Method to assemble a foldable mobile station and a mobile communicator

The present invention relates to mobile stations, preferably to foldable mobile stations and most preferably to foldable mobile phones. More particularly the present invention relates to a method to assemble a foldable mobile station, such as a foldable mobile phone or a "clamshell phone", for example. A preferred area of use for the method according to the present invention is a mobile station assembly line.

The present invention also relates to a foldable mobile station, such as a mobile phone or a "clamshell phone", for example, which comprises a first part and a second part, which are turnable with respect to each other, and a hinge part equipped with at least one hinge shaft to enable said turnability. It is known that mobile stations are used in a service area of mobile communication networks, whereby they are apt means to further mobile communication.

In the following, a foldable mobile station is referred to by the term mobile phone for the sake of simplicity.

It is a known problem that in known building or assembly solutions it is difficult to thread connection wires of parts that are foldable with respect to each other through hinge bushings and cover parts of the parts often have to be pressed in place in an oblique position. At different stages of the assembly, the direction of assembly usually has to be turned around in order to install the parts in place. A hinge component may require special tools and special methods in order to install it. It is clear that unintended damages or breakdowns occur in installation, as a result of which the assembled mobile phone does not necessarily meet the criteria of functionality and/or durability set for it, but the mobile phone develops a fault, which may lead to an increased number of complaints and even affect the reputation of the mobile phone brand.

One object of the present invention is to eliminate or at least substantially reduce the development of faults as a result of assembly and/or building. Another object of the

present invention is to enable manufacturing of mobile phones that meet the criteria in terms of their durability and functionality more securely than before.

These objects are achieved by means of the method to assemble a foldable mobile station and the foldable mobile station according to the invention whose characteristic special features are defined in the attached claims.

According to the basic idea of the present invention, the parts to be assembled are installed in one assembly direction, preferably from above downwards, most preferably perpendicularly to the surface of an assembly base or in the direction of a vertical axle, between a lower and upper cover part of a hinge part and comprising at least one hinge shaft without turning and/or tilting components.

Thereby it is possible to install the connection wires of a display package and a printed circuit board without threading a connector through the hinge bushings. In addition, the cover parts can also be installed without threading. In order to assemble the hinge, the hinge components can be inserted in place without the use of force.

It is characteristic of the mobile station according to the present invention that an end product of assembly includes a split hinge solution, or that the mobile station has a split hinge part, which enables assembly of the mobile station and/or the hinge part in one direction, preferably in the direction of the vertical axle and without threading the connection wire of the foldable parts through the hinge.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the hinge part is split longitudinally, preferably in the direction of the hinge shaft of the hinge part. The mobile phone may include a camera and/or LED component. The connection wire(s), such as a "flex wire", for example, are fitted within the open hinge part at the assembly stage of the hinge part or mobile phone, whereby the connection wire remains within the assembled hinge part and thus runs through the hinge in the mobile phone.

If the mobile phone is equipped with a camera/LED component, for example, the component in question is installed, as stated above, to the hinge without threading either in the direction of the hinge shaft of the hinge or at an angle, crosswise, for example, with regard to the hinge shaft.

An advantage of the invention is that the assembly time and the amount of work are reduced considerably and, in addition, unintended damage to the parts is minimized. Another, essential advantage is also that controlled and easy assembly work accelerated in time has a positive impact on the quality and price of the end product.

In the following a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be explained by reference to the attached drawing, wherein Figure 1 shows a mobile phone in parts, which is assembled on an assembly base 20 in the direction of a shown assembly arrow in one direction into a mobile phone that includes a first part 1,2 and a second part 3,4 turnable with respect to each other between a closed position and an opened position by means of a hinge part 10.

According to the invention, the mobile phone assembled on the assembly base 20 includes the first part 1,2 and the second part 3,4 turnable with respect to each other and the hinge part 10 that connects the first and the second part turnably to each other. Depending on the structure of the hinge part 10, the turnability may be in the range between about 120° and about 360°. When the turnability is < about 270°, the number of hinge shafts in the hinge part may be one in practice, but when the desired turnability is about 360°, the number of hinge shafts is necessarily two. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the number of hinge shafts is two, and consequently a mobile phone can be provided, wherein the first part and the second part may turn with respect to each other up to about 360°.

The first part 1,2 of the mobile phone according to Figure 1 includes a keyboard unit 5, which is used from outside a front cover of the first part, or an A cover part 1 , whereby a second cover part 2 of a keyboard part mainly functions as a back cover in one piece protecting the second part, or as a B cover part 2.

In the following, the first part is referred to by the term keyboard part 1,2.

The keyboard part 1,2 includes a keyboard PCB (Printed Circuit Board) assembly 6 that controls dialing of the mobile phone for the operation of the mobile phone, which also includes the actual keyboard unit 5. It is also preferable that the keyboard part 1,2 additionally includes a main PCB assembly 6 controlling the operation of the mobile phone, which usually includes a processor unit and memory unit of the mobile phone.

The second part of the mobile phone includes a main display 71, which is visible through a main window 73 in a front cover of a display part, or a D cover part 4, and an auxiliary display 72, which is visible to the other side of the mobile phone or is visible through an auxiliary window 74 in a back cover of the display part or a C cover part 3. In this way the main display is on the same side of the mobile phone as the A cover part 1 of the keyboard part 1,2 and the auxiliary display is on the same side as the back cover of the keyboard part, or the B cover part 2. The display PCB assembly 7 also includes a PCB module controlling the operation of the main display and the auxiliary display.

In the following, the second part is referred to by the term display part 3,4.

In the embodiment of Figure 1, the main PCB assembly of the keyboard part 5 is electrically connected via the hinge part to the display PCB assembly 7 of the display part, typically so that the keyboard unit 5 may function as an input means issuing control commands.

The mobile phone typically also includes a microphone and an antenna enabling transmission/reception functionality, which may pertain to the keyboard PCB assembly 6, and an coding/decoding module for analog voice or a codec module, which may pertain to the keyboard PCB assembly and/or the main PCB assembly 6.

These elements are not shown in the drawings, since they are not essential to the method to assemble a mobile phone or the mobile phone according to the invention and since they are typically already integrated in advance in the PCB assembly/assemblies.

In this way the mobile phone can be turned to the closed position by means of the hinge part 10, in which case the keyboard 5 of the keyboard part 1, 2 and the main display of the display part 3, 4 are within the mobile phone, and to the opened position, in which case the main display and the keyboard are exposed. In said closed position the auxiliary display of the display part and the back cover of the keyboard part are visible. How the camera/LED component 8 arranged in the hinge part is oriented is not the most essential thing in connection with the present invention, since what is essential is that they are placed inside the hinge part fixedly and/or turnably.

As Figure 1 shows, the hinge part 1 according to the invention comprises an external lower cover part 13 and an external upper cover part 14, within which at least one hinge shaft is arranged; in the embodiment of Figure 1 there are two hinge shafts 11, 12 in order to enable greater turnability. Connection wire(s) 9 are arranged to run through the hinge part in order to electrically connect the main PCB assembly 6 and the display PCB assembly 7 to each other. The connection wire is preferably flexible and may consist of a flex flat cable known as such, often used in foldable mobile phones. At a free end of the connection wire, which in the embodiment of Figure 1 is the end on the side of the main PCB assembly, there are connection pins 91, by means of which the connection wire may form an electrically conductive contact through the contacting connection pins 92 in the main PCB assembly, whereby a current path is formed between the main PCB assembly and the display PCB assembly. If the mobile phone is equipped with a camera/LED component 8 the connection wire has a branching to conduct current to the camera/LED component.

According to the invention, the cover parts 13, 14 of the hinge part 10 form a casing, which is a casing divided longitudinally, preferably in the direction of the hinge shaft of the hinge part. Thereby assembly of the hinge part is enabled in one direction, which is from above downwards, or from above towards the assembly base 20. In this way the

hinge part can be assembled separately and used as a ready preassembled component at the assembly stage of the actual mobile phone. It is characteristic of the hinge part according the invention that it, too, can be assembled separately on the assembly base in one assembly direction of components. The hinge part can be assembled on the assembly base at the same time with the keyboard part 1, 2 and the display part 3, 4 of the mobile phone. Since the hinge part can be assembled separately, one kind of a hinge part can be used with many different mobile phone assemblies.

The invention functions as follows. Components are set on the assembly base 20, which functions as an assisting base, or a support base, in the direction of the vertical axle according to a determined installation order throughout the installation stage and without turning of the parts in different positions. The order can be as follows, for example: the lower cover part 13 of the hinge part is fitted on top of the assembly base and the A cover part 1 of the keyboard part is fitted on its one side and the D cover part 4 of the display part is fitted on its second side so that the cover parts partly overlap with the lower cover part of the hinge part, selectively one or two hinge shafts 11, 12 are fitted above the lower cover part 13 of the hinge part and the keyboard assembly 5 is fitted above the A cover part 1 of the keyboard part, the main PCB assembly 6 is fitted above the keyboard assembly 5, the potential camera/LED component is fitted above the hinge shaft(s) 11, 12 of the hinge part 10 and the display PCB 7 assembly is fitted above the D cover part 4 of the display part so that the connection wire 9 coupled to the display PCB assembly extends crosswise across the hinge part 10 above the main PCB assembly, the upper cover part 14 of the hinge part is fitted above the display PCB assembly 7 and the C cover part 3 of the display part is fitted on its one side and the B cover part 2 of the keyboard part on its second side so that the cover parts partly overlap with the upper cover part of the hinge part.

In this way the components included in the mobile phone are assembled on top of each other and form the mobile phone, whose holding together can be secured by suitable fastening means, such as screws shown in Figure 1. The fastening can naturally also be

implemented by a clip solution or another known suitable fastening solution known as such.

The hinge part pertaining to the mobile phone may also be assembled ready in advance, in which case the hinge part can be used with variations of the assemblies of different mobile phone models, or halves turnable with respect to each other.

The invention has been described above by means of just one preferred embodiment. By this, the invention is not intended to be limited in any way, but many assembly solutions implemented utilizing the assembly of the hinge part and the hinge part according to the invention and mobile phones and their functionally equivalent alternatives and variants are possible within the framework of the inventive basic idea defined in the attached claims.

Therefore, it must be separately noted that the mobile phone may naturally include a "touch-sensitive display", whereby a special mechanical keyboard is not necessarily included at all but the keyboard is visible on the display, in which case the keyboard PCB and possibly also the main PCB may also be located in the second part of the mobile phone and the first part of the mobile phone, to which only a microphone may pertain in this case, is a simple flap part, which turns by means of the hinge part on top of the display. The keyboard may also be divided into a first part and a second part, whereby the turnable second part, which may include a "QWERTY keyboard", covers the keyboard in the other part partly or totally in the closed position of the mobile phone. It must also be noted that the existence of the auxiliary display is not essential to the present invention but the mobile phone according to the invention can be assembled without the auxiliary display.