Bi-stable Dual Axle Hinge for Object Clearance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable information handling systems with dual displays face challenges in rotating housing portions over objects like keyboards without damaging the hinge assembly or displays, due to minimal size and precise gear mechanisms that fail under excessive force.
Innovation Solution
A hinge assembly that allows variable distance between housing portions, using dual axle or single axle designs with scissor assemblies, helical gears, idler assemblies, and breakaway brackets to accommodate objects, ensuring synchronized rotation and preventing damage by adjusting axle distances and gear ratios.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If minimal size hinge assembly with precise gear mechanisms is used, then device footprint is reduced, but reliability deteriorates when excessive force is applied during rotation over objects
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge assembly incorporates a bi-stable mechanism with two distinct stable positions (first and second stable positions) that allow the mechanism to dynamically transition between states. This dynamic capability enables the hinge to adapt its structural configuration based on operational conditions, providing enhanced reliability when force is applied during rotation while maintaining a compact form factor.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanism changes its structural parameters by transitioning between bi-stable positions, altering the engagement state of the gear mechanisms and axle configurations. This parameter change allows the hinge to shift from a compact configuration to an expanded configuration that can accommodate objects during rotation, resolving the contradiction between minimal size and reliability under excessive force.
2Adaptability or versatility
If variable distance between axles is implemented, then adaptability improves for accommodating objects, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge assembly is segmented into distinct functional components including first and second axles, gear mechanisms, and a bi-stable structure. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently while contributing to the overall variable distance capability, managing complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanism employs nested structural elements where gear mechanisms are integrated within the bi-stable framework, and the variable distance axles are positioned within the hinge housing. This nesting approach allows multiple functional elements to coexist in a compact arrangement, providing adaptability without proportionally increasing overall device complexity.
3Stability of the object's composition
If synchronized dual axle mechanism is used, then rotational synchronization is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanism introduces intermediary gear elements that mediate the rotational transmission between the first and second axles. These intermediary gears act as synchronization buffers, allowing for slight variations in manufacturing precision while maintaining overall rotational synchronization through the gear train's inherent error-distribution characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge assembly utilizes composite structural approaches combining different materials and manufacturing techniques for various components. This composite approach allows optimization of each component's manufacturing precision requirements while achieving overall synchronized rotation, reducing the stringency of precision requirements for individual parts.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable information handling system housing rotationally couples first and second housing portions with a hinge assembly having first and second breakaway brackets that define an adjacent position of the first and second housing portions relative to each other and a spread position. The first and second breakaway brackets expand the spacing between the first and second housing portions in the event that the housing portions close over an object disposed between them. The breakaway brackets bias to the adjacent position with a biasing device and a retainer that maintains the adjacent position unless a predetermined force is applied through the hinge assembly at the breakaway brackets.