JP2011010193A - Foldable mobile terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a first case and a second case from being opened erroneously in the bag or in the case of falling, by preventing a mobile terminal from falling by reaction when one-hand operation is made, in a simple configuration.SOLUTION: A hinge part 6 is provided with: an opening operation assisting energizing mechanism 9 which is capable of energizing the first case 3 and the second case 5 in an opening direction and being locked, when these first case 3 and second case 5 are closed, in an energizing force accumulated state; and an unlocking button 15 for unlocking the opening operation assisting energizing mechanism 9 when it is pressed by a predetermined amount or more. On right and left side surfaces of the second case 5, automatic opening buttons 20, 21 are disposed, respectively. Even when only one of the automatic opening buttons 20, 21 is pressed, the unlocking button 15 is not pressed by the predetermined amount. When the automatic opening buttons 20, 21 are simultaneously pressed, the unlocking button 15 is pressed by the predetermined amount or more for unlocking, thereby automatically opening the first case 3 and the second case 5.

Description

  The present invention relates to a foldable portable terminal, and more particularly to an automatic opening / closing structure thereof.

  Conventionally, a foldable mobile terminal represented by a foldable mobile phone has a lower housing with one hand, lifts the upper housing with the other hand, and opens it around the hinge. It was common to open it.

  However, there are cases where it is troublesome to open with both hands, and there is an increasing need to perform opening operations with one touch with only one hand.

  Therefore, for example, as in the electronic device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a connecting unit that includes a first member and a second member that are connected to each other so as to be openable and closable, and that connects the first member and the second member so that they can be opened and closed. As a push-open type hinge with a push button that automatically opens the first member and the second member to a predetermined opening angle, and a strong friction from a predetermined automatic opening angle attached coaxially with the push-open type hinge There is known a friction type hinge that generates torque, and a lock means is provided on one of the hinges.

  In the foldable portable terminal of Patent Document 2, when the first member and the second member are closed, the protrusion of the cam portion of the outer cam is locked and locked by the locking protrusion of the inner cam. By pressing the push button, the inner cam is pushed with the slide key to release the locking of the protruding portion of the outer cam by the locking projection of the inner cam, and the cam portion of the outer cam and the cam portion of the slider cam However, if the first member and the second member remain closed, the inner cam returns to the original position by the elastic force of the second elastic means by releasing the pressing force on the push button. The projection of the cam portion of the outer cam is locked and locked again by the locking projection.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-161312 JP 2004-183821 A

  In the foldable portable terminals of Patent Documents 1 and 2, both hold the main body with one hand and push the thumb or index finger against one button exposed from the side of the hinge in order to open the one touch. At this time, since the button can be pressed with a small force, the first housing is often opened while holding the mobile phone lightly, and if the force to bias the first housing by a spring or the like is strong, When one housing is fully opened, a recoil occurs, and there is a possibility that the mobile phone is dropped.

  Further, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, since the button is exposed, when the mobile phone is dropped in a closed state, the button for performing the opening operation may be accidentally pressed, which is not intended. In addition, there is a problem that the mobile phone is opened and the display portion is easily damaged. In addition, a mobile phone may be opened by pressing a button for performing an opening operation in the bag.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the object of the present invention is to have a simple configuration, so that it does not drop by reaction even if it is operated by one hand, and is erroneously carried when being carried in a bag or when dropped. Therefore, the first casing and the second casing are prevented from opening.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention automatically opens the first housing and the second housing only when the buttons provided on both side surfaces of the second housing are simultaneously pressed. did.

Specifically, the first invention includes a first housing, a second housing, and a hinge portion that folds and connects the first housing and the second housing so as to be freely opened and closed. Assuming a folding mobile terminal
The hinge part is
The first casing and the second casing can be biased in the opening direction, and the first casing and the second casing can be locked in a state where the biasing force is stored when the first casing and the second casing are closed. An urging mechanism for assisting opening operation;
A lock release button for releasing the lock of the opening operation assisting biasing mechanism when being pushed a predetermined amount or more;
Even if only one of the left and right sides of the second casing is pushed in, the lock release button is not pushed in a predetermined amount, but simultaneously, the lock release button is pushed in a predetermined amount or more to release the lock. An automatic opening button for automatically opening the first casing and the second casing is disposed.

  According to the above configuration, the lock release button cannot be pushed more than a predetermined amount unless both the automatic opening buttons provided on the left and right sides of the second housing are pushed at the same time. Even if only one of the automatic opening buttons is pressed by moving it when it is in use or dropping it during use, the first housing and the second housing will not open. There is no sticking or unnecessary battery drain. And in order to push both automatic opening buttons with two fingers respectively, the second housing is held so that the reaction force can be firmly taken by the second housing. Even if the urging force of the urging mechanism is strong and a large reaction occurs when the first housing is fully opened, the foldable portable terminal is not dropped.

In the second invention, in the first invention,
The left and right inner ends of the automatic opening buttons provided on the left and right side surfaces of the second casing respectively extend to the left and right sides,
One end extends to the extent that the lock release button can be pressed, the left and right inner ends of the left and right automatic opening buttons are rotatably connected to the other end, and the other automatic opening button is connected to the middle. The left and right inner ends include a link member that is rotatably connected,
Even if only one of the left and right automatic opening buttons is pushed, the link member does not push the unlocking button by a predetermined amount,
When both the left and right automatic opening buttons are pushed in, the link member is configured to push the lock release button a predetermined amount or more.

  According to the above configuration, one end of the link member is arranged in the vicinity of the unlocking button, and the other end and the intermediate portion are connected to the inner end portions of the left and right automatic opening buttons, respectively, with an extremely simple and hardly breakable configuration. Only when both automatic opening buttons are pressed, the unlocking button can be pushed in a predetermined amount or more.

In the third invention, in the second invention,
The other end side of the link member is connected to the left and right inner ends of the automatic opening button on the unlocking button side in a rotatable manner, and the intermediate part has an automatic opening button on the opposite side to the unlocking button. The left and right inner ends are connected so as to be rotatable.

  According to said structure, when both automatic opening buttons are pushed in by simple structure, the front-end | tip of a link member can push in the predetermined amount of a lock release leaf button.

In a fourth invention, in any one of the first to third inventions,
The ends of the left and right automatic opening buttons are biased by compression coil springs.

  According to the above configuration, the lock release button does not operate unless both automatic opening buttons are pushed in against the urging force of the compression coil spring. Therefore, a simple configuration in which a compression coil spring is provided. The button can be prevented from malfunctioning.

In a fifth invention, in any one of the first to fourth inventions,
A display unit is provided on the surface of the first casing,
An operation unit is provided on the surface of the second casing.

  According to the above configuration, if the first housing is closed with the display portion that is likely to be damaged inside when waiting, the first housing will not be opened accidentally and the display portion will not be damaged. It is easy to use because it opens just by pressing both automatic opening buttons at the same time.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the lock release button is pushed by a predetermined amount or more into the left and right side surfaces of the second casing at the same time, and the lock is released. The automatic opening button that automatically opens and closes the housing of each unit is arranged in a simple configuration, so that even if operated with one hand, it will not fall back due to recoil, but it will be mistaken when moved in a cage or when dropped Thus, the first casing and the second casing can be prevented from opening.

It is the front view which made the inside of a hinge part visible so that the folding-type mobile telephone concerning embodiment of this invention opened. It is a perspective view which shows the state which a foldable mobile telephone opened. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the foldable mobile telephone closed. It is the perspective view which looked at the opening-and-closing mechanism in the state where a folding type cellular phone was closed from the 1st case side. It is the perspective view which looked at the opening-and-closing mechanism in the state where a folding type cellular phone was closed from the 2nd case side. It is a disassembled perspective view of the foldable mobile phone in the closed state. It is the expansion perspective view which looked at the opening-and-closing mechanism in the state where a folding type cellular phone was closed from the 1st case side. It is the expansion perspective view which looked at the opening-and-closing mechanism in the state where a folding type cellular phone was closed from the 2nd case side. It is the front view which made the inside of a hinge part visible when both automatic opening buttons were pushed. It is an enlarged front view which shows a motion of an automatic opening button, (a) shows the state which is not pushing the button, (b) shows the state which pushed the button. It is a figure explaining a mode that a link member pushes a lock release button, (a) is a front view which expands and shows a link member, a lock release button, and its circumference, and (b) shows a locus of a link member. FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 3 show a foldable mobile phone 1 as a foldable mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the main parts inside the first housing 3 and the second housing 5 are made visible so that they can be easily seen. The foldable mobile phone 1 includes a first housing 3 having a display unit 2 on the surface and a second housing 5 having an operation unit 4 on the surface. Although details of the operation unit 4 are not shown, the operation unit 4 may have a plurality of operation buttons or may be a touch panel. The first casing 3 and the second casing 5 are connected by a hinge portion 6 so as to be folded and opened. The first casing 3 and the second casing 5 both have a substantially rectangular plate shape, and the first casing 3 is closed with respect to the second casing 5 (see FIG. 3). It becomes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped and is easy to carry. In the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, as shown in FIG. 1, the first housing 3 is opened with respect to the second housing 5 and the second housing 5 is held in the hand. The first housing 3 side is the upper side, and the second housing 5 side is the lower side.

  The hinge portion 6 includes a pair of cylindrical outer boss portions 10 that bulge in the horizontal direction from both corner portions (lower left and right corner portions) on the hinge portion 6 side of the first housing 3. The outer boss portion 10 is formed at the same time when a resin molded product constituting the first housing 3 is formed, for example.

  In addition, the hinge portion 6 includes an inner boss portion 11, and the inner boss portion 11 is arranged at the hinge portion 6 side end portion (upper end portion) of the second housing 5 in the axial direction (left-right direction) of the hinge portion 6. ) It is formed so as to bulge from the central surface in the thickness direction of the second casing 5. The inner boss portion 11 is disposed between the pair of outer boss portions 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 to 6, the hinge portion 6 includes an opening / closing mechanism 7 that performs an opening / closing operation of the foldable mobile phone 1. As a part of the opening / closing mechanism 7, a horizontal hinge shaft 8 extending in the left-right direction is accommodated on the left side of the left outer boss part 10 and the inner boss part 11. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 in an enlarged manner, the first casing 3 and the second casing 5 are urged in the horizontal hinge shaft 8 in the opening direction, and the first casing is also energized. There is provided a known opening operation assisting urging mechanism 9 (not shown in detail) that can be locked in a state where the urging force is stored when 3 and the second casing 5 are closed. This opening operation assisting biasing mechanism 9 includes an elastic member inside, and the outer shaft 8a and the inner shaft 8b of the horizontal hinge shaft 8 are connected to the outer boss portion 10 and the inner boss portion 11 in a non-rotatable manner, respectively. When this is rotated relatively in a predetermined direction, that is, when the first casing 3 is closed with respect to the second casing 5, the elastic member stores an urging force. Yes. A lock release button 15 for releasing the lock of the opening operation assisting urging mechanism 9 protrudes from the right end of the horizontal hinge shaft 8. The movable range of the unlocking button 15 is, for example, 0 ≦ L1 ≦ 1.1 mm. When the unlocking button 15 is pushed in a predetermined amount (for example, about 0.5 mm) or more, the unlocking assisting biasing mechanism 9 is unlocked, The urging force stored in the elastic member is released, and the outer shaft 8a and the inner shaft 8b rotate relative to each other. As a result, the first housing 3 automatically moves with respect to the second housing 5. It is supposed to open. The tip of the unlocking button 15 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, for example, in order to facilitate the pressing.

  As a feature of the present invention, automatic opening buttons 20 and 21 are arranged on the left and right side surfaces of the second housing 5, respectively. As shown in FIG. 7 and the like, the left and right inner ends 20a and 21a of the automatic opening buttons 20 and 21 extend to the left and right inner sides. Specifically, only the lower side of the tip of the left automatic opening button 20 extends rightward from the middle portion to form a left inner end portion 20a, and the tip of the right automatic opening button 21 moves upward from the middle portion. After being bent, it is extended to the left to form a right inner end 21a. For this reason, the left inner end 20a and the right inner end 21a are arranged at positions shifted in the vertical direction. A long and thin plate-like link member 22 is connected to the left inner end portion 20a and the right inner end portion 21a arranged at positions shifted vertically.

  One end (upper end) of the link member 22 extends to a range where the unlock button 15 can be pressed, and a cylindrical button pressing portion 22a is integrally formed. This button pressing portion 22a is pressed against a rectangular parallelepiped portion at the tip of the lock release button 15. On the other hand, the left inner end 20a of the left automatic opening button 20 is connected to the other end (lower end) side so as to be rotatable about the lower connecting shaft 22b. And the right inner side edge part 21a of the right side automatic opening button 21 is connected with the intermediate part between the button press part 22a and the lower side connection shaft 22b so that rotation is possible centering on the upper side connection shaft 22c. Although details will be described later, by configuring in this way, even when only one of the left and right automatic opening buttons 20 and 21 is pressed, the lock release button 15 is not pressed by a predetermined amount, but is simultaneously pressed to release the lock release button. The first casing 3 and the second casing 5 are automatically opened by pressing 15 to a predetermined amount or more to release the lock.

  Also, the left and right inner ends 20a, 21a of the left and right automatic opening buttons 20, 21 are urged by a compression coil spring 23 in a direction to push back each other. Specifically, the upper side of the left inner end portion 20a is bent to the back surface side to form the left spring contact portion 20b, and the tip of the right inner end portion 21a is also bent to the back surface side to be the right spring contact portion. 21b is formed. The compression coil spring 23 is disposed between the left spring contact portion 20b and the right spring contact portion 21b.

-Opening and closing procedures for folding mobile phones-
Next, an opening / closing procedure of the folding mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  First, the principle by which the link member 22 presses the lock release button 15 will be exemplarily described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the foldable mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment has the first casing 3 against the second casing 5 unless both the left and right automatic opening buttons 20 and 21 are pressed at the same time. It will not open.

  As shown in FIG. 10 (a), the left and right automatic opening buttons 20, 21 protrude only partially from the left and right side surfaces of the second housing 5, and when pressed with a finger as shown in FIG. 10 (b), Retract about 1 mm deeper than the left and right side surfaces of the second housing 5. In other words, the left and right automatic opening buttons 20 and 21 cannot be pushed all the way in unless they are thin such as fingers.

  As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 11, when neither of the left and right automatic opening buttons 20, 21 is pressed, the link member 22 stands up and down as shown in FIG. 11 (b). It is in. At this time, the gap L2 between the button pressing portion 22a and the unlocking button is about 1.7 mm. As described above, the movable range L1 of the unlocking button 15 is 0 ≦ L1 ≦ 1.1 mm, and unlocking of the opening operation assisting urging mechanism 9 is released when the unlocking button 15 is pushed by 0.5 mm or more. In other words, the button pressing portion 22a of the link member 22 needs to be rotated so as to move by 2.2 mm or more including 0.5 mm to the left and L2 = 1.7 mm.

  First, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 11B, when only the left automatic opening button 20 is pushed in the right direction by x1 = 1 mm, the right automatic opening button 21 is not pushed, so the position of the upper connecting shaft 22c is The button pressing portion 22a rotates about the upper connection shaft 22c to the left by x3 = about 0.9 mm as much as the lower connection shaft 22b is pushed. If the unlocking button 15 is not pressed for 2.2 mm or more, the unlocking assisting urging mechanism 9 is not unlocked, so the first casing 3 does not open with respect to the second casing 5.

  Next, when only the right automatic opening button 21 is pushed in by x2 = 1 mm, the left automatic opening button 20 is not pressed, as shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 11B, so that the position of the lower connecting shaft 22b changes. Instead, the button pressing portion 22a rotates so as to move x4 = about 1.9 mm to the left about the lower connection shaft 22b as much as the upper connection shaft 22c is pushed. If the unlocking button 15 is not pressed for 2.2 mm or more, the unlocking assisting urging mechanism 9 is not unlocked, so the first casing 3 does not open with respect to the second casing 5.

  Then, when the left and right automatic opening buttons 20 and 21 are simultaneously pushed in by x1 = x2 = 1 mm, the lower connecting shaft 22b moves to the right and the upper connecting shaft 22c as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Moves to the left. Then, the button pressing portion 22a rotates so as to move largely to the left side by x5 = about 2.8 mm. Since the unlock button 15 is pushed by 2.2 mm or more, the unlocking assisting urging mechanism 9 is unlocked and the first housing 3 is opened with respect to the second housing 5.

  With this principle, when the first casing 3 is carried in a bag or the like in a compact state closed with respect to the second casing 5, as shown in FIGS. Even if the automatic opening button 20 or 21 is pressed, it is unlikely that both of the automatic opening buttons 20 and 21 will be pressed. Therefore, the first housing 3 is not intended to be moved relative to the second housing 5. Never open. Further, even if one of the automatic opening buttons 20 or 21 is pressed even if it is dropped in the closed state, both of the automatic opening buttons 20 and 21 are unlikely to be pressed. The housing 3 does not open with respect to the second housing 5. Further, since the unlocking button 15 does not operate unless both the automatic opening buttons 20 and 21 are pushed in against the urging force of the compression coil spring 23, it is further prevented that the unlocking button 15 is accidentally pushed due to dropping or the like. It is effectively preventing. For this reason, the display unit 2 is not damaged and the battery is not unnecessarily consumed.

  In order to press both automatic opening buttons 20 and 21 with two fingers, the second casing 5 is gripped so that the second casing 5 can take a reaction force. Even if the urging force of the operation assisting urging mechanism 9 is strong and the first casing 3 is fully opened, even if a large reaction occurs, the foldable mobile phone 1 is not dropped.

  When the first casing 3 and the second casing 5 are closed, the other hand is held against the biasing force of the opening operation assisting biasing mechanism 9 while holding the first casing 3 by hand. The first housing 3 is rotated and closed toward the second housing 5 supported by, for example. Then, the urging force for opening the first housing 3 with respect to the second housing 5 again is stored in the opening operation assisting urging mechanism 9.

  In this way, if the first housing 3 is closed with the display portion 2 that is easily damaged during standby in the inner side, the first housing 3 may be accidentally opened and the display portion 2 may be damaged. In use, it can be opened simply by pressing both automatic opening buttons 20 and 21 at the same time.

  Therefore, according to the foldable mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment, the lock release button 15 is pushed by a predetermined amount or more into the left and right side surfaces of the second casing 5 only when they are simultaneously pushed, and the lock is released. The automatic opening buttons 20 and 21 that automatically open the housing 3 and the second housing 5 are arranged, so that even if they are operated with one hand, they are not dropped by reaction and are not dropped in the cage. It is possible to prevent the first casing 3 and the second casing 5 from being accidentally opened when moved by or when dropped.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention may be configured as follows with respect to the above embodiment.

  That is, in the said embodiment, although the horizontal hinge axis | shaft 8 was arrange | positioned on the left side, you may arrange | position on the right side. In this case, the entire hinge portion 6 including the opening / closing mechanism 7 may be configured to be reversed left and right.

  In the above embodiment, the foldable mobile terminal is a foldable mobile phone, but may be a foldable PHS, PDA, PC, mobile tool, electronic dictionary, calculator, game machine, or the like.

  In addition, the above embodiment is an essentially preferable illustration, Comprising: It does not intend restrict | limiting the range of this invention, its application thing, or a use.

1 Folding mobile phone (folding mobile terminal)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Display part 3 1st housing | casing 4 Operation part 5 2nd housing | casing 6 Hinge part 9 Energizing mechanism for opening operation 15 Lock release button 20, 21 Automatic opening button 20a, 21a Left and right inner end part 22 Link member 22a Button pressing part (one end)
22b Lower connecting shaft (other end)
22c Upper connecting shaft (middle part)
23 Compression coil spring

Claims (5)

In a foldable portable terminal comprising a first casing, a second casing, and a hinge part that foldably connects the first casing and the second casing so as to be freely opened and closed,
The hinge part is
The first casing and the second casing can be biased in the opening direction, and the first casing and the second casing can be locked in a state where the biasing force is stored when the first casing and the second casing are closed. An urging mechanism for assisting opening operation;
A lock release button for releasing the lock of the opening operation assisting biasing mechanism when being pushed a predetermined amount or more;
Even if only one of the left and right sides of the second casing is pushed in, the lock release button is not pushed in a predetermined amount, but simultaneously, the lock release button is pushed in a predetermined amount or more to release the lock. An automatic opening button for automatically opening the first casing and the second casing is disposed, respectively. In the foldable portable terminal according to claim 1,
The left and right inner ends of the automatic opening buttons provided on the left and right side surfaces of the second casing respectively extend to the left and right sides,
One end extends to the extent that the lock release button can be pressed, the left and right inner ends of the left and right automatic opening buttons are rotatably connected to the other end, and the other automatic opening button is connected to the middle. The left and right inner ends include a link member that is rotatably connected,
Even if only one of the left and right automatic opening buttons is pushed, the link member does not push the unlocking button by a predetermined amount,
The foldable mobile terminal is configured such that when both the left and right automatic opening buttons are pushed in, the link member pushes the unlocking button a predetermined amount or more. In the foldable portable terminal according to claim 2,
The other end side of the link member is connected to the left and right inner ends of the automatic opening button on the unlocking button side in a rotatable manner, and the intermediate part has an automatic opening button on the opposite side to the unlocking button. The foldable portable terminal is characterized in that the left and right inner end portions thereof are rotatably connected. In the foldable portable terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The folding portable terminal characterized in that ends of the left and right automatic opening buttons are biased by compression coil springs. In the foldable portable terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A display unit is provided on the surface of the first casing,
A foldable portable terminal, wherein an operation unit is provided on a surface of the second casing.

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