JP2003224638A - Portable communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable communication device which has its display part made small-sized and is made small-sized itself. <P>SOLUTION: The portable communication device has a 1st housing and a 2nd housing. The 1st housing has a 1st display part and the 2nd housing has a 2nd display part. The 1st and 2nd housings are joined together in a changeable mutual positional relation so that the 1st and 2nd display parts appear continuous with each other. <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 a mobile communication device having a plurality of casings each having a display section.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, mobile communication devices such as mobile phones, cordless phones, handheld PCs, portable game machines with communication functions, and pagers (registered trademark) have come to be used in daily life. In these mobile communication devices, various operations can be performed by using operation keys and a display unit provided on the housing, and information such as telephone numbers, mails, moving / still images can be viewed.

Recently, mobile communication devices are required to have functions such as transmission / reception, editing, and display of long texts, large images, moving images, and the like, which have been performed by stationary personal computers. For example, you can create and browse emails with attached images, browse the Internet Web, display game screens, display and edit captured images (still images / videos) with digital cameras / videos, and operate business software such as word processors and spreadsheets. That is it.

However, since the portable communication device is miniaturized so that it is convenient to carry, if the operation keys and the display unit are provided on the housing, the display unit is inevitably small. Therefore, in such a mobile communication device, a long sentence cannot be viewed at a time, and the characters cannot be displayed so enlarged. Also, a large image had to be reduced in size. In addition, sentences,
The work of editing and transmitting image information has become very troublesome.

Therefore, in the conventional portable communication device,
Proposals have been made to display each information in an easy-to-understand manner. For example, the following may be mentioned.

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-293638, structured information including a plurality of information elements is structured and displayed, and a selected information element is horizontally scrolled so that as many information elements as possible can be viewed at once and can be arbitrarily selected. There is disclosed a display method in which the entire text of the information element of (1) can be viewed as necessary.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-196159 describes that a function list, function explanations, setting methods, etc. of a portable communication device are displayed on an external display device at a time in a state in which a large amount of information is displayed. Has been done.

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-247250, a lid is provided on the display side surface of the device body so as to be openable and closable, and the plurality of operation buttons are provided on the front side of the lid body, while It is described that another display can be arranged on the surface hidden by the lid and data with a large amount of information can be displayed on the other display of the device body without connecting a personal computer or the like to the device body. .

[0009]

However, the above-mentioned conventional portable communication device has the following problems.

That is, the display method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-293638 is merely a device for allocating information to be displayed on a small screen on the screen, and does not fundamentally enlarge the display screen. Absent.

In the case of the portable communication device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-196159, the display device must be carried along with the communication device, and it is bulky and unsuitable for carrying.

The mobile phone described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-247250 is
When the lid is opened, the operation buttons provided on the front side of the lid cannot be used, which is inconvenient and the key arrangement is limited. Also, with the lid open, the entire device becomes large and difficult to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a portable communication device capable of simultaneously increasing the size of the display unit and reducing the size of the device.

[0014]

The portable communication device of the present invention has the following structure as means for solving the above problems.

The portable communication device of the present invention is at least the first
A first housing having a display unit and a second housing having a second display unit and an operation unit are provided, and the positional relationship between these housings is variably joined. Then, by changing the positional relationship, the first display unit and the second display unit are connected, and it is as if
It can be used as one display unit. With the above-mentioned configuration, it is possible to increase the size of the screen when necessary and improve the visibility of the display.

In addition to the above, the mobile communication device of the present invention may have the following configuration. The first housing and the first housing can be changed so that the first display and the operation unit (which are provided on the surface of the second housing different from the second display) can be viewed at the same time. Two housings are joined. Thus, when large screen display is not required, various operations can be performed while looking at the first display unit, and it is possible to appropriately select and use large screen priority or operation priority. The first housing has the first connecting portion, the second housing has the second connecting portion, and the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are rotatably connected to each other. With such a configuration, the positional relationship between the first housing and the second housing can be easily changed with a small operation. -The first housing and the second housing are foldably joined together. If this is done when the mobile communication device is not in use, space is saved and it is not bulky when carried. Also, if you fold it so that the 1st or 2nd display part faces the front, the next time you try to use it, information such as information source (phone sender, sender of mail, etc.) This has an advantage that the display can be confirmed without separately providing a display unit.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The details of the portable communication device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a mobile communication device which is one of the embodiments of the present invention.

The mobile communication device has a first housing 1 and a second housing 2. A surface (A side 6) of the first housing 1 is provided with a first display unit 3 for displaying characters or image information and a receiver 4 for listening to a received voice.

On the surface (C surface 8) of the second housing 2, there is provided a second display section 10 for displaying characters or image information, and a transmitter 11 for receiving the sound transmitted by the user. There is. Further, a connecting portion 201 for connecting the coupler 13 is provided.
Further, on the end face of the second housing 2 closer to the connection portion 201, the groove 1
7 is provided so that the coupler 13 does not interfere with the end surface of the second housing 2 in the second usage pattern described later.

The lower end portion 301 of the first display portion 3 constitutes a part of the lower end portion of the first housing 1, and the lower end portion 301 of the second display portion 10 is not installed. It is arranged so as to fit the end portion 1001, and it is as if one display portion was configured.

FIG. 2 is a view of the portable communication device of FIG. 1 viewed from the direction a.

An antenna is provided on the back surface (B side 7) of the first housing 1.
5, and a speaker 18 for outputting a ringing tone is installed, and a battery 12 is detachably attached. Further, a connecting portion 101 for connecting the coupler 13
Is provided.

On the back surface (D side 9) of the second housing 2, the operation keys 15
And a transmitter 16 is provided. The operation keys 15 include ten keys, cursor keys, function keys, etc., and are arranged functionally.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the joint between the connector 101, 201 and the coupler 13 in FIGS.

The coupler 13 includes a first coupler 1301 and a second coupler 13
It is configured by 02, and one end of each is connected by a connecting portion 1303 so that they can rotate about a shaft 1309. A hole 1304 is formed along the shaft 1310 in the other end side surface of the first coupler 1301 and the connecting portion 101. Hole 130
4 is fitted with a pin 1305, and the first connector 1301 and the connecting portion 101
Are rotatably connected about a shaft 1310. First
2 Regarding the other end side surface of the coupler 1302 and the connection portion 201,
A hole 1307 passes through along the axis 1306. Pin in hole 1307
1308 is fitted, and second connector 1302 and connecting part 201
It is connected so that it can rotate around 1306.

The upper surface of the connecting portion 101 is the B surface 7 of the first housing 1.
In addition, the lower surface of the connecting portion 201 is formed on the C surface 8 of the second housing, respectively. Further, the connection portion 101, the first coupler 1301, the second coupler 1302, and the connection portion 201 are provided with a communication hole (not shown) penetrating the inside thereof, and the first housing 1 is provided in the communication hole. And the
2 Signal lines for exchanging signals with the housing 2 are wired.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the connecting portion 1303 of the connector 13.

The connecting projection 1303 of the first connector 1 has a fitting projection 13
11 is formed, and the outer diameter is fitted on the tip of the protrusion 1311.
A locking portion 1312 that is slightly larger than the above is provided. Further, a rotation regulating protrusion 1313 and a slit 1317 are provided on the side surface of the fitting convex portion 1311.

The connecting portion 1303 of the second coupler 2 has a fitting recess 13
14 is formed, and a locking groove 1315 having an inner diameter slightly larger than that of the fitting recess 1314 is formed at the inner side thereof. Further, on the inner wall surface of the fitting recess 1314, along the circumference of the inner wall surface,
The rotation restricting groove 1316 is provided by a length of half the circumference.

By fitting the fitting convex portion 1311 and the fitting concave portion 1314, the first connector 1301 and the second connector 1302 are connected. At that time, since the fitting convex portion 1311 is provided with the slit 1317, the fitting can be performed by deforming the locking portion 1312 in the direction of the shaft 1309.

When the fitting convex portion 1311 and the fitting concave portion 1314 are fitted together, the locking portion 1312 is fitted in the locking groove 1315, and the rotation regulating projection 1313 is fitted in the rotation regulating groove 1316. As a result, the first connecting portion 1301 and the second connecting portion 1302 are connected to each other.
1303 can be rotated half a turn. Here, the rotation restriction groove 13
If the end of 16 is made slightly deeper, the fitting protrusion 1311 is deformable by the slit 1317, and the rotation-regulating projection 1313 is fitted to the end, so that the positioning can be performed.

Since the coupler 13 is restricted to half rotation as described above, the signal line connecting the first casing 1 and the second casing will not be twisted.

The portable communication device according to the present invention is rotated by the shaft 1309 and the shafts 1306 and 1310 as the center so that the first
The A surface 6 and the B surface 7 of the housing 1 and the C surface 8 and the D surface 9 of the second housing 2 can be combined according to the purpose of use.

For example, as a first usage pattern, as shown in FIG. 1, a combination of the A surface 6 of the first housing 1 and the C surface 8 of the second housing 2 facing up can be cited.

In this first usage mode, the first display section
Since 3 and the second display unit 10 are connected, both display units can be displayed as one large screen. As a result, for example, a large image or a long sentence can be displayed at once. Further, it is possible to enlarge and display a small screen or characters without significantly impairing the visibility.

The screen is operated by the D surface 9 of the second housing 2 (in this case,
This can be done by manually operating the operation keys 15 on the back side, for example, cursor keys.

As a second usage pattern, as shown in FIG. 5, a combination of the A surface 6 of the first housing 1 and the D surface 9 of the second housing 2 facing up can be cited.

In this second usage mode, the first display section
Since 3 and the operation key 15 are turned upside down, it is possible to perform detailed operations such as registering a telephone number and composing mail while inputting characters while looking at the screen. In addition, the operability is improved even for those that do not require character input.

To change from the first usage pattern to the second usage pattern, first, the first housing 1 is lifted in the direction of arrow E in FIG. Next, the second housing 2 is rotated with the shaft 1309 of the coupler 13 as the rotation axis. Further, it is performed by moving the first casing 1 in the direction of arrow F in FIG. When changing from the second usage pattern to the first usage pattern, the same operation as described above can be performed.

The portable communication device of the present invention is
The one housing 1 and the second housing 2 can be folded at the connecting portion 13.
Folding operation, in the first usage pattern, first,
Lift the first housing 1 in the direction of arrow E in FIG.
Or you can bring it down in the direction of arrow H. At this time, the coupler 13
A part of this is fitted into the groove 17 (Fig. 6). No. 2
The same operation can be performed to fold it in the usage pattern of.

Of the above, when folded in the direction of arrow H, the first display unit 3 or the second display unit 10 faces outward as shown in FIG. By displaying a message such as an incoming call notification or the name of the other party, there is no omission in checking incoming calls.

[0043]

According to the portable communication device of the present invention, it is possible to increase the size of the screen when necessary and improve the visibility of the display. Moreover, when a large screen is not needed,
1 Various operations can be performed while looking at the display and operation keys. That is, it is possible to appropriately select and use the large screen priority or the operation priority.

Further, the positional relationship between the first casing and the second casing can be easily changed with a small operation.

In addition, the portable communication device can be folded and carried, and in the folded state, for example, the information transmission source (telephone sender, mail sender, etc.) can be confirmed without providing a dedicated display section. be able to.

From the above, the portable communication device of the present invention simultaneously realizes an increase in the size of the display section and a reduction in the size of the device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a mobile communication device which is one of embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view of the mobile communication device of FIG. 1 viewed from a direction.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the connection parts of the first housing and the second housing,
It is a figure which shows the mode of joining with a connector.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the coupler.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a mobile communication device of the present invention in a second usage pattern.

FIG. 6 is a view of the mobile communication device of the present invention in a second usage pattern, as seen from the side where the coupler 13 is located.

FIG. 7 is a folded view of a mobile communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

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Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A first housing and a second housing, wherein the first housing
One casing has a first display unit, the second casing has a second display unit and an operation unit, and the first casing and the second casing have the first display unit and the second display. A portable communication device characterized in that the mutual positional relationship is variably joined so that the parts can be in a continuous positional relationship. 2. The operation unit is provided on a surface different from the second display unit, and the first housing and the second housing can see the first display unit and the operation unit at the same time. Claim 1 characterized by being joined so as to have a positional relationship
The mobile communication device according to. 3. The first housing has a first connecting portion, and the second
2. The mobile communication device according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a second connecting portion, and the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are rotatably connected to each other. 4. The mobile communication device according to claim 1, wherein the first housing and the second housing are foldably joined to each other.