JP4335864B2 - Display unit mounting structure in scanner device and display unit mounting structure in electronic device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a display unit mounting structure in a scanner device and a display unit mounting structure in an electronic apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, many electronic devices such as a scanner device and a printer are provided with a document placing plate that can place a document horizontally on an upper surface of a housing. The document placing plate is formed of a light transmitting plate such as glass, and a document placed on the document placing plate is read by a reading device such as a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) provided below the document placing plate. It is read as digital information.

  In consideration of user operability, operation keys such as a read start button and various setting buttons are concentrated in an area adjacent to the document placement plate of the electronic device (hereinafter, the operation keys are concentrated). This area is called the operation panel section). Recently, in order to further improve the operability for the user, a small display unit such as a liquid crystal panel for displaying an image read by the reading device is provided in the operation panel unit.

  The user views the image displayed on the small display unit to determine whether or not the document is placed on the document placement plate, and to perform a trimming operation for setting an area to be printed from the read image. It can be done easily.

  It has both a scanner function and an inkjet printer function, and has an operation panel unit for performing operations of both functions collectively on the side of the document placing plate, and a display unit composed of a liquid crystal panel or the like is provided on the operation panel unit A known multifunction machine is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  There is also known an electronic device in which a display unit is provided so as to be able to stand up and down in the vicinity of an input key provided on a casing of a telephone (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Furthermore, an electronic device is known that includes a display and various operation buttons, and includes a rotatable arm so that the display surface can be installed on a desk with an angle that is easy for the user to see (for example, Patent Document 3). reference).
JP 2005-189514 A Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-227773 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-143086

  The display unit provided in each of the electronic devices is rotatably supported with respect to the housing of the electronic device main body so that the user who performs the operation can set the angle at which the screen is most easily viewed. In particular, in an apparatus having a document placing plate that is horizontal on the upper surface, such as a scanner device or a printer, an operation panel adjacent to the document placing plate is considered in consideration of the ease of operation by the user and the beauty of the design. A special mounting structure for the display unit with respect to the housing is employed so that the unit is horizontal and approximately the same height as the document placing plate.

  Specifically, like the multifunction device described in Patent Document 1, a display unit in which almost the entire display unit is immersed in close proximity to various operation keys of a horizontal operation panel unit adjacent to the document placing plate. A storage recess is formed, and the display unit is rotatably supported in the storage recess.

  The display unit supported rotatably in the storage recess is held in an arbitrary angle raised by the user, and a plurality of round shapes arranged in an arc shape on the side surface of the housing of the display unit. A concave portion is formed, and a convex portion (hereinafter referred to as an elastic convex portion) that is elastically fitted to the round concave portion is formed on the side of the storage concave portion of the display portion. When the display unit is rotated by the user, the elastic convex portion on the storage recess side is successively fitted to and detached from the plurality of circular concave portions on the display unit side, and the user stops the rotation at an arbitrary angle. Sometimes, the elastic convex portion on the storage recess side is fitted into one round concave portion on the side surface of the display portion, and the display portion is held at the angle.

  However, as described above, the structure for holding the display unit inclined at an arbitrary angle has a circular recess formed on the side surface of the housing of the display unit, and a storage recess that elastically fits into the circular recess. In the case of a structure having an elastic convex part formed on the side surface, the round concave part and the elastic convex part are worn out by long-term use, and the holding force of the display part at an arbitrary angle is reduced. There is a possibility that the display unit inclined at a predetermined angle may not be supported stably.

  In addition, when the user feels resistance when turning the display unit, the wear of the circular concave portion and the elastic convex portion does not occur at all, and when the wear occurs to some extent after repeated use, Since it changes greatly, there is a drawback that it is not convenient for the user. For example, the user needs a relatively large force to rotate the display unit at the start of use when there is no wear of the round concave part or the elastic convex part. After the part is worn, the display part must be carefully operated with a force considerably smaller than the force required at the start of use.

  Accordingly, the present invention solves the above problem, and in an electronic device in which the display unit is provided on the operation panel unit so as to be able to stand up and down, the usage period of the electronic device is long (some times the display unit is rotated). Regardless, the display unit inclined at an arbitrary angle by the user is always stably held, and the user feels resistance when the user rotates the display unit, and the user-friendly electronic device does not change. It aims at providing the attachment structure of the display part in.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a horizontal document placing plate on which a document to be read is placed, and an operation key including a reading start button are arranged adjacent to the document placing plate. An operation panel unit, and disposed on the operation panel unit, and supported rotatably about a rotation axis on a proximal end side over approximately 90 degrees between a horizontal lying posture and a substantially vertical standing posture, When the display unit is composed of a liquid crystal panel that displays an image including an image of a document that has been read by being placed on the mounting plate, and the display unit is in a horizontal lying posture, almost the entire display unit is immersed. In the display unit mounting structure in the scanner device, the display unit is provided with a storage recess for the display unit, and the display unit is formed in an arc shape coaxial with the rotation shaft, and the outer periphery of the arc has a tooth extending substantially 90 degrees. And has a predetermined width along the rotational axis direction. A resin gear body is fixed, and a bottom portion of the housing recess is formed with a protrusion that engages between the teeth of the resin gear body at a position facing the resin gear body, and in the direction of the rotation axis. A metal leaf spring having a wider width than the resin gear body is attached, and when the bulging portion of the metal leaf spring meshes between teeth of the resin gear body, the metal leaf spring The metal leaf spring and the resin gear body are disposed so that both end sides are located outward from both sides of the resin gear body, and the metal leaf spring is disposed on the resin gear body. By elastically engaging, the display unit is held at an arbitrary angle between a lying posture and a standing posture.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operation panel portion on which various operation keys operated by a user are disposed, and a horizontal lying posture and a substantially vertical or inclined standing posture disposed on the operation panel portion. A display unit composed of a liquid crystal panel supported rotatably around a rotation axis on the base end side, and a display unit in which almost the entire display unit is immersed when the display unit is in a horizontal lying posture. In the mounting structure of the display unit in the electronic device including the storage recess, the display unit is formed in an arc shape coaxial with the rotation shaft, and the rotation angle of the display unit extends over the outer periphery of the arc. A resin gear body having teeth formed thereon is fixed, and a projecting portion that meshes between the teeth of the resin gear body is formed at a position facing the resin gear body at the bottom of the housing recess, and than along the rotation axis direction width the resin gear body It mounted wide metal plate spring, when the inrush portion of the metallic plate spring is meshed between the teeth of said resin gear body, than both sides of both end sides of the metal plate spring the resin gear body The metal plate spring and the resin gear body are disposed so as to be located outward, and the metal plate spring elastically meshes with the resin gear body , whereby the display unit Is held at an arbitrary angle between the lying posture and the standing posture.

  According to the present invention, in an electronic device in which the display unit is provided on the operation panel unit so as to be able to stand up and down, the arc unit is fixed to the base end of the display unit and attached to the arc-shaped gear body having a certain width on the operation panel unit side. Since the leaf spring is configured to be elastically meshed, the wear of the gear body is suppressed to a small extent, and can be arbitrarily set by the user regardless of the length of use period of the electronic device (the number of rotations of the display unit). The display portion tilted at the angle is always stably held. In addition, the feeling of resistance that the user feels when the user rotates the display unit does not change, which is convenient for the user.

  Hereinafter, a scanner device according to the best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show a schematic structure of the scanner device 1 of the present embodiment. A scanner device 1 according to the present embodiment is a multi-function machine that also has a printer function that prints a read image on paper and discharges it. The scanner device 1 includes a rectangular resin housing 2 and a document on the upper surface of the housing 2. There is provided a document placing plate 3 composed of a horizontal glass plate on which D is placed.

  A document reading device (not shown) constituted by a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) or the like is provided in the case 2 below the document placement plate 3, and the upper surface of the case 2 adjacent to the document placement plate 3. Is configured in an operation panel unit 5 in which various operation keys 4 such as a read start button, a cross key for trimming, and a print start button are concentrated. A display unit 6 composed of a liquid crystal panel is attached to approximately the center of the operation panel unit 5 so as to stand up and down. The structure for attaching the display unit 6 to the operation panel unit 5 will be described in detail later. An opening / closing cover 7 that can cover the entire surface of the document placing plate 3 is provided on the upper surface of the housing 2. FIG. 1 shows a state before use in which the open / close cover 7 is closed and the display unit 6 is horizontally laid down, and FIG. 2 shows a state in use in which the open / close cover 7 is opened and the display unit 6 is erected. Show.

  Further, a paper feeding device 8 is provided at the rear part of the housing 2, and an image of the document D read as digital information by the document reading device is variously processed by a user's operation or is fed as it is without being processed. It is printed on a sheet fed from the apparatus 8, discharged from the discharge port 9 at the front of the housing 2, and deposited on the discharge tray 11.

  3 and 4A and 4B show a structure for attaching the display unit 6 to the operation panel unit 5. FIG. A storage recess 12 in which the entire display unit 6 in a lying posture (horizontal posture) can be immersed is formed at an appropriate position on the upper surface of the casing 2 constituting the operation panel unit 5. Then, the projecting shaft (rotating shaft) 13 formed on the side surface of the storage recess 12 is inserted into and supported by the concave portion 14 formed on the side surface on the proximal end side of the display unit 6, whereby the display unit 6 is supported. It is rotatably supported over approximately 90 degrees between a horizontal lying posture and a substantially vertical standing posture. A stopper piece 15 is formed at the base end of the display portion 6, and the stopper piece 15 rotates when the display portion 6 stands up by abutting against a contact surface (not shown) formed on the storage recess 12 side. The end angle is regulated. In addition, a notch recess 16 into which a fingertip can be inserted when the user lifts the display unit 6 is formed at the mouth edge of the storage recess 12 on the free end side of the display unit 6.

  On the base end side of the display unit 6, when the display unit 6 stands up at an arbitrary angle by the user, a gear body 17 for holding the angle and a gear body attached to the bottom of the storage recess 12 A metal leaf spring 18 that meshes with 17 is provided.

  The gear body 17 is made of a resin material formed so as to have an arc shape coaxial with the rotation axis (projection shaft) 13 of the display unit 6, which is a separate body from the resin housing that forms the outline of the display unit 6. It is a member, and is fixed to the base end of the display unit 6 by a fitting structure or adhesion. The gear body 17 has a predetermined width Wr along the direction of the rotation axis (projection axis) 13 of the display unit 6 (see FIG. 3), and a large number of teeth 17a are formed on an arcuate outer periphery over 90 degrees. ing.

  The leaf spring 18 has a proximal end fixed to the bottom of the housing recess 12 by a screw 19 and has a free end side that has the same shape as the tooth 17a of the gear body 17 and a bent portion 18a that engages with the gear body 17 is bent. Has been. The leaf spring 18 is formed so that the width Ws along the direction of the rotation axis (projection axis) 13 of the display unit 6 is slightly wider than the width Wr along the direction of the rotation axis (projection axis) 13 of the gear body 17. In a state where the protruding portion 18 a of the leaf spring 18 is engaged with the teeth 17 a of the gear body 17, both side edges of the leaf spring 18 are fixed so as to be located outward from both sides of the gear body 17.

  Note that the gear body 17 and the leaf spring 18 in the present embodiment are configured such that the electrical wiring connecting the display unit 6 and the operation panel unit 5 is laid through substantially the center of the display unit 6. 6 is arranged on the left side of the center in the direction of the rotation axis (projection axis) 13.

  The scanner device 1 of the present embodiment is used by a user as follows. When the user starts using the scanner apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 with the open / close cover 7 closed and the display unit 6 immersed in the storage recess 12, the user first turns on the power. It is turned on, the open / close cover 7 is opened, and the display unit 6 is lifted from the storage recess 12 to stand. The user can easily hold the display unit 6 by inserting a fingertip into the notch recess 16 at the mouth edge of the storage recess 12 and lifting upward while applying pressure to the side surface on the free end side of the display unit 6. Can be raised. At this time, an initial screen such as a menu screen is displayed on the screen 6 a of the display unit 6.

  Then, the user turns the display unit 6 and stops it while viewing the screen of the display unit 6 so that the angle at which the screen is most easily viewed. At this time, the gear body 17 also rotates around the projecting shaft 13 with the rotation of the display unit 6, and the projecting portion 18 a of the leaf spring 18 successively repeats insertion and removal of the gear body 17 from the teeth 17 a. When the rotation of the display unit 6 is stopped, the leaf spring 18 maintains the fitted state to the teeth 17a meshed at that time by the elasticity of the leaf spring 18 itself, and the display unit 6 is stabilized at the angle. Held.

  Thereafter, the user places the document D on the document placing plate 3, closes the opening / closing cover 7, and performs a predetermined key operation to read the document D. The read image of the document D is displayed on the screen 6a of the display unit 6 by a predetermined key operation, and the user can confirm the image on the screen 6a of the display unit 6 standing at an angle at which it is easy to see. Further, the user can perform various operations such as a trimming operation by operating the operation key 4 while viewing the screen 6 a of the display unit 6.

  At this time, the engagement between the protrusion 18 a of the leaf spring 18 and the teeth 17 a of the gear body 17 is performed by members having a predetermined width along the direction of the rotation axis (projection axis) 13 of the display unit 6. The wear of the teeth 17a of the resin gear body 17 is slightly suppressed even after long-term use, and the leaf spring 18 is engaged with the gear body 17 to hold the display unit 6 standing at a predetermined angle. However, the display unit 6 is stably held at an arbitrary angle without becoming loose.

  In addition, since the wear of the teeth 17a of the resin gear body 17 is slightly suppressed even after long-term use, the depth of engagement of the leaf spring 18 with the gear body 17 depends on the length of use period (the length of the display unit 6). Almost no change regardless of the number of rotations. Therefore, the resistance feeling when the user rotates the display unit 6 is almost the same as that at the start of use even after the scanner device 1 has been used for a long time, and the display unit always has the same feeling for the user. 6 rotation operations can be performed, which is convenient.

  Furthermore, in the scanner device 1 of the present embodiment, the width Ws of the leaf spring 18 in the direction of the rotation axis (projection shaft) 13 is set wider than the width Wr of the gear body 17, so that it is formed when the leaf spring 18 is processed. The sharp return portions at both end edges of the plate spring 18 are not in contact with the resin gear body 17, and the teeth 17a of the resin gear body 17 are not damaged. Also by this, the degree of meshing of the leaf spring 18 with the gear body 17 when the user rotates the display unit 6 is kept constant, and the resistance feeling when the user rotates the display unit 6 changes. Is prevented.

  In the present embodiment, the scanner is provided with the document placing plate 3 on the upper surface of the housing 2, and the display panel 6 that can stand up and down on the operation panel unit 5 provided adjacent to the document placing plate 3. Although the apparatus 1 is shown, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the apparatus 1 does not have a document placing plate such as a peripheral device of a personal computer, includes an operation panel unit, and can stand up and down on the operation panel unit. The present invention can be applied to electronic devices other than the scanner device including a simple display unit.

1 is a perspective view showing an overview of a scanner device according to an embodiment of the present invention before use. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an overview of the scanner device in use by a user. The top view which shows the attachment structure to the operation panel part of the display part in the scanner apparatus. (A) is a sectional side view showing the mounting structure of the scanner device with the display unit lying down, and (b) is a side sectional view showing the mounting structure of the scanner device with the display unit raised.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Scanner apparatus 3 Document mounting board 4 Operation key 5 Operation panel part 6 Display part 12 Storage recess 13 Projection shaft (rotating shaft)
17 Resin gear body 17a Teeth 18 Leaf spring 18a Entry part D Document Wr Width of resin gear body Ws Width of leaf spring

Claims (2)

A horizontal document placing plate on which a document to be read is placed;
An operation panel unit adjacent to the document placing plate and provided with operation keys including a reading start button;
Arranged on the operation panel unit and supported rotatably about a rotation axis on the base end side over approximately 90 degrees between a horizontal lying posture and a substantially vertical standing posture, and placed on the document placing plate A display unit configured by a liquid crystal panel for displaying an image including an image of a document read and read;
When the display unit is in a horizontal lying posture, the display unit mounting structure in the scanner device including a storage recess of the display unit in which almost the entire display unit is immersed,
A resin gear body formed on the display portion in an arc shape coaxial with the rotation shaft, teeth are formed on the outer periphery of the arc over approximately 90 degrees, and has a predetermined width along the rotation shaft direction. Is fixed,
At the bottom of the housing recess, a projecting portion that engages between the teeth of the resin gear body is formed at a position facing the resin gear body, and the width along the rotation axis direction is the resin gear body. A wider metal leaf spring is attached,
When the projecting portion of the metal plate spring is engaged between the teeth of the resin gear body, the both ends of the metal plate spring are positioned outward from both sides of the resin gear body. A metal leaf spring and the resin gear body are disposed;
The display unit in the scanner device is characterized in that the display unit is held at an arbitrary angle between a lying posture and a standing posture by the metal leaf spring being elastically engaged with the resin gear body. Mounting structure. An operation panel unit on which various operation keys operated by the user are arranged;
A display unit configured by a liquid crystal panel disposed on the operation panel unit and supported rotatably around a rotation axis on the base end side between a horizontal lying posture and a substantially vertical or inclined standing posture;
When the display unit is in a horizontal lying posture, the display unit storage structure in which almost the entire display unit is immersed, and the display unit mounting structure in an electronic device,
A resin gear body, which is formed in an arc shape coaxial with the rotation shaft, and teeth are formed on the outer periphery of the arc over a rotatable angle of the display portion, is fixed to the display portion,
Wherein the bottom of the housing recess, the inrush section meshes are formed between the teeth of the resin gear body and a width of the resin gear body along its rotation axis direction at a position opposite to the resin gear body A wider metal leaf spring is attached,
When the projecting portion of the metal plate spring is engaged between the teeth of the resin gear body , the both ends of the metal plate spring are positioned outward from both sides of the resin gear body. A metal leaf spring and the resin gear body are disposed;
The display unit in the electronic apparatus is characterized in that the display unit is held at an arbitrary angle between a lying posture and a standing posture by the metal leaf spring being elastically engaged with the resin gear body . Mounting structure.

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