JP4267686B2 - Folding portable terminal device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a foldable portable terminal device in which two housings are connected so as to be openable and closable in a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction, respectively.

  In a foldable mobile phone connected so that two casings overlap each other, a user holds the first casing having an operation unit such as a numeric keypad in his hand and looks at the second casing having a display unit. The usage is common.

  Recently, however, mobile phones that receive and display television broadcasts have been put into practical use and are beginning to spread. In order to view a horizontally long television broadcast screen, it is easier to see the display unit rotated 90 degrees in the short direction. Therefore, the second housing provided with the display unit is mechanically rotated around the rotation shaft provided at the short-side end portion of the housing, and the direction of the display unit is changed from the longitudinal direction to the short direction. A switching structure has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  An example of a conventional folding cellular phone is shown in FIGS. The mobile phone 60 in FIG. 9 includes three housings: a first housing 61 having an operation unit 71, a second housing 62 having a display unit 72, and a connecting unit 63. The connecting portion 63 is supported by the first rotating shaft 61 a provided in the first housing 61 so as to be rotatable in the direction of arrow A, and the connecting portion 63 and the second housing 62 are connected to each other. A moving shaft 63a is disposed at the end of the connecting surface, and rotatably supports the second casing 62 having the display unit 72. For this reason, the mobile phone 60 is configured so that the second housing 62 is connected to the second rotation shaft of the connecting portion 63 in a state where the connecting portion 63 stands vertically with respect to the first housing 61 as shown in FIG. It can rotate in the direction of arrow B around 63a. In this state, when the second casing 62 is tilted together with the connecting portion 63 in the direction of arrow C, the cellular phone 60 opens the display section 72 of the second casing 62 in the short direction as shown in FIG. Can be used.

  In the conventional cellular phone 60, in order to change the display unit 72 from the longitudinal direction to the lateral direction, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the rotation operation of the arrow A, the rotation operation of the arrow B, the arrow A three-stage rotation operation of C rotation is performed. And the mechanical movement of the housing | casing by rotation operation is detected, and the display direction of the image displayed is switched in conjunction with the motion of a housing | casing.

  In this way, with the conventional mobile phone 60, it is possible to watch a television broadcast or the like with the display unit 72 in the landscape orientation. Since the orientation of the display unit 72 is set to be horizontally long, the next operation is to select a program to be viewed. However, the operation unit such as the numeric keypad remains the arrangement of the mobile phone, and the direction of the numeric keypad remains the same. When the display unit 72 is in a so-called horizontal opening state, it is difficult to intuitively operate if the display of the operation unit remains vertical. In particular, the numeric keys from “1” to “10” are displayed on the numeric keypad of the operation unit, but “11” and “12” are not displayed. For example, if you want to see channel 12, you don't know which button to press.

  In such a case, when the second casing 62 is opened in the short direction and the display unit 72 is set in the landscape direction, the arrangement and direction of the operation units such as the numeric keypad are changed to the arrangement and direction for watching TV broadcasting. And convenient. As a method for this, it is conceivable that the operation unit is a touch panel with a liquid crystal display, and the key arrangement and direction of the liquid crystal display are changed whenever the direction of the display unit 72 is changed. It ’s hard to keep the LCD and backlight on. The liquid crystal display is turned off once, and then, if necessary, the touch panel is touched once to display the liquid crystal again, and then channel selection is performed (for example, refer to Patent Document 2).

Further, in the conventional mobile phone 60 shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, an image displayed by detecting the mechanical movement of the casing by the rotation operation of the arrow A, the rotation operation of the arrow B, and the rotation operation of the arrow C The display direction is switched in conjunction with the movement of the housing. For this reason, if the casing is opened and closed in a state where the power is not turned on, it is conceivable that the character is not displayed in the optimum character input direction.
JP 2006-22899 A JP 2001-296958 A

  The present invention is a foldable portable terminal device having two rotation shafts, such as a mobile phone, a game machine, and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) having a TV reception function, which are connected to be openable and closable in a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction When the second housing is folded and opened by rotating the rotating shaft of the connecting part, the characters printed on the operation part such as the numeric keypad and the orientation of the display such as liquid crystal must be changed. Is the first issue.

  The second is to realize an easy-to-use portable terminal device that can be switched according to the direction of characters printed on the operation unit such as a numeric keypad and a display such as a liquid crystal even when the power is not turned on. It is an issue.

The present invention provides a first casing provided with an operation section, a second casing provided with a display section, and a first casing capable of opening and closing the second casing in a first direction with respect to the first casing. Printed with a rotary shaft, a second rotary shaft that allows the second housing to be opened and closed in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction with respect to the first housing, and the first direction as the top and bottom. A slide sheet having a first character group and a second character group printed with the second direction as the top and bottom, and slidably moving within the first housing, wherein the operation unit prints the slide sheet When the second casing is opened in the first direction with respect to the first casing, the first character group and the window overlap with each other due to the movement of the slide sheet. When the second casing is not opened in the first direction with respect to the first casing, the slide seat does not move and the first casing Wherein the character group is configured such that the window overlap.

With this configuration, even when the housing is opened in the first direction and when the housing is opened in the second direction, even if the mobile terminal device is not turned on, printing is performed on the key sheet of the operation unit. The direction of the displayed character can be changed.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a foldable portable terminal device having two rotation shafts such as a mobile phone, a game machine, and a PDA having a television reception function, which can be opened and closed in a longitudinal direction and a short direction. When the opening of the connecting unit is rotated by rotating the housing from the folded state, the characters printed on the operation unit such as a numeric keypad can be changed in accordance with the orientation of a display unit such as a liquid crystal display.

  In addition, since the switching is performed mechanically, even if the casing is opened and closed when the mobile terminal is not turned on, the characters printed on the operation unit such as the numeric keypad are aligned with the orientation of the display unit such as a liquid crystal display. Can be switched.

(Embodiment 1)
In the first embodiment of the present invention, when the second casing is opened with respect to the first casing, the first casing and the first casing are opened depending on whether the second casing is opened in the longitudinal direction or the transversal direction. The problem is solved by utilizing the fact that the connecting portion, which is the third casing connecting the two casings, opens and closes with respect to the first casing having the operation section.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which the second casing 2 of the foldable mobile phone 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is opened in the longitudinal direction. The first housing 1 having the operation unit 51 is a bearing unit (not shown) and rotatably supports the first rotation shaft 9. The connecting portion 3 integrally fixes the first rotating shaft 9 to the connecting portion 3 by shaft holding portions 3a and 3b. A cam 12 indicated by a broken line can be interlocked with the first rotation shaft 9. Therefore, the connecting portion 3, the first rotating shaft 9, and the cam 12 rotate as an integral part. A second rotation shaft 10 indicated by a broken line is provided at one corner of the connecting portion 3 so as to be orthogonal to the first rotation shaft 9, and the second casing 2 is rotated on the second rotation shaft 10. It is attached freely. A display unit 52 is provided in the second housing 2.

  Thus, in the foldable mobile phone 100, when the second casing 2 is opened in the longitudinal direction with respect to the first casing 1, the numeric keypad numbers of the operation unit 51 can be used as a telephone. Is displayed in the orientation for the longitudinal direction.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the second casing 2 of the foldable mobile phone 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is opened in the lateral direction. The arrangement of each part is the same as that in FIG. 1, but the second casing 2 rotates around the second rotation shaft 10 from the closed state, so that the second casing 2 is the first casing. Open to the body 1 in the short direction. The connecting portion 3 is closed with respect to the first housing 1. At this time, the numbers on the numeric keypad of the operation unit 51 are arranged in the first row from the left as “1”, “2”, “3”, and “4” so as to be easy to use as a television receiver. In the second row, “5”, “6”, “7”, “8” are arranged from the left. In the third column, “9”, “10”, “11”, and “12” are arranged. The direction of the number is also displayed in the direction relative to the short direction of the housing.

  In the foldable mobile phone 100, when the second casing 2 is opened in the longitudinal direction with respect to the first casing 1, and when the second casing 2 is opened in the lateral direction, each is suitable for the display direction of the liquid crystal display unit. The printed characters on the operation unit 51 can be seen in the right direction. Details of the configuration will be described below.

  FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the main part of the operation unit 51. As shown in FIG. 3, the display sheet 13 on which key contents such as numbers are printed has a slide plate 6 disposed and fixed to the back surface of the print surface of the display sheet 13. On the display sheet 13, numbers from “1” to “10” for numeric keys are printed side by side as 13a, 13b, and 13c. Also, numbers for TV channels are printed side by side so as to straddle the numbers for numeric keys such as 14a, 14b, and 14c. The numeric keypad numbers (first print group) are oriented 90 ° in the direction of the longitudinal direction of the second housing 2 and the TV channel numbers (second print group) are oriented in the short direction. It is printed at a different angle.

  In this embodiment, the display sheet 13 is attached to the upper surface of the slide plate 6 to form a so-called key sheet. However, a key sheet described by printing characters on the slide plate 6 itself may be used. .

  A mask sheet 16 made of a plastic member or the like is overlaid on the printing surface of the display sheet 13 such as numbers. The mask sheet 16 constitutes a transparent portion with the printing size and printing interval of one printing group so that the printing of only the first printing group or the second printing group of the display sheet 13 can be seen, and the remaining portion is made opaque. It is composed. The mask sheet 16 is attached to the housing.

  A cam follower member 7 is integrally fixed to the slide plate 6 disposed on the back surface of the printing surface of the display sheet 13, and the first casing is formed as one component to which the cam follower member 7 is integrally fixed. 1 is incorporated. The cam follower member 7 moves following the cam attached to the first rotation shaft when the first rotation shaft reaches a predetermined angle or more. Therefore, the cam follower member 7, the slide plate 6, and the display sheet 13 attached to the slide plate 6 slide integrally following the rotation of the first rotation shaft. The details of the slide transition configuration will be described later.

  Further, on the slide plate 6, the diaphragm 5 and the key circuit board 4 are disposed on the side opposite to the side on which the display sheet 13 is adhered. The diaphragm 5 is arranged in a number smaller than the numbers and characters printed on the display sheet 13. When the diaphragm 5 is pressed from above, the center part is dented, and the contact provided at the position overlapping the center part is in contact with the key contact circuit on the key circuit board 4 and is electrically connected to detect the pressing. Like to do.

  If the surface of the slide plate 6 is painted white or the slide plate 6 itself is made of a white material, the characters on the display sheet 13 can be clearly seen or lifted in white.

  FIG. 4 shows a partial cross-sectional view of foldable mobile phone 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 4 shows a state when the second housing 2 is closed together with the connecting portion 3 with respect to the first housing 1, and the inside of the first housing 1 is shown in cross section. The foldable mobile phone 100 switches the key arrangement of the operation unit and the display direction by the movement of the connecting unit 3 with respect to the first housing 1. In the first housing 1, there is a printed circuit board 4 fixed by a support unit (not shown). On the printed circuit board 4, the diaphragm 5 is smaller in number than the numbers and characters printed on the display sheet 13. Has been placed. When the diaphragm 5 is pressed from above, the center portion is recessed, and a contact (not shown) provided in the center portion is brought into contact with the key contact circuit on the printed circuit board 4 so as to be electrically connected to detect the pressing. I have to. A slide plate 6 is supported between the diaphragm 5 and the display sheet 13 so as to be slidable in the horizontal direction of the drawing.

  The first casing 1 is provided with a compression spring holding portion 8. The compression spring 11 is supported by the spring holding portion 8 a, and is fixed to the slide plate 6 when the first rotation shaft rotates more than a predetermined angle. The end surface of the cam follower member 7 is pushed in the first casing 1 in the direction in which the first rotation shaft rotates. The slide plate 6 tries to move in the left direction of the drawing by the force of the compression spring 11. A stopper portion 8b that stops the movement of the slide plate 6 in the left direction of the drawing is projected on the opposite side of the compression spring holding portion 8 to the spring holding portion 8a. If there is nothing else that stops the movement of the slide plate 6, it moves in the direction of the connecting portion inside the first housing until it hits the stopper portion 8b.

  The cam 12 is attached to the first rotation shaft 9. The cam 12 contacts the tip of the cam follower member 7 fixed to the slide plate 6, and moves with the slide plate 6 following the cam 12 when the first rotation shaft 9 rotates by a predetermined angle or more.

  FIG. 5A shows a state when the second housing 2 is opened in the short direction. The first housing 1 is shown in cross section. Although the connecting portion 3 remains closed with respect to the first housing 1, the second housing 2 rotates around the second rotation shaft 10 and the display portion 52 can be seen. Here, since the connection part 3 remains closed with respect to the 1st housing | casing 1, the 1st rotating shaft 9 does not rotate. That is, the cam 12 does not rotate, and the slide plate 6 is the same as when the second casing 2 in FIG. 4 is closed.

  FIG. 5B shows a plan view of the foldable mobile phone 100 when the second casing 2 is opened in the lateral direction. Since the second casing 2 is open, the operation buttons can be viewed from the transparent window 1a of the first casing 1. In FIG. 5B, the numbers from “1” to “12” for the TV channel are “1”, “2”, “3”, “4” in the first row from the top of the character direction. You can see them lined up. In the second row, “5”, “6”, “7”, “8” are arranged. In the third row, “9”, “10”, “11”, and “12” are arranged. As a result, when the display unit 52 of the foldable mobile phone 100 is set to be horizontally long for watching a television broadcast, any one of the channels “1” to “12” can be pressed without hesitation.

  FIG. 6A shows a state where the second housing 2 is opened 90 degrees from a state in which the second housing 2 is closed in the longitudinal direction. The first housing 1 is shown in cross section. The connecting portion 3 opens with the second housing 2 as shown by an arrow D with respect to the first housing 1. When the connecting part 3 is opened, the first rotation shaft 9 fixed integrally with the connecting part 3 also rotates in the direction of the arrow D. When the first rotation shaft 9 rotates, the cam 12 also rotates in conjunction with it. When the cam 12 rotates in the direction of the arrow D, the cam follower member 7 is moved in the left direction of the drawing and in the direction of the arrow E by the force that the compression spring 11 extends. The cam follower member 7 continues to move in the left direction of the drawing, and stops when it comes into contact with a stopper portion 8b formed by protruding the compression spring holding portion 8.

  The amount of movement of the cam follower member 7 is half of one pitch of the adjacent windows 1a of the first casing 1. That is, when 1 pitch is “P”, the cam follower member 7 moves to the left by “P / 2”, and the slide plate 6 on which the cam follower member 7 is fixed also moves to the left by “P / 2”. To do.

  FIG. 6B shows a partial cross-sectional view when the second housing 2 is fully opened from a position of 90 degrees in the longitudinal direction. The cam follower member 7 stops the movement because the cam follower member 7 is in contact with a stopper portion 8b formed by protruding from the holding portion 8 of the compression spring 11, but the connecting portion 3, the first rotating shaft 9 and the cam 12 are further moved together with the second casing 2. It can be opened as indicated by the arrow F, and stops at a predetermined angle suitable for calling as a mobile phone or reading an e-mail.

  In the foldable mobile phone 100 of the present invention, the movement of the cam follower member 7 by the cam 12 is completed when the second casing 2 is opened 90 degrees in the longitudinal direction. As a result, when the second casing 2 is opened 90 degrees in the longitudinal direction, the key layout and display direction of the operation unit 51 are switched to the contents when the second casing 2 is opened in the longitudinal direction. .

  It is considered that the operator of the foldable mobile phone 100 generally looks at the operation unit 51 after the second casing 2 is further opened in the direction of arrow F. Therefore, when the operator of the foldable mobile phone 100 opens the second casing 2 and looks at the operation unit, the key arrangement and the display direction are already switched. Although it does not look good when it is seen that the position of the characters gradually changes as the second casing 2 is opened and closed, in the foldable mobile phone 100 of the present invention, the initial stage of opening the second casing 2, In other words, the switching of the key arrangement and the display direction is completed within an opening angle within a predetermined angle so that the appearance does not deteriorate.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, an example has been described in which the switching of the key arrangement and the display orientation is completed when the second casing 2 is opened 90 degrees in the longitudinal direction. However, the second casing 2 is about to be opened. In the initial stage, the angle of completion of switching is not limited to 90 degrees.

  FIG. 7 shows a plan view of the foldable mobile phone 100 when the second casing 2 is fully opened in the longitudinal direction. Since the second housing 2 is opened together with the connecting portion 3, the operation buttons can be viewed from the transparent window 1a of the first housing 1. In FIG. 7, it can be seen that “1”, “2”, and “3” are lined up in the first row from the top of the direction of characters for a telephone. In the second row, “4”, “5”, “6” are arranged. In the third row, “7”, “8”, and “9” are arranged. “*”, “0”, and “#” are arranged in the fourth row. As a result, when the display unit 52 of the foldable mobile phone 100 is set to be vertically long, the numeric keypad can be pressed without hesitation as the numeric arrangement of the phone.

  8A, the position of the slider plate 6 is unstable due to the rotation variation of the cam 12 when the second casing 2 and the connecting portion 3 are closed with respect to the first casing 1. In order to prevent this, a second stopper portion 14 that determines the position of the slider plate 6 may be provided. FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view of the second housing 2 and the connecting portion 3 opened 90 degrees when the second stopper portion 14 is provided, and the second housing 2 and the connecting portion 3 are A sectional view in a fully opened state is shown in FIG.

  In the first embodiment, the case where the cam 12 is fixed to the first rotation shaft 9 has been described. However, other structures may be used as long as the rotation of the first rotation shaft 9 is transmitted in conjunction with the cam 12. May be. For example, another shaft may be provided between the first rotation shaft 9 and the cam 12 and the first rotation shaft 9 and the cam 12 may be interlocked. As a result, the position of the cam shaft can be arbitrarily set.

  As described above, when the second casing is opened from the folded state in the two-axis rotary type mobile phone, the display on the operation unit is displayed depending on whether the second casing is opened in the longitudinal direction or the lateral direction. The content and display direction can be switched correctly.

  Further, the movement of the connecting portion 3 which is the third casing relative to the first casing 1 is regarded as the movement of the cam 12, and the slide plate 6 to which the cam follower member is fixed is slid and mechanically operated. The display contents and the display direction are switched. Therefore, even if the mobile terminal device is not turned on, the display content of the operation unit and the display direction can be switched reliably.

  As described above, the present invention has been described with respect to a mobile phone having a television receiving means which is one of mobile terminal devices. However, in a mobile phone with a calculator function, a key for a computer so that it can be used as an electronic desk calculator when opened in the short direction You may make it switch to an arrangement | sequence. In addition, the characters displayed in two different directions may be arranged alternately. Thereby, it can respond to a game machine and other various portable terminal devices.

  The present invention is not limited to a foldable mobile phone, and is used in a game machine that switches the display screen vertically and horizontally, a PDA having a television reception function, etc., and has two rotation shafts that can be opened and closed in a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction. The present invention can be applied to foldable portable terminal devices that are connected in a possible manner.

The perspective view which shows the state which opened the housing | casing of the mobile telephone based on Embodiment 1 of this invention in the longitudinal direction The perspective view which shows the state which opened the housing | casing of the mobile telephone which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention to the transversal direction. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of an operation unit of a mobile phone according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Partial sectional view when the mobile phone according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is closed (A) Partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which the casing of the mobile phone according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is opened in the short direction. (B) The casing of the mobile phone according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is short. Plan view showing the state opened in the direction (A) Partial sectional view showing a state in which the casing of the mobile phone according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is opened in the longitudinal direction. (B) Longitudinal of the casing of the mobile phone according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Partial sectional view showing the state opened in the direction The top view which shows the state which opened the housing | casing of the mobile telephone which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention in the longitudinal direction Sectional drawing of the housing | casing of the mobile telephone which concerns on the modification of Embodiment 1 of this invention. The perspective view which shows the state which opened the 2nd housing | casing of the conventional mobile telephone in the longitudinal direction The perspective view which shows the state which rotated the 2nd housing | casing further, after opening the 2nd housing | casing of the conventional mobile telephone in the longitudinal direction The perspective view which shows the state when the 2nd housing | casing of the conventional mobile telephone is opened to a longitudinal direction with a connection part, a 2nd housing | casing is rotated with respect to a connection part, and a connection part is closed after that.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st housing | casing 2 2nd housing | casing 3 Connection part 4 Printed circuit board 5 Diaphragm 6 Slide board 7 Cam follower member 8 Compression spring holding part 9 1st rotation shaft 10 2nd rotation shaft 11 Compression spring 12 Cam 13 Display sheet

Claims (2)

A first housing having an operation unit;
A second housing having a display unit;
A first rotation shaft that allows the second housing to be opened and closed in a first direction with respect to the first housing;
A second rotation shaft that allows the second housing to be opened and closed in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction with respect to the first housing;
A slide sheet having a first character group printed with the first direction as the upper and lower sides and a second character group printed with the second direction as the upper and lower sides, and slidingly moving in the first housing;
With
The operation unit has a window on the printing surface side of the slide sheet,
When the second casing is opened in the first direction with respect to the first casing, the first character group and the window are overlapped by the movement of the slide sheet,
When the second housing is not opened in the first direction with respect to the first housing, the slide sheet does not move, and the second character group and the window overlap each other. Mobile terminal device. Each of the first character group and the second character group includes a plurality of character strings in the first direction, and the characters in the first character group and the characters in the second character group are alternately in the first direction. The foldable portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the foldable portable terminal device is printed.

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