Vibration motor and mobile terminal having the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016233752-A1
Application number	US-201615130473-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 15, 2016
Priority date	Feb 7, 2012
Publication date	Aug 11, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A mobile terminal can include a case, a touch screen, a haptic module to generate vibration, a memory storing data, and a power supply unit. The haptic module may be a linear vibration motor including a housing, a coil, a moving portion, first and second elastic members; the housing includes an inner space defined by top and bottom surfaces, and first to fourth side surfaces; the coil, moving portion, and first and second elastic members are in the housing; the first and third side surfaces are spaced apart from the moving portion; the moving portion includes a magnet, first and second insertion grooves; the first and second elastic members are coil springs, the first and second elastic members are between the moving portion and the first third side surfaces, respectively; and one end of each coil spring is located at the first and second insertion grooves of the moving portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A mobile terminal comprising:
a case forming the appearance of the mobile terminal and formed using a metallic material; a touch screen disposed on the front surface of the mobile terminal, configured to sense a touch input, and display information processed in the mobile terminal, wherein the touch input is at least one of a touched area or a touched pressure; a haptic module configured to generate vibration in the mobile terminal; a memory storing data related to various patterns of vibrations corresponding to touch inputs applied on the touch screen; a power supply unit configured to supply power to the vibration motor, wherein the haptic module is a linear vibration motor, the linear vibration motor includes a housing, a coil, a moving portion, first and second elastic members, wherein the housing includes an inner space defined by a top surface, a bottom surface, and first to fourth side surfaces, wherein the coil, the moving portion, and the first and second elastic members are provided in the inner space of the housing, wherein the first side surface and the third side surface are spaced apart from the moving portion, wherein the moving portion includes a magnet, first and second insertion grooves, the magnet and the coil are disposed to generate an electromagnetic force for allowing the moving portion to reciprocate in the extending direction of the first and third side surfaces arranged opposite to each other in the housing, wherein the first and second elastic members are coil springs, the first elastic member is located between the moving portion and the first side surface, and the second elastic member is located between the moving portion and the third side surface, and wherein one end of each coil spring is located at the first and second insertion grooves of the moving portion.

2 . The mobile terminal of claim 1 , wherein the one end of each coil spring is not fixed at the first and second insertion grooves of the moving portion.

3 . The mobile terminal of claim 1 , wherein the linear vibration motor is configured to vibrate in the lateral direction of the mobile terminal while not vibrating in the longitudinal direction of the mobile terminal.

4 . The mobile terminal of claim 1 , wherein the housing is formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, the housing having a length direction and a width direction, and
wherein the length direction of the housing is longer than the width direction of the housing.

5 . The mobile terminal of claim 4 , wherein the moving portion is formed to have a predetermined mass, a mass at both ends in the length direction is greater than a mass of a central portion of the housing.

6 . The mobile terminal of claim 1 , wherein the moving portion further comprises a yoke disposed opposite to the magnet.

7 . The mobile terminal of claim 1 , wherein elastic coefficients of the coil springs are different from each other.

8 . The mobile terminal of claim 1 , wherein the housing includes third and fourth insertion grooves into which the coil springs are inserted.

9 . The mobile terminal of claim 1 , wherein the moving portion and the housing are spaced apart from each other with a predetermined gap in a thickness direction of the housing.

10 . The mobile terminal of claim 1 , wherein the mobile terminal further comprises:
guide portions formed at the second and fourth side surfaces of the housing, respectively, and the moving portion includes grooves into which the guide portions are inserted.

11 . The mobile terminal of claim 10 , wherein each of the guide portions includes a guide groove recessed from one surface of each of the guide portions.

12 . The mobile terminal of claim 1 , wherein the magnet is formed at a central portion of the moving portion in plural numbers.

13 . The mobile terminal of claim 1 , wherein the coil is disposed in plural numbers.

14 . A mobile terminal comprising:
a haptic module in the mobile terminal to vibrate the mobile terminal, wherein the haptic module is a linear vibration motor, the linear vibration motor includes a housing, a coil, a moving portion, first and second elastic members, wherein the housing includes an inner space defined by a top surface, a bottom surface, and first to fourth side surfaces, wherein the coil, the moving portion, the first and second elastic members are provided in the inner space of the housing, wherein the first side surface and the third side surface are spaced apart from the moving portion, wherein the moving portion includes a magnet, first and second insertion grooves, the magnet and the coil are disposed to generate an electromagnetic force for allowing the moving portion to reciprocate in the extending direction of the first and third surfaces arranged opposite to each other in the housing, wherein the first and second elastic members are coil springs, the first elastic member is located between the moving portion and the first side surface, and the second elastic member is located between the moving portion and the third side surface, and wherein one end of each coil spring is located at the first and second insertion grooves of the moving portion.

15 . The mobile terminal of claim 14 , wherein the one end of each coil spring is not fixed at the first and second insertion grooves of the moving portion.

16 . The mobile terminal of claim 14 , wherein the linear vibration motor is configured to vibrate in the lateral direction of the mobile terminal while not vibrating in the longitudinal direction of the mobile terminal.

17 . The mobile terminal of claim 14 , wherein the mobile terminal further comprises: guide portions formed at the second and fourth side surfaces of the housing, respectively, and the moving portion includes grooves into which the guide portions are inserted.

18 . The mobile terminal of claim 14 , wherein the moving portion is formed to have a predetermined mass, a mass at both ends in the length direction is greater than a mass of a central portion of the housing.

19 . The mobile terminal of claim 14 , wherein the moving portion further comprises a yoke disposed opposite to the magnet.

20 . The mobile terminal of claim 14 , wherein elastic coefficients of the coil springs are different from each other.

21 . The mobile terminal of claim 14 , wherein the housing includes third and fourth insertion grooves into which the coil springs are inserted.

22 . The mobile terminal of claim 14 , wherein the moving portion and the housing are spaced apart from each other with a predetermined gap in a thickness direction of the housing.

23 . The mobile terminal of claim 14 , wherein the magnet is formed at a central portion of the moving portion in plural numbers.

24 . The mobile terminal of claim 14 , wherein the coil is disposed in plural numbers.

25 . The mobile terminal of claim 14 , wherein the mobile terminal further comprises: guide portions formed at the second and fourth side surfaces of the housing, respectively, and the moving portion includes grooves into which the guide portions are inserted.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Jun Minsu
• Kim Hongki
• Choi Jaecheon

Classifications

• H02K7/08

  Structural association with bearings · CPC title

• B06B1/045

  using vibrating magnet, armature or coil system · CPC title

• H04M1/026 Primary

  Details of the structure or mounting of specific components · CPC title

• H02K5/24

  specially adapted for suppression or reduction of noise or vibrations · CPC title

• H02K33/16 Primary

  with polarised armatures moving in alternate directions by reversal or energisation of a single coil system · CPC title