JP4287790B2 - Panel removal structure for portable electronic devices - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a structure in which a decorative panel is detachably attached to the surface of a cabinet in an electronic device such as a mobile phone.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the foldable mobile phone includes an operation side cabinet (6) having a plurality of operation keys (61) arranged on the surface and a display side cabinet (7) having a display screen (71) arranged on the surface. And a hinge mechanism (8) for connecting the cabinets (6) and (7) to each other at their respective ends, and it is possible to fold the cabinets (1) and (2) with their surfaces facing each other. (See Patent Document 1).

  In such a foldable portable terminal, when both cabinets are closed, if the surface of the operation key (61) of the operation side cabinet (6) hits the display screen (71) of the display side cabinet (7), Since the screen (71) may be damaged, two protrusions (62) (62) are formed on the surface of the operation side cabinet (6) at the end opposite to the hinge mechanism (8). On the other hand, on the surface of the display-side cabinet (7), two elastic projections (72) (72) are arranged at positions where the projections (62) (62) abut when both cabinets are closed. Has been.

  In the foldable mobile phone, when both cabinets are folded, the projection (62) of the operation side cabinet (6) and the elastic convex part (72) of the display side cabinet (7) come into contact with each other, and the operation key ( A slight gap is formed between the surface of 61) and the display screen (71) to prevent the display screen (71) from being damaged.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the applicant formed buffer members (4) and (5) on the outer peripheral portions of the operation side cabinet (1) and the display side cabinet (2) by two-color molding of elastomer. A foldable mobile phone has been proposed. According to the foldable mobile phone, the shock-absorbing members (4) and (5) exhibit the function of mitigating the impact force when dropped, so that the electronic components inside the cabinet can be prevented from being damaged.

  By the way, in an electronic device such as a mobile phone, a part of the cabinet is constituted by a separate decorative panel, and a structure that can be exchanged between decorative panels having different colors can be easily replaced without replacing the telephone body. There are known ones that can change the appearance.

As a locking mechanism for detachably locking the decorative panel to the cabinet, a locking receiving portion is formed on the decorative panel, while the cabinet has a locking portion to be engaged with the locking receiving portion. With the operation piece installed and the decorative panel covered on the surface of the cabinet, the decorative panel is locked and the operation piece is operated by engaging the lock part of the operation piece with the lock receiving part of the decorative panel. And the structure which cancels | releases the latching of a decorative panel is employable by releasing the latching | locking part from the latching receiving part of a decorative panel.
JP-A-8-317028

  However, in the above-described locking mechanism composed of the decorative panel locking receiving portion and the operating piece locking portion, when removing the decorative panel, the operating piece is operated first. After releasing the engagement with the locking part, it is necessary to further operate the operation piece to lift the decorative panel slightly from the surface of the cabinet, so the operation amount of the operation piece is large. In addition to the poor performance, there is a problem that an extra space is required to allow the movement (rotation) of the operation piece.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to reduce the amount of rotation of the operation piece required when removing the decorative panel in a panel attaching / detaching structure having a locking mechanism comprising a decorative panel locking receiving portion and an operating piece locking portion. It is.

In the portable electronic device according to the present invention, a decorative panel is detachably attached to the surface of a cabinet incorporating an electronic component, and a locking mechanism for locking the decorative panel on the cabinet is provided.
The locking mechanism includes a locking receiving portion protruding from an end of the decorative panel, and a locking portion that can be engaged with and disengaged from the locking receiving portion. An operation piece pivotally supported so as to be rotatable in a disengagement direction is provided, and the operation piece is rotationally biased in an engagement direction with the locking receiving portion.
The operation piece is provided with two push-up portions that are to be pushed up in the direction of separating the end portion of the decorative panel from the cabinet as the operation piece rotates along the rotation axis of the operation piece. Both push-up portions are formed with a predetermined phase angle difference around the rotation axis of the operation piece, or have different heights toward the end of the decorative panel.

  Specifically, the two push-up portions of the operation piece are arranged on both sides of the locking portion, and one push-up portion of the decorative panel has a rotation angle at which the lock portion engages with the lock receiving portion. The other push-up part is formed at a position where it can contact the end of the decorative panel at a rotation angle at which the locking part is detached from the lock receiving part. Yes.

  In the panel attaching / detaching structure of the present invention, the operation piece is urged to rotate in one direction with the decorative panel attached to the surface of the cabinet, and the locking portion is engaged with the locking receiving portion of the decorative panel. In this way, the decorative panel is locked on the cabinet.

  When the operation piece is rotated against the rotation bias from this state, one push-up portion first presses the end of the decorative panel while the engagement portion and the engagement receiving portion are engaged. Since the other push-up portion is separated from the end of the decorative panel at the start of pressing, and the decorative panel is restrained by the surface of the cabinet by the engagement, the operation piece is moved from the end of the decorative panel to the one side. Due to the reaction force acting on the push-up portion, the shaft is slightly twisted about its rotation axis.

  After that, when the operation piece locking part is detached from the decorative panel locking receiving part with the further rotation operation of the operation piece, the decorative panel is released at that time, so that the operation piece is in the twisted state. Then, the one push-up part vigorously lifts the end of the decorative panel during the elastic return process. Then, the other push-up part pushes up the end of the decorative panel, and thereby the decorative panel is lifted from the cabinet surface.

  According to the panel attachment / detachment structure of the portable electronic device of the present invention, the operation piece is twisted in the process until the operation piece lock part is disengaged from the lock receiving part of the decorative panel in the first half of the rotation operation of the operation piece. The operation piece is elastically restored in the second half of the rotation operation of the operation piece, and the decorative panel is lifted from the cabinet surface along with the elastic return. The amount of rotation operation of the operation piece after being detached from is small.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention applied to a foldable mobile phone will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the foldable mobile phone according to the present invention has an operation side cabinet (1) and a display side cabinet (2) made of synthetic resin connected to each other by a hinge mechanism (3) so as to be opened and closed. Composed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of operation keys (11) are provided on the surface of the operation side cabinet (1), while a main display screen (21) is provided on the surface of the display side cabinet (2). By closing both cabinets (1) and (2), the operation key (11) of the operation side cabinet (1) and the main display screen (21) of the display side cabinet (2) face each other.

On the operation side cabinet (1), from the position near the hinge mechanism (3) to the end opposite to the hinge mechanism (3) along the side surfaces on both sides of the arrangement surface of the operation keys (11). An extending buffer member (4) is provided, and a part thereof is exposed on the surface of the operation side cabinet (1).
The buffer member (4) is formed by two-color molding (composite molding) of an elastomer made of an alloy of polycarbonate ABS having a smaller elastic modulus (lower hardness) than the material of the operation side cabinet (1). ).

  On the other hand, on the surface of the display-side cabinet (2), two elastic convex portions (22) and (22) made of rubber are arranged at the end opposite to the hinge mechanism (3). 1) By closing (2), these two elastic projections (22) and (22) are placed on the side opposite to the hinge mechanism (3) of the buffer members (4) and (4) of the operation side cabinet (1). It comes into contact with the end portions (4a) and (4a).

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the display side cabinet (2) has a buffer member (5) extending in a U-shape from the end opposite to the hinge mechanism (3) to the left and right ends on the hinge mechanism (3) side. ) Is deployed.
The buffer member (5) is formed by two-color molding (composite molding) of an elastomer made of a polycarbonate ABS having a smaller elastic coefficient (lower hardness) than the material of the display side cabinet (2). It is formed integrally with 2).
In addition, a synthetic resin decorative panel (8) is detachably provided on the back surface of the display-side cabinet (2) as will be described later, and the decorative panel (8) has a plurality of sound emitting holes (83). ) Is opened, and the camera window (25) and the sub display screen (27) are exposed.

  In a state where the operation side cabinet (1) and the display side cabinet (2) are closed, the elastic convex portion (22) of the display side cabinet (2) is the end (4a) of the buffer member (4) of the operation side cabinet (1). ), And a predetermined clearance C (about 0.5 mm to 0.6 mm) is formed between the facing surfaces of both cabinets (1) and (2).

  As shown in FIG. 3, a main display (20) is disposed in the display-side cabinet (2) at a position facing the main display screen (21). Further, a large-sized (for example, φ24 mm) speaker (24) is disposed at a position facing the plurality of sound emission holes (83), and a CCD camera (26) is disposed at a position facing the camera window (25). A sub display (23) is provided at a position facing the sub display screen (27).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the decorative panel (8) is provided with a display window (81) and a photographing window (82) in addition to the plurality of sound emitting holes (83), and both sides of the decorative panel (8). A pair of first hook pieces (84) and (84) are provided at the display portion, a pair of second hook pieces (85) and (85) are provided at the lower end portion, and a third hook piece (86) is provided at the upper end portion, respectively. Projected toward 2).

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a panel installation portion (29) on which the decorative panel (8) is to be installed is recessed on the rear surface of the display side cabinet (2). 29), the speaker (24), the camera window (25), and the sub display screen (27) are arranged.
A pair of ears (51) and (51) projecting toward the speaker (24) are formed at both ends of the buffer member (5), and the ears (51) and (51) are provided with makeup. A pair of locking holes (52) and (52) to be engaged with the first hook pieces (84) and (84) of the panel (8) are provided.

Further, the second hook pieces (85) and (85) of the decorative panel (8) should be engaged with the panel installation portion (29) of the display side cabinet (2) at a position below the sub display screen (27). A pair of locking holes (28) and (28) are opened.
Furthermore, an operating piece (9) to be engaged with the third hook piece (86) of the decorative panel (8) can be rotated on the display-side cabinet (2) above the camera window (25). It is attached.

FIG. 9 shows the structure of the operation piece (90) previously designed by the applicant. The operation piece (90) includes a piece body (92), the piece body (92) includes a center plate portion (92a) and a pair of block portions (92b) protruding from both ends of the center plate portion (92a). ) (92b) and an arm portion (92c) for connecting the tips of both block portions (92b) and (92b) to each other. A hook-like projecting piece (94) to be engaged with the third hook piece (86) of the decorative panel (8) is formed on the central plate portion (92a), and the upper surface of the projecting piece (94) is an inclined surface ( 98). The first push-up portion (95) and the second push-up portion (96) that should push up the two ends of the decorative panel (8) are formed at the same height on both block portions (92b) and (92b). Yes. In addition, a through hole (93) is formed in the base end portion of both block portions (92b) and (92b).
The operation piece (90) has a pivot pin (not shown) penetrating through the through hole (93) and is pivotally supported by a user so that a torsion spring (not shown) is engaged. The projecting piece (94) is urged to rotate in the projecting direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 9).

On the other hand, FIG. 10 shows the structure of the operation piece (9) improved in the foldable mobile phone according to the present invention. The operation piece (9) has a first push-up portion (97) and a second push-down portion to push up two ends of the decorative panel (8) on both block portions (92b) and (92b) of the piece main body (92). This is different from the previous operation piece (90) shown in FIG. 9 in that the raising portion (96) is formed at different heights.
As shown in FIG. 12 (a), the operation piece (9) is pivotally supported by a pivot pin (91) passing through a through hole (93) of the piece body (92), and a torsion spring ( 99) is urged to rotate counterclockwise (the direction of engagement of the decorative panel (8) with the third hook piece (86)).

When the decorative panel (8) is attached to the display-side cabinet (2), the second hook piece of the decorative panel (8) shown in FIG. 5 is placed with the decorative panel (8) inclined as shown in FIG. (85) (85) is engaged with the locking holes (28), (28) of the display side cabinet (2), and in this state, the decorative panel (8) is pressed toward the display side cabinet (2), The first hook pieces (84) and (84) of the decorative panel (8) are engaged with the locking holes (52) and (52) of the buffer member (5), and the third hook pieces (86) of the decorative panel (8) are fitted. ) Is engaged with the operation piece (9) of the display side cabinet (2).
Here, the third hook piece (86) presses the slope (98) of the protruding piece (94) of the operation piece (9) shown in FIG. 10 to resist the operation piece (9) against the torsion spring (99). Then, it is rotated in the clockwise direction, thereby passing through the projecting piece (94). Immediately thereafter, the operation piece (9) rotates counterclockwise by the bias of the torsion spring (99). As a result, the third hook piece (86) of the decorative panel (8) is engaged with the protruding piece (94) of the operation piece (9) (see FIGS. 3 and 12B).

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7, the decorative panel (8) is installed in the panel installation section (29) of the display side cabinet (2) and is held in this state.
In this state, the first hook pieces (84) and (84) projecting from the left and right of the decorative panel (8) are respectively engaged with the locking holes (51) of the ears (51) of the buffer member (5) as shown in FIG. 52) is pressed against the outer surface of the inner peripheral surface, whereby the outer peripheral wall (51a) of the locking hole (52) of the ear portion (51) is elastically deformed, and both first hook pieces ( 84) and (84) are pressed toward each other, and the decorative panel (8) is sandwiched from both sides.

  Therefore, even if the speaker (24) rings and the excitation force is transmitted to the decorative panel (8), the first hook piece (84) of the decorative panel (8) and the locking hole of the buffer member (5). Since the decorative panel (8) is held on the panel installation part (29) of the display side cabinet (2) by the pressure contact force (frictional force) between the peripheral wall (51a) of (52), the decorative panel (8 ) Is prevented.

  There is an overlap of about 0.03 mm between the first hook piece (84) of the decorative panel (8) and the locking hole (52) of the buffer member (5) in the free state before the engagement. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, when the first hook piece (84) and the locking hole (52) are engaged, the peripheral wall (51a) of the locking hole (52) is elastically deformed by about 0.03 mm. The elastic repulsive force acts on the first hook piece (84). However, since the deformation generated in the first hook piece (84) is slight, there is no possibility that the first hook piece (84) is broken. .

  When removing the decorative panel (8) from the display-side cabinet (2), the operation piece (9) shown in FIG. 3 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 3 against the torsion spring (99). As a result, the operation piece (9) rotates from the state shown in FIG. 12 to the state shown in FIG. 14 through the state shown in FIG. 13, thereby releasing the engagement with the third hook piece (86) of the decorative panel (8). Unlock the decorative panel (8). FIGS. 12, 13 and 14 (a), (b) and (c) respectively represent cross sections along the RR line, CTR-CTR line and LL line shown in FIG.

  In the state of FIG. 12, the protruding piece (94) of the operation piece (9) is engaged with the third hook piece (86) of the decorative panel (8) as shown in FIG. In this state, the first push-up portion (97) and the second push-up portion (96) of the operation piece (9) are respectively attached to the decorative panel (8) as shown in FIGS. Separated from the end.

  When the operation piece (9) is rotated clockwise as shown in FIG. 13, the first push-up portion (97) of the operation piece (9) faces the end of the decorative panel (8) upward as shown in FIG. Press. On the other hand, the second push-up portion (96) of the operation piece (9) remains separated from the end of the decorative panel (8) as shown in FIG. At this time, the projecting piece (94) of the operation piece (9) is still engaged with the third hook piece (86) of the decorative panel (8) as shown in FIG. Accordingly, the operation piece (9) is slightly twisted about the pivot pin (91) by the reaction force that the first push-up portion (97) receives from the end of the decorative panel (8).

When the operation piece (9) is further rotated clockwise as shown in FIG. 14, the projecting piece (94) of the operation piece (9) becomes the third hook piece (86) of the decorative panel (8) as shown in FIG. Is completely detached from the base plate, and thereby the locking of the decorative panel (8) is released. At this time, the first push-up portion (97) of the operation piece (9) is released from the state where the first push-up portion (97) of the operation piece (9) is pressed by the end of the decorative panel (8) (FIG. 13 (a)). Elastically recovers from the twisted state, and the end of the decorative panel (8) is lifted vigorously as shown in FIG.
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5C, the second push-up portion 96 of the operation piece 9 pushes up the end of the decorative panel 8 and thereby the decorative panel 8 is lifted from the cabinet surface. Become.

  Therefore, the decorative panel (8) is lifted in an inclined state as shown in FIG. 4, and the first hook pieces (84) and (84) are detached from the locking holes (52) and (52). Further, as shown in FIG. By removing the pieces (85) and (85) from the locking holes (28) and (28) of the display side cabinet (2), the removal of the decorative panel (8) is completed.

  According to the foldable mobile phone of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5, since the decorative panel (8) is detachably arranged in the display side cabinet (2), the decorative panels (8) of different colors are arranged between each other. Exchange is possible.

In the attaching / detaching operation of the decorative panel (8), the operation piece (9) is elastically deformed in the twisting direction in the process of rotating the operation piece (9) shown in FIGS. 12 to 13, and then the operation shown in FIGS. The operation piece (9) is elastically restored in the process of rotating the piece (9), and the decorative panel (8) is lifted from the cabinet surface along with the elastic restoration, so that the protruding piece (94) of the operation piece (9). However, the amount of rotation operation of the operation piece (9) after being detached from the third hook piece (86) of the decorative panel (8) is small.
As a result, the space for rotating the operation piece (9) is reduced, and as a result, the cabinet can be made thinner and smaller.

On the other hand, when the previous operation piece (90) shown in FIG. 9 is adopted, the protrusion piece (94) of the operation piece (90) is engaged with the third hook piece (86) of the decorative panel (8). Since the first push-up portion (95) and the second push-up portion (96) are configured to push up the end of the decorative panel (8) at the same time, the operation piece (90) cannot be elastically deformed in the twisting direction. Thus, it becomes difficult to rotate the operation piece (90) in a so-called hell state.
In order to avoid this problem, the first push-up portion (95) and the second push-up are performed after the projecting piece (94) of the operation piece (90) is detached from the third hook piece (86) of the decorative panel (8). It is necessary that the part (96) simultaneously pushes up the end of the decorative panel (8), but this causes a problem that the amount of rotation operation of the operation piece (90) increases.

  In the foldable mobile phone according to the present invention, the buffer members (4) and (5) are integrally formed with the cabinet by two-color molding of elastomer on the outer peripheral portions of the operation side cabinet (1) and the display side cabinet (2), respectively. Therefore, when the mobile phone is accidentally dropped on the floor surface, the shock absorbing members (4) and (5) first collide with the floor surface to alleviate the impact force. Therefore, the electronic components in the cabinet are not damaged.

  Furthermore, using the cushioning member (5) on the display side cabinet (2) side, the decorative panel (8) is held in the panel installation part (29) of the display side cabinet (2), so that the speaker (24) can ring. Since the accompanying vibration is prevented, a special vibration isolating member is not required, and chatter noise can be prevented without increasing the number of parts.

  In addition, each part structure of this invention is not restricted to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible within the technical scope as described in a claim. Further, the present invention is not limited to a foldable mobile phone, and can be implemented in various portable electronic devices.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the folding mobile phone according to the present invention in an open state. It is a perspective view of the closed state of the foldable mobile phone. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the foldable mobile phone. It is a perspective view which shows the state in the middle of removal | desorption of the decorative panel. It is a perspective view of the state which removed the decorative panel completely. It is a top view of a state same as the above. It is a cross-sectional view of the foldable mobile phone. It is an enlarged view of the A section in FIG. It is an expansion perspective view of the previous operation piece. It is an expansion perspective view of the improved operation piece. It is a top view of an operation piece installation part. It is sectional drawing which shows the state at the time of the rotation operation start of an operation piece. It is sectional drawing which shows the state in the middle of rotation operation of an operation piece. It is sectional drawing which shows the state at the time of completion | finish of rotation operation of an operation piece. It is a perspective view of the conventional foldable mobile phone.

Explanation of symbols

(1) Operation side cabinet
(11) Operation keys
(2) Display side cabinet
(20) Main display
(21) Main display screen
(23) Sub display
(24) Speaker
(26) CCD camera
(27) Sub display screen
(28) Locking hole
(4) Buffer member
(5) Buffer member
(51) Ear
(52) Locking hole
(8) Makeup panel
(84) First hook piece
(85) Second hook piece
(86) Third hook piece
(9) Operation piece
(92) Piece body
(94) Projection
(97) First lifting part
(96) Second lifting part
(99) Torsion spring

Claims (4)

  In a portable electronic device in which a decorative panel is detachably attached to a surface of a cabinet incorporating an electronic component, the portable electronic device includes a locking mechanism that locks the decorative panel on the cabinet. A lock receiving portion projecting from the end and a lock portion that can be engaged with and disengaged from the lock receiving portion, and pivotally supported on the cabinet so as to be rotatable in the direction of engagement with the lock receiving portion. The operation piece is urged to rotate in the direction of engagement with the locking receiving portion, and the end of the decorative panel is separated from the cabinet as the operation piece rotates. Two push-up parts to be pushed up in the direction to be moved are arranged side by side along the rotation axis of the operation piece, and both push-up parts are formed with a predetermined phase angle difference around the rotation axis of the operation piece. Along with this, one push-up part pushes the edge of the decorative panel Pressure was engaging portion is disengaged from the engaging portions of the decorative panel in a state, the panel detachment structure of the portable electronic device then the other push-up portion, characterized in that push the end portion of the decorative panel.   In a portable electronic device in which a decorative panel is detachably attached to a surface of a cabinet incorporating an electronic component, the portable electronic device includes a locking mechanism that locks the decorative panel on the cabinet. A lock receiving portion projecting from the end and a lock portion that can be engaged with and disengaged from the lock receiving portion, and pivotally supported on the cabinet so as to be rotatable in the direction of engagement with the lock receiving portion. The operation piece is urged to rotate in the direction of engagement with the locking receiving portion, and the end of the decorative panel is separated from the cabinet as the operation piece rotates. Two push-up parts to be pushed up in the direction to be moved are juxtaposed along the rotation axis of the operation piece, and both push-up parts have different heights toward the end of the decorative panel, and the rotation of the operation piece Along with this, one push-up part presses the edge of the decorative panel And engaging portions are disengaged from the engaging portions of the decorative panel in a state, the panel detachment structure of the portable electronic device then the other push-up portion, characterized in that push the end portion of the decorative panel.   The two push-up portions of the operation piece are arranged on both sides of the locking portion, and one push-up portion abuts the end of the decorative panel at a rotation angle at which the locking portion engages with the lock receiving portion. The said other raising part is formed in the position which can contact | abut to the edge part of a decorative panel with the rotation angle which the said latching part detaches | leaves from a latching receiving part. The panel attachment / detachment structure according to claim 2.   The panel attachment / detachment structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the operation piece has a shape that can be elastically deformed in a twisting direction about a rotation axis thereof.

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