This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-068661, filed on Mar. 19, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field
An aspect of the present invention relates to an electronic apparatus having a display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic apparatus having a body housing and a display unit housing rotatable relative to the body housing has been disclosed. The electronic apparatus has the body housing provided with a keyboard mount portion, the display unit housing provided with a built-in display device or the like, and a fixing member provided so as to protrude from the display unit housing. The display unit housing further has an opening portion in which the fixing member is embedded. The fixing member is an elastic member such as rubber. The fixing member is provided so as to protrude from a corner portion of the display unit housing toward the body housing.
When the display unit housing is closed, the fixing member abuts on an upper surface of the body housing to thereby absorb shock generated in the display unit housing.
However, the background art does not give any consideration to stress transmitted to the display device. For example, in the apparatus described in JP-2007-156551-A, there is a possibility that external stress will be directly transmitted from the display unit housing to the display device to destroy a circumferential edge portion of the display device because the display unit housing and the display device abut on each other.
A general architecture that implements the various feature of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the present invention and not to limit the scope of the present invention.
Various embodiments according to the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. In general, according to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus including: a display device including a display screen; a housing that accommodates the display device and that includes a first opening portion facing a central portion of the display screen and a second opening portion facing a circumferential edge portion of the display screen; a support portion that supports the housing so as to be rotatable between an opened position where the display screen is exposed and a closed position where the display screen is hidden; and an elastic member that is packed between the circumferential edge portion of the display screen and the housing and that protrudes from the housing through the second opening portion so as to abut on the support portion located when the hosing is in the closed position.
Embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings in which the invention is applied to a portable computer.
As shown in
The body 2 has a body housing 4. The body housing 4 is shaped like a box having an upper wall 4a, a circumferential wall 4b, and a lower wall not shown. The body 2 has a circuit board and a plurality of electronic components mounted inside the body housing 4. The upper wall 4a of the body housing 4 supports a keyboard 5.
As shown in
Examples of the display device 8 are a liquid crystal display device, plasma display device, an organic electroluminescence display device, a surface-condition electron-emitter display device (SED), etc. The display device 8 has a display screen 9. The display screen 9 is exposed outside the display device housing 7 through the window portion 7a.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
For example, plural fitting claws (not shown) are provided on inner circumferential surfaces of the left and right circumferential walls 91 and 92 of the mask 13. On the other hand, fitted potions (not shown) corresponding to the fitting claws are provided in the left and right circumferential walls 16c and 16d of the cover 12 so that the fitted portions are fitted to the fitting claws. As a result, the mask 13 is detachably fixed to the cover 12.
The mask 13 has communicating portions 132 which are formed near the window portion 7a and in which a circumferential edge portion 9a of the display screen 9 of the display device 8 is exposed. The mask 13 has a first surface 133 facing the display screen 9 of the display device 8, and a second surface 134 opposite to the first surface 133. The communicating portions 132 make the first and second surfaces 133 and 134 communicate with each other.
In this embodiment, the communicating portions 132 are formed as through-holes 132A provided near the window portion 7a. For example, each through-hole 132A is shaped like a circle.
The portable computer 1 according to this embodiment has fillers 26 between the circumferential edge portion 9a of the display screen 9 of the display device 8 and the first surface 133 facing the display screen 9. For example, each filler 26 is made of a silicone resin which is transparent and elastic. Accordingly, each filler 26 has rubber-like elasticity after molding. As shown in
As described above, the portable computer 1 according to this embodiment has: a display device (display device 8) provided with a display screen (display screen 9); a housing (display device housing 7) which contains the display device and which has a first opening portion (window portion 7a) facing the display screen, and second opening portions (communicating portions 132) facing a circumferential edge portion of the display screen; a support portion (body housing 4) which rotatably supports the housing between a position (first position P1) where the display screen is exposed and a position (second position P2) where the display screen is hidden; and elastic members (fillers 26) which are packed between the circumferential edge portion of the display screen and the housing and which protrude from the second opening portions so as to abut on the support portion located when the housing is in the position where the display screen is hidden.
In this embodiment, the fillers 26 are provided on an upper portion of the display device housing 7 opposite to the hinge mechanisms 21a and 21b with respect to the display screen 9. According to this configuration, a shock applied on a large-torque-generated region where far from the hinge mechanisms 21a and 21b (center of rotation) can be appropriately treated.
In this embodiment, the fillers 26 are formed symmetrically over the circumferential edge portion 9a of the display screen 9, so that stress imposed on respective regions can be distributed equally.
The circumferential wall 16 stands up from the circumferential edge portion of the back wall 15 and surrounds the side portions 8a, 8b, 8c and 8d of the display device 8. Specifically, the circumferential wall 16 has an upper circumferential wall 16a, a lower circumferential wall 16b, a left circumferential wall 16c, and a right circumferential wall 16d. The upper and lower circumferential walls 16a and 16b extend in parallel with each other along the widthwise direction of the portable computer 1. The left and right circumferential walls 16c and 16d extend along a direction perpendicular to the upper circumferential wall 16a. The left and right circumferential walls 16c and 16d may be positioned slightly inside the cover 12 as compared with the outer edge of the back wall 15. As shown in
The upper circumferential wall 16a of the cover 12 has a first wall portion 16aa formed in a central portion of the upper circumferential wall 16a so as to face the first side portion 8a of the display device 8, and second wall portions 16ab formed in left and right end portions of the upper circumferential wall 16a so as not to face the display device 8. The lower circumferential wall 16b of the cover 12 has a first wall portion 16ba formed in a central portion of the lower circumferential wall 16b so as to face the second side portion 8b of the display device 8, and second wall portions 16bb formed in left and right end portions of the lower circumferential wall 16b so as not to face the display device 8.
The left circumferential wall 16c of the cover 12 has a first wall portion 16ca formed in a central portion of the left circumferential wall 16c so as to face the third side portion 8c of the display device 8, and second wall portions 16cb formed in upper and lower end portions of the left circumferential wall 16c so as not to face the display device 8. The right circumferential wall 16d of the cover 12 has a first wall portion 16da formed in a central portion of the right circumferential wall 16d so as to face the fourth side portion 8d of the display device 8, and second wall portions 16db formed in upper and lower end portions of the right circumferential wall 16d so as not to face the display device 8.
First, second and third protrusive portions 18a, 18b and 18c are provided on a lower end portion of the cover 12. On the lower end portion of the cover 12, the first protrusive portion 18a outwardly protrudes from the central portion, and the second and third protrusive portions 18b and 18c outwardly protrudes from the left and right portions respectively. An electronic component 19 such as an inverter is put in the first protrusive portion 18a.
As shown in
As shown in
The first and second brackets 24 and 25 is rotatable relative to each other through the hinge shaft 23. The bracket 25 is fixed to the display device 8 by a screw 38. Specifically, the screw 38 is inserted in a screw insertion hole of the bracket 25 and engaged with a screw hole 37 of the display device 8 so that the bracket 25 is fixed to the display device 8. The screw 38 is attached to the screw insertion hole and the screw hole 37 along a direction perpendicular to the fourth side portion 8d of the display device 8.
Screw hole portions 32 to 35 are provided on an extending member 31 of each hinge mechanisms 21a and 21b. The screw hole portions 32 to 35 are engaged with the screw hole portions correspondingly provided on the cover by screwed 44, 53, 63 and 76, respectively.
As shown in
A stress relaxing function in the portable computer 1 according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to
As described above, the portable computer 1 according to this embodiment is configured so that, protrusive portions 26b protruding from the mask 13. As shown in
The body portion 26a of the filler 26 is packed in a gap between the display device 8 and the mask 13 so that air does not remain in the gap. The body portion 26a, between the display device 8 and the mask 13, absorbs shock to be applied onto the display device 8. The body portion 26a holds the display device 8 so that the display device 8 and the mask 13 do not interfere.
In the portable computer 1, when the display unit 3 moves from the first position P1 shown in
According to the first embodiment, the portable computer 1 has a body 2, and a display unit 3 which is rotatable between a first position P1 where the display unit 3 stands up from the body 2 and a second position P2 where the display unit 3 is put on the body 2. The display unit 3 has a display device 8, a mask 13, and fillers 26. The mask 13 covers a front surface of the display device 8 and has a first surface 133 facing the display device 8, a second surface 134 opposite to the first surface, and communicating portions 132 communicating the first surface 133 and a second surface 134 with each other. Each of the resin fillers 26 has a body portion 26a packed in a gap between the display device 8 and the mask 13, and a protrusive portion 26b which extends integrally from the body portion 26a and outwardly protrudes through the communicating portion 132 so as to abut on the body 2 when the display unit 3 is brought in the second position P2.
According to the aforementioned configuration, shock generated in the display unit 3 can be absorbed to the fillers 26 when the display unit 3 is moved from the first position P1 to the second position P2. On this occasion, stress generated in the protrusive portions 26b because of collision with the body 2 is distributed to the body portions 26a through the communicating portions 132, so that there is no stress concentration in the display device 8 around the protrusive portions 26b. As a result, the display device 8 can be prevented from being cracked. Each filler 26 is molded so that the protrusive portion 26b is integrated with the body portion 26a, and for example, there is no need to align and stick the sticking-type protrusive portions on the display device 8 to be aligned. Therefore, it is possible to produce the display unit 3 easily.
The communicating portions 132 are through-holes 132A provided in the mask 13. According to this configuration, the communicating portions 132 can be formed in a simple structure. Each filler 26 is made of a silicone resin. According to this material, each filler 26 filling a gap between the display device 8 and the mask 13 and having a protrusive portion 26b to be abut on the body 2 can be provided easily.
A portable computer according to a second embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference to
The portable computer 1 according to the second embodiment has substantially the same external appearance as that shown in
On the circumferential edge portion 9a of the display screen 9 of the display device 8, a circumferential edge upper region 9b, circumferential edge side regions 9c and 9d and circumferential edge lower region 9e are defined. As shown in
A portable computer according to a third embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference to
The portable computer 1 according to the third embodiment has substantially the same external appearance as that shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Next, a portable computer according to a fourth embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to
The portable computer 1 according to the fourth embodiment has substantially the same external appearance as that shown in
As shown in
The invention is not limited to the aforementioned embodiments per se and constituent members may be modified to embody the invention in practical use without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Constituent members disclosed in the embodiments may be combined suitably to form various inventions. For example, several constituent members may be removed from all the constituent members described in each of the embodiments. In addition, constituent members in different embodiments may be combined suitably.
In the aforementioned embodiments, the portable computer 1 is exemplified as an electronic apparatus. However, the invention can be applied to any other electronic apparatus such as a cellular phone.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus in which stress imposed on the display device can be suppressed.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2009-068661 | Mar 2009 | JP | national |