JPH04225386A - Electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To offer an electronic equipment capable of securing a wide display area in using, and also reducing the area of a display device at the time of storing and making an equipment main body compact. CONSTITUTION:The equipment is provided with an input device 14, a 1st display device 16 supported by the equipment main body 11 in an opening/closing direction and a 2nd display device 17 capable of interlocking with the rotation of the 1st display device 16 and also capable of moving by guided by the 1st display device 16, and both display devices 16 and 17 are automatically held at a position where they can be observed, and both display devices 16 and 17 are automatically held to overlap each other at the time of storing.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device having a display that is rotatable in opening and closing directions with respect to the main body of the device.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Electronic devices such as word processors and personal computers are equipped with an operation input section such as a keyboard and a display device such as a display screen. A device having a structure such as a personal computer in which a display device is attached to the main body of the device so as to be rotatable in the opening/closing direction is used.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a conventional laptop-type electronic device in a closed state.
, a keyboard 54 supported by a plurality of pillars (or bosses) 53, etc. is attached, and the keyboard 53
On the upper side, a display 56 consisting of a housing 54 and a display section 55 is provided.
is installed. The keyboard 54 is used for inputting data, commands, etc., and the display 5
7 is for displaying input data, processing status, etc. The display 57 is attached to the device main body 51 so that it can rotate by a predetermined amount about a rotation shaft 58. That is, the display 57 is rotatable between a closed position shown by a solid line and an open position shown by a two-dot chain line (
(can be opened and closed).

0004

However, in the conventional electronic equipment described above, the area of the display area is determined by the size of one display 57, and in order to secure a wide display area, it is necessary to enlarge the main body 51 of the equipment. Therefore, only a limited display area could be secured.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to be able to secure a wide display area when the display is used, and to reduce the area of the display when the display is not used. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic device whose size can be reduced and which can realize both compactness of the device body and securing of a wide display area.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention includes an input device, a first display pivotably supported on the main body of the device so as to be rotatable in an opening/closing direction, and an input device that is connected to the rotation of the first display and that It has a second display that is movable using the first display as a guide, and when opened, both displays are held in a visible position, and when closed, both displays are held in an overlapping position. By doing so, a wide display area can be secured when the display is in use, and the display can be made smaller when the display is not in use, making the device more compact and securing a wide display area. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an electronic device that can realize both of the following.

[0007]

[Embodiment] FIGS. 1 and 2 are longitudinal cross-sectional views of an embodiment of an electronic device according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 shows a state in which the display device is closed (
2 shows the display device in an open state (in use state). In these figures, a control circuit 12 consisting of a circuit board or the like, an input operation means 14 such as a keyboard supported by a plurality of pillars (or bosses) 13, etc. are installed inside the device body 11, and the input operation means 14 is supported by a plurality of pillars (or bosses) 13. A display device 15 is mounted above the operating means (keyboard) 14 and is rotatable in the opening/closing direction. This display device 15
The first display 16 is pivotably supported on the main body 11 of the device so as to be rotatable in the opening/closing direction, and the first display 16 is used as a guide in conjunction with the rotation of the first display 16. It is composed of two displays, including a second display 17 that moves relatively in parallel.

[0008] The first display 16 includes a housing 18 and a display section (
The display 19 is supported so as to be rotatable (openable/closed) between the closed position in FIG. 1 and the open position in FIG. The second display 17 is made up of a housing 21 and a display section (display) 22, and is attached to the first display 16 via a display movement guide 23 so as to be movable in parallel. Further, the first display 16 is provided with a gear 24 that is fixed at a position concentric with the pivot shaft 20 on the first display 16 side and rotates together with the first display 16 . On the other hand, a rack (linear tooth shape) 25 is fixed to the second display 17 and protrudes in parallel with the gear 24 so as to constantly mesh with the gear 24.

When opening the electronic device from the unused state shown in FIG. 1 to the used state shown in FIG. 2, the first display 16 is rotated about the pivot 20 in the direction of arrow C (FIG. 1). Then,
The gear 24 fixed to the first display 16 also rotates integrally in the direction of arrow B (FIG. 1). Arrow B of this gear 24
Due to the rotation in this direction, the rack 25 engaged therewith is moved in the direction of arrow A (FIG. 1), and the second display 17 to which the rack 25 is fixed is similarly moved. Therefore, in the closed state of FIG.
The display devices 17 are stored with their display surfaces facing down, overlapping each other with the minimum area. However, when the first display device 16 is rotated in the direction of arrow C, it will move by a distance corresponding to the angle of rotation. The second display 17 is moved in parallel in the direction of arrow A. When the first display 16 is rotated to the open position (in use) shown in FIG. 2, the second display 17 is automatically set to a position above the display surface of the first display 16. The user can see both the first display 16 and the second display 17.

When closing the electronic device from the used state shown in FIG. 2 to the unused state (storage state) shown in FIG.
6 is rotated about the pivot 20 in the direction of arrow E (FIG. 2). Then, the gear 24 fixed to the first display 16
also rotate integrally in the direction of arrow F (FIG. 2). This gear 2
4 in the direction of arrow F, the rack 25 engaged therewith is moved in the direction of arrow D (FIG. 2), and the second display 17 to which the rack 25 is fixed is similarly moved. Therefore, in the open state shown in FIG. 2, the first display 16 and the second display 17 are held at positions shifted from each other, but when the first display 16 is rotated in the direction of the arrow E, The second distance indicator 17 is moved in parallel in the direction of arrow D according to the rotation angle. When the first display 16 is rotated to the closed position (storage position) shown in FIG. 1, the second display 17 is automatically set to overlap the first display 16, and both display Both 16 and 17 are stored with their display surfaces facing down in a minimum area.

According to the embodiment described above, the keyboard (input device) 14, the first display 16 pivotally supported on the main body 11 so as to be rotatable in the opening/closing direction, and the first display 16
It has a second display 17 that is linked to the rotation of the display and can be moved in parallel using the first display 16 as a guide, and when opened, both displays 16 and 17 are automatically placed in a visible position. When held and closed, both indicators 16, 17 automatically
Since the display device 15 is configured to be held in an overlapping position, when the display device 15 is used, a wide display area consisting of the two displays 16 and 17 can be secured, and the display device 15
When storing the electronic device, the size of the display device 15 can be minimized by overlapping the two displays 16 and 17, thereby realizing both a compact device body and a wide display area. was gotten.

Note that in the above embodiment, the second display 1
7 is one, but the present invention can be implemented by movably attaching a plurality of second displays to the first display 16, or by attaching a plurality of second displays to the first display 16. It can also be implemented by attaching two or more movable indicators (second indicators) in parallel and/or in series, such as movably attaching a third indicator to the It is possible to make the display area sufficiently large during use without increasing the size of the display device.

[0013]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, there is provided an input device, a first display pivotably supported on the main body of the device so as to be rotatable in the opening/closing direction, and a first display. A second display that is linked to the rotation and is movable using the first display as a guide.
When the display is opened, both displays are held in a visible position, and when closed, both displays are held in an overlapping position, so when using the display, a wide display area is available. The size of the display can be reduced when the display is not in use.
An electronic device is provided that can realize both a compact device body and a wide display area.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a display device is housed in an embodiment of an electronic device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing how the display device of the electronic device shown in FIG. 1 is used.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional laptop-type electronic device in a closed state.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Device body 12 Control circuit 14 Input device (keyboard) 15
Display device (display) 16 First display 17 Second display 20 Pivot (rotation center) 23 Display movement guide 24 Gear 25 Rack

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An input device, a first display pivotably supported on the main body of the device so as to be rotatable in an opening/closing direction, and an input device that is linked to the rotation of the first display and guides the first display. An electronic device comprising: a second display device that is movable; both display devices are held in a visible position when opened; and both display devices are held in an overlapping position when closed.