JP7563057B2 - Electronics - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to electronic devices, such as electronic dictionaries.

Folding electronic devices that can be opened and closed by connecting an upper case and a lower case with a hinge mechanism, such as electronic dictionaries, electronic organizers, and notebook personal computers, are widely used. For this type of electronic device, a configuration has been proposed in which electronic components such as a battery are stored in the hinge mechanism (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-021451 A

In general, foldable electronic devices often have flat upper and lower cases for portability when closed. As a result, the angle of the keyboard on the top surface of the lower case is parallel to the surface of the desk or other surface on which it is placed when in use, which causes problems with operability when typing.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a folding electronic device that can improve the operability of the keyboard when unfolded.

One aspect of the present invention is a foldable electronic device that can be opened and closed by connecting an upper case and a lower case with a hinge mechanism, the electronic device comprising: a rotating part connected to the upper case and rotating on a rotation axis of the hinge mechanism; a guide part having a sliding groove that allows the lower case to slide vertically; and a sliding part connected to the lower case and sliding upward along the sliding groove of the guide part as the deployment angle of the upper case relative to the lower case becomes larger upon rotation of the rotating part , and when the sliding part slides upward along the sliding groove of the guide part, at least a part of the hinge mechanism protrudes downwardly below the lower case .

The present invention makes it possible to improve the operability of the keyboard when the foldable electronic device is unfolded.

1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of an electronic dictionary according to an embodiment of the present invention when unfolded; 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating the configuration of a rotation unit according to the embodiment; 4A and 4B are diagrams showing the configuration of a sliding portion according to the embodiment; 4A and 4B are diagrams showing the configuration of a guide portion according to the embodiment; 13 is a diagram showing the state of the rotation portion, the sliding portion, and the guide portion at the end of the hinge portion when the electronic dictionary according to the embodiment is in a closed state. FIG. 5A to 5C are diagrams for explaining changes in the configuration of each part during the process of unfolding the electronic dictionary according to the embodiment. 5A to 5C are diagrams for explaining changes in the configuration of each part during the process of unfolding the electronic dictionary according to the embodiment.

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electronic dictionary will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
[composition]
1 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of an electronic dictionary 10 according to this embodiment when unfolded. The electronic dictionary 10 is composed of a flat upper case 11 and a similarly flat lower case 12 that are integrally connected via a cylindrical hinge portion 13. The upper case 11 and the lower case 12 are foldable so as to be openable and closable by the hinge portion 13, and the figure illustrates the state in which the electronic dictionary 10 is unfolded to about 135° and placed, for example, on a desk when in use.

The hinge section 13 has a hinge mechanism at both ends, the detailed configuration of which will be described later, and is provided with a lid section (not shown) that can be opened and closed from the underside of the lower case 12, and is structured to be able to store, for example, two AA size dry batteries or secondary batteries in series as a power source.

The inside of the upper case 11 is provided with a display unit 14 using a touch-panel color LCD panel. The lower case 12, on the other hand, is provided with a keyboard 15 with multiple keys arranged on its inside (the upper surface when unfolded).

In addition, when the upper case 11 and the lower case 12 are closed and carried, the hinge portion 13 does not protrude from the plane of the lower surface of the lower case 12, but when the upper case 11 and the lower case 12 are open as shown in FIG. 1, the hinge portion 13 moves relatively so as to protrude downward from the plane of the lower surface of the upper case 11. With the hinge portion 13 protruding downward from the lower case 12 in this manner, the back side of the lower case 12 rises relatively in the location where the electronic dictionary 10 is installed, and the keyboard 15 on the top surface of the lower case 12 is inclined toward the user of the electronic dictionary 10, improving the operability of the keyboard 15.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of one of a pair of rotating parts 21 that are connected to the upper case 11 at both ends of the hinge part 13. In this figure, the rotating part 21 located on the left side of the upper case 11 when facing the display part 14 will be explained as an example. Figure 2(A) is a front view, Figure 2(B) is a side view, and Figure 2(C) is a plan view.

As shown in the figure, the rotating part 21 is integrally formed with a semicircular large diameter part 21A, a coaxial semicircular small diameter part 21B, a coaxial disc-shaped small diameter part 21C, and a protrusion 21D.

The large diameter portion 21A and the small diameter portion 21B are formed so that their diameter surfaces are flush with each other, and a protrusion 21D is formed on one end of the diameter surface of the large diameter portion 21A that faces the lower case 12. The semicircular plate-shaped small diameter portion 21B and the circular plate-shaped small diameter portion 21C have the same diameter.

The protrusion 21D protrudes perpendicularly from the end of the diameter surface of the large diameter portion 21A, and at a protruding position separated by the plate thickness of the guide plate 22D of the slide portion 22 described later, it bends 90 degrees to extend in the opposite direction from the axial center of the large diameter portion 21A, and further extends to the left and right at its tip to become the locking portion 21E. This locking portion 21E prevents the protrusion 21D from coming off the slide groove 22E when the protrusion 21D is located within the range of the slide groove 22E formed in the guide plate 22D of the slide portion 22 described later.

Figure 3 shows the configuration of one of a pair of slide parts 21 connected to the lower case 12, which slide relative to the rotating part 21 at both ends of the hinge part 13. In this figure, the slide part 22 located on the left side of the upper case 11 as viewed from the display part 14 will be described as an example. Figure 3(A) is a left side view seen from the hinge part 13 side, Figure 3(B) is a front view, Figure 3(C) is a right side view seen from the lower case 12 side, and Figure 3(D) is a plan view seen from above.

The slide section 22 is composed of a slide plate 22A, a fixed plate 22B, a support plate 22C and a guide plate 22D.

The slide plate 22A and the fixed plate 22B are arranged in parallel via the support plate 22C, and the three plates 22A to 22C form a U-shaped cross section, as shown in Figure 3 (D).

The width of the slide plate 22A (the vertical protrusion length from the support plate 22C) is less than the same length of the fixed plate 22B, and this slide plate 22A slides in the slide groove 23B of the guide part 23 described below. The fixed plate 22B is connected and fixed to the end face of the hinge part 13 side of the lower case 12.

The guide plate 22D is mainly installed and fixed vertically to the upper side of the support plate 22C so that its surface is approximately horizontal (parallel to the plane of the lower case 12) and protrudes forward (towards the hinge section 13) from the slide plate 22A side. The end of the guide plate 22D on the hinge section 13 side coincides with the rotation center position of the rotating section 21.

A slide groove 22E is formed in the guide plate 22D, with the hinge portion 13 side being the open end, and when the upper case 11 is opened or closed relative to the lower case 12, the protrusion 21D of the rotating portion 21 slides along this slide groove 22E as described above. The slide groove 22E limits the range in which the protrusion 21D of the rotating portion 21 slides, and the slide groove 22E has a configuration that can be called a limiting portion, which biases the entire slide portion 22 downward to limit its movement so that the slide portion 22 is always in contact with the rotating portion 21 and the guide portion 23 by an elastic body (not shown) described later. The limiting portion includes the slide groove 22E of the slide portion 22, the protrusion 21D of the rotating portion 21 that slides within the slide groove 22E, and the elastic body (not shown) described above.

Figure 4 shows the configuration of one of a pair of guide parts 23 that are fixed at both ends of the hinge part 13 and face the rotating part 21 and the sliding part 22. In this figure, the guide part 23 located on the left side as viewed from the display part 14 of the upper case 11 will be described as an example. Figure 4(A) is a front view, Figure 4(B) is a right side view as viewed from the lower case 12 side, and Figure 4(C) is a plan view as viewed from above.

The guide section 23 has an axial hole 23A and a slide groove 23B that is parallel to the bottom diameter, extends vertically, and is open at the lower end, on the end surface that forms the bottom of the cylindrical body. The axial hole 23A is formed to allow the small diameter section 21C of the rotating section 21 to fit into it and rotate the rotating section 21. The slide groove 23B is formed to allow the slide plate 22A of the sliding section 22 to slidably fit into it, so that the sliding section 22 can move up and down in response to the rotation of the rotating section 21.

[Action]
The operation of this embodiment will now be described.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the state of the pivot portion 21, the sliding portion 22 and the guide portion 23 at the end of the hinge portion 13 when the electronic dictionary 10 is closed, i.e., when the deployed angle of the upper case 11 relative to the lower case 12 is 0°.

When the small diameter portion 21C of the rotating portion 21 is fitted into the shaft hole 23A of the guide portion 23, the right side of the diameter surface of the large diameter portion 21A of the rotating portion 21 in the figure is in contact with the underside of the guide plate 22D of the sliding portion 22. The protrusion 21D of the rotating portion 21 is positioned at the innermost part of the slide groove 22E of the guide plate 22D of the sliding portion 22.

In this state, the slide plate 22A of the slide section 22 is located at the lowermost end side of the slide groove 23B of the guide section 23, and a part of the lower end side is exposed to the outside from the open end of the slide groove 23B. Therefore, the lower end surface of the slide section 22, the lowermost end of the guide section 23, and the lower surface of the lower case 12 (not shown) are located on the same plane.

Next, the operation of the aforementioned limiting section will be described. An elastic body (not shown), such as a metal spring, is installed inside both ends of the hinge section 13 as part of the limiting section, generating an elastic force that urges the entire slide section 22 downward to limit its movement so that the slide section 22 always remains in contact with the rotating section 21 and the guide section 23. The compressive or expanding force of the elastic body keeps the slide section 22 in constant contact with the rotating section 21 and the guide section 23, and the protrusion 21D of the rotating section 21 slides within the slide groove 22E of the slide section 22, thereby restricting unnecessary movement and preventing rattling and the like.

By applying an elastic force that keeps the sliding portion 22 in contact downward in this manner, the sliding portion 22 and the lower case 12 are configured to slide relative to the hinge portion 13, the rotating portion 21, and the guide portion 23, while avoiding the occurrence of unnecessary rattling, etc., and providing the user of the electronic dictionary 10 with a smooth and stable feel when opening and closing the electronic dictionary 10.

Next, the change in the configuration of each part in the process of opening and closing the electronic dictionary 10 from a closed state will be described with reference to FIGS.
Figure 6 (A), like Figure 5, is a diagram showing the state of the pivot portion 21, slide portion 22 and guide portion 23 at the end of the hinge portion 13, together with the upper case 11 and the lower case 12, when the electronic dictionary 10 is closed, i.e., when the deployed angle of the upper case 11 relative to the lower case 12 is 0°.

The state of the pivot part 21 and the guide part 23 relative to the slide part 22 is as shown in Figure 5, and the bottom end of the guide part 23 is located on the same plane as the bottom end surfaces of the slide part 22 and the lower case 12.

Figure 6 (B) shows the configuration of the upper case 11 when it is opened at about 30° with respect to the lower case 12. The corner where the side where the protrusion 21D is provided at the end of the diameter surface of the large diameter portion 21A of the rotating part 21 intersects with the circumferential surface of the large diameter portion 21A pushes up the guide plate 22D of the sliding part 22 from the underside as the entire rotating part 21 rotates in conjunction with the upper case 11.

Therefore, the entire slide section 22 slides upward due to the slide plate 22A moving along the slide groove 23B of the guide section 23, and the lower end side of the guide section 23 and the hinge section 13 protrudes downward from the bottom surface of the slide section 22 and the lower case 12.

Figure 7 (A) shows the configuration of the upper case 11 when it is opened at about 85° with respect to the lower case 12. The corner where the side where the protrusion 21D is provided at the end of the diameter surface of the large diameter portion 21A of the rotating part 21 intersects with the circumferential surface of the large diameter portion 21A further pushes up the guide plate 22D of the sliding part 22 from the underside as the entire rotating part 21 rotates in conjunction with the upper case 11.

The slide plate 22A moving along the slide groove 23B of the guide portion 23 causes the entire slide portion 22 to slide further upward, so that the lower ends of the guide portion 23 and the hinge portion 13 protrude downwardly beyond the lower surface of the slide portion 22 and the lower case 12. The amount of protrusion of the lower ends of the guide portion 23 and the hinge portion 13 increases until the upper case 11 is deployed 90° relative to the lower case 12.

Figure 7 (B) shows the configuration of the upper case 11 when it is opened to about 135° with respect to the lower case 12. The circumferential surface of the large diameter portion 21A of the rotating portion 21 pushes up the guide plate 22D of the sliding portion 22 from the underside as the entire rotating portion 21 rotates in conjunction with the upper case 11.

The slide plate 22A moves along the slide groove 23B of the guide portion 23, causing the entire slide portion 22 to slide to the top, and the lower ends of the guide portion 23 and the hinge portion 13 protrude downward from the lower surface of the slide portion 22 and the lower case 12. The amount of protrusion of the lower ends of the guide portion 23 and the hinge portion 13 corresponds to the radius of the large diameter portion 21A of the rotating portion 21, and is constant from the state in which the upper case 11 is deployed 90° relative to the lower case 12.

When the electronic dictionary 10 is in this unfolded state and the upper case 11 is closed against the lower case 12, when the unfolded angle is 90° or less, the protrusion amount of the lower ends of the guide portion 23 and the hinge portion 13 gradually decreases as the unfolded angle decreases. Then, when the electronic dictionary 10 is completely closed and the unfolded angle is 0°, the protrusion amount becomes 0 as shown in FIG. 6(A).

As mentioned above, the entire sliding portion 22 is biased downward to restrict its movement so that the sliding portion 22 always remains in contact with the rotating portion 21 and the guide portion 23. In the process of closing the electronic dictionary 10, when the deployment angle reaches approximately 85° as shown in FIG. 7(A), the protrusion 21D of the rotating portion 21 is positioned at the opening end of the slide groove 22E formed in the guide plate 22D of the sliding portion 22, and thereafter moves along the slide groove 22E to the back.

The engagement between the protrusion 21D and the slide groove 22E prevents rattling at the hinge 13, allowing for reliable and smooth rotation.

[Effects of the embodiment]
As described above in detail, according to this embodiment, it is possible to improve the operability of the keyboard in a foldable electronic device when it is unfolded.

Note that, although this embodiment has been described as being applied to an electronic dictionary, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be similarly applied to any foldable electronic device in which the upper and lower cases are connected by a hinge mechanism to enable opening and closing.

In addition, in this embodiment, the hinge mechanism side of the lower case slides upward along the guide slide groove as the deployment angle between the upper case and the lower case increases, but a structure in which the positional relationship between the upper case and the lower case is reversed may also be adopted.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications can be made in the implementation stage without departing from the gist of the invention. Furthermore, the embodiments may be implemented in combination as appropriate as possible, in which case the combined effects can be obtained. Furthermore, the above-mentioned embodiment includes inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriate combinations of the multiple constituent elements disclosed. For example, even if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the embodiment, if the problem stated in the "Problem to be Solved by the Invention" column can be solved and the effect stated in the "Effect of the Invention" column can be obtained, the configuration from which the constituent elements are deleted can be extracted as the invention.

The invention as originally claimed in the present application is set forth below.
[Claim 1]
In a folding electronic device in which an upper case and a lower case are connected by a hinge mechanism to be opened and closed,
a rotation part connected to the upper case and rotating on a rotation axis of the hinge mechanism;
a guide portion fixed on a rotation shaft of the hinge mechanism and having a slide groove formed on a surface facing the rotation portion for sliding the lower case in the up and down direction;
a slide part connected to the lower case, the slide part sliding upward along the slide groove of the guide part as the deployment angle of the upper case relative to the lower case increases due to the rotation of the rotation part;
An electronic device comprising:
[Claim 2]
The electronic device according to claim 1 , further comprising a limiting portion that limits a position of the sliding portion so that the rotating portion continues to abut against the sliding portion.
[Claim 3]
The electronic device according to claim 2 , wherein the restriction portion includes a protrusion formed on the rotating portion and moving along a second slide groove formed on the sliding portion.
[Claim 4]
The electronic device according to claim 2 , wherein the restricting portion includes an elastic member that keeps at least one of the rotating portion and the guide portion in contact with the sliding portion.

LIST OF SYMBOLS 10... Electronic dictionary 11... Upper case 12... Lower case 13... Hinge section 14... Display section 15... Keyboard 21... Rotating section 21A... Large diameter section 21B... Small diameter section 21C... Small diameter section 21D... Projection section 21E... Locking section 22... Slide section 22A... Slide plate 22B... Fixed plate 22C... Support plate 22D... Guide plate 22E... Slide groove 23... Guide section 23A... Shaft hole 23B... Slide groove

Claims (5)

In a folding electronic device in which an upper case and a lower case are connected by a hinge mechanism to be opened and closed,
a rotation part connected to the upper case and rotating on a rotation axis of the hinge mechanism;
a guide portion having a slide groove for allowing the lower case to slide up and down;
a slide part connected to the lower case, the slide part sliding upward along the slide groove of the guide part as the deployment angle of the upper case relative to the lower case increases due to the rotation of the rotation part;
Equipped with
The electronic device , when the slide portion slides upward along the slide groove of the guide portion, at least a part of the hinge mechanism protrudes downward beyond the lower case . 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion is fixed on a rotation shaft of the hinge mechanism, and the slide groove is formed so as to allow the lower case to slide up and down in parallel with a rotation plane of the rotation portion . The electronic device according to claim 2, further comprising a limiting portion that limits the position of the sliding portion so that the rotating portion continues to abut against the sliding portion. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the limiting portion includes a protrusion formed on the rotating portion that moves along a second slide groove formed on the sliding portion. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the limiting portion includes an elastic member that keeps the sliding portion in contact with at least one of the rotating portion and the guide portion.