JPH07234744A - Information unit provided with extension unit and extension slot mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To arrange a transmission/reception means on an effective place if necessary and to arrange the transmission/reception means on a place without hindrance to carry a unit at unnecessary time. CONSTITUTION:An extension card 7 having an antenna 8 is guided by a guide member 5 and is mounted on an extension slot 3 fitted to the information unit. The mounted extension card 7 is electrically connected to the information unit through a connector 4. When the extension card 7 is used, the lever member of a moving mechanism 6 is operated, the card is moved to the place where the antenna 8 effectively functions and it is fixed. When the card is not necessary, the lever member of the moving mechanism 6 is operated, and the extension card 7 is moved to the inner part of a unit cover 2 where the antenna 8 does not become the hindrance.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information device which is detachably provided with an extension unit having transmitting / receiving means such as an antenna and an extension slot mechanism for detachably holding the extension unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as information equipment such as a laptop personal computer, an expansion card having an antenna for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves as an expansion unit has been developed so that it can be detachably attached. This expansion card is an expansion unit in which a transmission / reception circuit (integrated circuit) for exchanging data with, for example, a host system or a partner information device is mounted using a wireless communication system. The expansion unit also includes an expansion card using an optical communication system instead of the wireless communication system. In the optical communication system, a light transmitting / receiving element for transmitting or receiving an optical signal is used instead of the antenna.

In an information device using such an expansion card, an expansion slot is provided on the back surface or left and right side surfaces of the device body. If using an expansion card, install it in the expansion slot. A connector is provided in the expansion slot, and the expansion card and the information device are electrically connected via the connector.

[0004]

In an information device using an expansion card with a conventional antenna (including a light transmitting / receiving element), when the expansion card is installed in the expansion slot, the antenna cannot effectively transmit and receive electromagnetic waves. May become. On the contrary, when the antenna is arranged at a position extending from the information device, there is a problem that the antenna becomes an obstacle when carrying the information device.

An object of the present invention is to provide an information device equipped with an expansion unit having a transmitting / receiving means such as an antenna,
Provided is an expansion slot mechanism for holding an information device and its expansion unit, in which the transmission / reception means can be arranged at an effective position when necessary, and can be arranged at a position where the transmission / reception means is not obstructed when carrying the equipment. Especially.

[0006]

The first aspect of the present invention is to provide a moving mechanism for holding and moving an expansion unit in an information device detachably provided with an expansion unit having a transmitting / receiving means such as an antenna for transmitting / receiving electromagnetic waves. It is an information device provided with the extension unit holding means. The expansion unit holding means is provided on the display for displaying the data of the information equipment.

A second aspect of the present invention is an extension slot mechanism, which is attached to an information device and detachably holds an extension unit having transmitting / receiving means such as an antenna for transmitting / receiving electromagnetic waves, for guiding attachment / detachment of the extension unit. It is a mechanism having a guide member, a connector means for electrically connecting the extension unit and the information device, and a moving mechanism for moving the extension unit connected to the connector means to a position where the transmitting / receiving means effectively functions. The moving mechanism has a lever member coupled to the guide member or the connector means, and has a rack mechanism that moves the guide member or the connector means in the linear direction in accordance with the operation of the lever member and fixes the position at an arbitrary position.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the expansion unit is used, the expansion unit is attached to the expansion unit holding means provided on the display. The expansion unit holding means moves the expansion unit in the upward direction of the display, for example, and fixes it at a position where the antenna of the expansion unit effectively functions. Further, when unnecessary, the moving mechanism moves the expansion unit downward, for example, to a position where the antenna does not interfere.

In the second aspect of the present invention, the expansion unit having the antenna is mounted on the expansion slot mechanism attached to the information equipment by being guided by the guide member. The mounted expansion unit is electrically connected to the information device via the connector means. When the expansion unit is used, the lever member of the moving mechanism is operated to move and fix the antenna to a position where it effectively functions. When unnecessary, the lever member of the moving mechanism is operated to move the expansion unit to a position where the antenna does not interfere, for example, inside the information device.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an information device according to the same embodiment, FIGS. 2 and 3 are front views showing a main part of an expansion slot mechanism according to the same embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a modification of the same embodiment. It is the side view and rear view which show the principal part of the related expansion slot mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information equipment of the embodiment is, for example, a laptop personal computer, and is an apparatus capable of using an expansion card 7 having an antenna 8 which is a detachable expansion unit. This information device comprises a device main body 1 and a device cover (cover) 2 including a display 2a. The device body 1 is a CP not shown.
It is equipped with a U board, an external storage device (such as a floppy disk device), and a keyboard 1a.

The device cover 2 is a display unit having a display 2a attached to the cover body 2b and an expansion slot 3. The cover body 2b is attached to the device body 1 so as to be openable and closable, and maintains an open state so that the display 2a can be confirmed using the keyboard 1a when operating the information device. Further, when the information device is carried or not used, the keyboard 1a and the display 2a are opposed to each other, and the closed state is maintained so as to cover the surface of the keyboard 1a.

The display 2a is a display unit which is connected to the apparatus main body 1 and displays various data by a CPU (microprocessor) mounted on a CPU board. The display 2a is, for example, a liquid crystal display.

The expansion slot 3 is a member for holding the expansion card 7 with the antenna 8 detachably,
It is attached to the device cover 2. When the mounting side of the display 2a is the front side, the expansion slot 3 is mounted on the back side of the device cover 2. Expansion slot 3
Is provided with a connector member 4 and a guide member 5.

The connector member 4 is a member for electrically connecting the expansion card 7 and the device body 1. here,
The expansion card 7 is mounted with a transmission / reception circuit (integrated circuit) for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves that transmit space through the antenna 8. The expansion card 7 converts data output from the CPU of the device body 1 via the connector member 4 into electromagnetic waves and transmits the electromagnetic waves from the antenna 8. Also, the expansion card 7
The electromagnetic waves received by the antenna 8 are converted into data and output to the CPU of the device body 1 via the connector member 4.

The guide member 5 is a member having a groove for supporting both sides of the expansion card 7, and guides the attachment / detachment of the expansion card 7 to / from the expansion slot 3 to securely connect the expansion card 7 to the connector member 4. It is a member of.

Further, the expansion slot 3 has a moving mechanism 6 for vertically moving the expansion card 7 connected to the connector member 4. The moving mechanism 6 includes the cover body 2
This is a mechanism that has a lever member 6a arranged on the side surface of b, and moves the connector member 4 and the guide member 5 in the vertical direction according to the operation (vertical direction) of the lever member 6a.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the moving mechanism 6 has a lever member 6a coupled to the connector member 4, and the connector member 4 is connected to the connector guide member 10 in conjunction with the movement of the lever member 6a. It is configured to move in the up and down direction. The connector member 4 includes the elastic member 11
Is supported by the connector guide member 10.

The elastic member 11 is made of a rubber material or a spring (leaf spring or the like) member, and urges the connector member 4 toward the lever member 6a. The connector guide member 10 is made of plastic or metal, and has an elastic member 11
Is made of a material with a small sliding friction coefficient that makes it easy to slide.

Further, the moving mechanism 6 has a non-slip plate member 12 and a non-slip guide member 13 attached to the side surface of the connector guide member 10. The anti-slip plate member 12 and the anti-slip guide member 13 are formed of a rack mechanism that is formed so as to mesh with each other. The anti-slip guide member 13 is provided in parallel with the connector guide member 10 and is a member that meshes with the anti-slip plate member 12 to fix the connector member 4 at a predetermined position.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described. First,
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, before mounting the expansion card 7 in the expansion slot 3 of the information device, the lever member 6a is operated so that at least a part of the guide member 5 goes out of the cover body 2b. . Then, the expansion card 7 is guided by the guide member 5 so that the front end portion of the expansion card 7 (referred to as a connector portion) is securely connected to the connector member 4.

After the expansion card 7 is mounted in the expansion slot 3, if the expansion card 7 is not used immediately, the lever member 6a is operated downward to move the expansion card 7 connected to the connector member 4. It is moved downward together with the guide member 5. Therefore, the expansion card 7 is the cover body 2b.
It is in a state of being housed in the expansion slot 3 which is the inside of the. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the expansion card 7 may be moved to a size equal to or larger than the size of the card so as to be completely stored inside the cover body 2b.

In this way, the lever member 6a is operated downward to house the expansion card 7 inside the cover body 2b, so that the antenna 8 attached to the expansion card 7 interferes with the cover body 2b. It is possible to prevent such a situation as to stick out to a certain extent. Therefore, even when the information device is carried by closing the device cover 2 with the expansion card 7 attached, or when the information device is placed with the device cover 2 open (see FIG. 1), the expansion card It is possible to prevent a situation in which the antenna 8 attached to 7 interferes.

Here, in the expansion card 7 mounted in the expansion slot 3, as shown in FIG. 3, the anti-slip plate member 12 of the moving mechanism 6 meshes with the anti-slip guide member 13 to fix the connector member 4. By doing so, it is held at a predetermined position. That is, the elastic member 11 in contact with the connector guide member 10 moves the connector member 4 into the lever member 6
By biasing in the direction of a, the anti-slip plate member 12 meshes with the anti-slip guide member 13 to fix the connector member 4.

When the expansion card 7 is used in such a state, the lever member 6a is operated to move it to a position where the antenna 8 attached to the expansion card 7 effectively functions. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the connector member 4 is operated to be pressed toward the elastic member 11 by the lever member 6a.

By pressing the lever member 6a, the connector member 4 horizontally moves in the direction of the elastic member 11. Therefore, the anti-slip plate member 12 separates from the anti-slip guide member 13, and the fixed state of the connector member 4 is released. When the lever member 6a is operated upward in this state, the connector member 4 moves upward while the elastic member 11 slides on the connector guide member 10.

When the antenna 8 attached to the expansion card 7 moves to a position where it can function effectively, the lever member 6
When the pressing operation of a is stopped, the anti-slip plate member 12 is moved by the urging force of the elastic member 11, and the anti-slip guide member 13
Will be engaged to fix the connector member 4.

As a result, the expansion card 7 is attached to the cover body 2
As a result, the antenna 8 attached to the expansion card 7 will be located at a position away from the information equipment. Therefore, the expansion card 7 can reliably transmit and receive the electromagnetic wave transmitting the space through the antenna 8.

As an expansion unit, an expansion card 7 for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves transmitting space through an antenna 8 is used.
However, instead of the antenna 8, an optical communication type expansion card using a light transmitting / receiving element for transmitting or receiving an optical signal may be used.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a modification of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, wherein FIG. 4A is a side view and FIG. 4B is a rear view. In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the lever member 6a is provided on the side surface of the cover body 2b.

On the other hand, in the modification, as shown in FIG. 4, the lever member 6a is arranged on the back side of the cover body 2b (the display 2a side is the front side).
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2B, the cover body 2b
The groove 2c is formed in the range in which the lever member 6a is moved in the vertical direction on the back surface of the above, and the lever member 6a is arranged in the groove 2c. That is, as shown in FIG. 3A, the lever member 6a has a structure embedded in the back surface of the cover body 2b, and the lever member 6a does not protrude from the back surface of the cover body 2b even when the cover body 2b is closed. .

With such a structure, the lever member 6a
Does not need to be provided on the side surface portion of the cover body 2b, so that it is possible to provide a lock mechanism (locking hook or the like) for locking when the device cover 2 is closed, for example, on the side surface portion of the cover body 2b. The rest of the configuration, functions and effects are the same as those of the above-mentioned embodiment, so the description thereof is omitted.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6 (A), in the above embodiment, the expansion slot 3 is attached to the back side of the device cover 2 and is arranged at a position not facing the display 2a. As a result, the expansion slot 3 and the display 2a do not overlap each other in the thickness direction, so that the cover body 2b of the device cover 2 can be thinned. Therefore, when it is applied to a portable information device that is particularly required to be thin, the effect is great.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
The expansion slot 3 may be attached to the back side of the device cover 2 at a position facing the display 2a. In this structure, since the expansion slot 3 and the display 2a overlap each other in the thickness direction, the thickness of the cover body 2b of the device cover 2 increases. However, the size (area) of the display 2a attached to the front side of the device cover 2 can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to realize an information device having a large-screen display 2a.

[0035]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, when an expansion unit having a transmitting / receiving means such as an antenna is mounted on an information device, the transmitting / receiving means is located at a position where it effectively functions when the expansion unit is used. It can be set reliably and easily. Further, when the expansion unit is not used, the transmitting / receiving means can be easily arranged at a position where it does not interfere with the carrying of the information equipment. Therefore, particularly when applied to a small-sized information device such as a portable type, it is possible to effectively function the expansion unit, and it is possible to reliably prevent a situation that impairs characteristics such as portability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an information device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a main part of an expansion slot mechanism according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a main part of an expansion slot mechanism according to the embodiment.

4A and 4B are diagrams showing a main part of an expansion slot mechanism according to a modified example of the embodiment, FIG. 4A being a side view and FIG. 4B being a rear view.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an arrangement example of an expansion slot mechanism according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Information device body, 2 ... Device cover, 2a ... Display, 2b ... Cover body, 3 ... Expansion slot, 4 ... Connector, 5 ... Guide member, 6 ... Moving mechanism, 6a ... Lever member, 7 ... Expansion card (expansion) Unit), 8 ... Antenna.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An information device, which is detachably provided with an expansion unit having a transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving a signal for transmitting a space, in which the expansion unit is held and the transmission / reception means effectively functions. An information device comprising an expansion unit holding means having a moving mechanism for moving the expansion unit. 2. An information device detachably provided with an expansion unit having a transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving a signal for transmitting space, the display unit displaying data and a mounting unit for mounting the expansion unit. And a display unit provided in the mounting portion, which holds the expansion unit and moves the expansion unit to a position where the transmission / reception unit functions effectively when the expansion unit is used, and the expansion unit is not used. An information device, comprising: an expansion unit holding means having a moving mechanism for moving the expansion unit to a predetermined position inside the display means. 3. An information device detachably provided with an expansion unit having a transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving a signal for transmitting a space, the display unit displaying data and a mounting unit for mounting the expansion unit. Display means having, and connector means provided in the mounting portion for electrically connecting the expansion unit and the information device body,
Expansion unit holding means having a moving mechanism for holding the expansion unit connected to the connector means and moving the connector means to move the expansion unit to a position where the transmitting / receiving means effectively functions. Information equipment characterized in that. 4. The moving mechanism of the expansion unit holding means is engaged with a holding portion holding the expansion unit,
The information device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a linear movement mechanism that moves the holding portion in a linear direction and fixes the holding portion at an arbitrary position. 5. The moving mechanism of the expansion unit holding means has a fixing mechanism for fixing the connector means for holding the expansion unit at an arbitrary position, and releases the fixed state of the fixing mechanism during movement. 4. The information device according to claim 3, further comprising a linear movement mechanism that linearly moves the connector means. 6. The rack mechanism for fixing the connector unit to an arbitrary position when the moving mechanism of the expansion unit holding unit has a lever member coupled to the connector unit for holding the expansion unit. 4. The information device according to claim 3, further comprising a lever mechanism for releasing the fixed state of the rack mechanism and moving the connector means in a linear direction according to an operation of the lever member during movement. 7. An expansion slot mechanism for holding an expansion unit, which is provided in an information device and has a transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving a signal for transmitting a space, the guide member for guiding attachment / detachment of the expansion unit. A connector unit for electrically connecting the expansion unit and the information device, and a moving mechanism for moving the expansion unit connected to the connector unit to a position where the transmission / reception unit effectively functions. An expansion slot mechanism characterized in that 8. The moving mechanism has a lever member connected to the connector means, and has a lever member connected to the connector means for holding the expansion unit, and when the fixing mechanism fixes the connector means at an arbitrary position. A lever mechanism for releasing the fixed state of the rack mechanism in response to an operation of the lever member during movement to move the connector means in a linear direction. The information device according to item 7. 9. The non-slip plate member coupled to the connector means and a non-slip guide member fixed in a linear direction are provided in the rack mechanism, and the anti-slip member is provided in response to an operation of the lever member. The plate member and the anti-slip guide member engage with each other to fix the connector member at a predetermined position, or the anti-slip plate member is released from the anti-slip guide member to release the fixed state. The information device according to claim 6, wherein the information device is configured to: 10. The anti-slip plate member coupled to the connector means and an anti-slip guide member fixed in a straight line direction are provided in the rack mechanism, and the anti-slip member is operated in response to an operation of the lever member. The plate member and the anti-slip guide member engage with each other to fix the connector member at a predetermined position, or the anti-slip plate member is released from the anti-slip guide member to release the fixed state. 8. The expansion slot mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the expansion slot mechanism is configured to