JP2004297588A - Electronic terminal apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic terminal apparatus excellent in input operation and convenience without any backlash even when it is placed on a desk and without the need of its being assembled or disassembled. <P>SOLUTION: A portable telephone 1 consists of an upper casing 2 and a lower casing 3. The upper casing 2 and the lower casing 3 are configured into a substantially elongated square shape and are overlapped each other in the direction of their thickness. Both are mounted rotatably around a rotation axis. When the upper casing 2 and the lower casing 3 are rotated up to a predetermined position at the angle of 90°, a plurality of keys 5 are disposed on an exposed surface of the lower casing 3. For the plurality of the keys 5 not only all keys constituting alphabetical letters but also keys representing other symbols other than the alphabetical letters are provided individually. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic terminal device, and more particularly to an electronic terminal device suitable for use as a mobile phone, a simplified mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, electronic terminal devices such as mobile phones not only have ordinary telephone functions, but also can transmit and receive electronic mails, have become widespread. When creating an e-mail to be sent, it is necessary to enter characters, but since the number of keys provided on the mobile phone is limited, each key has multiple functions. In some cases, key operations must be performed a plurality of times to input a desired character.
Therefore, in the related art, a plurality of keys are arranged so that letters and alphabets are not shared by one key, and a so-called full keyboard is realized (for example, Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1). Reference 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-368845 (pages 3-4, FIGS. 1 and 2)
[0004]
[Non-patent document 2]
Mobile watch "Mobile Latest News" [November 5, 2002]
<URL: http: // k-tai. impress. co. jp / cda / article / news_toppage / 11567. html
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in Patent Document 1, since the mobile phone terminal and the key input device are configured separately, when performing key input, the mobile phone terminal and the key input device are used by being assembled with each other. However, there is an inconvenience in that it is necessary to assemble each time it is used, and it is necessary to carry them separately when carrying them, which results in poor usability and portability.
In the above-mentioned Non-Patent Document 2, the lid is configured to be foldable around an axis extending in the width direction of the main body, and when the lid is opened, the keys provided on the lid and the main body are operated. Although it is configured to be able to input in, the lid is thinner than the main body, so when trying to input on a desk etc., rattling occurs between the main body and the lid and it becomes unstable, There was a problem that was difficult to enter. Further, in Non-Patent Document 2, when the keyboard can be used, there is a problem that the operability of the user is significantly deteriorated because the display screen switches from vertical to horizontal.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object not only separation and assembling, but also no rattling on a desk or the like, and excellent input operation and ease of use. An electronic terminal device is provided.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention proposes the following means.
The invention according to claim 1 includes one housing and the other housing, and superimposes the other housing under the one housing, and includes the one housing and the other housing. Is mounted so as to be relatively rotatable about an axis directed in the thickness direction, and when one of the housings and the other housing is relatively rotated to a fixed position, it is attached to an exposed surface of the other housing. It is characterized in that a plurality of keys are provided.
[0008]
According to the electronic terminal device of the present invention, when one housing and the other housing are rotated to a fixed position, a plurality of keys are provided on an exposed surface of the other housing. The input operation can be performed by rotating the display. Therefore, a large number of keys can be arranged on the exposed portion of the other housing, so that it is not necessary to assign each of the keys in various ways, and even if the area is limited, the key is in accordance with a so-called full keyboard. Many key configurations can be realized, and input operations can be performed satisfactorily.
[0009]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electronic terminal device according to the first aspect, when the one housing and the other housing are rotated to a fixed position, the one housing is connected to the other housing. It is characterized in that a notch is provided at the intersection where the groove is depressed inward in the width direction.
According to the electronic terminal device of the present invention, since the area of the exposed portion of the other housing can be increased by the notch, a large number of keys can be arranged in the other housing.
[0010]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electronic terminal device according to the first or second aspect, when the one housing and the other housing rotate to a fixed position, the one housing and the other housing are rotated. It has a lock mechanism for locking the body.
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the electronic terminal device which concerns on this invention, since one housing | casing locks the other housing | casing, both are prevented from turning carelessly, and key operation can be performed satisfactorily in a more stable state. it can.
[0011]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic terminal device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the electronic terminal device has a mobile phone function or a simplified mobile phone function.
According to the electronic terminal device of the present invention, since the electronic terminal device can be used as a mobile phone or a simple mobile phone, a mobile phone or a simple mobile phone excellent in input operation and usability can be realized.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 8 are views showing a mobile phone to which an electronic terminal device according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the mobile phone, FIG. 2 is a bottom view of FIG. 3 is a left side view of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a rear view of FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a rotation axis between an upper housing and a lower housing, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional perspective view corresponding to the line AA of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the line AA of FIG. .
1 to 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a mobile phone to which the electronic terminal device according to the embodiment is applied, which includes an upper housing 2 as one housing and a lower housing 3 as the other housing. It is configured. The upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 have a substantially rectangular shape, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. The upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are overlapped with each other in the thickness direction as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are centered on a rotation shaft 4 described later. It is rotatably mounted.
At this time, when the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are rotated to a fixed position at an angle of 90 degrees to each other as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the key 5 is placed on the exposed surface of the lower housing 3. A plurality is provided. The plurality of keys 5 are individually provided with keys representing other symbols and the like as well as all keys constituting the alphabet.
[0013]
More specifically, the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 have a substantially rectangular shape having substantially the same size as each other as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. As shown in FIG. 1, the upper housing 2 is provided with a display unit 21 made of liquid crystal on the upper surface thereof, and a power key, a numeric key made up of arithmetic numerals, A first input unit 22 composed of a jog dial or the like is provided. The user can confirm input contents on the display unit 21 or visually recognize display contents during Internet communication, and browse by switching operation of the first input unit 22 or the like. Switching between a mode and an input mode, input of a number of a communication partner, and the like can also be performed.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 1, the lower housing 3 is provided with a plurality of keys 5 as second input units on the upper side and the lower side of the upper surface thereof, and is overlapped with the upper housing 2 in the thickness direction. When the rotation is made about the rotation shaft 4 shown in FIG. 2, the upper side and the lower side having the key 5 are displaced from the upper housing 2 and are exposed, whereby the input operation with the key 5 is possible. As the key 5, for example, in addition to keys forming alphabetical characters of 26 characters, “?”, “#”, “＄”, “%”, “＠”, “Enter” keys and the like are prepared. Keys for inputting necessary messages are individually provided. In addition, the input mode changes from the browse mode to the input mode for e-mail and the like depending on whether the casing is closed or opened. Therefore, when making a call or confirming a schedule or the like, by rotating a circular button arranged on the upper housing 2, a desired telephone number, date, etc. are selected, and further pressing the circular button. You can confirm your choice. On the other hand, when performing mail input or telephone directory input, the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are rotated in a cross shape by 90 degrees, the input mode is switched, and a full keyboard exposed from the lower housing 3 is used. Thus, characters and the like can be input.
[0015]
On the other hand, the rotating shaft 4 that supports the rotation of the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 is configured as shown in FIGS.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a central portion 41 protrudes from a central portion of the lower housing 3, and a support wall 43 protrudes around the central portion 41 via a storage space 42. On the other hand, a recess 44 is provided in the center of the upper housing 2, and an insertion hole 45 is provided in the recess 44. Then, when the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are overlapped in the thickness direction, a washer 46 is inserted into the concave portion 44 and a screw 47 shown in FIG. The upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 rotate about the axis of the screw 47. 5 to 8, the upper housing 2 is illustrated in a state where the display unit 21 and the first input unit 22 illustrated in FIG. 1 are omitted, and the lower housing 3 is illustrated in FIG. It is shown in a state in which a portion provided with the key 5 is omitted. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view before the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are stopped by the screws 47.
[0016]
Further, the rotation shaft 4 is provided with a lock mechanism 6 for locking the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 at the fixed position when the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are rotated to the fixed position.
As shown in FIG. 5, the lock mechanism 6 has a first ratchet portion 7 formed in a substantially S shape and a second ratchet portion 8 formed symmetrically with the first ratchet portion 7. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, they are stored in the storage space 42 of the lower housing 3 in an overlapping manner.
[0017]
At this time, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the first locking claw 7a and the second locking claw 7b of the first ratchet portion 7 engage with the first groove 42a and the third groove 42c in the storage space 42. At the same time, the first locking claw 8a and the second locking claw 8b of the second ratchet 8 also engage with the first groove 42a and the third groove 42c in the storage space 42.
For example, when the lower housing 3 and the upper housing 2 are relatively rotated by 90 degrees, the first locking claw 7a of the first ratchet portion 7 and the first locking claw of the second ratchet portion 8 are provided. 8a is disengaged from the first groove 42a and engages with the second groove 42b adjacent to the first groove 42a and the third groove 42c, while the second locking claws 7b and 8b are disengaged from the third groove 42c, It engages with the fourth groove 42d between the third groove 42c and the first groove 42a, and locks by stopping rotation at the angular position.
[0018]
Therefore, the first to fourth grooves 42a to 42d provided in the storage space 42 are provided at an angle of 90 degrees to each other as shown in FIGS. Are rotated, the locking pawls 7a, 7b of the first ratchet portion 7 and the locking pawls 8a, 8b of the second ratchet portion 8 are sequentially rotated at an angle of 90 degrees with respect to each other. It is designed to engage. Since the first ratchet portion 7 and the second ratchet portion 8 are formed to be symmetrical to each other, the rotation direction of the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 can be either clockwise or counterclockwise. It can rotate freely in any direction.
[0019]
Therefore, when the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are turned clockwise (or counterclockwise) at an angle of 90 degrees, they can be locked at that position, and then rotate counterclockwise, or It can be locked by turning clockwise. At this time, although not shown, the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are electrically connected so that the mobile phone function can be performed well regardless of the direction of rotation.
[0020]
A cutout 9 is provided at the center of the upper housing 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the cutouts 9 are provided on both sides of the upper housing 2 intersecting with the lower housing 3, and are cut out so as to be recessed inward in the width direction. The central portion of the lower housing 2 is also cut out correspondingly to the cutout 9 (see FIG. 4).
Although not shown, various components such as a transmission / reception unit necessary for performing a mobile phone function and a control unit for controlling the transmission / reception unit are built in the lower housing 3. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 16 denotes a speaker unit for receiving, and 17 denotes a microphone unit for transmitting.
[0021]
The mobile phone of this embodiment is configured as described above, and normally has a generally rectangular shape as a whole when the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are overlapped with each other.
At this time, when the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are rotated to a fixed angle of 90 degrees for transmitting a message on the Internet or the like, as shown in FIGS. The upper side and the lower side are displaced from the upper housing 2 and are exposed, that is, all the keys are exposed by one rotation operation, thereby enabling input of each key.
[0022]
That is, when the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 are rotated to a fixed position, a plurality of keys are provided on the exposed upper and lower surfaces of the lower housing 3. Therefore, the input operation can be performed by being rotated. Therefore, a large number of keys can be arranged on the exposed portion of the lower housing 3, so that it is not necessary to assign each of the keys variously, and even if the area is limited as a mobile phone, a so-called full key is provided. It is possible to realize a large number of key configurations similar to a keyboard, and to perform an input operation satisfactorily.
[0023]
In addition, not only does the mobile phone terminal and the key input device not have to be assembled one by one as in Patent Literature 1, but also it is not necessary to carry the mobile phone terminal and the key input device apart from each other. Since the surfaces are left-right symmetric and in a balanced state, there is no possibility of rattling as in Patent Document 2, and the surface can be stabilized, and an extremely good input operation can be performed.
[0024]
Further, if a notch 9 is provided in the upper housing 2 at a position where the lower housing 3 intersects, a notch 9 is formed to be recessed inward in the width direction. The area of the exposed portion of the body 3 can be increased, and the number of keys provided on the lower housing 3 can be easily increased accordingly. In addition, the presence of the notch 9 makes it easy for the user to grasp the finger and to grasp it, so that the grip of the mobile phone 1 is good.
[0025]
Further, since the lock mechanism 6 for locking the lower housing 3 with respect to the upper housing 2 is provided, when the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 rotate to a fixed position, the two 2 and 3 are locked. Inadvertent rotation does not occur, and key operation can be performed in a more stable state.
[0026]
Further, since the lock mechanism 6 provided on the rotating shaft 4 has the first ratchet portion 7 and the second ratchet portion 8 formed symmetrically with each other, the upper housing 2 and the lower housing 3 When they are turned, their turning directions can be arbitrarily turned in either clockwise or counterclockwise directions, and therefore there is no restriction on the turning direction, so that the usability is further improved. It will be good.
[0027]
In the illustrated embodiment, an example is shown in which the present invention is applied to a mobile phone as an electronic terminal device. However, the present invention is also applied to other devices, for example, a simple mobile phone, a mobile terminal (PDA), an electronic dictionary, and the like. Similar effects can be obtained, and the present invention is not limited to the illustrated example.
[0028]
According to the present invention, when one housing and the other housing are rotated to a fixed position, a plurality of keys are arranged on an exposed surface of the other housing, and thus the other housing is configured. A large number of keys can be arranged in the exposed portion of the device, so that it is not necessary to assign each of the keys variously, and even if the area is limited, a large number of keys can be realized according to a so-called full keyboard. As a result, portability is improved. In addition, since the upper housing and the lower housing are rotated to expose the keyboard provided on the lower housing to the left and right around the upper housing, information input operation is performed using both hands. Operability is improved.
[0029]
Further, according to the present invention, since the area of the exposed portion of the other housing can be increased by the notch, it is possible to reliably arrange a large number of keys on the other housing, and the finger can be caught. Good gripping properties.
[0030]
Further, according to the present invention, since the other housing is locked to the one housing, both are prevented from rotating carelessly, and the key operation can be performed more favorably.
[0031]
Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a mobile phone excellent in input operation and usability. Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the display format of the display screen does not change before and after the rotation of the housing, the user does not feel uncomfortable about the operation.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that not only separation and assembling can be performed but also input operation and usability can be improved without rattling even on a desk or the like. In addition, since the keyboard is arranged in the lower housing and the upper housing and the lower housing are rotated to expose the keyboard, there is no need to consider the space occupied by the keyboard in the device. There is an effect that the display unit can be arranged large and the degree of freedom in design can be increased. Furthermore, by rotating the upper housing and the lower housing, the keyboard provided on the lower housing is exposed left and right around the upper housing, so that information input operation is performed using both hands. This has the effect of improving operability.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a mobile phone to which an electronic terminal device according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a bottom view of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a left side view of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a rear view of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a rotation axis between an upper housing and a lower housing.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an assembled state in which an upper housing and a lower housing are rotatably connected as viewed from the upper housing side.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional perspective view corresponding to the line AA of FIG. 6 and before the upper housing and the lower housing are fixed with screws.
8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 mobile phone 2 upper housing (one housing)
3 Lower housing (other housing)
4 Rotating shaft 5 Key 6 Lock mechanism 9 Notch

Claims (4)

Including one housing and the other housing,
Along with overlapping the other housing under the one housing, the one housing and the other housing are attached so as to be relatively rotatable about an axis directed in a thickness direction,
An electronic terminal device wherein a plurality of keys are provided on an exposed surface of the other housing when the one housing and the other housing are relatively rotated to a fixed position. The electronic terminal device according to claim 1,
When the one housing and the other housing are rotated to a fixed position, the one housing is provided with a notch that is recessed inward in the width direction at a position where the one housing intersects with the other housing. Characteristic electronic terminal device. The electronic terminal device according to claim 1 or 2,
An electronic terminal device comprising: a lock mechanism for locking the other housing to the one housing when the one housing and the other housing rotate to a fixed position. The electronic terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An electronic terminal device having a mobile phone function or a simplified mobile phone function.

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