JP2020013376A - Electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an expansion device capable of expanding a speaker function of a portable information device, and to provide an electronic device comprising the portable information device and the expansion device.SOLUTION: An expansion device 12 comprises: a device housing 44 having a front-back dimension shorter than that of a device housing 18 of a portable information device 14; speaker units 16L and 16R provided facing a front face 44d of the device housing 44; and a positioning attachment unit 66 provided on a top surface 44a of the device housing 44 and configured to be aligned with and removably attached to a bottom surface 18b of the device housing 18.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an extension device detachable from a portable information device and an electronic device including the portable information device and the extension device.

  For example, the functions of portable information devices such as notebook PCs are often limited because their housings are rapidly becoming thinner. Therefore, an extension device is provided as a dedicated device for extending the function of such portable information devices (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 5782471

  By the way, as for the portable information devices as described above, it is difficult to mount a high-quality speaker device as a result of the thinner housing, and the mounted speaker device is affected by the reduction in thickness and size. The sound quality and range are limited.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems of the related art, and provides an extension device capable of extending a speaker function of a portable information device and an electronic device including the portable information device and the extension device. The purpose is to:

  An expansion device according to a first aspect of the present invention is an expansion device that is detachable from a portable information device, and has a front-rear dimension shorter than a front-rear dimension of a device housing of the portable information device. A housing, a speaker device provided facing a front surface of the device housing, and a positioning device provided on an upper surface of the device housing, being positioned with respect to a lower surface of the device housing and detachably mounted. And a mounting unit.

  According to such a configuration, the expansion device is mounted on the lower surface of the device housing of the portable information device, so that the sound output from the portable information device can be reproduced by the speaker device provided on the front surface thereof. Can be. Therefore, for example, the sound quality and the sound range limited by the speaker unit mounted on the portable information device can be reproduced by the speaker device, and the speaker function of the portable information device can be extended.

  The speaker device is provided in a pair of left and right inside the device housing, and the left speaker device is installed in a front surface of the device housing in a direction inclined from the front to the left, and the right speaker device is provided. May be installed in such a manner as to face in a direction inclined rightward from the front on the front surface of the device housing. Then, better sound can be delivered to the user.

  The device housing may be configured to have a forward-downward inclined shape in which a thickness between the upper surface and the lower surface gradually decreases in a direction from the rear surface toward the front surface. Then, for example, by mounting the extension device on the rear end side of the lower surface of the portable information device, the portable information device is arranged on the use surface in a downwardly inclined posture. As a result, for example, the keyboard device mounted on the upper surface of the portable information device has an appropriate forward-downward inclined posture, so that its operability is improved, and at the same time, a space for allowing sound from the speaker device to pass in front of the expansion device. Can be secured more reliably.

  The positioning mounting unit is provided facing an upper surface of the device housing, a plurality of magnets that can be attracted to a plurality of objects to be attached provided facing a lower surface of the device housing, and the device housing. And a fitting hole provided on the upper surface of the device housing and capable of fitting with a leg protruding from the lower surface of the device housing. Then, the legs protruding from the lower surface of the portable information device can be effectively used for positioning. In addition, at least an object to be attracted to the magnet should be provided on the device housing side of the portable information device, so that a thin device housing can be easily handled.

  The positioning mounting portion further includes a positioning protrusion provided on an upper surface of the device housing and capable of being fitted into a positioning hole provided on a lower surface of the device housing. Is provided with a connection portion that is electrically connected to a connection portion provided on the lower surface of the device housing by at least one of a non-contact type and a contact type. It may be configured to be arranged at a position closer to the connection portion than the mating hole. Then, the extension device and the portable information device are electrically connected to each other, and the connection portion for transmitting information can be positioned with higher accuracy by the positioning protrusion.

  A connection terminal to which an external device can be connected may be provided on a rear surface of the device housing. Then, the expansion device can perform an additional function of an external connection terminal in addition to the speaker function.

  An electronic device according to a second aspect of the present invention includes the extension device having the above configuration and the portable information device.

  The portable information device has a keyboard device on an upper surface of the device housing, and is connected to a display housing provided with a display at a rear end of the device housing. A rear end side of a lower surface of the device housing, which is mounted at a position offset to a front side from a rear surface of the device housing, a lower surface of the device housing, and a front end of a lower surface of the device housing. The part may be configured to be a landing surface with respect to the mounting surface of the electronic device.

  According to the above aspect of the present invention, the speaker function of the portable information device can be extended.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an operation of attaching an extension device to a portable information device in an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a side view showing an operation of attaching the extension device to a portable information device. FIG. 2B is a side view of an electronic device in which the extension device is mounted on a portable information device. FIG. 3 is a main part enlarged bottom view schematically illustrating a configuration example of a lower surface of a device housing of the portable information device. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the expansion device. FIG. 5A is a plan view of the expansion device. FIG. 5B is a rear view of the expansion device. FIG. 6A is a side cross-sectional view in which the leg portion and the fitting hole in the fitted state are cut along the respective lateral directions. FIG. 6B is a side cross-sectional view in which the leg and the fitting hole in the fitted state are cut along their respective longitudinal directions. FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing a fitting state of the positioning holes and the positioning pins.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of an expansion device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, taking a preferred embodiment in relation to a portable information device detachably attached to the device.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an operation of attaching an extension device 12 to a portable information device 14 in an electronic device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a side view illustrating an operation of attaching the extension device 12 to the portable information device 14. FIG. 2B is a side view of the electronic device 10 in which the extension device 12 is mounted on the portable information device 14.

  The electronic device 10 of the present embodiment is configured such that the extension device 12 is detachably attached to a portable information device 14 such as a notebook PC. The expansion device 12 is equipped with a pair of left and right speaker devices 16L and 16R, and improves the speaker function of the portable information device 14. The portable information device 14 may be used for expanding the functions of a portable information device other than a clamshell notebook PC, for example, a tablet PC.

  Hereinafter, as shown in FIG. 2B, the thickness of the portable information device 14, which is a notebook PC to which the extension device 12 is attached, is set such that the near side is the front, the back side is the rear, and The direction will be described as up and down, and the width direction as left and right.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 2B, the portable information device 14 has a configuration in which a device housing 18 and a display housing 20 are rotatably connected by a hinge 22. The device housing 18 is a housing formed in a thin rectangular box shape. The device housing 18 has a keyboard device 24 on the upper surface 18a, and the extension device 12 is attached to and detached from the lower surface 18b. The display housing 20 is a housing formed in a thin rectangular box shape, and has a display 26 on most of the front surface. The hinge 22 connects the lower end of the display housing 20 to the rear end of the device housing 18. The hinge 22 according to the present embodiment has a so-called drop-down structure (see the hinge 22 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2B) that projects rearward from the rear surface 18c of the device housing 18 when the display housing 20 is opened. . The hinge 22 may have a structure other than the drop-down structure. The portable information device 14 may have a configuration in which, for example, the display housing 20 is configured by a tablet PC, the device housing 18 is configured as a keyboard device 24, and both are detachable.

  FIG. 3 is a main part enlarged bottom view schematically illustrating a configuration example of the lower surface 18b of the device housing 18 of the portable information device 14.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A to 3, a pair of left and right legs 28 </ b> L and 28 </ b> R, a positioning hole 30, a connected portion 32, and a terminal plate 34 are provided on the lower surface 18 b of the device housing 18. . Further, the device housing 18 is provided such that a plurality of magnets 36aS, 36bS, 36cS, 37aN, 37bN, 37cN face the lower surface 18b. Reference numerals 38L and 38R in FIG. 3 are speaker units for outputting sound from the upper surface 18a of the device housing 18, for example.

  The legs 28L, 28R are provided on the left and right of the rear of the lower surface 18b, respectively, and protrude downward from the lower surface 18b. Each of the legs 28L and 28R has an oblong dome shape whose longitudinal direction extends in the left-right direction. That is, each of the legs 28L, 28R has a tapered shape whose diameter is reduced so that the cross-sectional area in the horizontal direction gradually decreases from the lower surface 18b toward the top surface (projection direction) (see also FIGS. 6A and 6B). The legs 28L and 28R may have various shapes other than the oblong dome shape, such as a circular dome shape, a rectangular dome shape, and a rectangular parallelepiped. In the case of the present embodiment, the legs 28L and 28R include a pedestal-shaped base 28a fixed to the lower surface 18b and a rubber contact portion 28b fixed to the surface of the base 28a. That is, the legs 28L and 28R are so-called rubber legs.

  The positioning hole 30 is a small-diameter hole formed substantially at the center on the left and right sides on the rear end side of the lower surface 18b. The positioning hole 30 is formed in a resin or metal plate which is a housing member forming the lower surface 18 b of the device housing 18. The positioning hole 30 is arranged at a position close to the rear side of the connected portion 32.

  The connected portion 32 is disposed in front of the positioning hole 30 at substantially the right and left central portions on the rear end side of the lower surface 18b. The connected portion 32 is embedded in the device housing 18 and has a surface exposed at the lower surface 18b. The connected unit 32 is a communication unit that is electrically connected to a connection unit 40 (see FIG. 5A) of the expansion device 12 described below. The connected portion 32 includes an optical communication module 32a that is a non-contact type electrical connection unit and a terminal plate 32b that is a contact type electrical connection unit. The connected part 32 may be composed of, for example, only one of the optical communication module 32a and the terminal plate 32b. The connected part 32 may be omitted.

  The terminal plate 34 is arranged on the right side of the left leg 28L. The terminal plate 34 is a metal plate that is in contact with and electrically connected to a spring pin 41 (see FIG. 5A) of the expansion device 12 described later. In the case of the present embodiment, a sound output such as voice or music from the portable information device 14 is transmitted from the terminal plate 34 to the extension device 12 via the spring pin 41, and is reproduced by the speaker devices 16L and 16R. .

  The magnets 36aS to 36cS and 37aN to 37cN are magnets that are arranged at the bottom in the device housing 18 and face the lower surface 18b to generate a magnetic force via the lower surface 18b of the device housing 18. . The magnets 36aS to 36cS and 37aN to 37cN are provided along the left-right direction at positions overlapping the mounting position of the expansion device 12 with respect to the lower surface 18b (see the expansion device 12 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3). When the expansion device 12 is positioned with respect to the lower surface 18b, the magnets 36aS to 36cS and 37aN to 37cN serve as a plurality of magnets 42aN, 42bN, 42cN, 43aS, 43bS, and 43cS on the expansion device 12 described later (see FIG. 5A). ) And each can be adsorbed.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 2B, the expansion device 12 includes a device housing 44 and a pair of left and right speaker devices 16 </ b> L and 16 </ b> R mounted on the device housing 44. The device housing 44 is a housing formed in a prism shape extending in the left-right direction. The upper surface 44a of the device housing 44 serves as a mounting surface for the lower surface 18b of the device housing 18 of the portable information device 14, and the lower surface 44b serves as a landing surface for a use surface 46 such as a desk top.

  The device housing 44 has a forwardly inclined shape in which the thickness between the upper surface 44a and the lower surface 44b gradually decreases in a direction from the rear surface 44c to the front surface 44d, that is, in a direction from the rear to the front (FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B). In the case of the present embodiment, the lower surface 44b is constituted by a horizontal plane orthogonal to the rear surface 44c, and the upper surface 44a is constituted by an inclined surface falling forward. The device housing 44 is configured such that its front-back dimension is shorter than the front-back dimension of the device housing 18, and is mounted on the rear end side of the lower surface 18 b of the device housing 18. Thus, in the electronic device 10, the lower surface 44 b of the expansion device 12 becomes the landing surface on the rear end side with respect to the use surface 46, and the front end of the lower surface 18 b of the device housing 18 of the portable information device 14 becomes the landing surface on the front end side. As a result, it is disposed on the use surface 46 in a downwardly inclined posture (see FIG. 2B). As a result, the keyboard device 24 mounted on the upper surface 18a of the device housing 18 has an appropriate forward-downward inclined posture, so that its operability is improved, and at the same time, the loudspeaker devices 16L and 16R are provided in front of the expansion device 12. A space S for allowing sound to pass can be secured. Rubber legs or the like similar to the legs 28L and 28R may be provided on the lower surface 44b.

  FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the expansion device 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the device housing 44 has a configuration in which a lower surface opening of an upper cover 48 that is opened downward is closed by a base plate 49. The speaker devices 16L and 16R are mounted on a common speaker box 50. The speaker box 50 on which the speaker devices 16L and 16R are mounted is disposed in the upper cover 48, and the lower surface thereof is supported by a support plate 52 held on the inner surface of the base plate 49.

  The front surface 48a of the upper cover 48 is formed in a substantially V-shape in plan view, with the left half facing the front and the left half facing the front and the right half facing the right. The left and right speaker devices 16L, 16R are arranged facing the left and right openings 48L, 48R formed in the front surface 48a. As a result, the left speaker device 16L is installed facing the direction inclined leftward from the front at the front surface 44d, and the right speaker device 16R is installed facing facing rightward from the front at the front surface 44d ( See also FIG. 5A). A frame 56 is attached to a front surface 48a of the upper cover 48 via a mesh plate 54 that covers the openings 48L and 48R. By the way, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2B, the thickness of the device housing 44 in the vertical direction is considerably larger than the thickness of the device housing 18 of the portable information device 14. For this reason, the speaker devices 16L and 16R mounted on the extension device 12 can easily ensure higher sound quality and a wider sound range than the speaker units 38L and 38R mounted on the portable information device 14.

  FIG. 5A is a plan view of the expansion device 12. FIG. 5B is a rear view of the expansion device 12, and is a view of the expansion device 12 as viewed from the direction of the arrow VB in FIG. 5A.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 5B, a pair of left and right fitting holes 58 </ b> L and 58 </ b> R, a positioning pin (positioning projection) 60, a connecting portion 40, and a plurality of spring pins 41 are provided on an upper surface 44 a of the device housing 44. Are provided. Further, the device housing 44 is provided such that a plurality of magnets 42aN to 42cN and 43aS to 43cS face the upper surface 44a. A plurality of connection terminals 62a, 62b, 62c and a pair of left and right baffle ports 64L, 64R are provided on a rear surface 44c of the device housing 44.

  Each of the fitting holes 58L and 58R is a concave portion provided at the rear left and right of the upper surface 44a. Each of the fitting holes 58L and 58R has an oblong bathtub shape whose longitudinal direction extends along the left-right direction. That is, each of the fitting holes 58L and 58R has a tapered shape whose diameter is reduced so that the horizontal cross-sectional area gradually decreases from the upper surface 44a toward the bottom surface (the concave direction) (see also FIGS. 6A and 6B). The fitting holes 58L and 58R are holes into which the legs 28L and 28R of the portable information device 14 fit. Therefore, the shape of each of the fitting holes 58L and 58R may be a shape that allows each of the legs 28L and 28R to be fitted with a predetermined tolerance according to the shape of each of the legs 28L and 28R. The fitting holes 58L and 58R are fitted to the legs 28L and 28R, thereby positioning the extension device 12 at a predetermined position with respect to the lower surface 18b of the portable information device 14 in the front-rear and left-right directions. 12 is prevented from rotating in the horizontal direction.

  The positioning pin 60 is a small-diameter pin protruding upward from a substantially central portion on the right and left sides of the rear end of the upper surface 44a, and is made of, for example, metal. The positioning pin 60 can be fitted into the positioning hole 30 on the lower surface 18b of the portable information device 14. The positioning pins 60 are fitted in the positioning holes 30 to more precisely position the extension device 12 in the front-rear and left-right directions at a predetermined position with respect to the lower surface 18b of the portable information device 14. The positioning pins 60 may be omitted.

  The connecting portion 40 is disposed in front of the positioning pin 60 at substantially the right and left central portions on the rear end side of the upper surface 44a. The connecting portion 40 is embedded in the device housing 44 and has a surface exposed at the upper surface 44a. The connection unit 40 is a communication unit that is electrically connected to the connected unit 32 provided on the lower surface 18 b of the portable information device 14. The connection section 40 has an optical communication module 40a, which is a non-contact type electric connection means, and a terminal pin 40b, which is a contact type electric connection means. The optical communication module 40a is arranged to face the optical communication module 32a on the portable information device 14 side. The terminal pins 40b are, for example, paired front and rear, and are elastically retractable metal pins (spring pins) that come into contact with the terminal plate 32b on the portable information device 14 side. For example, the two terminal pins 40b are a power supply pin and a ground pin, respectively. The connection section 40 may be configured with only one of the optical communication module 40a and the terminal pin 40b, similarly to the above-described connected section 32, or may be omitted.

  The spring pin 41 is disposed on the right side of the left fitting hole 58L. The spring pin 41 is, for example, an elastically retractable metal pin in which four right and left pins are arranged side by side. Each spring pin 41 contacts the terminal plate 34 on the lower surface 18b of the portable information device 14 and is electrically connected thereto. As described above, the spring pin 41 serves as a receiving unit for outputting sound such as voice or music from the portable information device 14. The electronic device 10 may transmit the sound output from the portable information device 14 to the extension device 12 by, for example, a wireless connection method instead of the connection method using the spring pins 41 and the terminal plate 34.

  Each of the magnets 42aN to 42cN and 43aS to 43cS is a magnet that is arranged at an upper part in the device housing 44 and is arranged so as to face the upper surface 44a, thereby generating a magnetic force via the upper surface 44a of the device housing 44. . At this time, the magnets 42aN to 42cN have N poles facing the upper surface 44a, and the magnets 43aS to 43cS have S poles facing the upper surface 44a. Similarly, on the portable information device 14 side, the magnets 36aS to 36cS have S poles facing the lower surface 18b, and the magnets 37aN to 37cN have N poles facing the lower surface 18b.

  The magnets 42aN to 42cN and 43aS to 43cS are arranged at positions facing the magnets 36aS to 36cS and 37aN to 37cN arranged on the lower surface 18b of the portable information device 14, respectively. Specifically, the magnet 42aN faces the magnet 36aS, the magnet 42bN faces the magnet 36bS, and the magnet 42cN faces the magnet 36cS. Further, the magnet 43aS faces the magnet 37aN, the magnet 43bS faces the magnet 37bN, and the magnet 43cS faces the magnet 37cN. As a result, an attractive force is generated between each of the magnets 42aN to 42cN, 43aS to 43cS and each of the magnets 36aS to 36cS, 37aN to 37cN, and the upper surface 44a of the expansion device 12 is moved relative to the lower surface 18b of the portable information device 14. It is attached detachably. In the case of the present embodiment, the magnets 42aN to 42cN and 43aS to 43cS have N poles and S poles alternately arranged in the arrangement direction. Therefore, a certain degree of positioning action occurs between the magnets 42aN to 42cN and 43aS to 43cS and the magnets 36aS to 36cS and 37aN to 37cN.

  As described above, the fitting holes 58L, 58R, the magnets 42aN to 42cN, 43aS to 43cS, and the positioning pins 60 position the expansion device 12 with respect to the lower surface 18b of the portable information device 14, and removably mount the positioning device. The part 66 is constituted.

  The connection terminals 62a to 62c are, for example, terminals conforming to the USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard and terminals conforming to various other standards. The connection terminals 62a and 62b can connect external devices (not shown) such as an external storage device and a monitor device. The external devices connected to the connection terminals 62a and 62b are electrically connected to the portable information device 14 via the connection portion 40 and the connected portion 32, and can be operated on the portable information device 14 side. The connection terminals 62a to 62c may be omitted.

  Next, the attachment / detachment operation and attachment / detachment structure of the extension device 12 to the portable information device 14 will be described. FIG. 6A is a side cross-sectional view in which the leg portion 28L (28R) and the fitting hole 58L (58R) in the fitted state are cut along respective lateral directions (the IVA-IVA line in FIG. 3). FIG. 6B is a side cross-sectional view in which the leg 28L (28R) and the fitting hole 58L (58R) in the fitted state are cut along their respective longitudinal directions (the line IVB-IVB in FIG. 3). FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing a fitting state of the positioning holes 30 and the positioning pins 60.

  When attaching the extension device 12 to the portable information device 14, the upper surface 44a of the extension device 12 is brought closer to the attachment position on the rear end side of the lower surface 18b of the portable information device 14, and fitted to the legs 28L, 28R. The holes 58L and 58R are fitted. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the leg portions 28L and 28R form outer peripheral tapered surfaces 28c whose outer peripheral side surfaces are gradually reduced in diameter in the protruding direction. Similarly, each of the fitting holes 58L and 58R forms an inner peripheral tapered surface 58a whose inner peripheral side surface is gradually reduced in diameter in the concave direction. Therefore, each leg 28L, 28R is led into the inner peripheral taper surface 58a of each fitting hole 58L, 58R via the outer peripheral taper surface 28c, so that the leg 28L, 28R and the fitting hole 58L, 58R. Can be easily fitted.

  Further, in the electronic device 10, the height H1 (see FIG. 6A) of the legs 28L and 28R protruding from the lower surface 18b is higher than the height H2 (see FIG. 7) of the positioning pins 60 protruding from the upper surface 44a. Have been. Accordingly, after at least a part of the legs 28L, 28R is inserted into the fitting holes 58L, 58R, the positioning pins 60 are fitted into the positioning holes 30 as shown in FIG.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the fitting tolerance (for example, 0.5 mm) between the legs 28L and 28R and the fitting holes 58L and 58R is determined by the fitting tolerance between the positioning pin 60 and the positioning hole 30 ( (For example, 0.05 mm). That is, the gap G1 formed between the legs 28L, 28R and the fitting holes 58L, 58R is larger than the gap G2 formed between the positioning pin 60 and the positioning hole 30. Therefore, the positioning pins 60 are fitted into the positioning holes 30 after the legs 28L, 28R and the fitting holes 58L, 58R are positioned to some extent. As a result, the positioning pin 60 having a tight fitting tolerance and the positioning hole 30 can be fitted smoothly, and a more accurate positioning action can be obtained after the fitting is completed.

  Moreover, in the electronic device 10, the protrusion height H1 of the legs 28L and 28R is higher than the protrusion height H2 of the positioning pin 60 from the upper surface 44a. Therefore, when the extension device 12 is mounted on the portable information device 14, even if the top surfaces (contact portions 28b) of the legs 28L and 28R abut on the upper surface 44a, the top of the positioning pin 60 is on the lower surface 18b. Do not abut. As a result, it is possible to prevent the positioning pin 60, which is a metal pin, from damaging the lower surface 18b of the portable information device 14. On the other hand, the leg portions 28L and 28R do not damage the upper surface 44a of the expansion device 12 because at least the contact portion 28b on the surface is formed of a rubber material softer than the positioning pin 60.

  When the legs 28L and 28R are fitted in the fitting holes 58L and 58R, and the positioning pins 60 are fitted in the positioning holes 30, the magnets 42aN to 42cN, 43aS to 43cS are attracted to the magnets 36aS to 36cS and 37aN to 37cN on the portable information device 14 side. As a result, since the extension device 12 is mounted at a predetermined position on the lower surface 18b of the portable information device 14, the spring pin 41 is connected to the terminal plate 34, and the connection portion 40 is connected to the connected portion 32. As a result, the attachment of the extension device 12 to the lower surface 18b of the portable information device 14 is completed, and the sound output from the portable information device 14 can be reproduced by the speaker devices 16L and 16R.

  At this time, as shown in FIGS. 2B and 3, the expansion device 12 is mounted so that the rear surface 44c is located at the rear end side of the lower surface 18b and offset from the rear surface 18c to the front side to some extent. Therefore, in the electronic device 10, the display housing 20 can be smoothly opened and closed without the hinge 22 and the display housing 20 having the drop-down structure interfering with the expansion device 12.

  As described above, the expansion device 12 faces the device housing 44 having the front-rear dimension smaller than the front-rear dimension of the device housing 18 of the portable information device 14 and the front surface 44d of the device housing 44. Speaker devices 16L, 16R provided on the upper surface 44a of the device housing 44, and a positioning mounting portion 66 positioned relative to the lower surface 18b of the device housing 18 and detachably mounted. .

  Therefore, the extension device 12 is mounted on the lower surface 18b of the device housing 18 of the portable information device 14 to reproduce sound output from the portable information device 14 by the speaker devices 16L and 16R provided on the front surface thereof. can do. Therefore, for example, the sound quality and the sound range limited by the speaker units 38L and 38R mounted on the portable information device 14 can be reproduced by the speaker devices 16L and 16R, and the speaker function of the portable information device 14 can be extended. it can. Further, for example, it is also possible to use such that the high frequency range is reproduced by the speaker units 38L and 38R and the low frequency range is reproduced by the speaker units 16L and 16R.

  At this time, since the device housing 44 has a front-rear dimension shorter than the front-rear dimension of the device housing 18, the front surface 44d of the device housing 44 is mounted on the lower surface 18b of the device housing 18. A space S through which the sound reproduced from the speaker devices 16L and 16R can pass satisfactorily can be secured in front of (see FIG. 2B). In other words, the extension device 12 is configured to be shorter on the device housing 44 than the device housing 18 and is provided on the lower surface 18b of the portable information device 14 by providing the speaker devices 16L and 16R on the front surface 44d. Good sound can be delivered to the user who operates the electronic device 10 with the configuration. Moreover, in the expansion device 12, the left speaker device 16L is provided to the left and the right speaker device 16R is provided to the right, so that a better sound can be delivered to the user.

  The expansion device 12 includes fitting holes 58L and 58R and magnets 42aN to 42cN and 43aS to 43cS as positioning and mounting portions 66 for the portable information device 14. Thus, the legs 28L and 28R protruding from the lower surface 18b of the portable information device 14 can be effectively used for positioning. In addition, since the magnets 36aS to 36cS and 37aN to 37cN that are attracted to at least the magnets 42aN to 42cN and 43aS to 43cS may be provided on the device housing 18 side of the portable information device 14, the thin device housing 18 may be used. Even if there is, it can cope easily. Moreover, since a member such as a hook does not protrude from the upper surface 44a of the expansion device 12, the upper surface 44a of the device housing 44 can be formed as a substantially flat surface, and the design is high. The magnets 36aS to 36cS and 37aN to 37cN, which are the objects to be attracted to the magnets 42aN to 42cN and 43aS to 43cS, may be replaced by an iron plate or the like. Instead of the magnet 42aN or the like and the magnet 36aS or the like, or together with the magnet 42aN or the like and the magnet 36aS or the like, the extension device 12 and the portable information device 14 may be connected by using an engaging means such as a hook.

  In addition, the fitting holes 58L and 58R are fitted to the legs 28L and 28R, respectively. In addition to the positioning effect and the detent effect of the expansion device 12, the fitting holes 58L and 58R are parallel to the lower surface 18b of the portable information device 14. The effect of preventing the displacement of the expansion device 12 from the direction in which the magnets 42aN and the magnets 36aS and the like are prevented from being displaced. That is, since the magnet is weak against the force in the vertical direction with respect to the attraction force, by preventing the displacement in the direction parallel to the lower surface 18b of the expansion device 12 by the fitting holes 58L and 58R, the magnets 42aN and the like and the magnets 36aS and the like are prevented. Can be maintained more reliably.

  Further, the positioning pin 60 is disposed at a position closer to the connection portion 40 than the fitting holes 58L and 58R. That is, by disposing the positioning pin 60 whose fitting tolerance is considerably smaller than that of the fitting holes 58L and 58R in the vicinity of the connection part 40, the optical communication modules 32a and 40a which require high-precision positioning are provided. Positioning can be performed with high accuracy by the positioning pins 60.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be freely changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 electronic device 12 expansion device 14 portable information device 16L, 16R speaker device 18 device housing 18a, 44a upper surface 18b, 44b lower surface 18c, 44c rear surface 20 display housing 24 keyboard device 26 display 28L, 28R leg 30 positioning hole 32 Connected portion 34 Terminal plate 36aS to 36cS, 37aN to 37cN, 42aN to 42cN, 43aS to 43cS Magnet 40 Connection portion 41 Spring pin 44 Device housing 44d Front surface 46 Working surface 58L, 58R Fitting hole 60 Positioning pin 62a to 62c Connection Terminal 66 Positioning mounting part

The present invention comprises a portable information device, an electronic apparatus and a detachable expansion unit to the portable information device.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems of the prior art and provides a portable information device, an electronic device and a expansion unit which can extend the speaker function of the portable information device The purpose is to:

Electronic device according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a portable information device, an electronic device and a expansion device detachably attached to the portable information device, the expansion device, the portable information apparatus A device housing having a front-rear dimension shorter than the front-rear dimension of the device housing, a speaker device provided facing a front surface of the device housing, and a device provided on an upper surface of the device housing, A positioning mounting portion that is positioned with respect to the lower surface of the housing and that is removably mounted.The portable information device has a keyboard device on an upper surface of the device housing, and includes a keyboard device. In a configuration in which a display housing provided with a display at a rear end portion is connected, the expansion device is offset on a rear end side of a lower surface of the device housing and forward of a rear surface of the device housing. Is mounted on the position, And the lower surface of the serial device housing, the front end portion of the lower surface of the device housing, ing a landing surface for the mounting surface of the electronic device.

Claims (8)

An extension device detachable from a portable information device,
An apparatus housing having a front-rear dimension shorter than the front-rear dimension of the device enclosure of the portable information device;
A speaker device provided facing the front of the device housing;
A positioning mounting portion provided on an upper surface of the device housing and positioned removably and positioned with respect to a lower surface of the device housing;
An expansion device comprising: The expansion device according to claim 1, wherein
The speaker device is provided as a pair of left and right inside the device housing,
The speaker device on the left side is installed facing the direction inclined leftward from the front on the front of the device housing,
The expansion device according to claim 1, wherein the right speaker device is installed at a front surface of the device housing so as to face in a direction inclined rightward from the front. The expansion device according to claim 1 or 2,
The expansion device according to claim 1, wherein the device housing has a downwardly inclined shape in which a thickness between the upper surface and the lower surface gradually decreases in a direction from the rear surface to the front surface. The expansion device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The positioning mounting unit is provided facing the upper surface of the device housing, a plurality of magnets that can be attracted to a plurality of attracted objects provided facing the lower surface of the device housing,
An expansion device, comprising: a fitting hole provided on an upper surface of the device housing and capable of fitting with a leg protruding from a lower surface of the device housing. The expansion device according to claim 4, wherein
The positioning mounting portion further includes a positioning protrusion provided on an upper surface of the device housing and capable of fitting to a positioning hole provided on a lower surface of the device housing,
On the upper surface of the device housing, provided is a connection portion that is electrically connected to a connected portion provided on the lower surface of the device housing by at least one of a non-contact type and a contact type connection method,
The expansion device, wherein the positioning projection is disposed at a position closer to the connection portion than the fitting hole. The expansion device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An expansion device, wherein a connection terminal to which an external device can be connected is provided on a rear surface of the device housing.   An electronic device comprising: the extension device according to claim 1; and the portable information device. The electronic device according to claim 7,
The portable information device has a keyboard device on an upper surface of the device housing, and has a configuration in which a display housing provided with a display at a rear end of the device housing is connected,
The expansion device is mounted on a rear end side of a lower surface of the device housing, and is mounted at a position offset forward from a rear surface of the device housing.
An electronic device, wherein a lower surface of the device housing and a front end of a lower surface of the device housing are grounded on a mounting surface of the electronic device.

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