JP2003288149A - Keyboard device and electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a keyboard device easy to carry, easy to key and easy to use, and an electronic apparatus equipped with the keyboard device. <P>SOLUTION: A keyboard device 20 includes a base 21, and two split bodies 22, 23 composing a single keyboard as a whole, in a state with flat plane shapes of the bodies 22, 23 showing approximately a rectangle shape and align with a long length in a lateral direction by bringing mutual short sides of the bodies 22, 23 into contact by a sliding operation and a rotation operation from a state that mutual long sides of the bodies 22, 23 are contacted to align laterally on the base 21. The base 21 of the keyboard device 20 is assembled to an electronic apparatus, in such a manner that the base 21 can be pulled from an apparatus body 10 and stored into the apparatus body 10 by the sliding operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyboard device and electronic equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, mobile phones, PHS, electronic organizers, P
Portable electronic devices such as DAs are used for purposes such as personal information management and information communication. Such a portable electronic device includes a display screen and a key input unit. Recently, portable electronic devices are equipped with an electronic mail function and the like, and the chances of inputting characters are increasing. Therefore, a method of using a portable electronic device and a keyboard-type input device in combination has been proposed and put into practical use.

For example, a portable keyboard is separately prepared,
A method of connecting to a portable electronic device via a connector has been proposed. In this method, since the key pitch of the portable keyboard can be widened, the key input operation becomes relatively easy. However, it is difficult to handle because the portable keyboard needs to be carried separately from the portable electronic device.

On the other hand, a method has also been proposed in which a keyboard is built in a portable electronic device and the keyboard is pulled out for use. If this method is adopted, the keyboard can be carried integrally with the device body. However, for example, when a keyboard that fits within the width of a vertically long portable electronic device is built in, the key pitch and the number of keys are limited due to the width limitation of the portable electronic device, and therefore key input operation is not possible. It was hard to do.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a keyboard device which is easy to carry and easy to input by key and easy to use. Furthermore, the subject of this invention is providing the electronic device provided with such a keyboard.

[0006]

In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 has a base 21 and a plane shape of a substantially rectangular shape as shown in, for example, FIGS. By the sliding operation and the turning operation from the state where the long sides are arranged side by side on the base 21, the short sides are arranged side by side in the lateral direction, and the whole is 1
Two keyboard divisions that make up one keyboard 2
The keyboard device 20 is provided with two and two.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, 2 is provided on the base.
Since the two keyboard partitions are arranged side by side with their long sides adjacent to each other, they are small and easy to carry. During use, the two keyboard divided bodies are arranged in a laterally long direction with their short sides adjacent to each other by the sliding operation and the rotating operation, so that the number of keys and the key pitch are sufficiently secured, and the key size is large. It can be used as a keyboard, and key input operations are much easier.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the keyboard device 20 according to the first aspect, for example, as shown in FIG.
On the base 21, the two keyboard divisions 22,
23 are engaged, and the two keyboard divided bodies 22, 2
It is characterized in that guide portions 21a to 21c for making the slide operation and the rotary operation of 3 are provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the keyboard device 20 according to the first aspect, as shown in, for example, FIGS. 3 and 4, the base 21 is provided with each of the two keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23. It is characterized in that a first electric connection portion electrically connected to the key and a second electric connection portion electrically connected to an electric circuit of the portable electronic device 1 are provided.

The invention according to claim 4 is an electronic device 1 comprising a keyboard device 20 according to any one of claims 1 to 3 in a device body 10 as shown in, for example, FIGS. It is characterized in that the base 21 is assembled to the device body 10 so that it can be pulled out and stored by sliding.

According to the invention described in claim 4, 2 is mounted on the base.
Since the two keyboard divided bodies can be housed in the main body of the device with their long sides arranged side by side, the electronic device itself can be made compact and the portability can be improved. Then, pull out the base from the device body by sliding operation,
Two keyboard partitions can be used as a keyboard with a sufficient number of keys and key pitches, and with a large key size, with the short sides adjacent to each other on the base and long sideways. Therefore, key input operation becomes much easier.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 and 10, for example, the electronic device according to the fourth aspect, wherein the keyboard device 10 is detachably attached to the electronic device. In response to the keyboard device being attached to the electronic device, a program starting unit (FIGS. 9 and 5) for starting a program corresponding to the keyboard.
0, FIG. 10).

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the keyboard device 30 according to the fifth aspect, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, for example, the program starting means (FIGS. 9, 50 and 1).
0) includes a program activation means (Fig. 9, 50, Fig. 10, S3, S4) in the keyboard device for activating a program corresponding to the keyboard according to a program recorded in a recording medium provided in the keyboard device. The electronic device according to claim 5 is characterized.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] In this embodiment, a PDA 1 which is a portable electronic device including a keyboard device 20 will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a PDA 1 according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the PDA 1 is a device body 10 having a substantially rectangular planar shape, and the device body 1
The keyboard device 20 is housed so that it can be pulled out to zero. A display screen 11 and operation keys 12 are provided on the surface (front surface) of the device body 10. The display screen 11 also serves as a touch panel, and desired information can be input by touching the pen. A dedicated touch pen 13 used for this pen input is removably fitted on one side surface of the PDA 1.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the keyboard device 20 is pulled out from the device body 10 of the PDA 1. The keyboard device 20 includes a base 21 and two keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 mounted on the base 21. The keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 are provided with a grip portion 24 that is a portion to be gripped when the keyboard device 20 is pulled out from the device body 10.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views showing a state in which the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 are moved on the base 21. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the base 21 is a plate-shaped component having a substantially rectangular shape, and can be pulled out and stored in the device body 10. A central guide groove 21a, a left guide groove 21b, and a right guide groove 21c are provided on the surface of the base 21. These guide grooves 21a-2
1c is a keyboard divided body 22, 23 as described later.
Constitutes the moving mechanism of. Further, the base 21 is provided with a first connector 25 which is an electrical connecting means with the device body 10 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 each have a substantially rectangular shape, and a pair of left and right bodies constitutes a keyboard. On the surfaces of the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23, key groups 22a and 23a that enable desired character input operations are provided in a predetermined arrangement.

The keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 are composed of the rotary shaft 2.
6 are rotatably connected to each other. The rotating shaft 26 is slidably attached to the central guide groove 21a of the base 21 and constitutes a moving mechanism described later. Although not shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the left side convex portion 2 is formed on each of the back surfaces of the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23.
2b and a right convex portion 23b are provided. The left side convex portion 22b and the right side convex portion 23b constitute a moving mechanism described later, and are slidably fitted in the left side guide groove 21b and the right side guide groove 21c, respectively.

When the base 21 is housed in the device body 10, as shown in FIG. 2, the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 are arranged with their long sides in contact with each other, and the entire planar shape is a square. Will be close. Further, when the base 21 is pulled out from the device body 10, the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 are
As shown in FIG. 3 by the moving mechanism described later.
Can be moved on 1. Then, the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 are arranged with their short sides in contact with each other to form a horizontally long keyboard as shown in FIG.

Next, the moving mechanism for moving the keyboard divided bodies 22, 23 on the base 21 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a configuration of the moving mechanism and a mode of moving the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 by the moving mechanism.

First, the structure of the moving mechanism will be described. Figure 5
2A shows a state in which the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 are arranged on the base 21 with their long sides in contact with each other, and corresponds to the state of FIG. The moving mechanism is
As shown in FIG. 5A, the central guide groove 21 a, the left guide groove 21 b, and the right guide groove 2 provided on the base 21.
1c, a rotating shaft 26 connecting the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23, and a left convex portion 22b and a right convex portion 23b provided on the back surface of the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23.

In FIG. 5A, the central guide groove 21a,
The left guide groove 21b and the right guide groove 21c are indicated by dotted lines. In addition, in FIG. 5A, the shape of the guide grooves 21a to 21c and the convex portions 22b and 23b are shown.
The key group is not shown to clarify the position of the key.

The central guide groove 21a is provided at a substantially central portion in the horizontal direction of the base 21 so as to extend in the vertical direction. The central guide groove 21a is provided so that the rotary shaft 26 can be slidably mounted, and allows the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 to move in the vertical direction.

The left guide groove 21b includes a vertical portion 21bt extending vertically along the vicinity of the left side surface of the base 21, and a horizontal portion 21by continuous with the vertical portion 21bt and extending to the vicinity of the central guide groove 21a. ,,. The left side guide groove 21b is formed on the left side convex portion 2 of the keyboard divided body 22.
2b is slidably fitted into the keyboard divided body 2
It is possible to move and rotate the two on the base 21 in the vertical direction. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5A, the vertical portion 21bt and the horizontal portion 21by are connected so as to form an obtuse angle.

The right guide groove 21c includes a vertical portion 21ct extending vertically along the vicinity of the right side surface of the base 21, and a horizontal portion 21cy continuous with the vertical portion 21ct and extending to the vicinity of the central guide groove 21a. ,,. The right side guide groove 21c is formed on the right side convex portion 2 of the keyboard divided body 23.
3b is slidably fitted to form a keyboard divided body 2
3 is capable of moving and rotating in the vertical direction on the base 21. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5A, the vertical portion 21ct and the horizontal portion 21cy are connected so as to form an obtuse angle.

The keyboard divisions 22 and 23 are shown in FIG.
In the state shown in (a), the left-side convex portion 22b of the keyboard divided body 22 has the left-side guide groove 21 of the base 21.
It is arranged in the vicinity of the upper end of the vertical portion 21bt of b in the drawing. At the same time, the right convex portion 23b of the keyboard 23 is
The right guide groove 21c of the base 21 is arranged near the upper end of the vertical portion 21ct of the base 21 in the drawing. Further, the rotation shaft 26 is
It is arranged at the upper end of the central guide groove 21a in the drawing.

Next, the movement of the rotary shaft 26 and the left convex portion 22b when the keyboard divided bodies 22, 23 are moved with respect to the base 21 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the movement of the right side convex portion 23b is the same as that of the left side convex portion 22b.
The description is omitted because it is symmetrical with b.

First, when the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 are moved from the state shown in FIG. 5A to the lower side of the drawing, the left convex portion 22b of the keyboard divided body 22 is guided to the left side of the base 21. It linearly slides along the vertical portion 21bt of the groove 21b. In addition, the rotary shaft 26 also has the central guide groove 2
Slide linearly along 1a. That is, the rotation shaft 26 and the left convex portion 22b slide toward the lower side of the drawing while maintaining the relative positional relationship shown in FIG. At this time, the long sides of the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 are still in contact with each other.

When the keyboard divided body 22 is moved to the lower side of the drawing by a predetermined distance, the left convex portion 22b of the keyboard divided body 22 becomes the vertical portion 21 of the left guide groove 21b of the base 21.
It comes into contact with the lower end of bt on the paper surface. Therefore, the vicinity of the left end portion of the keyboard divided body 22 is prevented from moving downward in the drawing. At this time, the rotary shaft 26 is attached to the central guide groove 21.
Since it is slidable along a, the vicinity of the end of the keyboard divided body 22 on the side of the central guide groove 21a is still allowed to move downward in the plane of the drawing.

As a result, the keyboard divided body 22 is rotated about the rotation shaft 26, and the long sides of the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 which are in contact with each other are separated. FIG. 5B shows the state when the keyboard divided body 22 shifts from the linear movement to the lower side of the drawing to the rotation in this way.

After that, when the rotary shaft 26 is slid to the lower side of the drawing, the left side convex portion 22 of the keyboard divided body 22.
b fits into the lateral portion 21by of the left guide groove 21b of the base 21 and slides toward the central guide groove 21a. As a result, the keyboard divided body 22 rotates about the rotation shaft 26 while moving to the lower side of the drawing. In FIG. 5 (c), the keyboard divided body 22 is moved to the lower side of the drawing and the rotary shaft 2 is moved.
6 shows a state in which the rotation about 6 is being performed. The state of FIG. 5 (c) corresponds to the state of FIG.

The keyboard divided body 22 which has carried out such a complex movement finally shifts to a state in which the short sides are in contact with each other as shown in FIG. 5D. In this state, the left convex portion 22b of the keyboard divided body 22 is arranged at the end of the lateral portion 21by of the left guide groove 21b of the base 21 on the side of the central guide groove 21a. Further, the rotation shaft 26 is
It is arranged at the lower end of the central guide groove 21a in the drawing. As a result, a horizontally long keyboard is constructed. The state of FIG. 5 (d) corresponds to the state of FIG.

When the horizontally long keyboard is constructed as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5D, the connectors (not shown) of the keyboard divisions 22 and 23 and the base 21 (see FIG. A second connector (not shown) is connected. As a result, the keyboard composed of the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 and the base 21 are electrically connected.

After constructing the keyboard from the keyboard divisions 22 and 23 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 (d),
FIG. 6 shows a state in which a part of the base 21 is stored in the device body 10 side. In this state, the first connector 25 provided on the base 21 is connected to a later-described connector 54 built in the device body 10, and the base 21 and the device body 10 are connected.
And are electrically connected. As a result, the keyboard composed of the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 and the device body 10 are electrically connected.

The PDA 1 according to the present embodiment has a structure in which the keyboard device 20 can be removed from the device body 10. Therefore, the keyboard device 20 shown in FIGS. 2 to 6 can be removed from the device body 10 and another keyboard device can be attached.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state in which a dictionary keyboard 30 which is another keyboard device having a dictionary ROM and a dictionary program is attached to the device body 10 of the PDA 1 according to this embodiment. Dictionary keyboard 30
Is the same as the keyboard device 20 described above.
1 and keyboard divided bodies 32 and 33, and the keyboard divided bodies 32 and 33 are movable with respect to the base 31. Also, these keyboard divisions 32,
Reference numeral 33 is a dictionary key group 32a, 33 which is a key input unit.
a respectively. FIG. 7 shows a state in which a keyboard is constituted by these keyboard division bodies 32 and 33.

FIG. 8 shows a PDA according to this embodiment.
It is a top view which shows the state which attached the function keyboard 40 which is another keyboard device to the apparatus main body 10 of 1. The function keyboard 40 includes a base 41 that can be housed in and mounted on the device body 10, and a function key group 42 that is a key input unit provided on the surface of the base 41.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing the electrical configuration of the PDA 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG.
DA1 is a CPU 50 and a ROM (Read Only Memory)
51, a flash memory 52 whose contents can be electrically changed / erased, and an R for freely reading / writing processing information
And an AM (Random Access Memory) 53.
Various control programs are recorded in the ROM 51, and add-in software for function programs is incorporated in the flash memory 52. The ROM 51, flash memory 52, and RAM 53 are controlled by the CPU 50.

The PDA 1 also includes a keyboard device 20,
It has a connector 54 which is an electrical connection means with the dictionary keyboard 30 and the function keyboard 40. Input signals from the keyboard device 20, the dictionary keyboard 30 and the function keyboard 40 connected via the connector 54 and output signals output to the display screen 11 are output from the CPU 5
Controlled by 0. The input signal to the display screen 11 which also serves as a touch panel is also controlled by the CPU 50.

FIG. 9 shows an example in which the dictionary keyboard 30 is connected to the connector 54. Dictionary keyboard 30
As described above, the dictionary ROM 34 and the dictionary program 35 are installed. When the dictionary keyboard 30 is attached to the device body 10 and electrically connected, the CPU 50 of the device body 10 causes the dictionary keyboard 3 to be connected via the connector 54.
Detect 0. CPU5 that detected the dictionary keyboard 30
0 is a dictionary program 35 in this dictionary keyboard 30.
Is started, and the information in the dictionary ROM 34 is read as necessary. The dictionary ROM 34 is a writable programmable ROM (recording means).

Next, referring to FIGS. 1 to 4 and 6,
A method of using the PDA 1 according to this embodiment will be described.

When performing a character input operation using the keyboard device 20 of the PDA 1, first, the keyboard device 2
The 0 gripping portion 24 is gripped with a finger, and the keyboard device 20 is pulled out to the lower side of the device body 10 (see FIG. 2). Next, with the base 21 placed on one hand and fixed, the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 are grasped by the fingers of the other hand and moved downward. Then, the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 are moved by the above-described moving mechanism, and the state shown in FIG.
Transition to the state of. After that, a part of the base 21 is housed in the device body 10 side to shift to the state of FIG. 6, and the keyboard composed of the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 and the device body 10 are moved.
And are electrically connected.

A desired character input operation can be performed using the keyboard thus constructed. For example, it is possible to place the PDA 1 having a keyboard at a predetermined place and press the key groups 22a and 23a with the fingers of both hands to perform a character input operation. It is also possible to place the PDA 1 having a keyboard on one hand and press the key groups 22a and 23a with the fingers of the other hand to perform a character input operation.

After the character input operation using the keyboard is completed, the keyboard division body 2 is reversed in the reverse order of the procedure described above.
2 and 23 are moved and the keyboard device 20 is moved to the device main body 1
Can be stored at 0. At this time, first, the base 21 is once pulled out from the state of FIG. 6 to the state of FIG. 4, and the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 are moved by the moving mechanism described above, and the state of FIG. 3 is changed. After that, the state is changed to that shown in FIG. Next, the base 21 and the keyboard division 2
The keyboard device 20 composed of 2, 23 is housed inside the device body 10 as shown in FIG. In the state of FIG. 2, since the lateral width dimensions of the keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 whose long sides are in contact with each other are substantially the same as the lateral width dimension of the base 21, the storage operation is hindered. It never happens.

When carrying the PDA 1, the keyboard device 20 is housed in the device body 10 as described above (see FIG. 1). In this state, the touch pen 13
Thus, desired information can be input to the display screen 11 that also serves as a touch panel. Also, desired information can be input by operating the operation keys 12.

Then, any of the keyboard device 20, the dictionary keyboard 30 and the function keyboard 40 is connected to the PDA.
The control operation of the CPU 50 in the case of being mounted and used in No. 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the CPU 50 detects, via the connector 54, whether or not the keyboard device 20, the dictionary keyboard 30, or the function keyboard 40 is connected to the device body 10 of the PDA 1 (connection confirmation step: S1). If none of the keyboard device 20, the dictionary keyboard 30 and the function keyboard 40 is connected, the CPU
By the control of 50, processing by other input means such as the operation keys 12 and the touch pen 13 becomes possible (non-keyboard processing step: S2).

When the CPU 50 detects that the keyboard device 20, the dictionary keyboard 30 or the function keyboard 40 is connected, it is determined whether or not the connected one is the dictionary keyboard 30 (dictionary). Keyboard determination step: S3). When it is determined that the connected one is the dictionary keyboard 30, the CPU 50
Activates the dictionary program 35 in the dictionary keyboard 30 (dictionary program activation step: S4). Then CP
The control in U50 enables processing in the dictionary mode (dictionary mode processing step: S5, see FIG. 7).

On the other hand, when it is judged that the connected one is not the dictionary keyboard 30, it is judged whether or not the connected one is the function keyboard 40 (function keyboard judging step: S6). When it is determined that the connected one is the function keyboard 40, the CPU 50
Activates the function program incorporated in the flash memory 52 of the device body 10 (function program activation step: S7). After that, the processing in the function mode becomes possible under the control of the CPU 50 (function mode processing step:
S8, see FIG. 8).

What is connected is the function keyboard 40.
When it is determined that it is not, by the control of the CPU 50,
The input processing by the keyboard of the keyboard device 20 becomes possible (keyboard processing step: S9).

In the PDA 1 according to this embodiment,
A keyboard device 2 including a base 21 and two keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 mounted on the base 21.
0 is stored in the device body 10. Therefore, the device body 1
The keyboard device 20 and the keyboard device 20 can be carried together, which is excellent in portability.

Further, in the PDA 1 according to the present embodiment, the device main body 10 to the base 21 of the keyboard device 20.
The keyboard can be constructed by pulling out and moving the two keyboard divided bodies 22 and 23 on the base 21 by the moving mechanism. Therefore, since it is possible to construct and use a keyboard in which the number of keys and the key pitch are sufficiently secured and the key size is large, the key input operation is significantly facilitated.

[Second Embodiment] P according to the present embodiment
The DA is a modification of the configuration of the moving mechanism in the PDA according to the first embodiment, and since the other configurations are substantially the same, the description of the duplicate configurations will be omitted.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the structure of the moving mechanism of the PDA according to the present embodiment and the moving mode of the keyboard divided bodies 22A and 23A with respect to the base 21A. The moving mechanism is the left guide groove 21Ab of the base 21A.
And right guide groove 21Ac and keyboard division body 22
Left convex portions 22 provided on the back surfaces of A and 23A, respectively
It is composed of Ab and the right convex portion 23Ab.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged plan view for explaining aspects of the left guide groove 21Ab and the right guide groove 21Ac provided on the base 21A. As shown in FIG.
The left guide groove 21Ab includes a vertical portion 21Abt extending from the upper side of the paper surface to a lower side of the paper surface, and a horizontal portion 21A connected to the vertical portion 21Abt and extending to the vicinity of the center of the base 21A.
and by.

As shown in FIG. 12, the vertical portion 21Abt has a portion extending from the upper end of the paper surface to the first bent portion P1, a portion extending from the bent portion P1 to the bent portion P2, and a second portion. And a portion extending from the bent portion P2 to the lower end on the paper surface. That is, the vertical portion 21Ab
t extends from the upper end of the paper to the lower side of the paper, and
The bent portion P1 bends to the left side of the drawing, and the second bent portion P2 bends in the opposite direction to the first bent portion P1 to reach the lower end of the drawing.

The base 21A is provided with a first connector 25A which is means for electrically connecting to the main body of the device. A second connector 27A, which is an electrical connecting means for the keyboards 22A and 23A, is provided at the end of the lateral portion 21Aby on the center side of the base 21A.

The right guide groove 21Ac is composed of a vertical portion 21Act extending from the upper side of the paper surface to a lower side of the paper surface, and a horizontal portion 21Acy connected to the vertical portion 21Act and extending to the vicinity of the center of the base 21A. Has been done. Vertical part 21
As shown in FIG. 12, Act is a portion extending from the upper end on the paper surface to the first bent portion P1, a portion extending from the bent portion P1 to the bent portion P2, and a second bent portion P2 on the paper surface. And a portion extending to the lower end. That is, the vertical portion 21Act extends from the upper end of the paper surface to the lower side of the paper surface, is bent to the left side of the paper surface by the first bent portion P1, and is further bent in the opposite direction to the first bent portion P1 by the second bent portion P2. It has a shape that is bent and reaches the end on the lower side of the drawing.

The keyboard divisions 22A and 23A are shown in FIG.
In the state shown in FIG. 1 (a), the left convex portion 22Ab of the keyboard divided body 22A is arranged in the vicinity of the upper end of the vertical portion 21Abt of the left guide groove 21Ab of the base 21A in the drawing. At the same time, the right convex portion 23Ab of the keyboard divided body 23A is aligned with the right guide groove 21A of the base 21A.
It is arranged in the vicinity of the upper end of the paper of the vertical portion 21Act of c.

Next, the movement of the keyboard divided body 22A with respect to the base 21A will be described with reference to FIG. It should be noted that the movement of the keyboard divided body 23A is as follows.
Since it is symmetrical with A, the description is omitted.

First, when the keyboard divided body 22A is moved to the lower side of the drawing from the state shown in FIG. 11 (a),
The left convex portion 22Ab of the keyboard divided body 22A linearly slides along the vertical portion 21Abt of the left guide groove 21Ab of the base 21A. At this time, the long sides of the keyboard divided bodies 22A and 23A are in contact with each other (see FIG. 11B).

When the keyboard divided body 22A is moved to the lower side of the drawing by a predetermined distance, the left convex portion 22Ab of the keyboard divided body 22A is moved to the left guide groove 21Ab of the base 21A.
Reaches the first bent portion P1 of the vertical portion 21Abt. Then, the left convex portion 22Ab of the keyboard divided body 22A is
Vertical portion 21Ab bent to the left side of the drawing at the first bent portion P1
Slide along t. As a result, the long sides of the keyboard divided bodies 22A and 23A that are in contact with each other are separated. Figure 11
(C) shows a state in which the keyboard divided body 22A is further moved to the lower side of the paper surface and the left convex portion 22Ab has passed the second bent portion P2.

When the keyboard divided body 22A is further moved to the lower side of the paper surface, the left side convex portion 22Ab of the keyboard divided body 22A reaches the lower side of the paper surface of the vertical portion 21Abt of the left guide groove 21Ab of the base 21A. . At this point, the keyboard division 22A and the keyboard division 23A
And are separated. In addition, the left convex portion 22Ab of the keyboard divided body 22A is formed by the left guide groove 21Ab of the base 21A.
It is rotatably fitted in the vertical portion 21Abt.
Therefore, the keyboard divided body 22A can be rotated as shown in FIG. FIG. 11 (e) shows
The keyboard divided body 22A is further rotated so that the short sides of the keyboard divided bodies 22A and 23A are opposed to each other.

Thereafter, the left convex portion 22Ab of the keyboard divided body 22A is slid toward the center side of the base 21A along the lateral portion 21Aby of the left guide groove 21Ab of the base 21A so that the short sides thereof contact each other. The state is changed to the contacted state of FIG. 11 (f). As a result, a horizontally long keyboard is constructed.

In the state of FIG. 11 (f), the left convex portion 22Ab of the keyboard divided body 22A is the base 2
It is connected to the second connector 27A. In the present embodiment, the left convex portion 22A of the keyboard division body 22A.
Since b also serves as a connector, the keyboard divided body 22A,
The keyboard made of 23A and the base 21A are electrically connected.

Also in the PDA according to the present embodiment, when character input is performed, the base 21A of the keyboard device is pulled out from the device main body, and the two keyboard divided bodies 22A and 23A are moved on the base 21A. A horizontal keyboard can be configured.

In the first embodiment, the function program is stored in the flash memory 52 of the device body 10. However, the function keyboard 40 is provided with a recording means such as a ROM, and the function program is stored in this recording means. You can also do it. In this case, under the control of the CPU 50,
The function program stored in the recording means of the function keyboard 40 is activated.

[0070]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the two keyboard divided bodies are arranged side by side with their long sides adjacent to each other on the base, so that they are small and easy to carry. During use, the two keyboard divided bodies are arranged in a laterally long direction with their short sides adjacent to each other by the sliding operation and the rotating operation, so that the number of keys and the key pitch are sufficiently secured, and the key size is large. It can be used as a keyboard, and key input operations are much easier.

According to the invention described in claim 4, 2 is mounted on the base.
Since the two keyboard divided bodies can be housed in the main body of the device with their long sides arranged side by side, the electronic device itself can be made compact and the portability can be improved. Then, pull out the base from the device body by sliding operation,
Two keyboard partitions can be used as a keyboard with a sufficient number of keys and key pitches, and with a large key size, with the short sides adjacent to each other on the base and long sideways. Therefore, key input operation becomes much easier.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a PDA according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the keyboard device of the PDA shown in FIG. 1 is pulled out.

3 is a perspective view showing a state where a keyboard divided body of the keyboard device of the PDA shown in FIG. 2 is moved.

4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a keyboard is constructed from the keyboard divided body of the keyboard device of the PDA shown in FIG.

5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams for explaining a configuration of a moving mechanism of the keyboard device in the PDA shown in FIG. 1 and a mode of moving the keyboard divided body by the moving mechanism.

6 is a perspective view showing a state in which a part of the keyboard device of the PDA shown in FIG. 4 is housed in the device body and the keyboard and the device body are electrically connected.

7 is a plan view showing a state in which a dictionary keyboard is attached to the device body of the PDA shown in FIG.

8 is a plan view showing a state in which a function keyboard is attached to the device body of the PDA shown in FIG.

9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an electrical configuration of a device body of the PDA shown in FIG.

10 is a flowchart for explaining a control operation of a CPU of the PDA shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a configuration of a moving mechanism of a keyboard device in a PDA according to a second embodiment of the present invention and a mode of moving a keyboard divided body by this moving mechanism.

12 is an enlarged plan view of a guide groove of a base that constitutes a moving mechanism of the keyboard device in the PDA shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 PDA 10 device body 11 Display screen 12 Operation keys 13 Touch pen 20 keyboard device 21 base 21A base 21a Central guide groove 21b Left guide groove 21Ab Left guide groove 21 bt vertical part 21Abt vertical part 21 by horizontal part 21Aby horizontal part 21c Right guide groove 21Ac Right guide groove 21ct vertical part 21Act vertical part 21cy horizontal part 21Acy horizontal part 22 keyboard division 22A keyboard division 22a key group 22b Left convex portion 22Ab Left side convex portion 23 keyboard division 23A keyboard division 23a key group 23b Right convex portion 23Ab right convex part 24 grip 25 First connector 25A first connector 26 rotation axis 27A Second connector 30 dictionary keyboard 31 base 32 keyboard divisions 32a dictionary keys 33 keyboard division 33a dictionary keys 34 dictionary ROM 35 dictionary program 40 function keyboard 41 base 42 Function keys 50 CPU 51 ROM 52 flash memory 53 RAM 54 connector P1 1st bending part P2 Second bent part

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A base and a rectangular shape in a plan view. Short sides of the base are slid on each other by a sliding operation and a pivoting operation in a state where the long sides are arranged side by side on the base. A keyboard device comprising: two keyboard divided bodies that are adjacent to each other and are aligned in the lateral direction to form one keyboard as a whole. 2. A guide portion, provided on the base, for engaging the two keyboard divided bodies to cause the two keyboard divided bodies to slide and rotate. The keyboard device according to claim 1. 3. The base is electrically connected to a first electrical connection portion electrically connected to each key of the two keyboard divided bodies and an electric circuit of a portable electronic device. The keyboard device according to claim 1, further comprising a second electrical connection portion. 4. An electronic device equipped with the keyboard device according to claim 1 in a device body, wherein the base is assembled so that it can be pulled out and stored in the device body by a sliding operation. Characteristic electronic equipment. 5. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the keyboard device is detachably attached to the electronic device, and the keyboard device is responsive to the keyboard device being attached to the electronic device. An electronic device comprising a program starting means for starting a program corresponding to. 6. The keyboard device 30 according to claim 5, wherein the program activation means activates a program corresponding to the keyboard in accordance with a program recorded in a recording medium provided in the keyboard device. The electronic device according to claim 5, further comprising a starting unit.