JP4574363B2 - Portable electronic devices - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable electronic device such as a mobile phone or PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) in which two casings are connected so as to be foldable.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, portable electronic devices such as mobile phones and PDAs are folded by swinging the two casings together by a connecting portion extending perpendicular to the thickness direction of the two stackable casings. There is a foldable type that can be connected (see, for example, Patent Document 1). A camera module (imaging unit) is accommodated in one housing constituting this type of portable electronic device. In recent years, some of these camera modules have various shooting functions such as an autofocus function, a macro function, and a zoom function, and the size of the camera modules tends to increase with the increase in these shooting functions.

On the other hand, there is a camera module mounted on a portable electronic device in which two casings that can be overlapped in the thickness direction are connected to each other so that the two casings can swing with each other by a connecting portion extending in the thickness direction. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2). In this portable electronic device, the camera module is arranged inside the connecting portion. That is, the camera module can be arranged over two housings, so that the camera module can be increased in size.
JP 2004-32271 A JP 2004-260277 A

  In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for portable electronic devices that are small and thin so that the portable electronic devices can be easily carried. However, in a folding portable electronic device, a camera module is installed in one of the cases. Since it needs to be accommodated, there is a problem that it cannot cope with the increase in size of the camera module. That is, there is a problem that the size of the foldable portable electronic device cannot be reduced because the housing needs to be enlarged as the camera module becomes larger.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a foldable portable electronic device that can suppress an increase in size of a housing even when an imaging unit is increased in size.

In order to achieve the above object, the following means are proposed.
The portable electronic device according to the present invention has a first housing and a second housing that can face each other in the thickness direction, and protrudes from the facing surface at one end of the first housing. The projecting portion has a concave notch portion in which the projecting portion is disposed at one end portion of the second casing, and the projecting portion is centered on a rotation axis perpendicular to the thickness direction. A portable electronic device that is rotatably connected within the unit, and is disposed at a position overlapping the protruding portion in the thickness direction, and on the outer surface of the first housing located on the opposite side of the facing surface The projecting portion is formed with an internal space that communicates with the internal space of the first housing, and the internal space of the projecting portion is fitted inside the projecting portion, A positioning member having a support surface for supporting the imaging unit in the thickness direction; and at least one of the positioning members. But wherein the exposed outside of the first housing.
Note that the facing surface indicates a surface of each housing facing each other in a state where the two housings are overlapped and closed.

The portable electronic device according to the present invention has a first housing and a second housing that can face each other in the thickness direction, and protrudes from the facing surface at one end of the first housing. The projecting portion has a concave notch portion in which the projecting portion is disposed at one end portion of the second casing, and the projecting portion is centered on a rotation axis perpendicular to the thickness direction. A portable electronic device that is rotatably connected within the unit, and is disposed at a position overlapping the protruding portion in the thickness direction, and on the outer surface of the first housing located on the opposite side of the facing surface A facing imaging unit; a positioning member that is disposed in the internal space of the projecting part and supports the imaging unit in the thickness direction; and a side wall part of the notch part and an end wall part of the projecting part that face each other. A connecting portion that is inserted through and arranged in the direction of the rotation axis, and the positioning member , Characterized in that it restricts the movement of the direction of the rotation axis of the connecting portion located on the rotation axis.

In addition, it is disposed in a direction intersecting with the thickness direction, and supports and supports the periphery of the imaging unit, and further includes a holding unit fixed to the first casing.
Further, the holding portion has conductivity.

Further, the notch portion is constituted by a pair of convex portions forming one end portion of the second casing, and the connecting portion is inserted through each of the convex portions and the projecting portion, and extends in the rotation axis direction. A through-hole penetrating therethrough is formed.
The first housing has a display unit disposed on the facing surface, and the imaging unit is disposed toward the outer surface of the first housing in a direction substantially perpendicular to the facing surface. It is characterized by that.
In the positioning member, a support surface that supports the imaging unit in the thickness direction forms substantially the same plane as the facing surface of the first casing.
Further, the projecting portion is characterized in that a wiring member is disposed in the internal space.

  According to the present invention, the internal space of the first housing is arranged by disposing the imaging unit 9 at a position that overlaps the protruding portion and the thickness direction of the first housing in the internal space of the first housing. In addition, the imaging unit can be inserted into the internal space of the protrusion. Therefore, it is possible to mount the imaging unit inside the first casing without changing the thickness dimension of the first casing in accordance with the size of the imaging unit, and the first casing. Can be used for general purposes. From the above, it is possible to prevent the first casing from being enlarged even if the imaging unit is enlarged.

1 to 5 show one embodiment according to the present invention, and the embodiment described here is a case where the present invention is applied to a mobile phone.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a mobile phone (portable electronic device) 1 is overlapped with a first casing 2 formed in a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, and in the thickness direction of the first casing 2. A second housing 3 having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view can be pivoted about a rotation axis L located at one end 2a, 3a in the longitudinal direction of each housing 2, 3, and can be folded. Configured. Note that the rotation axis L extends in a direction orthogonal to the thickness direction of the casings 2 and 3.

Inside the first housing 2, a main display unit 5 and a sub display unit 7 such as a liquid crystal display or an organic display for displaying various information, and an imaging unit 9 for photographing a subject are provided. The main display unit 5 is exposed outward from the facing surface 2b of the first housing 2 that faces the second housing 3 in a state where the two housings 2 and 3 are overlapped and closed. . The sub display unit 7 and the imaging unit 9 face outward from the outer surface 2c of the first housing 2 located on the opposite side of the facing surface 2b regardless of the open / closed state of the two housings 2 and 3.
A projecting portion 11 projecting from the facing surface 2 b is integrally formed on the facing surface 2 b of the first housing 2. The projecting portion 11 is arranged at one end 2a of the first housing 2 located at the connection portion with the second housing 3, and the inside is hollow. The internal space of the protrusion 11 is formed so as to be connected to the internal space of the first housing 2.

  The second housing 3 has an operation unit 13 for inputting various types of information, and has a notch 15 having a substantially U-shape in plan view for accommodating the protruding portion 11 of the first housing 2. The operation unit 13 is disposed on the facing surface 3b of the second casing 3 facing the first casing 2 in a state where the two casings 2 and 3 are overlapped with each other and closed. It is composed of a plurality of various pressable operation keys such as an end call key. The notch 15 is formed at the center of the one end 3 a of the second housing 3 that is located at the connection portion with the first housing 2. Therefore, on both sides of the one end 3 a of the second housing 3, a pair of convex portions 17 that protrude from the bottom surface 15 a of the notch 15 toward the one end 3 a is provided.

On the opposing surfaces 2b and 3b located at the other end portions 2d and 3d in the longitudinal direction of the casings 2 and 3, a speaker opening 2e and a microphone opening 3e are formed.
The first housing 2 includes a front case 19 that constitutes the facing surface 2b side of the first housing 2 and a rear case 21 that constitutes the outer surface 2c side of the first housing 2. Yes. The front case 19 and the rear case 21 can be coupled to each other in the thickness direction of the first housing 2.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , a shaft (connecting portion) 23 and a hinge unit (connecting) are provided between the protruding portion 11 of the first housing 2 and each convex portion 17 of the second housing 3. Part) 25 is inserted, and the shaft body 23 and the hinge unit 25 are not exposed to the outside.
That is, the two end surface wall portions 11a and 11b of the projecting portion 11 arranged to face each convex portion 17 and the side wall portions 17a and 17b of each convex portion 17 facing each end surface wall portion 11a and 11b Through holes 11c, 11d, 17c, and 17d are formed, respectively. The shaft body 23 is inserted from one through hole 11 c of the protruding portion 11 to the through hole 17 c of the one convex portion 17. A hinge unit 25 is inserted from the other through hole 11 d of the projecting portion 11 to the through hole 17 d of the other convex portion 17.

The shaft body 23 and the hinge unit 25 are arranged side by side on the rotation axis L, and the two housings 2 and 3 are connected to each other by the shaft body 23 and the hinge unit 25 so as to be rotatable.
The shaft body 23 is formed with a through hole 23a penetrating in the direction of the rotation axis L, and the internal spaces of the two casings 2 and 3 communicate with each other through the through hole 23a and the internal space of the protruding portion 11. Will be. In the through hole 23a, electronic components such as the main display unit 5, the sub display unit 7 and the image pickup unit 9 provided in the housings 2 and 3 and wiring 27 for electrically connecting the circuit boards (not shown) to each other are provided. Is inserted.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the imaging unit 9 is arranged at a position in the internal space of the first housing 2 that overlaps the protruding portion 11 and the thickness direction of the first housing 2. It faces outward through an opening 2f penetrating from the inside of one housing 2 to the outer surface 2c.
In the imaging unit 9, a switching lever 27 that switches the shooting mode between the normal shooting mode and the close-up shooting mode is located on the first end 2 a side of the first housing 2 from the outer peripheral surface 9 a of the imaging unit 9. It protrudes toward the end face 2g side of the casing 2 of the housing.
The normal shooting mode of the imaging unit 9 is used when the distance from the imaging unit 9 to the subject is relatively long. For example, focusing on a subject whose distance from the imaging unit 9 is infinite from 400 mm. It is a shooting mode that can be used. The close-up shooting mode is used when the distance from the imaging unit 9 to the subject is relatively short. For example, a shooting mode that can focus on a subject whose distance from the imaging unit 9 is about 100 mm. It is.
The switching lever 27 is connected to a slide knob 29 exposed outward from the end face 2g of the first housing 2. By moving the slide knob 29 in the direction of the rotation axis L, two switching modes can be set. Can be switched.

The imaging unit 9 is supported in the thickness direction of the first housing 2 by a positioning member 31 disposed in the internal space of the protruding portion 11. The positioning member 31 includes a main body portion 33 and an exterior wall portion 35 connected to the main body portion 33.
The main body 33 is fitted and fixed inside the protruding portion 11, and in this fixed state, one end surface (support surface) 33 a of the main body 33 facing the thickness direction of the first housing 2 is formed. The inner surface 19a of the front case 19 located on the opposite side of the facing surface 2b is substantially flush with the inner surface 19a. The one end surface 33 a is in contact with the lower surface 9 b of the imaging unit 9 and restricts the imaging unit 9 from moving in the thickness direction inside the first housing 2.

  In the present embodiment, the one end surface 33a of the positioning member 31 that supports the imaging unit 9 in the thickness direction of the first housing 2 is formed to be substantially flush with the inner surface 19a of the front case 19. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that the imaging unit 9 is in contact with the imaging unit 9 so as to restrict movement of the imaging unit 9 in the thickness direction. That is, the position of the one end surface 33 a of the positioning member 31 may be changed according to the height dimension of the imaging unit 9. For example, when the height dimension of the imaging unit 9 with respect to the thickness direction of the first housing 2 is larger than the thickness dimension of the internal space, the one end surface 33a of the positioning member 31 is positioned in the internal space of the protrusion 11. You can do it.

The main body 33 is disposed between the shaft body 23 located on the rotation axis L and the hinge unit 25 in the above-described fixed state, and is one side wall surface 33b of the main body 33 substantially orthogonal to the rotation axis L. Is in contact with the hinge unit 25. The other side wall surface 33 c of the main body portion 33 is located through a gap for inserting the wiring 27 between the shaft body 23.
The exterior wall portion 35 is formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape in plan view, and is disposed between the end surface 2 g of the first housing 2 and the outer peripheral surface 11 e of the protruding portion 11. It is exposed outward from the end face 2g side. The exterior wall portion 35 is inserted into a recess 11f formed on the outer peripheral surface 11e of the protruding portion 11 connected to the end surface 2g of the first housing 2 in a state where the main body portion 33 is fixed to the internal space of the protruding portion 11. The And the surface 35a of the exterior wall part 35 exposed to the outer side of the 1st housing | casing 2 is formed so that the end surface 2g of the 1st housing | casing 2 and the outer peripheral surface 11e of the protrusion part 11 may connect smoothly. .

The exterior wall 35 is also formed with a recess 35b for inserting the slide knob 29 connected to the switching lever 27.
Here, when the height dimension of the imaging unit 9 is different as described above, the position of the switching lever 27 may also change in the thickness direction with respect to the end surface 2g side of the first housing 2, but in this case The position of the recess 35b of the exterior wall portion 35 described above may be changed, or a separate through hole may be formed in the exterior wall portion 35. That is, changing the position of the switching lever 27 and the slide knob 29 can be accommodated by changing only the shape of the positioning member 31 without separately processing the protrusion 11.

  In addition, a holding unit 37 that houses the above-described imaging unit 9 is provided inside the first housing 2 located at the one end 2a. In a state where the holding portion 37 is disposed on the inner surface 19a of the front case 19, the holding portion 37 contacts the side wall portion 19b and the rib 19c of the rear case 19 protruding from the inner surface 19a side in the thickness direction of the first casing 2, and the rear case 19 is fixed. The holding portion 37 has conductivity, and is electrically connected to a ground pattern (not shown) of the circuit board 41 disposed inside the first housing 2.

The holding portion 37 is formed with a storage portion 39 of the imaging portion 9 that protrudes from the inner surface 19a side of the front case 19 and is formed in a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape. The accommodating part 39 is opened to the one end surface 33a side of the positioning member 31, and the imaging part 9 is accommodated in the accommodating part 39 from this opening part. In a state in which the imaging unit 9 is disposed in the storage unit 39, the outer peripheral surface 9 a of the imaging unit 9 is in contact with the inner peripheral surface 39 a of the storage unit 39 and supports the imaging unit 9. Note that an opening 39 c for directing the imaging unit 9 outward is formed in the bottom wall 39 b of the housing 39 that faces the opening 2 f of the first housing 2.
From the above, the imaging unit 9 intersects in the thickness direction of the first housing 2 by arranging the imaging unit 9 in the accommodating unit 39 and arranging the holding unit 37 on the inner surface 19a of the front case 19. Or it can prevent moving to the orthogonal direction.

In the mobile phone 1 configured as described above, the mounting operation of the imaging unit 9 will be described below.
When attaching the imaging unit 9 to the inside of the first housing 2, as shown in FIG. 5, first, the shaft body 23 and the hinge unit 25 are moved from the internal space of the projection 11 to the projection 11 and each projection. The 17 through holes 11c, 11d, 17c, and 17d are inserted. At this time, the shaft 11 and the hinge unit 25 can be easily inserted because the inner space of the protrusion 11 is greatly opened by the recess 11 f formed in the protrusion 11 of the front case 19.
Next, the main body portion 33 of the positioning member 31 is fitted and fixed inside the protruding portion 11, and the exterior wall portion 35 is inserted into the recess 11 f, and the positioning member 31 is attached to the front case 19. In this state, as shown in FIG. 3, one side wall surface 33 b of the main body portion 33 comes into contact with the hinge unit 25. Then, the holding unit 37 in which the imaging unit is attached to the holding unit 37 is disposed on the inner surface 19 a of the front case 19, and the holding unit 37 is fixed to the rear case 19. In this state, the imaging unit 9 is fixed at a predetermined position inside the first housing 2. Finally, the rear case 21 is coupled to the front case 19 to form the first housing 2, and the mounting operation of the imaging unit 9 is completed.

  According to the mobile phone 1 configured as described above, the imaging unit 9 is arranged in the internal space of the first housing 2 at a position overlapping the protrusion 11 and the thickness direction of the first housing 2. Therefore, the imaging unit 9 can be inserted not only in the first housing 2 but also in the internal space of the protruding portion 11. For this reason, the imaging unit 9 can be mounted inside the first casing 2 without changing the thickness dimension of the first casing 2 in accordance with the size of the imaging unit 9.

Further, when the imaging units 9 having different sizes are arranged inside the first housing 2, only the positioning member 31 and the holding unit 37 may be exchanged according to the size of the imaging unit 9. For example, the positioning member 31 may be prepared by changing the position of the one end surface 33a of the positioning member 31, so that the first casing 2 can be changed without changing the shape of the first casing 2 in accordance with the change of the imaging unit 9. The imaging unit 9 can be easily positioned with respect to 2.
Furthermore, even if the position of the switching lever 27 or the slide knob 29 changes with the change in the size of the imaging unit 9, only the shape of the exterior wall portion 35 of the positioning member 31 is changed, so that the switching lever 27 or A change in the position of the slide knob 29 can be accommodated.
From the above, even if the imaging unit 9 is enlarged, the first housing 2 can be used for general purposes, and the first housing 2 can be prevented from being enlarged.

Further, by exposing the exterior wall portion 35 of the positioning member 31 to the outside of the first housing 2, the exterior wall portion 35 is one of the end surface 2 g of the first housing 2 and the outer peripheral surface 11 e of the protruding portion 11. Therefore, the appearance design of the first housing 2 can be easily changed by simply replacing the positioning member 31. That is, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in designing the external design of the mobile phone 1.
Further, by inserting the wiring 27 through the through hole 23a of the shaft body 23 arranged over the protruding portion 11 and the convex portion 17, the main display portion 5 and the sub display portion 7 provided in each of the housings 2 and 3 are provided. The electronic components such as the imaging unit 9 and the circuit board 41 can be electrically connected to each other.

Further, by bringing the positioning member 31 into contact with the hinge unit 25, the hinge unit 25 is restricted from moving in the direction of the rotation axis L with respect to the protrusion 11 and the protrusion 17, and the hinge unit 25 is protruded 11. Can be prevented from falling out to the inner side of the.
Furthermore, by providing the holding unit 39 inside the first housing 2, the imaging unit 9 is prevented from moving in the thickness direction of the first housing 2, preferably in the orthogonal direction, The imaging unit 9 can be easily and reliably fixed at a predetermined position inside the first housing 2.

  Further, by electrically connecting the holding unit 37 having conductivity to the ground pattern of the circuit board 41, even if static electricity is led from the opening 2f of the first housing 2 that exposes the imaging unit 9 to the outside, This static electricity can escape to the ground pattern of the circuit board 41. For this reason, it is possible to prevent malfunction and failure of the imaging unit 9 due to static electricity.

In the above-described embodiment, the mobile phone 1 has been described. However, any configuration may be used as long as at least two casings are foldably connected and an imaging unit is provided in any one of the casings. Other portable electronic devices such as a digital camera may be used.
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail with reference to drawings, the concrete structure is not restricted to this embodiment, The design change etc. of the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention are included.

It is a perspective view which shows the state which opened two housing | casings which comprise the mobile telephone which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention mutually. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which two casings are mutually closed in the mobile phone of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing an outline of one end of two cases in the mobile phone of FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part showing one end portion of a first housing in the mobile phone of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a main part enlarged front view showing an outline of a state before the shaft body, the hinge unit, and the positioning member are attached to the protruding portion of the first housing in the mobile phone of FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

1 Mobile phone (mobile electronic device)
2 1st housing | casing 2a, 3a One end part 2b, 3b Opposing surface 2c Outer surface 3 2nd housing | casing 9 Imaging part 11 Protrusion part 15 Notch part 17 Protrusion part 23 Shaft body (connection part)
23a Through hole 25 Hinge unit (connection part)
31 Positioning member 33a One end surface (support surface)
37 Holding part L Rotation axis

Claims (8)

A first housing and a second housing that can be opposed to each other in the thickness direction; and one end of the first housing has a projecting portion projecting from the facing surface, and the second housing One end of the casing is provided with a concave cutout portion in which the protruding portion is disposed, and the protruding portion is rotatably connected within the cutout portion around a rotation axis perpendicular to the thickness direction. Electronic equipment,
An imaging unit that is disposed at a position overlapping the protruding portion in the thickness direction and that faces the outer surface of the first housing located on the opposite side of the facing surface;
The projecting portion is formed with an internal space communicating with the internal space of the first housing.
In the internal space of the protrusion, a positioning member is provided that has a support surface that fits into the protrusion and supports the imaging unit in the thickness direction.
At least a part of the positioning member is exposed to the outside of the first housing. A first housing and a second housing that can be opposed to each other in the thickness direction; and one end of the first housing has a projecting portion projecting from the facing surface, and the second housing One end of the casing is provided with a concave cutout portion in which the protruding portion is disposed, and the protruding portion is rotatably connected within the cutout portion around a rotation axis perpendicular to the thickness direction. Electronic equipment,
An imaging unit that is disposed at a position that overlaps the protruding portion in the thickness direction and that faces the outer surface of the first housing located on the opposite side of the facing surface;
A positioning member that is disposed in the internal space of the protrusion and supports the imaging unit in the thickness direction;
A connecting portion that is inserted across the side wall portion of the notched portion and the end wall portion of the projecting portion that are opposed to each other, and arranged side by side in the rotation axis direction;
The portable electronic device, wherein the positioning member restricts movement of the connecting portion located on the rotation axis in the direction of the rotation axis. 3. A holding part fixed to the first housing, and arranged in a direction intersecting with the thickness direction, contacting and supporting the periphery of the imaging unit. The portable electronic device as described in. The portable electronic device according to claim 3 , wherein the holding unit has conductivity. The notch is constituted by a pair of convex portions forming one end of the second housing;
The portable electronic device according to claim 2 , wherein the connecting portion is inserted through each of the convex portions and the protruding portion, and a through-hole penetrating in the rotation axis direction is formed. The first casing has a display unit disposed on the facing surface ,
The said imaging part is arrange | positioned toward the outer surface of the said 1st housing | casing in the direction substantially perpendicular | vertical with respect to the said opposing surface, The Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. portable electronic devices. The positioning member, of the claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the supporting surface for supporting the imaging section to the thickness direction to form the opposing surfaces substantially the same plane of the first housing The portable electronic device as described in any one . The portable electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein a wiring member is disposed in the internal space of the protruding portion.

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