SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPENING HINGED COMPONENTS OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES
The present disclosure is directed at automatically opening hinged components of computing devices. One of the computing devices and a hinged component may include an electrical winding or coil while the other may include a magnet. When current is applied to the electrical winding (e.g., in a direction opposite of the North/South direction of the magnets' magnetic field), the electrical winding may generate a magnetic field opposite that repels the magnet's magnetic field. The magnetic repulsion may cause the hinged component to separate from the rest of the computing device, thereby opening the hinged component. When the current is removed from the electrical winding, the electrical winding may no longer generate a magnetic field, enabling the hinged component to be closed.
This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/057,038, filed Nov. 19, 2020, and entitled “Systems and Methods for Automatically Opening Hinged Components of Electronic Devices,” which is a U.S. national stage filing of PCT Application No. PCT/CN2018/121681, filed Dec. 18, 2018, and entitled “Systems and Methods for Automatically Opening Hinged Components of Electronic Devices,” each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes.
BACKGROUNDThis disclosure relates generally to opening hinged components of electronic devices, such as kickstands of tablets or display portions of laptops.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it may be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Certain electronic devices, such as tablets, laptops, smartphones, phablets, and the like, may include hinged components. For example, a tablet may include a kickstand that, when opened, may be used to position the tablet in a standing or near-vertical position without requiring a user to hold the tablet. Similarly, a laptop may include a display and keyboard that are coupled together via a hinge. A user may open the laptop via the hinge such that the display is in a standing or near-vertical position without requiring the user hold the display upright.
However, to open a hinged component, a user often manually extends the hinged component to an open position from a closed position. In some cases, the user may first manually unlock the hinged component (e.g., by engaging an unlocking mechanism of the electronic device). Some users may find these manual processes to be frustrating or overly time-consuming.
SUMMARYA summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below.
The present disclosure describes systems and methods for automatically opening hinged components of electronic devices. The electronic devices may include tablets, laptops, smartphones, phablets, and the like, and the hinged components may include kickstands or display portions of the electronic devices. One of the electronic device and the hinged component may include an electrical winding or coil while the other may include a magnet (e.g., a permanent magnet). When current is applied to the electrical winding (e.g., in a direction opposite of the North/South direction of the magnets' magnetic field), the electrical winding may generate a magnetic field that repels the magnet's magnetic field. The magnetic repulsion may cause the hinged component to separate from the rest of the electronic device, thereby opening the hinged component.
When the current is removed from the electrical winding, the electrical winding may no longer generate a magnetic field, enabling the hinged component to be closed.
Various refinements of the features noted above may exist in relation to various aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also be incorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For instance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more of the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of the above-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in any combination. Again, the brief summary presented above is intended only to familiarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodiments of the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subject matter.
Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:
One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are described in the specification. It may be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it may be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.
With the foregoing in mind,
In some embodiments, the main body 16 of the electronic device 10 also includes an electronic display 18. The display 18 may employ any suitable technology to present visual information according to electrical input signals by emitting light or modulating available light. For example, the display 18 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic LED (OLED) display, a microLED display, or an electromagnetic metasurface. The kickstand may be employed to orient the electronic device 10 in a standing or near-vertical position, as shown in
The hinge 14 may enable the hinged component 12 to pivot or rotate relative to the main body 16 of the electronic device 10 into open and closed positions. In some embodiments, the hinge 14 may include one or more biasing elements that provide torque to facilitate opening or closing the hinge 14. For example,
Returning to
For example,
For example,
The main body 16 of the electronic device 10 may also include additional magnet 50 and winding 62 pairs. While
For example,
The current may be applied by a power source, such as a battery. The power source may be coupled (e.g., electrically coupled) to the winding 62 via a switch 70. The switch may be activated or deactivated using any suitable mechanism, such as a button 72 disposed on the main body 16 of the electronic device 10. For example,
As a result, to open the hinged component 12, the windings 62, the magnets the additional magnets 90, and/or the opposite polarity magnets 100 may be selected or designed such that the strength of the magnetic repulsion 68 between the windings 62 (when current is applied to the windings 62) and the magnets 50 may be greater than the magnetic attraction between the additional magnets 90 and the opposite polarity magnets 100 in order to open the hinged component 12. In cases where the hinge 14 is a torsion hinge, the windings 62, the magnets 50, the additional magnets 90, the opposite polarity magnets 100 and/or the hinge 14 may be selected or designed such that the strength of the magnetic repulsion 68 between the windings 62 (when current is applied to the windings 62) and the magnets 50 and the strength of the torque 66 applied by the hinge 14 is greater than the magnetic attraction between the additional magnets 90 and the opposite polarity magnets 100 in order to open the hinged component 12.
The magnetic attraction between the additional magnets 90 and the opposite polarity magnets 100 may keep the hinged component 12 closed without a mechanical locking mechanism. For example,
As presently described, pressing the button 72 on the electronic device 10 directly closes the switch 70, completing the circuit 80 to provide power from the battery 82 to the windings 62 (e.g., as illustrated in
For example,
The system 120 may include a switch sensor 128 that detects whether the button 72 is pressed or not pressed. The switch sensor 128 may then send an indication (e.g., a signal) to the controller 122 that the button 72 is pressed (or not pressed). If the controller 122 receives an indication that the button 72 is pressed, then the controller 122 may send an instruction (e.g., a signal) to the switch 70 to close and couple (e.g., electrically couple) the battery 82 to the one or more windings 62. As such, the one or more windings 62 may generate one or more magnetic fields that repulse the magnetic fields of the magnets 50 of the hinged component 12, opening the hinged component 12. The controller 122 may then send an instruction to the switch 70 to open and decouple the battery 82 from the one or more windings 62 (e.g., based on the user no longer pressing the button 72). If the controller 122 receives an indication that the button 72 is not pressed (or does not receive an indication that the button 72 is pressed), then the controller 122 may not send an instruction (e.g., a signal) to the switch 70 to close, and the battery 82 and the one or more windings 62 may remain uncoupled.
In some embodiments, the controller 122 may activate or deactivate the switch 70 in response to receiving sensor data from a sensor, such as a touch sensor (e.g., a touchpad), a gesture sensor (e.g., a light sensor or camera), or an audio sensor (e.g., a microphone). For example, in response to a touch from the user on the touch sensor, a gesture detected by the gesture sensor (e.g., waving a hand over the electronic device 10), or a predetermined sound detected by the audio sensor (e.g., snapping fingers or a vocal command, such as “Open”), the controller 122 may activate or deactivate the switch 70. In some embodiments, the controller 122 may activate or deactivate the switch 70 based on user interaction with a virtual assistant. That is, a user may request that the virtual assistant open the hinged component 12, and, in response, the controller 122 may activate or deactivate the switch 70.
In some embodiments, the system 120 may include one or more orientation sensors 130 that provide an indication (e.g., one or more signals) of the orientation of the electronic device 10 to the controller 122. The orientation sensors 130 may include, for example, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, and/or any other suitable sensor that facilitates detecting the orientation of the electronic device 10. The controller 122 may then send an instruction to the switch 70 to close and couple the battery 82 to the one or more windings 62 based on the indication. For example, if the electronic device 10 is a tablet and the hinged component 12 is a kickstand, the orientation sensors 130 provide an indication that a surface (e.g., a bottom surface) of the electronic device 10 is stationary or at a constant vertical position (e.g., resting on a table), the remainder of the electronic device 10 is changing position (e.g., being lifted up from an approximately horizontal or lying position), and the hinged component 12 (e.g., in the form of a kickstand) is closed, then this may indicate that a user is positioning the electronic device 10 for viewing on a fixed surface (e.g., the table), and the controller 122 may send an instruction to the switch 70 to close and couple the battery 82 to the one or more windings 62 to open the hinged component 12.
In cases where the controller 122 may reverse the current applied to the windings 62, if the same electronic device 10 is resting on the fixed surface and the hinged component 12 is open, and the orientation sensors 130 provide an indication that (each surface of) the electronic device 10 is moving (e.g., being lifted up), then this may indicate that a user is lifting the electronic device 10 from the fixed surface for use or storage, and the controller 122 may send an instruction to the switch 70 to close and couple the battery 82 to the one or more windings 62 to facilitate closing the hinged component 12.
In some cases, the controller 122 may open the hinged component 12 in an effort to protect the electronic device 10. For example, if the orientation sensors 130 provide an indication that the electronic device 10 is moving at a rate of speed consistent with falling (e.g., accelerating at 9.81 meters/second2) and the hinged component 12 is closed, then the controller 122 may send an instruction to the switch 70 to close and couple the battery 82 to the one or more windings 62 to open the hinged component 12 in an effort to protect the electronic device 10.
In some embodiments, other sensor information provided by sensors of the electronic device 10 may be used by the controller 122 to determine when to automatically open the hinged component 12. For example, if the electronic device 10 is a laptop and the hinged component 12 includes the display 18, the orientation sensors 130 provide an indication that a surface (e.g., a bottom surface) of the electronic device 10 is stationary or at a constant vertical position (e.g., resting on a table), a light sensor indicates a threshold amount of light (e.g., indicative of the electronic device 10 not being stored in, for example, a bag or briefcase), and the hinged component 12 is closed, then this may indicate that a user is positioning the electronic device 10 for use on a fixed surface (e.g., the table), and the controller 122 may send an instruction to the switch 70 to close and couple the battery 82 to the one or more windings 62 to open the hinged component 12.
It should be understood that automatically opening (or closing) the hinged component 12 may be customized by a user. For example, the user may configure which stimuli (e.g., related to movement of the electronic device 10, ambient conditions, or the like) or levels of the stimuli used by the controller 122 to determine whether to open (or close) the hinged component 12.
As illustrated, in process block 142, the processor 124 receives an indication of an orientation of the electronic device 10. In particular, the indication may be provided by one or more orientation sensors 130 of the electronic device 10, which may include accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, and/or any other suitable sensor that facilitates detecting the orientation of the electronic device 10.
In decision block 144, the processor 124 then determines whether the hinged component 12 should be in an open position based on the orientation of the electronic device 10. For example, if the electronic device 10 is a tablet and the hinged component 12 is a kickstand, and the orientation sensors 130 provide an indication that a surface (e.g., a bottom surface) of the electronic device 10 is stationary or at a constant vertical position (e.g., resting on a table) while the remainder of the electronic device 10 is changing position (e.g., being lifted up from an approximately horizontal or lying position), then the processor 124 may determine that the hinged component 12 should be in an open position as this may indicate that a user is positioning the electronic device 10 for viewing on a fixed surface (e.g., the table).
In some cases, the controller 122 may open the hinged component 12 in an effort to protect the electronic device 10. As such, if the orientation sensors 130 provide an indication that the electronic device 10 is moving at a rate of speed consistent with falling (e.g., accelerating at 9.81 meters/second2), then the processor 124 may determine that the hinged component 12 should be in the open position in an effort to protect the electronic device 10. In some embodiments, other sensor information provided by sensors of the electronic device 10 may be used by the controller 122 to determine when to automatically open the hinged component 12. For example, if the electronic device 10 is a laptop and the hinged component 12 includes the display 18, the orientation sensors 130 provide an indication that a surface (e.g., a bottom surface) of the electronic device 10 is stationary or at a constant vertical position (e.g., resting on a table), and a light sensor indicates a threshold amount of light (e.g., indicative of the electronic device 10 not being stored in, for example, a bag or briefcase), then the processor 124 may determine that the hinged component 12 should be in the closed position as this may indicate that a user is positioning the electronic device 10 for use on a fixed surface (e.g., the table).
If the processor 124 then determines that the hinged component 12 should be in the open position, then, in decision block 146, the processor 124 determines whether the hinged component 12 is already in the open position. If not, in process block 148, the processor 124 sends an instruction to the switch 70 to close and couple the battery 82 to the one or more windings 62 to open the hinged component 12. If the processor 124 determines that the hinged component 12 is already in the open position, then the processor 124 returns to process block 142 and the process 140 repeats. Returning to decision block 144, if the processor 124 determines that the hinged component 12 should not be in the open position, then the processor 124 returns to process block 142 and the process 140 repeats. In this manner, the processor 124 may automatically open the hinged component 12 without user or manual interaction.
In cases where the controller 122 may reverse the current applied to the windings 62, the processor 124 may determine whether the hinged component 12 should be in the closed position. For example, if the electronic device 10 is a tablet and the hinged component 12 is a kickstand, and the electronic device 10 is resting on the fixed surface, and the orientation sensors 130 provide an indication that (each surface of) the electronic device 10 is moving (e.g., being lifted up), then the processor 124 may determine that the hinged component 12 should be in a closed position as this may indicate that a user is lifting the electronic device 10 from the fixed surface for use or storage. If the processor 124 determines that the hinged component 12 should be in the closed position, then the processor 124 may determine whether the hinged component 12 is already in the closed position. If not, the processor 124 may send an instruction to the switch 70 to reverse the current applied to the one or more windings and close and couple the battery 82 to the one or more windings 62 to facilitate closing the hinged component 12.
While the embodiments set forth in the present disclosure may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and have been described in detail herein. However, it may be understood that the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. The disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the following appended claims.
The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and applied to material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature that demonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are not abstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claims appended to the end of this specification contain one or more elements designated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ” or “step for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ”, it is intended that such elements are to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claims containing elements designated in any other manner, it is intended that such elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).
Claims
1. A method comprising:
- receiving a stimulus at a computing device comprising a first housing portion and a second housing portion; and
- in response to the stimulus, electrically coupling a power source of the computing device to an electrical winding of the computing device, causing the electrical winding to generate a magnetic field, wherein the magnetic field causes the second housing portion of the computing device to move away from the first housing portion.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the stimulus comprises a button press on the computing device.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the button press closes a switch of the computing device to electrically couple the power source to the electrical winding.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device comprises a processor configured to:
- receive an indication of the stimulus at the computing device; and
- in response to receiving the indication, send an instruction to electrically couple the power source to the electrical winding.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device comprises a switch and a sensor, wherein the switch is configured to electrically couple or electrically decouple the power source to the electrical winding, and wherein the computing device comprises a processor configured to:
- receive data from the sensor, wherein the data is associated with the stimulus; and
- send an instruction to the switch to cause the switch to electrically couple the power source to the electrical winding based on the data.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the data comprises a detected value associated with the sensor, the processor configured to cause the switch to electrically couple the power source to the electrical winding based on the detected value being above a threshold value.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein the data comprises light sensor data, touch sensor data, image sensor data, audio sensor data, or orientation sensor data.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second housing portion comprises a first magnet disposed opposite of the electrical winding and configured to generate a second magnetic field, the magnetic field configured to cause magnetic repulsion with respect to the second magnetic field when the power source is electrically coupled to the electrical winding.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first housing portion comprises a second magnet spaced apart from the electrical winding and configured to generate a third magnetic field, and wherein the second housing portion comprises a third magnet disposed opposite the second magnet when the first housing portion is adjacent to the second housing portion, the third magnet configured to generate a fourth magnetic field that causes magnetic attraction with respect to the third magnetic field when the first housing portion is adjacent to the second housing portion.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the computing device comprises a hinge joining the first housing portion to the second housing portion, and wherein the hinge provides a force to rotate the second housing portion away from the first housing portion, wherein the force in combination with the magnetic repulsion are greater than the magnetic attraction.
11. A computing device, comprising:
- a first housing portion comprising: a power source; and an electromagnetic winding configured to be coupled to the power source, wherein the electromagnetic winding is configured to generate a first magnetic field when receiving power from the power source;
- a second housing portion comprising a first magnet disposed opposite of the electromagnetic winding and configured to generate a second magnetic field, the second magnetic field configured to cause magnetic repulsion with respect to the first magnetic field;
- a hinge joining the first housing portion to the second housing portion, wherein the hinge enables the second housing portion to rotate relative to the first housing portion; and
- a processor configured to: receive a stimulus at the computing device; and in response to the stimulus, electrically couple the power source to the electromagnetic winding causing the electromagnetic winding to generate the first magnetic field, wherein the first magnetic field is configured to cause the second housing portion to move away from the first housing portion.
12. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the stimulus comprises a button press on the computing device.
13. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the button press closes a switch of the computing device to electrically couple the power source to the electromagnetic winding.
14. The computing device of claim 11, comprising a switch and a sensor, wherein the switch is configured to electrically couple or electrically decouple the power source to the electromagnetic winding, and wherein the processor is configured to:
- receive data from the sensor, wherein the data is associated with the stimulus; and
- send an instruction to the switch to cause the switch to electrically couple the power source to the electromagnetic winding based on the data.
15. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the data comprises light sensor data, touch sensor data, image sensor data, audio sensor data, or orientation sensor data.
16. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the data comprises a detected value associated with the sensor, the processor configured to cause the switch to electrically couple the power source to the electromagnetic winding based on the detected value being above a threshold value.
17. A computing device, comprising:
- a housing comprising: a power source; and an electromagnetic winding configured to generate a first magnetic field when coupled to the power source;
- a kickstand comprising a magnet opposite the electromagnetic winding when the kickstand is adjacent to the housing, the magnet configured to generate a second magnetic field configured to cause magnetic repulsion with respect to the first magnetic field;
- a hinge joining the housing to the kickstand, wherein the hinge enables the kickstand to rotate relative to the housing; and
- a processor configured to: receive a stimulus at the computing device; and based on the stimulus, electrically couple the power source to the electromagnetic winding causing the electromagnetic winding to generate the first magnetic field, wherein the first magnetic field is configured to cause the second housing portion to move away from the first housing portion.
18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein receiving the stimulus comprises receiving a button press on the computing device, wherein the button press closes a switch of the computing device to electrically couple the power source to the electromagnetic winding.
19. The computing device of claim 17, comprising a switch and a sensor, wherein the switch is configured to electrically couple or electrically decouple the power source to the electromagnetic winding, and wherein the processor is configured to:
- receive data from the sensor, wherein the data is associated with the stimulus; and
- cause the switch to electrically couple the power source to the electromagnetic winding based on the data.
20. The computing device of claim 19, wherein the data comprises light sensor data, touch sensor data, image sensor data, audio sensor data, or orientation sensor data, and wherein the data comprises a detected value associated with the sensor, the processor configured to cause the switch to electrically couple the power source to the electromagnetic winding based on the detected value being above a threshold value.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 6, 2023
Publication Date: Dec 21, 2023
Inventors: Chunlin Bai (Shenzhen), Binglin Xu (Shenzhen), Guangrui Liang (Shenzhen)
Application Number: 18/242,978