JP4232674B2 - Communication device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device, and more particularly to a unit structure of a communication device incorporating a wireless communication module.

  Conventionally, there is a Bluetooth (BT) communication unit including a communication module for performing short-range wireless communication, for example, as one of this type of communication device. This BT communication unit is detachably attached to a device such as a personal computer, for example, and is capable of short-range wireless communication with other Bluetooth compatible devices such as a digital camera and a mobile phone using radio waves in a predetermined standard frequency band according to a predetermined communication protocol. It is possible to send and receive data. In recent years, for example, it has become possible to mount such a BT communication unit in a printer, and to receive and print image data to be printed by the printer from the above-described digital camera, cellular phone, or the like.

  By the way, the BT communication unit has a built-in communication module having an antenna and a wireless device main body for performing wireless data communication with other devices. In order to obtain good transmission / reception performance in such a unit, it is necessary to suppress the influence of disturbance (radio wave interference) as much as possible. For example, it is desirable that the antenna built in the BT communication unit and the internal circuit (power circuit, etc.) of the device to which the unit is mounted be sufficiently separated. On the other hand, since such a BT communication unit is used by being mounted on a device, it is desired that the mounting of the BT communication unit is excellent in space saving.

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional circumstances, and the object thereof is to obtain a relatively good transmission / reception performance regardless of the mounting position on the device, and is excellent in space saving. It is to provide a communication device.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication device that is detachably attached to a device and includes a communication module for performing wireless data communication with another device. A second housing connected to the first housing via a first axis perpendicular to the insertion / removal direction to the device, and a connector that can be inserted into and removed from the device, and the insertion / removal direction to the device. A third housing coupled to the second housing via a second axis parallel to the first housing, wherein the first housing and the second housing are centered on the first axis. The communication device is provided so as to be foldable, and the second housing is provided so as to be rotatable about the second axis with respect to the third housing together with the first housing. , An antenna unit and a radio main body, and the antenna unit includes the first casing and the second casing. Provided on the front end side of the first casing that becomes the outer side when the casing is folded, the folding position of the first casing and the second casing, and the second casing The gist of each of the rotational positions of the body with respect to the third housing is maintained at any of the folding positions of the foldable range and at any of the rotational positions of the rotatable range .

According to this configuration, the first casing and the second casing can be folded around the first axis, and the second casing can be folded around the second axis with respect to the third casing. The communication module allows the wireless data communication to be performed in a good communication state regardless of the mounting position of the communication device to the device by adjusting the folding angle and the rotation angle by enabling the rotation. The position of the first housing having the can be freely changed at the mounting position of the apparatus. Moreover, in this structure, it can be set as the apparatus excellent also in the space-saving property by enabling folding and rotation in this way. In addition, the distance between the device to which the communication device is mounted and the antenna unit provided in the device can be as far as possible.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a communication apparatus according to the present invention is embodied in, for example, a Bluetooth (trademark) communication unit (hereinafter referred to as “BT communication unit”) will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is an overall view of a BT communication unit. The BT communication unit 11 includes a USB connector 12 and is detachably attached to a device having a USB port via the USB connector 12. Then, data can be transmitted and received by short-range wireless communication using radio waves in a predetermined standard frequency band according to a predetermined communication protocol with other Bluetooth-compatible devices.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the BT communication unit 11 of the present embodiment includes a first housing 13, a second housing 14, and a third housing 15. Among these, the first housing 13 is provided with an antenna unit 16 and a radio main body 17 as a communication module for performing wireless data communication (Bluetooth communication) with other devices. The third housing 15 is provided with the USB connector 12 described above. The communication module provided in the first housing 13 and the USB connector 12 provided in the third housing 15 are: They are electrically connected via wiring (not shown) provided in the second casing 14 interposed between them.

  In the BT communication unit 11, the first casing 13 and the second casing 14 are coupled to each other via a hinge portion 18 at one end thereof. The hinge portion 18 has a rotation axis (first axis) perpendicular to the insertion / extraction direction of the BT communication unit 11, and the first housing 13 and the second housing 14 are connected to the hinge portion. 18 is configured to be foldable within a predetermined angle range.

  Specifically, in the present embodiment, the first housing 13 and the second housing 14 are, for example, from a mutually open state as indicated by a solid line in FIG. As shown, it is configured to be foldable in an angle range (0 ° to 90 °) up to a state where it is folded at 90 °. In addition, the antenna part 16 mentioned above is the surface front end side of the 1st housing | casing 13 which becomes an outer side when the 1st housing | casing 13 and the 2nd housing | casing 14 are folded (opposite side to the hinge part 18). Is provided.

  In the BT communication unit 11, the second casing 14 and the third casing 15 are, as shown in FIG. 2, an axis 19 (second axis) provided at one end of the third casing 15. It is connected through. The shaft 19 is provided perpendicular to the hinge portion 18 (first axis) (in other words, provided parallel to the insertion / removal direction), and the second housing 14 is provided with the third housing. 15 is configured to be rotatable together with the first casing 13 around a shaft 19 provided on the shaft 15.

  Specifically, a shaft hole 20 that rotatably supports the shaft 19 is formed in the second casing 14, and the shaft 19 is supported by the shaft hole 20. Further, a bellows-like flange 19a is formed at the tip of the shaft 19, and the shaft 19 inserted through the shaft hole 20 is prevented from coming off by this flange 19a. The second housing 14 is rotatable (0 ° to 360 °) around such a shaft 19.

  Note that the folding position of the first casing 13 and the second casing 14 and the rotation position of the second casing 14 are each adjusted to an arbitrary position (angle adjustment) by the user. The adjustment position is maintained.

Next, a usage example of the BT communication unit 11 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example in which the BT communication unit 11 is mounted on a printer as a printing apparatus.

  The printer 100 is, for example, an ink jet printer, and a sheet feeder 104 and a roll paper support unit 105 of the automatic paper feeder 103 are provided on the back side of the main body 102. A sheet of paper (not shown) is set on the sheet feeder 104 and fed into the main body 102. Further, the roll paper P 1 is set on the roll paper support unit 105 and fed into the main body 102. A cover 106 is provided at the center of the main body 102, and a printing mechanism is provided in the cover 106, and a sheet P (cut sheet paper or roll paper) as a printing medium printed by the operation of the printing mechanism. The paper is discharged from the paper outlet 107 at the lower front side. An operation panel 108 is provided on the upper right side of the main body 102.

  The operation panel 108 includes a display device 109 having a display screen 109a and an operation unit 110 including a plurality of operation switches. The display device 109 is a liquid crystal display device, and displays on the display screen 109a a menu for manually selecting, for example, the paper type (cut sheet or roll paper), paper size, layout, photo selection, number of prints, and the like. The operation unit 110 is provided with various other operation switches such as a power switch 110a for powering on the printer 100, a maintenance switch 110b pressed when an error occurs, and a roll paper switch 110c pressed when operating roll paper. Yes. A display device 111 is attached to the upper right side of the main body 102 of the printer 100. On the display screen 111a of the display device 111, a print image to be printed on the paper P is displayed in advance.

  A USB port 112 is provided on the front right side of the main body 102. The BT communication unit 11 according to the present embodiment is detachably attached to the USB port 112. For example, in this embodiment, the USB port 112 is provided so that the hinge portion 18 (first axis) of the unit 11 is vertical in the vertical direction when the BT communication unit 11 is attached. In this state, the first and second housings 13 and 14 are inserted into the USB port 112 while being folded at 90 °, for example.

  Here, the printer 100 includes a USB communication interface (I / F) unit (not shown) having a function as a USB host, and the USB communication I / F unit is connected to the USB port 112 of the BT communication unit 11. When the USB connector 12 is inserted, the unit 11 is recognized as a USB device.

  The BT communication unit 11 thus attached to the printer 100 receives image data to be printed by the printer 100 from a Bluetooth compatible device such as the digital camera 200 according to a predetermined communication protocol, and sends it to the USB communication I / F unit. Send. The printer 100 performs print processing based on the image data received by the USB communication I / F unit.

  In FIG. 3, the first housing 13 and the second housing 14 of the BT communication unit 11 are at an angle of 90 ° so that the inner surface of the first housing 13 is along the front surface of the printer 100. The first casing 13 and the second casing 14 are mounted at any other folding angle (in the range of 0 ° to 90 °) as described above. be able to. In other words, the folding angle between the first housing 13 and the second housing 14 is such that disturbances that affect the transmission / reception performance of the BT communication unit 11 (specifically, radio wave interference to the antenna unit 16) are minimized. The user can adjust arbitrarily.

  External factors that affect the transmission / reception performance include, for example, an internal circuit (power supply circuit or the like) of a device (here, the printer 100) to which the BT communication unit 11 is attached, and various metal bodies ( For example, when the printer 100 is installed on a metal desk, etc.) At this time, in the case of the BT communication unit 11 of the present embodiment, the user can fold the first casing 13 and the second casing 14 so as to reduce these effects as much as possible and obtain good transmission / reception performance. The position of the antenna unit 16 can be arbitrarily changed at the mounting position of the unit 11 by adjusting the angle.

  In the present embodiment, in addition to providing the first casing 13 and the second casing 14 so as to be foldable around the hinge portion 18 (first axis) as described above, the shaft The second housing 14 is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the third housing 15 around 19 (second axis). Therefore, when the transmission / reception performance becomes unstable even when the first casing 13 and the second casing 14 are folded, the second casing together with the first casing 13 is further centered on the shaft 19 from this state. By rotating the casing 14, the position of the antenna unit 16 can be changed so that good transmission / reception performance can be obtained.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The 1st housing | casing 13 and the 2nd housing | casing 14 were provided in the one end so that folding was possible centering on the hinge part 18 (1st axis | shaft). In this way, transmission / reception of wireless data can be performed by adjusting the folding angle between the first casing 13 and the second casing 14 regardless of the attachment position of the BT communication unit 11 to the device (printer 100). The position of the antenna unit 16 can be arbitrarily changed at the mounting position of the unit 11 so that can be performed in a good communication state.

  (2) The second housing 14 is provided so as to be rotatable about a shaft 19 (second shaft) provided in the third housing 15. In this way, the second housing 14 (with the first housing 13) is centered on the shaft 19 and the third housing 15, regardless of the attachment position of the BT communication unit 11 to the device (printer 100). The position of the antenna unit 16 can be arbitrarily changed at the mounting position of the unit 11 so that wireless data can be transmitted and received in a good communication state.

  (3) Since the first casing 13 and the second casing 14 can be folded, and the second casing 14 can be rotated with respect to the third casing 15, a good communication state can be obtained. When the position of the antenna unit 16 is changed as much as possible, the position adjustable range can be widened. In other words, in this configuration, the rotation angle of the second housing 14 can be freely changed with respect to the folding angle between the first housing 13 and the second housing 14. Even when the installation location of the printer 100) is changed, it is possible to flexibly cope with it.

  (4) The antenna unit 16 is provided on the front end side of the first casing 13 that becomes the outside when the first casing 13 and the second casing 14 are folded. In this way, the distance between the internal circuit of the device (printer 100) to which the BT communication unit 11 is attached and the antenna unit 16 of the unit 11 can be kept as far as possible.

  (5) Since the first housing 13 and the second housing 14 can be folded, the first BT communication unit 11 can be folded along the front surface of the printer 100 when the BT communication unit 11 is attached to the device (printer 100). If the housing 13 is folded, the unit 11 can be mounted even when the installation space for the unit 11 is narrow at the installation location of the device. Therefore, it can be set as the structure excellent also in the space-saving property.

  (6) Since the first casing 13 and the second casing 14 can be folded, the unit 11 that protrudes from the printer 100 in a state where the BT communication unit 11 is mounted on the device (printer 100). On the other hand, a situation in which force is applied in the vertical direction of the hinge portion 18 (first axis) and the unit 11 is damaged can be avoided as much as possible.

In the above-described embodiment, a modified example changed to the following mode may be adopted.
(Modification 1) It is good also as a structure which provides only the hinge part 18 (1st axis | shaft), without providing the axis | shaft 19 (2nd axis | shaft). In this case, from two housings, a housing (first housing) having a communication module (antenna unit 16 and wireless device body 17) and a housing (second housing) having a USB connector 12. It is set as the unit structure comprised, and it is set as the structure which connects the 1st and 2nd housing | casing so that folding is possible via the hinge part 18 (1st axis | shaft) in those one ends. With such a configuration, the same effect can be expected although the effect is slightly smaller than that of the above embodiment.

  (Modification 2) It is good also as a structure which provides only the axis | shaft 19 (2nd axis | shaft), without providing the hinge part 18 (1st axis | shaft). In this case, from two housings, a housing (first housing) having a communication module (antenna unit 16 and wireless device body 17) and a housing (second housing) having a USB connector 12. It is set as the unit structure comprised, and it is set as the structure connected so that it can rotate centering on the axis | shaft 19 (2nd axis | shaft) provided in the end of the 2nd housing | casing (structure of the following technical thought 2). . In the case of adopting such a configuration, it is more preferable to configure the first casing by bending it at approximately 90 ° (configuration of technical idea 3 below). In this way, the same effect can be expected although the effect is slightly smaller than in the above embodiment.

  (Modification 3) The antenna unit 16 is not necessarily provided on the front end side of the surface of the first housing 13 that is outside when the first housing 13 and the second housing 14 are folded. You may make it provide in the other site | part in the one housing | casing 13. FIG. However, from the viewpoint of obtaining good transmission / reception performance, it is more preferable to provide it on the front end side of the surface of the first housing 13.

  (Modification 4) The angle range in which the first casing 13 and the second casing 14 can be folded is not necessarily limited to 0 ° to 90 °, and of course other angle ranges may be used. Good. Similarly, the angle range in which the second casing 14 can be rotated does not necessarily need to be in the range of 360 °.

  (Modification 5) The communication device to which the unit structure of the above embodiment and Modifications 1 to 4 can be applied is not limited to the BT communication unit 11 including a communication module for performing wireless communication using Bluetooth, Other communication devices may be used.

Next, the technical idea that can be grasped from the above embodiment and each modification will be added below.
(Technical thought 1)
The communication device according to claim 2 or 3,
An angle range in which the first casing and the second casing can be folded around the first axis is set to 0 ° to 90 °, and the second casing is centered on the second axis. A communication device characterized in that an angle range in which rotation is possible is set to 0 ° to 360 °. In this way, the rotation angle of the second housing can be freely changed with respect to the folding angle between the first housing and the second housing, so that the communication module can obtain a good communication state. When changing the position of the first housing having the position, the range in which the position can be adjusted can be widened.

(Technical thought 2)
In a communication device with a built-in communication module for wireless data communication with other devices, which is detachably attached to the device,
A first housing having the communication module;
A second housing that has a connector that can be inserted into and removed from the device, and that is connected to the first housing via an axis parallel to the insertion and removal direction of the device;
The communication apparatus, wherein the first casing is provided to be rotatable about the axis with respect to the second casing. If it carries out like this, the position (rotational position) of the 1st housing | casing which has a communication module can be changed.

In adopting this configuration, it is more desirable that the shape of the first housing is as shown in the technical idea 3 below.
(Technical thought 3)
In the communication device described in the technical idea 2 above,
The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the first housing is bent at approximately 90 °. If it carries out like this, it can be set as the unit structure excellent in the space-saving property.

(Technical thought 4)
The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and the technical ideas 1 to 3,
The communication device is a module for Bluetooth communication using radio waves in a predetermined standard frequency band.

1 is an overall view of a BT communication unit (communication device) in an embodiment. FIG. The disassembled perspective view of a BT communication unit. The perspective view which shows the example which mounted | wore the printer with the BT communication unit.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... BT communication unit (communication apparatus), 12 ... USB connector (connector), 13 ... 1st housing | casing, 14 ... 2nd housing | casing, 15 ... 3rd housing | casing, 16 ... Antenna which comprises a communication module Reference numeral 17: Radio unit constituting the module, 18: Hinge part (first axis), 19: Axis (second axis), 19a: Flange, 20 ... Shaft hole.

Claims (1)

  In a communication device with a built-in communication module for wireless data communication with other devices, which is detachably attached to the device,
  A first housing having the communication module;
  A second housing coupled to the first housing via a first axis perpendicular to the insertion / extraction direction to the device;
  A third housing that has a connector that can be inserted into and removed from the device, and that is coupled to the second housing via a second axis that is parallel to the insertion and removal direction of the device;
  The first casing and the second casing are provided so as to be foldable around the first axis, and the second casing is moved together with the first casing with respect to the third casing. A communication device rotatably provided around a second axis,
  The communication module has an antenna unit and a radio main body,
  The antenna unit is provided on a front end side of the first casing that becomes outside when the first casing and the second casing are folded,
  Each of the folding position of the first casing and the second casing and the rotation position of the second casing with respect to the third casing are any of the folding positions within the foldable range, and The communication device is maintained at an arbitrary rotation position within a rotatable range.

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