Slide Cover Lifting Structure with Gear Rack Transmission
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing slide cover mounting designs for electronic devices, such as tablet computers, face issues with limited internal circuit board space due to the need for protective coverings and increased hinge size to prevent spring back, and suffer from surface damage caused by friction between spring plates and sliding rails.
Innovation Solution
A slide cover lifting structure featuring non-circular pivot axles, gear sets, and sliding rails with plastic guides and rollers to maintain a constant gap and prevent spring back, along with supplementary support bars and resilient wire rods for stable positioning and reduced friction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If protective covering is added to cover panel to maintain beauty when exposed, then aesthetic appearance is improved, but internal circuit board space is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the protective covering function from the cover panel and relocates it to the base member. The transmission shaft and gear mechanisms are housed within the base member, eliminating the need for protective coverings on the cover panel while preserving aesthetic appearance and maximizing internal space utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of adding protective coverings to the cover panel to prevent exposure of mechanical components, the invention inverts the approach by housing all mechanical components (transmission shaft, gears) within the base member structure, thereby eliminating the need for protective coverings entirely.
2Reliability
If hinge size is increased to avoid spring back, then reliability is improved, but device compactness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the spring back prevention function into the gear-rack transmission mechanism. The gear sets and transmission shaft work together with the sliding rail mechanisms to provide stable positioning and prevent spring back, eliminating the need for oversized hinges while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces gear sets and transmission shaft as intermediary mechanisms between the cover panel and base member. These intermediaries transfer and control the movement forces, providing stable positioning and preventing spring back without requiring increased hinge size.
3Stability of the object's composition
If spring plates are used to stop cover panel against sliding rails, then positioning stability is improved, but surface damage occurs due to friction
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the spring plate friction-based stopping mechanism with a gear-rack engagement system. The gear sets mesh with the gear racks on the sliding rails, providing positive mechanical engagement for positioning stability without the sliding friction that causes surface damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces gear sets as intermediary elements between the cover panel stopping mechanism and the sliding rails. The gears engage with the gear racks to provide positioning stability, eliminating direct contact and friction between stopping components and the sliding rail surfaces.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design allows for smooth and stable movement of the cover panel, maintains internal space for the circuit board, and prevents surface damage by minimizing friction and hinge size, while ensuring the cover panel can be easily opened and closed without spring back.
Implementation Method 1
two gear sets partially pivotally mounted on the sliding rail holders and partially pivotally mounted on the brackets of the hinges, each comprising a first gear mounted on one of the two distal ends of the transmission shaft and a last gear partially and upwardly protruding over the associating sliding rail holder and the associating bearing member; and two gear racks respectively affixed to the flat, elongated base panels of the sliding rails at a bottom side thereof and respectively meshed with the last gears of the gear sets
Implementation Method 2
two bearing members respectively affixed to the sliding rail holders, each having two grooves disposed at two opposite lateral sides thereof; two plastic slide guides respectively formed of a pair of channel bars and respectively fixedly mounted in the grooves of the bearing members, each defining a sliding groove
Implementation Method 3
two hinges respectively fixedly mounted in two opposite sidewalls of the base member, each comprising a non-circular pivot axle and a torque providing device
Implementation Method 4
two sliding rails bilaterally fixedly mounted on a bottom surface of the cover panel in a parallel manner, each comprising a flat, elongated base panel affixed to the cover panel, an angled rail extending along each of two opposite lateral side of the flat, elongated base panel and respectively slidably coupled to the sliding grooves of the channel bars of the plastic slide guides
Data Source
AI summary
A slide cover lifting structure used in an electronic device consisting of a base member and a cover panel is disclosed to include a pair hinges, a pair of sliding rail holders, a pair of bearing members, a pair of plastic slide guides, a pair of sliding rails, a transmission shaft, two gear sets and a pair of gear racks. The gear sets are provided between the sliding rail holders and the bearing members for transmission of applied force. The transmission shaft is mounted in the base member (system end), allowing free utilization of the internal circuit board space of the base member.