Triple positioning hinge

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a hinge, and more particularly to a triple positioning hinge that is compact and securely retains a monitor of a portable electronic device at three determined positions permanently.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] A hinge is mounted between a base and a monitor of a portable electronic device and allows the monitor to rotate relative to the base for convenience of use.

[0005] Later, the hinges are further designed to have positioning elements that help the monitor of the portable electronic device to hold the monitor at an optimum angle to facilitate users to watch. However, the positioning elements of the conventional hinge normally positions the monitor at a single angle, so if the monitor is required to be position at a folded and an unfolded positions, the conventional hinge has to be provided with extra retaining components. As a result, the conventional hinges are generally constructional complicated and bulky. Moreover, deformation may occur in the components of the conventional hinges after a long-term of use and gradually cause the conventional hinges to lose the ability of securely holding the monitors.

[0006] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a triple positioning hinge to obviate or mitigate the aforementioned problems.

[0007] The main objective of the present invention is to provide a triple positioning hinge that is compact and securely retains a monitor of a portable electronic device at three determined positions permanently.

[0008] To achieve the objective, the triple positioning hinge in accordance with present invention comprises a body, a pivoting member, a first positioning element, a second positioning element and a resilient element.

[0009] The body is adapted to be mounted in a base of a portable electronic device and has a pivoting hole.

[0010] The pivoting member is adapted to be mounted in a monitor of the portable electronic device and has a pintle that is mounted rotatably through the pivoting hole of the body and therefore allows the monitor to pivot relative to the base.

[0011] The first positioning element is mounted securely in the body and has a through hole, a surface and multiple detents. The through hole is coaxial with the pivoting hole. The detents are formed on the surface around the through hole.

[0012] The second positioning element is mounted securely on the pintle of the pivoting member, is simultaneously rotated with the pintle and has a surface corresponding to the surface of the first positioning element and three positioning notches. The positioning notches circularly formed in the surface at intervals and correspond respectively to the detents of the first positioning element when the pivoting member is rotated.

[0013] The resilient element is mounted around the pintle and has a first end and a second end. The first end abuts the pivoting member. The second end abuts the second positioning element and pushes the second positioning element toward the first positioning element to make the detents sequentially engaging with the positioning notches so as to hold the monitor at three determined positions (may be at a folded position, an upright position and an unfolded position).

[0014] With such an arrangement, the hinge in accordance with present invention positions the monitor at three positions without any of the extra retaining components. Thus, the hinge is compact and simple in structure. Moreover, with the resilient element assisting the positioning elements to engage with each other, the triple positioning hinge effectively ensures the monitor being securely held at optimum angles even after a long-term of use.

[0015] Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0023] With reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 6, the triple positioning hinge in accordance with present invention comprises a body (10), a pivoting member (20), a limit (30), a first positioning element (50), a second positioning element (60), a resilient element (70), a fixing element (40) and a washer (41).

[0024] The body (10) is mounted securely in a base (81) of a portable electronic device (80) and has a mounting tab (12) and multiple fixing holes (11). The mounting tab (12) is perpendicularly formed on the body (10) and has a front surface, a rear surface, two sides, a top, two engaging notches (120), a pivoting hole (121) and a protrusion (122). The engaging notches (120) are formed on the sides of the mounting tab (12) opposite to each other. The pivoting hole (121) is formed through the mounting tab (12). The protrusion (122) is formed on the top of the mounting tab (12) of the body (10) and protrudes from the front surface of the mounting tab (12). The fixing holes (11) are separately formed through the body (10) for securing the body (10) to the base (81) with fasteners.

[0025] The pivoting member (20) is mounted securely in a monitor (82) of the portable electronic device (80), is mounted rotatably on the mounting tab (12) of the body (10) and has a main bracket (21), a mounting portion (22) and a pintle (23). The main bracket (21) has a proximal end and a distal end. The mounting portion (22) protrudes from the distal end of the main bracket (21) and has multiple securing holes (220) for securing the mounting portion (22) to the monitor (82) with fasteners. The pintle (23) protrudes from the proximal end of the main bracket (21), is mounted rotatably through the pivoting hole (121) of the mounting tab (12) of the body (10), is non-circular in cross section and has a threaded end (230).

[0026] The limit (30) is mounted on the front surface of the mounting tab (12) and has a mounting hole (31) and a salient (32). The mounting hole (31) is formed through the limit (30) and is non-circular in cross section. The pintle (23) extends through and engages with the mounting hole (31), such that the limit (30) simultaneously rotates with the pivoting member (20). The salient (32) protrudes radially out from the limit (30), extends a radian and selectively abuts the protrusion (122) of the mounting tab (12) to limit the travel of the pivoting member (20).

[0027] With further reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the first positioning element (50) is mounted securely on the mounting tab (12) of the body (10) and has a rear surface, a front surface, a bottom, two connectors (51), a through hole, an inner detent (53) and an outer detent (54). The connectors (51) protrude separately on the front surface near the bottom and extend through the engaging notches (120) of the mounting tab (12) respectively. Each connector (51) has a tooth (510) buckles the corresponding engaging notch (120) to hold the first positioning element (50) securely on the mounting tab (12). The through hold is formed through the first positioning element (50) and is coaxial with the pivoting hole (121) of the mounting tab (12). The rear surface has an inner area and an outer area defined around the through hole. The inner detent (53) is formed integrally on the inner area of the rear surface of the first positioning element (50). The outer detent (54) is formed integrally on the outer area of the rear surface of the first positioning element (50) opposite to the inner detent (53).

[0028] The second positioning element (60) is mounted on the pintle (23) of the pivoting member (20) and has a front surface, a center, an engaging hole (61), a rear surface, three inner positioning notches (62) and three outer positioning notches (63). The engaging hole (61) is formed through the center of the second positioning element (60), is non-circular in cross section and engages with the pintle (23), so as to make the second positioning element (60) simultaneously rotating with the pintle (23). The front surface corresponds to the rear surface of the first positioning element (50) and has an inner area and an outer area defined around the engaging hole (61). The inner positioning notches (62) are circularly formed in the inner area of the front surface of the second positioning element (60) at intervals and sequentially correspond to and selectively engage with the inner detent (53) of the first positioning element to retain the pivoting member (20) at three determined positions. The outer positioning notches (63) are circularly formed in the outer area of the front surface of the second positioning element (60) at intervals and are opposite to the inner positioning notches (62) respectively. The outer positioning notches (63) sequentially correspond to and selectively engage with the outer detent (54) of the first positioning element to provide an additional supporting effect to retain the pivoting member (20) at the three determined positions.

[0029] With further reference to FIG. 5, the resilient element (70) is mounted around the pintle (23) and has a first end and a second end. The first end abuts the proximal end of the main bracket (21) of the pivoting member (20). The second end abuts the rear surface of the second positioning element (60) and pushes the second positioning element (60) toward the first positioning element (50) to make the inner detent (53) and the outer detent (54) sequentially engage with the inner positioning notches (62) and outer positioning notches (63) so as to hold the monitor (82) at three determined positions.

[0030] The fixing element (40) may be a nut, is screwed onto the threaded end (230) of the pintle (23) and holds the limit (30), the first positioning element (50), the second positioning element (60), the resilient element (70) and the fixing element (40) on the pintle (23).

[0031] The washer (41) is mounted on the pintle (23) between the fixing element (40) and the limit (30) to prevent abrasion.

[0032] With reference to FIGS. 2, 5, 6, 7, when the monitor (82) of the portable electronic device (80) is rotated relative to the base (81), the inner detent (53) and the outer detent (54) will sequentially engage with the inner positioning notches (62) and outer positioning notches (63) respectively, so as to hold the monitor (82) in a folded position, an upright position and an unfolded position.

[0033] With such an arrangement, the hinge in accordance with present invention positions the monitor (82) at three positions without any of the extra retaining components. Thus, the hinge is compact and simple in structure. Moreover, with the resilient element (70) assisting the positioning elements (50,60) to engage with each other, the triple positioning hinge effectively ensures the monitor (82) being securely held at optimum angles even after a long-term of use.

[0034] Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail especially in matters of shape, size and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.