JP2004120513A - Portable terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable terminal device which is brought into forms suitable for functions to be used. <P>SOLUTION: A display panel 16 and a basic operation section 28 to be used for all modes are provided on a display unit 12. Operation buttons 26 required at the time of using the device as a portable terminal are provided on an operation section 14. A rotating section 20 rotatable around a center shaft 24 of a connecting section 18 is provided, and a rotating shaft 22 is erected in a direction perpendicular to the shaft 24. The unit 12 is supported so as to be rotatable around the shaft 22 at 180°, and can be folded with a display surface 32 facing an operation surface 30 when the device is housed, and the unit 12 can be also closed with the surface 32 facing outward by rotating the unit 12. When the unit 12 is rotated around the shaft 22 at 180° (B) to close the display section and the rotating section, the device is folded with the surface 32 facing outward (C). In this state, the display is switched to a mode such as a television or a game and the like, and a user operates the device with the section 28. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a portable terminal device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in the case of a portable terminal device having functions such as TV screen display, moving image display, and a game machine, there has been nothing that takes a form suitable for operation according to the function.
[0003]
In particular, in a device having a large number of operation buttons such as a cellular phone, an operation unit is generally unnecessary when using functions other than the phone, and there is a greater demerit that an erroneous operation is caused by pressing the button by mistake. For example, power buttons, volume control, and CH switching are sufficient for operation buttons necessary for use as a portable TV, and it is not preferable that operation buttons that are not used are exposed to the outside. (For example, see Patent Documents 1 to 3)
Alternatively, when the mobile terminal device is configured to hide the operation unit, it is desirable to automatically switch to a function corresponding to the mode.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-257460 (pages 2 to 5 and FIG. 2)
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-65780 (pages 2 to 4 and FIGS. 4 to 6)
[Patent Document 3]
JP-A-8-294030 (pages 2-5, FIGS. 1-2)
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to provide a form terminal device having a form suitable for a function to be used.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The mobile terminal device according to claim 1 is a mobile terminal device in which an image display unit that performs image display and an operation unit that performs button operation are rotatably connected by a connecting unit, and the image is connected to the connecting unit. A connecting means for connecting the display unit so that the front and back sides of the display unit can be reversed is provided.
[0007]
In the invention with the above configuration, when the image display unit and the operation unit are folded at the connection unit, the image display unit can be folded upside down and folded with the display surface facing outward, as opposed to storing. For this reason, the usage form according to the function of the image display part can be taken.
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the portable terminal device, the connecting portion is provided in the connecting portion so as to turn the image display portion, and the connecting portion stands in a direction orthogonal to the turning central axis of the rotating portion. And a rotating shaft that supports the image display unit so as to be rotatable by 180 °.
[0009]
In the invention with the above-described configuration, the image display unit can be rotated by 180 ° about the rotation axis that is erected from the central axis of the rotation unit that opens and closes the image display unit, so that a complicated link mechanism or the like is not used. In addition, the image display part can be turned upside down. For this reason, it is possible to easily adopt a usage pattern corresponding to the function of the image display unit.
[0010]
The portable terminal device according to claim 3, wherein when the image display unit and the operation unit are folded, a detection unit that detects a surface facing the outside of the display surface and the back surface of the image display unit, and the detection Control means for changing the use mode when the means detects that the image display unit is folded with the display surface facing outward.
[0011]
In the invention with the above configuration, if the image display unit has the display surface facing outward when folded, it is detected and the use mode is changed. This eliminates the need for the user to change the mode by operating a changeover switch or the like.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1 and 2 are perspective views of the mobile terminal device according to the first embodiment.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile terminal device 10 has a shape in which a display unit 12 and an operation unit 14 are connected by a connecting unit 18 so as to be opened and closed.
[0014]
The display unit 12 is provided with a display plate 16 that can display character information, TV, game images, and the like on an LCD, and a basic operation unit 28 that is used in all modes.
[0015]
The operation unit 14 is provided with operation buttons 26 necessary for use as a portable terminal, and the buttons can be operated while viewing the display board 16 when the display unit 12 is opened.
[0016]
The connecting portion 18 is provided with a rotating portion 20 that can be rotated around the central axis 24 of the connecting portion 18, and a rotating shaft 22 is erected in a direction orthogonal to the central axis 24. The display unit 12 is supported so as to be able to rotate 180 ° around the rotation shaft 22, and when stored, the display surface 32 provided with the display plate 16 is aligned with the operation surface 30 provided with the operation buttons 26 of the operation unit 14. In addition, the display unit 12 can be rotated to close the display surface 32 outward.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 2, when the display unit 12 and the operation unit 14 are opened (A) and then closed, the display unit 12 is folded with the back 34 facing outward (D).
[0018]
When the display unit 12 is rotated 180 ° around the rotation axis 22 (B) and the display unit and the rotation unit are closed, the display unit 12 is folded with the display surface 32 facing outward (C). In this state, the mode is switched to TV, a game, etc., and can be operated by the basic operation unit 28.
[0019]
FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of the mobile terminal device according to the first embodiment.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 3, a detection unit 36 that detects the direction of the display unit 12 is provided on the rotary shaft 22 and the rotation unit 20 that support the display unit 12.
[0021]
The shaft 42 that passes through the center of the rotating shaft 22 and supports the display unit 12 has an insulating surface, and a conducting portion 40 is provided on a part of the outer periphery. On the other hand, the rotating shaft 22 that supports the shaft 42 is insulative on the inner surface, and is provided with conducting portions 38 at two locations.
[0022]
Only when the display surface 32 of the display unit 12 faces outward, the shaft 42 rotates and the conducting unit 40 contacts and conducts with the conducting unit 38 of the rotating shaft 22. The detection unit 36, that is, the conduction state of the conduction units 38 and 40 is sent to the system control unit 50 through the lead wire 44, and the mode switching is determined according to the rotation position of the display unit 12.
[0023]
In order to pass the connecting portion 18 so that the lead wire 44 is not twisted, the central shaft 24 has a hollow structure and an opening 46 is provided so that the lead wire 44 can be passed through the central shaft 24.
[0024]
Here, the conducting portions 38 and 40 are provided on the shaft 42 and the rotary shaft 22, but detection may be performed by providing a pin or the like on the back surface 34 of the display unit 12 and pressing a switch provided on the display surface 30. .
[0025]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the mobile terminal device according to the first embodiment.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 4, information regarding the front and back positions of the display unit 12 detected by the detection unit 36 is sent to the system control unit 50, and when it is detected that the display board 16 is facing inward, the mobile terminal device 10. Operates in a normal mode. For example, when functioning as a mobile phone, a call is made according to the telephone number input from the operation button 26, and information such as a call state is displayed on the display board 16. The voice of the other party is output from the speaker 58 through the audio processing unit 54, and the voice of the user is picked up by the microphone 56, converted into a signal through the audio processing unit 54, and sent to the other party. ,
On the other hand, when it is detected that the display board 16 faces outward, the mode is switched to, for example, the TV mode. At this time, the video signal output from the TV tuner 62 is sent to the system control unit 50 via the video processing unit 52 and output to the display panel 16 as a TV image. Similarly, the audio signal is sent from the TV tuner 62 to the audio processing unit 54 via the system control unit 50 and output from the speaker 58 as TV audio. At this time, all operations as a TV can be performed by the basic operation unit 28 facing the outside, that is, the user side together with the display board 16 without using the operation buttons 26.
[0027]
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the mobile terminal device according to the second embodiment.
[0028]
As shown to (A), the rotation part 20 is not centered in the length direction of the connection part 18, but is offset to the right side toward the operation surface 30. For this reason, the rotating shaft 22 is also offset to the right side toward the operation surface 30.
[0029]
When the display unit 12 is rotated by 180 ° and folded as shown in FIG. 5C, the operation surface 30 is not completely hidden by the display unit 12, and the right end toward the operation surface 30 faces the user. Can be used in the state. As a result, the rightmost row of the operation buttons 26 can be used even when folded and the use mode is switched, which is suitable for operation with the thumb of the right hand. . In this case, since the upside down of the normal mode is performed, the 2nd function display of the operation button 26 needs to be upside down.
[0030]
Here, the rotating unit 20 is offset to the right side toward the operation surface 30, but may be offset to the left side in order to give priority to use with the left hand.
[0031]
【The invention's effect】
Since the present invention has the above-described configuration, a form terminal device having a form suitable for the function to be used can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a form terminal device according to Embodiment 1. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a form terminal device according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a form terminal device according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a form terminal apparatus according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a form terminal device according to Embodiment 2;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Mobile terminal device 12 Display part 14 Operation part 16 Display board 18 Connection part 20 Rotation part 22 Rotating shaft 24 Center axis 26 Operation button 28 Basic operation part 30 Operation surface 32 Display surface 34 Back surface 36 Detection part 50 System control part

Claims (3)

A portable terminal device in which an image display unit that performs image display and an operation unit that performs button operation are rotatably connected by a connection unit, and the connection unit connects the image display unit to the connection unit so that the image display unit can be turned upside down. A mobile terminal device provided with means. The connecting portion is provided in the connecting portion so that the image display portion can be rotated, and the connecting portion is erected in a direction orthogonal to the rotation center axis of the rotating portion and rotates the image display portion 180 degrees. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1, comprising a rotation shaft that is movably supported. When the image display unit and the operation unit are folded, detection means for detecting a surface facing the outside of the display surface and the back surface of the image display unit;
Control means for changing the use mode when the detection means detects that the image display unit is folded with the display surface facing outward;
The mobile terminal device according to claim 1, comprising:

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