Opening force control for foldable electronic devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11119535-B2
Application number	US-201916557926-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 30, 2019
Priority date	Aug 30, 2019
Publication date	Sep 14, 2021
Grant date	Sep 14, 2021

Abstract

A foldable electronic device includes a first portion, a second portion, and a hinge connecting the first portion and the second portion. The hinge is configured to allow pivoting movement of the first portion relative to the second portion, wherein the hinge has a hinge force. One or more magnets are coupled to the first portion, and a plurality of metal members are coupled to the second portion. Each metal member of the plurality of metal members is configured for individual removal from the second portion to define a magnetic force based on the hinge force, thereby allowing the first and second portions to be maintained together when in a closed orientation and allowing for easy one finger opening operation from the closed orientation.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A foldable electronic device comprising:
a first portion;
a second portion;
a spine having a hinge connecting the first portion and the second portion, the hinge configured to allow pivoting movement of the first portion relative to the second portion, the hinge having a hinge force;
one or more magnets coupled to the first portion; and
a plurality of metal members coupled to the second portion, each metal member of the plurality of metal members configured for individual removal from the second portion to define a magnetic force corresponding to the hinge force such that the first and second portions remain closed in a spine supported position with the first and second portions supported on the spine, and are separable in a table supported position with the first portion moving and the second portion supported on a surface and remaining stationary and on the surface in response to an opening force applied to the first portion.

2. The foldable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of metal members comprises one or more metal members having a first size and one or more metal members having a second size, wherein the first size is different than the second size.

3. The foldable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of metal members are arranged in a first configuration based on a type of the electronic device, and further comprising a second configuration of metal members, wherein the first and second configurations correspond to different magnetic force compensations relative to the hinge force, and wherein a number of the plurality of metal members is selected to compensate for a difference in the hinge force compared to another foldable electronic device, and satisfying manufacturing tolerances.

4. The foldable electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the second configuration comprises a different set of metal members than the first configuration.

5. The foldable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of metal members are configured for individualized magnetic force control to balance the hinge force with the magnetic force, such that in the spine supported position, the first and second portions are supported only on the spine in an upright position and remain closed as a result of the balance of the hinge force with the magnetic force, thereby satisfying a spine test force, and in the table supported position, the second portion is supported on the surface and remains on the surface without additional force applied thereto as the first portion is moved to an open position, thereby satisfying a table test force.

6. The foldable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein a number of the plurality of metal members is selected to allow one finger operation to lift the first portion in the table supported position without lifting the second portion, and wherein the second portion remains stationary with the opening force being applied to only the first portion and no force is applied to the second portion while the opening force is applied to the first portion.

7. The foldable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the second portion comprises a slot, and the plurality of metal members comprises individually removable steel pieces coupled within the slot of the second portion, and wherein the individually removable steel pieces comprise only one metal member of a first size, more than one metal member of a second size, and at least one metal member of a third size, wherein the first size has a length longer than a length of the second size, and the second size has a length longer than a length of the third size.

8. A method for adjusting an opening force of a foldable electronic device, the method comprising:
coupling one or more base metal members to a cover;
installing the cover to the foldable electronic device with a pivoting connection, the pivoting connection comprising a hinge positioned within a spine of the foldable electronic device;
measuring an opening force of the cover;
identifying an adjustment configuration to place the opening force within a defined specification such that the cover remains in a closed position in a spine supported position with the cover supported on the spine, and is separable to an open position in a table supported position with the cover moving and a base of the foldable electronic device remaining stationary on a surface in response to an opening force applied to the cover;
removing the cover and applying the adjustment configuration by at least one of removing, adding, or moving one or more metal members; and
reinstalling the cover to the foldable electronic device.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein installing the cover comprises coupling the cover to the foldable electronic device without screws in a temporary connection and reinstalling the cover comprises coupling the cover to the foldable electronic device with screws in a permanent connection.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein identifying an adjustment magnet configuration comprising identifying one of a plurality of defined configurations, each configuration having a different set of metal members, the metal members in each set having metal members of different sizes.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the defined specification is a force that satisfies both a spine test force requirement and a table test force requirement of the foldable electronic device.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the measuring, identifying, removing, and reinstalling are performed a plurality of times.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein removing, adding, or moving one or more metal members comprises individually removing, adding, or moving the metal members within a slot of the cover in at least one of an x-direction, a y-direction, and a z-direction, the slot positioned along a edge of the cover.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of metal members comprises steel pieces having a same width and thickness, and at least some of the steel pieces having a different length than other steel pieces.

15. The method of claim 8 , wherein coupling one or more base metal members to a cover comprises using a set of metal pieces in a configuration selected for a device type of the foldable electronic device based on a typical hinge force of the device type.

16. The method of claim 8 , wherein the cover comprises a metal outer top surface.

17. The method of claim 8 , wherein the cover comprises a fabric outer top surface.

18. A foldable electronic device comprising:
a keyboard portion;
a display portion;
a spine having a hinge connecting the keyboard portion and the display portion, the hinge configured to allow folding movement of the keyboard portion relative to the display portion, the hinge having a hinge force;
one or more magnets coupled within and along an edge of a cover of the display portion; and
a plurality of metal members coupled within and along an edge of a cover of the keyboard portion, each metal member of the plurality of metal members configured for individual removal from the cover of the keyboard portion to define a magnetic force corresponding to the hinge force such that the keyboard portion and the display portion remain closed in a spine supported position with the keyboard portion and the display portion supported on the spine, and are separable in a table supported position with the display portion moving and the keyboard portion remaining stationary and on a support surface in response to an opening force applied to the display portion, at least one metal member of the plurality of metal

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Haworth Madeleine M
• Gault Joseph B
• Barbara Brittany
• Meyer John C
• Condon Matthew T
• Picardo Anthony G
• Singla Aseem
• Zhang Shuanghu
• Greiser Ii Melvin R
• Asfari Leila

Classifications

• G06F1/1679 Primary

  for locking or maintaining the movable parts of the enclosure in a fixed position, e.g. latching mechanism at the edge of the display in a laptop or for the screen protective cover of a PDA (G06F1/1681 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H05K5/03

  Covers · CPC title

• G06F1/1618 Primary

  the display being foldable up to the back of the other housing with a single degree of freedom, e.g. by 360° rotation over the axis defined by the rear edge of the base enclosure · CPC title

• G06F1/1656

  Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories (mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203) · CPC title

• H05K5/0226

  Hinges · CPC title