JPH10282903A - Electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the electronic equipment which can have an input means fixed securely at a desired angle with simple constitution. SOLUTION: The equipment main body 2 of the electronic equipment 1 has an arcuate mount surface 2a for mounting the input means 3 and on this mount surface 2a, a guide part is provided which extends along the arc. The main body part 30 of the input means 3 has a bottom surface 32 having nearly equal curvature which engages the mount surface 2a of the equipment main body 2. The input means 3 is slid and guided along the mount surface 2a of the equipment main body 2. A lock member 12 is projected from the bottom surface 32 of the main body part 30 and engaged with a positioning part 5 of the mount surface 2a to position and fix the input means 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus to which input means having a display function and keyboard type input means can be rotatably mounted.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a store, a railway station, or the like, there has been provided an electronic device capable of performing an input by a so-called touch panel system on a display unit such as a liquid crystal panel. In this type of electronic apparatus, predetermined information is input by touching a predetermined position on a screen of an input unit, and the information is processed by a computer and printed out.

On the other hand, electronic devices using keyboard-type input means instead of the touch-panel type input means have been conventionally known. In this type of electronic apparatus, predetermined information is input by a keyboard, the information is processed by a computer, and the information is printed out.

Heretofore, such electronic devices have been appropriately selected according to the purpose and purpose of the installation location.

[0005]

However, in such an electronic device, it may be necessary to change the angle of the input section of the input means in accordance with the environment and conditions of the installation location. Further, if the angle of the input unit can be changed, the versatility of the device can be expanded.

[0006] However, it is relatively easy to change the angle of the input unit. However, in the case of this type of electronic device, a force is applied at the time of input, so that it is necessary to firmly fix the input unit. However, there was a problem that the configuration was complicated.

When the angle of the input means is made variable, a gap is formed between the input means and the main body of the apparatus. In the conventional apparatus, however, a small object may enter the gap between the main body and the apparatus. In that case, there is also a problem that it is troublesome to take this out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such problems of the prior art, and has as its object to provide an electronic device capable of securely fixing an input means at a desired angle with a simple configuration. I do.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device in which a small object is unlikely to enter between the input means and the device main body, and can be easily taken out even if it enters temporarily.

[0010]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus body having an arcuate mounting surface and a guide formed on the mounting surface along an arc direction. And an arc surface having a curvature substantially equal to the mounting surface on the side opposite to the mounting surface of the device main body, and a sliding portion slidably engaged with the guide portion and slidable along the mounting surface of the device main body. , And a movable lock mechanism which is attached to one of the device main body and the input means and engages with the other to make relative sliding impossible.

In the case of the first aspect of the present invention, the sliding means provided on the arc surface of the input means is slidably guided by the arc-shaped guide provided on the mounting surface of the device main body. Is rotatable with respect to the device main body, whereby the angle of the input means can be arbitrarily changed.

In this case, since the mounting surface of the device body and the arc surface of the input means can be fitted and have substantially the same curvature,
The rotation of the input means is not hindered by contacting the mounting surface of the device body.

The input member is positioned and fixed by projecting the lock member in a direction intersecting the sliding direction of the input member to lock the input member and the device main body. The input means can be locked in a predetermined position.

In this case, as in the invention according to claim 2,
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the lock mechanism includes a rack portion extending in an arc direction on the mounting surface of the device main body, and a lock member having a tooth portion protruding from the arc surface of the input means and meshing with the rack portion. It is also effective.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the input means can be easily positioned and fixed at an arbitrary angle by the engagement of the rack and the lock member, and the angle of the input means can be easily changed. It can be carried out.

On the other hand, as in the invention according to claim 3, in the invention according to any one of claims 1 and 2, a gap formed between the mounting surface of the device main body and the arc surface of the input means is provided. It is also effective to dispose the input means in opposition to the device main body such that the gap at the lower part is larger than the gap at the upper part in a normal use state.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a small object is unlikely to enter from above into a gap formed between the mounting surface of the device main body and the arc surface of the input means. Even if it enters this gap, it is easy to remove it from below.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an electronic device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of an electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 shows an external view of a device main body 2 of the electronic device 1, and FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional configuration of a device main body 2 of an electronic device 1.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the input means 3 of the electronic apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4A shows a keyboard type input means 3A, and FIG. 4B shows a touch panel. Expression input means 3B.

As shown in FIG. 1, an electronic apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes an
And input means 3 provided at the upper front of the device.

As shown in FIG. 2, a mounting surface 2a having an arc-shaped surface is formed on the upper part of the main body 2 of the device. Guide portions 4 for guiding the input means 3 along the mounting surface 2a are provided on both sides of the mounting surface 2a.

The guide portion 4 includes a flanged inner guide rail 4a located at the center of the mounting surface 2a and a mounting surface 2a.
And outer guide rails 4b located on both sides of the guide rail. The inner guide rail 4a and the outer guide rail 4b of each guide part 4 are respectively curved (arced) of the mounting surface 2a.
It is formed so as to extend parallel to the direction.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the lower end 40 of the inner guide rail 4a is closed.

On the other hand, at the center of the mounting surface 2a, the mounting surface 2
The positioning part 5 is provided so as to extend in the bending direction of a. As shown in FIG. 3, the positioning portion 5 has a large number of rack-shaped teeth 5a formed so as not to protrude from the surface of the mounting surface 2a, and constitutes a lock mechanism 7 described later. is there.

In the vicinity of the positioning section 5, a locking member 6 for auxiliary locking of the input means 3 is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B,
In the present embodiment, two types of input means 3 are used, and these are configured to be interchangeable as described later.

Here, the keyboard type input means 3A shown in FIG. 4A and the touch panel type input means 3B shown in FIG.
And an input unit 31 (31A, 31A) having a different input function.
B).

Each main body 30 has a mounting surface 2
a (bottom surface) 3 that can be fitted with a and has substantially the same curvature
2 are formed. In the input means 3A shown in FIG. 4A, a keyboard 33 is provided in the input section 31A, and in the input means 3B shown in FIG. 4B, the input section 31B has a display having a touch panel type input function. An input unit 34 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 4A, in the case of the keyboard type input means 3A, the keyboard 33 is connected to the main body 30.
Are arranged so as to be inclined by a predetermined angle in the bending direction of the bottom surface 32 with respect to the upper surface 30a.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (a), in the present embodiment, the input portion 31A is so formed that it becomes deeper toward the upper end portion 31a located on the upper side when the input portion 31A is mounted on the device main body 2. A concave portion 31b is formed, so that the keyboard 33 is lowered toward the upper end portion 31a.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4B, in the case of the input means 3B of the touch panel type, the upper surface 30 of the main body 30 is provided.
The display input unit 34 is provided so as to be parallel to a.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of the main body 30 of the input means 3, FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view showing the internal structure of the main body 30 of the input means 3, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an internal configuration of a main body 30 of FIG. FIG. 8 shows a main part of the lock mechanism 7.

As shown in FIG. 6, the main body 3 of the input means 3
A guide groove 32 a is formed in the bottom surface 32 of the device 0 to engage with the guide portion 4 of the device main body 2. And the guide groove 3
Guide grooves 37 are formed on both sides of 2a by a pair of guide members 35 and 36, and these guide grooves 37 are configured to engage with the guide rails 4b of the device main body 2.

On the other hand, a lock mechanism 7 for fixing the input means 3 to the apparatus main body 2 is provided inside the main body 30 of the input means 3. The lock mechanism 7 is provided in the main body 3
The drive lever 9 is supported so as to be rotatable in a direction parallel to the upper surface 30 a of the main body 30 around the support shaft 8 erected on the bottom 300 of the main body 30. The drive lever 9 is configured such that a pinion portion 9b is formed at one end 9a thereof, and the pinion portion 9b meshes with a rack portion 10a of the drive member 10 provided on one side 301 of the upper surface 30a of the main body 30. ing.

As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG.
Is engaged with the guide member 11 extending in parallel with one side 301 of the main body 30, and is moved in the arrow A or B direction along the guide member 11 by pinching and moving the grip portion 10 b provided on the drive member 10 with a finger. It is configured to be.

On the other hand, the other end of the drive lever 9 is provided with a substantially fan-shaped drive section 9c. As shown in FIG. 8, an arc-shaped long hole 9d is formed in the driving section 9c. The arc portion 9e at the tip of the driving portion 9c has a thick portion 9f and a thin portion 9g so that the thickness differs along the arc.
Is formed, and further, on the surface of the main body 30 side,
An inclined portion 9h is formed between the thick portion 9f and the thin portion 9g.

A lock member 12 for fixing the main body 30 of the input means 3 is disposed between the arc portion 9e at the tip of the driving portion 9c of the driving lever 9 and the bottom 300 of the main body 30. The lock member 12 has a tooth portion 12a formed on a lower portion thereof for meshing with the tooth portion 5a of the positioning portion 5 provided on the mounting surface 2a of the device main body 2. Lock member 1
A pair of arm-shaped leaf springs 13 that are bent in the direction of the teeth 12a are fixed to 2.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the lock member 12 is
Is supported by the support portion 300a of the main body 30.
The tooth portion 12a is inserted into the hole portion 300b formed at the bottom.

In this case, the lock member 12 is urged by the driving portion 9c of the driving lever 9 by the elastic force of the leaf spring 13,
The head portion 12b of the lock member 12 is the thin portion 9g of the drive portion 9c.
Is configured such that the tooth portions 12a of the lock member 12 do not protrude from the bottom surface 32 of the main body portion 30 in a state where the lock members 12 are in contact with the main body 30. Further, the arc portion 9 e at the tip of the drive portion 9 c of the drive lever 9 is supported by a substantially U-shaped support member 14 fixed to the bottom portion 300 of the main body 30.

In the present embodiment having such a configuration, when the input means 3 is mounted on the apparatus main body 2, the guide groove 3 provided on the bottom 300 of the main body 30 of the input means 3 is provided.
2a, 37 and the inner and outer guide rails 4a, 4b provided on the mounting surface 2a of the device main body 2 are engaged from above the device main body 2, and the input means 3 is slid downward along the guide portion 4. In this state, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the thin portion 9 g of the driving portion 9 c of the driving lever 9 is brought into contact with the head portion 12 b of the lock member 12, and Tooth portion 1 of lock member 12 from bottom surface 32
2a does not protrude.

Then, at a position where the angle of the input section 31 of the input means 3 is a predetermined angle, as shown in FIG.
The drive member 10 is moved in the direction of arrow B, and the drive lever 9 is rotated clockwise. As a result, the thick portion 9f of the drive portion 9c of the drive lever 9 functions as a cam, so that the lock member 12 is pushed down (in the direction of arrow C) from the position shown in FIG. 8, and as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. And the main body 30
The tooth portion 12a of the lock member 12 projects from the bottom surface 32 of the device and meshes with the tooth portion 5a of the positioning portion 5 of the device main body 2, thereby, as shown by the solid line in FIG.
1 is positioned and fixed at a predetermined angle.

Thus, for example, when the input means 3B of the touch panel type shown in FIG. 5 is used as the input means 3, a good display state can be obtained.

When the angle of the input means 3 is changed, the driving member 10 is moved in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 8 to rotate the driving lever 9 in the counterclockwise direction, contrary to the above operation. As a result, the locking member 12 is pulled up (in the direction of arrow D) by the urging force of the leaf spring 13, so that the tooth portions 12a of the locking member 12 and the positioning portions 5 of the device main body 2 are arranged.
Is disengaged from the tooth portion 5a, and returns to the above-described state. Then, the main unit 30 of the input unit 3 is connected to the device main unit 4.
Of the driving member 10
By operating the lock member 12 and the positioning portion 5 of the device main body 2.
May be engaged. Thereby, for example, as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 1, it is possible to fix the input unit 3 with the input unit 31 laid down.

In the case of this embodiment, the lower end portion 40 of the outer guide rail 4a provided on the mounting surface 2a of the device main body 2 is used.
Is closed, and when the input means 3 is pushed down, the end of the guide groove 32a of the input means 3 comes into contact with the lower end 40 of the outer guide rail 4a. Does not come off.

In this state, for example, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 1, the input section 31 of the input means 3 is slightly inclined forward. In this case, when the input means 3 is the keyboard-type input means 3A shown in FIG. 4, the keyboard 33 is arranged so as to be inclined forward as described above. It can be made easy to hit.

By the way, in the present embodiment, by adjusting the shape of the guide portion 4 of the device main body 2, as shown in FIG.
The input means 3 is arranged to face the device body 2 such that the gap formed between the input means 3 and the circular arc surface 32 is larger than the gap p of the upper part. ing.

With this configuration, in the present embodiment, it is difficult for a small object to enter from above into a gap formed between the mounting surface 2a of the device main body 2 and the arc surface 32 of the input means 3. In addition, even if a small object enters this gap, it can be easily taken out from below.

When the input means 3 is detached from the main body 2, the drive member 10 is operated to operate the lock member 12 and the positioning portion 5 of the main body 2 in the same manner as in changing the angle of the input means 3. Can be canceled. Then, if the input means 3 is pulled up along the guide portion 4, the input means 3 can be easily removed from the device main body 2.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
Since the input means 3 is guided along the guide portion 4 provided on the mounting surface 2a of the device main body 2 and becomes rotatable with respect to the device main body 2, the angle of the input portion 31 of the input means 3 is arbitrarily changed. be able to.

In this case, since the mounting surface 2a of the device main body 2 and the arcuate surface 32 of the input means 3 can be fitted and have substantially the same curvature, the input means is brought into contact with the mounting surface 2a of the device main body 2. The rotation of the input means 3 is not hindered by the rotation of the input means 3.
Can be rotated.

The bottom surface 3 of the main body 30 of the input means 3
The positioning and fixing of the input means 3 is performed by making the teeth 12a of the lock member 12 protrude from the gear 2 and meshing with the teeth 5a of the positioning section 5 of the device main body 2, so that the input means 3 can be securely fixed with a simple configuration. The angle can be set, and the angle of the input means 3 can be easily changed.

Further, in the present embodiment, a small object is unlikely to enter the gap formed between the mounting surface 2a of the device main body 2 and the bottom surface 32 of the input means 3 from above, and should not be small. Even if an object enters this gap, it is easy to take it out from below, so that there is an advantage that handling is easy.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the guide rails 4 a and 4 b are provided on the mounting surface 2 a of the device main body 2, and the guide grooves 32 are formed on the bottom surface 32 of the main body 30 of the input means 3.
Although a and 37 are provided, the present invention is not limited to this, and a guide rail may be provided on the input means 3 side and a guide groove may be provided on the device main body 2 side. However, the mounting surface 2a of the device main body 2 and the main body 30 of the input means 3
Must be configured so that the distance from the bottom surface 32 becomes a certain value or more.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the rack-shaped positioning portion 5 is provided on the device main body 2 side, and the input means 3 is provided.
The lock member 12 is made to protrude from the bottom surface 300 of the main body portion 30. Conversely, a rack-shaped positioning portion 5 is provided on the input means 3 side so that the lock member 12 protrudes from the mounting surface 2a of the device main body 2. It can also be configured as follows.

Further, the present invention can be applied not only to the contact type input means having a display function and the keyboard type input means but also to other input means. However, this is particularly effective when a contact-type input unit having a display function and a keyboard-type input unit are mounted as in the above-described embodiment.

[0058]

As described above, according to the present invention, the rotatable input means can be securely fixed at a desired angle with a simple structure.

Further, according to the present invention, a small object is unlikely to enter between the input means and the apparatus main body, and even if it enters temporarily, it can be easily taken out, so that usability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the entirety of a preferred embodiment of an electronic apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an appearance of the device main body according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a cross section of the device main body of the embodiment.

4A and 4B show examples of input means of the electronic device according to the embodiment; FIG. 4A shows a keyboard type input means, and FIG. 4B shows a touch panel type input means. is there.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view showing an internal configuration of a main body of the input means of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal configuration of a main body of the input unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an internal configuration of a main body of the input means of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a main part of the lock mechanism of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic device 2 Device main body 3 Input means 3A Keyboard type input means 3B Touch panel type input means 4 Guide part 4a, 4b Guide rail 5 Positioning part 5a Teeth part 7 Lock mechanism 9 Drive lever 9b Teeth part 9c Drive part 9e Arc part 9f Thick part 9g Thin part 10 Drive member 10a Tooth part 12 Lock member 12a Tooth part 12b Head 13 Leaf spring 14 Support member 30 Main part 30a Upper surface 31 (31A, 31B) Input part 31a Upper part 31b Recess 32 Bottom 32a Guide Groove 33 Keyboard 34 Display input unit 35, 36 Guide member 37 Guide groove 300 Bottom 300b Hole 301 Edge

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus main body provided with an arcuate mounting surface and a guide portion formed on the mounting surface along the arc direction, and the mounting surface on a side of the device main body opposite to the mounting surface. An input means comprising an arc surface having a curvature substantially equal to and a sliding portion slidably engaged with the guide portion and slidably engaged along a mounting surface of the device main body; An electronic device, comprising: a lock mechanism movably attached to one of the input means and engaging with the other to disable relative movement. 2. A lock mechanism comprising: a rack portion extending in an arc direction on a mounting surface of an apparatus main body; and a lock member having a tooth protruding from the arc surface of the input means and meshing with the rack portion. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The gap formed between the mounting surface of the device main body and the arc surface of the input means is such that the gap at the lower portion is larger than the gap at the upper portion in normal use. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the input unit is disposed so as to face the device main body.