GB2417851A

GB2417851A - Mobile phone with sliding and rotating hinge

Info

Publication number: GB2417851A
Application number: GB0419608A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hon Hung Leung; Cheuk Kan Kenneth Ho
Original assignee: GSL Research Technology Ltd; GSL RES TECHNOLOGY Ltd
Current assignee: GSL Research Technology Ltd; GSL RES TECHNOLOGY Ltd
Priority date: 2004-09-03
Filing date: 2004-09-03
Publication date: 2006-03-08
Anticipated expiration: 2024-09-03
Also published as: GB0419608D0; GB2417851B

Abstract

The present invention provides a portable information apparatus comprising: ```a first part 4 having a front surface 12 with a display screen 14 thereon; ```a second part 6 having a front surface 44 with a keyboard 66 thereon, the first and second parts having respective longitudinal axes, ```in which the first part can be rotated about an axis extending substantially perpendicular to the display screen, from a closed position in which the respective longitudinal axes are in alignment and the first part extends over at least a part of the second part, to an open position in which the first part is arranged to one side of the second part such that the respective longitudinal axes extend parallel to and spaced from one another.

Description

Information Apparatus The present invention relates to a portable

information apparatus such as, for example, a mobile phone.

Classical mobile phone handsets have tended to comprise a body having respective front and rear surfaces which are substantially rectangular in plan, an LCD display screen in the upper part of the front surface and a keypad in the lower part thereof. However, smaller, more compact mobile phones are highly desirable and so ways of achieving a reduction in size while retaining or improving ease of use are constantly being sought.

Mobile phones are used for an increasing number of applications. Thus, as well as operating as a phone, many mobiles include additional features such as cameras, radios, the capacity for text (SMS) messaging, Internet access and the ability to send emails. Ideally, the provision of these additional features should not impact on the overall size of a phone.

W 003/019911 Al discloses a mobile phone having a substantially rectangular front surface with a keypad provided on the bottom portion thereof. The display screen which is provided on the top portion thereof is rotatable such that it may extend either parallel or perpendicular to the longitudinal extent of the front surface.

GB 2387063 A discloses a foldable information apparatus which is made up of a lower unit on which a key pad is provided and an upper unit on which the display screen is provided.

The lower and upper units are both substantially rectangular in plan view and are arranged to lie one above the other when the phone is in the closed position. The upper unit is attached to the lower unit at one end thereof by a biaxial hinge such that the upper unit can be rotated about a horizontal axis of the biaxial hinge to cause the phone to open like a book. The upper unit can also be rotated about a vertical axis of the biaxial hinge. When rotated by 90 , the upper unit extends at right angles to the lower unit. When rotated by] 80 , it covers the lower unit.

US 2003/0211874 A] discloses a Ridable portable telephone set comprising a main casing and a movable casing, the two casings being slidably coupled and capable of being locked together The movable casing which is positioned above the main casing comprises an LCD screen and can be slid in the longitudinal direction to uncover the main casing on which a keypad is provided The present invention seeks to further improve on the solutions provided in the prior art to give a compact and attractive portable information apparatus with good access to a keyboard for typing alphabetical characters when sending text or email messages for example.

From a first aspect the present invention provides a portable information apparatus comprising a first part having a front surface with a display screen thereon; a second part having a front surface with a keyboard thereon, the first and second parts having respective longitudinal axes; and means for rotating the first part about an axis extending substantially perpendicular to the display screen, from a closed position in which the respective longitudinal axes are in alignment and the first part extends over at least a part of the second part, to an open position in which the first part is arranged to one side of the second part such that the respective longitudinal axes extend parallel to and spaced from one another.

The apparatus of the invention provides an advantageous structure which allows the information apparatus to be very compact when in the closed position but for a relatively large (and hence easy to use) keyboard to be provided which is accessible when the phone is opened The apparatus has the further advantage that the keyboard can more easily be used for typing with two hands with the first and second parts arranged side by side in the open position.

The first and second parts could be joined together by a hinge mechanism which spaces the first and second parts apart from one another when the apparatus is open. However, this would be relatively weak such that the apparatus could easily be broken if subjected to any considerable force while open In the preferred embodiment therefore, the first part overlaps with the second part in the open position This will improve the strength of the apparatus in the open position making it less susceptible to damage.

The first part could only cover a part of the second part even in the closed position.

Preferably however, in the closed position the first part covers substantially all of the second part. This will allow as compact an arrangement as possible of the apparatus in the closed position The first part could be rotatably attached to the second part in a number of different ways. For example, the means for rotating the first part about an axis extending substantially perpendicular to the display screen could simply comprise a pivot pin fixedly attached to the second part, about which the first part was free to rotate. Preferably however, the means for rotating the first part about an axis extending substantially perpendicular to the display screen comprises a cylindrical hinge extending along the rotation axis between the first and second parts, said hinge being adapted to be fixed against rotation relative to the first part but being free to rotate relative to the second part. This provides a relatively durable arrangement which is also cost effective to manufacture Further, as the hinge is adapted to be fixed against rotation relative to the first part but is free to rotate relative to the second part, the hinge can be retained in an unfixed state in which the first and second parts cannot rotate relative to one another and in a chosen condition or at a chosen time can be fixed against rotation such that the first and second parts can then rotate relative to one another.

The apparatus could be configured such that the first part could rotate through a full 360 relative to the second part. Preferably however, stop means are provided on the cylindrical hinge to abut against further stop means provided in the apparatus so as to limit the angle of rotation of the first part relative to the second part In one particularly preferred embodiment, the angle of rotation is limited to about 180 .

The apparatus could be configured to have only two states, open and closed as described above In that case, a user could use the apparatus (for example to make a call for which the number was stored in memory) when the apparatus was closed or could open the apparatus in order to use the keyboard Preferably however, the apparatus further comprises means for sliding the first part, with the respective longitudinal axes in alignment, in a longitudinal direction relative to the second part, so as to reach an intermediate position in which at least a portion of the second part front surface is uncovered. For example therefore, a part of the keyboard which was covered in the closed position might be uncovered in the intermediate position. Thus, a user might be able to carry out some actions with the apparatus in the intermediate position which were not possible in the closed position, the apparatus being more compact and easier to use with only one hand in the intermediate position than in the open position The apparatus could be configured such that the rotation and sliding respectively could be carried out directly from the closed position or the rotation could be carried out irrespective of the amount of sliding which had been undergone. Preferably however, the first part cannot be rotated relative to the second part until the first part has reached the intermediate position. This provides a relatively simple arrangement for a user to master Preferably the keyboard comprises an alpha-numeric keyboard, the numerical part of which is located on the portion of the second part front surface which is uncovered in the intermediate position In this embodiment, the apparatus might have a first closed position in which the keyboard was completely covered, a second intermediate position in which a numerical keypad only was uncovered, and a third open position in which a full alphanumeric keypad was uncovered Thus, a user could choose whether to use the apparatus in the intermediate or the open position depending on whether they intended to input numerical or numerical and alphabetical data. Such an arrangement would be particularly advantageous in a mobile phone although it would also be applicable to other information apparatus such as, for example, personal organisers.

The display screen would typically be an LCD panel and it could always display data in a standard portrait configuration, i e. with lines of data running across the screen perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the first part. However, when in both the closed and the open position, the apparatus would be best used with the first part located above the second part.

To retain the first part above the second part in the open configuration, the whole apparatus is rotated through 90 , such that the data on the display screen would then be difficult to read.

Preferably therefore, the display screen is adapted to display data in a first configuration when the apparatus is closed and to display the data in a second configuration rotated by 90 when the apparatus is open Most preferably, the apparatus automatically sets the configuration for the display screen depending on the position it is in However, a user can preferably override the default configuration using the controls on the apparatus Still more preferably, the display screen remains in the first configuration when the phone is in the intermediate position.

The means by which the first part can be slid longitudinally relative to the second part can take any forth Preferably however, the cylindrical hinge is fixed against longitudinal movement relative to the second part by interengaging ribs provided on the circumference of the cylindrical hinge and on the second part respectively In this manner, the sliding motion can be achieved by using the hinge which is only held against longitudinal movement and not rotation, such that the same hinge can be used for both sliding and rotational motion.

Still more preferably a longitudinal guide groove in which the cylindrical hinge is slidably received is provided in the first part, to allow the first part to be slid in a longitudinal direction relative to the second part. This provides a simple mechanism by which the sliding motion can be achieved.

Preferably an end of the guide groove provides a stop mechanism for limiting the extent of relative longitudinal movement between the first and second parts. The length of the guide groove is therefore preferably set to allow the first part to be moved by a desired amount relative to the second part in order to uncover the desired amount of the keyboard Still more preferably the hinge is free to rotate relative to both the first and the second parts until it reaches the end of the guide groove, and a stop is provided adjacent the end of the guide groove to engage against a stop provided on the rotation hinge, so as to fix the hinge against rotation relative to the first part. Thus, in this preferred embodiment, the first part can only rotate relative to the second part once it has been slid to the intermediate position.

Although the invention is applicable to any kind of portable information apparatus, including personal organisers, calculators, laptop computers and so on, it is particularly relevant to mobile phones and so the portable information apparatus is preferably a mobile telephone A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure I is a front plan view of a mobile phone according to the invention in the closed position, Figure 2 is a left side view of the mobile phone of Figure I in the closed position; Figure 3 is a rear plan view of the mobile phone of Figure I in the closed position; Figure 4 is a front plan view of the mobile phone of Figure I in a first open position; Figure 5 is a front plan view of the mobile phone of Figure I midway between the first open position and a second open position; Figure 6 is a front plan view of the mobile phone of Figure I in a second open position; and Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of a mobile phone according to the invention.

As shown in Figure 7, the mobile phone 2 of the invention comprises a first body part 4 and a second body part 6. Both of the first body part 4 and the second body part 6 are substantially rectangular in plan view and have curved corners and edges. Thus, the substantially rectangular surfaces of the first and second body parts have a length which is larger than their width They further have a thickness which is significantly less than the length or the width thereof Further, the length of the body parts defines a longitudinal axis The first 4 and second 6 body parts have substantially the same shape in plan view such that the edges of the first and second body parts are aligned with one another when the first body part 4 is arranged over the second body part 6 with the substantially rectangular surfaces thereof extending parallel to one another such that the phone is in the closed position. To open the phone, the first body part 4 is adapted to be slid in the longitudinal direction relative to the second body part 6 so as to uncover a portion of the second body part 6. Once it has been slid in the longitudinal direction to reach its maximum extent, the first body part 4 can then be rotated by 180 in the clockwise direction relative to the second body part 6 such that one side of the second body part 6 overlaps with a side of the first body part 4 but that the remaining surface area of the second body part is uncovered.

The first body part 4 comprises a hollow casing made up of an upper casing member 8 having an open lower face and a lower casing member 10 having an open upper face, the edges of the upper 8 and lower 10 casing members being joined together around the perimeter thereof l such that the two casing members are joined together to form the body part 4 having respective upper and lower substantially rectangular surfaces The upper casing member 8 includes an upper surface 12 which is visible to a user in use and which includes an LCD display screen] 4 a speaker 16 and a control button 18 The speaker 16 is arranged at the top of the upper surface 12, the LCD display panel 14 is arranged centrally and the control button 18 is arranged below the LCD panel at the bottom of the upper surface 12 when viewed in the longitudinal direction The lower casing member 10 includes a lower surface 20 which faces the second body part 6 when the phone is in the closed position. A long narrow aperture 22 extending, over a part of the length of the lower casing member 10 is provided in the lower surface 20 to one side thereof A plate 24 having a guide groove 26 of substantially the same size as the aperture 22 formed therein is arranged within the lower casing member 10 such that the guide groove 26 is substantially aligned with the aperture 22 in the lower casing member A rib 28 is provided adjacent and to the side of one end of the guide groove 26 and extends upwardly therefrom.

A rotation hinge 30 and a rotation hinge guide plate 32 are also provided. The rotation hinge comprises a substantially cylindrical member adapted to extend from the lower body part 6 and to pass through the long narrow aperture 22 and the guide groove 26 to be slidable in the longitudinal direction within the guide groove 26. The hinge further allows rotation about the axis of its cylinder as will be described further below. Stop members 50 comprising ribs extending outwardly from the lower circumferential edge of the rotation hinge 30 are provided on opposite sides of the hinge so as to limit the possible extent of rotation provided by the hinge to 180 when they come into contact with stop members provided on the second body part 6 as will be described below. The rotation hinge guide plate 32 comprises a substantially square shaped plate having a circular aperture 34 therein through which the rotation hinge 30 passes in use. A clip mechanism 36 for engaging the upper surface of the rotation hinge guide plate 32 and pushing downwardly thereon is provided at the top of the rotation hinge 30. The functioning of the rotation hinge 30 and its associated parts will be described in further detail below The second body part 6 comprises a hollow casing made up of an upper casing member 38 having an open lower face and a lower casing member 40 having an open upper face, the edges of the upper 38 and lower 40 casing members being joined together around the perimeter of the casing members such that the two casing members are joined together to form the body part 6 The lower casing member 40 comprises a lower surface 41 which is seen by a user in use and which includes an aperture 42 for a camera The upper casing member 38 has an upper surface 44 which faces the lower surface 20 of the first body part 4 in use. A circular aperture 46 is provided in the upper surface 44 of the upper casing member 38, through which a helical spring 48 which cooperates with the rotation hinge 30 in use is passed. Wiring 49 for electrically connecting the first 4 and second 6 body parts also passes through the aperture 46 in the upper surface 44 and subsequently through the rotation hinge 30. Ribs or stop members 52,54 are provided on opposite sides of the aperture 46 to extend in the longitudinal direction of the lower body part 6. A support plate 56 is provided within the lower casing member 40. This support plate 56 has a stepped configuration, the lower part 58 thereof being attached to the inside of the lower surface of lower casing member 40, and the upper part 60 thereof extending parallel to and above the lower surface. A circular aperture 62 is provided in the upper part 60 of the support plate 56, and a guide groove 64 is formed around the circumference of the aperture 62. The bottom end of helical spring 48 is adapted to be received in and supported by guide groove 64 in use.

When the phone is fully assembled, the lower end of the helical spring 48 is supported in the guide groove 64 and extends upwardly therefrom. The upper end of helical spring 48 pushes against the inner surface of the hollow cylindrical rotation hinge 30, the lower end of which rests above the aperture 46 in the upper surface 44 of the upper casing member 38. The rotation hinge 30 passes through the long narrow aperture 22 and the guide groove 26, the upper end of the rotation hinge 30 extending above the rotation hinge plate 32 and pushing downwardly thereon by virtue of the clip mechanism 36.

A keypad 66 is provided on the upper surface 44 of upper casing member 38. The aperture 46 through which the helical spring 48 and wiring 49 pass is formed in the right hand side of the upper surface 44 of upper casing member 38. The keypad 66 extends over substantially the full length of the upper surface 44 to the left of the aperture 46. The keypad 66 comprises 39 keys 68 arranged in four columns, the columns extending over substantially the full length of the upper surface 44.

The three first keys in each column, starting from the lower end of the first body part 4 in the longitudinal direction make up a numerical keypad. Thus, the keys are marked with the digits O to 9, the two remaining keys being "*" and ".". The remaining keys in each ofthe four columns make up an alphabetic keypad. Thus, these keys are marked with the 26 letters of the alphabet and some operators such as "Enter" and "Space".

The operation of the mobile phone shown in Figure 7 will now be described with reference to Figures] to 6 The mobile phone 2 is normally held in the closed position when not in use, as shown in Figure I In the closed position, the first body part 4 lies over the second body part 6 such that the first and second body parts are aligned with each other. Thus the lower surface 20 of the first body part 4 faces the upper surface 44 of the lower body part 6. However, the surfaces do not touch as the lower surface 20 is supported on the ribs 52, 54 on the upper surface 44. In the closed position the user can see the LCD display screen 14 and can also operate most functions of the phone via the control button 18. If the user wishes to enter a phone number which is not held within the phone, or requires access to the numeric keypad for any other reason, they can slide the first body part 4 upwardly in the longitudinal direction relative to the second body part 6 in order to uncover the numeric part of the keypad positioned in the lower portion of the upper surface 44 of second body part 6.

To slide the first body part 4 upwardly in the longitudinal direction as described, a user merely pushes the first body part 4 in that direction (for example, using their thumb) while holding the second body part 6 (for example, using the other fingers of the same hand).

When the phone is in the closed position, the rotation hinge 30 which extends from the second body part 6 through the guide groove 26 so as to hold the first and second body parts together, is arranged at the uppermost end of the longitudinal guide groove 26. The hinge 30 cannot move in the longitudinal direction relative to the second body part 6 as it is held in place by the ribs 50 which abut against the ribs 52, 54 on the upper surface 44 of the second body part 6 As the user pushes the first body part 4 upwardly in the longitudinal direction relative to the second body part 6, the rotation hinge 30 slides longitudinally downwardly along the guide groove 26, thus causing the first body part 4 to move longitudinally upwardly away from the second body part 6. The length of the guide groove 26 is adapted to bring the rotation hinge 30 into abutment with the lower end of the guide groove 26 so as to stop the first body part 4 from moving any further in the longitudinal direction relative to the second body part 6 once the numerical part of the keypad 66 has been uncovered The user can then enter a number using the phone in this configuration The user may then choose to slide the first body part 4 back down into alignment with the second body part 6 to close the phone However, they may wish to gain access to the full keyboard, i.e the alphabetic as well as the numerical characters. To do this, the user rotates the first body portion relative to the second body portion once it has been slid away from the second body part by the maximum possible amount in the longitudinal direction. The first body part can be rotated through 180 by the user manually moving the first body part relative to the second body part in order to bring the first and second body parts into side by side alignment with each other. Thus, in this configuration, the user can type text messages or emails using the full keyboard, using two hands for quicker data input. Further, they can set the LCD display screen to show a "Landscape" configuration so that the text on the screen will be lined up with the keys on the keyboard when the phone is arranged such that the screen is above the keyboard in this fully rotated position The rotation of the first body portion relative to the second body portion functions in the following manner When the rotation hinge 30 comes into abutment with the lower end of the guide groove 26, the rib 28 arranged to one side of the guide groove 26 at the lower end thereof abuts against a side edge of the rotation hinge guide plate 32. Thus the rotation hinge guide plate 32 is held against rotation relative to the first body part 4 by the rib 28. The clip mechanism 36 of the rotation hinge 30 pushes downwardly on the rotation hinge guide plate 32 such that the rotation hinge 30 will rotate together with the guide plate 32. Rotation hinge is supported by helical spring 48 extending between the hinge 30 and the guide groove 64 of support plate 56 such that the hinge can rotate relative to the second body part 6. When the first and second body parts are axially aligned, the ribs or stop members 50 on the lower circumferential edge of the hinge 30 abut against the respective ribs 52,54 provided on the upper surface 44 of the second body part 6. As both the ribs 50 and the ribs 52,54 are located diametrically opposite one another, the maximum extent of rotation allowed by the ribs before each respective rib 50 comes into abutment against the other of the ribs 52,54 is 180 To place the phone back into the closed position, the user rotates the first body part 4 back to its longitudinally aligned position and then slides the first body part back into alignment with the second body part 1 1 As described above, the wiring 49 electrically connecting the first and second body parts extends through the rotation hinge 30 along the axis thereof. This allows the first body part to be slid and rotated relative to the second body part while maintaining an electrical connection at all times It will be appreciated that the embodiments described above are preferred embodiments only of the invention. Thus various changes could be made to the apparatus described which would fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. ]2

Claims

Claims 1 A portable information apparatus comprising: a first part having

a front surface with a display screen thereon; a second part having a front surface with a keyboard thereon, the first and second parts having respective longitudinal axes, and means for rotating the first part about an axis extending substantially perpendicular to the display screen, from a closed position in which the respective longitudinal axes are in alignment and the first part extends over at least a part of the second part, to an open position in which the first part is arranged to one side of the second part such that the respective longitudinal axes extend parallel to and spaced from one another.
2. A portable information apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the open position the first part overlaps with the second part
3 A portable information apparatus as claimed in claim I or 2, wherein in the closed position the first part covers substantially all of the second part.
4 A portable information apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the means for rotating the first part about an axis extending substantially perpendicular to the display screen comprises a cylindrical hinge extending along the rotation axis between the first and second parts, said hinge being adapted to be fixed against rotation relative to the first part but being free to rotate relative to the second part.
5. A portable information apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein stop means are provided on the cylindrical hinge to abut against further stop means provided in the apparatus so as to limit the angle of rotation of the first part relative to the second part.

6 A portable information apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising means for sliding the first part, with the respective longitudinal axes in alignment, in a longitudinal direction relative to the second part, so as to reach an intermediate position in which at least a portion of the second part front surface is uncovered 7 A portable information apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first part cannot be rotated relative to the second part until the first part has reached the intermediate position.

8 A portable information apparatus as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein the keyboard comprises an alpha-numeric keyboard, the numerical part of which is located on the portion of the second part front surface which is uncovered in the intermediate position.

9 A portable information apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the display screen is adapted to display data in a first configuration when the apparatus is closed and to display the data in a second configuration rotated by 90 when the apparatus is open.

A portable information apparatus as claimed in any of claims 4 to 9, wherein the cylindrical hinge is fixed against longitudinal movement relative to the second part by interengaging ribs provided on the circumference of the cylindrical hinge and on the second part respectively.

I I A portable information apparatus as claimed in any of claims 4 to 10, wherein a longitudinal guide groove in which the cylindrical hinge is slidably received is provided in the first part, to allow the first part to be slid in a longitudinal direction relative to the second part.

12 A portable information apparatus as claimed in claim] 1, wherein an end of the guide groove provides a stop mechanism for limiting the extent of relative longitudinal movement between the first and second parts.

13 A portable information apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the hinge is free to rotate relative to both the first and the second parts until it reaches the end of the guide groove, and wherein a stop is provided adjacent the end of the guide groove to engage against a stop provided on the rotation hinge so as to fix the hinge against rotation relative to the first part 14 A portable information apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the portable information apparatus is a mobile telephone #l /+ ho the - lam - ELM = Was Claims ] A portable information apparatus comprising: a first part having a front surface with a display screen thereon; a second part having a front surface with a keyboard thereon, the first and second parts having respective longitudinal axes; means for rotating the first part about an axis extending substantially perpendicular to the display screen, from a closed position in which the respective longitudinal axes are in alignment and the first part extends over at least a part of the second part, to an open position in which the first part is arranged to one side of the second part such that the respective longitudinal axes extend parallel to and spaced from one another; and means for sliding the first part, with the respective longitudinal axes in alignment, in a longitudinal direction relative to the second part, so as to reach an intermediate position in which at least a portion of the second part front surface is . uncovered; wherein the first part cannot be rotated relative to the second part until the first part has reached the intermediate position. . .

2 A portable information apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the open position the first part overlaps with the second part 3. A portable information apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein in the closed position the first part covers substantially all of the second part 4. A portable information apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the means for rotating the first part about an axis extending substantially perpendicular to the display screen comprises a cylindrical hinge extending along the rotation axis between the first and second parts, said hinge being adapted to be fixed against rotation relative to the first part but being free to rotate relative to the second part. 1)

A portable information apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein stop means are provided on the cylindrical hinge to abut against further stop means provided in the apparatus so as to limit the angle of rotation of the first part relative to the second part 6 A portable information apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the keyboard comprises an alpha-numeric keyboard, the numerical part of which is located on the portion of the second part front surface which is uncovered in the intermediate position 7 A portable information apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the display screen is adapted to display data in a first configuration when the apparatus is closed and to display the data in a second configuration rotated by 90 when the apparatus is open. < . '

8 A portable information apparatus as claimed in any of claims 4 to 7, wherein the cylindrical hinge is fixed against longitudinal movement relative to the second part by interengaging ribs provided on the circumference of the cylindrical hinge and on the second part respectively . (, 9. A portable information apparatus as claimed in any of claims 4 to 8, wherein a longitudinal guide groove in which the cylindrical hinge is slidably received is provided in the first part, to allow the first part to be slid in a longitudinal direction relative to the second part 10. A portable information apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein an end of the guide groove provides a stop mechanism for limiting the extent of relative longitudinal movement between the first and second parts 30] 1. A portable information apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the hinge is free to rotate relative to both the first and the second parts until it reaches the end of the guide groove, and wherein a stop is provided adjacent the end of the guide groove to engage against a stop provided on the rotation hinge so as to fix the hinge against rotation relative to the first part 12. A portable information apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the portable information apparatus is a mobile telephone