This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-165148, filed on Jun. 24, 2008, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present embodiments relate to a device that has a second housing rotatably connected to a first housing, and also relates to a portable terminal device and a rotative supporting unit.
Various kinds of portable terminal devices have been known. For example, there have been known portable telephone devices each having a first housing and a second housing, or a main housing and a display housing. Various improvements have been made on those portable telephone devices, so as to achieve reductions in size and thickness.
As the amount of information to be displayed has increased with the recent increases in communication speed and display resolution, portable telephone devices that can receive television broadcasting services are available today. In this trend, there is an increasing demand for devices that can switch the display orientation of an image or a video image displayed on the display unit attached to the display housing between a vertical display orientation and a horizontal display orientation.
When the orientation of an image or a video image displayed on a display unit is switched between a vertical display orientation and a horizontal display orientation, the display housing is rotated with respect to the main housing. Various supporting mechanisms that can rotate display housings with respect to main housings have been suggested. For example, there has been a rotative supporting mechanism that includes an eccentric cam having a closed position portion and an open position portion, and a pressing unit that stops rotation of the eccentric cam (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-106278).
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device that includes: a first housing that has a wall portion protruding from the front face side thereof; a second housing that has a portion pressed against the wall portion, and is overlapped on the front face side of the first housing, the second housing being rotatable, with the portion being pressed against the wall portion; a first member that is attached to a face of the first housing, the face facing the second housing; a second member that is attached to a face of the second housing, the face facing the face having the first member attached thereto; a rotary shaft unit that allows the second member to slidably move with respect to the first member, and supports the second member in a rotatable manner; and a pushing unit that pushes the second housing, so that the portion of the second housing is pressed against the wall portion. In this device, the first member has a guide groove that has the rotary shaft unit slidably attached thereto. The rotary shaft unit moves away from the wall portion or approaches the wall portion when the second housing rotates, with the portion being pressed against the wall portion.
The following is a description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the sizes and ratios of the components illustrated in the drawings may not be exactly the same as the actual sizes and ratios. Also, some details are omitted from the drawings.
Referring first to
The portable telephone device 100 includes a main housing 110 equivalent to the first housing, and a display housing 120 that is equivalent to the second housing and has a display 121. The main housing 110 has a wall portion 111 that protrudes from the upper end portion on the surface side of the main housing 110. The display housing 120 is overlapped on the surface side of the first housing 110, so that the display housing 120 can be rotatively moved while corner portions 120d and 120e are pushed against the wall portion 111. The display housing 120 is connected to the main housing 110.
When the display housing 120 is closed as depicted in
Next, the structure and operations of the portable telephone device 100 are described in detail.
The rotative supporting unit 1 includes a face of the main housing 110 that faces the display housing 120, or a first member 2 attached to the front face side of the main housing 110. The first member 2 is a plate-like member, and has a straight guide groove 3. The later described rotary shaft unit 11 is slidably attached to the guide groove 3. The guide groove 3 guides the rotary shaft unit 11 that moves away from or approaches the wall portion 111 as the display housing 120 revolves, with the corner portion 120d or the corner portion 120e of the display housing 120 being pressed against the wall portion 111.
Screw holes 4 for attachment to the main housing 110 are formed at the peripheral portion of the first member 2. A claw-like attachment piece 2a for engagement with the later described spring unit 12 is also formed in the first member 2. The first member 2 is screwed to the main housing 110, so that the wall portion 111 is positioned on a line extending from the guide groove 3.
The rotative supporting unit 1 also includes a face that faces the face of the display housing 120 to which the first member 2 is attached, or a second member 5 attached to the back face side of the display housing 120. The second member 5 is a plate-like member, and has a shaft hole 6. Protrusions 7 for attachment to the display housing 120 are also provided around the shaft hole 6, and screw holes 7a are formed in the respective protrusions 7. The second member 5 is attached to the display housing 120 by engaging the protrusions with attachment holes (not depicted) formed in the display housing 120 and screwing the protrusions 7 into the attachment holes. The second member 5 is placed on the front face side of the first member 2.
The rotative supporting unit 1 includes a resin sliding ring 9 and a metallic clamping ring 10 that is to be combined with the sliding ring 9. The combination of the sliding ring 9 and the clamping ring 10 forms the rotary shaft unit 11.
The clamping ring 10 has a cylindrical portion 10a, and the cylindrical portion 10a is engaged with the inner periphery of the sliding ring 9, so as to form the rotary shaft unit 11. The rotary shaft unit 11 is inserted into the guide groove 3, from the back face side of the first member 2. The rotary shaft unit 11 is further inserted into the shaft hole 6 formed in the second member 5. The upper peripheral portion of the cylindrical portion 10a is exposed through the front face side of the second member 5, and the exposed upper peripheral portion is clamped. In this manner, the rotary shaft unit 11 and the second member 5 are integrated. Here, the rotary shaft unit 11 is not fixed to the first member 2. Accordingly, the rotary shaft unit 11 rotatively supports the second member 5 with respect to the first member 2, and is slidably attached to the guide groove 3. As a result, the rotary shaft unit 11 can approach the wall portion 111 and move away from the wall portion 111.
The sliding ring 9 has a retainer portion 9a for retaining the later described spring member 12. The retainer portion 9a is placed on the back face side of the first member 2.
The rotative supporting unit 1 includes the spring member 12 that is an example of a pushing means. The spring member 12 is formed by shaping a metal wire into a spiral. The spring member 12 is engaged with the attachment piece 2a, and is placed on the back face side of the first member 23. The end portions 12a of the spring member 12 are retained by the retainer portion 9a formed on the sliding ring 9. Accordingly, the second member 5 is pushed via the rotary shaft unit 11. The pushing direction is one of the directions in which the guide groove 3 for helping the sliding movement of the rotary shaft unit 11 extends, or the direction in which the rotary shaft unit 11 approaches the wall portion 111.
The thickness of the rotative supporting unit 1 is equal to the sum of the thicknesses of the first member 2 and the second member 5, which is very thin.
Other than the display 121, the above components connected to the control unit 150 are housed in the main housing 110. As depicted in
As depicted in
Keys (buttons) for starting various functions, such as a power key, a mail function start-up key, a call function start-up key, and a telephone-book function start-up key, are collectively arranged on the basic operating unit 153a. The basic operating unit 153a is formed on the front face side of the main housing 110 and on the lower peripheral side of the main housing 110. As depicted in
Numeric and character input keys are arranged on the input operating unit 153b. The input operating unit 153b is placed on the front face side of the main housing 110 and on the upper side of the basic operating unit 153a. As depicted in
The basic operating unit 153a and the input operating unit 153b are both placed on the upper face side of the main housing 110, and are located substantially at the same height, so that the respective keys have excellent operability.
The control unit 150 senses the magnetism of the left-side magnet 161a and the right-side magnet 161b, and determines the orientation of the display housing 120. Based on the result of the determination, the control unit 150 switches the display orientation of an image or a video image displayed on the display 121 between a vertical orientation and a horizontal orientation.
As described above, the display housing 120 has the display 121, the left-side magnet 161a, and the right-side magnet 161b. The second member 5 is attached to the display housing 120, so that the display housing 120 is rotatably connected to the main housing 110. Since a very small number of components are mounted onto the display housing 120, the weight of the display housing 120 is very small.
Referring now to
When the display housing 120 is turned from the situation illustrated in
When the rotation of the display housing 120 comes close to an end, the rotary shaft unit 11 moves toward the wall portion 111. Lastly, the right-side periphery 120c is brought into contact with the wall portion 111, and the display housing 120 is stabilized, as depicted in
In this situation, the magnetic sensor 154 senses the magnetism of the left-side magnet 161a, and switches the display orientation of the display 121 from a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation, as depicted in
When the display housing 120 returns from the situation illustrated in
When the display housing 120 is turned from the situation illustrated in
When the rotation of the display housing 120 comes close to an end, the rotary shaft unit 11 moves toward the wall portion 111. Lastly, the left-side periphery 120b is brought into contact with the wall portion 111, and the display housing 120 is stabilized, as depicted in
In this situation, the magnetic sensor 154 senses the magnetism of the right-side magnet 161b, and switches the display orientation of the display 121 from a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation, as depicted in
When the display housing 120 returns from the situation illustrated in
As described above, the portable telephone device 100 has the display housing 120 rotatably connected to the main housing 110 with the use of the rotative supporting unit 1. The thickness of the rotative supporting unit 1 is substantially equal to the sum of the thicknesses of the first member 2 and the second member 5. Accordingly, the portable telephone device 100 is very thin. Also, the rotative supporting unit 1 includes only a small number of components, and accordingly, the portable telephone device 100 can be made smaller.
In the portable telephone device 100, the display housing 120 rotates when simply pushed in a desired rotational direction. In this manner, the portable telephone device 100 is switched between a closed state and an open state. As described above, a very small number of components including the display 121, the left-side magnet 161a, and the right-side magnet 161b are mounted onto the display housing 120. Accordingly, the display housing 120 is lightweight, and can easily rotate. Since the display housing 120 is pressed against the wall portion 111 by the spring member 12 even during rotational movement, the display housing 120 spontaneously returns to a stable state after passing a predetermined point. Thus, the display housing 120 can be opened and closed with a very small force.
The speaker 162 should be placed as close as possible to the upper periphery of the portable telephone device 100, so as to achieve easy communications. In the portable telephone device 100 of this embodiment, the speaker 162 is built in the wall portion 111 located at the upper periphery of the main housing 110. Accordingly, the speaker 162 is fixed at such a position as to achieve easy communications.
Referring now to
The portable telephone device 200 differs from the portable telephone device 100, in having a groove region 222 along the outer periphery of the back face of the display housing 220. The groove region 222 is designed to allow relative movement of the wall portion 211. Here, the back face of the display housing 220 faces the face of the main housing 210 to which the first member 2 is attached. In the following, mainly the different aspects in the structure and operations of the portable telephone device 200 will be described. The same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted in the drawings by the same reference numerals as those used in the first embodiment, and explanation of them is omitted here. The portable telephone device 200 does not include a camera unit and an optical sensor.
As depicted in the drawings, the portable telephone device 200 has the groove region 222 along the peripheral portion on the back face side of the display housing 220. The groove region 222 is designed to allow relative movement of the wall portion 211. The upper peripheral portion of the display housing 220 is placed over the wall portion 211. The groove region 222 is formed in a U-like shape along the peripheral portion of the back face of the display housing 220. An upper periphery 220a, a left-side periphery 220b, a right-side periphery 220c, and corner portions 220d and 220e are formed in the groove region 222. The upper periphery 220a, the left-side periphery 220b, the right-side periphery 220c, and the corner portions 220d and 220e are equivalent to the upper periphery 120a, the left-side periphery 120b, the right-side periphery 120c, and the corner portions 120d and 120e of the portable telephone device 100 of the first embodiment.
When the display housing 220 is turned from the situation illustrated in
When the rotation of the display housing 220 comes close to an end, the rotary shaft unit 11 moves toward the wall portion 211. Lastly, the right-side periphery 220c is brought into contact with the wall portion 211, and the display housing 220 is stabilized.
When the display housing 220 returns from the situation illustrated in
When the display housing 220 is turned from the situation illustrated in
When the rotation of the display housing 220 comes close to an end, the rotary shaft unit 11 moves toward the wall portion 211. Lastly, the left-side periphery 220b is brought into contact with the wall portion 211, and the display housing 220 is stabilized.
When the display housing 220 returns from the situation illustrated in
The switching of the display orientation of the display 221 between a vertical orientation and a horizontal orientation is performed in the same manner as in the portable telephone device 100 of the first embodiment.
As described above, the portable telephone device 200 has the display housing 220 rotatably connected to the main housing 210 with the use of the rotative supporting unit 1, like the portable telephone device 100 of the first embodiment. The thickness of the rotative supporting unit 1 is substantially equal to the sum of the thicknesses of the first member 2 and the second member 5. Accordingly, the portable telephone device 200 is very thin. Also, the rotative supporting unit 1 includes only a small number of components, and accordingly, the portable telephone device 200 can be made smaller.
The upper peripheral portion of the portable telephone device 200 has an extended shape and is located over the wall portion 211. Accordingly, the display 221 has a larger display area. Also, a speaker 262 is placed in the upper peripheral portion.
Referring now to
The following are the different aspects between the portable telephone device 300 and the portable telephone device 100. While the main housing 110 has the wall portion 111 protruding from the upper peripheral portion of the front face of the main housing 110, the main housing 310 has a wall portion 311 protruding from a side peripheral portion of the front face of the main housing 310. Accordingly, the direction of attachment of the rotative supporting unit 1 to the main housing 310 differs from that of the portable telephone device 100. The portable telephone device 300 also has a groove region 322 along the outer periphery of the back face of the display housing 220. The groove region 322 is designed to allow relative movement of the wall portion 311. In the following, mainly the different aspects in the structure and operations of the portable telephone device 300 will be described. The same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted in the drawings by the same reference numerals as those used in the first embodiment, and explanation of them is omitted here. Also, the display housing 220 is the same as that of the portable telephone device 200 of the second embodiment, and therefore, explanation of the display housing 220 is omitted here. The portable telephone device 300 does not include a camera unit and an optical sensor. A speaker 362 is placed at the upper periphery of the display housing 220.
As depicted in the drawings, the main housing 310 has the wall portion 311 at the left-side peripheral portion thereof. The rotative supporting unit 1 is placed so that the pushing force of the spring member 12 is directed toward the wall portion 311. The rotative supporting unit 1 connects the main housing 310 and the display housing 220. The display housing 220 rotates, with the corner portions 220d and 220e being pressed against the wall portion 311.
When the display housing 220 is turned from the situation illustrated in
When the rotation of the display housing 220 comes close to an end, the rotary shaft unit 11 moves toward the wall portion 311. Lastly, the upper periphery 220a is brought into contact with the wall portion 311, and the display housing 220 is stabilized. Here, the display housing 220 is in a 90° open state.
When the display housing 220 returns from the situation illustrated in
When the display housing 220 is turned from the situation illustrated in
When the rotation of the display housing 220 comes close to an end, the rotary shaft unit 11 moves toward the wall portion 311. Lastly, the right-side periphery 220c is brought into contact with the wall portion 311, and the display housing 220 is stabilized. Here, the display housing 220 is in a 180° open state.
When the display housing 220 returns from the situation illustrated in
The switching of the display orientation of the display 221 between a vertical orientation and a horizontal orientation is realized by changing the positions of the magnetic sensor and the magnets.
As described above, the portable telephone device 300 has the display housing 220 rotatably connected to the main housing 310 with the use of the rotative supporting unit 1, like the portable telephone device 100 of the first embodiment. The thickness of the rotative supporting unit 1 is substantially equal to the sum of the thicknesses of the first member 2 and the second member 5. Accordingly, the portable telephone device 300 is very thin. Also, the rotative supporting unit 1 includes only a small number of components, and accordingly, the portable telephone device 300 can be made smaller.
Also, the wall portion 311 is provided at a side peripheral portion of the main housing, and the display housing 220 is pressed against the wall portion 311. Accordingly, the display housing 220 can be rotated and turned from a closed state into a 90° open state, and be further 90° rotated and turned into a 180° open state.
The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, but other embodiments and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
For example, the wall portion 111 depicted in
All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various change, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2008-165148 | Jun 2008 | JP | national |