Description

ELASTIC MEMBER AND SLIDING MODULE HAVING THE

SAME

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to an elastic member and a sliding module having the same, more particularly, to an elastic member improving durability thereof by uniformly distributing stress and materializing a miniaturization of a device by maximizing space usability, and to a sliding module having the elastic member. Background Art

[2] A personal portable terminal generally designates a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a portable media player (PMP), a portable game player, or the like. In general, the personal portable terminal is classified into a flip type, a folder type, and a slide type according to the operation mechanism of housing thereof for opening and closing the personal portable terminal.

[3] Among them, the slide type of the personal portable terminal according to the related art includes a main unit, a cover unit that slides along the main unit, and a sliding module coupled to the main unit and the cover unit to allow the cover unit to slide along the main unit.

[4] The sliding module includes a base coupled to the main unit, and a sliding member coupled to the base and the cover unit. The sliding member slides along the base. In addition, an elastic member is disposed between the base and the sliding member so that the sliding member smoothly slides along the base using an elastic force of the elastic member.

[5] It will be described about the elastic member according to the related art, with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an elastic member according to the related art, and Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken line II-II of Fig. 1.

[6] As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, an elastic member 10 according to the related art includes an elastic coil 20, a first wire 31, and a second wire 32. The elastic coil 20 is spirally wound in a direction, and includes an inner end placed comparatively close to a center of the elastic coil 20 and an outer end placed comparatively far from the center of the elastic coil 20. The first wire 31 is extended from the outer end outwardly in a direction. The second wire 32 is extended from the inner end outwardly in a direction different from the direction in which the first wire 31 extends. The second wire 32 intersects the elastic coil 20 over the elastic coil 20, as shown in Fig. 1.

[7] The elastic member 10 is disposed between objects making a mutual sliding movement and enables the objects to make the mutual sliding movement using an

elastic force.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[8] The elastic member according to the related art has the following disadvantages.

[9] The elastic member according to the related art generates an elastic force by a simple elastic deformation, and therefore a fatigue failure or a plastic deformation of the elastic member is liable to occur by numerous repetitions of elastic deformation and restoration of the elastic member. Accordingly, there is a technical problem that an elastic member cannot maintain an inherent elastic force any more if the elastic member is used a lot for a long time.

[10] More particularly, a personal portable terminal to which the sliding module is adapted makes numerous repetitive sliding movements more than thousands or tens of thousands during its lifetime. A fatigue failure or a plastic deformation may occur at a point in the elastic member on which stress is concentrated, and this results in an adverse influence on durability of a personal portable terminal employing the sliding module.

[11] In addition, a designer should secure a spacious area for an elastic member taking a deformed form of the elastic member as well as an initial form of the elastic member into account in order to prevent the elastic member from disturbing sliding members while a sliding module makes a sliding movement. Since a spacious area should be secured for the elastic member in a sliding module as described above, there are many restrictions for the designer to miniaturize a sliding module.

[12] Furthermore, the elastic member has a technical problem that stability and reliability of a product employing an elastic member according to the related art drops down because the elastic coil interferes with the wires while the elastic member is deformed and restored. In other word, the elastic member has disadvantages that the sliding module cannot make a smooth sliding movement and a partial abrasion of the elastic member occurs at contact points of the elastic member because the elastic coil and the wires contact with and interfere with each other during an operation of the sliding module. In addition, there is a problem that an operation noise is generated by physical contacts between the moving members. Technical Solution

[13] Accordingly, the invention is directed to an elastic member and a sliding module having the same that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

[14] An objective of the invention is to provide an elastic member whose durability is improved by preventing stress from concentrating on a specific portion of the elastic

member.

[15] Another objective of the invention is to provide an elastic member for minimizing an occupation area of the elastic member in a sliding module to improve space usability in the sliding module, thereby providing a miniaturized sliding module.

[16] Another objective of the invention is to provide an elastic member that can obviate abrasion of contact points and a noise generated by friction by preventing parts of the elastic member from contacting with and interfering with each other while the elastic member operates.

[17] Another objective of the invention is to provide a sliding module having the elastic member.

[18] To achieve these objectives and other advantages in accordance with the purpose of the invention, there is provided an elastic member for a sliding module which includes a first coupling portion, a second coupling portion, and a spiral coil. The first coupling portion may be coupled to pivot on the first member of the sliding module and the second coupling portion may be coupled to pivot on the second member of the sliding module. Wherein, the second sliding module may be coupled to slide along the first member. The spiral coil may be helically wound from the first coupling portion outwardly. The spiral coil may connect the first and second coupling portions with each other. Wherein, the first coupling portion may be disposed to be apart from a reference line passing through both a substantial center of the second coupling portion and an approximate center of the spiral coil with a predetermined distance.

[19] The spiral coil may be wound more closely at a portion outside of the first and second coupling portions than at a portion between the first and second coupling portions. An outermost portion of the spiral coil may be wound with a gap wider than a gap with which an inner portion of the spiral coil is wound.

[20] The elastic member may be disposed in a diagonal direction so that an extension line is at a predetermined angle with a sliding direction of the first and second members. Wherein, the extension line passes through both of a substantial center of the first coupling portion and a substantial center of the second coupling portion.

[21] The first coupling portion may be disposed at a side in a direction that the first coupling member 152 is wound inwardly.

[22] The first coupling portion, the second coupling portion and the spiral coil may be on the same plane. The first coupling portion, the second coupling portion, and the spiral coil may be integrally formed.

[23] In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a sliding module that includes the elastic member therein.

[24] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to

provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

Advantageous Effects

[25] An elastic member and a sliding module having the same in accordance with the present invention have the following advantageous effects.

[26] First, it is advantageous that stress is prevented from concentrating on a specific portion of an elastic member during a sliding movement of a sliding module and that the durability of a device employing the elastic member and the sliding module is improved by a structure in which a coupling portion coupled to a sliding member is disposed with a predetermined eccentricity.

[27] In addition, the coupling portion pivots and thereby a spiral coil is wound up when the sliding module makes a sliding movement. Therefore, the elastic member can effectively absorb stress generated by a deformation of the spiral coil, and the elastic member can play a role as a torsion spring. Accordingly, stress is prevented from concentrating on a specific portion of the elastic member and is evenly distributed throughout the elastic member while the sliding module makes a sliding movement. As a result, the sliding module can make a smooth sliding movement with an appropriate level of an elastic force.

[28] Secondly, a portion of a spiral portion is closely wound, and is getting widened while the sliding module makes a sliding movement. Therefore, an area occupied by an elastic member can be minimized and a sliding module can make a sliding movement smoothly without any interference between any parts of the elastic member.

[29] Thirdly, all elements of an elastic member are disposed on the same plane. Therefore, a thickness of the elastic member is reduced. As a result, a personal portable terminal can be miniaturized to have a slim housing.

[30] In addition, since an elastic member has no parts overlapping each other and there is no interference between any parts of the elastic member, a sliding module can make a smooth sliding movement and a generation of noise and abrasion of some parts of the elastic member can be effectively prevented. Brief Description of the Drawings

[31] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention.

[32] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an elastic member of a personal portable terminal according to the related art;

[33] Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II shown of Fig. 1;

[34] Fig. 3 is a front perspective view of a personal portable terminal according to an em-

bodiment of the invention;

[35] Fig. 4 is a rear perspective view of the personal portable terminal shown in Fig. 3;

[36] Fig. 5 is a plane view of a sliding module;

[37] Fig. 6 is an exploded view of the sliding module shown in Fig. 5;

[38] Fig. 7 is a plane view of an elastic member shown in Fig. 5;

[39] Fig. 8 is a plane view showing a deformation of the elastic member shown in Fig. 7;

[40] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a result of stress analysis for the deformation of the elastic member shown in Fig. 8;

[41] Fig. 10 is a plane view of an elastic member according to a first modified embodiment;

[42] Fig. 11 is a plane view of an elastic member according to a second modified embodiment;

[43] Fig. 12 is a plane view of an elastic member according to a third modified embodiment;

[44] Fig. 13 is a plane view of an elastic member according to a fourth modified embodiment; and

[45] Fig. 14 is a plane view of an elastic member according to a fifth modified embodiment. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[46] The advantages, features and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, which is set forth hereinafter. In the description of the specific embodiments, the same name and reference numeral are given to the same constituent element although it appears in different drawings.

[47] In the following paragraphs, a basic structure of a personal portable terminal according to an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 3 is a front perspective view of a personal portable terminal according to an embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 4 is a rear perspective view of the personal portable terminal shown in Fig. 3.

[48] A personal portable terminal according to the present embodiment includes a main unit 200, a cover unit 300 that is coupled to and slides along the main unit 200, and a sliding module 100 that is disposed between the main unit 200 and the cover unit 300 and makes a sliding movement of the personal portable terminal.

[49] The main unit 200 is a part forming a body of the personal portable terminal, and includes an input unit 210 and a transmission part. The input unit 210 is arranged on a surface of the main unit 200, and includes a plurality of buttons for inputting telephone numbers or text messages. The transmission part includes a microphone 230 disposed

below the input unit 210 for transmitting a user's voice to the other party who talks over the telephone with the user or for recording the user's voice message.

[50] The cover unit 300 includes a display 310 for displaying transmitting and receiving information thereon and an auxiliary input part 350 having various kinds of function buttons. The cover unit 300 further includes a receiving part 330 having a speaker 330 disposed above the display 310 for delivering the other party's voice to the user.

[51] In the present embodiment, the specific arrangement or composition of various parts in the main unit 200 and the cover unit 300 may be variously changeable according to an intention of a designer who designs the personal portable terminal.

[52] Although it is not shown in the drawings, the main unit 200 and the cover unit 300 may be provided with a camera module or various additional parts for taking photos or for performing other additional functions.

[53] The sliding module 100 is an element that makes the sliding movement of the personal portable terminal and that has two sides to which the main unit 200 and the cover unit 300 are coupled, respectively.

[54] In the next section, it will be described about a specific composition of the sliding module 100 that makes the sliding movement in the personal portable terminal already described at the above.

[55] The sliding module 100 according to the present embodiment includes a base 110, a sliding member 130 coupled to slide along the base 110, and an elastic member 150 disposed between the base 110 and the sliding member 130.

[56] The base 110 is formed in a plate shape and the main unit 200 is coupled to the base

110. Left and right sides of the base 110 are bent inwardly in a 'c' shape to form a guide 114 having a groove therein. A guide lining 116 made from a lubricant material is inserted into the groove of the guide 114. More particularly, the guide lining 116 may be made from an engineering plastic (EP), such as, polyacetal (POM), poly phenylene oxide (PPO), polycarbonate (PC), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or the like.

[57] The sliding member 130 is also formed in a plate shape and the cover unit 300 is coupled to the sliding member 130. Left and right sides of the sliding member 130 is bent outwardly to form a guide rail 136 corresponding to an inner surface of the guide lining 116 inserted into the guide 114. The guide rail 136 is inserted into the guide lining 116 and slides along the guide lining 116.

[58] The guide 114 and the guide rail 136 guide a sliding movement between the base 110 and the sliding member 130 in an up-and-down direction.

[59] The elastic member 150 between the base 110 and the sliding member enables the base 100 and the sliding member 310 to make a sliding movement with an elastic force.

[60] The elastic member 150 is provided between the base 110 and the sliding member

130 and accumulates an elastic force while the base 110 moves from one end portion of the sliding member 130 to a center portion of the sliding member 130 along a longitudinal direction of the sliding member 130. In the middle of a movement of the base 110 along the sliding member 130, once the base 110 passes a critical point at the center portion of the sliding member 130, the elastic member 150 starts to be restored. Then, the base 110 can automatically move to the other end portion of the sliding member 130 from the center portion of the sliding member 130 by a restoration force of the elastic member 150 generated while the elastic member 150 is restored.

[61] The elastic member 150, more particularly, includes a first coupling portion 152 coupled to the base 110, a second coupling portion 154 coupled to the sliding member 130, and a spiral coil 156 connecting the first coupling portion 152 with the second connecting portion 154. The elastic member 150 is disposed in a diagonal direction so that an extension line, not shown in the drawings and passing through both of a substantial center of the first coupling portion 152 and a substantial center of the second coupling portion 154, is at a predetermined angle with a sliding direction of the first and second members, as shown in Fig. 7. Regarding a specific form or shape of the elastic member 150, it will be described later with reference to Figs. 7 and 8.

[62] Meanwhile, the first coupling portion 152 may be on the same plane with the second coupling portion 154 as well as the spiral coil 156. Therefore, it is possible to lower an entire height of the elastic member 150, and as a result, a thickness of the sliding module 100 can be minimized.

[63] The first coupling portion 152 and the second coupling portion 154 are coupled to pivot on the base 110 and the sliding member 130, respectively.

[64] In the present embodiment, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the first coupling portion 152 and the second coupling portion 154 are disposed in a diagonal direction. In particular, Figs. 5 and 6 illustrates an example that the first coupling portion 152 is coupled to a central portion of the base 110 in a horizontal direction, and the second coupling portion 154 is coupled to a side portion of the sliding member 130 in the horizontal direction.

[65] It is not limited to how the elastic member 150 is pivotably coupled to the base 110 or the sliding member 130. However, it is preferable that the elastic member 150 is coupled to pivot on the base 110 or the sliding member 130 through a first coupling member 112 or a second coupling member 132, respectively, as explained above.

[66] Specifically, the first coupling member 112 and the second coupling member 132 include rivets 114 and 134, and bushings 116 and 136, respectively. The bushings 114 and 134 may be made from a lubricant material which can minimize friction. Therefore, the bushings 114 and 134 enable the sliding module 100 to make a smooth

sliding movement and reduce noise by minimizing friction between the elastic member 150 and the rivets 112 and 132.

[67] In the following paragraphs the specific form of the elastic member 150 will be described with reference to Figs. 7 through 9. Fig. 7 is a plane view of an elastic member shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a plane view showing a deformation of the elastic member shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a result of stress analysis for the deformation of the elastic member shown in Fig. 8.

[68] As shown in Fig. 7, the elastic member 150 includes the first coupling portion 152, the second coupling portion 154, and the spiral coil 156.

[69] The spiral coil 156 is helically wound from the first coupling portion 152 outwardly in a counterclockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 7. There is a predetermined distance, i.e., an eccentricity 'd' between a substantial center of the first coupling portion 152 and a reference line 'A' that passes through a substantial center of the second coupling portion 154 and an approximate center of the spiral coil 156. At this point, the eccentricity 'd' is disposed at a side in a direction that the first coupling member 152 is wound inwardly, and the substantial center of first coupling member 152 is disposed below the reference line 'A' as shown in Fig. 7.

[70] The reference line 'A' means an imaginary line that substantially symmetrically divides the spiral coil 156 into a left side and a right side. However, herein, the word, 'substantially symmetrically' does not exactly mean 'symmetrically' in the strict sense of the word definition due to a characteristic that the spiral coil 156 is not in a form of a circle or a cylinder but is in a form of a spiral coil helically wound outwardly from the inside thereof on the same plane, as shown in Fig. 7.

[71] As described above, according to the present embodiment, the first coupling portion

152 is disposed to be separate from the reference line 'A' Accordingly, the present embodiment can prevent stress from concentrating on a predetermined portion of the elastic portion 150 during the sliding movement of the sliding module 100 and improve durability of the elastic member 150.

[72] More particularly, as shown in Fig. 8, while the sliding module 100 makes the sliding movement thereof and the first coupling portion 152 approaches close to the second coupling portion 154, the first coupling portion 152 starts to pivot on the base 110 about the first coupling member 112. Then, the spiral coil 156 is getting wound inwardly, and this winding action of the spiral coil 156 by the pivot action of the first coupling portion 152 uniformly distributes stress, generated when the spiral coil 156 bends, throughout the elastic member 150 and eventually absorbs the stress.

[73] In addition, the spiral coil 156 accumulates an elastic force in a direction that the first coupling portion 152 and the spiral coil 156 are wound, and reversely, operates by releasing the accumulated elastic force after the first coupling portion 152 and the

spiral coil 156 pass a critical point.

[74] This embodiment, different from the elastic member according to the related art that makes an elastic force by a simple bending, enables the elastic member 150 to play a role as a torsion spring by the structure that the first coupling portion 152 is coupled to pivot on the base 110 by the first coupling member 113 and the first coupling portion 152 is disposed such that the substantial center of the first coupling portion 152 is apart from the reference line 'A' with the eccentricity 'd'.

[75] As a result, the stress is prevented from concentrating on a specific portion of the elastic member 150 and the stress is evenly distributed throughout the elastic member 150, while the sliding module 100 makes the sliding movement. Accordingly, the sliding module 100 can make a very smooth sliding movement with an appropriate level of an elastic force of the elastic member 150, and durability of the elastic member 150 and the sliding module 100 can be considerably improved.

[76] Fig. 9 illustrates a diagram showing a result of stress analysis for the deformation of the elastic member shown in Fig. 8.

[77] As shown in Fig. 9, it is confirmed that the stress does not concentrate on a specific portion of the elastic member 150 but the stress is uniformly distributed throughout the elastic member 150. In addition, as shown in Fig. 9, the stress level around the first coupling portion 152 and the second coupling portion 154 is considerably low.

[78] Meanwhile, the spiral coil 156 is wound several times. More particularly, at an initial state, an outer spiral portion 156b disposed at the outside of the first and second coupling portions 152 and 154 is wound more closely than an inner spiral portion 156a disposed between the first and second coupling portions 152 and 154, as shown in Fig. 7.

[79] The spiral coil 156 is getting deformed such that the outer spiral portion 156b closely wound at the initial state is getting widened while the sliding module 100 makes a sliding movement, as shown in Fig. 8.

[80] Since the spiral coil 156 becomes deformed such that the outer spiral portion 156b is widened from the initial state while the sliding module 100 makes a sliding movement, the spiral coil 156 can be deformed without any interference with any parts including an inner portion of the spiral coil 156 itself.

[81] Therefore, according to this embodiment, the sliding module 100 can make a smooth sliding movement, and an area occupied by the elastic member 150 can be minimized. This is because the outer spiral portion 156b of the elastic member 150 is closely wound at an initial state and thereby occupies a small area.

[82] Meanwhile, as a result of experimentation by the inventor, it was found that it is more advantageous for the elastic member 150 to uniformly distribute stress and to generate an appropriate level of an elastic force, in case the an outermost portion of the

outer spiral portion 156b is wound with a gap wider than a gap of the inner portion of the spiral coil 156.

[83] In the following paragraphs, modified embodiments of the elastic member will be described with reference to Figs. 10 through 14.

[84] An elastic member 250 according to a first modified embodiment, shown in Fig. 10, includes, like the embodiment described above with reference to Fig. 7, a first coupling portion 252, a second coupling portion 254, and a spiral coil 256 integrally formed with the first and second coupling portions 252 and 254 to connect the first and second coupling portions 252 and 254 with each other.

[85] However, in this first modified embodiment, the spiral coil 256 is wound outwardly in a clockwise direction, not in a counterclockwise direction, different from the embodiment described above.

[86] At this point, an eccentricity 'd' of the first modified embodiment is disposed at a side in a direction that the first coupling member 252 is inwardly wound. More particularly, the eccentricity 'd' of the first modified embodiment is disposed above a reference line 'B' that passes through both a substantial center of the second coupling portion 254 and an approximate center of the spiral coil 256, as shown in Fig. 10.

[87] An elastic member 350, shown in Fig. 11, according to a second modified embodiment of the elastic member 150, like the embodiment described above with reference to Fig. 7, includes a first coupling portion 352, a second coupling portion 354, and a spiral coil 356 integrally formed with the first and second coupling portions 352 and 354 to connect the first and second coupling portions 352 and 354 with each other.

[88] The first coupling portion 352 is disposed at a left upper portion and is coupled to a first coupling member 312, as shown in Fig. 11. The second coupling portion 354 is disposed at a right lower portion and is coupled to a second coupling member 332.

[89] In this second modified embodiment, there is a predetermined distance, i.e., an eccentricity 'd' between a substantial center of the first coupling portion 352 and a reference line 'C that passes through both a substantial center of the second coupling portion 354 and an approximate cent of the spiral coil 356, as shown in Fig. 11. More particularly, the eccentricity 'd' is disposed at a side in a direction that the first coupling portion 352 is inwardly wound.

[90] Figs. 12 to 14 show modified embodiments that have forms of a first and second coupling portion, respectively.

[91] The modified embodiments shown in Figs. 12 to 14, like embodiments described above, respectively, include a first coupling portion 452, 552, or 652, a second coupling portion 454, 554, or 654, and a spiral coil 456, 556, or 656 integrally formed with the first and second coupling portions to connect the first coupling portion 452,

552, or 652 and the second coupling portion 454, 554, or 654 with each other.

[92] The first coupling portion 452, 552, or 652 and the second coupling portion 454, 554, or 654 are secured by a first coupling member 412, 512, or 612 and a second coupling member 432, 532, or 632, respectively. In addition, the first coupling portion 452, 552, or 652 is disposed respectively to be apart from a reference line 'D', 'E', or 'F' that respectively passes through both a substantial center of the first coupling portion 452, 552, or 652 and an approximate center of the spiral coil 456, 556, or 656, with a predetermined distance(i.e., an eccentricity 'd').

[93] However, in these modified embodiments shown in Figs. 12 to 14, a form of the first and second coupling portions is respectively different from that of first and second coupling portions 152 and 154 shown in Fig. 7.

[94] Specifically, as contrasted with the embodiment shown in Fig. 7, in the case of the third modified embodiment shown in Fig. 12, the first coupling portion 452 and the second coupling portion 454 are respectively bent in a direction opposite to a direction that the first coupling portion 152 and the second coupling portion 154 shown in Fig. 7 are respectively bent. In the case of the fourth modified embodiment shown in Fig. 13, the second coupling portion 554 is bent in a direction opposite to a direction that the second coupling portion 154 of Fig. 7 is bent. In the case of the fifth modified embodiment shown in Fig. 14, the first coupling portion 652 is bent in a direction opposite to a direction that the first coupling portion 152 of Fig. 7 is bent.

[95] In the above, an example that the sliding module has one elastic member is described. The invention is not limited to the above, but two elastic members may be symmetrically arranged on the sliding module to balance a device and to increase an elastic force during a sliding movement of the sliding module.

[96] There is no restriction in a specific structure of the sliding module to which the elastic member is adapted. Other detailed structure of the sliding module may be modified if the elastic member is disposed between two members coupled to slide along each other and the first and second coupling portions of the elastic member are coupled to pivot on the two members, respectively.

[97] In addition, if the sliding module is composed to include three members and make a multi-directional sliding movement in vertical and horizontal directions, elastic members may be respectively disposed between two members adjacent to each other among three members.

[98] Furthermore, the sliding module may be adapted to a personal portable terminal including a cover unit and a main unit coupled to slide along the cover unit and divided into two pieces which are coupled to pivot on each other by a hinge so that the personal portable terminal can make a tilting movement as well as a sliding movement.

[99] While the present invention has been described with respect to the specific em-

bodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

[100] The above-described embodiments are not restrictive but illustrative only. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above description and it may be modified according to the scope of the following claims and equivalent range thereof.

[101]