JP2010199653A - Slide rotating mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a slide rotating mechanism enabling a screen of a portable electronic device such as a cellular phone equipped with a sliding mechanism to rotate only at a slide end position. <P>SOLUTION: A slider 1 slidably held on a rotating substrate 2 is fixed on an upper casing of a portable electronic device. The slider 1 is equipped with a slide rotation guiding groove 4 to be guided by a slide rotation guiding pin 5. A fixed substrate 3 having two rotation guiding grooves 6 and the slide rotation guiding pin 5 is fixed on a lower casing. The rotation substrate 2 equipped with the two rotation guiding pins 7 to be guided by the rotation guiding grooves 6 is rotatably held on the fixed substrate 3. With this configuration, the upper casing is slidably rotated with respect to the lower casing by moving the slide rotation guiding groove including a straight line portion for guiding a sliding operation and a curved line portion for guiding the rotating operation along the slide rotation guiding pin 5 fixed on the lower casing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a slide rotation mechanism, and more particularly to a slide rotation mechanism that slides a display housing of a portable electronic device such as a mobile phone, a PDA, or a portable game machine to rotate horizontally.

  Some conventional mobile phones include a slide mechanism. Some have a hinge mechanism and a rotation mechanism. In addition, there are some equipped with a slide mechanism and a rotation mechanism. As the rotation mechanism, there are a rotation mechanism that rotates around one axis (single-axis rotation mechanism) and a rotation mechanism that rotates so as to slide sideways (side-slip rotation mechanism). There are those that move independently of the sliding motion and hinge motion, and those that slide with rotation. Below are some examples of prior art related to this.

  The “mounting device for portable terminal” disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a portable terminal in which a keyboard portion and a display portion are slidable, and a rotation function for rotating in a horizontal direction is added. As shown in FIG. 4A, the main body portion provided with the guide long holes is attached in the longitudinal direction of the keyboard portion. A movable part for rotating the display part in the horizontal direction is slidably attached to the main body part through the guide slot and attached to the display part. In this way, the keyboard part and the display part are coupled so as to be relatively slidable and rotatable in the horizontal direction.

  The “mobile phone” disclosed in Patent Document 2 is a small mobile phone that can change the orientation of the display unit. As shown in FIG. 4B, the display unit has a display panel on the front side for displaying information. The operation unit has operation keys operated by the user. The main body portion is attached to the back surface of the display portion so as to support the display portion in a rotatable manner. The lever includes a first cam protrusion and a second cam protrusion, and is supported by the main body portion so as to be rotatable at a rotation center different from that of the display portion. A first cam groove that engages with the first cam protrusion is provided in a plate cam that rotates integrally with the display unit. A second cam groove that engages with the second cam protrusion is provided in the operation portion. When the display unit is rotated to change the direction, the first cam protrusion and the first cam groove are engaged, and the lever is rotated. As the lever rotates, the second cam projection and the second cam groove are engaged, and the operation portion slides and protrudes from the main body portion. When the display unit is rotated to return its orientation, the operation unit is stored in the main body unit.

  The “slide device” disclosed in Patent Document 3 slides smoothly and is positioned by clicking engagement at a predetermined position. As shown to Fig.5 (a), a slide apparatus connects a main-body part and a display part so that sliding is possible. A guide rail in the sliding direction is provided in the display portion, and a slide portion that is slidably engaged with the guide rail is provided in the main body portion. A click engagement pin is provided on the slide portion, and a click engagement portion is provided on the guide rail. The click engagement pin is pushed by a spring and engages with the click engagement portion. The direction of the sliding member can be freely switched by rotating it with a rotating mechanism. Although it is slidable within a predetermined range, it cannot be rotated, and can be rotated only at a predetermined slide position.

  The “hinge mechanism” disclosed in Patent Document 4 can change the liquid crystal screen between a vertically long state and a horizontally long state. As shown in FIG. 5B, a hinge mechanism that connects the first housing and the second housing is provided at a portion where the first housing and the second housing overlap. The hinge mechanism includes a slide rail, an intermediate body, a fixed portion, and a rotational connection portion. The slide rail is fixed to the overlapping surface of the first housing. The intermediate body engages with the slide rail and slides on the slide rail. The fixing portion is fixed to the overlapping surface of the second housing. At the rotary connection part, the fixed part is rotatably connected to the intermediate body.

JP 2004-320549 A JP 2006-080713 A JP 2007-088746 JP2008-092264

  However, the slide rotation mechanism combining the conventional slide mechanism and rotation mechanism has the following problems. The mechanism that makes it impossible to rotate except the slide operation end position and allows rotation only at the slide operation end position is complicated and large, and is inappropriate for use in a mobile phone or the like. Therefore, in order to make it easy to use a mobile phone or the like, it is necessary to make the slide rotation mechanism thin and small.

  A slide rotation mechanism in which a single-axis rotation mechanism is combined with a conventional slide mechanism is as follows. When the display unit housing is in a horizontally long state, the closer to the symmetrical T-shape, the better the balance and the natural appearance. However, in order to do this, it is necessary to increase the amount of slide, and it is not possible to reduce the size. If the slide amount is reduced, as shown in FIG. 6, the portion where the display unit casing passes through the operation unit casing at the time of rotation increases, and therefore the operation unit cannot be widened. In this way, it is impossible to reduce the size by using the uniaxial rotating mechanism.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to use a slide rotation mechanism in which a skid rotation mechanism is simply combined with a conventional slide mechanism. In this case, since it is better that the display unit housing does not rotate from the housed state to the fully extended state, the mechanism for preventing the sliding operation and the rotating operation from occurring at the same time becomes complicated, and it cannot be made thin and small. In order to reduce the cost, it is necessary to realize the structure as simple as possible.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and to make a thin and small slide rotation mechanism that can rotate a screen horizontally only at a position where a slide operation is finished in a portable electronic device such as a mobile phone. is there.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, an upper casing having a display unit, a lower casing having an operation unit, a fixed substrate having two rotation guide grooves and fixed to the lower casing, A rotation board having two rotation guide pins guided by the rotation guide groove and rotatably held on the fixed board; and a slider slidably held on the rotation board and fixed to the upper housing. The fixed substrate of the slide rotation mechanism is provided with a slide rotation guide pin, the slider is provided with a slide rotation guide groove for guiding the slide rotation guide pin, and the slide rotation guide groove is a straight line for guiding from the start of the slide operation to the end of the slide operation. And a curved portion connected to the slide movement end position of the linear portion, and the curved portion is a guide of the rotation guide pin to the rotation guide groove at the slide operation end position of the slider. It is when to rotate, and the locus of slide rotation guide pin is drawn.

  As described above, since the slide rotation mechanism is configured using the side-slip type rotation mechanism and one slide rotation guide groove, a slide mechanism that can rotate the screen only at the slide end position in a portable electronic device such as a cellular phone. In addition to being thin and small, the operation unit can be widened, and the horizontally long display unit can be arranged in a substantially balanced position in a balanced manner.

It is the top view, side view, and back view of a slide rotation mechanism in the Example of this invention. It is a top view which shows the sliding state of the slide rotation mechanism in the Example of this invention. It is a top view which shows the state in the middle of rotation of the slide rotation mechanism in the Example of this invention, TV viewing condition, and rotation progress. It is a conceptual diagram of the conventional slide mechanism and rotation mechanism. It is a conceptual diagram of the conventional slide mechanism and rotation mechanism. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement at the time of combining the conventional slide mechanism and the uniaxial rotation mechanism.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, one slide rotation guide groove composed of a linear portion that guides from the start of slide to the end of slide and a curved portion that leads to the slide end position of the linear portion and guides rotation is provided in the lower casing. This is a slide rotation mechanism that slides and rotates the upper housing relative to the lower housing by moving along the slide rotation guide pins fixed to the housing.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view, a side view, and a back view of a slide rotation mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a sliding process of the slide rotation mechanism. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state during rotation of the slide rotation mechanism, a TV viewing state, and a rotation process.

  1 to 3, the slider 1 is a substrate that is fixed to the upper housing, includes a slide rotation guide groove 4 that is guided by a slide rotation guide pin 5, and is slidably held on the rotary substrate 2. . The rotary substrate 2 is a substrate that includes two rotation guide pins 7 that are guided in the rotation guide groove and is rotatably held by the fixed substrate. The fixed substrate 3 includes a slide rotation guide pin 5 and two rotation guide grooves 6 and is a substrate fixed to the lower housing.

  The slide rotation guide groove 4 is a single groove composed of a linear portion that guides from the start of the slide operation to the end of the slide operation, and a curved portion that guides the rotation operation connected to the slide operation end position of the linear portion. The slide rotation guide pin 5 is a pin fixed to the fixed substrate 3 so that the slider moves along the slide rotation guide groove 4. The rotation guide grooves 6 are two grooves provided in the fixed substrate for guiding the rotation of the rotation substrate. The rotation guide pins 7 are two pins provided on the rotary substrate 2 to guide the rotation of the rotary substrate. The slide spring 8 is a spring that supports a sliding operation. The rotation spring 9 is a spring that supports the rotation operation. In this example, the spring for rotation is hung on the rotation guide pin that moves in the horizontal direction, but it can also be hung on the rotation guide pin that moves in the vertical direction.

  The function and operation of the slide rotation mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described. First, an outline of the function of the slide rotation mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. An upper housing having a display unit and a lower housing having an operation unit are not shown, but are similar to portable electronic devices such as a conventional mobile phone, PDA, and portable game machine. A slider 1 that is slidably held on the rotating substrate 2 is fixed to the upper housing. The slider 1 includes a slide rotation guide groove 4 guided by a slide rotation guide pin 5.

  A fixed substrate 3 having two rotation guide grooves 6 and slide rotation guide pins 5 is fixed to the lower housing. On the fixed substrate 3, the rotating substrate 2 including two rotation guide pins 7 guided in the rotation guide groove 6 is rotatably held. The slide rotation guide groove 4 is a single groove composed of a linear portion that guides from the start of the slide operation to the end of the slide operation and a curved portion that leads to the slide operation end position of the linear portion and guides the rotation operation. The curved portion is a locus drawn by the slide rotation guide pin 5 when the rotation guide pin 7 is rotated by being guided by the rotation guide groove 6 at the slide operation end position of the slider 1.

  Next, the function of each part of the slide rotation mechanism will be described. The slider 1 fixed to the upper housing is slidably held on the rotating substrate 2. The slide rotation guide groove 4 is guided by the slide rotation guide pin 5, and the slider 1 slides and rotates. The two rotation guide pins 7 of the rotary substrate 2 are guided by the rotation guide grooves 6 of the fixed substrate 3 and rotate with respect to the fixed substrate 3. The slide rotation guide pin 5 of the fixed substrate 3 fixed to the lower housing guides the slider 1 to move along the slide rotation guide groove 4 of the slider 1. The two rotation guide grooves 6 of the fixed substrate 3 guide the two rotation guide pins 7 of the rotation substrate 2 to rotate the rotation substrate 2.

  The slide rotation guide groove 4 guides from the start of the slide operation of the slider 1 to the end of the slide operation at the linear portion. The curved portion guides the rotation of the slider 1. The slide rotation guide pin 5 fixed to the fixed substrate 3 guides the slider to move along the slide rotation guide groove 4. The two rotation guide grooves 6 provided on the fixed substrate 3 guide the two rotation guide pins 7 provided on the rotation substrate 2 to rotate the rotation substrate 2.

  Next, the sliding operation will be described with reference to FIG. In the housed state shown in FIG. 2A, the rotary substrate 2 is not rotated, the slider 1 is at the lowest position, and the upper housing and the lower housing are overlapped. The slide rotation guide pin 5 is at the top of the slide rotation guide groove 4. A downward force is applied to the slider 1 by the slide spring 8. Therefore, it is stably held in the stored state.

  In the state in the middle of the slide shown in FIG. 2B, the rotary substrate 2 is not rotating, the slider 1 is in an intermediate position, and the upper housing and the lower housing are overlapped by half. Yes. The slide rotation guide pin 5 is in the middle portion of the straight line of the slide rotation guide groove 4. The direction of the force of the slide spring 8 changes on the slider 1 near the intermediate position. After passing near the intermediate position, an upward force is applied to the slider 1, and the slider 1 moves in the opening direction without applying an external force. Even if the slide rotation guide groove 4 is rotated in the middle of the slide, the movement of the slide rotation guide groove 4 is restricted in the vertical direction by the slide rotation guide pin 5 and therefore cannot be moved in the rotation direction.

  In the talking state shown in FIG. 2C, the rotary substrate 2 is not rotating, the slider 1 is at the uppermost position, and the upper casing and the lower casing are slightly overlapped. . The slide rotation guide pin 5 is at the lowermost end of the straight line of the slide rotation guide groove 4. An upward force is applied to the slider 1 by the slide spring 8. Therefore, the call state is stably maintained. When closing, the reverse movement is performed.

  Next, the rotation operation of the slide rotation mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. In order to make the operation easy to understand, the sliding spring and the rotating spring are not shown. The state immediately before the rotating substrate 2 shown in FIG. 3A rotates is the call state shown in FIG. In this state, the slide rotation guide pin 5 is at the left end of the curved portion of the slide rotation guide groove 4. The upper rotation guide pin 7 is at the lower end of the linear rotation guide groove 6. The lower rotation guide pin 7 is at the right end of the arcuate rotation guide groove 6. In this state, a rotation moment in the left rotation direction is acting on the rotating substrate 2 by the rotating spring 9. Therefore, the rotary substrate 2 is stably held so as not to rotate to the right.

  When the rotation starts, the slide rotation guide pin 5 relatively moves in the right direction from the left end of the curved portion of the slide rotation guide groove 4 as shown in FIG. Actually, the slide rotation guide groove 4 moves to the left. The upper rotation guide pin 7 moves upward from the lower end of the linear rotation guide groove 6. The lower rotation guide pin 7 moves leftward from the right end of the arcuate rotation guide groove 6. At this time, the upper casing rotates while sliding sideways, and therefore does not come below the position before the rotation. Therefore, the lower housing portion does not cover the operation portion of the lower housing, and the operation portion is not obstructed by the upper housing.

  When the rotating substrate 2 is further rotated by 45 °, the state shown in FIG. When the rotating substrate 2 rotates about 45 °, the direction of the rotating moment by the rotating spring 9 changes, and the rotating moment in the direction of rotating the rotating substrate 2 to the right works. Therefore, the rotating substrate 2 rotates in the right direction without applying an external force. The slider 1 rotates with the rotation of the rotating substrate 2, but the degree of freedom in the sliding direction is restricted by the curved portion of the slide rotation guide groove 4, so that it slides slightly along the curved portion of the slide rotation guide groove 4. Rotate while.

  When rotating a little further, the slide rotation guide pin 5 comes to the right end of the curved portion of the slide rotation guide groove 4. The upper rotation guide pin 7 is slightly below the upper end of the linear rotation guide groove 6. The lower rotation guide pin 7 is slightly to the left of the upper end of the arcuate rotation guide groove 6. During this rotating operation, the upper casing slides to the left while rotating, and therefore the center of the upper casing moves so as to approach the center line of the lower casing. Therefore, the upper housing moves so as to be a substantially symmetrical T-shape.

  When further rotated and the rotating substrate 2 rotates past 60 °, the state shown in FIG. When the rotating substrate 2 is further rotated by 90 °, the state shown in FIG. This is the TV viewing state. In this state, the slide rotation guide pin 5 is at the upper left end of the curved portion of the slide rotation guide groove 4. The upper rotation guide pin 7 is at the lower end of the linear rotation guide groove 6. The lower rotation guide pin 7 is at the left end of the arcuate rotation guide groove 6. In this state, a rotational moment in the clockwise direction is acting on the rotating substrate 2 by the rotating spring 9. Therefore, the rotary substrate 2 is stably held so as not to rotate counterclockwise. The movement when the rotating substrate 2 is rotated leftward from this state is reversed.

  As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the slide rotation mechanism includes one linear portion that guides from the start of slide to the end of slide, and a curved portion that leads to the slide end position of the linear portion and guides rotation. The slide rotation guide groove is moved along the slide rotation guide pin fixed to the lower casing, so that the upper casing is slid and rotated with respect to the lower casing. The mechanism that allows the screen to rotate can be made small and thin, and even if the slide amount is small, the upper housing can be placed in a symmetric and well-balanced T-shaped horizontally long state without interfering with the operation unit. Disappears.

  The slide rotation mechanism of the present invention is optimal as a slide rotation mechanism that slides and opens a display unit housing of a portable electronic device such as a mobile phone, a PDA, or a portable game machine to rotate the screen horizontally.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Slider 2 Rotating substrate 3 Fixed substrate 4 Slide rotation guide groove 5 Slide rotation guide pin 6 Rotation guide groove 7 Rotation guide pin 8 Slide spring 9 Rotation spring

Claims (1)

An upper casing having a display unit, a lower casing having an operation unit, a fixed substrate having two rotation guide grooves and fixed to the lower casing, and two guides guided by the rotation guide grooves In the slide rotation mechanism, comprising: a rotation substrate having a rotation guide pin and rotatably held on the fixed substrate; and a slider slidably held on the rotation substrate and fixed to the upper casing. Includes a slide rotation guide pin, the slider includes a slide rotation guide groove that guides the slide rotation guide pin, and the slide rotation guide groove includes a linear portion that guides from the start of the slide operation to the end of the slide operation; A groove formed by a curved portion connected to the slide operation end position of the linear portion, and the curved portion is located at the slide operation end position of the slider. There sliding rotation mechanism, characterized in that the when guided to rotate the rotation guide groove, a trajectory the slide rotation guide pin is drawn.

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