The present invention relates to a folding portable electronic device provided with a hinge section which couples housings so as to be opened and closed.
In the past, there has been a folding portable electronic device having a housing structure which opens and closes by a hinge section as a portable electronic device such as a cellular phone. In this kind of the portable electronic device, it is general to adopt a structure which includes a first housing provided with a main display section, a second housing provided with a main operation section, and a hinge section which rotatably couples the first housing to the second housing, and in which the two housings are opened and closed in accordance with the rotation of the hinge section.
In the folding portable electronic device, when the second housing provided with the main operation section to be gripped and operated by a user is considered as basis, the structure of the hinge section includes one in which only an inner hinge member is rotated and opposite outer hinge members are fixed (the opposite outer hinge members are integrally formed with the second housing) during opening and closing the housings; and the other one in which either or both of the opposite hinge members are rotated (either or both of the opposite hinge members are integrally formed with the first housing). When the user grips the second housing, and open or close the housings, in the case of the structure in which at least either of the outer hinge members is rotated, the user's finger may be pinched between the hinge member which is rotated when the housings are opened and the second housing.
As an example of the structure in which either of the outer hinge members are rotated relative to the second housing provided with the main operation section, Patent Literature 1 (JP-A-2008-187285) discloses a folding portable terminal device in which a rib is provided outside a side surface of the second housing.
Patent Literature 1 adopts the structure in which the rib is provided to simplify the opening operation, but does not consider the problem that the user's finger may be pinched and disturb the rotation of the housings when the housings are opened.
Further, in order to enhance the operability of the opening and closing operation, recently there is a folding portable electronic device in which a one-push portion (a one-push button) is provided on a side surface of either of the housings, and the first housing is opened in accordance with the pressing operation of the button. However, in the case of providing the one-push button in the folding portable terminal device described in Patent Literature 1, when the user presses the button with one finger (normally with the thumb), the side surface opposite to the button is also rotated. Then, a force opposite to a direction for pressing the button is applied by the other finger of the user (normally by the index finger). In this case, the force to open the first housing is lost, and the operability is deteriorated.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstance, and aims at providing a folding portable electronic device capable of solving the problem that the user's finger may be pinched and also preventing the deterioration of the operability on the one-push portion in a structure in which at least either of outer hinge members is rotated relative to a second housing provided with a main operation section, and the one-push portion is provided.
The present invention provides a folding portable electronic device, including: a first housing which is provided with a main display section; a second housing which is provided with a main operation section; and a hinge section which couples the first housing to the second housing so as to be opened and closed, wherein the hinge section includes a one-push portion which automatically opens the first housing and the second housing by pressing the one-push portion, and a rotational section which includes at least an opposite-end portion which is located on an opposite side to the one-push portion in a lateral direction of the first housing, the rotational section is rotated along with the first housing around a rotational axis when the first housing is opened relative to the second housing, and a convex portion is formed to be projected from the first housing in the lateral direction on a surface of the opposite-end portion and in the rotational axis.
According to the configuration, the user can press the one-push portion while holding the convex portion in a structure in which at least either of outer hinge members is rotated relative to the second housing provided with the main operation section. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the operability for opening the housings even if the rotational section opposite to the one-push portion is rotated.
The present invention includes the configuration in which the convex portion is formed of a part of a member which can be rotated independently of the first housing.
According to the configuration, it is possible to improve the operability for opening the housings.
The present invention also provides a folding portable electronic device, including: a first housing which is provided with a main display section; a second housing which is provided with a main operation section; and a hinge section which couples the first housing to the second housing so as to be opened and closed, wherein the hinge section includes a one-push portion which automatically opens the first housing and the second housing by pressing the one-push portion, and a rotational section which includes at least an opposite-end portion which is located on an opposite side to the one-push portion in a lateral direction of the first housing, the rotational section is rotated along with the first housing around a rotational axis when the first housing is opened relative to the second housing, and a projection is formed to be projected from the second housing toward the hinge section in a region at least including the rotational axis on an opposite side to the one-push portion in a lateral direction of the second housing.
According to the configuration, the user can press the one-push portion while holding the projection portion in a structure in which at least either of outer hinge members is rotated relative to the second housing provided with the main operation section. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the operability for opening the housings even if the rotational section opposite to the one-push portion is rotated.
The present invention includes the configuration in which the projection is projected also in the lateral direction from the second housing.
The present invention can provide a folding portable electronic device capable of solving the problem that the user's finger may be pinched and also preventing the deterioration of the operability on the one-push portion in a structure in which at least either of outer hinge members is rotated relative to a second housing provided with a main operation section.
An embodiment as mentioned below shows a configurative example of a folding portable electronic device when the present invention is applied to a portable terminal device such as a cellular phone. The present invention can be applied to various portable electronic devices which are held by a user.
The portable electronic device according to the embodiment includes a first housing 11 and a second housing 12 which have a thin substantially-cubic shape or a plate shape. The portable electronic device has a folding structure in which an end of the first housing 11 is rotatably coupled to an end of the second housing 12 by a hinge section 13. The portable electronic device can be in a closed state or an opened state by opening or closing the housings in accordance with a rotation around a rotational axis of the hinge section 13.
The first housing 11 is provided with a display section 14 as a main display section and a receiver 15 which outputs a talking voice in a telephone function on a front side (hereinafter, this side is referred to as a first surface) which is an inner side in the closed state of the housings. The display section 14 includes a display device such as an LCD or an organic EL display, and displays an operating state of the device, respective functions display, a menu display or a standby display on a display screen.
The second housing 12 is provided with an operation section 16 as a main operation section and a microphone 17 to which a talking voice is input in a telephone function on the first surface which is the inner side in the closed state of the housings. The operation section 16 includes an operation input device such as a plurality of push buttons of numeric keypad or four-way operation keys, and is provided for operation inputs corresponding to the various operations by the user. Further, the second housing 12 is provided with a camera unit 18 and a battery pack 19 on a rear side (hereinafter, this side is referred to as a second surface) which is an outer side in the closed state of the housings.
The hinge section 13 is split into four sections as viewed from the front side. In (A) of
As mentioned above, the hinge section 13 according to the embodiment adopts a structure in which a rotational section 13a at one outer side is rotated relative to the second housing 12. In this case, the structure can be adopted in which rotational sections of the hinge section at both outer sides are rotated relative to the second housing 12 instead of providing it at the one outer side. The hinge section 13 is located on an extension line of a side surface in the longitudinal direction of the second housing, i.e., of a base end part of the second housing 12 at the hinge section side both in states where the shaft center of the rotational axis is opened and closed. That is, a base end part of the first housing 11 at the hinge section side is configured to be opened to be projected more outwardly than an extending surface in the longitudinal direction of the second surface of the second housing 12.
In such a hinge structure, the base end part 12a of the second housing 12 adjoining the hinge section 13 is configured so that an end surface 12b, facing the outer rotational section 13a of the hinge section 13 which is formed by cutting a part of a cylinder, is formed along a rotational locus of the rotational section 13a, and is formed in a concave arc-like shape along an outer shape of a circle of the rotational section 13a. The portion which the rotational section 13a of the hinge section 13 faces the base end part 12a of the second housing 12, i.e., the outer shape of the circle in a cylindrical shape of the rotational section 13a and the arc shape of the end surface 12b of the based end part 12a corresponding to the outer shape may be in the ellipsoidal shape as shown in the figure or in a precise circle. In this case, the end surface 12b of the second housing 12 is configured to form a curved surface for securing a predetermined clearance while being brought close as much as possible with respect to the outermost locus which the rotational part 13a of the hinge section 13 creates in rotation. According to the structure, the end surface 12b of the base end part 12 of the second housing 12 is located closely at all times during the rotation of the hinge section 13. Thus, the user's finger, etc. is prevented from being pinched between the rotational section 13a of the hinge section 13 and the base end part 12a of the second housing 12 when the housings are opened.
An end portion located on an opposite side of the push button 20 in the lateral direction of the first housing 11 along the rotational axis of the hinge section is defined as an opposite-end portion 13b. The rotational section 13a includes the opposite-end portion 13b. As shown in
As shown in (a) of
In the general folding portable electronic device, the force for opening the first housing is lost due to the force from the index finger SF, thereby deteriorating the operability. However, the folding portable electronic device according to the invention is provided with the convex portion 30, and thus, the user's index finger SF is put on the convex portion 30. Since the contact area between the index finger SF and the convex portion 30 is small, the friction to be occurred is also small. Thus, even in the rotation of the first housing and the rotational section 13a, the friction between the rotational section 13a and the index finger SF can be suppressed, and the first housing 11 can be opened smoothly.
In the example of
In the above example, the convex portion 30 is integrally formed with the first housing 11. However, the convex portion 30 can be formed of a separate member independently of the first housing 11.
In the situation of
In the embodiment, when the first housing 1 is opened, the user's index finger SF is put on the projection portion 32. Since the index finger SF is prevented from directly contacting the first housing 11 and the rotational section 13a, the first housing 11 is opened smoothly.
The present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in the embodiments as mentioned above. The present invention assumes the modification and the application by the person skilled in the art on the basis of the description of the specification and the common art, and they are included in the scope of the invention to be protected.
This application is based upon Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-306114 filed on Dec. 1, 2008, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention is capable of solving the problem that the user's finger may be pinched and also preventing the deterioration of the operability on the one-push portion in a structure in which at least either of outer hinge members is rotated relative to a second housing provided with a main operation section. The present invention can be applied to the portable terminal device such as a cellular phone, and is useful for a folding portable electronic device provided with a hinge section which rotatably couples the housings.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2008-306114 | Dec 2008 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/JP2009/002713 | 6/15/2009 | WO | 00 | 5/26/2011 |