JP2001358811A - Portable information terminal equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide portable information terminal equipment, for which a display part and a key operation part on the body and a flip can be selectively switched to the using form of either counterposed type or non-counterposed type, in the portable information terminal equipment of a foldable type under simple constitution. SOLUTION: The body 11 provided with the display part 13 and the flip 12 provided with the key operation part 14 are joined by a free joint 15, and the body 11 and the flip 12 can be bent and stretched in opened and closed states with a horizontal axis X as the axis line. Also, they are turned so that it can be turned a vertical axis Y as the axis in the opened state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a main body having a display section and / or a key operation section and a flip having a key operation section joined by a hinge, and the main body and the flip are bent and folded. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable information terminal device which can be used for mobile communication, such as a portable personal computer, an information terminal device usable for e-mail or the Internet, and a portable telephone. Applicable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional portable information terminal device in which a main body 1 and a flip 2 are of a folding type, as shown in FIGS. The main body 1 and the flip 2 are joined by a hinge 5 so as to be openable and closable by a hinge 5 in a state where the key operation unit 4 faces each other, and when not in use, the main body 1 and the flip 2 are folded as shown in FIG. An opposing joint structure is adopted in which the display unit 3 and the key operation unit 4 are exposed when opened in the extended state, or the key operation is performed when the main body 1 and the flip 2 are folded as shown in FIGS. A non-facing joint structure is adopted in which the display unit 3 is exposed and opened and closed by a hinge 5 so that the display unit 3 is exposed when the unit 4 is exposed and both are opened in an extended state.

[0003]

According to the above prior art, the relationship between the main body 1 and the flip 2 is determined based on whether the display section 3 and the key operation section 4 are of a facing type or a non-facing type. Not only is it inconvenient to use because either one must be selected, but in the case of a non-facing joint structure, careless contact with the operation unit 4 when not in use may cause erroneous operation or malfunction. There are drawbacks that can easily occur.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to selectively switch the display unit and the key operation unit of the main body and the flip to a facing type or a non-facing type using a simple configuration. Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable information terminal device capable of always viewing a part of a display unit in a state where a flip is folded.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a portable information terminal device comprising: a main body having a display unit and / or a key operation unit; and a flip having a key operation unit or a display unit. Is connected by a universal joint so that the main body and the flip can be bent and stretched in the open / closed state with the horizontal axis as the axis, and can be pivoted with the vertical axis as the axis in the open state. The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, including an operation unit having a numeric keypad, character input keys, function keys, and the like.
The invention of claim 1 is the invention according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein a see-through window is provided in a part of the flip.

[0006] The main body and the flip are mutually pivotable on the horizontal axis and the vertical axis of the universal joint at the joint,
Therefore, by turning around the vertical axis as the axis in the state where the main body and the flip are opened, the front and back of the flip can be reversed, and the usability is diversified. In the folded state, a part of the display unit can be seen through the see-through window of the flip.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a case where the present invention is applied to a portable telephone will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiment.

As a portable telephone to which the present invention is applied, for example, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
The main body 11 is connected to a relatively large liquid crystal display unit 13 and a key operation including a screen-like touch key is provided on the display unit 13. A flip-flop 12 and a key operation unit 14 having a push-button key. The receiver 11 and the microphone 17 are provided at the free end and the base of the main body 11, respectively. The main body 11 is further provided with an antenna 18, a radio communication electrical unit (not shown), and an information processing unit (not shown) necessary for other information processing. The operation unit 14 includes numeric keys, character input keys,
Arrange necessary keys such as function keys.

A special configuration of the present invention for a portable telephone of the above-mentioned type is that a joint between the main body 11 and the flip 12 has a horizontal axis X for opening and closing and a vertical axis Y for turning the front and back orthogonal to the horizontal axis X. Adopt universal joints 15 that can be individually turned.

At a portion near the free end of the flip 12, there is provided a see-through window 19 in which a transparent plate is fitted.
The display unit 13 of the main body 11 is
So that a part of can be seen through.

With the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 1, the flip 12 is folded so that the key operation unit 14 is exposed, so that the display unit 13 of the main body 11 is protected and the display unit 13 is protected from the see-through window 19. The user can make a call by dialing while viewing a part of the main body 11, and as shown in FIG. 2, by opening the flip 12, the entire surface of the display unit 13 in the main body 11 can be seen.

From the state shown in FIG. 2, the flip 12 is turned by 180 degrees about the vertical axis Y, thereby exposing the entire surface of the display section 13 of the main body 11 as shown in FIG. Turn 14 forward, so that when using the Internet or e-mail,
The user can operate the key operation unit 14 while viewing the entire surface of the display unit 13, and by folding the flip 12 from the state of FIG. 3, as shown in FIG. 12 protects the key operation unit 14 under the cover state, prevents inadvertent operation on the key operation unit 14, and allows a part of the display unit 13 to be always visible from the see-through window 19. In addition, the calendar, the time, the caller's telephone number, and other auxiliary information can be easily read while the flip 12 is folded.

In order to reverse the flip 12 from the state shown in FIG. 4 to the state shown in FIG. 1 in which the key operation unit 14 is exposed on the front side, the operation is performed in the reverse manner.
That is, the flip 12 may be folded through the state shown in FIGS.

The universal joint 15 is not limited to the structure shown in the figure, but may be another structure such as a ball joint. The liquid crystal touch panel applied to the display unit 13 can input and output handwritten images. It is desirable to adopt a model capable of outputting a moving image or a model capable of outputting a moving image.

In the above embodiment, the main body 11 is provided with the display section 13 to which a liquid crystal type touch panel is applied.
A key operation unit 14 using screen-like touch keys is provided in the display unit 13, and a key operation unit 14 using a push button is provided on one surface of the flip 12, but the relationship between the main body 11 and the flip 12 is reversed. That is, the main body 11
And a display unit 13 using a liquid crystal touch panel is provided for the flip 12, and a key operation unit 14 using screen-like touch keys is provided in the display unit 13. It may be.

In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a portable telephone has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to use a portable personal computer, an e-mail or an information terminal device adapted to the Internet, a mobile terminal. Naturally, it can be applied to body communication (mobile) terminal equipment and the like.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

The body 11 and the flip 12 are connected to a universal joint 15
Because of this, with this simple configuration,
Not only can the main body 11 and the flip 12 be opened and closed under the horizontal axis X, but also the main body 11 and the flip 12 can be turned around the vertical axis Y to turn the flip 12 upside down. Both can be obtained in two ways in a folded state and two ways in an opened state. Therefore, the key operation of the flip 12 can be performed in the folded state and the open state as necessary. The use state of operating the unit 14 can be obtained, and the display unit 1 of the main body 11 can be obtained in the folded state.
3 is protected by the flip 12 and, if necessary, the key operation part 14 of the flip 12 is covered to prevent erroneous operation or malfunction due to careless contact with the operation part 14 in an unused state. Can be.

Since the see-through window 19 is provided in a part of the flip 12, a part of the display unit 13 in the main body 11 can be seen through in a state where the flip 12 is folded. The minimum necessary information can be viewed with the protection.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable information terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention in a folded state.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 1 with the flip open.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where a flip is turned upside down from the state shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a state where the flip is folded from the state of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a folded state showing one embodiment of a conventional portable information terminal device.

6 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 5 with the flip open.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a folded state showing another embodiment of the conventional portable information terminal device.

8 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 7 with the flip open.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Main body 12 Flip 13 Display part 14 Key operation part 15 Universal joint 18 Antenna 19 Transparent window X horizontal axis Y vertical axis

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A main body (11) having a display section (13) and / or a key operation section (14), and a key operation section (1).
4) or a flip (12) provided with a display (13) is joined by a universal joint (15), and the main body (11) and the flip (12) are opened and closed with the horizontal axis (X) as an axis. In addition to being able to bend and elongate, in the open state, it is possible to turn around the vertical axis (Y), and the antenna (18) is attached to the main body (11).
A portable information terminal device provided with a wireless communication electrical unit including an information processing unit and an information processing unit. 2. The portable information terminal device according to claim 1, wherein a key operation unit provided with a numeric keypad, character input keys, function keys, and the like is adopted. 3. A transparent window (19) is provided in a part of the flip (12) so that a part of the display (13) in the main body (11) can be seen through when the flip (12) is folded. The portable information terminal device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: