JP2005151319A - Folding mobile phone - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transmit the sound at a proper sound pressure and with a high sound quality to a user by a folding mobile phone in various use conditions without necessity to upsize it or increasing its weight. <P>SOLUTION: A hinge 6 couples a lower case 1 and an upper case 2 in a swingable manner so that they can be folded and opened and has a cylindrical part which is coaxial with their swinging axis line. Two speaker tone holes 7-a and 7-b for releasing the sound from a speaker 3 outside are formed in the cylindrical part of the hinge 6. The speaker tone holes 7-a and 7-b are away from each other in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical part. The speaker tone hole 7-a is exposed to the outside when the folding mobile phone is completely folded. The speaker tone hole 7-b is kept exposed on the side of the face of the folding mobile phone even when it is half-folded. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a foldable mobile phone provided with sound generating means for generating sound to be transmitted to an external remote position.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a mobile phone is provided with a speaker that outputs a ring tone so that the mobile phone can be heard even if it is not applied to the ear, in addition to a speaker that outputs a call sound when calling with the mobile phone applied to the ear. In recent years, a sounder is sometimes used instead of a speaker. Such a speaker or sounder is usually built in the case of the mobile phone, and in order to make it easier for the output sound to be transmitted to the outside, the case of the mobile phone usually has a speaker sound hole at a predetermined position. Is formed.

  2. Description of the Related Art Cellular phones include a foldable cellular phone in which two housings are connected by hinges so that the two cases are opened so that they are lined up and the two cases are folded so as to overlap each other. A foldable mobile phone is usually provided with a front display part on the front surface of one housing and an operation key on the other housing. When folded, these are provided. They are located opposite each other.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a folding mobile phone, speaker sound holes are provided on the back side exposed on the outer surface in a folded state, such as the side opposite to the front liquid crystal display unit, so that sound can be heard from the outside even in the folded state.
JP 2003-51871 A JP-A-7-131849 JP 2001-309000 A

  However, in a foldable phone, when sound is output in a state where it is opened and operated, if the sound output from the back sound hole is heard from the opposite front, the side with the sound hole As compared with the case where the sound is heard from, the sound pressure is deteriorated and the sound quality is deteriorated. FIG. 9 shows the result of experiments conducted by the present inventors. In FIG. 9, the solid line shows the result of measuring the sound pressure of the output sound from the speaker from the front side by forming the speaker sound hole on the front side, and the broken line shows the speaker sound hole on the back side. The result of forming and measuring is shown. From FIG. 9, when the sound hole of the speaker is formed on the back side for the sound of almost all frequencies, the sound pressure is lower than the case of forming the speaker hole on the front side. It can be seen that there is a case where the value drops significantly. In recent mobile phones, ringtones have been improved in sound quality, and such a decrease in sound pressure and sound quality is a major disadvantage especially when trying to output such high sound quality sound. It may end up.

  In addition, some recent mobile phones have a videophone function and a video playback function, and such mobile phones usually output audio along with the output of an image, and the audio output is also received. Speakers and sounders for sound output are used. In this case, the user listens to the sound while looking at the image displayed on the front display unit, that is, the sound output from the sound hole on the back side is also heard from the front side. Deterioration of sound pressure and sound quality will occur.

  On the other hand, Patent Documents 1 and 2 show a configuration in which a plurality of speakers are provided and the speakers to be used are changed according to the use state of the mobile phone. However, in such a configuration, since the number of speakers increases, it becomes necessary to make the mobile phone large, or the weight increases.

  Therefore, the object of the present invention is to avoid the decrease in the sound pressure and sound quality of the output sound in various usage conditions without the necessity of making the foldable mobile phone large or increasing the weight. An object of the present invention is to provide a foldable mobile phone capable of transmitting sound to a user with good sound pressure and sound quality.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the foldable mobile phone of the present invention has an upper casing and a lower casing, and the upper casing and the lower casing are folded so that the front sides of the two are inside each other. A foldable mobile phone connected by a hinge so as to be able to swing between a state in which they face each other and a state in which both front sides are lined up, and the hinge has a cylindrical portion coaxial with the swing axis. In the cylindrical portion, at least two sound holes for emitting sound from the common sound generating means to the outside are formed at positions separated from each other in the circumferential direction. What is exposed to an outer surface in the state which fully folded the lower side housing | casing, and what is exposed to the front side in the state which folded the upper side housing | casing and the lower side housing to the middle are characterized.

  According to this configuration, when the mobile phone is used in a fully opened state, such as when using the video phone function or the video playback function with the mobile phone in hand, the mobile phone must be folded halfway. Sound is emitted from the sound hole exposed on the front side. Also, when using the mobile phone folded halfway for the purpose of making the display easier to see, such as when using the videophone function or video playback function on a desk, the mobile phone is folded halfway. In this state, sound can be emitted from the sound hole exposed to the front side. Therefore, in any of these cases, the sound can be transmitted to the user located on the front side without causing a decrease in sound pressure or sound quality. Furthermore, when a ring tone is output when the mobile phone is in a fully folded state, such as when carrying the mobile phone, the sound is exposed to the sound that is exposed to the outside with the mobile phone fully folded. Sound is emitted from the hole. Therefore, also in this case, the sound can be output to the outside without causing a decrease in sound pressure or sound quality. Further, in this configuration, only one common sound generating means may be used, and there is no need to make the mobile phone large or the weight will not increase.

  In the present invention, it is preferable to provide a sound hole that is exposed to the outer surface when the cellular phone is completely folded and exposed to the front side when the cellular phone is fully opened. With such sound holes, good sound transmission to the user located on the front side when the mobile phone is fully opened and good sound output to the outside when it is completely closed Both can be realized.

  It is also preferable to provide a sound hole that is exposed to the front side unless the cellular phone is folded completely completely. As a result, it is possible to realize good voice transmission to the user located on the front side in an arbitrary use state in which the mobile phone is folded halfway.

  The cylindrical portion of the hinge in which the sound hole is formed can be configured such that the internal cavity is connected to the space in the upper housing or the lower housing. If it is arranged at a position in the lower housing where a passage leading to the cavity in the cylindrical portion is secured, the sound from the sound generating means can be emitted from each sound hole satisfactorily. Also, in this case, if a member that shields the sound in the direction other than the cylindrical portion side of the hinge is provided around the sound generating means, sound leakage to the sound hole side is prevented, and the sound hole side is efficiently Voice can be transmitted.

  The hinge is formed integrally with each of the upper housing and the lower housing, and a plurality of cylindrical portions intermittently formed in the swing axis direction are coaxially arranged between the upper housing and the lower housing. Those integrally formed with each other can be alternately arranged in the swing axis direction. In this case, the sound holes are preferably formed in a common cylindrical portion. Thereby, sound can be efficiently transmitted to each sound hole from a single sound generating means.

  According to the foldable mobile phone of the present invention, sound can be transmitted to the user with good sound quality and sound pressure in various usage states. That is, when the mobile phone is opened, sound is emitted from the sound hole exposed on the front side, so that the user located on the front side can hear the sound pressure and sound quality as if there is a sound hole on the back side. The sound can be transmitted without causing a drop in sound, and the sound pressure and sound quality are not lowered by emitting the sound from the sound hole exposed on the outer surface in the folded state of the mobile phone. Sound can be output to the outside. At this time, each sound hole can be configured to emit sound from the common sound generating means, and there is no need to increase the size of the mobile phone or increase the weight.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  The schematic diagram of the foldable mobile phone of this embodiment is shown in FIGS. FIGS. 1 to 3 are side views showing the main part of the foldable mobile phone according to the present embodiment, and show different usage states. 4A and 4B are plan views of the mobile phone according to the present embodiment, in which FIG. 4A shows an opened state and FIG. 4B shows a folded state.

  This foldable mobile phone has a lower housing 1 and an upper housing 2, and the lower housing 1 and the upper housing 2 are connected to each other by a hinge 6 so as to be swingable. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the hinge 6 is formed integrally with each of the lower housing 1 and the upper housing 2, and a plurality of cylindrical portions formed intermittently in the width direction, that is, the swing axis direction are coaxial. In addition, the one formed integrally with each of the lower housing 1 and the upper housing 2 is alternately arranged in the swing axis direction, and the adjacent ones are engaged with each other.

  The lower housing 1 is provided with a key 30 for a user to input a telephone number and character information as necessary. The upper housing 2 is provided with a front liquid crystal unit 8 for displaying various information. The lower housing 1 and the upper housing 2 are swung around the hinge 6 so that the surface on which the key 30 is provided and the surface on which the front liquid crystal unit 8 is provided as shown in FIG. Can be folded face-to-face. In the opened state as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the front liquid crystal unit 8 and the key 30 face the same side, and key input can be performed while looking at the front liquid crystal unit 8. Normally, this side is the front side. It is called the side, and the opposite side is called the back side.

  The lower housing 1 is further provided with a battery 40 on the back side and a speaker 3 near the hinge 6. The speaker 3 shown in the figure sounds a ringtone to notify that there is an incoming call from the other party, outputs a voice from the other party when using the TV phone function, or plays a voice accompanying the moving picture when playing the moving picture. It is used for output. The upper housing 2 is provided with an antenna 20 that can protrude upward. Although not shown, this foldable mobile phone can further include a speaker that outputs the other party's voice during a normal call, a microphone for inputting the user's voice during a call, and the like.

  Also, the lower casing 1 and the upper casing 2 are provided with printed circuit boards 5 and 9, respectively. Although not shown, the printed circuit boards 5 and 9 are connected to each other by a flexible board in order to transmit an electric signal between them, and the hinge 6 has a hole through which the flexible board is passed. Although not shown in detail, printed circuit boards 5 and 9 are equipped with a computer that receives signals from each part and controls the operation of each part, and is equipped with circuits and various elements that connect the respective parts. Has been.

  In the present embodiment, speaker sound holes 7-a and 7-b are formed in one of the cylindrical portions formed integrally with the lower housing 1 of the hinge 6 at positions separated from each other in the circumferential direction. Yes. Therefore, when the cellular phone is opened or folded, the positions of the speaker sound holes 7-a and 7-b with respect to the lower casing 1 do not change and the positions with respect to the upper casing 2 change. As shown in FIG. 1, the speaker sound hole 7-a is exposed at a position close to the lower end of the front surface of the upper housing 2 on the front side when the cellular phone is fully opened, and FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, when the cellular phone is completely folded, it is formed at a position exposed to the outside. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the speaker sound hole 7-b is exposed at a position close to the upper end of the front of the lower housing 2 on the front side with the mobile phone fully opened. Even if it is folded, it is formed at a position that remains exposed to the front side unless it is folded completely completely.

  The speaker sound holes 7-a and 7-b are connected via a cavity at the center of the cylindrical portion. The cylindrical portion in which the speaker sound holes 7-a and 7-b are formed is formed so that the central cavity communicates with the space inside the lower housing 1, and this cylindrical shape is formed from the output portion of the speaker 3. There is an unobstructed passage leading to the cavity in the section. Around the speaker 3, a cushion 4 for sound insulation is arranged so as not to leak sound to the key 30 side, the battery 40 side, etc., so that the speaker sound holes 7-a and 7-b of the hinge 6 are arranged. Sound is efficiently transmitted to the cylindrical portion side where the is formed.

  Considering the use form of this mobile phone, for example, when using the TV phone function or the video playback function with the mobile phone in hand, the user normally opens the mobile phone completely as shown in FIG. The user listens to the sound while watching the image displayed on the front liquid crystal unit 8. In this state, the speaker sound holes 7-a and 7-b are both exposed to the front side, that is, open to the user side. Therefore, the sound output from the speaker 3 is emitted through both of the speaker sound holes 7-a and 7-b exposed on the front side, so that the user located on the front side can hear sound pressure and It is transmitted without causing deterioration in sound quality.

  Next, for example, when using the TV phone function or the moving image playback function with the mobile phone placed on the desk, the user stands in a state where the upper casing 2 is slightly raised so that the front liquid crystal unit 8 is easy to see. It may be used. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the speaker sound hole 7-a is fitted to the cylindrical portion of the lower housing 1 in which the speaker sound holes 7-a and 7-b are formed. In some cases, the upper casing 2 is covered with a concave portion at the lower end. On the other hand, the speaker sound hole 7-b is kept exposed to the front side as long as the cellular phone is not folded up almost completely as described above even when the upper housing 2 is in the upright state. Therefore, even when the upper housing 2 is in the upright state, that is, when it is folded halfway, the sound output from the speaker 3 is released through at least the speaker sound hole 7-a exposed to the front side. For this reason, it is transmitted to the user located on the front side without causing a decrease in sound pressure or sound quality. At this time, when the speaker sound hole 7-b is covered by the lower end portion of the upper housing 2, sound emission from the speaker sound hole 7-b is suppressed by the upper housing 2, thereby Sound can be efficiently emitted from the speaker sound hole 7-b side.

  Next, for example, when the mobile phone is carried without being used directly, the mobile phone is usually in a completely folded state as shown in FIG. At this time, the mobile phone can be set in a standby state without being turned off, and can be set in a state in which a ring tone is output when a call or mail is received according to the setting. At this time, in the state where the cellular phone is completely folded in this manner, the speaker sound hole 7-b is covered with the lower end portion of the upper housing 2, but the speaker sound hole 7-a is exposed to the outer surface. It will be in the state. Accordingly, the sound such as the ringtone output from the speaker 3 in this state is emitted toward the outside through the speaker sound hole 7-a without causing a decrease in sound pressure or sound quality. At this time, sound emission from the speaker sound hole 7-b is suppressed by being covered by the lower end portion of the upper housing 2, and thereby sound is efficiently emitted from the speaker sound hole 7-a side. Can do.

  As described above, in the foldable mobile phone of the present embodiment, in various assumed usage states, at least one of the speaker sound holes 7-a and 7-b is open toward the user side, and accordingly The sound from the speaker 3 can be transmitted to the user without causing a decrease in sound pressure or sound quality. Further, in the configuration of the present embodiment, it is not necessary to use a plurality of speakers to output sound toward the user in various usage states, and it is necessary to enlarge the mobile phone. And the weight does not increase.

  Note that this embodiment exemplifies the present invention, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, a sounder may be used in place of the speaker 3 as sound generating means for generating sound for listening from a distant position. Also, the position of the sound output means can be set to various positions within a range in which sound can be efficiently transmitted into the cylindrical portion of the hinge 6 in which the sound hole is formed.

  The positions of the speaker sound holes 7-a and 7-b can be changed to various positions. For example, the speaker sound hole 7-b is positioned when the upper housing 2 is folded deeply on the assumption that the upper housing 2 is not used by being folded deeper than the state in which the upper housing 2 is positioned perpendicular to the lower housing 1. May be arranged at a position covered by the lower end portion of the upper housing 2 or may be determined in consideration of a folding range where the display of the front liquid crystal unit 8 can be confirmed. Further, the number of sound holes is not limited to two, and more sound holes may be provided. In any case, the speaker sound holes include those that are exposed to the outer surface when the cellular phone is completely folded, and those that are exposed to the front surface when folded halfway. If at least two of them arranged at positions separated from each other in the circumferential direction are provided, in various usage states, at least one of the sound holes is open toward the user side, or is completely folded Then, the sound can be transmitted with good sound pressure and sound quality by being exposed to the outer surface.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the sound hole may be formed in a cylindrical portion formed integrally with the upper housing 12 of the hinge 16 that connects the lower housing 11 and the upper housing 12. Good. In this modified example, as the sound hole, as shown in FIG. 5, the speaker sound hole 17− located at the front side, near the upper end of the front surface of the lower housing 11, with the cellular phone fully opened. a and a speaker sound hole 17-b located near the lower end of the front surface of the upper housing 12 are provided. The speaker 3 is disposed at a position close to the cylindrical portion where the speaker sound holes 17-a and 17-b are formed at the lower end portion of the upper housing 12 and forming the hinge 16. There is an unobstructed passage leading to the interior cavity.

  In this modification, as shown in FIG. 5, when the cellular phone is fully opened, the speaker sound holes 17-a and 17-b are exposed to the front side. As shown in FIG. 6, when the cellular phone is folded halfway, the speaker sound hole 17-a is fitted to the cylindrical portion of the upper housing 12 in which the speaker sound holes 17-a and 17-b are formed. The speaker sound hole 17-b is kept exposed on the front side, although it may be covered by the upper end portion of the lower housing 11 that is concave to fit. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when the cellular phone is completely folded, the speaker sound hole 17-b is covered with the lower housing 11, but the speaker sound hole 17-a is on the outer surface. It will be exposed.

  Thus, also in this modified example, in various assumed states of use, at least one of the speaker sound holes 17-a and 17-b is open to the user side or is an outer surface in a completely folded state. Exposed to. Therefore, in various usage states, the output sound of the speaker 3 can be transmitted to the user without causing a decrease in sound pressure and sound quality.

It is a side view seeing through and showing the principal part of the foldable cellular phone of the embodiment of the present invention, and has shown the state where the cellular phone was opened completely. FIG. 2 is a side view of the foldable mobile phone of FIG. 1 in a state of being folded halfway. FIG. 2 is a side view of the foldable mobile phone of FIG. 1 in a completely folded state. 4A and 4B are plan views of the foldable mobile phone in FIG. 1, in which FIG. 4A shows an opened state and FIG. 4B shows a folded state. It is the side view of the open state of the foldable mobile telephone of the modification of FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view of the foldable mobile phone of FIG. 5 in a state of being folded halfway. FIG. 6 is a side view of the foldable mobile phone of FIG. 5 in a completely folded state. FIGS. 8A and 8B are plan views of the foldable mobile phone of FIG. 5, in which FIG. 8A shows an opened state and FIG. 8B shows a folded state. It is a graph which shows the difference in the sound pressure of the sound transmitted to the front side with the case where a sound hole is formed in the back side, and the case where it forms in the front side.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,11 Lower housing | casing 2,12 Upper housing | casing 3 Speaker 4 Cushion 5,9 Printed circuit board 6,16 Hinge 7-a, 7-b, 17-a, 17-b Speaker sound hole 8 Front liquid crystal part 20 Antenna 30 keys 40 batteries

Claims (6)

An upper housing and a lower housing, wherein the upper housing and the lower housing are folded so that the front sides of the two are facing each other on the inside, and the front and both front sides are aligned A foldable mobile phone connected by a hinge so as to be able to swing between each other,
The hinge has a cylindrical portion coaxial with the swing axis, and at least two sound holes for emitting sound from the common sound generating means to the outside are separated from each other in the circumferential direction. The sound hole is exposed to the outer surface in a state in which the upper housing and the lower housing are completely folded, and the upper housing and the lower housing are folded halfway. A foldable mobile phone including a device that is exposed to the front side in an open state.   The sound hole is exposed to the outer surface in a state where the upper housing and the lower housing are completely folded, and is exposed to the front side in a state where the upper housing and the lower housing are completely opened. The foldable mobile phone according to claim 1, further comprising:   3. The foldable mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the sound hole includes one that is exposed to a front side unless the upper housing and the lower housing are substantially completely folded.   The cylindrical portion of the hinge, in which the sound hole is formed, has an internal cavity connected to a space in the upper housing or the lower housing, and the sound generating means includes the upper housing or the The foldable mobile phone according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the foldable mobile phone is disposed at a position in the lower housing where a passage leading to the cavity in the cylindrical portion is secured.   The foldable mobile phone according to claim 4, wherein a member that shields sound in a direction other than the cylindrical portion side of the hinge is provided around the sound generating means.   The hinge includes a plurality of cylindrical portions that are formed integrally with each of the upper housing and the lower housing, intermittently in a swing axis direction, and are coaxial, and the upper housing and the lower housing. The one integrally formed with each of the side housings is configured to be alternately positioned in the swing axis direction, and the sound holes are formed in the common cylindrical portion. The foldable mobile phone according to any one of the above.

Images