JP2008158771A - Electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing device capable of maintaining a fixed distance or more between a human body and an antenna when the information processing device is used as a tablet type computer. <P>SOLUTION: The information processing device 1 is provided with a main body 2, a display panel 3, a hinge mechanism 4, and the antenna 6. The hinge mechanism 4 connects the main body 2 and the display panel 3 together. The hinge mechanism 4 supports the display panel 3 reversely rotationally from a first condition P1 to a second condition P2. In the fist condition P1, the display panel 3 is overlapped to the main body 2 with a display face 31a directed to an input device 5. In the second condition P2, the display panel 3 is overlapped to the main body 2 with the display face 31a turned away from the input device 5. The antenna 6 is built in the position on the inside of an outer circumference edge 2a of the main body 2 in an outer circumference edge 3a of the display panel 3 in the second condition P2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus including a hinge mechanism that can invert a display panel between a body with a display surface facing down and a state in which the display panel is superimposed on the back.

  There is a portable information processing apparatus that can rotate a display panel 180 ° with respect to a main body (Patent Document 1). This information processing apparatus can be used as a notebook computer, and can also be used as a tablet computer in which an input operation is performed directly from the display surface with the display surface of the display panel placed on its back and superimposed on the main body. In the case of a tablet computer, a digitizer and a touch panel are mounted on the display panel, and input is performed directly from the display surface.

Further, the tablet computer disclosed in Patent Document 2 is configured such that an input operation is performed from a display panel. When an input operation using a keyboard is performed in the tablet computer, the tablet computer is connected to a function expansion board including a keyboard. The tablet computer and the function expansion board each include an infrared transmitter / receiver or an electromagnetic transmitter / receiver, and communicate with each other even when not connected.
JP 2004-157712 A Utility Model Registration No. 3092847

  In both cases of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, when used in the form of a tablet computer, the user holds the information processing apparatus with one arm and performs an input operation with the other hand. In such a situation, when information is communicated wirelessly between the information processing apparatus and the peripheral device, it is desirable to use electromagnetic waves rather than directional infrared rays.

  However, when using electromagnetic waves as a means of communication, there are safety standards established in each country, so in order to satisfy this, the arrangement of the antenna must be considered so that a certain distance is maintained between the human body and the antenna. I must. When it is used as a tablet computer, it naturally feels heavy to hold the information processing apparatus away from the body, so that the user holds the information processing apparatus as close to the body as possible. In this case, the distance between the body and the antenna differs depending on whether the display screen is held vertically or horizontally.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an information processing apparatus capable of maintaining a certain distance between a human body and an antenna when used in the form of a tablet computer.

  An information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a main body, a display panel, a hinge mechanism, and an antenna. The main body has an input device arranged at the top. The display panel has a display surface. The hinge mechanism connects the main body and the display panel. The hinge mechanism supports the display panel so that it can be reversed from the first state to the second state. The first state is a state in which the display panel is superimposed on the main body with the display surface facing the input device. The second state is a state in which the display panel is overlaid on the main body with the display surface facing away from the input device. In the second state, the antenna is built in a position that is inside the outer peripheral edge of the main body at the outer peripheral edge of the display panel.

  The information processing apparatus according to the present invention can provide an information processing apparatus capable of maintaining a certain distance between the human body and the antenna when used in the form of a tablet computer.

  The information processing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 by taking a notebook portable computer as an example. An information processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a main body 2, a display panel 3, a hinge mechanism 4, a keyboard 5, and an antenna 6. For convenience of explanation in the present embodiment, “right side”, “left side”, “front side”, “back side”, and “upward” in the vertical direction when viewed from the user side with the main body 2 placed on a table or the like. And “downward” are defined respectively. Further, the front side of the main body is referred to as “front”, and the back side is referred to as “rear”.

  The main body 2 has a housing 20 constituting an outer shell, and incorporates a circuit board on which a CPU and the like are mounted, a storage medium, and the like. The keyboard 5 is an example of an input device and is disposed on the upper portion of the main body 2. The display panel 3 includes at least a liquid crystal display 31, a digitizer 32, and an antenna 6. The liquid crystal display 31 is an example of a display device, and the display surface 31a is viewed through one surface of the display panel. The liquid crystal display 31 may be a plasma display, organic electroluminescence, a surface conduction electron emission display, or the like.

  The digitizer 32 is disposed on the back side with respect to the display surface 31 a of the liquid crystal display 31. 4 is an example of an input unit that can perform an input operation in association with an image displayed on the display surface 31a of the liquid crystal display 31. FIG. A touch panel may be laminated on the display surface 31 a of the liquid crystal display 31 instead of the digitizer 32.

  The hinge mechanism 4 includes a rotation shaft 41 and a rotation shaft 42 and connects the main body 2 and the display panel 3. The rotation shaft 41 is arranged coaxially with the axis A. The axis A is disposed along the lower edge of the display panel 3 in a state of being erected with respect to the main body 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the rotary shaft 41 is moved from the first state (closed state) P1 in which the display surface 31a is turned down and superimposed on the main body 2 as shown in FIG. The display panel 3 is supported so as to be rotatable about the axis A until it stands upright with respect to the main body 2 (facing posture S1). Further, the rotation shaft 41 has a sufficient rotational frictional resistance for holding the raised display panel 3 in its posture (open state) at an arbitrary rotation angle.

  The pivot shaft 42 is arranged coaxially with the axis B. As shown in FIG. 1, the shaft center B is arranged in the vertical direction with respect to the main body 2 at a position near the rear part of the main body 2 and biased to the right in the width direction, and intersects the shaft center A at a right angle. In the state where the display panel 3 is erected with respect to the main body 2, the swivel shaft 42 moves from the facing posture S <b> 1 with the display surface 31 a toward the keyboard 5 as shown in FIG. 1, and as shown in FIG. 3. The display panel 3 is supported in a reversible manner up to a back posture S2 with the back facing the keyboard 5.

  The information processing apparatus 1 rotates around the rotation shaft 41 from the state shown in FIG. 3 and superimposes the display panel 3 on the main body 2, so that the display surface 31 a is displayed as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. A second state P2 is obtained in which the display panel 3 is superimposed on the main body 2 facing upward.

  As described above, the hinge mechanism 4 includes the rotation shaft 41 and the rotation shaft 42, thereby changing the usage pattern of the information processing apparatus 1 to a notebook computer or a tablet computer. The use form as a notebook computer is as shown in FIG. 1 in which the display panel 3 is raised upright with respect to the main body 2 placed on a table or the like, and the display surface 31a is on the keyboard 5 side. It is in a state facing. An input operation to the information processing apparatus 1 in a usage form as a notebook computer is mainly performed with the keyboard 5.

  The usage form as a tablet computer is the second state P2 in which the display panel 31 is placed on the main body 2 with the display surface 31a facing away from the main body 2, so-called “backward”. When the information processing apparatus 1 is used as a tablet computer, the user places the information processing apparatus 1 on one side as shown in FIG. 6 or FIG. It is directly input based on the information displayed on the display surface 31a with a dedicated input pen held by the arm and held in the other hand.

  The shaft center B of the turning shaft 42 of the information processing apparatus 1 is arranged along the turning shaft 41 from the center in the width direction of the display panel 3 to one side, and rightward in this embodiment. Therefore, when the display panel 3 is inverted from the directly-facing posture S1 shown in FIG. 1 to the back-facing posture S2 shown in FIG. 3, the display panel 3 is attached to the main body 2 as shown in FIG. Shift to the right. The amount of eccentricity of the swivel shaft 42 is such that the outer peripheral edge 3a of the display panel 3 in which the antenna 6 is built is about 5 to 10 mm inside the outer peripheral edge 2a of the main body 2, and thus about 2.5 to 5 mm. It is.

  The hook 7 of the latch mechanism for mooring the display panel 3 to the main body 2 is disposed on the extension of the turning shaft 42, and the direction of the tip can be reversed. Therefore, the first state P1 and the second state P2 are combined with the engagement hole 8 of the main body 2.

  The antenna 6 is built in the outer peripheral edge 3a of the display panel 3 on the side where the pivot axis 42 is biased along the rotation axis 41, here the outer peripheral edge 3a of the right display panel 3 as viewed from the display surface 31a side. . The antenna 6 is connected to a communication device provided in the main body 2 in order to communicate with peripheral devices at a position away from the display panel 3 by electromagnetic waves. Peripheral devices to which information is to be communicated include not only printers and scanners, but also other information processing devices and networks to which these protocols are compatible, such as a network to which these peripheral devices are connected.

  In the information processing apparatus 1 arranged as described above, the antenna 6 has an outer peripheral edge of the display panel 3 that is inside the outer peripheral edge 2a of the main body 2 in the second state P2, as shown in FIGS. Built in a part of 3a.

  Therefore, when a right-handed person uses the information processing apparatus 1 in a form of use as a tablet computer, as shown in FIG. 6, hold the hinge mechanism 4 with the left hand so that the front side of the main body 2 hits the body. However, as shown in FIG. 7, even if the front side of the main body 2 is grasped with the left hand and the left side of the main body 2 is held against the body, the antenna 6 is separated from the user's body. Similarly, even if a left-handed person holds the hinge part with his right hand and holds the front side of the main body 2 so as to hit the body, or holds the left side of the main body 2 so as to hit the body, the antenna 6 is separated from the user's body. is seperated.

  An information processing apparatus 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Configurations having the same functions as those of the information processing apparatus 1 in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 12, the rotation shaft 41 of the information processing apparatus 1 is arranged in an offset relationship that three-dimensionally intersects the turning shaft 42. The shaft center A of the pivot shaft 41 is located on the keyboard 5 side with respect to the shaft center B of the pivot shaft 42 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 12 in the first state P1, and FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, it is located on the opposite side to the keyboard 5 side with respect to the axis B of the turning shaft 42.

  The antenna 6 is built in the outer peripheral edge 3a of the display panel 3 on the side opposite to the side on which the rotation shaft 41 is disposed. As shown in FIG. 9, when the information processing apparatus 1 is in the first state, the outer peripheral edges 3 a on the front side, right side, and left side of the display panel 3 are aligned with the outer peripheral edges 2 a on the front side, right side, and left side of the main body 2. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the outer peripheral edge 3 a on the right side, left side, and rear side (rotating shaft side) of the display panel 3 is on the right side, left side, and rear side of the main body 2 when the information processing apparatus 1 is in the second state. Are aligned with the outer peripheral edge 2a.

  Even if the display panel 3 of the information processing apparatus 1 is turned from the directly-facing posture S1 shown in FIG. 13 to the back-facing posture S2 shown in FIG. On the other hand, it does not shift from side to side. In the usage form as a notebook computer, the rotation shaft 41 is disposed on the front side (user side) of the rotation shaft 42. When the display panel 3 is rotated from the state shown in FIG. 12 superimposed on the main body 2 to the state shown in FIG. 8 raised from the main body 2, the rotation shaft 41 is offset forward as shown in FIG. Since the main body 2 is long rearward, the rotational moment that the main body 2 is lifted by the rotational frictional resistance set on the rotational shaft 41 can be suppressed.

  Further, in the usage form as a tablet computer, the outer peripheral edge 3a on the front side of the display panel 3 is shown in FIG. 15 as much as the turning shaft 41 is arranged behind the turning shaft 42 as shown in FIG. Thus, it arrange | positions back rather than the outer periphery 2a of the front side of the main body 2. FIG. When the display panel 3 is erected from the second state P2 shown in FIG. 15 superimposed on the main body 2 and rotated to the back posture S2 shown in FIGS. 10 and 14, the outer peripheral edge 2a on the front side of the main body 2 is moved upward. Therefore, the main body 2 can be prevented from being lifted by the rotational frictional resistance around the rotational shaft 41.

  In the present embodiment, the latch mechanism has a display panel 3 that is inverted between the first state P1 and the second state P2 on the right and left outer peripheral edges 2a and 3a of the main body 2 and the display panel 3. The reversible hook is the same as that of the first embodiment having a width that allows an amount of displacement with respect to 2. Instead of providing a latch mechanism, a so-called retracting hinge that generates torque in the direction of pressing the display panel 3 against the main body 2 in the vicinity of the first state P1 and the second state P2 may be applied.

  In the information processing apparatus 1 configured as described above, the antenna 6 has an outer peripheral edge of the display panel 3 that is inside the outer peripheral edge 2a of the main body 2 in the second state P2, as shown in FIGS. Built in a part of 3a. Therefore, in the usage form as a tablet computer, the antenna 6 is separated from the body even if the outer peripheral edge 2a of the main body 2 hits the body when the user holds it.

1 is a perspective view showing an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view which shows the 1st state of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. The perspective view of the state which made the display panel of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 the back posture. The top view of the 2nd state of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. The side view which looked at the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 4 from the front. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a state in which the information processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 4 is held and used. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a state in which the information processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 4 is held and used. The perspective view which shows the information processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. The top view of the 1st state of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. The perspective view of the state which made the display panel of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 8 the back posture. The top view of the 2nd state of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. The side view of the right side of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. Sectional drawing in alignment with the turning axis of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along a turning axis of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 12 is a right side view of the information processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 11.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information processing apparatus, 2 ... Main body, 2a ... Outer periphery, 3 ... Display panel, 3a ... Outer periphery, 4 ... Hinge mechanism, 5 ... Keyboard (input device), 6 ... Antenna, 31a ... Display surface, 41 ... Time A moving shaft, 42... Rotating axis, P1... First state, P2... Second state, A... (Rotating shaft) axis, B.

Claims (4)

A main body with an input device at the top;
A display panel having a display surface;
A hinge mechanism for connecting the main body and the display panel, wherein the display surface faces the input device from the first state in which the display panel is superimposed on the main body with the display surface facing the input device. A hinge mechanism for reversibly supporting the display panel in a second state in which the display panel is superimposed on the main body.
An information processing apparatus comprising: an antenna built in a position inside the outer peripheral edge of the main body at an outer peripheral edge of the display panel in the second state. The hinge mechanism is
A pivot shaft that rotatably holds the position of the display panel superimposed on the main body from a position where the display panel is raised with respect to the main body;
A swivel shaft that slidably supports the display surface from a position facing the input device to a position facing the input device with the display panel raised from the main body. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The axis of the pivot axis is arranged eccentric from the center of the display panel along the pivot axis,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the antenna is built in an outer peripheral edge of the display panel on a side where the axis of the swivel axis is deviated. The axis of the pivot shaft is disposed in an offset positional relationship that three-dimensionally intersects with the axis of the pivot axis, and is closer to the input device than the axis of the pivot axis in the first state. Is located on the opposite side of the input device side with respect to the axis of the pivot shaft in the second state,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the antenna is built in an outer peripheral edge of the display panel on a side opposite to the side on which the rotation shaft is disposed.

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