JP2003208241A - Electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the input operability of information such as characters input and the portability. <P>SOLUTION: A second main body 2 is connected to a first main body 1 equipped with a display part 6 so as to be foldable, and a keyboard part 4 is mounted on the second main body part 2 so as to be rotatable, and the keyboard part 4 is configured to rotate to be positioned in its vertical or horizontal conditions against the opposite face of the second main body part 2 opposite to the display part 5 of the first main body 1. Therefore, it is facilitated to input information such as characters by the keyboard part 4, since the keyboard part 4 is rotated in its horizontal condition against the opposite face of the second main body part 2. Thus, the key operability of the keyboard 4 is improved. Also, the whole electronic equipment is made compact by rotating the keyboard part 4 to position in its vertical condition so that the keyboard part 4 is overlapped on the opposite face of the second main body part 2, and folding the second main body part 2 and the first main body part 1. Thus, the portability is improved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device such as a portable information terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a portable information terminal such as a pocket computer, in order to make it easy to hold in a hand during use, a device case is formed into a substantially flat size and a vertically long flat plate. In some cases, an input display unit having a touch input function is provided on the front surface of the case, information is displayed on the input display unit, and touch input is performed with an input pen or the like while observing the displayed information. Since such a portable information terminal does not have a character-only keyboard for inputting characters, data can be input only by touch input with an input pen, etc. There was the inconvenience of poor operability. Therefore, conventionally, there has been developed one in which a keyboard is provided separately from the equipment case and the keyboard is electrically connected to the equipment case by a connection cable when used.

[0003]

However, in a portable information terminal equipped with such a keyboard, the keyboard has to be separated and carried separately when carrying it, which is not only poor in portability. When using
Since the keyboard has to be connected to the device case each time, there is a problem that the connection work is troublesome and the usability is poor. In addition, in order to avoid such a problem, there is a device case formed by folding the device case in two and providing a display portion in one case and a keyboard portion in the other case. However, in such a structure, When each case is formed in a horizontally long shape, it is difficult to hold it when using it, so it is necessary to form each case in a vertically long shape, and along with this, each key of the keyboard part is necessarily arranged in a vertically long state. Therefore, there is a problem that the key operation is bad.

An object of the present invention is to obtain a device having a good input operability for inputting information such as characters and having good portability.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first main body portion having a display portion, a second main body portion foldably connected to the first main body portion, and a second main body portion. Rotated between a vertically long position that is rotatably attached to the main body and overlaps the facing surface of the second main body that faces the display portion of the first main body, and a position that is horizontally long with respect to the facing surface. An electronic device, comprising: According to this invention, since the keyboard portion is provided on the second body portion that is foldably connected to the first body portion, it is possible to input information such as characters using the keyboard portion and rotate the keyboard portion. Thus, by making the keyboard portion laterally long with respect to the facing surface of the second main body portion that faces the display portion of the first main body portion, it is possible to improve the key operability of the keyboard portion and rotate the keyboard portion. By moving the first main body and the second main body to lie on the facing surface of the second main body in a vertically long state, and folding the first main body and the second main body in this state, the entire body can be made compact, which improves portability. You can get things.

In this case, as described in claim 2, when the keyboard portion is rotated to a position in a laterally long state with respect to the facing surface of the second main body portion, the keyboard portions are releasably engaged with each other. Since the second main body portion and the keyboard portion are provided with the connection member for electrically connecting, the keyboard portion 4 is electrically connected to the second main body portion with the connection cable each time it is used as in the conventional example. It is possible to automatically electrically connect the keyboard portion and the second main body portion without needing to do so, and when the keyboard portion is rotated and superposed on the second main body portion in a vertically long state, the connecting member is formed. The electric connection between the second main body portion and the keyboard portion due to can be automatically released, and therefore, it is possible to prevent the key input from being performed without permission when carrying it, which results in high safety and Get something easy to use Door can be.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the keyboard portion is biased to the vertically long position and regulated at a position approximately at the intermediate position of the rotational movement of the keyboard portion, and the keyboard is also provided. By providing a position regulating member that urges the portion to the position in the horizontally long state and regulates the position, the position of the keyboard portion is urged to either the vertically long state or the horizontally long state by the position regulating member. It can be regulated, so that the keyboard part can be securely set to the second position so that the keyboard part does not rotate freely when carrying and using.
It can be held against the main body, and this also makes it possible to obtain a highly safe and convenient product.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIGS.
An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a portable information terminal will be described. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a use state of the portable information terminal of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view as seen from the back side thereof, and FIG. 3 shows a state in which the keyboard portion is rotated in the state of FIG. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view showing the same, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the portable information terminal of FIG. 1 in a flat state, and FIG. 5 is a diagram in which the first main body of FIG. 4 is removed and the keyboard is rotated 90 °. It is a top view of a state. This portable information terminal has a structure in which a first main body 1 and a second main body 2 are foldably connected by a connecting mechanism 3, and a keyboard 4 is rotatably attached to the second main body 2. ing.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first main body 1 is formed into a vertically long flat plate having a substantially palm size, and its lower end is detachably attached to the attachment member 5. . A display unit 6 is provided over almost the entire surface of one surface of the first main body 1 (the surface of the paper in the figure), and a plurality of switch buttons 7 are provided on the lower portion of this one surface.
Is provided. In this case, the display unit 6 is composed of a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display element or an EL element (electroluminescence element). In addition, the second main body 2
Like the first main body 1, is a vertically long flat plate having a palm size, is formed to have a size overlapping the first main body 1, and is formed to be thinner than the first main body 1. There is.

As shown in FIG. 4, the connecting mechanism 3 includes a first connecting portion 8 rotatably attached to an attaching member 5 to which the first main body portion 1 is attached, and one end portion of the second main body portion 2 ( The second connecting portion 9 rotatably attached to the upper end portion in FIG.
The first connecting portion 8 and the second connecting portion 9 are rotatably attached, and the first and second main body portions 1 and 2 are foldably connected. In this case, the first connecting portion 8 is, as shown in FIG.
The concave portion 8a is provided on one side portion (the upper side portion in the figure) adjacent to the side mounting member 5, and the convex portion 8b is provided on the other side portion (the lower side portion in the figure), and the concave portion 8a on the one side portion is provided. The convex portion 5a provided at one end portion (lower end portion in the figure) of the mounting member 5 is inserted,
In this state, both are rotatably attached by the first connecting shaft 10.

Further, the second connecting portion 9 is provided at a portion (lower portion in FIG. 4) on the side of the second main body portion 2 in a concave portion 2a at one end portion (upper end portion in the same figure) of the second main body portion 2. The two are inserted into the notch portion 2b, and in this state, both are rotatably attached by the second connecting shaft 11. Then, the first connecting portion 8 and the second connecting portion 9 are provided in the concave portion 8c provided in the convex portion 8b on the other side portion of the first connecting portion 8 and the other portion of the second connecting portion 9 (the upper portion in FIG. 4). Are inserted, and in this state, both are rotatably attached by the third connecting shaft 12. In this case, the convex portion 8b of the first connecting portion 8 is configured to be inserted into and retractable from the concave portion 2a of the second body portion 2.

By the way, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the inside of the mounting member 5 on the side of the first main body 1 is the first main body 1.
A joint portion 25 is provided, the lower end portion of which is detachably attached and electrically connected to the electronic circuit of the first main body portion 1. Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the attachment member 5 is provided with the first connector 13 electrically connected to the joint portion 25 via the flexible wiring sheet 26. Further, the second connector 14 is provided on the bottom side of the cutout portion 2 b of the second main body portion 2 and the first connector 1 of the first main body portion 1.
It is provided corresponding to 3.

In this case, the first and second connectors 13 and 14
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the connecting pieces are arranged in a comb shape, and as shown in FIGS.
When the first main body 1 is inclined and stands on the main body 2,
As shown in FIG. 8, each connecting piece of the first connector 13 and the second connecting piece
The respective connection pieces of the connector 14 mesh with each other and engage with each other,
Thereby, the electronic circuit of the first main body 1 and the electronic circuit of the second main body 2 are electrically connected. Further, the first and second connectors 13 and 14 are, when the first main body 1 is inclined and not standing upright on the second main body 2, as shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 10. In addition, the connection pieces of the first connector 13 and the connection pieces of the second connector 14 are disengaged from each other and the engagement therebetween is released.

On the other hand, the keyboard portion 4 is, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, substantially the same as the facing surface (the upper surface in these figures) of the second body portion 2 which faces the display portion 6 of the first body portion 1. As shown in FIGS. 7, 9 and 10, the size of the second main body 2 is substantially the same as that of the second main body 2, and the upper surface thereof is formed as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. , A large number of key buttons 15, such as character keys, numerical keys, and function keys, are arranged in a horizontally long state. This keyboard part 4
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, is attached to the facing surface (upper surface) of the second main body portion 2 by the shaft portion 16 so as to be rotatable in the surface direction. In addition, the keyboard portion 4 is in a vertically long position overlapping the facing surface of the second main body portion 2 with the position regulating member 17 as a boundary at the vicinity of the intermediate position of the rotational movement of the keyboard portion 4, and the second main body portion. The position is regulated by being urged to any one of a horizontally long position with respect to the facing surface of the second member.

That is, the position regulating member 17 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, a guide protrusion 18 provided on the keyboard portion 4 and a guide protrusion 1 provided on the second main body portion 2 are provided.
8 and the guide groove 19 for guiding the guide protrusion 1
8 and the other end is the mounting protrusion 2 of the second main body 2.
1 and a torsion spring 20 attached to it. In this case, the guide groove 19 is provided on the facing surface (upper surface) of the second main body portion 2 in an arc shape with the shaft portion 16 as the center, and as shown in FIGS. In the vertically long state in which the main body portion 2 is overlapped with the main body portion 2, the guide protrusion 18 contacts the upper end portion 19a of the guide groove 19, and as shown in FIGS.
The guide protrusion 18 is configured to abut the lower end portion 19b of the guide groove 19 in a laterally long state orthogonal to the facing surface.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the torsion spring 20 is a spring member formed in a substantially V shape, and is located near the intermediate position of the rotational movement of the keyboard portion 4, that is, each of the torsion springs 20. The guide protrusion 18 of the keyboard portion 4 to which the end portion is attached and the attachment protrusion 21 of the second main body portion 2
The guide projections 18 are formed on the upper end portion 1 of the guide groove 19 at a boundary near an intermediate position where and are arranged substantially in a straight line with respect to the shaft portion 16.
When it is located on the 9a side, the keyboard portion 4 is biased counterclockwise, and conversely, when the guide protrusion 18 is located on the lower end portion 19b side of the guide groove 19, the keyboard portion 4 is biased clockwise. Is configured. As a result, the torsion spring 20 is biased between the vertically long state and the horizontally long state of the keyboard portion 4 at the boundary near the middle where the keyboard portion 4 is inclined approximately 45 ° with respect to the facing surface of the second main body portion 2. It is configured to switch in either direction.

Further, the second body 2 has a wiring board 23.
Are arranged. The second connector 14 of the second main body 2 is provided at one end of the wiring board 23, and the third connector 22 is provided at the other end of the second main body 2.
6 and the upper end portion 19a of the guide groove 19 are provided. As shown in FIG. 4, the third connector 22 has a structure in which a plurality of contact electrodes are arranged on the wiring board 23, and is electrically connected to the second connector 14 of the second main body 2 by the wiring board 23. There is. Also, the keyboard section 4
A fourth connector 24 is provided in the vicinity of the shaft portion 16 so as to correspond to the third connector 22. This 4th connector 2
4 has a structure in which a plurality of contact pieces that come into contact with and separate from each contact electrode of the third connector 22 are arranged in a comb shape.

Then, the third and fourth connectors 22, 24
As shown in FIG. 4, the keyboard portion 4 is the second main body portion 2
In the horizontally long state orthogonal to the contact portions, the contact pieces of the fourth connector 24 come into contact with the contact electrodes of the third connector 22 to be electrically connected to each other, so that the electronic circuit of the keyboard portion 4 and the second body portion 2 are connected. The electronic circuit is electrically connected to the electronic circuit and is also electrically connected to the electronic circuit of the first main body 1 via the wiring board 23. Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the third and fourth connectors 22 and 24 contact the contact pieces of the fourth connector 24 when the keyboard portion 4 is not in the horizontally long state orthogonal to the second main body portion 2. Is separated from each contact electrode of the third connector 22, and the electrical connection between the two is released.

Next, the case of using such a portable information terminal will be described. First, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, the first main body portion 1 is attached to the attachment member 5, and in this state, the first main body portion 1 and the second main body portion 2 are opened 180 ° through the connecting mechanism 3. At the same time, the first and second connecting portions 8 and 9 of the connecting mechanism 3 are flattened out, and the display portion 6 of the first main body portion 1 is opened.
And the keyboard part 4 on the 2nd main-body part 2 is turned upwards. In this state, the keyboard portion 4 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 4 around the shaft portion 16 so that the keyboard portion 4 is placed on the facing surface of the second main body portion 2 facing the display portion 6 of the first main body portion 1. They are arranged in a horizontally long state orthogonal to each other.

At this time, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the guide protrusion 18 of the keyboard portion 4 moves in the guide groove 19 of the second main body portion 2 to move the lower end portion 19b of the guide groove 19.
Abut. In this state, the torsion spring 20 connects the guide protrusion 18 of the keyboard portion 4 to the lower end portion 1 of the guide groove 19.
Since it is urged in the direction in which it is pressed against 9b, the keyboard portion 4
The position is regulated in a horizontally long state so that it does not rotate freely.
Further, in this state, the fourth connector 2 of the keyboard unit 4
4 and the third connector 22 of the second main body 2 come into contact with each other and become electrically conductive, and thereby the electronic circuit of the keyboard 4 and the second connector 22
The electronic circuit of the main body 2 is electrically connected.

Thus, when the keyboard portion 4 is arranged in the horizontally long state, as shown in FIG. 4, since the keyboard portion 4 is not present on the second connecting portion 9 of the connecting mechanism 3, the connecting mechanism 3 is bent. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the first main body 1 can be tilted upright on the second main body 2. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the second connecting portion 9 is rotated around the second connecting shaft 11 of the second connecting portion 9 to move the third connecting shaft 12 of the second connecting portion 9 to the second main body. The first connecting portion 8 is arranged on the second main body portion 2 while being arranged on the portion 2, and the first connecting portion 8 is rotated around the third connecting shaft 12.
The first main body 1 is rotated about 1 to stand upright on the second main body 2. Then, the first connector 13 provided in the first main body 1 and the second connector 14 of the second main body 2 are engaged with each other, whereby the electronic circuit of the first main body 1 and the electronic circuit of the second main body 2 are engaged. The circuit is electrically connected, and is also electrically connected to the electronic circuit of the keyboard portion 4 via the wiring board 23.

In this state, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, since the end of the second main body 2 on the side of the connecting mechanism 3 projects rearward (right side in FIG. 7) of the connecting mechanism 3, Even if the main body portion 1 is tilted backward and stands up, the first main body portion 1 can be mounted on the mounting surface such as a table in a stable state by the second main body portion 2. In this way, when the first main body 1 is tilted upright on the second main body 2 and the keyboard portion 4 is arranged on the second main body 2 in a horizontally long state, the first main body 1
It is possible to input information such as characters by operating the keyboard section 4 on the second main body section 2 while looking at the display section 6 of.

When carrying this portable information terminal, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, first, the connecting mechanism 3 is first pushed open to open the first main body 1 and the second main body 2. 1
Open at 80 °, and in this state, the keyboard portion 4 is rotated clockwise around the shaft portion 16 as shown in FIG. 5 to be superposed on the second main body portion 2 in a vertically long state. At this time, the guide protrusion 18 of the keyboard portion 4 moves in the guide groove 19 of the second main body portion 2 and contacts the upper end portion 19a of the guide groove 19, and in this state, the torsion spring 20 causes the guide protrusion 18 of the keyboard portion 4 to move. Is urged in the direction of pressing the upper end portion 19a of the guide groove 19, the position of the keyboard portion 4 is regulated in a vertically long state so as not to rotate freely. In this state, the fourth connector 24 of the keyboard section 4 is not connected to the second main body section 2
The third connector 22 is disconnected from the third connector 22, and the electrical connection between the two is released.
The electrical connection with the electronic circuit of is cut off.

Thereafter, the connecting mechanism 3 is bent and the first main body portion 1 is superposed on the second main body portion 2 via the keyboard portion 4. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, since a part of the keyboard portion 4 is arranged on the second connecting portion 9 of the connecting mechanism 3, the second connecting portion 9 rotates about the second connecting shaft 11. There is nothing to do. Therefore, the first connecting portion 8 is rotated around the third connecting shaft 12 to stand up along the end surface of the second main body portion 2, and the first main body portion 1 is rotated around the first connecting shaft 10. Move it and stack it on the keyboard 4. In this state, the first connector 13 of the first main body 1 and the second connector 14 of the second main body 2 are disengaged and the engagement between them is released, so that the electronic circuit of the first main body 1 is released. The electrical connection with the electronic circuit of the second main body portion 2 is cut off, and the electrical connection with the electronic circuit of the keyboard portion 4 is cut off.

As described above, according to this portable information terminal, the second main body 2 is foldably connected to the first main body 1 by the connecting mechanism 3, and the keyboard 4 is connected to the second main body 2. Since it is rotatably attached, information such as characters can be input with the keyboard portion 4, and the first and second main body portions 1 and 2 are easily held in the hand. Even if the body portions 1 and 2 are formed in a vertically long shape, the keyboard portion 4 is rotated to be in a horizontally long state orthogonal to the facing surface of the second body portion 2 facing the display portion 6 of the first body portion 1. By doing so, the operability of the keys of the keyboard unit 4 can be improved. In addition, the keyboard unit 4 is rotated to overlap the facing surface of the second main body unit 2 in a vertically long state, and the second main body unit 2 and the first main body unit 1 are folded in this state to make the entire device compact. This makes it possible to obtain a portable product.

In this case, the keyboard portion 4 is the second main body portion 2
When the first and second connectors 22 and 24 are electrically connected to each other in the laterally long state with respect to the opposing surface of the first main body 1 and the first main body 1 is erected on the second main body 2, the first and second connectors 13, Since 14 is engaged and the second connector 14 and the third connector 22 of the second main body 2 are connected by the wiring board 23, the keyboard 4 is connected by the connection cable each time it is used as in the conventional example. It is not necessary to electrically connect to the first and second body portions 1 and 2, and the electronic circuit of the keyboard portion 4 and the electronic circuits of the second body portion 2 and the first body portion 1 are automatically electrically connected. It can be connected, which makes it easy to use.

When the keyboard portion 4 is rotated to overlap the second main body portion 2 in a vertically long state and then the first and second main body portions 1 and 2 are folded and overlapped, the third and third 4 connectors 22, 24 and first and second connectors 13,
Each connection of 14 is released, and the electrical connection between the electronic circuit of the keyboard section 4 and the electronic circuits of the second main body section 2 and the first main body section 1 is cut off, so that key input can be performed without permission when carrying. It can be prevented from being performed, and this also makes it possible to obtain a highly safe and easy-to-use product. In this case, the first and second connectors 13 and 14 and the third and fourth connectors 22 and 24 have a structure in which they can be detachably connected, or a connection cable is passed through the connection mechanism 3 to form the first and second main bodies. Since it is not necessary to connect the electronic circuits of the parts 1 and 2 or to connect the electronic circuits of the second main body part 2 and the keyboard part 4 through the connecting cable in the shaft part 16, the connecting mechanism 3 and Each structure of the shaft portion 16 is simplified, and the connecting mechanism 3 and the shaft portion 16 can be configured compactly.

Further, in this portable information terminal, the position regulating member 17 is in a vertically long position where the keyboard portion 4 overlaps the second main body portion 2 with the vicinity of the intermediate position of the rotational movement of the keyboard portion 4 as a boundary. And the position of the keyboard portion 4 is regulated by urging the keyboard portion 4 to a position in the horizontally long state orthogonal to the second main body portion 2. Therefore, the position regulating member 17 causes the keyboard portion 4 to be in the vertically long state and the horizontally long state. The position can be surely regulated in any of the states, and by this, the keyboard portion 4 can be surely held so as not to freely rotate during carrying and use, which also leads to high safety. You can get something easy to use.

In the above embodiment, the display unit 6 is provided on the first main body 1 and the information is displayed on the display unit 6. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, instead of the display unit 6,
An input display unit having a touch input function may be provided. In this case, a transparent touch panel may be provided on the front surface of a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display panel. In this way, in addition to displaying information, it is possible to perform an input operation with an input pen or the like, so that it is possible to obtain a more convenient one. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the third connector 22 on the second main body 2 side has a structure in which a plurality of contact electrodes are arranged, and the fourth connector 24 on the keyboard part 4 side contacts and separates from each contact electrode of the third connector 22. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may have a male-female structure in which the third and fourth connectors are removably inserted into each other for electrical connection.

Further, in the above embodiment, the first and second connecting members 8 and 9 of the connecting mechanism 3 for connecting the first main body 1 and the second main body 2 in a foldable manner are connected to the first to third connecting shafts. 10-1
Although it is simply rotatably connected by 2, it is not limited to this.
Each connecting shaft 10-12 is provided with a tilt mechanism for making the rotational force heavy by frictional resistance or the like.
The second connecting members 8 and 9 may be configured to be held at an arbitrary rotation angle. According to this structure, when the first main body 1 is tilted to stand upright on the second main body 2, the tilt angle of the first main body 1 can be adjusted. Can be set to an angle. Further, in the above-described embodiment and its modifications, the case where the invention is applied to a portable information terminal such as a pocket computer has been described, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, a portable electronic device such as an electronic notebook, an electronic dictionary, a mobile phone, and a mobile. It can be widely applied to equipment.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, the second main body portion is foldably connected to the first main body portion having the display portion, and the keyboard portion is rotatable on the second main body portion. And a structure in which the keyboard portion is rotated to a vertically long position overlapping with the facing surface of the second body portion facing the display portion of the first body portion and a horizontally long position orthogonal to the facing surface. Therefore, it is possible to input information such as characters with the keyboard portion, and rotate the keyboard portion to make the keyboard portion in a horizontally long state with respect to the facing surface of the second main body portion that faces the display portion of the first main body portion. By doing so, the operability of the keys of the keyboard portion can be improved, and the keyboard portion can be rotated to overlap the facing surface of the second main body portion in a vertically long state, and in this state, the first main body portion and the second main body portion By folding the part and The entire vessel can be made compact, thereby making it possible to obtain a good things portability.

In this case, when the keyboard portion is rotated to a position in a laterally long state with respect to the facing surface of the second main body portion, the second main body portion and the keyboard portion are electrically connected to each other by releasably engaging each other. By providing the connecting member for connecting to the second main body portion, it is not necessary to electrically connect the keyboard portion 4 to the second main body portion by a connecting cable each time when it is used as in the conventional example. The main body can be electrically connected to each other, and when the keyboard is rotated and overlapped with the second main body in a vertically long state, the electrical connection between the second main body and the keyboard by the connecting member is performed. Since the connection can be automatically released, it is possible to prevent the key input from being carried out without permission when carrying the mobile phone, which makes it possible to obtain a highly safe and easy-to-use one.

Further, the keyboard portion is urged to a vertically long position to regulate the position, and the keyboard portion is urged to a horizontally long position to be positioned at an almost intermediate position of the rotational movement of the keyboard portion. Since the position restricting member for restricting is provided, the position restricting member can bias the keyboard portion in either the vertically long state or the horizontally long state to regulate the position. The keyboard portion can be surely held by the second main body portion so that the keyboard portion does not rotate freely, which also makes it possible to obtain a highly safe and easy-to-use keyboard portion.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a usage state in which the present invention is applied to a portable information terminal.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the portable information terminal of FIG. 1 viewed from the back side.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the keyboard unit rotates in the state of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view in which the first and second main body parts of FIG. 1 are spread flat to arrange the keyboard part in a horizontally long state.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the keyboard unit in a vertically long state by removing the first main body unit in the state of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view showing an operation state of a position restricting member that restricts a position of a keyboard portion and third and fourth connectors.

FIG. 7 is a side view in which a part of FIG. 1 is cut away.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view showing a main part of FIG.

9 is a side view of the state of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the state in which the first main body portion is overlaid on the second main body portion via the keyboard portion from the state of FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 first body 2 Second main body 3 connection mechanism 4 keyboard section 6 Display 15 key button 16 Shaft 17 Position control member 18 Guide protrusion 19 Guide groove 20 torsion spring 22 3rd connector 24 Fourth Connector

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A first main body having a display, a second main body foldably connected to the first main body, a rotatably attached to the second main body, and 1. An electronic device, comprising: a keyboard unit that rotates to a vertically long position that overlaps the facing surface of the second main body unit that faces the display unit of the first main body unit; and a position that is horizontally long with respect to the facing face. machine. 2. When the keyboard portion is rotated to a position in a horizontally long state with respect to the facing surface of the second main body portion, the keyboard portion is releasably engaged with each other and the second main body portion and the keyboard portion. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a connecting member that electrically connects the electronic device and the electronic device. 3. The position of the keyboard portion is regulated by urging the keyboard portion to the position in the vertically long state, with the intermediate portion of the rotational movement of the keyboard portion as a boundary, and the keyboard portion is brought to the position in the horizontally long state. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a position restriction member that urges the position to restrict the position.