WO2009017381A2

WO2009017381A2 - Curved surface slider assembly and portable information device having the same

Info

Publication number: WO2009017381A2
Application number: PCT/KR2008/004483
Authority: WO
Inventors: Do-Sung Kim
Original assignee: Amphenol Phoenix Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2007-08-01
Filing date: 2008-08-01
Publication date: 2009-02-05
Also published as: KR200442455Y1; CN101796736A; WO2009017381A3

Abstract

A curved slider assembly allows a cover of a portable information device to be opened along a curvilinear route so that a user can observe a displayed image with enhanced visibility. The curved slider assembly includes a fixed plate having a pair of spaced-apart guide portions with curvilinear guide grooves curved in a sliding movement direction. A sliding plate is slidably coupled to the fixed plate, the sliding plate having a pair of spaced-apart curvilinear wing portions curved to conform to the curvilinear guide grooves of the guide portions of the fixed plate. A connecting plate is combined with the sliding plate, the connecting plate having a pair of spaced-apart holding portions for holding front and rear end portions of the sliding plate extending between the curvilinear wing portions. An elastic biasing means interconnects the fixed plate and the sliding plate to apply a biasing force to the sliding plate.

Description

[DESCRIPTION] [Invention Title]

CURVED SURFACE SLIDER ASSEMBLY AND PORTABLE INFORMATION DEVICE HAVING THE SAME [Technical Field]

<i> The present invention relates to a portable information device and, more particularly, to a curved slider assembly for semi-automatically opening and closing a cover along a curvilinear route and a portable information device having the same. [Background Art]

<2> In general, a portable information device is one kind of electronic devices having a self-contained power source, which can be carried and used by a user. Examples of the portable information device include cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and portable multimedia players (PMPs). The cellular phones as a representative portable information device are classified into a swing type, a slide type, a folder type and so forth depending on the external appearance thereof. The cellular phones are sometimes classified by the mounting position of a display part.

<3> In recent years, the cellular phones have a variety of multimedia functions as well as a wireless communication function, which enables a user to enjoy various multimedia contents such as moving images, games, the Internet, e- books and the like through the cellular phones. Addition of such multimedia functions makes it necessary for the cellular phones to have a wider screen. To this end, a slide type cellular phone in which a cover can be transversely slid for the provision of a wider screen has become commercially available.

<4> However, the conventional slide type cellular phone having a transversely slidable cover is manually operated and therefore is inconvenient to use. In order to open and close the cover, a user should apply a force to the cover in a sliding direction until the cover is fully opened or closed.

<5> Another problem of the conventional slide type cellular phone resides in that the cover may not be smoothly opened or closed at one time and may be distorted and locked against movement. This is because the user must continuously apply a force to the cover until it is fully opened or closed.

<6> In the conventional slide type cellular phone, the cover is slid parallel to a main body and, therefore, the display part provided on the front surface of the cover needs to be arranged parallel to the main body. For that reason, in case where the user wishes to press buttons provided in the main body while observing a screen of the display part, it is necessary for the user to twist his or her hands holding the portable information device so that the user's eyes can come into alignment with the screen. If the portable information device is used for an extended period of time in this state, fatigue is accumulated in the hands. As a result, the user's hands may suffer from tremor, cramp and other disorders. [Disclosure] [Technical Problem]

<7> In view of the above-noted and other problems inherent in the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a curved slider assembly capable of semi-automatically opening and closing a cover through the use of an elastic biasing unit, and a portable information device having the same.

<8> Another object of the present invention is to provide a curved slider assembly that enables a cover to smoothly slide in a transverse direction with no locking phenomenon, and a portable information device having the same.

<9> A further object of the present invention is to provide a curved slider assembly that allows a cover having a display part to move along a curvilinear route so that the user's eyes can be self-aligned with the screen of the display part when the cover is opened.

[Technical Solution]

<io> In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a curved slider assembly for portable information devices, including: a fixed plate having a pair of spaced-apart guide portions with curvilinear guide grooves curved in a sliding movement direction; a sliding plate slidably coupled to the fixed plate, the sliding plate having a pair of spaced-apart curvilinear wing portions curved to conform to the curvilinear guide grooves of the guide portions of the fixed plate; a connecting plate combined with the sliding plate, the connecting plate having a pair of spaced-apart holding portions for holding front and rear end portions of the sliding plate extending between the curvilinear wing portions; and an elastic biasing means for interconnecting the fixed plate and the sliding plate to apply a biasing force to the sliding plate in the sliding movement direction.

<π> In the curved slider assembly noted above, the sliding plate may have a curved overall shape, and the connecting plate may have a plurality of support portions protruding toward the sliding plate so that the support portions can make contact with the sliding plate to support the sliding plate against deformation, each of the support portions having a contact surface curved to conform to the sliding plate.

<]2> The curved slider assembly may further comprise a pair of sliding members respectively fitted to the guide portions of the fixed plate for reducing friction between the fixed plate and the sliding plate, the sliding members having curved grooves for slidably receiving and guiding the curvilinear wing portions of the sliding plate.

<13> In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable information device including: a main body having a plurality of buttons; a cover slidably combined with the main body, the cover having a display portion; and a curved slider assembly provided between the main body and the cover for slidably coupling the main body and the cover together, wherein the curved slider assembly comprises: a fixed plate combined with the main body, the fixed plate having a pair of spaced-apart guide portions with curvilinear guide grooves curved in a sliding movement direction,^" a sliding plate slidably coupled to the fixed plate, the sliding plate having a pair of spaced-apart curvilinear wing portions curved to conform to the curvilinear guide grooves of the guide portions of the fixed plate; a connecting plate combined with the sliding plate and the cover, the connecting plate having a pair of spaced-apart holding portions for holding front and rear end portions of the sliding plate extending between the curvilinear wing portions; and an elastic biasing means for interconnecting the fixed plate and the sliding plate to apply a biasing force to the sliding plate in the sliding movement direction.

<i4> With the present invention, the cover is semi-automatically opened and closed by the elastic biasing units. This provides convenience in operation and assures smooth opening and closing of the cover with no locking phenomenon.

<i5> Furthermore, the cover having a display part is opened and closed along a curvilinear route. This ensures that the user's eyes are self-aligned with the screen when the cover is opened. Therefore, the portable information device can be used conveniently while reducing tremor, cramp and other disorders which would otherwise occur in the user's hands when the portable information device is held by the hands and used for a long period of time.

[Description of Drawings]

<π> Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a portable information device having a curved slider assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

<18> Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a curved slider assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

<i9> Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the curved slider assembly shown in Fig.2.

<20> Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of some parts of the curved slider assembly shown in Fig. 2.

<2i> Figs. 5 through 7 are front and side elevational views for explaining the operation of the curved slider assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. [Best Mode]

<22> A curved slider assembly and a portable information device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<23> Referring to Fig. 1, the portable information device 200 having a curved slider assembly includes a main body 210 with a plurality of buttons or keys and a cover 220 with a display part, the cover 220 being slidably mounted to the main body 210. The portable information device 200 is provided with a screen having an increased transverse size, thereby enabling a user to effectively enjoy various multimedia contents such as moving images, games, the Internet, e-books and the like.

<24> Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, there is shown a curved slider assembly 100 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, which is employed in the portable information device 200. The curved slider assembly 100 includes a fixed plate 120 arranged within the main body 210 of the portable information device 200, a sliding plate 114 slidably coupled to the fixed plate 120, a connecting plate 110 provided inside the cover 220 which is slidingly opened and closed in a facing relationship with the main body 210, and a pair of elastic biasing units 130 for restraining the sliding stroke of the connecting plate 110 and for elastically biasing the sliding plate 114.

<25> The connecting plate 110 has a bracket curved for installation inside the cover 220 and a plurality of holes. The connecting plate 110 is fixed to the cover 220 by fitting the curved bracket to the corresponding inner surface of the cover 220 and then inserting fastening members, e.g., screws, through the plurality of holes. On one surface of the connecting plate 110 facing the sliding plate 114, there is formed a pair of holding portions 111 for holding the front and rear end portions of the sliding plate 114. The sliding plate 114 is fixed to the connecting plate 110 by coupling the front and rear end portions of the sliding plate 114 to the holding portions 111.

<26> The fixed plate 120 has a plurality of holes through which fastening means such as screws or the like is inserted in order to fix the fixed plate 120 to the inner surface of the main body 210. The fixed plate 120 is provided at its opposite sides with a pair of guide portions 121 curved twice toward the connecting plate 110. Each of the guide portions 121 curvilinearIy extends along the sliding direction of the sliding plate 114 and has a curvilinear guide groove 122. Furthermore, each of the guide portions 121 has a hinge hole 123 to which the corresponding one of the elastic biasing units 130 is secured.

<27> A pair of sliding members 124 is fitted to the curvilinear guide grooves 122 of the fixed plate 120. The sliding members 124 have grooves for guiding a pair of curvilinear wing portions 114a of the sliding plate 114. The grooves of the sliding members 124 are curved at a curvature corresponding to the curvature of the wing portions 114a so that they can smoothly guide the wing portions 114a of the sliding plate 114. The sliding members 124 may be made of various kinds of materials having a low dynamic friction coefficient and a wear resistance great enough to resist the friction between the sliding members 124 and the wing portions 114a during the repeated sliding movement of the sliding plate 114.

<28> The sliding plate 114 is integrally combined with the connecting plate 110 which in turn is coupled to the cover 220. As the sliding plate 114 is slid along a curvilinear route defined by the curvilinear guide grooves 122, the cover 220 is also opened and closed along the curvilinear route. The wing portions 114a are formed into a twice bent shape at the left and right ends of the sliding plate 114 and are curved at a curvature corresponding to the curvature of the curvilinear guide grooves 122. The remaining portion of the sliding plate 114 lying between the wing portions 114a is also curved at the same curvature as that of the wing portions 114a. In the present invention, however, the remaining portion of the sliding plate 114 other than the wing portions 114a may not be formed into a curved shape. Hinge holes 114b to which the elastic biasing units 130 are swingably coupled are formed at a specified interval in the middle region of the sliding plate 114.

<29> With the portable information device 200 described above, the curvilinear movement route of the cover 220 is decided by the curvature of the sliding plate 114. When opened along the curvilinear route, the cover 220 is oriented to face the user so that the user's eyes can be aligned with the display part. Accordingly, the user is able to observe, with enhanced visibility, the image displayed on the display part while naturally holding the portable information device 200 with the hands. This helps reduce the fatigue which would be felt by the user when the portable information device 200 is continuously used for a long time.

<30> As can be seen in Fig. 3, a plurality of support portions 112 and 113 for preventing deformation or distortion of the sliding plate 114 protrudes toward the sliding plate 114 from one surface of the connecting plate 110. The support portions 112 and 113 make contact with the curved inner surface of the sliding plate 114 to thereby support them against deformation. The support portions 112 and 113 include one first support portion 112 coming into contact with the central region of the curved inner surface of the O

sliding plate 114 and four second support portions 113 making contact with four corner portions of the sliding plate 114. Each of the first support portion 112 and the second support portions 113 has a contact surface curved at a curvature corresponding to the curvature of the sliding plate 114. The second support portions 113 are arranged in such positions as not to interfere with the guide portions 121 of the fixed plate 120 and the elastic biasing units 130. In the present invention, the shape and arrangement of the support portions 112 and 113 is not limited the illustrated one but may be changed in many different ways.

<3i> As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the elastic biasing units 130 for restraining the sliding stroke of the sliding plate 114 and for applying a biasing force to the sliding plate 114 in the sliding direction are provided between the sliding plate 114 and the fixed plate 120. Each of the elastic biasing units 130 has a first end portion swingably coupled to the corresponding one of the guide portions 121 of the fixed plate 120 and a second end portion swingably coupled to the sliding plate 114. When the cover 220 is opened and closed, the elastic biasing units 130 serve to apply a biasing force to the sliding plate 114 in the sliding direction, which assists in semi-automatical Iy opening and closing the cover 220.

<32> Referring to Fig. 4, each of the elastic biasing units 130 includes a first link 131 swingably secured at its proximal end to the corresponding one of the hinge holes 114b of the connecting plate 110, a second link 132 coupled to the first link 131 for extension and retraction relative to each other and swingably secured at its proximal end to the corresponding one of the hinge holes 123 formed in the guide portions 121, and a plurality of springs 133 retained between the first link 131 and the second link 132 for biasing the first link 131 and the second link 132 away from each other. Although each of the elastic biasing units 130 is formed of the first link 131 and the second link 132 in the present invention, it may be changed to many other structures insofar as a biasing force can be applied to the second link 132. <33> Hereinafter, the operation of the curved slider assembly 100 and the portable information device 200 having the same will be described with reference to Figs. 5 through 7.

<34> Fig. 5 illustrates the state of the curved slider assembly 100 in which the cover 220 is closed. In this state, the sliding plate 114 is biased into a closed position by the elastic biasing units 130 and is held against movement. If an external force is applied to the cover 220 coupled to the sliding plate 114 through the connecting plate 110 in the sliding direction, the wing portions 114a of the sliding plate 114 are slid along the curvilinear grooves of the sliding members 124 fitted to the curvilinear guide grooves 122 of the fixed plate 120. At this time, the wing portions 114a of the sliding plate 114 can make smooth sliding movement along the curved grooves of the sliding members 124 with no locking phenomenon. As the sliding plate 114 is moved along the curved grooves of the sliding members 124, the first link 131 and the second link 132 of each of the elastic biasing units 130 are retracted toward each other, as a result of which the springs 133 are compressed.

<35> Fig. 6 illustrates the state of the curved slider assembly 100 in which the springs 133 are compressed to the greatest possible extent. If an additional force is applied to the cover 220 in the sliding direction under this state, the springs 133 begin to expand toward the initial state, thereby applying a biasing force to the sliding plate 114 in the opening direction. As a result, the cover 220 is automatically opened by the biasing force of the springs 133 even if no biasing force is applied to the sliding plate 114. Fig. 7 illustrates the state of the curved slider assembly 100 in which the cover 220 is fully opened. If an external force is applied to the cover 220 in the closing direction under this state, the cover 220 is closed along the curvilinear route through the compression and expansion of the elastic biasing units 130.

<36> The embodiment set forth hereinabove has been presented for illustrative purpose only and, therefore, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the claims.

[Industrial Applicability]

<37> With the present invention, the cover is opened along a curvilinear route and is oriented to face the user so that the user can observe the image displayed on the display part with enhanced visibility. The curved slider assembly of the present invention can find its application in various kinds of portable information devices such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants and portable multimedia players.

Claims

[CLAIMS] [Claim 1]

<39> A curved slider assembly for portable information devices, comprising:

<40> a fixed plate having a pair of spaced-apart guide portions with curvilinear guide grooves curved in a sliding movement direction;

<4i> a sliding plate slidably coupled to the fixed plate, the sliding plate having a pair of spaced-apart curvilinear wing portions curved to conform to the curvilinear guide grooves of the guide portions of the fixed plate;

<42> a connecting plate combined with the sliding plate, the connecting plate having a pair of spaced-apart holding portions for holding front and rear end portions of the sliding plate extending between the curvilinear wing portions; and

<43> an elastic biasing means for interconnecting the fixed plate and the sliding plate to apply a biasing force to the sliding plate in the sliding movement direction. [Claim 2]

<44> The curved slider assembly for portable information devices as recited in claim 1, wherein the sliding plate has a curved overall shape and wherein the connecting plate has a plurality of support portions protruding toward the sliding plate so that the support portions can make contact with the sliding plate to support the sliding plate against deformation, each of the support portions having a contact surface curved to conform to the sliding plate. [Claim 3]

<45> The curved slider assembly for portable information devices as recited in claim 2, further comprising a pair of sliding members respectively fitted to the guide portions of the fixed plate for reducing friction between the fixed plate and the sliding plate, the sliding members having curved grooves for slidably receiving and guiding the curvilinear wing portions of the sliding plate. [Claim 4] <46> A portable information device comprising:

<47> a main body having a plurality of buttons;

<48> a cover slidably combined with the main body, the cover having a display portion; and

<49> a curved slider assembly provided between the main body and the cover for slidably coupling the main body and the cover together,

<50> wherein the curved slider assembly comprises: a fixed plate combined with the main body, the fixed plate having a pair of spaced-apart guide portions with curvilinear guide grooves curved in a sliding movement direction; a sliding plate slidably coupled to the fixed plate, the sliding plate having a pair of spaced-apart curvilinear wing portions curved to conform to the curvilinear guide grooves of the guide portions of the fixed plate; a connecting plate combined with the sliding plate and the cover, the connecting plate having a pair of spaced-apart holding portions for holding front and rear end portions of the sliding plate extending between the curvilinear wing portions; and an elastic biasing means for interconnecting the fixed plate and the sliding plate to apply a biasing force to the sliding plate in the sliding movement direction. [Claim 5]

<5i> The portable information device as recited in claim 4, wherein the sliding plate has a curved overall shape and wherein the connecting plate has a plurality of support portions protruding toward the sliding plate so that the support portions can make contact with the sliding plate to support the sliding plate against deformation, each of the support portions having a contact surface curved to conform to the sliding plate. [Claim 6]

<52> The portable information device as recited in claim 5, wherein the curved slider assembly further comprises a pair of sliding members respectively fitted to the guide portions of the fixed plate for reducing friction between the fixed plate and the sliding plate, the sliding members having curved grooves for slidably receiving and guiding the curvilinear wing portions of the sliding plate.