JP2005044435A - Portable electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely detect the falling of portable electronic equipment with an inexpensive constitution. <P>SOLUTION: This portable electronic equipment on which a hard disk is mounted, for example, a portable audio player 10, comprises an equipment main body part 40 in which a hard disk 50 is mounted, a headphone 20 which is connected to the equipment main body part 40, a detection means (CPU) 43a for detecting the presence/no presence of connection of the headphone 20 with the equipment main body part 40, and a retracting means (CPU) 43a for retracting the head 53 of the hard disk 50. When the detection means detects that the connection of the headphone 20 with the equipment main body part 40 is lost, the retracting means retracts the head 53 of the hard disk 50 to the state that it does not collide with the recording surface 51a of a magnetic disk 51. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a novel morphological electronic apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for preventing fatal damage to a hard disk due to a drop in a portable electronic device equipped with a hard disk with a simple configuration.

  With the miniaturization and high recording density of hard disks, small, light and large-capacity hard disks have emerged, and hard disks have been adopted for portable electronic devices.

  By the way, hard disks are extremely vulnerable to shock. In particular, an impact during operation, that is, while a signal is being written to or read from the magnetic disk, may cause the head to violently collide with the magnetic disk. For this reason, when it is not operating, that is, when the head is not facing the recording surface of the magnetic disk, it can withstand 1000 G (gravity acceleration), but during operation, the head and the magnetic disk are damaged at about 200 G.

  Therefore, in a device equipped with a hard disk, if it falls from a desk or the like, the head is retracted before it collides with the ground or floor so that it can withstand a large impact when it collides with the ground or floor. A technique is proposed by Patent Document 1 and the like.

  That is, in Patent Document 1, three acceleration sensors that detect acceleration in directions orthogonal to each other are provided in a device equipped with a hard disk, and the output of these acceleration sensors is calculated to determine whether the device is in a fall state. In the case where it is determined that the slider is in a falling state, a technique is disclosed in which a slider having a head at the tip is retracted from the recording / reproducing area of the magnetic disk to avoid a collision between the head and the magnetic disk. Has been.

  However, the acceleration sensor is expensive, and using three acceleration sensors increases the cost of the device.

  In addition, the acceleration sensor outputs other than 1G in various situations, not only when it falls. For example, if the fall is only a free fall, it may be determined that the combined vector of the three acceleration sensors indicates 0 G or a value close to 0 G. However, in the case of a portable electronic device, the user walks and runs In various scenes, such as holding it by hand and swinging it, an output other than 1G will be output. If the slider (head) is retracted each time, the usability will be extremely poor. Therefore, in order to save the head only when it is really necessary to save the head, it is necessary to perform complicated calculations of the outputs of the three acceleration sensors, to create judgment criteria, and to create a judgment procedure. The cost of parts, such as capital, personnel, and dedicated IC (Integrated Circuit), etc., will be high.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-45530

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to reliably detect the fall of the portable electronic device with an inexpensive configuration.

  The portable electronic device of the present invention is a portable electronic device equipped with a hard disk, the device main body having a hard disk, headphones connected to the device main body, and connection between the headphones and the device main body. Detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the hard disk and a retracting means for retracting the head of the hard disk, and when the detecting means detects that the connection with the device main body of the headphones is lost, the retracting means detects the head of the hard disk. Is retracted so as not to collide with the recording surface of the magnetic disk.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the portable electronic device according to the first aspect, the headphone is connected to the device main body via a remote control device that remotely operates the device main body, and the device of the remote control device It is determined that the connection of the headphone with the device main body is lost when it is detected that either the main body or the headphone is removed from the remote control device.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the portable electronic device according to the first aspect, an attachment means for attaching a connection cord for connecting a headphone to the apparatus main body to a user's clothes and the like, and the attachment means Drop-off detecting means for detecting the drop-off of clothes from the clothes, etc., and when the drop-off detecting means detects the attachment means being removed from the clothes, the retracting means collides the hard disk head against the recording surface of the magnetic disk. It is characterized by retreating to a state where it is not.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the portable electronic device according to the first aspect, an attachment means for attaching the remote control device to a user's clothes, etc., and a drop of the attachment means from the clothes, etc. are detected. Drop-off detecting means, and when the drop-off detecting means detects that the attachment means is dropped from clothes or the like, the retracting means retracts the head of the hard disk so that it does not collide with the recording surface of the magnetic disk. And

  The invention described in claims 5 to 8 is the portable electronic device according to claim 1, claim 2, claim 3, or claim 4, wherein the retracting means is configured such that the detecting means is a device main body of a headphone. In this case, the hard disk head is retracted to a state where it does not collide with the recording surface of the magnetic disk for 1 to 2 seconds after it is detected that the connection is lost.

  In the portable electronic device of the present invention, when the connection between the device main body and the headphones is lost, the head of the hard disk is retracted so as not to collide with the recording surface of the magnetic disk. Therefore, if the device main unit is dropped, the connection between the headphones and the device main unit is always lost before the device main unit collides with the ground or floor, so the device main unit collides with the ground or floor. Since the head is in the retracted state, collision between the head and the magnetic head is avoided, and serious damage to the hard disk is avoided.

  In the invention described in claim 2, when the headphone is connected to the apparatus main body via the remote control device, the apparatus main body collides with the ground or the floor when the apparatus main body is dropped. Before, the remote control device must be removed from the device main unit or the headphones from the remote control device, so when the device main unit collides with the ground or floor, the head is in a retracted state. Collision between the head and the magnetic head is avoided, and serious damage to the hard disk is avoided.

  In the invention described in claim 3 and claim 4, when the attachment means is attached to the user's clothes, etc., when the apparatus main body is dropped, when the attachment means falls off the clothes etc. When the apparatus main body collides with the ground or floor, the head is in a retracted state, so that the collision between the head and the magnetic head is avoided, and serious damage to the hard disk is avoided.

  In the invention described in claims 5 to 8, since the head evacuation is released within 1 to 2 seconds after the hard disk head evacuates, for example, the user operates the remote control device. Therefore, even when the attachment means is removed from the clothes or the like, the information pre-read from the magnetic disk by the head is reproduced while the head is being saved, so that the reproduction is interrupted and the user feels uncomfortable. There is nothing.

  The best mode for carrying out the portable electronic device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the illustrated embodiment, the present invention is applied to a portable audio player, and the audio player 10 connects a headphone 20 to a device main body 40 via a remote control device 30.

  The device main body 40 includes a hard disk 50 in a housing 41, audio information, for example, music information is stored in the hard disk 50, and the audio information is read from the hard disk 50 and output to the headphones 20. It has become.

  The headphone 20 is connected to the device main body 40 via the remote control device 30, and the remote control device 30 includes a connector 33 provided at the tip of a cord 32 led out from the housing 31. The device main body 40 is connected by being inserted into a connector (not shown) connected to a headphone remote control interface 42 provided in the housing 41 of the 40. A jack 34 for connecting the headphones 20 is provided in the housing 31 of the remote control device 30, and a plug 22 provided at the tip of the cord 21 led out from the headphones 20 is fitted into the jack 34, As a result, the headphones 20 are connected to the device main body 40 via the remote control device 30.

  The casing 31 of the remote control device 30 is provided with a clip 35 as an attachment means for attaching the remote control device 30 to a user's clothes or the like. The clip 35 is supported by the housing 31 so as to be rotatable by a fulcrum part 35c positioned between the clamping part 35a and the knob part 35b, and the clamping part 35a is supported by an urging means such as a torsion coil spring (not shown). It is urged to come into contact with the casing 31.

  As shown in FIG. 3, an arithmetic processing unit 43 is provided in the housing 41 of the device main body 40. The arithmetic processing unit 43 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 43a, a RAM (Random-Access Memory) 43b, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 43c, a flash ROM (Flash ROM) 43d, an interface unit 43e, and the like. Are controlled according to the operation of the operation buttons 44a, 44a,... Of the operation unit 44 and the operation of the remote control device 30.

  In addition to the operation unit 44 described above, a display unit 60 provided with display means such as a liquid crystal display panel is provided on the front surface of the casing 41 of the device main body unit 40. The title of the song being played and the text being edited are edited. The display unit 60, the headphone remote control interface 42, the operation unit 44, and the hard disk 50 are connected to the CPU 43a via the interface unit 43e of the arithmetic processing unit 43, and signals are transmitted to and from the CPU 43a. .

  Further, power is supplied from the power supply circuit 45 to the CPU 43a, the hard disk 50, the display unit 44, and the like. A shutoff switch 46 is inserted between the power supply circuit 45 and the hard disk 51, and the shutoff switch 46 is operated by the arithmetic processing unit 43 as necessary to supply power from the power supply circuit 45 to the hard disk 50. Is cut off.

  As can be seen from FIG. 2, the hard disk 50 includes a magnetic disk 51, a spindle motor 52 that rotates the magnetic disk 51, a slider 54 having a magnetic head 53 at the tip, a drive unit 55 that rotates the slider 54, and the like. The magnetic disk 51 is rotated and the slider 54 is rotated by the drive unit 55 so that the magnetic head 53 at the tip thereof is moved in the radial direction of the magnetic disk 51 in the state of being close to the recording surface 51a of the magnetic disk 51. Thus, the signal is written (recorded) on the magnetic disk 51 or the signal is read (reproduced) from the magnetic disk 51.

  In the above configuration, for example, when music information is reproduced, the signal is read at a speed faster than the output speed from the hard disk 50 to the headphones 20, temporarily stored in the RAM 43b, and then sequentially decoded to be analog. The sound signal is converted into an audio signal and output to the headphones 20. For example, a tune with a length of about 8th can be read from the hard disk 50 in about 10 seconds.

  The user puts the headphones 20 on his / her ear, operates the operation unit 44 of the remote control device 30 or the device main body 40, and views music with the headphones 20. In that case, in order to stabilize the position of the remote control device 30, a part of the user's clothes may be sandwiched between the holding portion 35 a of the clip 35 and the housing 31.

  The CPU 43a of the arithmetic processing unit 43 removes the connector 33 of the remote control device 30 from a connector (not shown) of the device main body 40, the plug 22 of the headphones 20 from the jack 34 of the remote control device 30, and the clothes of the clip 35. It is possible to detect the drop-off from the disk, and when any of these is detected, the magnetic head 53 of the hard disk 50 is retracted. This “retraction” means that the magnetic head 53 does not collide with the recording surface 51a of the magnetic disk 51. For example, the slider 54 is rotated so that the magnetic head 53 does not face the magnetic disk 51 (FIG. 2). (See the position indicated by the two-dot chain line) of the slider 54 so that the tip of the slider 54 supporting the magnetic head 53 does not move in the direction perpendicular to the recording surface 51a of the magnetic disk 51 at that position. The leading end is clamped by clamping means (not shown), or the leading end supporting the magnetic head 53 of the slider 54 is held at the current position of the slider 54 so that the leading end does not move toward the magnetic disk 51. This can be done by an appropriate method.

  Next, how the head retracting operation is performed in the audio player 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when music playback is instructed by operating the operation unit 44 or the remote control device 30, reading of the instructed music from the magnetic disk 51 starts (step 1 (S1)), and reading starts (step 1 (S1)), whether or not the remote control device 30 is connected to the device main body 40, that is, whether or not the connector 33 of the remote control device 30 is connected to the connector of the device main body 40. (Step 2 (S2)), and if it is determined in Step 2 (S2) that the remote control device 30 is connected to the device main body 40 (YES), Step 3 (S3). ), When it is determined that the remote control device 30 is disconnected from the device main body 40 (NO), step 4 is performed. Proceed to S4).

  In step 3 (S3), it is determined whether or not the headphones 20 are connected to the device main body 40, that is, whether or not the plug 22 of the headphones 20 is inserted into the jack 34 of the remote control device 30. .

  When it is determined in step 3 (S3) that the headphones 20 are connected to the device main body 40 (YES), the process proceeds to step (S5), and the headphones 20 are not connected to the device main body 40 ( If NO is determined, the process proceeds to step 4 (S4).

  In step 5 (S5), whether or not the clip 35 has been removed from the state of being attached to clothes or the like, that is, the holding portion 35a of the clip 35 is separated from the casing 31 of the remote control device 30 (in between clothes It is determined whether or not the sandwiching portion 35a has come into contact with the housing 1 from the state in which, for example, is interposed. That is, while the remote control device 30 is attached to the user's clothes and the like by the clip 35, the clip 35 is held between the case 31 of the remote control device 30 and the holding portion 35a of the clip 35. Between the holding portion 35a and the casing 31 of the remote control device 30 is blocked by clothes or the like and is in a non-contact state. Therefore, for example, if the weight of the device main body 40 is applied to the clip 35 due to the fall of the device main body 40, clothes and the like are relatively pulled out from between the holding portion 35a of the clip 35 and the housing 31 by the weight. Then, the holding portion 35a of the clip 35 comes into contact with the housing 31. The CPU 43a of the arithmetic processing unit 43 detects a change from the state in which the holding part 35a of the clip 35 is separated from the casing 31 (Open) to the state in which the holding part 35a of the clip 35 is in contact with the casing 31 (Close). When it is determined that there is no change (NO), the process proceeds to step 6 (S6), and when it is determined that there is a change (YES), the process proceeds to step 4 (S4).

  In step 6 (S6), the commanded content (the content given by the operation of the operation unit 44 or the operation of the remote control device 30), for example, whether or not the reading from the magnetic disk 51 of the music instructed to be reproduced has been completed. If it is completed (YES), the process proceeds to step 7 (S7) to complete reading from the magnetic disk 51. If reading is not completed (NO), the process returns to step 2 (S2).

  Each state to be judged in step 2 (S2), step 3 (S3) and step 5 (S5) is transmitted to the interface unit 43e of the arithmetic processing unit 43 via the headphone remote control interface 42, and the CPU 43a recognizes it. Then, a predetermined operation is instructed to each unit.

  In step 4 (S4), the magnetic head 53 is retracted and the process proceeds to step 8 (S8). As described above, the magnetic head 51 is retracted by moving the magnetic head to a predetermined retracted position or mechanically locking the magnetic head 53 so that the magnetic head 53 does not move. Alternatively, the power supply to the hard disk 50 may be cut off by operating the cut-off switch 46. The latter method of shutting off the power supply has an advantage that the processing time can be shortened, and the former method does not require the shutoff switch 46, so that the cost can be reduced.

  In step 8 (S8), it is determined whether or not a certain time, for example, 2 seconds has elapsed. If 2 seconds have elapsed (YES), the process proceeds to step 9 (S9), and 2 seconds have elapsed. If not (NO), the determination in step 8 (S8) is repeated. It is sufficient that the predetermined time is 1 second to 2 seconds. That is, even when the device main body 40 is dropped while the user is standing, the device main body 40 remains on the ground even if one second or more has elapsed after the head retracting operation in Step 4 (S4). There is no possibility that the magnetic head 53 will not collide with the floor surface, and it is sufficient to retract the magnetic head 53 for 1 to 2 seconds. Also, in the current audio player, so-called prefetching is normal, and the data of the music to be reproduced is read from the hard disk 50 in a short time, stored in a memory (for example, the RAM 43b), and sequentially reproduced. For example, if the piece of music has a performance time of about 8 minutes, it can be read in about 10 seconds. Therefore, for example, when the user removes the magnetic head 53 from the clothes or the like in order to operate the remote control device 30, even if the magnetic head 53 is retracted, the data read in the memory in advance is reproduced at that time. There is no such thing as interrupting the playback of the song that was being played.

  In step 9 (S9), reading from the hard disk 50 is resumed, and the process returns to step 2 (S2).

  As described above, in the audio player 10, the disconnection of the connection between the headphone 20 and the device main body 40 that occurs when the device main body 40 is dropped is detected, whereby the magnetic head 53 of the hard disk 50 is detected. Since the evacuation is performed, it is not necessary to use an acceleration sensor for detecting the fall, and damage to the hard disk can be avoided with an inexpensive configuration. Further, when the acceleration sensor is used, the output generated in the acceleration sensor is not uniform (for example, it is different between free fall and rotary fall) depending on the drop mode of the device main body 40, and the acceleration sensor is not dropped. (For example, even if the user swings the device main body 40 or throws it upwards, an output similar to the output at the time of falling occurs.) Although the creation and calculation of the determination criteria are complicated, the audio player 10 does not have such trouble, and the fall of the magnetic head can be retracted by reliably detecting the fall.

  In the above-described embodiment, the state of the headphone 20, the remote control device 30, and the clip 35 is detected and the magnetic head 53 is retracted, but only the state of the headphone 20 is detected. The retraction action of the magnetic head 53 may be taken.

  In the above embodiment, the headphones 20 are connected to the device main body 40 via the remote control device 30, but the headphones 20 may be directly connected to the device main body 40. In this case, the remote control device 30 may or may not be present.

  Further, in this specification, the term “headphone” refers to an electro-acoustic conversion means for a user to directly wear and listen to sound, for example, what is commonly referred to as a headphone or an earphone, and these electro-acoustics. A device including a conversion unit, for example, a head mount display in which headphones are incorporated together with a display unit such as a liquid crystal display panel, etc., also falls within the category of headphones in this specification.

  In the embodiment described above, the clip 35 (attachment means) is applied as a means for attaching the remote control device 30 to clothes or the like, but is applied as an attachment means for attaching the cord 21 of the headphones 20 to clothes or the like at the intermediate portion. You may do it.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to an audio player. However, the present invention is not limited to an electronic device equipped with a hard disk, for example, a video player for viewing video and audio, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). ) And the like.

  In addition, the shapes and structures of the respective parts shown in the above embodiments are merely examples of implementations in carrying out the present invention, and these limit the technical scope of the present invention. It should not be interpreted.

  It can be widely applied to portable electronic devices having a hard disk as a storage device, and damage to the hard disk due to falling can be prevented. In addition, it can be configured at low cost.

The drawings show the best mode for carrying out the portable electronic device of the present invention, and the drawings are external views showing the overall configuration. It is a schematic internal perspective top view of an apparatus main-body part. It is a block diagram which shows a circuit structure. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a head retracting operation.

Explanation of symbols

10 Audio player (portable electronic device)
20 Headphone 30 Remote control device 35 Clip (attachment means)
40 equipment main body 43a CPU (detection means) (retraction means) (drop-off detection means)
50 Hard Disk 51 Magnetic Disk 51a Recording Surface 53 Magnetic Head (Head)

Claims (8)

A portable electronic device equipped with a hard disk,
A device main unit equipped with a hard disk;
Headphones connected to the device body,
Detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of connection between the headphone and the device main body;
A retracting means for retracting the head of the hard disk,
A portable electronic device characterized in that, when the detecting means detects that the headphone is not connected to the device body, the retracting means retracts the hard disk head so that it does not collide with the recording surface of the magnetic disk. . The headphone is connected to the device body through a remote control device that remotely controls the device body,
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when it is detected that the remote control device is detached from the device main body or the headphones are detached from the remote control device, it is determined that the connection with the device main body of the headphones is lost. The portable electronic device described. An attachment means for attaching a connection cord for connecting the headphones to the apparatus main body to a user's clothes, etc .;
A drop detection means for detecting the drop of the attachment means from clothes, etc.,
2. The retracting means according to claim 1, wherein the retracting means retracts the head of the hard disk so as not to collide with the recording surface of the magnetic disk when the drop detecting means detects that the attachment means is detached from the clothes. Portable electronic device. Attachment means for attaching the remote control device to a user's clothes, etc .;
A drop detection means for detecting the drop of the attachment means from clothes, etc.,
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein when the drop-off detecting means detects that the attachment means is dropped from clothes or the like, the retracting means retracts the head of the hard disk so as not to collide with the recording surface of the magnetic disk. Portable electronic device. The retracting means retracts the head of the hard disk so as not to collide with the recording surface of the magnetic disk for 1 to 2 seconds after the detecting means detects that the connection with the main body of the headphone is lost. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the evacuation is released later. The retracting means retracts the head of the hard disk so as not to collide with the recording surface of the magnetic disk for 1 to 2 seconds after the detecting means detects that the connection with the main body of the headphone is lost. The portable electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the evacuation is released later. The retracting means retracts the head of the hard disk so as not to collide with the recording surface of the magnetic disk for 1 to 2 seconds after the detecting means detects that the connection with the main body of the headphone is lost. 4. The portable electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the evacuation is released later. The retracting means retracts the head of the hard disk so as not to collide with the recording surface of the magnetic disk for 1 to 2 seconds after the detecting means detects that the connection with the main body of the headphone is lost. The portable electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the evacuation is released later.

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