JP4586462B2 - Mobile device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal including a folding mechanism.

  A mobile terminal having a folding mechanism includes, for example, two main bodies that constitute a main part of the mobile terminal, and a hinge part that connects the two main bodies so as to be rotatable relative to each other and opens or closes the main bodies. . A screen, operation keys, and the like are disposed on the surface (inner surface) of each main body that is folded.

  In a portable terminal having a folding mechanism, a user's usage mode with respect to the inner surface varies depending on the opening / closing state of the main body. Therefore, the mobile terminal can automatically determine the open / closed state, and supply power necessary for using the inner surface only in the open state, thereby reducing the power consumption of the mobile terminal. For example, the power supply for the backlight of the LCD and the operation keys, which is necessary only in the open state, can be stopped in the closed state.

  Conventionally, as a technique for judging the open / closed state of a mobile terminal, a protrusion or the like is provided on one main body of the mobile terminal, and the power is turned ON / OFF by pressing down on the other main body at a position corresponding to the protrusion. A method of providing a switch mechanism for performing the above is adopted. Alternatively, a small magnet is placed on one main body, and a magnetic detection element such as a Hall element is arranged on the other main body at a position corresponding to this magnet, and the magnetic detection element detects the magnetism to carry it. A method of determining the open / close state of the terminal is also employed.

  However, the former method has a problem that mechanical wear occurs due to long-term use, resulting in malfunction. On the other hand, the latter method has problems such as malfunction of electronic components inside the portable terminal due to the magnetic field generated by the magnet, or loss of credit card data when a magnetic card such as a credit card is brought close to the magnet. It was.

In order to avoid the above-described problems of the prior art, in Patent Document 1, a light emitting element and a light receiving (power receiving) element that receives light from the light emitting element are disposed on one body of a portable terminal, and the other body. It has been proposed that a mirror that reflects light is arranged on the top, and the light receiving element detects the light of the light emitting element reflected by the mirror, thereby determining the open / closed state of the mobile terminal.
JP 2001-22472 A

  By the way, in recent years, with the intensification of price competition of mobile terminals, it has been required to manufacture mobile terminals at lower cost by reducing the number of parts. Further, downsizing is required, and further downsizing is required for components mounted on a portable terminal. In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal having a folding mechanism, which is small in size and low in cost.

In view of the above object, a portable terminal according to a first aspect of the present invention is a portable terminal in which an upper casing and a lower casing are coupled to be openable and closable via a hinge.
A light emitting / receiving element composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element formed integrally is disposed in one of the upper housing and the lower housing, and the other housing of the upper housing and the lower housing is disposed. The liquid crystal display device is disposed on the surface facing the light emitting / receiving element, and the open / closed state of the upper housing and the lower housing can be detected by optically coupling the light emitting / receiving device via the liquid crystal display device. It is characterized in that the.

Moreover, the portable terminal according to the second aspect of the present invention is a portable terminal in which an upper casing and a lower casing are coupled so as to be openable and closable via a hinge.
A light emitting / receiving element including an integrally formed light emitting element and light receiving element is disposed in one of the upper casing and the lower casing, and the other casing of the upper casing and the lower casing is disposed. Forming a painted surface on a surface facing the light emitting / receiving element, and optically coupling the light emitting / receiving element through the painted surface, thereby enabling detection of an open / closed state of the upper housing and the lower housing. The element includes one light emitting element and two light receiving elements disposed between the light emitting elements, and the open / closed state can be detected based on a difference in received light amount between the two light receiving elements. .

  According to the portable terminal of the present invention, by arranging the light emitting / receiving element including the light emitting element and the light receiving element that are integrally formed, the light emitting element and the light receiving element can be optically transmitted without the need of providing a special mirror member. Can be combined. Therefore, compared with the case where the light emitting element and the light receiving element are separately provided, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced, and the cost reduction of the portable terminal can be realized. In addition, the mobile terminal can be downsized. In order to optically couple the light emitting element and the light receiving element, the painted surface of the casing can be used, or a liquid crystal display device can be used.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the separation distance between the light emitting element and the light receiving element is 2 mm or less, and the light reflectance is 80% or less. In this case, a sufficient amount of reflected light can be made incident on the light receiving element by sufficiently shortening the separation distance between the light emitting element and the light receiving element. The light reflectance is preferably 50% to 80%, more preferably 60% to 80%.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the light receiving / emitting element includes one light emitting element and two light receiving elements disposed with the light emitting element interposed therebetween, and the difference between the light receiving amounts of the two light receiving elements is The open / close state can be detected. In this case, as compared with the case where one light receiving element is provided, it is possible to determine opening / closing at a smaller angle, so that the opening / closing state can be detected quickly. In addition, malfunction due to deterioration with time of the light emission amount of the light emitting element can be suppressed.

  In the present invention, when the separation distance between the light emitting / receiving element and the reflective surface or the reflective surface of the liquid crystal display device is in the range of 3 to 5 mm, a good effect of the present invention can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, the present invention will be described in more detail based on embodiments according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. The mobile terminal 10 includes an upper main body 11, a lower main body 12, and a hinge portion 13 that connects the upper main body 11 and the lower main body 12 at their respective end portions so as to be rotatable with respect to each other. The upper body 11 and the lower body 12 have substantially flat inner surfaces 11a and 12a, respectively, and LCDs and operation keys (not shown) are provided on the inner surfaces 11a and 12a, respectively.

  FIG. 2 shows a partial cross section of the lower main body 12 at the symbol A in FIG. The lower main body 12 includes a lower substrate 14 and a light emitting / receiving element 15 disposed on the lower substrate 14. The light emitting / receiving element 15 is a light emitting / receiving element in which a light emitting part 15a made of an infrared LED and a light receiving part 15b made of a photodiode are formed on one semiconductor substrate. The light emitting unit 15 a emits infrared rays in a direction perpendicular to the lower substrate 14 as indicated by reference numeral B. The light receiving unit 15b is arranged in parallel with a distance of, for example, about 1 mm from the light emitting unit 15a, receives infrared rays incident in a direction substantially perpendicular to the lower substrate 14, and outputs an electrical signal having a magnitude corresponding to the luminance of the received infrared rays. .

  The lower body 12 includes a power supply unit and a comparison determination unit for the light emitting / receiving element 15 on the lower substrate 14. The power supply unit is connected to the light emitting unit 15a and supplies power for infrared light emission. The comparison determination unit is connected to the light receiving unit 15b, receives the electrical signal, and compares the current level generated in the light receiving unit 15b with a predetermined threshold value (level threshold value). The comparison determination unit also determines that the current state is open when the received current level is lower than a predetermined threshold value, and determines that the current level is closed when the current level is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.

  The lower main body 12 includes a lower case (housing) 16 that houses the lower substrate 14 and the light emitting / receiving element 15. The lower case 16 has a circular opening 16a through which the light emitting / receiving element 15 is exposed. The upper body 11 includes an upper case that accommodates an upper substrate and the like. In the upper case, a portion (opposite portion) 20 of the inner surface 11a facing the light emitting / receiving element 15 is formed as a bright painted surface having design properties, and has a reflectance of 60% or more for infrared rays. Moreover, it is parallel to the inner surface 12a of the lower body and is formed flat. The distance between the light emitting part 15a and the light receiving part 15b and the facing part 20 of the upper case is, for example, about 4 mm.

  Here, in the open state as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, infrared light emitted from the light emitting portion 15a is emitted to the outside through the circular opening 16a and hardly returns to the light receiving portion 15b. In this case, since the brightness of the infrared light received by the light receiving unit 15b is small, the detected current level is also small. Therefore, it is determined that the comparison determination unit is in the open state.

  FIG. 3 shows a side shape of the mobile terminal in the closed state, and FIG. 4 shows a partial cross-section at symbol A in FIG. In the closed state, as schematically indicated by reference numeral B, the infrared light emitted from the light emitting portion 15a is reflected by the surface of the upper case 19 and enters the light receiving portion 15b. In this case, since the luminance of the infrared light received by the light receiving unit 15b is large, the detected current level is also large. Therefore, it is determined that the comparison determination unit is in the closed state.

  FIG. 9A shows the relationship between the current level and the angle between the upper body 11 and the lower body 12. In general, the luminance of light received by the light receiving unit 15b changes relatively abruptly at the boundary angle between when the high-brightness reflected light that is substantially specularly reflected by the reflecting surface enters the light receiving unit 15b and when it does not. Therefore, the open / closed state can be accurately determined by setting the threshold value in a range in which the current level changes rapidly in response to a rapid change in luminance. The boundary angle is, for example, in the range of 20 to 30 °, although it depends on the characteristics of the light emitting / receiving element 15 and the like.

  FIG. 5 shows a procedure for determining the open / close state in the mobile terminal 10. When the power of the mobile terminal 10 is turned on, the light source 15a emits infrared rays by supplying power to the light emitter 15a (step A1). Next, the comparison / determination unit determines whether the detected current level is equal to or higher than a threshold value (step A2). If the detected current level is greater than or equal to the threshold value in step A2, the comparison / determination unit determines that the portable terminal is in the closed state (step A3), and the process is terminated. In step A2, when the electrical level is less than the threshold value, the comparison / determination unit determines that the mobile terminal is in the open state (step A4), and ends the process.

  According to the portable terminal of the present embodiment, the light emitting unit 15a and the light receiving unit 15b include the light emitting / receiving element 15 formed on one semiconductor substrate, so that the light emitting element and the light receiving element are separately provided. Thus, the mobile terminal can be reduced in size. In addition, the number of parts and the number of assembly processes can be reduced, and the cost of the mobile terminal can be reduced. In the present embodiment, the light emitting / receiving element 15 is not limited to one formed on one semiconductor substrate, as long as the light emitting element and the light receiving element are integrally formed.

  In the portable terminal of the present embodiment, the brightest part of the light emitted from the light emitting unit 15a is emitted in the direction perpendicular to the lower substrate 14, and is reflected in the direction perpendicular to the lower substrate 14 in the closed state. Here, in the portable terminal of Patent Document 1, in the closed state, the light emitted from the light emitting element needs to be effectively delivered to the position of the light receiving element away from the light emitting element in the extending direction of the lower substrate. It was necessary to dispose a mirror member having reflectivity at the facing portion of the upper case.

  On the other hand, according to the mobile terminal of the present embodiment, the light receiving portion 15b is disposed near the light emitting portion 15a where the reflected light having the highest luminance is incident in the closed state, and thus the facing portion 20 of the upper case. Even if a mirror member having a high reflectance is not provided, a sufficient amount of reflected light is incident on the light receiving portion 15b, and the light receiving portion 15b can detect sufficient reflected light. By omitting the mirror member, further cost reduction of the mobile terminal can be realized. A liquid crystal display device can be disposed on the facing portion 20 of the upper case, and infrared rays can be reflected through a reflector or the like of the liquid crystal display device.

  The upper case facing portion 20 may also be provided with a printing surface having a high reflectivity, or a paint having a high reflectivity diffused in the coating of the upper case may be used. In these cases, the substantial reflectance of the facing portion 20 of the upper case can be increased to, for example, about 70 to 80%, and the reflectance of the facing portion 20 of the upper case can be further increased without impairing the design of the mobile terminal. Can be increased. In addition, an increase in the number of parts and the number of assembly steps can be suppressed, and a low-cost portable terminal can be provided.

  In the mobile terminal of this embodiment, for example, a visible light LED can be used for the light emitting unit 15a in addition to the infrared LED, and a phototransistor or the like can be used for the light receiving unit 15b in addition to the photodiode. As long as the light emitting unit 15a and the light receiving unit 15b are integrally configured and the separation distance between the light emitting unit 15a and the light receiving unit 15b is within 2 mm, an effective opening / closing state is possible even without providing a special mirror member. Can be determined.

  In the mobile terminal 10 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the light emitting / receiving element 15, the power supply unit, and the comparison determination unit may be disposed on the upper substrate 18 of the upper body 11. In this case, the upper case 19 has a circular opening 19 a that exposes the light emitting / receiving element 15.

  In the portable terminal of the present embodiment, it is clear that the operation is performed on the operation key of the lower main body 12, so that it is clear that the infrared light emission from the light emitting unit 15 a may be stopped. In this case, power saving of the mobile terminal 10 can be realized. For example, a transparent member can be disposed in the circular opening 16a.

  FIG. 7 shows a partial cross section corresponding to the symbol A in FIG. 1 in a mobile terminal according to a modification of the embodiment. In the portable terminal 21, the light receiving / emitting element 15 further includes a second light receiving unit 15c having the same configuration as the first light receiving unit 15b. The second light receiving unit 15c is disposed outside the light emitting unit 15a when viewed from the hinge unit 13, and the light emitting unit 15a, the light receiving unit (first light receiving unit) 15b, and the second light receiving unit 15c are on one semiconductor substrate. Is formed.

  In this modification, the comparison determination unit is connected to the first light receiving unit 15b and the second light receiving unit 15c. Further, the comparison / determination unit compares the current level generated in the first light receiving unit 15b with a predetermined threshold value, and if the current level generated in the first light receiving unit 15b is larger than the predetermined threshold value, The difference between the current level generated in the first light receiving unit 15b and the current level generated in the second light receiving unit 15c is calculated. Furthermore, when the calculated difference is larger than a predetermined difference threshold value, it is determined that the state is open. In other cases, it is determined to be in the closed state. The mobile terminal of this modification has the same configuration as the mobile terminal of this embodiment except for the above. The angle that becomes the boundary of the open / close state depends on the characteristics of the light emitting / receiving element 15 or the like, but can be set to any of 0 to 30 °, for example.

  FIG. 9B shows the relationship between the difference and the angle between the upper main body 11 and the lower main body 12 in the mobile terminal of this modification. In the mobile terminal of this modification, the difference in the luminance of the light received by the first light receiving unit 15b and the second light receiving unit 15c is higher than that of the mobile terminal of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9A. It changes relatively slowly according to the angle between the lower body 12 and the lower body 12. Further, when the angle between the upper main body 11 and the lower main body 12 is smaller than a certain angle equal to or less than a right angle, it increases as the angle increases. Therefore, in the comparison / determination unit, when the angle between the upper main body 11 and the lower main body 12 is larger than a predetermined angle defined by the difference threshold, it is determined to be in an open state, and when it is smaller than the predetermined angle. Can be determined to be closed.

  FIG. 8 shows a procedure for determining the open / closed state in the portable terminal 21. When the power of the portable terminal 21 is turned on, the light source 15a generates infrared rays by supplying power to the light emitter 15a (step B1). Next, the comparison / determination unit determines whether the current level generated in the first light receiving unit 15b is greater than or equal to a threshold value (step B2). In step B2, if the generated current level is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the comparison / determination unit calculates a difference between the current level generated in the first light receiving unit 15b and the current level generated in the second light receiving unit 15c. Then, it is determined whether or not the calculated difference is equal to or less than the difference threshold value (step B3).

  In step B3, when the calculated difference is equal to or less than the difference threshold, the comparison determination unit determines that the mobile terminal is in the closed state (step B4), and ends the process. In step B2 or step B3, in cases other than the above, the comparison determination unit determines that the mobile terminal is in the open state (step B5), and ends the process. In Step B2, the comparison determination unit may determine the current level generated by the second light receiving unit 15c.

  According to the mobile terminal of the present modification, the difference in current level changes gently corresponding to the angle between the upper body 11 and the lower body 12, so that the difference between the upper body 11 defined by the difference threshold value and Open / close determination can be made according to the angle with the lower body 12. In this case, the open / close determination can be made at a smaller angle than the portable terminal of the embodiment shown in FIG.

  In general, in the comparison between the current level and the threshold value, as shown in FIG. 9A, the threshold value is set to a value relatively close to the maximum value of the current level. The maximum value becomes smaller than the threshold value, which may cause malfunction. According to the mobile terminal of this modification, the difference threshold is set to a value relatively close to the minimum value of the difference as shown in FIG. Can be suppressed. In the portable terminal of this modification, since the light emitting unit 15a, the first light receiving unit 15b, and the second light receiving unit 15c are formed on one semiconductor substrate, a small portable terminal can be realized.

  In this modification, the arrangement of the light emitting unit 15a, the first light receiving unit 15b, and the second light receiving unit 15c is not limited to the arrangement in FIG. Any one of the first light receiving portion 15b and the second light receiving portion 15c may be disposed closer to the hinge portion 13 than the other. In this case, the angle between the upper main body 11 and the lower main body 12 is set. Correspondingly, it is possible to make a difference in the amount of light incident on the first light receiving unit 15b and the second light receiving unit 15c. In addition, the separation distance between the light emitting unit 15a and the first light receiving unit 15b or the second light receiving unit 15c is preferably 2 mm or less. In this case, the first light receiving unit may be provided without a mirror member having a high reflectance. Light having sufficient luminance can be made incident on 15b and the second light receiving portion 15c.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the suitable embodiment, the portable terminal which concerns on this invention is not limited only to the structure of the said embodiment, A various correction and change from the structure of the said embodiment. The portable terminal which gave is included in the scope of the present invention.

It is a top view which shows the side shape of the portable terminal of embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the cross section in the code | symbol A of FIG. It is a top view which shows the side shape in a closed state about the portable terminal of embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the cross section in the code | symbol A of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure which judges the opening / closing state about the portable terminal of embodiment. It is a top view which shows the side shape of a portable terminal. It is sectional drawing which shows the cross-sectional shape of the portable terminal which concerns on the modification of embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure which judges an open / close state about the portable terminal of the modification of embodiment. FIG. 9A is a graph showing the relationship between the current level and the angle, and FIG. 9B is a graph showing the relationship between the difference and the angle.

Explanation of symbols

10, 21: Mobile terminal 11: Upper body 11a: Inner surface 12 of the upper body 12: Lower body 12a: Inner surface of the lower body 13: Hinge part 14: Lower substrate 15: Light emitting / receiving element 15a: Light emitting part 15b: (First) light reception Part 15c: second light receiving part 16: lower case 16a: circular opening 17: antenna 18: upper substrate 19: upper case 19a: circular opening 20: facing part 22 (of the upper case) 22: facing part of the lower case

Claims (5)

In a portable terminal in which an upper housing and a lower housing are connected to each other so as to be opened and closed via a hinge,
A light emitting / receiving element composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element formed integrally is disposed in one of the upper housing and the lower housing, and the other housing of the upper housing and the lower housing is disposed. The liquid crystal display device is disposed on the surface facing the light emitting / receiving element, and the open / closed state of the upper housing and the lower housing can be detected by optically coupling the light emitting / receiving device via the liquid crystal display device. A mobile terminal characterized by that. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein a separation distance between the light emitting element and the light receiving element is 2 mm or less and a light reflectance is 80% or less. The light emitting / receiving element includes one light emitting element and two light receiving elements disposed between the light emitting elements, and the open / closed state can be detected based on a difference in received light amount between the two light receiving elements. Item 2. The mobile terminal according to Item 1 . In a portable terminal in which an upper housing and a lower housing are connected to each other so as to be opened and closed via a hinge,
A light emitting / receiving element including an integrally formed light emitting element and light receiving element is disposed in one of the upper casing and the lower casing, and the other casing of the upper casing and the lower casing is disposed. Is capable of detecting the open / closed state of the upper housing and the lower housing by forming a painted surface on the surface facing the light emitting / receiving element and optically coupling the light emitting / receiving element through the painted surface ,
The light emitting / receiving element includes one light emitting element and two light receiving elements disposed between the light emitting elements, and the open / closed state can be detected based on a difference in received light amount between the two light receiving elements. A mobile terminal characterized by. The portable terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a separation distance between the light emitting / receiving element and the reflecting surface or the reflecting surface of the liquid crystal display device is in a range of 3 to 5 mm.

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