Foldable Hinge Assembly With Multi-Angle Hover Positioning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current foldable electronic devices rely heavily on hinge assemblies for state switching, but these assemblies lack the ability to maintain multiple stable bending angles and provide a smooth folding/unfolding experience, limiting the versatility and user interaction.
Innovation Solution
A hinge assembly incorporating a rotating assembly with a guide groove and a hovering mechanism featuring a sliding member and position limiting members with protrusions and recesses, allowing for controlled rotation and stabilization at various angles through cooperative engagement of projections and recesses, enabling multi-angle positioning and enhanced stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a traditional hinge assembly is used for state switching, then the device can fold and unfold, but it lacks the ability to maintain multiple stable bending angles
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge assembly is segmented into multiple functional components: a rotating assembly with guide grooves, a hovering mechanism with sliding members, and position limiting members with engagement protrusions and recesses. This segmentation allows each component to perform a specific function, collectively enabling multi-angle stabilization
Solution Approach 2:
The sliding member acts as an intermediary between the rotating assembly and the position limiting member. It translates rotational motion into linear motion along the guide groove, enabling the engagement protrusion to interact with the engagement recess and achieve angle locking
2Stability of the object's composition
If the hinge assembly allows free rotation for smooth folding/unfolding, then the operation is smooth, but it cannot maintain stable bending states
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge assembly dynamically transitions between two states: during folding/unfolding, the sliding member moves freely along the guide groove allowing smooth operation; when positioning is needed, the engagement protrusion locks into the engagement recess to maintain stable bending states
Solution Approach 2:
The guide groove is pre-designed with a specific trajectory that guides the sliding member's motion. This preliminary design ensures that during rotation, the sliding member naturally follows a path that allows smooth operation while enabling precise positioning when the engagement features meet
3Adaptability or versatility
If position limiting is added to maintain bending angles, then multiple stable states are achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The position limiting function is merged into the hovering mechanism by integrating the engagement protrusion and recess directly into the sliding member and rotating assembly. This combination eliminates the need for separate locking mechanisms, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining multi-angle positioning capability
Solution Approach 2:
The sliding member serves multiple functions: it guides the motion along the guide groove, translates rotational to linear motion, and provides the engagement protrusion for position limiting. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed, simplifying the overall hinge mechanism
Data Source
AI summary
The hinge assembly includes: a rotating assembly and a hovering mechanism. The rotating assembly includes a first rotating part, and the first rotating part comprises a first guide groove extending obliquely around an axial direction of the first rotating part. The hovering mechanism comprises a sliding member and a position limiting member. The sliding member includes a protruding part, the protruding part extends into the first guide groove. The first rotating part drives the sliding member to move along the axial direction of the first rotating part when rotating. One of the position limiting member and the sliding member comprises a first limiting part, the other of the position limiting member and the sliding member comprises a second limiting part cooperated with the first limiting part.