JP5035160B2 - Electronics - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device including, for example, a fingerprint sensor.

For example, a slide type fingerprint sensor is incorporated in a notebook personal computer (notebook personal computer), for example. When the user traces the fingerprint sensor in one direction with the finger, the fingerprint sensor executes a fingerprint authentication function for reading the user's fingerprint. At the same time, such a fingerprint sensor is used for executing a scroll function for scrolling a display image on a display, for example. When the user traces the fingerprint sensor with his / her finger, the display image scrolls on the display screen of the display according to the traced direction.
JP 2006-24209 A JP 2006-79502 A JP 2001-266108 A

  In conventional notebook computers, software is used to switch between the fingerprint authentication function and the scroll function. As a result, for example, when the fingerprint authentication screen is displayed on the display screen of the display, the user cannot use the display image scroll function. Therefore, the user must switch between the fingerprint authentication function and the scroll function using an input device such as a mouse, a touch pad, or a keyboard. Switching takes time.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic apparatus that can switch between a fingerprint authentication function and a scroll function very easily.

  In order to achieve the above object, an electronic device includes a housing, a display device that is incorporated in the housing and defines a display screen that displays an image, a first position on the housing, and the housing on the housing. A sensor that is incorporated in the housing so as to be movable between a second position different from the first position, and that performs a scroll function for scrolling an image on the display screen, and a fingerprint authentication function for authenticating a fingerprint; A detection mechanism that detects the position sensor and the sensor at the second position, and a control circuit that switches between the scroll function and the fingerprint authentication function based on an output from the detection mechanism.

  In such an electronic device, the sensor moves between a first position and a second position. The position of the sensor is detected by the function of the detection mechanism. The control circuit switches between the fingerprint authentication function and the scroll function according to the position of the sensor. Therefore, the user of the electronic device only needs to move the position of the sensor when switching between the fingerprint authentication function and the scroll function. The fingerprint authentication function and the scroll function can be switched very easily.

  As described above, the electronic device can very easily switch between the fingerprint authentication function and the scroll function.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows an external appearance of an electronic apparatus, that is, a notebook personal computer (hereinafter, “notebook personal computer”) 11 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The notebook personal computer 11 includes a thin first casing, that is, a main body casing 12, and a thin second casing, that is, a display casing 13 connected to the main body casing 12. The main body casing 12 and the display casing 13 are made of a reinforced resin material such as polycarbonate. The main body housing 12 and the display housing 13 constitute a housing of the present invention.

  The main body housing 12 has, for example, a flat rectangular parallelepiped outline. For example, a mother board is incorporated in the housing space of the main body casing 12. As will be described later, electronic circuit elements such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a chip set, and a memory are mounted on the motherboard. The CPU executes various arithmetic processes based on, for example, software programs and data temporarily stored in the memory. Similarly, the software program and data may be stored in a mass storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) housed in the main body housing 12.

  Input devices such as a keyboard 14 and input buttons 15 are incorporated on the surface of the main body housing 12, that is, the front flat surface 12a. With these functions of the input devices 14 and 15, the user of the notebook personal computer 11 can input various commands and data to the CPU. A side surface of the main body housing 12, that is, the front surface 12b is defined outside the front flat surface 12a. The front flat surface 12a and the front surface 12b are connected by a ridge line 12c on the front side. A notch 16 is formed at the front end of the main body housing 12. The notch 16 extends along the ridgeline 12c. A fingerprint sensor 17 is accommodated in the notch 16. Details of the fingerprint sensor 17 will be described later.

  The display housing 13 has, for example, a flat rectangular parallelepiped outline. A display device, that is, an LCD (liquid crystal display) panel 18 is incorporated in the display housing 13. The display screen of the LCD panel 18 faces the window hole 19 defined on the surface of the display housing 13, that is, the front flat surface 13 a. Text and graphics are displayed on the display screen of the LCD panel 18 based on arithmetic processing of the CPU. The user can confirm the operation of the notebook computer 11 based on such text and graphics.

  The main body housing 12 and the display housing 13 are connected to each other by a rotation mechanism 21. The rotation mechanism 21 realizes rotation around the first axis, that is, the horizontal axis 22, and rotation around the second axis, that is, the vertical axis 23, between the main body casing 12 and the display casing 13. Here, the horizontal axis 22 may be defined parallel to the front flat surface 12a along the rear edge of the front flat surface 12a of the main body housing 12. The vertical axis 23 is defined in one plane orthogonal to the horizontal axis 22. Here, the vertical axis 23 is orthogonal to the front flat surface 12a.

  Now, it is assumed that the front flat surface 13a of the display housing 13 is superimposed on the front flat surface 12a of the main body housing 12 based on the relative rotation around the horizontal axis 22. As shown in FIG. 1, the display housing 13 is positioned at the reference position based on the relative rotation around the vertical axis 23. When this reference position is established, the horizontal axis 22 extends in parallel to the ridge line 12 c of the main body housing 12. The display housing 13 rises at a predetermined angle from the rear end of the main body housing 12. In this way, the open state is established in the notebook computer 11.

  At this reference position, as shown in FIG. 2, the display housing 13 is superimposed on the main body housing 12 around the horizontal axis 22. The first posture of the display housing 13 is established. The front flat surface 13 a of the display housing 13 faces the front flat surface 12 a of the main body housing 12. Here, since the reference position is established around the vertical axis 23, the contour of the display housing 13 overlaps the contour of the main body housing 12. In this way, the first closed state is established in the notebook computer 11.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the display housing 13 can rotate relative to the main body housing 12 around the vertical axis 23 at a relative rotation angle of, for example, 180 degrees. Thus, the display housing 13 is positioned at the reference position around the vertical axis 23. At this reference position, as shown in FIG. 4, the back side flat surface of the display housing 13 is superimposed on the front side flat surface 12 a of the main body housing 12 around the horizontal axis 22. The second posture of the display housing 13 is established. The back flat surface of the display housing 13 faces the front flat surface 12 a of the main body housing 12. In this way, the second closed state is established in the notebook computer 11.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the fingerprint sensor 17 includes, for example, a cylindrical casing 25. The axis of the housing 25 extends parallel to the ridge line 12 c of the main body housing 12. For example, a line sensor 26 is incorporated in the housing 25. The line sensor 26 faces, for example, a rectangular window hole 27 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the housing 25. The line sensor 26 arranges pixels parallel to the ridge line 12 c of the main body housing 12. For the line sensor 26, for example, an electric field type or capacitance type semiconductor sensor may be used. The line sensor 26 can scan a finger that moves in a direction orthogonal to the ridge line 12 c, that is, in the front-rear direction of the notebook computer 11.

  The fingerprint sensor 17 can rotate around a rotation axis 28 extending parallel to the ridge line 12c. The rotation shaft 28 coincides with the axis of the housing 25. In FIG. 5, the fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed at the first position. In the first position, the line sensor 26 is disposed upward in a direction perpendicular to the front flat surface 12a. At this time, the line sensor 26 is arrange | positioned in the same plane as the front side flat surface 12a, for example. When the fingerprint sensor 17 rotates at a rotation angle of, for example, 90 degrees around the rotation axis 28, the fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed at the second position as shown in FIG. In the second position, the line sensor 26 is disposed laterally in a direction orthogonal to the front surface 12b. At this time, the line sensor 26 is disposed, for example, in the same plane as the front surface 12b. The line sensor 26 is disposed outside the front flat surface 12a.

  In realizing the rotation of the fingerprint sensor 17, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, cylindrical support shafts 29 are formed on both side surfaces of the housing 25 along the rotation shafts 28. The support shaft 29 may be integrated with both side surfaces of the housing 25. Similarly, a dome-shaped protrusion 31 is formed on one side surface of the housing 25. The protrusion 31 is formed from a conductive material. As shown in FIG. 8, cylindrical bearing holes 32 are formed on the surface of the main body housing 12 facing the both side surfaces of the housing 25. The support shafts 29 are supported by the bearing holes 32, respectively. In this way, the fingerprint sensor 17 can rotate around the rotation axis 28.

  The protrusions 31 are received in the guide grooves 35 formed on the surface of the main body housing 12 facing the both side surfaces of the housing 25. As shown in FIG. 9, the guide groove 35 extends along a predetermined arc defined around the rotation shaft 28. A first recess 36 and a second recess 37 are formed at both ends of the guide groove 35. The guide groove 35 includes a connection groove 38 that connects the first recess 36 and the second recess 37. The depth of the connection groove 38 is set smaller than the depth of the first recess 36 and the second recess 37. Thus, the movement path of the protrusion 31 is defined by the first recess 36, the connection groove 38 and the second recess 37.

  Referring also to FIG. 10, the protrusion 31 is connected to a power source. A conductive terminal 39 is disposed in the second recess 37. The conductive terminal 39 is connected to the ground. When the protrusion 31 is disposed in the first recess 36, the fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed at the first position. Since the depth of the connection groove 38 is smaller than the depth of the first recess 36, the protrusion 31 is prevented from dropping from the first recess 36 toward the connection groove 38. As a result, the rotation of the fingerprint sensor 17 around the rotation axis 28 is restricted. The fingerprint sensor 17 is fixed at the first position. The line sensor 26 is disposed in the same plane as the front flat surface 12a. No conductive terminal is disposed in the first recess 36. Therefore, no current flows from the power source to the protrusion 31.

  When the protrusion 31 is arranged in the second recess 37 through the connection groove 38 based on the rotation around the rotation axis 28, the fingerprint sensor 17 is arranged at the second position as shown in FIG. Since the depth of the connection groove 38 is smaller than the depth of the second recess 37, the projection 31 is prevented from dropping from the second recess 37 toward the connection groove 38. The rotation of the fingerprint sensor 17 around the rotation axis 28 is restricted. The fingerprint sensor 17 is fixed at the second position. The line sensor 26 is disposed in the same plane as the front surface 12b. At this time, as shown in FIG. 12, the protrusion 31 is connected to the ground based on the conductive terminal 39. Thus, current flows from the power source to the protrusion 31.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the notebook computer 11. The notebook computer 11 includes a control circuit, that is, a chip set 41 mounted on a motherboard. A CPU 42 is connected to the chip set 41. The CPU 42 performs arithmetic processing. A storage device such as a memory 43, an HDD 44, and a ROM (read only memory) 45 is connected to the chip set 41. For example, a flash memory may be used as the memory 43. For example, the HDD 44 stores a software program 46 for controlling the fingerprint sensor 17 and the LCD panel 18. In addition, the HDD 44 stores an OS (operating system).

  The fingerprint sensor 17 is connected to the chip set 41. The chip set 41 monitors the position of the fingerprint sensor 17 based on the output from the fingerprint sensor 17. As described above, when the fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed at the first position, no current flows through the protrusion 31. At this time, “1” is output from the fingerprint sensor 17 to the chip set 41. On the other hand, as described above, when the fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed at the second position, a current flows through the protrusion 31. At this time, “0 (zero)” is output from the fingerprint sensor 17 to the chip set 41. In this way, the chip set 41 can detect the position of the fingerprint sensor 17 based on the outputs “1” and “0”.

  The chip set 41 controls the operation of the fingerprint sensor 17. The fingerprint sensor 17 performs a fingerprint authentication function and a scroll function. When executing the fingerprint authentication function, the line sensor 26 acquires an image at a speed of several hundred frames per second, for example. The image is output to the CPU. The CPU 42 superimposes images between adjacent frames. As a result, an image of the entire fingerprint image is generated. The CPU 42 collates the generated image with, for example, a registered image stored in advance in the HDD 44. For example, fingerprint authentication is performed based on the positions of fingerprint feature points such as end points and branch points of fingerprint lines.

  On the other hand, when the scroll function is executed, the line sensor 26 acquires an image at a speed of several hundred frames per second, for example, as in the case of executing the fingerprint authentication function. The CPU 42 superimposes images between adjacent frames. At this time, the moving direction and moving amount of a predetermined reference point in the image are calculated. The chip set 41 scrolls the image within the display screen of the LCD panel 18 according to the calculated moving direction and moving amount. A predetermined correlation may be set between the scroll amount of the image and the movement amount of the reference point. For example, a predetermined coefficient may be multiplied by the moving speed of the reference point.

  The chip set 41 links the first position and the second position of the fingerprint sensor 17 with the fingerprint authentication function and the scroll function of the fingerprint sensor 17. Here, when the fingerprint sensor 17 is arranged at the first position, the fingerprint sensor 17 executes a scroll function. On the other hand, when the fingerprint sensor 17 is arranged at the second position, the fingerprint sensor 17 executes a fingerprint authentication function. Such a link may be set in advance based on, for example, a BIOS (basic input / output system) program. The BIOS program is stored in advance in the ROM 45, for example. The link setting is stored in the memory 43, for example.

  Now, assume that the notebook computer 11 is opened. When the notebook computer 11 is turned on in the open state, the OS is started. A login screen is displayed on the display screen of the LCD panel 18. When the login screen is displayed, the fingerprint sensor 17 executes only the fingerprint authentication function. When the user traces the line sensor 26 with a finger, the chipset 41 executes fingerprint authentication. The CPU 42 receives an image of the entire fingerprint image. When the user's fingerprint is authenticated based on the arithmetic processing of the CPU 42, the chipset 41 displays the user's page on the display screen of the LCD panel 18.

  Thereafter, the chip set 41 monitors the position of the fingerprint sensor 17. When the fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed at the first position, the chip set 41 causes the fingerprint sensor 17 to execute a scroll function. When the user traces the line sensor 26 with his / her finger, the chipset 41 calculates the finger moving direction and finger speed. Thus, the image scrolls at a predetermined speed according to the moving direction of the finger. On the other hand, when the user places the fingerprint sensor 17 at the second position based on the rotation, the chipset 41 causes the fingerprint sensor 17 to execute the fingerprint authentication function. When the user traces the line sensor 26 with a finger, the chipset 41 executes fingerprint authentication.

  Next, assume that the notebook computer 11 establishes the second closed state. In the second closed state, as shown in FIG. 14, the fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed at the second position. Similar to the above, in the second position, the fingerprint sensor 17 executes the fingerprint authentication function. Since the line sensor 26 is disposed in the same plane as the front surface 12 b, the line sensor 26 faces the outline of the notebook computer 11. In this way, the user can trace the fingerprint sensor 17 with a finger. Although the front side flat surface 12a of the main body housing 12 is covered with the back side flat surface of the display housing 13, the user can perform fingerprint authentication.

  In the notebook personal computer 11 as described above, the fingerprint sensor 17 moves between the first position and the second position based on the rotation about the rotation axis 28. The position of the fingerprint sensor 17 is output to the chip set 41 based on the protrusion 31. The chip set 41 causes the fingerprint sensor 17 to execute either the fingerprint authentication function or the scroll function according to the position of the fingerprint sensor 17. In changing the position, it is sufficient for the user to rotate the fingerprint sensor 17 with a finger, for example. Therefore, the user can switch the fingerprint authentication function and the scroll function very easily. Moreover, the fingerprint sensor 17 faces the contour of the notebook computer 11 at the second position. As a result, even if the second closed state is established in the notebook computer 11, the user can use the fingerprint sensor 17.

  In the notebook computer 11 as described above, the fingerprint sensor 17 may be provided with a variable resistor as a detection mechanism. At this time, the protrusion 31 does not need to be formed of a conductive material. The conductive terminal 39 may not be formed in the second recess 37. On the other hand, the power supply and ground are connected to a variable resistor. The variable resistor changes the resistance value according to the rotation of the fingerprint sensor 17. The voltage changes based on such a change in resistance value. For example, when a voltage equal to or higher than a predetermined reference value is detected, “1” is output to the chip set 41. On the other hand, for example, when a voltage lower than a predetermined reference value is detected, “0 (zero)” may be output to the chip set 41. Thus, the position of the fingerprint sensor 17 may be detected based on the variable resistor. In addition, the second position of the fingerprint sensor 17 may be defined as a position rotated from the first position at a relative rotation angle of 45 degrees, for example.

  FIG. 15 schematically shows the appearance of a notebook computer 11a according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In this notebook computer 11 a, the fingerprint sensor 17 is incorporated in the front flat surface 12 a of the main body housing 12. For example, a rectangular parallelepiped recess 51 is formed on the front flat surface 12a. The fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed in the recess 51. Here, the fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed at the first position on the ridge line 12 c side of the main body housing 12 in the recess 51. The fingerprint sensor 17 slides in the recess 51. As a result, as shown in FIG. 16, the fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed in the second position on the rear edge side of the main body housing 12 in the recess 51.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the casing 25 of the fingerprint sensor 17 has, for example, a thin semi-cylindrical shape. The aforementioned support shafts 29 are formed on both side surfaces of the housing 25. The support shaft 29 has a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape. The support shaft 29 is disposed on the same axis extending in parallel with the ridge line 12 c of the main body housing 12. For example, the line sensor 26 is disposed in the same plane as the front flat surface 12a. The support shaft 29 is received in a long hole 52 formed in the surface of the main body housing 12 that faces each side surface of the housing 25. The long hole 52 extends parallel to the front flat surface 12a. Based on the guidance of the long hole 52, the fingerprint sensor 17 can slide and move in the front-rear direction of the notebook computer 11a along the front flat surface 12a.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the protrusion 31 is formed on the bottom surface of the housing 25. The protrusion 31 is formed in a dome shape. On the other hand, the aforementioned guide groove 35 is formed on the bottom surface of the recess 51. The guide groove 35 extends in the front-rear direction of the notebook computer 11a. When the protrusion 31 is disposed in the first recess 36, the fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed at the first position. When the protrusion 31 is arranged in the second recess 37 via the connection groove 38 based on the sliding movement parallel to the front side flat surface 12a, the fingerprint sensor 17 is arranged at the second position as shown in FIG. The protrusion 31 is connected to the ground based on the conductive terminal 39. Thus, a current flows through the protrusion 31. Like reference numerals are attached to the structure or components equivalent to those of the aforementioned notebook computer 11.

  In the notebook personal computer 11a as described above, the fingerprint sensor 17 moves between the first position and the second position based on the sliding movement on the front flat surface 12a of the main body housing 12. The chip set 41 causes the fingerprint sensor 17 to execute either the fingerprint authentication function or the scroll function based on the position of the fingerprint sensor 17. In changing the position of the fingerprint sensor 17, it is sufficient for the user to slide the fingerprint sensor 17 with a finger, for example. Therefore, the user can switch the fingerprint authentication function and the scroll function very easily.

  FIG. 20 schematically shows the appearance of a notebook computer 11b according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the notebook personal computer 11 b, the fingerprint sensor 17 is incorporated in the front surface 12 b of the main body housing 12. For example, a rectangular parallelepiped recess 55 extending in the width direction of the main body housing 12 is formed on the front surface 12b. The fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed in the recess 55. Here, the fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed in the first position on the left side of the recess 55 toward the main body housing 12. The fingerprint sensor 17 slides in the recess 55. As a result, as shown in FIG. 21, the fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed in the second position on the right side in the depression 55 toward the main body housing 12.

  As shown in FIG. 22, the casing 25 of the fingerprint sensor 17 has, for example, a thin semi-cylindrical shape. The support shaft 29 is formed on the upper surface and the bottom surface of the housing 25. The support shaft 29 is disposed on the same axis extending in a direction orthogonal to the ridge line 12 c of the main body housing 12. The line sensor 26 is disposed in the same plane as the front surface 12 b of the main body housing 12. The support shaft 29 is received in a long hole 52 formed on the surface of the main body housing 12 that faces the upper surface and the bottom surface of the housing 25. The long hole 52 extends parallel to the front surface 12b. Based on the guidance of the long hole 52, the fingerprint sensor 17 slides along the front surface 12b in the width direction of the notebook computer 11b.

  As shown in FIG. 23, the protrusion 31 is formed on the side surface of the housing 25. The protrusion 31 is formed in a dome shape. On the other hand, the aforementioned guide groove 35 is formed on the bottom surface of the recess 55. The guide groove 35 extends in the width direction of the notebook computer 11b. When the protrusion 31 is disposed in the first recess 36, the fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed at the first position. Since the depth of the connection groove 38 is smaller than the depth of the first recess 36, the protrusion 31 is prevented from dropping from the first recess 36 toward the connection groove 38. As a result, the sliding movement of the fingerprint sensor 17 is restricted. The fingerprint sensor 17 is fixed at the first position. In the first position, no current flows from the power source to the protrusion 31.

  When the protrusion 31 is disposed in the second recess 37 via the connection groove 38 based on the sliding movement parallel to the front surface 12b, the fingerprint sensor 17 is disposed at the second position as shown in FIG. Since the depth of the connection groove 38 is smaller than the depth of the second recess 37, the projection 31 is prevented from dropping from the second recess 37 toward the connection groove 38. The sliding movement of the fingerprint sensor 17 is restricted. The fingerprint sensor 17 is fixed at the second position. At this time, the protrusion 31 is connected to the ground based on the conductive terminal 39. Thus, a current flows through the protrusion 31. In addition, the same reference numerals are assigned to configurations and structures equivalent to those of the notebook personal computers 11 and 11a.

  In the notebook personal computer 11b as described above, the fingerprint sensor 17 moves between the first position and the second position on the front surface 12b of the main body housing 12 based on the sliding movement. The chip set 41 causes the fingerprint sensor 17 to execute either the fingerprint authentication function or the scroll function based on the position of the fingerprint sensor 17. In changing the position of the fingerprint sensor 17, it is sufficient for the user to slide the fingerprint sensor 17 with a finger, for example. Therefore, the user can switch the fingerprint authentication function and the scroll function very easily. Moreover, the fingerprint sensor 17 faces the outline of the notebook computer 11b. As a result, even if the second closed state is established in the notebook computer 11b, the user can use the fingerprint sensor 17.

(Appendix 1) Housing,
A display device that is incorporated in the housing and defines a display screen for displaying an image;
A scroll function that is incorporated in the housing so as to be movable between a first position on the housing and a second position different from the first position on the housing, and scrolls an image on the display screen; and a fingerprint A sensor that executes a fingerprint authentication function for authenticating
A detection mechanism for detecting the sensor at the first position and the sensor at the second position;
An electronic apparatus comprising: a control circuit that switches between the scroll function and the fingerprint authentication function based on an output from the detection mechanism.

  (Supplementary note 2) The electronic device according to supplementary note 1, wherein the first position and the second position are realized based on rotation of the sensor.

(Appendix 3) In the electronic device described in Appendix 2,
The housing is
A first housing that houses the sensor;
The display screen of the display device is arranged on the surface connected to the first housing so as to be relatively rotatable around a horizontal axis parallel to the surface of the first housing, and based on the relative rotation around the horizontal axis A second housing that establishes a closed state in which the surface is superimposed on the surface of the first housing;
The electronic device is characterized in that the first position is defined on a surface of the first casing, and the second position is defined on the outer side from the surface of the first casing.

  (Supplementary note 4) The electronic device according to supplementary note 3, wherein the second position is defined on a side surface of the first housing.

  (Supplementary note 5) The electronic device according to supplementary note 1, wherein the first position and the second position are realized based on a sliding movement of the sensor.

(Appendix 6) In the electronic device described in Appendix 5,
The housing is
A first housing that houses the sensor;
A second housing that is connected to the first housing so as to be relatively rotatable about a horizontal axis parallel to the surface of the first housing, and the display screen of the display device is disposed on the surface.
The electronic device, wherein the first position and the second position are defined on a surface of the first housing.

(Appendix 7) In the electronic device described in Appendix 5,
The housing is
A first housing that houses the sensor;
The display screen of the display device is arranged on the surface connected to the first housing so as to be relatively rotatable around a horizontal axis parallel to the surface of the first housing, and based on the relative rotation around the horizontal axis A second housing that establishes a closed state in which the surface is superimposed on the surface of the first housing;
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first position and the second position are defined on a side surface of the first housing.

  (Supplementary note 8) The electronic device according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 7, wherein the sensor is a slide-type fingerprint sensor.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing an external appearance of a specific example of an electronic apparatus according to the present invention, that is, a notebook personal computer (notebook personal computer). It is a perspective view which shows a mode that the surface of the housing | casing for a display is superimposed on the surface of a main body housing | casing. It is a perspective view which shows a mode that the display housing | casing rotated the surroundings of the vertical axis by the rotation angle of 180 degree | times. It is a perspective view which shows roughly a mode that the back surface of the housing | casing for a display is superimposed on the surface of a main body housing | casing. It is a partial expansion perspective view which shows roughly the structure of the fingerprint sensor arrange | positioned in a 1st position. It is a partial expansion perspective view which shows roughly the structure of the fingerprint sensor arrange | positioned in a 2nd position. It is a partial expansion perspective view which shows the structure of a fingerprint sensor schematically. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows roughly the fingerprint sensor arrange | positioned in a 1st position. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 in FIG. 8 and schematically shows a fingerprint sensor disposed at a first position. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows roughly the relationship between a processus | protrusion and a guide groove when a fingerprint sensor is arrange | positioned in a 1st position. FIG. 10 schematically shows a fingerprint sensor arranged in the second position corresponding to FIG. 9. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows roughly the relationship between a processus | protrusion and a guide groove when a fingerprint sensor is arrange | positioned in a 2nd position. It is a block diagram which shows roughly the structure of the control system of a notebook personal computer. It is a perspective view which shows the notebook computer of a 2nd closed state roughly. It is a perspective view which shows roughly the external appearance of the notebook computer which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows roughly the external appearance of the notebook computer which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a partial expansion perspective view which shows the structure of a fingerprint sensor schematically. FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 18-18 in FIG. 17 and schematically illustrates the fingerprint sensor disposed at the first position. FIG. 19 schematically shows a fingerprint sensor arranged at the second position corresponding to FIG. 18. It is a perspective view which shows roughly the external appearance of the notebook computer which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows roughly the external appearance of the notebook computer which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a partial expansion perspective view which shows the structure of a fingerprint sensor schematically. FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line 23-23 in FIG. 22 and schematically illustrates a fingerprint sensor disposed at a first position. FIG. 24 schematically shows a fingerprint sensor arranged in the second position corresponding to FIG. 23.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Electronic device (notebook personal computer), 12 1st housing | casing (main body housing | casing), 13 2nd housing | casing (display housing | casing), 17 Sensor (fingerprint sensor), 18 Display apparatus (liquid crystal display panel), 22 Horizontal axis, 31 detection mechanism (protrusion), 41 control circuit (chip set).

Claims (3)

A housing;
A display device that is incorporated in the housing and defines a display screen for displaying an image;
A scroll function that is incorporated in the housing so as to be rotatable between a first position on the housing and a second position different from the first position on the housing, and for scrolling an image on the display screen; and a fingerprint A sensor that executes a fingerprint authentication function for authenticating
A detection mechanism for detecting the sensor at the first position and the sensor at the second position;
A control circuit for switching the scroll function and the fingerprint authentication function based on an output from the detection mechanism , the housing,
A first housing that houses the sensor;
The display screen of the display device is arranged on the surface connected to the first housing so as to be relatively rotatable around a horizontal axis parallel to the surface of the first housing, and based on the relative rotation around the horizontal axis A second housing that establishes a closed state in which the surface is superimposed on the surface of the first housing;
The electronic device first position is defined on a surface of said first housing, said second position, characterized in Rukoto defined outwardly from the surface of the first housing. A housing;
A display device that is incorporated in the housing and defines a display screen for displaying an image;
A scroll function that is incorporated in the housing so as to be slidable between a first position on the housing and a second position different from the first position on the housing, and scrolls an image on the display screen; and A sensor that executes a fingerprint authentication function for authenticating a fingerprint;
A detection mechanism for detecting the sensor at the first position and the sensor at the second position;
An electronic apparatus comprising: a control circuit that switches between the scroll function and the fingerprint authentication function based on an output from the detection mechanism. The electronic device according to claim 2 ,
The housing is
A first housing that houses the sensor;
A second housing that is connected to the first housing so as to be relatively rotatable about a horizontal axis parallel to the surface of the first housing, and the display screen of the display device is disposed on the surface.
The electronic device, wherein the first position and the second position are defined on a surface of the first housing.

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