JP5768032B2 - Electronics - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device including a keyboard, such as a notebook computer.

  For example, in an electronic device such as a notebook computer such as Patent Document 1, a configuration is generally used in which a keyboard cable is drawn directly from the back of a key arrangement surface of a keyboard and connected to a motherboard on which main components such as a CPU are mounted. is there.

FIG. 9 shows a state in which the keyboard is removed from such a notebook computer. In the configuration example of FIG. 9, a beam member 82 is provided in the housing recess 81 to which the keyboard is attached. For this reason, after the keyboard cable is connected to the mother board 83 through the gap between the beam members 82, the keyboard is attached to the housing recess 81.
With such a configuration, it is connected to a flat mother board 83 arranged immediately below the flat keyboard in a space-saving and short distance.

JP 2008-299533 A

  However, electronic devices such as notebook computers are required to be further reduced in weight, and keyboards that are further reduced in weight are required in the development competition.

  Here, when isolating the cause to identify the problem part in maintenance services such as repairs, remove the keyboard cable for the keyboard attached to the device from the motherboard and use the keyboard for the check keyboard instead. Connect the cable to the motherboard and check.

  In order to perform such work, in the configuration example of FIG. 9 described above, the keyboard is first removed from the device main body, the keyboard cable is removed from the motherboard 83 in the removed state shown in FIG. 9, and then the keyboard in the check keyboard is removed. It was necessary to check by connecting the cable to the motherboard 83.

  Here, the weight-reduced keyboard has the strength that does not cause any problems in normal use, such as keystrokes on the keyboard. If a large load is applied, there is a risk of deformation or failure.

  For this reason, in order to improve the maintainability of electronic devices and prevent damage to parts in maintenance services, a configuration that can reduce the need to remove the keyboard from the device main body as much as possible during maintenance services such as repairs has been demanded.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides an electronic device that can check the keyboard without having to remove the keyboard even during maintenance service, and can further improve maintainability. For the purpose.

In order to achieve such an object, an electronic device according to the present invention includes a keyboard unit configured by arranging a plurality of keys, a top cover on which the keyboard unit is disposed, and a control unit. The keyboard cable for connecting the keyboard cable to the control means is provided so as to be drawn out to the side surface of the keyboard portion with respect to the arrangement surface of the plurality of keys, and is separated from the top cover on the side surface side of the keyboard portion from which the keyboard cable is drawn out. An electronic device provided with a palm rest cover provided as a body, wherein a connector for connecting a keyboard cable and control means is disposed at a position where the connector is exposed when the palm rest cover is removed .

  As described above, according to the present invention, the keyboard can be checked without having to remove the keyboard during maintenance service. For this reason, it is possible to prevent parts from being damaged during the maintenance service, and to further improve the maintainability.

1 is a diagram showing an appearance of a notebook computer 100 as an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the state which removed the palm rest cover 22 from FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which removed the top cover 21 from FIG. It is the figure which looked at the top cover 21 from the arrangement surface side of a key. It is the figure which looked at the top cover 21 from the back side of the arrangement surface of a key. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a longitudinal section of the keyboard cable 26 in the top cover 21 as viewed from the axial direction of the hinge portion 30. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a lid of an HDD housing unit 60 on the bottom surface of the notebook computer 100 is opened. FIG. It is a figure explaining the other structural example of the keyboard 23 with the longitudinal cross-section in the cable 26 for keyboards. It is a figure which shows the state which removed the keyboard from the conventional notebook computer.

  Next, an embodiment in which an electronic apparatus according to the invention is applied to a notebook computer will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the notebook computer 100 according to the present embodiment is configured by connecting an upper housing 10 provided with a display unit 11 and a lower housing 20 by a hinge unit 30 so as to be opened and closed. .

The lower housing 20 is provided with a top cover (keyboard portion) 21 and a palm rest cover (exterior member) 22 on the surface facing the upper housing 10 when the hinge portion 30 is closed.
The top cover 21 is integrally provided with a keyboard 23 and a power switch 24. The palm rest cover 22 is disposed on the near side as viewed from the user at the time of operation with respect to the keyboard 23, and functions as a palm rest when the user performs key input on the keyboard 23. The palm rest cover 22 is provided with a track pad 33, and a mouse button 32 is disposed on the front side thereof.

The hinge portions 30 that connect the upper housing 10 and the lower housing 20 are provided at both ends of the upper housing 10 and the lower housing 20 in the axial direction. A battery 31 is detachably provided between the hinge portions 30 at both ends, that is, behind the keyboard 23 as viewed from the user during operation.
The configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 is an example, and for example, a configuration including a click pad 41 instead of the track pad 33 and the mouse button 32 may be used.

  Next, the internal structure of the notebook computer 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 shows a state where the palm rest cover 22 is removed from FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 shows a state where the top cover 21 is further removed from FIG. FIG. 4 is a view of the top cover 21 as viewed from the key arrangement surface side, and FIG. 5 is a view of the top cover 21 as viewed from the back side thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a motherboard 40 on which main components such as a CPU (not shown) are mounted is disposed on the bottom side of the lower housing 20 with respect to the top cover 21 and the palm rest cover 22. An electronic component such as a CPU mounted on the mother board 40 functions as a control unit that controls the entire notebook computer 100 by performing processing based on a predetermined program stored in an HDD 63 described later.
2 and 3, some components mounted on the mother board 40 are omitted.

As described above, the top cover 21 is configured integrally with the keyboard 23 and the power switch 24, and on the back side of the key arrangement surface of the keyboard 23, as shown in FIG. Is configured.
The top cover 21 is provided with a plurality of screw holes 71 and is fixed to the lower housing 20 with screws (not shown).

The sub board 51 is provided with a power switch 24 from the key arrangement surface side.
The sub board 53 is provided in front of the keyboard 23 as viewed from the user during operation, that is, at a position where it is covered by the palm rest cover 22. Further, a card slot 54 for attaching a PC card so that it can be inserted and removed is provided at a position on the front side of the keyboard 23.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 6, the top cover 21 is provided with a keyboard cable 26 for connecting the keyboard 23 to the mother board 40 so as to be drawn out to the front side in the key arrangement direction. . A cable-side connector 26 a for connecting to a board-side connector 42 mounted on the mother board 40 is provided at the tip of the keyboard cable 26.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, a sub board cable 25 for connecting the sub board 52 and the like to the mother board 40 is drawn out to the front side in the key arrangement direction. It is provided as follows. One of the sub-board cables 25 is connected to the connector 56 of the sub-board 52, and the other end is provided with a cable-side connector 25a for connecting to a board-side connector 41 mounted on the mother board 40.

  2, 4, and 5, the sub cover cable 27 for connecting the sub board 53 and the card slot 54 to the mother board 40 is provided on the front cover 21 in front of the keyboard 23. It is provided so as to be pulled out from the position of the card slot 54 in the lateral direction in the key arrangement direction. The sub-board cable 27 is thus laid out at the position where it is covered by the palm rest cover 22 by being pulled out in the lateral direction, and is pulled out to the side of the top cover 21. Further, a cable-side connector 27 a for connecting to a board-side connector 43 mounted on the mother board 40 is provided at the tip of the sub-board cable 27.

  FIG. 6 schematically shows the relationship between the key arrangement surface of the top cover 21 and the drawing direction of the keyboard cable 26. As shown in FIG. 6, the keyboard cable 26 is drawn from the outer peripheral side of the arrangement surface with respect to the key arrangement position on the top cover 21 to the key arrangement direction on the near side of the keyboard 23. For this reason, the keyboard cable 26 is pulled out to the side surface on the near side with respect to the key arrangement surface of the keyboard 23. A position adjacent to the side surface on the near side with respect to the key arrangement surface of the keyboard 23 is covered by the palm rest cover 22.

  Further, the board-side connectors 41, 42, and 43 are mounted on the mother board 40 as described above. The board-side connectors 41, 42, and 43 are all arranged at positions that are exposed to the outside with the palm rest cover 22 as shown in FIG. 2 removed.

  Therefore, the cable-side connector 26a can be detached from the board-side connector 42 on the mother board 40 as shown in FIG. 2 simply by removing the palm rest cover 22 from the notebook computer 100 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. For this reason, it is not necessary to remove the top cover 21 including the keyboard 23 at the time of maintenance service such as repair, and instead of the keyboard cable 26, a cable for a check keyboard (not shown) is inserted into the board side connector 42 of the motherboard 40. The keyboard 23 can be checked.

  Further, the sub-board cables 25 and 27 are also pulled out to the side surface side with respect to the key arrangement surface of the top cover 21 as described above, and the position of the pulled-out side surface is covered by the palm rest cover 22. For this reason, similarly, it is possible to perform the check by inserting the cable from the check board (not shown) into the board side connectors 41 and 43 of the motherboard 40 without having to remove the top cover 21 including the keyboard 23.

  FIG. 7 shows a state in which the lower casing 20 in the notebook computer 100 of this embodiment is viewed from the bottom. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the cover in the HDD accommodating portion 60 that accommodates the HDD 63 is removed.

  As described above, in the notebook computer 100 of this embodiment, the board-side connectors 41, 42, and 43 are mounted on the surface of the motherboard 40 on the side where the top cover 21 is disposed, and the keyboard is pulled out from the top cover 21. The cable 26 and the sub board cables 25 and 27 are connected.

  Therefore, in the notebook computer 100 of the present embodiment, the HDD accommodating portion 60 that accommodates the HDD 63 is disposed on the back side, that is, the bottom surface with respect to the surface on which the top cover 21 is disposed. Thus, by arranging the HDD housing portion 60 on the bottom side of the motherboard 40, the HDD housing portion 60 is placed on the back surface side of the motherboard 40 with respect to the laying position of the keyboard cable 26 and the sub board cables 25 and 27. Can be arranged.

  A guide member 62 that guides the mounting position of the HDD 63 to be accommodated is provided on the surface of the HDD accommodating portion 60 on the top cover 21 side. The HDD cable 61 connected to the mother board 40 is arranged so that the cable-side connector 61 a provided at the tip of the HDD cable 61 is pulled out from the gap of the guide member 62 into the HDD housing portion 60.

  Therefore, when the HDD 63 is attached to the HDD accommodating portion 60, the HDD 63 is connected to the cable side connector 61a provided at the tip of the HDD cable 61 by connecting the HDD side connector 63a of the HDD 63 so that the HDD 63 can be connected to the motherboard 40 from the bottom side. Will be connected.

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, when the cause for identifying the problem location is identified by a maintenance service such as repair, it is provided adjacent to the front side of the keyboard 23. By simply removing the palm rest cover 22, a cable for a check keyboard (not shown) can be inserted into the board-side connector 42 of the motherboard 40 instead of the keyboard cable 26. For this reason, the keyboard 23 can be checked without having to remove the top cover 21 including the keyboard 23.

For this reason, even in the case of maintenance services such as repairs, the risk of component damage associated with the removal of the top cover 21 including the lightweight keyboard 23 can be greatly reduced.
For this reason, even if the keyboard 23 has a very light weight configuration, the reliability of the notebook computer 100 can be further improved. As described above, the maintenance of the notebook computer 100 can be prevented from being damaged, so that maintainability can be further improved.

Even if the sub-boards 51, 52, 53 and the card slot 54 are integrated with the keyboard 23, the sub-boards 51, 52, 53 and the card slot 54 are connected to the mother board 40. The cable is provided so that it can be replaced with a cable for connecting a check substrate simply by removing the palm rest cover 22. Therefore, it is possible to check the sub-boards 51, 52, 53 and the card slot 54 without having to remove the top cover 21 including the keyboard 23.
Therefore, even if the sub-boards 51, 52, 53 and the card slot 54 are integrated with the keyboard 23, the above-described effects can be obtained in the same manner.

  Each of the above-described embodiments is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

  For example, the cable in the present specification may be any type of cable, such as a flexible cable or a flat cable, as long as it electrically connects between arbitrary points. Also, the flexible cable may be of any type, such as a film-like one or a portion composed only of the wiring portion in the flexible printed board.

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the keyboard 23 is integrated with the top cover 21 has been described. However, the keyboard 23 is configured separately from the top cover 21 as illustrated in FIG. The structure attached with respect to may be sufficient.
In this case, as in the above-described embodiment, the keyboard cable 26 is pulled out from the outer peripheral side of the arrangement surface with respect to the key arrangement position on the keyboard 23 to the key arrangement direction on the near side of the keyboard 23. 23. For this reason, the keyboard cable 26 is pulled out to the side surface on the near side with respect to the key arrangement surface of the keyboard 23, and the position adjacent to the side surface on the near side is covered by the palm rest cover 22.
Even with such a configuration, the present invention can be similarly realized, and the same effect can be obtained.

Further, the method of attaching the keyboard 23 to the notebook computer 100 is not limited to the above-described screwing. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the keyboard 23 is attached to a housing recess in the top cover 21, and the housing The structure fixed to a hollow part with a double-sided tape, the structure attached with a magnet, etc. may be sufficient.
Even with such a configuration, the present invention can be similarly realized, and the same effect can be obtained.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the cable can be pulled out from the keyboard 23 in any direction as long as it can be drawn out to the front side surface with respect to the key arrangement surface and can be attached by the palm rest cover 22. Direction. For example, the present invention can be realized in the same manner and obtain the same effect even when various cables such as the keyboard cable 26 are drawn slightly diagonally downward on the bottom side with respect to the key arrangement direction. Can do.

100 notebook computer (electronic equipment)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Upper housing | casing 11 Display part 20 Lower housing | casing 21 Top cover 22 Palm rest cover (exterior member)
23 Keyboard 24 Power switch 25, 27 Sub board cable 26 Keyboard cable 25a, 26a, 27a Cable side connector 30 Hinge part 31 Battery 32 Mouse button 33 Trackpad 40 Motherboard (control means)
41, 42, 43 Board side connector 51, 52, 53 Sub board 54 Card slot 55, 56 Connector 60 HDD housing part 61 HDD cable 61a Cable side connector 62 Guide member 63 HDD (storage means)
63a HDD side connector 71 Screw hole

Claims (6)

A keyboard part configured by arranging a plurality of keys;
A top cover on which the keyboard portion is disposed;
Control means,
A keyboard cable for connecting the keyboard unit to the control means is provided so as to be drawn out to a side surface side with respect to the arrangement surface of the plurality of keys in the keyboard unit,
Wherein the side of the side surface of the keyboard unit keyboard cable is pulled, said top cover to a child device electropneumatic palm rest cover is provided which is provided separately,
An electronic apparatus, wherein a connector for connecting the keyboard cable and the control means is disposed at a position where the connector is exposed when the palm rest cover is removed . The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the palm rest cover is provided at a position adjacent to the top cover on a side surface side of the top cover from which the keyboard cable is pulled out. The keyboard cable is provided on the top cover so as to be drawn in an arrangement direction of the plurality of keys from an outer peripheral side of the arrangement surface with respect to an arrangement position of the plurality of keys. 2. The electronic device according to 2. The keyboard cable is provided so as to be drawn out to the side surface on the near side with respect to the arrangement surface in the top cover ,
4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the palm rest cover is provided on a side surface closer to the front side than the top cover . 5. The top cover is configured integrally with a sub-board provided separately from the control means,
The sub board cable for connecting the sub board to the control means and the keyboard cable are provided so as to be drawn out to a side of the top cover with respect to the arrangement surface. 5. The electronic device according to any one of 4. A storage means is detachably provided,
6. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit is provided so as to be attached to the electronic device from a back surface side of a surface on which the top cover is disposed in the electronic device. machine.

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