on tastes of users. Technical Solution

[12] To accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a bidirectional slider mechanism for slidably opening and closing electronic apparatuses, comprising:

[13] a first slider securely fixed to a first body of the electronic apparatuses;

[14] a second slider horizontally slidably combined to the first slider; and

[15] a third slider securely fixed to a second body of the electronic apparatuses and vertically slidably combined to the second slider,

[16] wherein the first slider or the second slider has a first guide formed at one side thereof for allowing the first slider and the second slider to horizontally slide against each other, and

[17] wherein the second slider or the third slider has a second guide formed at one side thereof for allowing the first slider and the second slider to vertically slide against each other.

[18] The first guide and the second guide are mounted with an auxiliary sliding member made of a synthetic resin, respectively, the auxiliary sliding member having a slit groove formed longitudinally thereon so as to allow the upper and lower ends of the second slider to be fit thereto.

[19] A first spring is mounted between the first slider and the second slider for interconnecting the first slider and the second slider, and a second spring is mounted between the second slider and the third slider for interconnecting the second slider and the third slider.

[20] Preferably, each of the first spring and the second spring is formed in a serpentine shape bent several times.

[21] The first spring interconnects the first slider and the second slider in a state of being arranged in one diagonal direction when the first slider and the second slider are in a closed state, and interconnects the first slider and the second slider in a state of being arranged the other diagonal direction crossing the one diagonal direction when the first slider and the second slider are in an completely opened state. The second spring interconnects the second slider and the third slider in a state of being arranged in one diagonal direction when the second slider and the third slider are in a closed state, and interconnects the second slider and the third slider in a state of being arranged the other diagonal direction crossing the one diagonal direction when the second slider and the third slider are in an completely opened state.

[22] The width of the second slider is larger than that of the first slider, and at least one of the second guides is formed at a lateral end of the second slider.

Advantageous Effects

[23] As described above, the bidirectional slider mechanism for electronic apparatuses according to the present invention has the following advantageous effects.

[24] First, a second slider adapted to move horizontally and a third slider adapted to move vertically enable both horizontal and diagonal opening operations of a cellular phone, along with the simple vertical opening operation of the cellular phone such that the cellular phone can be slidably opened and closed in various directions depending on tastes of users. In addition, many various functional keys are arranged in a limited space so that more functions can be applied to the cellular phone.

[25] Secondly, the inventive the bidirectional slider mechanism is equipped with an auxiliary sliding member made of a synthetic resin to thereby prevent noises generated between the first slider and the second slider and the second slider and the third slider and achieve a smoother sliding operation.

[26] Thirdly, a first spring and a second spring are mounted in a diagonal direction so that the bidirectional slider mechanism can be semi- automatically operated.

[27] Fourthly, each of the first spring and the second spring is formed in a serpentine shape bent several times so that resiliency can be provided by the bent shape and simultaneously its thickness can be reduced to thereby achieve slimness of the cellular phone.

[28] Fifthly, the width of the second slider is made larger than that of the first slider, and at least one of second guides is formed at a side of the second slider so as to prevent the bidirectional slider mechanism from being exposed to the outside even upon the opening of the cellular phone to thereby make the outer appearance of the cellular hone look better and minimize a failure of the bidirectional slider mechanism due to its external exposure.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[29] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a cellular phone mounted with a bidirectional slider mechanism for slidably opening and closing the cellular phone according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[30] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the cellular phone of FIG. 1 when viewed from another direction;

[31] FIGs. 3 (a) and 3(b) are a top plan view and a perspective view, respectively, showing the cellular phone of FIG. 1 in an assembled state;

[32] FIGs. 4(a) and 4(b) are a bottom view showing the cellular phone of FIG. 3 in a closed state and a top plan view showing the operation state of the bidirectional slider mechanism in the closed state of the cellular phone, respectively;

[33] FIGs. 5 (a) and 5(b) are a bottom view showing the cellular phone of FIG. 4 in a vertically opened state and a top plan view showing the operation state of the bidirectional slider mechanism in the vertically opened state of the cellular phone, respectively;

[34] FIGs. 6(a) to (c) are schematic diagrammatic views showing the operation states of a second spring of FIG. 5;

[35] FIGs. 7 (a) and 7(b) are a bottom view showing the cellular phone of FIG. 4 in a horizontally opened state and a top plan view showing the operation state of the bidirectional slider mechanism in the horizontally opened state of the cellular phone, respectively;

[36] FIGs. 8 (a) to (c) are schematic diagrammatic views showing the operation states of the second spring of FIG. 7; and

[37] FIGs. 9(a) and 9(b) are a bottom view showing the cellular phone of FIG. 4 in a vertically and horizontally opened state and a top plan view showing the operation state of the bidirectional slider mechanism in the vertically and horizontally opened state of the cellular phone, respectively. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[38] Preferred exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[39] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a cellular phone mounted with a bidirectional slider mechanism for slidably opening and closing the cellular phone according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the cellular phone of FIG. 1 when viewed from another direction, FIGs. 3 (a) and 3(b) are a top plan view and a perspective view, respectively, showing the cellular phone of FIG. 1 in an assembled state, and FIGs. 4(a) and 4(b) are a bottom view showing the cellular phone of FIG. 3 in a closed state and a top plan view showing the operation state of the bidirectional slider mechanism in the closed state of the cellular phone, respectively.

[40] As shown in FIGs 1 to 4, the bidirectional slider mechanism according to this embodiment includes a first slider 10, a second slider 20, a third slider 30, a first spring 60 and a second spring70.

[41] The first slider 10 is mounted with a printed circuit board (PCB) of a cellular phone and is contactingly combined to a first body 40 mounted with a battery. The third slider 30 is contantingly combined to a second body 50 mounted with a display unit of the cellular phone, and the second slider 20 is disposed between the first slider 10 and the second slider 20.

[42] FIGs. 3 (a) and 3(b) (-> 3(b) and 3(d)) show a structure in which the bidirectional slider mechanism is mounted on the first body 40, and FIGs. 3(c) and (d) (-> 3(a) and 3(c)) show a structure in which the bidirectional slider mechanism is mounted on the second body 50. Also, FIG. 4(a) shows a state where the cellular phone is closed, and FIG. 4(b) shows the operation state of the bidirectional slider mechanism in the closed state of the cellular phone.

[43] The first slider 10 is formed in a rectangular plate shape, and has a first guide 12 formed at the upper and lower ends thereof, respectively.

[44] The first guide 12 is formed by bending the upper and lower ends of the first slider

10 in the 'c' and 'D' shapes toward the second slider 20.

[45] In FIG. 1, the first slider 10 has a first fixing member 15 formed at the central left portion thereof for allowing the first spring 60 to be connected at one end thereto.

[46] Each of the first guides 12 is inwardly mounted with an auxiliary sliding member

80. The auxiliary sliding member 80 has a slit groove 85 formed longitudinally thereon so as to allow the upper and lower ends of the second slider 20 to be fit thereto.

[47] The auxiliary sliding member 80 is intended to minimize a noise such as a frictional sound generated between the first guide 12 and the second guide 22 which are made of metal and achieve a smoother sliding between the first slider and the second slider when the second slider slidably moves along the upper and lower first guides 12.

[48] In this case, the auxiliary sliding member 80 is preferably formed of a synthetic resin so as to minimize a noise and achieve a smooth sliding.

[49] The second slider 20 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape, and is disposed on the top of the first slider 10 so that the upper and lower ends thereof are fit into the slit grooves of the auxiliary sliding members 80 mounted to the upper and lower first guides 12 to thereby horizontally slide against the first guides.

[50] The second slider 20 has second guides 22 longitudinally formed thereon in such a fashion as to be oriented perpendicular to the upper and lower first guides 12 so as to allow the third slider 30 to vertically slide against the second slider. [51] The second guide 22 is formed by bending the second slider 20 in the 'c' and 'D' shapes toward the third slider 30. [52] The width of the second slider 20 is made larger than that of the first slider 10, and at least one of second guides is formed at a lateral end of the second slider 20 [53] In this embodiment, one of the second guides 22 is formed at a left side end of the second slider 20, and the other one of the second guides 22 is formed at the central portion of the second slider 20. [54] This is aimed to prevent the first slider 10 from being exposed externally when the second slider 20 slidably moves to the right as will be described later [55] In FIG. 1, a second fixing element 25 is formed at the upper left portion of the second slider 20 so as to allow the first spring 60 to be connected at the other end thereto, and a third fixing element 27 is formed at the upper central portion of the second slider 20 so as to allow the second spring 70 to be connected at one end thereto. [56] In addition, each of the second guides 22 is mounted with an auxiliary sliding member 80. [57] Also, the third slider 30 is formed in a rectangular plate shape, and is fit into the auxiliary sliding members 80 mounted to the second guides 22 to thereby vertically slide against the second guides. The second body 50 mounted with a display unit is disposed on the top of the third slider 30 as described above. [58] In FIG. 1, the third slider 30 has a fourth fixing element 37 formed at the central left portion thereof so as to allow the second spring 70 to be connected at the other end thereto. [59] Further, the first spring 60 serves to interconnect the first fixing element 15 formed on the first slider 10 and the second fixing element 25 formed on the second slider 20 between the first slider 10 and the second slider 20. [60] Thus, when the first slider 10 and the second slider 20 are in a closed state, the first spring 60 interconnects the first fixing element 15 formed at the central left portion of the first slider 10 shown in FIG. 1 and the second fixing element 25 formed at the upper left portion of the second slider 20. [61] In this case, the first slider 10 is positioned biased to the right of the second slider

20 and the width of the second slider 20 is larger than that of the first slider 10 so that the first spring 60 interconnects the first slider 10 and the second slider 20 through the first fixing element 15 and the second fixing element 25 in a state of being arranged in one diagonal direction as shown in FIG. 8(a) (<- 6(a)) which will be described later. [62] In FIGs. 3 (a) and 3(b), there is shown a state where the first spring 60 interconnects the first slider 10 and the second slider 20 in a state of being arranged in one diagonal direction. In this case, the first body 40 is placed on the bottom, and thus is shown in an opposite direction to that in the above description on the assumption that the first body 40 is placed on the top.

[63] The second spring 70 serves to interconnect the third fixing element 27 formed on the second slider 20 and the fourth fixing element 37 formed on the third slider 30 between the second slider 20 and the third slider 30.

[64] Thus, when the second slider 20 and the third slider 30 are in a closed state, the second spring 70 interconnects interconnect the third fixing element 27 formed at the upper central portion of the second slider 20 shown in FIG. 1 and the fourth fixing element 37 formed at the central left portion of the third slider 30.

[65] In this case, the fourth fixing element 37 is positioned at a left side of a portion lower than the third fixing element 27, so that the second spring 70 interconnects the second slider 20 and the third slider 30 through the third fixing element 27 and the fourth fixing element 37 in a state of being arranged in one diagonal direction as shown in FIG. 6(a) (<- 8(a)) which will be described later.

[66] The first spring 60 and the second spring 70 are preferably formed in serpentine shapes bent many times so as to provide resilience.

[67] Likewise, the first spring 60 and the second spring 70 are formed to be bent in a zig-zag shape so as to minimize the thickness of the springs while maintaining the resilience, resulting in a reduced thickness of the entire cellular phone.

[68] The first spring 60 and the second spring 70 are securely fixed to the first fixing element 15 and the second fixing element 25, and the third fixing element 27 and the fourth fixing element 37, respectively, by means of a fastening member such as a screw, etc.

[69] The bidirectional slider mechanism of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, is preferably mounted at the upper portions of the first body 40 and the second body 50 of the cellular phone, rather than at the whole area of the first body 40 and the second body 50.

[70] This is aimed to prevent the bidirectional slider mechanism from being exposed externally when the second body 50 slides vertically to be opened as will be described later.

[71] Now, the operation states of the present invention as constructed above will be described hereinafter.

[72] FIGs. 5 (a) and 5(b) are a bottom view showing the cellular phone of FIG. 4 in a vertically opened state and a top plan view showing the operation state of the bidirectional slider mechanism in the vertically opened state of the cellular phone, respectively, FIGs. 6(a) to (c) are schematic diagrammatic views showing the operation states of a second spring of FIG. 5.

[73] In a state where the cellular phone is closed as shown in FIG. 4(a), when the second body 50 is moved upwardly as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the third slider 30 slides upwardly along the second guides 22 of the second slider 20 as shown in FIG. 5(b).

[74] In this case, the bidirectional slider mechanism of this embodiment, as shown in

FIG. 3, is mounted the upper portion of the first body 40 and the second body 50, so that although the second body 50 is moved upwardly as shown in FIG. 5(a), the bidirectional slider mechanism is prevented from being exposed externally to thereby make the outer appearance of the cellular hone look better and minimize a failure of the bidirectional slider mechanism due to its external exposure.

[75] Before a user moves the second body 50 upwardly as shown in FIG. 6(a), the second spring 70 interconnects the second slider and the third slider through the third fixing element 27 and the fourth fixing element 37 in a state of being arranged in one diagonal direction.

[76] When the user starts to move the second body 50 upwardly as shown in FIG. 6(b), the third fixing element 27 and the fourth fixing element 37 approach to each other to cause the second spring 70 to be compressed.

[77] When this maximum compression interval is passed, the third slider 30 is automatically lifted by an elastic restoring force of the second spring 70 as shown in FIG. 6(c) to cause the third slider 30 to be completely opened so that the second spring 70 interconnects the third fixing element 27 and the fourth fixing element 37 in a state of being arranged the other diagonal direction crossing the one diagonal direction shown in FIG.6(a).

[78] When the third slider 30 is lowered, the bidirectional slider mechanism is operated inversely to the above operation so that the cellular phone can be vertically opened semi-automatically.

[79] FIGs. 7 (a) and 7(b) are a bottom view showing the cellular phone of FIG. 4 in a horizontally opened state and a top plan view showing the operation state of the bidirectional slider mechanism in the horizontally opened state of the cellular phone, respectively, and FIGs. 8(a) to (c) are schematic diagrammatic views showing the operation states of the second spring of FIG. 7.

[80] In a state where the cellular phone is closed as shown in FIG. 4(a), when the second body 50 is moved to the right as shown in FIG. 7(a), the second slider 20 slidably moves to the right together with the third slider 30 along the first guides 12 of the first slider 10 as shown in FIG. 7(b).

[81] In this case, the width of the second slider 20 is larger than that of the first slider 10, the right edge of the second slider 20 substantially coincides with that of the first slider 10 in a closed state of the cellular phone, and at least one of the second guides 22 to which the third slider 30 combined to the second body 50 is mounted is formed at a lateral end of the second slider 20 as shown in FIG.4(b). Thus, the bidirectional slider mechanism of this embodiment is not exposed to the outside although the second body 50 is slidably moved to the right as shown in FIG. 7 (a) to thereby make the outer appearance of the cellular hone look better and minimize a failure of the bidirectional slider mechanism due to its external exposure.

[82] In other words, when the second body 50 is slidably moved to the right, the third slider 30 is slidably moved to the right along with the second slider 20, at which time, the width of the first slider 10 is smaller than that of the second slider 20, so that although the second body 50 is moved by a width difference between the first slider and the second slider, the bidirectional slider mechanism is not exposed externally.

[83] Before the user moves the second body 50 to the right as shown in FIG. 8(a), the first spring 60 interconnects the first slider and the second slider through the first fixing element 15 and the second fixing element 25 in a state of being arranged in one diagonal direction.

[84] When the user starts to move the second body 50 to the right as shown in FIG. 8(b), the first fixing element 15 and the second fixing element 25 approach to each other to cause the first spring 60 to be compressed.

[85] When this maximum compression interval is passed, the second slider 20 is automatically moved to the right by an elastic restoring force of the first spring 60 as shown in FIG. 8(c) to cause the second slider 20 to be completely opened so that the first spring 60 interconnects the first fixing element 15 and the second fixing element 25 in a state of being arranged the other diagonal direction crossing the one diagonal direction that shown in FIG.8(a).

[86] When the second slider 20 is slidably moved to the left, the bidirectional slider mechanism is operated inversely to the above operation so that the cellular phone can be horizontally opened semi-automatically.

[87] FIGs. 9(a) and 9(b) are a bottom view showing the cellular phone of FIG. 4 in a vertically and horizontally opened state and a top plan view showing the operation state of the bidirectional slider mechanism in the vertically and horizontally opened state of the cellular phone, respectively.

[88] FIG. 9 shows a state where the vertical movement shown in FIGs. 5 and 6, and the horizontal movement shown in FIGs. 7 and 8 are simultaneously performed. The detailed operation thereof will be omitted as being identical to that of the vertical and horizontal movement as described above.

[89] As described above, a bidirectional slider mechanism of the present invention enable both horizontal and diagonal opening operations of a cellular phone, along with the simple vertical opening operation of the cellular phone such that the cellular phone can be slidably opened and closed in various directions depending on tastes of users. In addition, many various functional keys are arranged in a limited space so that more functions can be applied to the cellular phone. Industrial Applicability

[90] The present invention is applied to electronic apparatuses so that the electronic apparatuses can be opened and closed in both vertical and horizontal directions.

[91] It is to be appreciated that the inventive bidirectional slider mechanism for electronic apparatuses is not limited to the specific embodiments as described above, but those skilled in the art can variously change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

[1] A bidirectional slider mechanism for slidably opening and closing electronic apparatuses, comprising: a first slider securely fixed to a first body of the electronic apparatuses; a second slider horizontally sidably combined to the first slider; and a third slider securely fixed to a second body of the electronic apparatuses and vertically slidably combined to the second slider, wherein the first slider or the second slider has a first guide formed at one side thereof for allowing the first slider and the second slider to horizontally slide against each other, and wherein the second slider or the third slider has a second guide formed at one side thereof for allowing the first slider and the second slider to vertically slide against each other.

[2] The bidirectional slider mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the first guide and the second guide are mounted with an auxiliary sliding member made of a synthetic resin, respectively, the auxiliary sliding member having a slit groove formed longitudinally thereon so as to allow the upper and lower ends of the second slider to be fit thereto.

[3] The bidirectional slider mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a first spring is mounted between the first slider and the second slider for interconnecting the first slider and the second slider, and a second spring is mounted between the second slider and the third slider for interconnecting the second slider and the third slider.

[4] The bidirectional slider mechanism according to claim 3, wherein each of the first spring and the second spring is formed in a serpentine shape bent several times.

[5] The bidirectional slider mechanism according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the first spring interconnects the first slider and the second slider in a state of being arranged in one diagonal direction when the first slider and the second slider are in a closed state, and interconnects the first slider and the second slider in a state of being arranged the other diagonal direction crossing the one diagonal direction when the first slider and the second slider are in an completely opened state, and wherein the second spring interconnects the second slider and the third slider in a state of being arranged in one diagonal direction when the second slider and the third slider are in a closed state, and interconnects the second slider and the third slider in a state of being arranged the other diagonal direction crossing the one diagonal direction when the second slider and the third slider are in an completely opened state.

[6] The bidirectional slider mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the width of the second slider is larger than that of the first slider, and at least one of the second guides is formed at a lateral end of the second slider.