JP2005216158A - Portable terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability of a portable terminal by stabilizing an opening/closing operation in the case of using the portable terminal as a telephone function and an opening/closing operation in the case of using the portable terminal as a PDA function. <P>SOLUTION: The portable terminal is provided with a first case 2, a second case 5, a third case 9, a first hinge 15 for linking the second case 5 to the first case 2 so as to relatively freely open/close the second case 5, a second hinge 19 for linking the third case 9 to the second case 5 so as to relatively freely open/close the third case 9 orthogonally with the direction of opening/closing the second case 5 by means of the first hinge 15, and an opening/closing regulation means 21 for allowing the action of the first hinge 15 and regulating the action of the second hinge 19 in the state of closing the second case 5 and the third case 9. When using the portable terminal as a telephone function, the second case 5 and the third case 9 are allowed to be integrally opened in a lengthwise direction by the opening/closing regulation means 21 and when using the portable terminal as a PDA function, the operation of the opening/closing regulation means 21 is switched to allow the third case 9 to open in a lateral direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, and more particularly to a terminal represented by a mobile phone terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), and the like.

  As an example of this type of portable terminal, as shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, a first housing 42 having an operation unit and a transmission unit and a second housing 43 having a display unit and a reception unit are connected to a hinge 44 ( There is known a structure in which the second housing 43 is configured to be openable and closable relative to the first housing 42 in the longitudinal direction or the short-side direction.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 13, the hinge 44 connects the first shaft 45 and the second shaft 46 so as to be rotatable in directions orthogonal to each other, and fixes the second shaft 46. The first shaft 45 can be rotated about the Y axis, and the second shaft 46 can be rotated about the X axis while the first shaft 45 is fixed. Is attached to the first housing 42 by a retaining screw 47, and the second shaft 46 is fixed to the second housing 43.

  And as shown in FIG. 14, the 2nd housing | casing 43 is rotated with respect to the 1st housing | casing 42 by rotating the 2nd housing | casing 43 to the surroundings of the X-axis centering on the 2nd shaft 46 of the hinge 44. The second casing 43 can be opened and closed in the longitudinal direction, and the second casing 43 is rotated around the Y axis about the first shaft 45 of the hinge 44 as shown in FIG. 43 can be opened and closed with respect to the first housing 42 in the lateral direction.

However, in the mobile terminal 41 configured as described above, nothing is provided for restricting the rotation direction of the hinge 44, so the second housing 43 is longer than the first housing 42. It rotates freely in both the direction and the short direction. For this reason, in the process of opening and closing the second housing 43 in the longitudinal direction or the short direction, the opening and closing operation in the short direction or the longitudinal direction orthogonal to the second housing 43 cannot be regulated. Becomes unstable and operability deteriorates. The following patent document discloses a portable terminal having two hinges.
JP 2003-198685 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems. When the terminal is opened and closed in a plurality of directions, the opening and closing operation is restricted by restricting the opening and closing operation in the other direction during the opening and closing operation in one direction. An object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal that can stabilize the operation and enhance the operability.

The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.
That is, a first housing, a second housing, a third housing, and a first hinge that connects the second housing to the first housing so as to be relatively openable and closable. A second hinge for connecting the third housing to the second housing so as to be relatively openable and closable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the opening and closing direction of the second housing by the first hinge; Opening / closing regulating means for permitting the operation of the first hinge and regulating the operation of the second hinge in a state where the third housing is closed with respect to the second housing. It is characterized by that.
According to the portable terminal of the present invention, when the second casing and the third casing are closed, the second casing is opened / closed when the second casing is to be opened relative to the first casing. Since the operation of the first hinge is allowed by the restricting means and the operation of the second hinge is restricted, the second housing can be stably opened and closed with respect to the first housing. It becomes.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the portable terminal according to the first aspect, the operating direction by the opening / closing regulating means is switched with the third casing closed with respect to the second casing. The operation of the first hinge is restricted, and the operation of the second hinge is allowed.
According to the portable terminal of the present invention, the operation of the first hinge is restricted by switching the operation direction by the operation restricting means while the second housing and the third housing are closed, and the second hinge Therefore, the third housing can be opened and closed stably with respect to the second housing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the portable terminal according to the second aspect, the operating direction by the opening / closing regulating means is switched to open the third housing via the second hinge, and then the third When the housing is closed, the opening / closing restricting means permits the operation of the first hinge and restricts the operation of the second hinge.
According to the portable terminal of the present invention, the third casing is opened relative to the second casing in a state where the operation of the opening / closing restricting means is released, and then the third casing is closed, thereby opening and closing. The regulating means returns to the initial state, the operation of the first hinge is allowed, the operation of the second hinge is regulated, and the second casing is stably opened and closed with respect to the first casing. It becomes possible.

  As described above, according to the mobile terminal according to the present invention, when opening and closing the terminal in a plurality of directions, the opening and closing operation in one direction is regulated by restricting the opening and closing operation in the other direction during the opening and closing operation in one direction. And operability can be improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawings will be described.
1 to 12 show an embodiment of a portable terminal according to the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 12, the portable terminal 1 includes a first casing 2 and a second casing. The first casing 15, the third casing 9, the first casing 15 that connects the second casing 5 to the first casing 2 so as to be relatively openable and closable, and the third casing 9. A second hinge 19 that is connected to the second housing 5 so as to be relatively openable and closable, and allows either the opening / closing operation of the second housing 5 or the opening / closing operation of the third housing 9. Opening / closing restricting means 21 for restricting one of the other is provided.

  The first housing 2 has a rectangular plate shape and is configured to have an operation unit and a transmission unit. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, on the front side of the first housing 2, there are a Mail key, a Web key, a cross key, a call key, a clear key, a call end key, a numeric keypad, a # key, a manner key, Various operation keys 3 such as a memo key and a microphone 4 are provided. By operating a desired operation key 3 among these operation keys 3, a call, transmission / reception of an e-mail, browsing of a web page, and the like are performed. be able to.

  The second casing 5 has an inverted L-shaped plate shape composed of a short side portion 6 and a long side portion 7, and is a connecting means for connecting the third casing 9 to the first casing 2. Is functioning as As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the second housing 5 has a short side portion 6 that rotates relative to one end portion in the longitudinal direction of the first housing 2 via a first hinge 15 described later. It is connected freely. A step portion 8 that is one step lower than the other portions is provided at the center of the long side portion 7 of the second housing 5, and a protrusion 10 of a third case 9 described later is provided in the step portion 8. It is rotatably engaged.

  The third casing 9 has a rectangular plate shape and is configured to function as a display unit. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the third housing 9 matches a rectangular space formed in a portion surrounded by the short side portion 6 and the long side portion 7 of the second housing 5. It is formed in size. A protruding portion 10 that protrudes outward is integrally provided on one long side of the third housing 9, and the protruding portion 10 is rotatably engaged in a step portion 8 of the second housing 5. Are combined. A rectangular liquid crystal display panel 11 for displaying numerical values, information such as characters, images, and the like is provided on the surface side of the third housing 9, and a speaker 12 is provided at one end in the longitudinal direction. .

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 6, the first hinge 15 includes a pair of guide portions 16 and 16 that are integrally provided at one end in the longitudinal direction of the first housing 2, and a second housing. A protrusion 17 that is provided integrally with the short side portion 6 of the body 5 and that is relatively rotatably engaged between the guide portions 16 and 16 of the first housing 2, and the protrusion 17 and each guide The connecting pin 18 is connected to the portion 16 so as to be relatively rotatable. The first hinge 15 allows the second housing 5 to be opened and closed with respect to the first housing 2 in the longitudinal direction around the connecting pins 18, 18, that is, around the X axis. is there.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 5, 6, and 7, the second hinge 19 has a step portion 8 provided on the long side portion 7 of the second housing 5 and a relative position within the step portion 8. The protrusion 10 provided on one long side of the above-described third casing 9 that is pivotably engaged with each other, between one end of the protrusion 10 and one end surface of the step 8, and the protrusion It is comprised from the connection pin 20 which connects between the other end surface of the part 10 and the other end surface of the step part 8 so that rotation is relatively possible, respectively. The second hinge 19 allows the third housing 9 to be opened and closed with respect to the second housing 5 around the connecting pins 20 and 20, that is, around the Y axis in the short direction. It is.

  The opening / closing regulating means 21 is a solenoid valve 21, and as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, a valve body 22, a coil (not shown) provided in the valve body 22, and both end portions penetrating the coil. Has a plunger 23 that can protrude and retract from the valve body 22. The solenoid valve 21 is provided at one end of the short side portion 6 of the second casing 5, and the plunger 23 is moved in the direction of the guide section 16 of the first casing 2 by switching the direction of the current flowing through the coil. It can be made to protrude or protrude in the direction of the short side of the third housing 9. As shown in FIG. 9, a fitting hole 24 into which one end of the plunger 23 is fitted is provided in the portion of the guide portion 16 of the first housing 2 corresponding to the plunger 23, and the first portion corresponding to the plunger 23 is provided. As shown in FIG. 10, a fitting hole 25 into which the other end of the plunger 23 is fitted is provided in a portion on the short side of the housing 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, when the second housing 5 and the third housing 9 are closed, the solenoid valve 21 protrudes in the direction of the third housing 9, and the plunger 23 Is fitted into the fitting hole 25 of the third housing 9. Accordingly, in this state, the third housing 9 is integrally connected to the second housing 5 via the solenoid valve 21, the operation of the first hinge 15 is allowed, and the operation of the second hinge 19 is performed. As a result, the second housing 5 and the third housing 9 are integrated with the first housing 2 and can be opened and closed in the longitudinal direction about the X axis.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the solenoid valve 21 switches the direction of the current flowing through the coil by operating a selection switch 26 provided on the side surface of the first housing 2, and the operation direction of the plunger 23. Is switched. That is, by operating the selection switch 26 to switch the operating direction of the plunger 23, one end of the plunger 23 is detached from the fitting hole 25 of the third housing 9 as shown in FIG. The other end is fitted into the fitting hole 24 of the first housing 2. Therefore, in this state, the second housing 5 is integrally connected to the first housing 2 via the solenoid valve 21, the operation of the first hinge 15 is restricted, and the operation of the second hinge 19 is performed. As a result, the third housing 9 can be opened and closed in the short direction about the Y axis with respect to the second housing 5.

  The selection switch 26 can be operated only when the second housing 5 and the third housing 9 are in the closed state, and the operation direction of the plunger 23 of the solenoid valve 21 can be switched. Therefore, even if the selection switch 26 is operated with the second housing 5 opened, the third housing 9 cannot be opened with respect to the second housing 5. The closed state of the second housing 5 and the third housing 9 is detected by a first detection means 30 and a second detection means 33 described later.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 12, the first detection means 30 includes a first magnet 31 provided in the first housing 2 and a second housing 5 corresponding to the first magnet 31. A first reed switch 32 provided in the portion, and when the first reed switch 32 comes close to the first magnet 31, the closed state of the second housing 5 is detected, and the first reed switch When 32 is separated from the first magnet 31, the open state of the second housing 5 is detected.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 11, the second detection means 33 includes a second magnet 34 provided in the second casing 5 and a third casing 9 corresponding to the second magnet 34. A second reed switch 35 provided in the portion, and when the second reed switch 35 approaches the second magnet 34, the closed state of the third housing 9 is detected, and the second reed switch 35 When 35 is separated from the second magnet 34, the open state of the third housing 9 is detected.

Next, the operation of the mobile terminal 1 according to this embodiment configured as described above will be described.
First, when the mobile terminal 1 is used as a telephone, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, the third state is set in the initial state, that is, the second case 5 and the third case 9 are closed. Since the housing 9 is integrally connected to the second housing 5 via the solenoid valve 21 and the opening / closing operation of the third housing 9 is restricted, when there is an incoming call, as shown in FIG. In addition, the second housing 5 and the third housing 9 are integrally opened in the longitudinal direction (longitudinal direction) without hesitation, and various operation keys 3 are operated, and the microphone 4 and the speaker 12 are used. You can make a call. In this case, since the display panel 11 is used vertically, information such as characters displayed on the display panel 11 is displayed horizontally in the short direction.

That is, according to the mobile terminal 1, the second casing 5 is opened relative to the first casing 2 with the second casing 5 and the third casing 9 closed. In this case, the operation of the first hinge 15 is allowed by the opening / closing regulating means 21 and the operation of the second hinge 19 is regulated by the opening / closing regulating means 21, so that the second casing 5 is attached to the first casing 5. It is possible to stably open and close the housing 2.
Therefore, since the portable terminal 1 can be opened and closed only in one direction, when used as a telephone function or the like, a part of the portable terminal 1 moves in an unintended direction and the opening / closing operation becomes unstable. In other words, the operability when used as a telephone function or the like can be improved.

Next, when the portable terminal 1 is easy to use operation keys such as a PDA or a TV, and when the display screen is used in a landscape orientation, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. With the casing 5 and the third casing 9 closed, the second casing 5 is connected to the first casing 2 via the solenoid valve 21 by operating the selection switch 26 shown in FIG. Since it is integrally connected and the opening / closing operation of the second casing 5 is restricted, as shown in FIG. 7, only the third casing 9 is opened in the lateral direction (lateral direction), and various operation keys are opened. By operating 3, functions as a PDA or a television can be obtained.
That is, the operation of the first hinge 15 is restricted and the operation of the second hinge 19 is performed by switching the operation direction by the operation restricting means with the second housing 5 and the third housing 9 closed. Will be allowed. Accordingly, the third housing 9 can be opened / closed with respect to the second housing 5 only in the direction orthogonal to the opening / closing direction of the second housing 5. In addition, a part of the portable terminal 1 does not move in an unintended direction and the opening / closing operation does not become unstable, and the operability when used as a PDA, a television function or the like can be improved.
In this case, since the display panel 11 is used horizontally, information such as characters displayed there is displayed horizontally in the longitudinal direction of the display panel 11.

In addition, even when being used as a PDA or television, incoming calls can be received by operating circuits as telephones in parallel. When an incoming call is received, the incoming call lamp 13 can be flashed or a ringer (not shown) can be sounded for notification. At this time, if the user tries to answer the telephone, the third housing 9 is once closed. In this case, the second housing 5 and the third housing 9 can be re-established by maintaining the incoming state. The housing 9 can be opened in the longitudinal direction to reach the telephone.
That is, by opening the third housing 9 relative to the second housing 5 in a state where the operation of the opening / closing restricting means 21 is released, and then closing the third housing 9, the opening / closing restricting means 21. Returns to the initial state, the operation of the first hinge 15 is allowed, and the operation of the second hinge 19 is restricted. Accordingly, when responding to an incoming call of the telephone function after use as a PDA or a television, it is possible to reliably open the second housing 5 to respond to the incoming call or the like.

  Here, the direction of information such as characters displayed on the display panel 11 is changed between the case where the telephone function is used and the case where the PDA or the TV function is used. Since a liquid crystal is used for 11, the direction of characters and images can be easily changed by software.

  Further, the direction of the characters of the various operation keys 3 is arranged with a 45 degree angle in the clockwise direction with respect to the characters displayed on the display panel 11 as shown in FIG. 6 when the telephone function is used. When using the PDA function, as shown in FIG. 7, the telephone function is used because it is arranged at an angle of 45 degrees counterclockwise with respect to the characters displayed on the display panel 11. Even when the PDA function is used, the various operation keys 3 can be operated with almost no sense of incongruity. Of the operation keys 3, the cross key can be easily exchanged by software for the allocation of the top and bottom and the left and right when used as a telephone function and when used as a PDA function.

In the portable terminal 1 according to this embodiment configured as described above, in the initial state, the second casing 5 and the third casing 9 are integrally connected via the solenoid valve 21. Since the operation of the first hinge 15 is allowed and the operation of the second hinge 19 is restricted, the state in which the first hinge 15 is used is always prioritized so that when the incoming call is received, the second When attempting to open the housing 5 and the third housing 9 together in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction), the third housing 9 does not open in the short direction (lateral direction).
As described above, in the portable terminal 1 according to this embodiment, when opening and closing the terminal in a plurality of directions, the opening and closing operation is stabilized by restricting the opening and closing operation in the other direction during the opening and closing operation in one direction. And operability can be improved.
Therefore, since the second housing 5 and the third housing 9 can be integrated and opened and closed stably in the longitudinal direction, the operability when using the telephone function can be improved.

  In the initial state, the second casing 5 is integrated with the first casing 2 via the solenoid valve 21 by operating the selection switch 26 to switch the operating direction of the plunger 23 of the solenoid valve 21. As a result, the operation of the first hinge 15 is restricted and the operation of the second hinge 19 is allowed. Therefore, when used as a PDA, the third casing 9 is moved in the short direction (lateral direction). The second housing 5 does not open in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) when attempting to open in the direction). Accordingly, since the third housing 9 can be opened and closed stably in the short direction, the operability when used as a PDA or a television can be improved.

The open / close state and application (function) shown in the present embodiment are merely examples, and are not limited to the above.
Further, the detection means 30, 33, the opening / closing regulating means 21, and the opening / closing mechanism are merely examples, and are not limited to these. Therefore, any means or mechanism that exhibits the same functions as the detection means, the opening / closing restriction means, and the opening / closing mechanism described above may be used.

  According to the portable terminal of the present invention, the operability can be improved by stabilizing the opening / closing operation when used as a telephone function and the opening / closing operation when used as a PDA function, and thus can be used industrially. Sex is recognized.

It is the front view which showed one Embodiment of the portable terminal by this invention, Comprising: It is explanatory drawing which showed the state which closed the 2nd housing | casing and the 3rd housing | casing. FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG. 1. It is a bottom view of FIG. It is a left view of FIG. It is a right view of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which showed the state which opened the 2nd housing | casing and the 3rd housing | casing integrally from the state of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which showed the state which opened the 3rd housing | casing from the state of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which showed the positional relationship of the opening / closing control means and detection means of the portable terminal of FIG. It is sectional drawing seen along the AA line of FIG. 8, Comprising: It is explanatory drawing which showed the state which connected the 2nd housing | casing and the 3rd housing | casing integrally by the opening / closing control means. It is sectional drawing seen along the AA line of FIG. 8, Comprising: It is explanatory drawing which showed the state which connected the 1st housing | casing and the 2nd housing | casing integrally by the opening / closing means. It is sectional drawing seen along the BB line of FIG. It is sectional drawing seen along CC line of FIG. It is the top view which showed an example of the conventional portable terminal, Comprising: It is explanatory drawing which showed the state which closed the receiving part. It is explanatory drawing which showed the state which opened the receiving part in the longitudinal direction from the state of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which showed the state which opened the receiving part in the transversal direction from the state of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile terminal 2 1st housing | casing 5 2nd housing | casing 9 3rd housing | casing 15 1st hinge 19 2nd hinge 21 Opening-closing control means

Claims (3)

  A first housing, a second housing, a third housing, a first hinge for connecting the second housing to the first housing so as to be relatively openable and closable; A second hinge connecting the third housing to the second housing so as to be relatively openable and closable in a direction substantially orthogonal to the opening and closing direction of the second housing by the first hinge; Open / close regulating means for permitting the operation of the first hinge and regulating the operation of the second hinge in a state where the third housing is closed with respect to the second housing. A featured mobile terminal.   2. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the operation of the first hinge is performed by switching an operation direction of the opening / closing regulating unit in a state where the third housing is closed with respect to the second housing. Is restricted and the operation of the second hinge is allowed. 3. The portable terminal according to claim 2, wherein when the operating direction by the opening / closing regulating means is switched, the third casing is opened via the second hinge, and then the third casing is closed. The open / close restricting means permits the operation of the first hinge and restricts the operation of the second hinge.

Images