JP2012249077A - Folding type electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a pair of housings to be positioned closest to each other in a fully opening state in a folding type electronic device in which the pair of housings are coupled with each other through a coupling mechanism.SOLUTION: In a folding type electronic device of the present invention, a coupling mechanism includes a two-shaft hinge mechanism 3 having two mutually parallel hinge shafts A1 and A2, and coupling members 4 capable of rotating along a plane orthogonal to the two hinge shafts of the two-shaft hinge mechanism. One hinge shaft A1 of the two-shaft hinge mechanism 3 is pivotably supported by one housing 1, and the other hinge shaft A2 is pivotably supported by one end portion of each coupling member 4. The other end portion of each coupling member 4 is coupled so as to rotate around an axis parallel to the two hinge shafts with respect to the other housing 2 and to reciprocate in such a direction that the other housing 2 moves close to and away from the two hinge shafts. Energizing means is disposed between the coupling members 4 and the other housing 2 so as to energize both housings toward relative positions at which the housings are positioned closest to each other on the same plane in a fully opening state.

Description

  The present invention relates to a foldable electronic apparatus configured by connecting a pair of housings so that they can be opened and closed.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a foldable electronic device configured by connecting a pair of casings so as to be openable and closable, a main display and a sub-display are provided on both sides of one casing to be opened and closed. The main display and the sub-display are properly used depending on whether the body is closed or open (Patent Document 1).

  In such a foldable electronic device, both the main display and the sub display are exposed in the opened state of the one casing, but both displays are directed in opposite directions. The image cannot be displayed.

Therefore, it is conceivable to connect a pair of housings so as to be openable and closable via a biaxial hinge mechanism (Patent Document 2).
For example, in the foldable electronic device shown in FIGS. 19 (a) and 19 (b), the first housing (9) is provided via a parallel biaxial hinge mechanism (92) having two hinge axes a1 and a2 parallel to each other. And the second casing (91) are connected to each other, and a first display (93) is provided on the inner surface of the first casing (9), and a second display on the inner surface of the second casing (91). A display (94) is provided and can be opened and closed between a fully closed state shown in FIG. 19 (a) and a fully opened state shown in FIG. 19 (b).

  According to the foldable electronic device, since the first housing (9) and the second housing (91) are connected to each other via the parallel biaxial hinge mechanism (92), the two hinge shafts a1. , A necessary margin is given to the distance between a2 to cause the end of the first housing (9) on the hinge shaft a1 side and the end of the second housing (91) on the hinge shaft a2 side to interfere with each other. Without transition from the fully closed state shown in FIG. 19 (a) to the fully opened state shown in FIG. 19 (b), and from the fully opened state shown in FIG. 19 (b) to the fully closed state shown in FIG. 19 (a). I can do it.

  According to such a foldable electronic device, the screens of both displays (93) and (94) are aligned on the same plane in the fully opened state shown in FIG. 19 (b), and one large screen is formed by these two screens. Can be formed.

JP 2004-274319 A JP 2010-249209 A

  However, in the foldable electronic device shown in FIG. 19, the gap B is formed between the first housing (9) and the second housing (91) in the fully opened state shown in FIG. A gap A larger than the gap B is formed between the housings 9 and 91 between the screen of the first display 93 and the screen of the second display 94. (93) When one image is displayed across the screens of (94), a large break occurs in the image, causing a problem in image continuity.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a foldable electronic device configured by connecting a pair of housings so that they can be opened and closed, and smoothly transition between the fully open state and the fully closed state of both housings. The present invention is to provide a foldable electronic device that can bring both housings closest to each other on the same plane.

  In the foldable electronic device according to the present invention, a pair of housings are connected to each other via a connecting mechanism, and the surfaces of both housings face each other, and the surfaces of both housings face the same direction. It can be opened and closed between the fully open states arranged side by side.

  The coupling mechanism includes a biaxial hinge mechanism having two hinge shafts parallel to each other, and a coupling member capable of rotating along a plane orthogonal to the two hinge shafts of the biaxial hinge mechanism, One hinge shaft of the biaxial hinge mechanism is pivotally supported by one housing, and the other hinge shaft is pivotally supported by one end portion of the connecting member, and the other end portion of the connecting member is The other casing is connected to be able to rotate around an axis parallel to the two hinge axes and to reciprocate in a direction to move the other casing closer to and away from the two hinge axes. ing.

  Further, between the connecting member and the other casing, an urging force for rotating the other casing around the axis in the same rotation direction as the opening direction with respect to the one casing, and the other casing. An urging means for exerting an urging force in a direction in which the body approaches the two hinge shafts is interposed.

  In the above foldable electronic device, in the process of opening the other casing with respect to one casing from the opening angle of 0 ° (fully closed state) to the opening angle of 90 ° (first opening step), The ends of the body on the hinge shaft side come into contact with each other, and the end portions of the two casings are stuck to each other by the urging force by the urging means. When the other housing is further opened from this state, the other housing rotates while drawing a fixed trajectory determined by the positional relationship with the other housing, with the ends of both housings sticking to each other. As the other casing is rotated, the connecting member is rotated at a phase more advanced than that of the other casing. In this way, relative movement occurs between the other casing and the connecting member, and the biasing means is gradually elastically deformed.

  After that, in the process of opening the other casing to the fully open state beyond the opening angle of 90 ° (the second half opening process), the end portions of both casings stick to each other by the biasing means. The other casing rotates while drawing a fixed trajectory determined by the positional relationship with the other casing, and the phase of the other casing is rotated with the rotation of the other casing. The connection member rotates with a delay. In this way, a relative movement opposite to the relative movement between the other casing and the connecting member in the first half opening process occurs, and finally, for example, at an opening angle of 180 ° (fully opened state) The housing is closest to the connecting member, and the surfaces of both housings are aligned on substantially the same plane.

  According to the foldable electronic device of the present invention, the default state between the fully opened state and the fully closed state is set as the default state, and the deviation from the default state due to the end portions of the two housings struggling in the opening and closing process can be freely performed between the two housings. In the fully open state and the fully closed state, it can be restored to the default state by urging by the urging means, so that the transition between the fully opened state and the fully closed state can be performed smoothly and both in the fully opened state. The casings can be brought closest to each other on the same plane.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a fully closed state of a foldable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the foldable electronic device in the fully closed state upside down. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a fully opened state of the foldable electronic device. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the foldable electronic device in a fully opened state by turning it over. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which the back cabinet is removed from the second housing. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the second housing is disassembled. It is a perspective view of the same as FIG. 7 upside down. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an attachment state and an urging state of the second housing with respect to the connecting member. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a side surface and a cross section of the first stage in the process from the fully closed state to the fully open state of the foldable electronic device. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a side surface and a cross section of the second stage in the same process. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a side surface and a cross section of the third stage in the same process. FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing a fourth stage in the process. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a fifth stage in the process. FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing a sixth stage in the process. FIG. 15 is a sectional view showing a seventh stage in the process. FIG. 16 is a view showing a side surface and a cross section of the eighth stage in the same process. FIG. 17 is a view showing a side surface and a cross section of the ninth stage in the same process. FIG. 18 is a view showing a side surface and a cross section of the tenth stage in the same process. FIG. 19 is a side view showing a fully-closed state and a fully-open state of a folding electronic device using a conventional biaxial hinge mechanism.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
A foldable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured by connecting a first housing (1) and a second housing (2) so as to be openable and closable as shown in FIGS. Opening and closing is possible between the fully closed state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the fully open state shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
In the fully opened state shown in FIG. 3, the screen (10) provided on the inner surface of the first housing (1) and the screen (20) provided on the inner surface of the second housing (2) are aligned on the same plane. Become.

  A receiving means (not shown) for receiving the second casing (2) in the fully closed state is provided between the first casing (1) and the second casing (2).

As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of left and right biaxial hinge units (3) and (3) and a pair of left and right connecting members (4) are provided between the first casing (1) and the second casing (2). (4) is interposed, and both the connecting members (4) and (4) are connected to each other by the strip plate member (5). The biaxial hinge unit (3) has two hinge axes A1 and A2 which are parallel to each other.
One hinge axis A1 of the biaxial hinge unit (3) is pivotally supported (supported so as to be rotatable about one axis) at the rear end of the first housing (1), and the biaxial hinge unit (3 The other hinge shaft A2 is pivotally supported at one end of the connecting member (4).

  A shaft member (8) having an axis A3 parallel to the hinge shafts A1 and A2 protrudes from the other end of the connecting member (4). The shaft member (8) is connected to the second casing. (2) engaging with a long hole-shaped bearing (81) formed substantially in the center in the front-rear direction, and rotating the second housing (2) about the axis A3 relative to the connecting member (4); Reciprocating movement in the approaching / separating direction with respect to the biaxial hinge unit (3) is allowed.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the first casing (1) is configured by joining a front cabinet (11) and a back cabinet (12) to each other, and the second casing (2) is a front cabinet (21). And the back cabinet (22) are joined together.

As shown in FIG. 7, the strip member (5) is provided with a pair of left and right tongues (51) (51) projecting in the protruding direction of the connecting members (4) (4). A pair of left and right first springs (6) and (6) each consisting of a torsion spring are interposed between the front cabinet (21) of the second casing (2).
5 and 7, the free state (6a) of the first spring (6) and the first spring (6) are the tongue piece (51) of the strip plate member (5) and the second casing (2). ) In a compressed state (6b) which is compressed and interposed between the front cabinet (21).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the front cabinet (21) of the second casing (2) is provided with second springs (7) and (7) comprising a pair of left and right coil springs, and one of the second springs (7). Is connected to the front cabinet (21) of the second casing (2), and the other end of each second spring (7) is connected to each connecting member (4) (FIG. 7). reference).

  As a result, as schematically shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the first spring 6 and the second spring 7 attach the second housing 2 to the connecting member 4. The first spring (6) provides an urging force T that rotates around the axis A3 in the same rotational direction (clockwise) as the opening direction of the second housing (2), and the second spring (7). As a result, an urging force F in a direction in which the second housing (2) is brought closer to the hinge axis A2 is obtained.

  Accordingly, from the default state shown in FIG. 8A, the second housing 2 is separated from the hinge shaft A2 with respect to the connecting member 4 as shown in FIG. And when the first spring (6) and the second spring (7) are elastically deformed, the second housing (2) is energized by the urging force T of the first spring (6) and the urging force F of the second spring (7). The body (2) is biased toward the default state shown in FIG.

9 to 18 show a series of opening operations from the fully closed state to the fully open state of the second housing (2) with respect to the first housing (1).
In the fully closed state shown in FIG. 9, the first spring (6) and the second spring (7) shown in FIG. 8 are slightly elastically deformed, and the first spring (6) and the second spring (7) are attached. Due to the force, the inner surface of the second housing (2) faces the inner surface of the first housing (1) with a slight gap, and the second housing (2) faces the biaxial hinge unit (3) side. Moved default state is set.

When the second casing (2) is opened from this state, the end of the second casing (2) on the two-axis hinge unit (3) side is the first casing in the first half opening process shown in FIGS. The second end is in contact with the end of the body (1) and the ends of the two casings (1) and (2) are urged against each other by the bias of the first spring (6) and the second spring (7). The casing (2) rotates while drawing a fixed locus determined by the positional relationship with the first casing (1).
As the second casing (2) rotates, the connecting member (4) rotates in the same direction as the second casing (2) at a phase slightly advanced from the second casing (2). .

In this process, the tension between the first casing (1) and the second casing (2) gradually increases, and the first spring (6) is compressed and the second spring (7) is expanded. become.
In this way, relative movement occurs between the second housing (2) and the connecting member (4), and the first spring (6) and the second spring (7) are gradually elastically deformed.

Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 14 to 18, in the second half opening process in which the second casing (2) is opened to the fully opened state beyond the opening angle of 90 °, the first spring (6) and the second spring (2) are opened. Due to the urging of (7), the second casing (2) is fixed depending on the positional relationship with the first casing (1) while the ends of both casings (1) and (2) are stuck against each other. Draw a trajectory and turn.
As the second casing (2) rotates, the connecting member (4) rotates in the same direction as the second casing (2) with a phase slightly delayed from the second casing (2). .

During this process, the tension between the first casing (1) and the second casing (2) gradually weakens, the first spring (6) is elastically restored in the extension direction, and the second spring (7) is contracted. Returns elastically in the direction.
As a result, the second housing (2) gradually approaches the hinge axis A2 of the biaxial hinge unit (3), and finally at the 180 ° opening angle (fully opened state) shown in FIG. The casing (2) comes closest to the connecting member (4), and the surfaces of both casings (1) and (2) are aligned on the same plane.

  The operation in the process of closing the first housing (1) and the second housing (2) from the fully opened state to the fully closed state changes in the opposite direction to the series of operations in the opening process described above.

In the foldable electronic device, in the fully closed state shown in FIG. 1, the inner surface of the second housing (2) is opposed to the inner surface of the first housing (1) with a slight gap, and the second housing While the default state in which the body (2) is closest to the biaxial hinge unit (3) is set, in the fully open state shown in FIG. 3, the inner surface of the first housing (1) and the second housing ( A default state in which the inner surface of 2) is aligned on the same plane and the second casing (2) is closest to the biaxial hinge unit (3) is set.
Therefore, in the fully closed state shown in FIG. 1, the second housing (2) can be accurately superimposed on the first housing (1). In the fully opened state shown in FIG. The screen (10) of the second casing (2) and the screen (10) of the second housing (2) are brought close to each other with a slight gap G, and one large image is displayed across the screens (10) and (20). It is possible to improve the continuity of the image at the time.

  Further, in the opening and closing process shown in FIGS. 10 to 17, the rotation of the connecting member (4) with respect to the first housing (1), and the rotation and reciprocation of the second housing (2) with respect to the connecting member (4). As a result, the deviation from the default state is absorbed and the urging force to return to the default state is generated by the first spring (6) and the second spring (7), so the ends of the two cases (1) and (2) are connected to each other. It is possible to achieve a smooth opening and closing operation by making contact with each other.

  In addition, each part structure of this invention is not restricted to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible within the technical scope as described in a claim. For example, the first casing (1) and the second casing (2) are interchanged, that is, the connecting member (4) is connected to the second casing (2) via the biaxial hinge unit (3). The present invention can also be implemented in a configuration in which the first casing (1) is connected to the connecting member (4).

(1) First housing
(11) Front cabinet
(12) Back cabinet
(2) Second housing
(21) Front cabinet
(22) Back cabinet
(3) 2-axis hinge unit A1 Hinge axis A2 Hinge axis
(4) Connecting member
(5) Strip member
(6) First spring
(7) Second spring
(8) Axis
(81) Bearing

Claims (5)

A pair of housings are connected to each other via a coupling mechanism, and opened and closed between a fully closed state in which the surfaces of both housings face each other and a fully opened state in which the surfaces of both housings are arranged in the same direction. In foldable electronic devices that can
The coupling mechanism includes a biaxial hinge mechanism having two hinge shafts parallel to each other, and a coupling member capable of rotating along a plane orthogonal to the two hinge shafts of the biaxial hinge mechanism, One hinge shaft of the biaxial hinge mechanism is pivotally supported by one housing, and the other hinge shaft is pivotally supported by one end portion of the connecting member, and the other end portion of the connecting member is The other casing is connected to be able to rotate around an axis parallel to the two hinge axes and to reciprocate in a direction to move the other casing closer to and away from the two hinge axes. And an urging means for urging the two housings toward a relative position where the two housings are closest to each other on the same plane is interposed between the connecting member and the other housing. A foldable electronic device.   The urging means causes the urging force to rotate the other casing around the axis in the same rotational direction as the opening direction with respect to the one casing, and causes the other casing to approach the two hinge shafts. The foldable electronic device according to claim 1, which exerts a biasing force in a direction.   The biasing means includes a first biasing means that exerts a biasing force that rotates the other casing around the axis in the same rotational direction as an opening direction with respect to the one casing; and The foldable electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: a second urging unit that exerts an urging force in a direction in which the two hinge shafts approach each other.   A shaft member provided at the other end of the connecting member engages with a long hole bearing provided in the other housing, and the other end of the connecting member rotates with respect to the other housing. The foldable electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the foldable electronic device is capable of reciprocating. A pair of housings are connected to each other via a connecting mechanism, and can be opened and closed between a fully closed state in which the surfaces of both housings face each other and a fully opened state in which the screens of both housings are aligned on the same surface. Is possible,
The coupling mechanism has two hinge shafts parallel to each other, and the one hinge shaft is attached to the one housing so that the one housing can rotate with respect to one hinge shaft of the two-axis hinge mechanism. A biaxial hinge mechanism that is pivotally supported, and a connecting member that couples the biaxial hinge mechanism and the other housing;
A foldable electronic device comprising:
The other hinge shaft is pivotally supported by the connecting member so that the connecting member can rotate.
The other casing is capable of relative movement with respect to the connecting member in accordance with a change in the open / close state.
The relative position of the other casing with respect to the connecting member is the same in both the fully open state and the fully closed state,
A foldable electronic device in which an urging means for interposing the other casing and the one casing in the fully opened state is interposed between the connecting member and the other casing.

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