JP2021135672A - Electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an electronic apparatus capable of enhancing rigidity between housings coupled by a hinge device.SOLUTION: An electronic apparatus comprises a first housing, a second housing, and a hinge device that couples the first and second housing to be relatively rotatable. The hinge device includes a hinge shaft, a first attaching metal fitting that is rotatably coupled to the hinge shaft and fixed to the first housing, and a second attaching metal fitting that is non-rotatably fixed to the hinge shaft and fixed to the second housing. The second attaching metal fitting has a housing attaching section fixed to the second housing and a shaft fixing section that is continuous via a bent section from the housing attaching section and fixed to the hinge shaft. The bent section is bent between the housing attaching section and the shaft fixing section at an angle less than 90 degrees.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3A

Description

The present invention relates to an electronic device in which two housings are rotatably connected by a hinge device.

An electronic device such as a notebook PC has a configuration in which a main body housing and a display housing are relatively rotatably connected by a hinge device. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a rotation shaft (hinge shaft) of a hinge device is provided on the main body housing side, and a mounting bracket for connecting the hinge shaft and the display housing is housed in the hinge cover.

JP-A-2015-49566

In the above-mentioned electronic devices, the housings are connected only by a hinge device. Therefore, if the rigidity between the housings connected by the hinge device is low, the display housing shakes and is not stable during use, which deteriorates the product quality. Further, if the display housing is not stable in this way, for example, the display housing shakes during a touch operation on the display, so that the operability of the touch operation also deteriorates.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device capable of increasing the rigidity between housings connected by a hinge device.

The electronic device according to the first aspect of the present invention is an electronic device, and the first housing, the second housing, the first housing, and the second housing can be relatively rotated. The hinge device includes a hinge device to be connected, and the hinge device is rotatably connected to the hinge shaft and fixed to the first housing, and is non-rotatable to the hinge shaft. It has a second mounting bracket that is fixed and fixed to the second housing, and the second mounting bracket is from a housing mounting portion that is fixed to the second housing and the housing mounting portion. It has a shaft fixing portion that is continuous via a bending portion and is fixed to the hinge shaft, and the bending portion bends the housing mounting portion and the shaft fixing portion at an angle of less than 90 degrees. ing.

Only one bent portion may be provided between the housing mounting portion and the shaft fixing portion.

The electronic device according to the second aspect of the present invention is an electronic device, and the first housing, the second housing, the first housing, and the second housing can be relatively rotated. The hinge device includes a hinge device to be connected, and the hinge device is rotatably connected to the hinge shaft and fixed to the first housing, and is non-rotatable to the hinge shaft. It has a second mounting bracket that is fixed and fixed to the second housing, and the second mounting bracket is from a housing mounting portion that is fixed to the second housing and the housing mounting portion. It has a shaft fixing portion that is continuous via a bending portion and is fixed to the hinge shaft, and only one bending portion is provided between the housing mounting portion and the shaft fixing portion. ..

The bent portion may be configured such that the housing mounting portion and the shaft fixing portion are bent at an angle of less than 90 degrees.

The bent portion may be configured to be curved in an arc shape.

A hinge cover for accommodating at least a part of the second mounting bracket is further provided, and the hinge cover is fixed to the second housing and not directly fixed to the second mounting bracket and the hinge shaft. It may be configured.

The first housing has a keyboard device, the second housing has a display, and the hinge device is a device in which the rear ends of the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other. The rear end portion of the first housing has a protruding portion formed so that the first surface on the keyboard device side projects rearward from the second surface on the back side thereof, and the second mounting bracket is The protrusion may extend from the housing mounting portion toward the shaft fixing portion so as to wrap around the protruding portion.

According to the above aspect of the present invention, the rigidity between the housings connected by the hinge device can be increased.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2A is an enlarged side view of a main part in a state in which the display housing is closed and stored in the state shown in FIG. FIG. 2B is an enlarged side view of a main part in a state in which the display housing is opened and used in the state shown in FIG. 2A. FIG. 3A is a side sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the electronic device shown in FIG. 2A. FIG. 3B is a side sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the electronic device shown in FIG. 2B. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part showing a structure for attaching the hinge device to the display housing. FIG. 5 is a side view of the hinge device. FIG. 6 is a front view of the hinge device.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the electronic device according to the present invention will be described, and the electronic devices according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic device 10 according to an embodiment. The electronic device 10 of the present embodiment is a notebook PC in which the main body housing 14 and the display housing 16 are relatively rotatably connected by a hinge device 12. FIG. 2A is an enlarged side view of a main part in a state in which the display housing 16 is closed and stored in the state shown in FIG. FIG. 2B is an enlarged side view of a main part in a state in which the display housing 16 is opened from the state shown in FIG. 2A and used in the same manner as in FIG. The present invention can be applied as long as it has a configuration in which two housings are rotatably connected by a hinge device, and is also applicable to tablet PCs, smartphones, portable game machines, etc. other than notebook PCs. can.

Hereinafter, with respect to the electronic device 10 shown in FIG. 1, the front side is the front side and the back side is the rear side, based on the posture in which the display housing 16 is closed on the main body housing 14 as shown in FIG. 2A. The width direction will be referred to as left and right, and the thickness direction will be referred to as up and down.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 2B, in the electronic device 10, the rear end portion 14a of the main body housing 14 and the rear end portion 16a of the display housing 16 are connected by a pair of left and right hinge devices 12 and 12.

The main body housing 14 is a box body formed in a flat plate shape. A keyboard device 18 and a touch pad 19 are provided on the upper surface 14b of the main body housing 14. Various electronic components such as a substrate, an arithmetic unit, a memory, and a battery device (not shown) are housed inside the main body housing 14.

The display housing 16 is a box body formed in a flat plate shape thinner than the main body housing 14. A display 20 is provided on the inner surface 16b of the display housing 16. The display 20 is, for example, a touch panel type liquid crystal display device. The display housing 16 is electrically connected to the main body housing 14 by a cable that has passed through the hinge device 12.

Next, a specific configuration example of the hinge device 12 will be described. FIG. 3A is a side sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the electronic device 10 shown in FIG. 2A. FIG. 3B is a side sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the electronic device 10 shown in FIG. 2B. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part showing the mounting structure of the hinge device 12 to the display housing 16. 5 and 6 are enlarged views of the hinge device 12. 4 to 6 show the hinge device 12 on the right side as a representative, but the hinge device 12 on the left side may have the same structure as the hinge device 12 on the right side or a symmetrical structure, so that the specific illustration is omitted. doing.

The hinge device 12 includes a hinge shaft 24, a main body side mounting bracket 26, a display side mounting bracket 28, a hinge cover 30, and a torque generator 32.

As shown in FIGS. 2A to 4, the hinge shaft 24 is a metal rod-shaped member that serves as a rotation axis of the hinge device 12. The hinge shaft 24 is arranged so as to extend along the left-right direction in the vicinity of the rear end portion 14a in the main body housing 14. The axis center O of the hinge shaft 24 is the center of rotation between the main body housing 14 and the display housing 16 (see FIGS. 3A and 3B). In the case of the present embodiment, the axis center O of the hinge shaft 24 is arranged below the center C of the vertical thickness of the main body housing 14 (see FIG. 3A).

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the main body side mounting bracket 26 has a shaft connecting portion 26a and a housing mounting portion 26b.

The shaft connecting portion 26a is a metal plate arranged in a posture orthogonal to the axial direction of the hinge shaft 24 (extending direction of the shaft center O). The shaft connecting portion 26a has a through hole in the plate thickness direction (left-right direction) extrapolated so as to be slidable on the outer peripheral surface of the hinge shaft 24. As a result, the shaft connecting portion 26a (main body side mounting bracket 26) is rotatably connected to the hinge shaft 24.

The housing mounting portion 26b is a metal plate provided so as to be parallel to the in-plane direction (front-back, left-right plane) of the main body housing 14, and is screwed and fixed to the main body housing 14. The housing mounting portion 26b is provided integrally with the shaft connecting portion 26a. As a result, the housing mounting portion 26b and the main body housing 14 are rotatably connected to the hinge shaft 24.

As shown in FIGS. 3A to 6, the display-side mounting bracket 28 has a shaft fixing portion 28a, a housing mounting portion 28b, and a bent portion 28c.

The shaft fixing portion 28a is a metal plate formed wide along the axial direction of the hinge shaft 24. The shaft fixing portion 28a is arranged in a posture in which the shaft fixing portion 28a is gradually inclined from the front to the rear from the bottom to the top in the side view in the storage form shown in FIG. 3A. The shaft fixing portion 28a has a through hole (mounting portion 37) into which the fixture 36 is inserted. The fixture 36 is a metal pin such as a rivet.

The hinge shaft 24 is a columnar metal shaft, but a flat plate portion is formed at an end opposite to the torque generator 32. One flat surface of this flat plate portion is a mounting surface 24a to which the shaft fixing portion 28a is abutted and fixed. A mounting hole through which the fixture 36 is inserted is formed in the mounting surface 24a. The fixture 36 is caulked and fixed with its tip inserted into the mounting hole and the mounting portion 37 of the mounting surface 24a. As a result, the shaft fixing portion 28a (display side mounting bracket 28) is non-rotatably fixed to the hinge shaft 24.

The housing mounting portion 28b is a metal plate provided so as to be parallel to the in-plane direction of the display housing 16 (front-back and left-right planes in FIG. 2A), and is screwed and fixed to the display housing 16. The housing mounting portion 28b is continuous from the shaft fixing portion 28a via the bending portion 24c. That is, the display-side mounting bracket 28 is formed of a single metal plate from the housing mounting portion 28b to the shaft fixing portion 28a via the bending portion 28c. As a result, the housing mounting portion 28b and the display housing 16 rotate integrally with the hinge shaft 24.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 5, only one bending portion 28c is provided between the housing mounting portion 28b and the shaft fixing portion 28a. The bent portion 28c is curved in an arc shape between the housing mounting portion 28b and the shaft fixing portion 28a at an angle smaller than 90 degrees. In the present embodiment, the space between the housing mounting portion 28b and the shaft fixing portion 28a is bent at an angle of about 60 degrees by the bending portion 28c. The bent portion 28c may be formed at an acute angle that is sharp to some extent. However, in order to increase the connection strength between the housings 14 and 16 by the display side mounting bracket 28, it is preferable that the bent portion 28c is formed in an arc shape as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the hinge device 12 is fixed to the display housing 16 by screwing the housing mounting portion 28b of the display side mounting bracket 28 to the display housing 16. Specifically, the display housing 16 has a back cover material 16c that covers the back surface and the peripheral side surface of the display 20. In the housing mounting portion 28b, for example, four through holes 38 are arranged so as to overlap with the boss portion 40 that stands up on the inner surface of the back cover material 16c, and screws that pass through the through holes 38 are formed in each boss portion 40. It is tightened in the female screw hole. As a result, the housing mounting portion 28b is fixed to the display housing 16.

As shown in FIGS. 3A to 4, the hinge cover 30 is a cover that covers the externally exposed portions of the main body housing 14 and the display housing 16 of the hinge device 12. The hinge cover 30 has, for example, a substantially light bulb shape in cross section. In the hinge device 12 of the present embodiment, one end of the hinge shaft 24, the main body side mounting bracket 26, and the torque generator 32 are arranged in the main body housing 14, and the housing mounting portion 28b of the display side mounting bracket 28 is provided. It is arranged in the display housing 16. Therefore, the hinge cover 30 is a portion of the hinge device 12 arranged outside the main body housing 14 and the display housing 16, that is, the other end of the hinge shaft 24 (mounting surface 24a, etc.), and the display side mounting bracket 28. It covers a part from the shaft fixing portion 28a to the bending portion 28c.

The hinge cover 30 is arranged in a notched concave portion 14c formed in the rear end portion 14a of the main body housing 14 (see FIGS. 3A and 3B). The concave portion 14c is not formed on the flat surface portion of the upper surface 14b, but is formed from the rear-down inclined surface 14d formed at the rear end of the upper surface 14b to the rear end portion 14a. Therefore, the concave portion 14c has a structure that is inconspicuous on the upper surface 14b of the main body housing 14. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the rear end portion 14a of the main body housing 14 is formed with a protruding portion 14e having an upper surface 14b protruding rearward. The protruding portion 14e is formed in a portion of the rear end portion 14a corresponding to the concave portion 14c.

As shown in FIGS. 3A to 4, the hinge cover 30 includes a rear cover portion 30a and a front cover portion 30b. The hinge cover 30 is a resin component divided into two by a plane substantially along the upper, lower, left and right sides, the divided rear half portion is the rear cover portion 30a, and the front half portion is the front cover portion 30b.

The rear cover portion 30a is fixed to the inner surface trailing edge portion of the back cover material 16c. The rear cover portion 30a extends downward from the inner surface of the back cover material 16c and is inclined to the front side. The front cover portion 30b is fixed to the trailing edge portion of the bezel material 16d that surrounds the display 20 of the display housing 16. The front cover portion 30b extends downward from the rear end surface of the bezel material 16d, is curved to the rear side once, and then is curved to the front side this time. The tip surfaces of the cover portions 30a and 30b are connected to each other to form a tubular hinge cover 30.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the torque generator 32 is a portion that applies rotational torque between the hinge shaft 24 and the main body side mounting bracket 26. The torque generator 32 applies a rotational torque between the display housing 16 and the main body housing 14 to enable stable rotation operation.

As described above, in the electronic device 10 of the present embodiment, the display side mounting bracket 28 of the hinge device 12 has a housing mounting portion 28b fixed to the display housing 16 and a bent portion 28c from the housing mounting portion 28b. It has a shaft fixing portion 28a, which is continuous via and fixed to the hinge shaft 24. The bent portion 28c is bent at an angle of less than 90 degrees between the housing mounting portion 28b and the shaft fixing portion 28a.

As described above, the electronic device 10 has a configuration in which the display-side mounting bracket 28 extending between the housings 14 and 16 and connecting the housings 14 and 16 is provided with a bent portion 28c of less than 90 degrees. It has become. That is, the display-side mounting bracket 28 opens the bent portion 28c when the display housing 16 receives an external force in a direction in which the display housing 16 is tilted backward in the usage mode shown in FIGS. 1 and 34B, for example, by a touch operation on the display 20. Receives external force in the direction. At this time, since the bent portion 28c of the display side mounting bracket 28 has an angle of less than 90 degrees, the display side mounting bracket 28 can withstand the above-mentioned external force with high rigidity. That is, in the electronic device 10, the rigidity between the housings 14 and 16 connected by the hinge device 12 is improved. As a result, the electronic device 10 improves the stability of the display housing 16 in the usage mode shown in FIGS. 1 and 34B, improves the product quality, and further improves the operability of the touch operation of the display 20. On the other hand, for example, in a configuration in which the bent portion 28c is formed at 90 degrees or more, the bent portion 28c is likely to be deformed in the opening direction due to the external force, and as a result, there is a concern that the display housing 16 is not stable.

Further, in the electronic device 10 of the present embodiment, only one bent portion 28c of the display side mounting bracket 28 is provided between the housing mounting portion 28b and the shaft fixing portion 28a. That is, suppose that the display side mounting bracket 28 connecting the housings 14 and 16 is formed with two bent portions 28c. In this configuration, when the external force is applied to the display housing 16, the display-side mounting bracket 28 is deformed as a whole by the total amount of deformation of the two bent portions 28c in the opening direction. As a result, there is a concern that the amount of deformation of the display-side mounting bracket 28 as a whole in the opening direction will increase, and the rigidity between the housings 14 and 16 connected by the hinge device 12 will decrease. In this respect, since the electronic device 10 is provided with only one bent portion 28c between the housing mounting portion 28b and the shaft fixing portion 28a, the housings 14 and 16 are connected with high rigidity. Further, since the bending portion 28c is only one, the manufacturing cost of the display side mounting bracket 28 can be reduced as compared with the configuration in which the bending portion 28c is bent a plurality of times.

The electronic device 10 includes a hinge cover 30 that houses at least a part of the display side mounting bracket 28. The hinge cover 30 is fixed to the display housing 16 and is not directly fixed to other elements of the hinge device 12 such as the display side mounting bracket 28 and the hinge shaft 24. Therefore, for example, when the user grips only the display housing 16 and lifts the electronic device 10 in the usage mode shown in FIG. 1, the display side mounting bracket 28 is removed from the back cover material 16c due to the weight of the main body housing 14. Receives an external force in the direction of floating. At this time, if the hinge cover 30 is fixed to the display side mounting bracket 28 or the hinge shaft 24, the hinge cover 30 also receives an external force in the direction of lifting from the back cover material 16c together with the display side mounting bracket 28. As a result, a gap is formed between the hinge cover 30 and the back cover material 16c, which deteriorates the appearance quality. In this respect, since the hinge cover 30 of the electronic device 10 is fixed to the display housing 16 (back cover material 16c), deterioration of the appearance quality due to the occurrence of the gap can be suppressed.

The electronic device 10 has a rearward projecting portion 14e on the upper surface 14b side of the rear end portion 14a of the main body housing 14. The display-side mounting bracket 28 extends from the housing mounting portion 28b toward the shaft fixing portion 28a so as to wrap around the protruding portion 14e (see FIGS. 3A and 3B). As a result, the main body housing 14 has a flat design with no notch for arranging the hinge device 12 at the rear end portion 14a, and the appearance quality is improved. At this time, the hinge device 12 is arranged so that the display-side mounting bracket 28 wraps around the protruding portion 14e, thereby ensuring a smooth rotational operation between the housings 14 and 16.

In the electronic device 10, the shaft fixing portion 28a is configured to be wide along the axial direction of the hinge shaft 24 to ensure its strength. Therefore, the thickness of the hinge cover 30 in the front-rear direction can be narrowed because it is sufficient to accommodate only the plate thickness of the shaft fixing portion 28a. Therefore, the hinge cover 30 becomes thick and does not stand out in the appearance of the electronic device 10, and the appearance quality of the electronic device 10 can be further improved.

In the electronic device 10, the axis center O of the hinge shaft 24 is arranged below the center C of the vertical thickness of the main body housing 14 (see FIG. 3A). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the display housing 16 is opened when the electronic device 10 is used, the display side mounting bracket 28 and the hinge cover 30 for accommodating the display housing 30 are further moved rearward and downward of the main body housing 14. Move a lot. As a result, the hinge cover 30 becomes more difficult to see from the user who is looking at the electronic device 10 from the front, and the appearance quality of the electronic device 10 is further improved.

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

In the above, the configuration in which the bent portion 28c is formed at less than 90 degrees and only one bent portion 28c is provided is illustrated. However, depending on the rigidity required between the housings 14 and 16, a configuration in which two bending portions 28c of less than 90 degrees are provided, a configuration in which only one bending portion 28c of 90 degrees or more is provided, or the like is also possible. good.

In the above, the configuration in which the hinge shaft 24 is provided on the main body housing 14 side is illustrated, but the hinge shaft 24 may be provided on the display housing 16 side. In this configuration, the main body side mounting bracket 26 is non-rotatably fixed to the hinge shaft 24 in the same configuration as the shaft fixing portion 28a of the display side mounting bracket 28 described above, and is further housed in the hinge cover 30. Just do it. At that time, the display-side mounting bracket 28 may be rotatably connected to the hinge shaft 24 with the same configuration as the shaft connecting portion 26a of the main body-side mounting bracket 26 described above.

10 Electronic equipment 12 Hinge device 14 Main body housing 14e Protruding part 16 Display housing 24 Hinge shaft 26 Main body side mounting bracket 26a Shaft connecting part 26b, 28b Housing mounting part 28 Display side mounting bracket 28a Shaft fixing part 28c Bending part 30 Hinge cover

Claims (7)

It ’s an electronic device,
With the first housing
With the second housing
A hinge device that relatively rotatably connects the first housing and the second housing,
With
The hinge device is
Hinge shaft and
A first mounting bracket that is rotatably connected to the hinge shaft and fixed to the first housing.
A second mounting bracket that is non-rotatably fixed to the hinge shaft and fixed to the second housing,
Have,
The second mounting bracket is
A housing mounting portion fixed to the second housing and
A shaft fixing portion that is continuous from the housing mounting portion via a bending portion and is fixed to the hinge shaft,
Have,
The bent portion is an electronic device characterized in that the distance between the housing mounting portion and the shaft fixing portion is bent at an angle of less than 90 degrees. The electronic device according to claim 1.
An electronic device characterized in that only one bent portion is provided between the housing mounting portion and the shaft fixing portion. It ’s an electronic device,
With the first housing
With the second housing
A hinge device that relatively rotatably connects the first housing and the second housing,
With
The hinge device is
Hinge shaft and
A first mounting bracket that is rotatably connected to the hinge shaft and fixed to the first housing.
A second mounting bracket that is non-rotatably fixed to the hinge shaft and fixed to the second housing,
Have,
The second mounting bracket is
A housing mounting portion fixed to the second housing and
A shaft fixing portion that is continuous from the housing mounting portion via a bending portion and is fixed to the hinge shaft,
Have,
An electronic device characterized in that only one bent portion is provided between the housing mounting portion and the shaft fixing portion. The electronic device according to claim 3.
The bent portion is an electronic device characterized in that the distance between the housing mounting portion and the shaft fixing portion is bent at an angle of less than 90 degrees. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The bent portion is an electronic device characterized in that it is curved in an arc shape. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
Further provided with a hinge cover for accommodating at least a part of the second mounting bracket.
An electronic device in which the hinge cover is fixed to the second housing and is not directly fixed to the second mounting bracket and the hinge shaft. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
The first housing has a keyboard device and has a keyboard device.
The second housing has a display and
The hinge device is a device in which the rear ends of the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other.
The rear end portion of the first housing has a protruding portion formed so that the first surface on the keyboard device side projects rearward from the second surface on the back side thereof.
The second mounting bracket is an electronic device that extends from the housing mounting portion toward the shaft fixing portion so as to wrap around the protruding portion.

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