JP3165239B2 - Information processing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus such as a notebook-type or laptop-type computer, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus in which a keyboard is provided with an inclination to improve operability at the time of input.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, various information processing apparatuses such as personal computers and Japanese word processors have been reduced in size. In particular, in the case of a so-called notebook or laptop information processing device in which a main body, a display device, and a keyboard are integrated, the portability has been dramatically improved.

By the way, from an ergonomic point of view, the keyboard has a certain degree of inclination such that the front side is low (Note: the ideal inclination is said to be about 5 to 10 °). , Characters and data are easy to input. In particular, when inputting is performed continuously for a long time, the effect is increased in terms of preventing wrist and arm fatigue and erroneous input. Therefore, in an information processing device of a type in which the display device, the main body, and the keyboard are separately and independently connected by a cord, a leg is provided behind the back surface of the keyboard itself, and the leg is raised. A predetermined inclination is given to the keyboard.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned notebook type information processing apparatus, in order to meet the demand for thinning, the operability is improved by giving such a keyboard an inclination. This has not been fully considered. That is, the keyboard was integral with the body, and the keyboard remained parallel to the mounting surface of the body (see FIG. 9).

[0005] Similar to the above-mentioned type in which the main body and the keyboard are separated from each other, there is also a type in which a foot is provided on the rear side of the rear surface to provide an inclination, but the setting operation of the leg is troublesome. Was. In particular, in the case of a notebook type information processing apparatus that is premised on being carried around, it is troublesome to put the legs in and out every time the user moves.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a so-called book-type information processing apparatus in which a keyboard surface is provided with an inclination to improve the operability of the keyboard.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to achieve the above-mentioned object, and one embodiment thereof includes a main body and a keyboard which is formed independently of the main body.
Connecting means for connecting the main body and the keyboard
And the connecting means is rotatably connected to the main body.
And pivotally connected to the keyboard.
With a pivoting arm, the axes of both connections being arranged parallel to each other
About the axis of the connection between the main body and the rotating arm.
And the connecting side of the rotating arm with the keyboard is upward.
The urging means that urges in the direction to rotate in the pulling direction
With an information processing apparatus characterized by and this is provided.

[0008]

[0009]

[0010] In another aspect of the present invention, a main body and the book are provided.
A keyboard that is configured independently of the body and an open
Oite the information processing equipment called clamshell having a display unit mounted for closing operation, the said body
Connecting means for connecting the keyboard to the keyboard.
The coupling means is rotatably coupled to the main body, and
A pivot arm rotatably coupled to the keyboard,
Axes of both coupling are arranged parallel to each other, connecting the said pivot arm and said display means, in response to <br/> angular change due to the opening and closing operation of said display means, changing the angle of the pivoting arm An information processing apparatus having link means for causing
Provided .

According to another aspect of the present invention, in an information processing apparatus in which a main body and a keyboard are configured to be able to change a relative positional relationship, the main body is located at a lower front side of the main body.
Having guide means extending obliquely rearward and upward from the part ,
An information processing apparatus is provided, wherein the keyboard has an engaging means engaged with the guiding means so as to be movable along the guiding means.

[0012]

Preferably, the inclination of the guide means is substantially horizontal near the rear end thereof.

[0014] It is preferable to have an urging means for urging the keyboard so that the keyboard moves rearward along the guide means.

[0015]

The main body and the keyboard are connected by connecting means. In this case, the connection between the connecting means, the main body and the keyboard is made rotatable.

In such a configuration, the urging means causes the connecting means to rotate about the connecting portion between the main body and the connecting means in an upward pulling direction. As a result, the key
The board is raised rearward while sliding backwards. As a result, the keyboard has a slope. The rotation is restricted by the lock means, and can be performed only when necessary. Also,
It is fixed in an inclined state and a horizontal state.

Alternatively, the display means and the connection means are connected by link means. As a result, the connecting means rotates corresponding to the angle of the display means, and the key
The board is tilted.

[0018] In another aspect, the keyboard is biased by biasing means. In this case, since the engaging means is engaged with the guide means, the keyboard moves along the guide means (for example, a guide groove). The guide means extends obliquely upward and rearward from the lower part on the front side of the main body. Accordingly, the keyboard slides rearward while its rear position rises, that is, the keyboard has a slope.

Since the guide groove has a substantially horizontal inclination near the rear end thereof, once the inclination has been applied, the guide groove can be lowered even if it receives a downward force due to a key input. There is no.

[0020]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The present embodiment is characterized in that a notebook type or laptop type information processing apparatus has a mechanism for sliding up a keyboard, in particular.

Before describing the details of the slide-up mechanism, an outline of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Note that FIG.
Is a perspective view showing a state in which the keyboard is slid up, and a part of the state is a perspective view.

The information processing apparatus includes an LCD (Li
quad Crystal Display (LCD panel) 2, floppy disk drive (hereinafter “FDD”)
3), a control board 4 and the like.

In the case of editing a document, input is performed using an input device such as a keyboard 5 so that the CPU of the control board 4
To perform a desired editing operation. The input data and the processing result are displayed on the LCD unit 2.

When printing a document, a print key is pressed from the keyboard 5 to send a command to the control board 4 through software, and an operation signal is sent to an external output device via a printer connector arranged on the rear surface of the main body to print. Let it.

Next, the slide-up mechanism 8 and the lock mechanism 10 of the keyboard 5 which are features of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

In this embodiment, the keyboard 5 and the main body 1 are separated and connected by a rotating arm 17 corresponding to "connection means" in the claims.
When the rotating arm 17 "rises", the rear portion of the keyboard 5 is lifted while sliding backward. Hereinafter, the mechanism will be described in more detail.

A hole 170 is provided at the tip of the rotating arm 17 on the keyboard side. On the other hand, keyboard 5
Has a grooved guide 16 screwed to its back surface.
The channel guide 16 has a hole 160. The pins 18 are inserted through the holes (holes 170 and 160). Thus, the keyboard 5 and the rotating arm 17
The connection with is rotatable. The pin 18 is fixed by an E-ring 19 so as not to come off the groove-shaped guide 16.

In the vicinity of the center of the rotating arm 17,
A center shaft 12 is fixed to the rotating arm 17. On the other hand, the main body 1 is provided with a bearing 11 integrated with the main body 1. The center shaft 12 is inserted into a shaft hole of the bearing 11.
Thereby, the connection between the main body 1 and the rotating arm 17 is rotatable. A torsion coil spring 15 is attached to the center shaft 12, and urges the tip of the center shaft 12 on the keyboard side in the upward direction. The center shaft 12 is fixed on both shafts by an E-ring 13 and does not come off the bearing 11.

The length of the rotating arm 17 (more precisely, the distance between the end of the main body 1 and the hole 170) is such that the inclination of the keyboard 5 is 5 ° to 10 °. The length is a fixed angle.

A lock mechanism 10 for fixing the state of the keyboard 5 will be described.

The lock mechanism 10 includes a lock groove 175 provided at the rear end of the rotating arm 17 and a lock groove 175.
And an L-shaped lever 23 for fixing the rotating arm 17 by fitting into the arm.

The L-shaped lever 23 is provided so as to be rotatable about a guide pin 21 fixed to the main body on a plane including the lock groove 175. The guide pin 21 is provided with a torsion coil spring 22 for urging the L-shaped lever 23 to rotate counterclockwise (when viewed from above). On the other hand, the movement of the L-shaped lever 23 is restricted by the stopper 20, and when no external force acts on the end 235, the end 2
30 is configured to remain in a state fitted in the lock groove 175. Therefore, the L-shaped lever 23 can lock the rotating arm 17 in a state where it does not rise. In addition, since the end part 235 protrudes outside from the side surface of the main body 1 and is directly touched and operated by a user, the rubber bush 24 is provided to improve the operational feeling.

In the above description, the slide mechanism and the lock mechanism 10 arranged on the left side as viewed from the front of the information processing apparatus have been described. Accordingly, the slide mechanism and the lock mechanism 10 arranged on the right side have a portion where the operation direction and the like are opposite to those described above. However, the mechanism is essentially the same.

The operation will be described.

The hook 9 is released, and the LCD unit 2 is opened. In this state, the end 230 of the L-shaped arm 23 is fitted in the lock groove 175 of the rotating arm 17 and the rotating arm 17
Is locked while lying down. Therefore, the key
The board 5 is substantially flush with the main body 1.

The ends 235 of the left and right L-shaped arms 23 are pulled forward. Then, the L-shaped arm 23 rotates about the guide pin 21, the end 230 is disengaged from the lock groove 175 of the rotating arm 17, and the lock is released. Then
The rotating arm 17 rotates around the center shaft 12 and "rises" by the force of the torsion coil spring 15. As a result, the rear end of the keyboard 5 is lifted while sliding backward, and the keyboard 5 has a predetermined inclination (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

After that, when the hand is released from the end 235, the L-shaped arm 23 returns to the original position again by the force received from the torsion coil spring 22.

As described above, in this embodiment,
The inclination can be given to the keyboard 5, and the operability is improved. Moreover, the operation of giving and releasing the inclination is easy.
Therefore, the mobility of the notebook type or laptop type information processing apparatus is not impaired.

The horizontal position of the rotating arm 17 is also
As shown in FIG. 5, when the keyboard is inclined, L
A lock groove 176 into which the arm 23 is fitted may be provided. With such a configuration, the keyboard at the time of use can be used.
The inclination of the door 5 can be reliably maintained. Moreover,
If a plurality of lock grooves 176 provided at the lateral positions are provided at different positions, and the L-shaped arm 23 is fitted into a desired lock groove 176, the inclination angle of the keyboard 5 can be adjusted. .

Next, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

In this embodiment, the keyboard is pulled up along a guide groove provided on the side surface of the main body to impart an inclination.

In this embodiment, similar to the above embodiment,
The main body 1 'and the keyboard 5' are configured separately.

The main body 1 'of this embodiment has a guide groove 29 in its side plate 27. The guide groove 29 extends obliquely upward and rearward from the lower front part of the main body 1. In the vicinity of the rearmost edge, the direction of the guide groove 29 is substantially horizontal. Hereinafter, this substantially horizontal portion is referred to as “horizontal portion 2”.
95 ". The guide groove 29 corresponds to the" guide means "in the claims. However, the" guide means "is not necessarily a groove.

Further, on the side plate 27, a hook fixing pin 33 is provided.
Is provided. The height position where the hook stopper pin 33 is provided is the same height as the horizontal portion 295 or a position higher than the same. Further, the position in the front-back direction is behind the horizontal portion 295.

On the other hand, the keyboard 5 'is provided with a hook stopper pin 3 which engages with the guide groove 29 at the rear lower portion of the side plate 55.
4 are provided. However, the engagement is not fixed, and the hook stopper pin 34 can easily move along the guide groove 29.

The tension coil spring 30 is hung between the hook stop pin 34 and the hook stop pin 33. Therefore, the main body 1 'and the keyboard 5' are always kept in a pulled state regardless of their relative positional relationship. The strength of the tension coil spring 30 is sufficient to pull up the keyboard 5 along the guide groove 29. However, if it is too strong, the hook stopper pin 34 may vigorously collide with the rearmost edge of the guide groove 29 and damage the keyboard 5 'or the like.

Further, a projection receiving portion 31 is provided at an upper rear portion of the keyboard 5 '. On the other hand, the LCD section 2 'is provided with closing projections 32 on the left and right edges thereof. The position of the closing projection 32 is such that when the LCD unit 2 'is closed while the keyboard 5' is inclined.
This is a position where it comes into contact with the projection receiving portion 31. As shown in FIG. 7, the shape of the projection receiving portion 31 and the closing projection 32 is such that a force for pushing the keyboard 5 'forward can be exerted at the time of contact. I have.

Although FIGS. 6 and 7 show only the left side, a similar mechanism is provided on the right side.

The operation will be described.

The LCD unit 2 'is opened. Then, the keyboard 5 ′ is moved along the guide groove 29 by the force pulled by the extension coil spring 30. That is, the keyboard 5 'slides rearward while its rear portion is pulled up. Then, the hook stop pin 34 stops in a state where it comes into contact with the rearmost edge of the guide groove 29. As a result, the keyboard 5 'has a slope. In this case, since the hook stopper pin 34 is located at the horizontal portion 295 of the guide groove 29, the hook stopper pin 34 is not lowered by a downward force (indicated by an arrow F in the drawing) received when the key 40 is input.

On the other hand, when the LCD section 2 'is to be closed during storage, the closing projection 32 abuts on the projection receiving section 31 on the way. When the LCD unit 2 'is closed as it is, the keyboard 5' is moved forward by a force (indicated by an arrow N in the figure) acting on the keyboard 5 'at the corresponding contact portion. Move,
The hook stop pin 34 moves away from the horizontal portion 295. Thereafter, when the LCD unit 2 ′ is further closed, the keyboard 5 ′ descends along the guide groove 29. In this case, since the keyboard 5 'slides forward, other portions come into contact with the closing projection 32 and the projection receiving portion 31 instead of the closing projection 32. However, the hook stop pin 34 has already
And no great force is required to depress the keyboard 5 '.

Finally, that is, the keyboard 5 '
The LCD unit 2 is fixed to the keyboard 5 'in a state where is horizontal, whereby the storage is completed.

According to the present embodiment, since the keyboard 5 'is provided with an inclination, the operability of the input operation is improved. As a result, fatigue and erroneous input of long-time input are reduced. Also, L
Since the inclination is automatically given and released when the CD unit 2 is opened and closed, there is no need to perform a special operation, which is more convenient.

In the above embodiment, the rearmost portion of the guide groove is substantially horizontal, but it is not always necessary to be horizontal. As long as the inclination and depth are such that the force can be overcome by the force acting between the closing projection 32 and the projection receiving portion 31, the inclination may be inclined backward and downward in the vicinity of the rearmost portion.

Another embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, similar to the above embodiment,
The main body 1 "and the keyboard 5" are configured separately.

The keyboard 5 "and the main body 1" are connected by a connecting rod 28a. The connecting portion between the connecting rod 28a and each of the connecting rods 28a is rotatable. The connecting rod 28a and the LCD unit 2 ″ are linked by a connecting rod 28b.
With the opening and closing of the portion 2 ″, the connecting rod 28 a is configured to rotate about the joint with the main body 1 ″ as an axis. In addition,
The connecting rod 28b is a link means in the claims.

The operation will be described.

When the LCD unit 2 "is opened, the connecting rod 28b rotates the connecting rod 28a.
The rear end of the keyboard 5 "is lifted while sliding, so that the keyboard 5" has an inclination.

Also in this embodiment, since the keyboard 5 "is provided with an inclination, the operability of the input operation is improved. As a result, fatigue and erroneous input for a long time are reduced.
Since the inclination is automatically given and released with the opening and closing of the LCD unit 2 ", there is no need to perform any special operation, which is more convenient.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention, the inclination (5
〜１０10 °). As a result, the input is easy,
Fatigue and incorrect input are reduced. Further, the typing time can be reduced. In addition, a special operation for imparting a tilt is not necessary or is easy to perform, so that operability is good.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a notebook information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a slide-up mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state of a slide-up mechanism in a state where a tilt is applied to a keyboard.

FIG. 4 is a side perspective view showing an inclined state of the keyboard.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a rotating arm having a lock groove 176 for fixing the inclination of the keyboard.

FIG. 6 is a side perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main part showing details of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an outline of a conventional notebook-type information processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... body, 2 ... LCD, 3 ... FDD, 4
... Control board, 5 ... Keyboard, 8 ... Slide-up mechanism, 9 ... Hook, 10 ... Lock mechanism,
11 ... bearing, 12 ... center shaft, 13
... E-ring, 14 ... Stopper, 15 ... Torsion coil spring, 16 ... Groove guide, 17 ... Rotating arm, 18 ... Pin, 19 ... E-ring, 20 ...
Stopper, 21: Guide pin, 22: Torsion coil spring, 23: L-shaped lever, 24: Rubber bush, 25: Stopper, 27: Side plate, 2
8 ... connecting rod, 29 ... guide groove, 30 ... extension coil spring, 31 ... projection receiving part, 32 ... closing projection,
33: Hook fixing pin, 34: Hook fixing pin, 40: Key, 55: Side plate, 160:
Hole 170, Hole 175 Lock groove 176
... Lock groove, 230 ... End, 235 ... End

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Kazunori Yanagisawa 1-280 Higashi-Koigakubo, Kokubunji-shi, Tokyo Design Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. (56) References JP-A 4-93321 (JP, U) JP-A 56-88336 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 1/16 G06F 3/02 310

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A main body, a keyboard formed independently of the main body, and connecting means for connecting the main body and the keyboard, wherein the connecting means is rotatably connected to the main body. And a rotation arm rotatably coupled to the keyboard.
The a, axes of both coupling are arranged parallel to each other, about the axis of the coupling between the upper SL body and the pivot arm,
An information processing apparatus, comprising: urging means for urging in a direction in which the pivot arm is rotated in a direction in which a joint portion of the pivot arm with the keyboard is pulled upward. 2. A main body and a keyboard formed independently of the main body.
A so-called clamshell-type information processing device having a keyboard and a display means attached to the main body so as to be capable of opening and closing , and further comprising a connecting means for connecting the main body and the keyboard.
And, the connecting means is coupled freely the body and the pivot, or
A rotating arm rotatably coupled to the keyboard
Has, axes of both coupling are arranged parallel to each other, connecting the said pivot arm and said display means, in response to the angular change due to the opening and closing operation of said display means, changing the angle of the pivoting arm An information processing apparatus, comprising: link means for causing the information processing apparatus to perform a link operation. 3. An information processing apparatus wherein a relative position between a main body and a keyboard is configured to be changeable, wherein the main body is directed obliquely rearward and upward from a front lower part of the main body.
An information processing apparatus, comprising: a guide unit extending in this way; and the keyboard includes an engagement unit engaged with the guide unit so as to be movable along the guide unit. 4. An information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein said guide means has a substantially horizontal inclination near the rear end thereof. 5. The device according to claim 3 , further comprising: urging means for urging the keyboard so that the keyboard moves rearward along the guide means. Information processing device.