JP2000020161A - Information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a display part small-sized by dividing electronic components into blocks of short components and tall components, and arranging the short components opposite a liquid crystal display part on a substrate and the tall components at the outer periphery on the same side with the liquid crystal display part. SOLUTION: The substrate 111 consists of a substrate constituting an inverter circuit for an LCD back light and a substrate constituting a circuit for a CCD camera unit and is arranged on both the sides of an image pickup part. Then a tall component 112 is arranged projecting from an LCD 21 along the outer periphery of the LCD 21 and the short component 113 is arranged opposite the back of the LCD 21 across the substrate. In this case, the electronic components are divided into the tall component 112 and short component 113 and the tall component 112 is arranged at the outer periphery on the side of the LCD 21, so its upper end never projects from the top surface of the LCD 21. Further, only the short component 113 is mounted on the substrate 111, so the thickness of the LCD 21 is reducible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus such as a portable computer, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus capable of reducing the size of a liquid crystal display (hereinafter, referred to as an LCD) case.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, portable information processing apparatuses have been widely used.
A main body and a display unit are provided, and the display unit can be opened and closed with respect to the main body via a hinge. An LCD for displaying images is provided on the front of the display unit.
Are driven by electronic components such as a backlight inverter. Conventionally, these electronic components are mounted on a substrate, which is conventionally arranged on the back of the LCD, on a substrate such as a transformer or a ballast capacitor having a large height, and a resistor or a small capacitor having a small height.
Parts such as C were also mounted without distinction.

[0003]

Problems to be Solved by the Invention FIGS. 12 and 13
7A and 7B are a plan view and a front view, respectively, showing an example of arrangement of a conventional substrate with respect to an LCD 101. Substrates 102 and 103
Are mounted on the back surface protruding from both sides of the LCD 101 facing each other. The electronic component groups 104 and 105 are mounted on the same side of the substrates 102 and 103 as the LCD 101, respectively.

In this case, even if the electronic components mounted on the substrates 102 and 103 are high-height components having large height dimensions, they usually fit within the height of the LCD 101. The thickness does not increase because of electronic components. However, since the substrates 102 and 103 on which all the electronic components are mounted protrude from the outer periphery of the LCD 101, L
There is a problem that the outer dimensions of the case 106 of the display unit for storing a CD become large.

FIGS. 14 and 15 show another conventional substrate.
FIG. 3 is a plan view and a side view showing an example of arrangement with respect to the LCD 101; The substrates 102 and 103 are attached to the rear surface of the LCD 101 without protruding from the outer periphery.
The electronic component groups 104 and 105 are mounted on opposite sides of the LCD 101, respectively.

In this case, the substrates 102, 103
01 does not protrude from the outer periphery of the display unit 01.
06 does not increase in external dimensions. However, especially when the electronic component is a tall component having a large height dimension, the height protruding from the rear surface of the LCD 101 increases, and
There is a problem that the thickness of the case 106 of the display unit that accommodates the display 101 increases.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus capable of reducing the size of a display unit that accommodates an LCD.

[0008]

According to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, an electronic component is divided into blocks of low-profile components and high-profile components, and the low-profile components are positioned on the opposite side of the liquid crystal display section of the substrate. And the high-profile components are arranged on the outer periphery on the same side with respect to the liquid crystal display portion of the substrate.

In the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the outer dimensions can be reduced by arranging only the tall components on the outer periphery of the substrate on the liquid crystal display side. Further, by arranging the low-profile components on the back surface of the liquid crystal display section of the substrate, the increase in thickness can be reduced.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In order to clarify the correspondence between each means of the invention described in the claims and the following embodiments, each means is described. When the features of the present invention are described by adding the corresponding embodiment (however, an example) in parentheses after the parentheses, the result is as follows. However, of course, this description does not mean that each means is limited to those described.

According to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the electronic component is divided into a low-profile component (for example, a low-profile component 113 in FIG. 9) and a high-profile component (for example, a high-profile component 112 in FIG. 9). Divided, the low-height component is placed opposite to the position opposite to the liquid crystal display of the substrate, and the high-height component is placed on the outer periphery of the same side of the liquid crystal display of the substrate (for example, substrate 111 in FIG. 9). It is characterized by being arranged.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 6 show examples of the configuration of a portable personal computer to which the present invention is applied. The personal computer 1 is a mini-notebook type personal computer, and basically includes a main body 2 and a display unit 3 which can be opened and closed with respect to the main body 2. 1 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the display unit 3 is opened with respect to the main body 2, FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 shows a state in which the display unit 3 is closed with respect to the main body 2. 4 is a right side view showing the display unit 3 opened 180 degrees with respect to the main body 2, FIG. 5 is a front view of FIG. 3, and FIG.
FIG.

On the upper surface of the main body 2, a keyboard 4 operated when inputting various characters and symbols and a track point (trademark) 5 operated when moving a mouse cursor are provided. . Further, on the upper surface of the main body 2, there are further provided a speaker 8 for outputting sound and a shutter button 10 operated when capturing an image with the CCD video camera 23 provided on the display unit 3.

A claw 13 is provided at an upper end portion of the display unit 3. As shown in FIG. 3, when the display unit 3 is closed with respect to the main body 2, the main body 2 is located at a position opposed to the claw 13. Is provided with a hole 6 into which the claw 13 is fitted. A slide lever 7 is provided on the front face of the main body 2 so as to be movable in parallel with the front face. I can do it. By releasing the lock, the display unit 3 can be rotated with respect to the main body 2. Microphone 2 next to claw 13
4 is attached. As shown in FIG. 6, the microphone 24 can collect sound from the back.

A programmable power key (PPK) 9 is also provided on the front of the main body 2. As shown in FIG. 4, an exhaust hole 11 is provided on the right side surface of the main body 2, and an intake hole 14 is provided at a lower part of the front surface of the main body 2 as shown in FIG. 5. In addition, a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card Interna
nation association) card (PC card) is provided.

An LCD for displaying an image is provided on the front of the display unit 3.
(Liquid Crystal Display) 21 is provided, and an imaging unit 22 is provided at the upper end thereof so as to be rotatable with respect to the display unit 3. That is, this imaging unit 22
It can rotate to any position within a range of 180 degrees between the same direction as D21 and the opposite direction (backward direction). A CCD video camera 23 is attached to the imaging unit 22.

A power lamp is provided on the lower body side of the display unit 3.
PL, battery lamp BL, message lamp ML, other LEDs
Is provided. Reference numeral 40 shown in FIG. 3 is a power switch provided on the left side surface of the main body 2, and reference numeral 25 shown in FIG. 5 is an adjustment ring for adjusting the focus of the CCD video camera 23. Further, FIG.
Reference numeral 26 denotes a lid for covering an opening for mounting an additional memory in the main body 2, and reference numeral 41 denotes a lid 26.
This is a small hole for inserting a pin for removing the lock claw.

FIG. 7 shows the internal configuration of the personal computer 1. As shown in FIG. 7, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 52, a PC card 53 inserted as needed, and a RAM (Random Access M
emory) 54 and a graphic chip 81 are connected. The internal bus 51 is connected to an external bus 55. The external bus 55 includes a hard disk drive (HDD) 56, an I / O (input / output) controller 57, a keyboard controller 58, a track point controller 59, and a sound chip 60. , LCD controller 8
3. The modem 50 and the like are connected.

The CPU 52 is a controller that controls each function, and the PC card 53 is appropriately mounted when an optional function is added.

In the RAM 54, an e-mail program (application program) 54A, an auto-pilot program (application program) 54B, and an OS (basic program) 54C are transferred from the HDD 56 and stored at the time when the activation is completed. You.

The electronic mail program 54A is a program for sending and receiving messages via a network from a communication line such as a telephone line. E-mail program 54
A has an incoming mail acquisition function as a specific function. This incoming mail acquisition function checks the mail server 93 to see if mail addressed to the user (user) has arrived in the mailbox 93A, and if there is mail addressed to the user, obtains the mail. Execute.

The autopilot program 54B includes a plurality of preset processes (or programs).
This is a program that is started and processed sequentially in a preset order.

OS (basic program software) 54
C controls the basic operation of a computer typified by Windows95 (trademark).

On the other hand, a hard disk drive (HDD) 56 on the external bus 55 side has an electronic mail program 56
A, an autopilot program 56B and an OS (basic program software) 56C are stored. OS 56C, auto pilot program 56B, and e-mail program 5 in hard disk drive 56
6A is the RAM 54 during the boot-up process.
Are sequentially transferred and stored.

The I / O controller 57 has a microcontroller 61, and the microcontroller 61 is provided with an I / O interface 62. This microcontroller 61 includes an I / O interface 6
2, the CPU 63, the RAM 64, and the ROM 69 are connected to each other. The RAM 64 includes a key input status register 65 and an LED (light emitting diode) control register 6.
6, a set time register 67 and a register 68 are provided. The set time register 67 is used to start the operation of the start-up sequence control unit 76 at a time (start-up condition) set by the user in advance. The register 68 stores a correspondence between a preset operation key combination (start condition) and an application program to be started. When the stored operation key combination is input by the user, the register 68 stores the correspondence. The activated application program (for example, e-mail) is activated.

The key input status register 65 stores an operation key flag when the programmable power key (PPK) 9 for one-touch operation is pressed. The LED control register 66 controls the lighting of a message lamp ML that indicates the activation state of the application program (e-mail) stored in the register 68. The set time register 67 can arbitrarily set a predetermined time.

A backup battery 74 is connected to the microcontroller 61.
The values of the registers 65, 66, and 67 are retained even when the power of the main unit 2 is turned off.

A wake-up program 70, a key input monitoring program 71, and an LED control program 72 are stored in the ROM 69 in the microcontroller 61 in advance. The ROM 69 is, for example, an EEPROM (electricall
y erasable and programmable read only memory). This EEPROM is also called a flash memory. Further, an RTC (Real-Time Clock) 75 that constantly counts the current time is connected to the microcontroller 61.

The wake-up program 70 in the ROM 69 checks whether or not the time set in the set time register 67 has come based on the current time data supplied from the RTC 75. , A program for starting a predetermined process (or a program). The key input monitoring program 71
This is a program for constantly monitoring whether or not K9 has been pressed by the user. The LED control program 72 is a program for controlling lighting of the message lamp ML.

The ROM 69 further includes a BIOS (Basic Input / O
utput System) 73 is written. The BIOS refers to a basic input / output system, and is a software program that controls data transfer (input / output) between an OS or application software and peripheral devices (display, keyboard, hard disk drive, etc.).

A keyboard controller 58 connected to the external bus 55 controls input from the keyboard 4. The track point controller 59 controls input of the track point 5.

The sound chip 60 includes the microphone 24
Or an audio signal is supplied to the built-in speaker 8.

The modem 50 can be connected to a communication network 92 such as the Internet or a mail server 93 via a public telephone line 90 and an Internet service provider 91.

Image data captured by the CCD video camera 23 is input to the graphic chip 81 connected to the internal bus 51 after being processed by the processing unit 82. The graphic chip 81 stores the video data input from the CCD video camera 23 via the processing unit 82 in the built-in VRAM 81, reads out the data as appropriate, and outputs the read data to the LCD controller 83. The LCD controller 83 outputs the image data supplied from the graphic chip 81 to the LCD 21 for display. The backlight 84 illuminates the LCD 21 from behind.

The power switch 40 is operated when the power is turned on or off. The half-press switch 85 is turned on when the shutter button 10 is half-pressed, and the full-press switch 86 is turned on when the shutter button 10 is fully pressed. The reversing switch 87 is connected to the imaging unit 2
2 is rotated 180 degrees (CCD video camera 23
It is turned on when it is rotated in the direction of imaging the opposite side of the CD 21).

FIGS. 8 to 11 show the layout of the inverter substrate for the LCD backlight provided on the back surface of the LCD 21, which is a feature of the present embodiment. Substrate 11 configured in a rectangular plate shape
Near one side, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a relatively tall high-profile component 112 such as a transformer or a ballast capacitor is mounted on one surface. Also, the substrate 11
On the surface on the opposite side of FIG. 1, a relatively low-profile low-profile component 113 such as a resistor or an IC is mounted at a position shifted from the high-profile component 112.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show a state in which the substrate 111 on which these electronic components 112 and 113 are mounted is arranged on the rear surface of the LCD 21. FIG. 10 and 11, the substrate 111 includes a substrate 111A forming an inverter circuit for an LCD backlight and a substrate 111B forming a circuit for a CCD camera unit, and is arranged on both sides of the imaging unit 22. Then, the tall parts 112A, 112
B is arranged so as to protrude from the LCD 21 along the outer periphery of the LCD 21. The low-profile components 113A and 113B are arranged so as to face the rear surface of the LCD 21 via the substrates 111A and 111B, respectively.

According to the above arrangement, the electronic component is divided into the high-profile component 112 and the low-profile component 113, and the high-profile component 112 is
Since it is arranged on the outer periphery on the D21 side, the upper end of a normal tall component does not protrude from the upper surface of the LCD 21. The portion of the substrate 11 protruding from the outer periphery of the LCD 21
1, only the high-profile component 112 is mounted, so that the area can be reduced. Furthermore, since only the low-profile component 113 is mounted on the substrate 111 at a position facing the rear surface of the LCD 21, the thickness of the LCD 21 including electronic components can be reduced. As a result, LCDs containing electronic components
It is possible to reduce the size of the case 114 of the display unit 3 that houses the display 21.

In the above embodiment, the case where the number of the substrates 111 is two has been described, but the number of the substrates is not limited to two.

[0041]

As described above, according to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the electronic components for driving the liquid crystal display are divided into low-profile components and high-profile components, and the low-profile components face the back of the liquid crystal display. Since the high-profile components are mounted on the substrate disposed on the substrate disposed on the outer periphery of the liquid crystal display unit, the case for housing the liquid crystal display unit and the substrate can be reduced in size.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a state in which a display unit of a configuration example of a portable personal computer to which the present invention is applied is opened with respect to a main body.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a left side view showing a state where the display unit of FIG. 1 is closed with respect to a main body.

FIG. 4 is a right side view showing a state where the display unit of FIG. 1 is opened 180 degrees with respect to a main body.

FIG. 5 is a front view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an electric circuit of FIG. 1;

8 is a plan view showing an arrangement of a substrate provided on the back surface of the LCD of FIG. 1 and on which electronic components are mounted.

FIG. 9 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a state where the substrate of FIG. 8 is attached to the back of the LCD.

FIG. 11 is a side view of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a first example of an arrangement of a substrate provided on the back surface of a conventional LCD and on which electronic components are mounted.

FIG. 13 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a second example of an arrangement of a substrate provided on the back of a conventional LCD and on which electronic components are mounted.

FIG. 15 is a side view of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 LCD part, 111 substrate, 112 high-profile parts, 113 low-profile parts

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus comprising: a liquid crystal display unit; and a substrate provided on a back surface of the liquid crystal display unit and on which electronic components for driving the liquid crystal display unit are mounted. Divided into blocks with high-tall components, the low-tall components are disposed opposite to the liquid crystal display portion of the substrate at a position opposite to the liquid crystal display portion, and the tall components are the same with respect to the liquid crystal display portion of the substrate. An information processing apparatus, wherein the information processing apparatus is arranged on the outer periphery on the side.