JP5033542B2 - Portable information terminal - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable information terminal such as a mobile phone, and more particularly to a portable information terminal that includes two casings and has a function of expanding and contracting by sliding the casings relative to each other.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, portable information terminals typified by mobile phones are movably coupled to a first housing having a display screen and a receiver and a second housing having operation keys and a transmitter. Has become the mainstream. Among them, a slide-type portable information terminal that has a display screen that is always exposed on the surface when it is carried and can browse and receive information with the casing closed is drawing attention. In such a slide-type portable information terminal, power is supplied from a signal line for transmitting an electric signal between electronic components incorporated in each case and a case having no power source from the case having a built-in power source. As a connecting member that is provided with a power line for use in combination, a flexible printed wiring board (hereinafter referred to as FPC) or a plurality of coaxial cables is used. Conventionally, various proposals have been made regarding structures for mounting such connection members in a housing.

For example, a portable communication device has been proposed in which the electrical length of a cable is shortened by electrically connecting and grounding a ground layer of a substrate in the middle of a flexible cable connecting two housings. (See Patent Document 1). In addition, a mobile terminal has been proposed in which a connection member is disposed in a space of an elastic portion that urges the first housing and the second housing in the extending direction so that the opening and closing operation can be performed with one hand. (See Patent Document 2). Furthermore, a structure has been proposed in which a flexible region and an electrical property are made compatible by holding an unbundled region of the intermediate portion as an extra length among a plurality of coaxial cables (see Patent Document 3). ).
JP 2006-93998 A Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-167306 JP 2007-36515 A

  In the portable communication device described in Patent Document 1, since the folded portion of the flexible cable becomes long, it is conceivable that the cable length becomes long, the antenna impedance characteristic varies, and the communication characteristic deteriorates. Further, noise from the external device may be transmitted to the flexible cable and affect the internal circuit, or unnecessary radiated waves radiated from the flexible cable may affect the external electronic device.

  On the other hand, in the connection member in which a plurality of lead wires are bundled as in Patent Document 2 and in the connection member configured with a plurality of coaxial cables as in Patent Document 3, the above-described problems may occur. There is little nature. However, when a plurality of lead wires or coaxial cables are used in a bundle, the bending radius of the bent portion increases in the thickness direction of the casing, so that the bending space required for the slide-type casing can be accommodated. This makes it difficult to reduce the thickness of the product. In addition, when the bending radius of the bent portion is forcibly reduced, the life until the cable breaks is shortened due to stress due to repeated opening and closing operations, and thus the number of bendings required as a product cannot be maintained.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a portable information terminal that has excellent transmission characteristics and can maintain a required bending space and number of bendings.

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 includes a first housing having a display unit and a receiving unit, and a second housing having an operation unit and a transmitting unit. And a portable information terminal that expands and contracts by sliding the second casing mutually, and includes a plurality of coaxial cables, and both ends are electrically connected to the substrates of the first and second casings, respectively. And a guide part that extends or loosens the connection member in conjunction with the sliding of the first and second housings, and the guide part includes a part of the connection member. A cable drive unit including: a cable holding unit slidably held; a rack connected to the first housing; and a pinion gear fitted to the rack and connected to a rotation shaft of the cable holding unit; , hints, the first and second housing is slid on each other When was because the slack in the horizontal plane direction relative to the display section the connecting member by the cable holding portion connected in conjunction with the movement of the pinion gear is moved to the first position by rotating However, when the first and second casings are slid and extended to each other, the connecting member is extended by rotating the cable holding portion to move to the second position.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein when the first and second housings are extended by sliding, the guide member extends the connection member substantially linearly. When the first and second housings are slid and contracted with each other, the connection member is loosened so as to have a substantially Ω shape in a horizontal plane direction with respect to the display unit of the first housing. It is characterized by.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cable holding portion is a fan-shaped plate material provided on an upper surface of a plate fixed to the second housing, and the rotating shaft. The cable holding portion is rotatably attached to the fan-shaped plate material, and a pair of pins into which the connection member is fitted are provided. A rotating plate is provided, and the pair of pins are pivotally supported so as to be rotatable with respect to the rotating plate .

  According to the present invention, when the first housing and the second housing are slid and contracted with each other, the connecting member is loosened in the horizontal surface direction with respect to the display unit. Compared with the case where the casing is bent in the thickness direction, it is not necessary to lengthen the folded portion, and the cable length can be shortened. For this reason, fluctuations in antenna impedance characteristics are reduced, and deterioration of communication characteristics can be suppressed. Moreover, since the connection member which consists of a several coaxial cable is used, generation | occurrence | production of the unnecessary radiated wave which affects the influence by the noise from an external apparatus and an external electronic device can be prevented.

  In addition, the connection member consisting of a plurality of coaxial cables is loosened in an approximately Ω shape in the horizontal plane direction with respect to the display part, so even if the bending radius of the bent part is increased, it becomes a slide-type housing. It can fit in the required bending space. Therefore, the product can be thinned.

  Further, since it is not necessary to forcibly reduce the bending radius of the bent portion, the stress due to repeated opening / closing operations is greatly reduced, and the life until cable breakage can be extended. Therefore, the number of bendings required as a product can be sufficiently maintained. Further, it is possible to prevent the connecting member housed in the casing from being bent and wrinkled.

  Further, since the guide member is provided, the connecting member can be extended or slackened so as to always have the same shape, so that it is possible to prevent irregular deformation of the connecting member during the opening / closing operation. Particularly, since the connecting member is forcibly moved to the first or second position by the cable holding portion and the cable driving portion of the guide portion, the connecting member is smoothly and interlocked with the sliding of the two housings. It can be reliably stretched or slackened.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment when the portable information terminal according to the present invention is applied to a slide-type mobile phone will be described.

[Constitution]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an external appearance of a slide-type mobile phone (hereinafter referred to as a mobile phone) 10 according to the present embodiment, and (a) is a schematic perspective view showing an external appearance when two housings are contracted. (B) is a schematic perspective view which shows an external appearance when extending two housings.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, in the mobile phone 10 according to the present embodiment, a first housing 11 and a second housing 12 are overlapped and are slidably connected to each other by a slide mechanism described later. . On the front side of the first housing 11, a display unit 13 composed of a liquid crystal panel or the like and a receiver unit 14 serving as a speaker during a call are disposed. Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, an operation unit 15 including a plurality of operation keys and a transmitter unit 16 serving as a microphone during a call are disposed on the front side of the second housing 12. When the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are contracted, the display unit 13 and the receiver unit 14 are exposed to the outside. Further, when the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are extended, the operation unit 15 and the transmission unit 16 are further exposed.

  2 and 3 are schematic perspective views showing the internal structure of the mobile phone 10 according to the present embodiment. Among these, FIG. 2 shows a state when two housings are contracted, and FIG. 3 shows a state when two housings are extended. In each drawing referred to in the following description, illustration of a housing frame, an internal circuit, and the like is appropriately omitted or simplified for easy understanding of the internal structure.

  First, the slide mechanism will be described. In FIG. 2, a slide rail portion (not shown) and a slider portion slidably fitted to the slide rail portion are provided on both side ends of the upper portion of the second housing 12. The slider part is connected to the back side of the first casing 11, and when the first casing 11 and the second casing 12 are slid relative to each other, the slider moves along the sliding direction of the slide rail part. However, the first casing 11 and the second casing 12 expand and contract while maintaining the superimposed state.

  Next, the cable 20 will be described. In the present embodiment, the cable 20 serving as a connection member is a single cable obtained by bundling a plurality of coaxial cables and winding a tape or thin film around them. Connectors 21 and 22 are connected to both ends of the cable 20. On the other hand, a circuit board (not shown) is arranged inside the first casing 11 and the second casing 12, and connector connecting portions 17 and 18 for transmitting and receiving electrical signals and electric power are provided. The connector 21 at one end of the cable 20 is connected to the connector connecting portion 17 of the first housing 11, and the connector 22 at the other end is connected to the connector connecting portion 18 of the second housing 12. As a result, the circuit board of the first housing 11 and the circuit board of the second housing 12 are electrically connected via the cable 20, and electrical signals are exchanged between the electronic components mounted on the respective circuit boards. Or power will be supplied.

  Note that the first casing 11 and the second casing 12 have areas that always overlap when the two casings are expanded and contracted, and openings that are not shown are provided in these areas. The cable 20 is inserted through the two openings.

  Next, the guide part 30 is demonstrated. Inside the second housing 12, a guide portion 30 is provided that extends or loosens the cable 20 in conjunction with the sliding of the first housing 11 and the second housing 12. The guide unit 30 includes a cable holding unit 40 configured to be movable to a first position or a second position, which will be described later, while holding a part of the cable 20 slidably, and the first casing 11 and the second casing. A cable driving unit 50 forcibly moving the cable holding unit 40 to either the first position or the second position in conjunction with the sliding of the body 12 with each other.

  The cable holding portion 40 is a fan-shaped plate material provided on the upper surface of the plate 31 fixed to the second housing 12, and is attached so as to be rotatable with respect to the plate 31 by the rotation shaft 43. . Further, the cable holding portion 40 is provided with a rotating plate 42 in which a pair of pins 41 are disposed. The rotating plate 42 is attached so as to be rotatable with respect to the cable holding portion 40 by a rotating shaft (not shown). The pair of pins 41 are pivotally supported so as to be rotatable with respect to the rotating plate 42, respectively, and an intermediate portion of the cable 20 is fitted between the pins.

  In addition, a pair of pins 33 and 34 for holding the cable 20 are disposed on the upper surface of the plate 31, and the ends of the cable 20 are fitted into the respective pins. The pins 33 and 34 are fixed to the plate 31 and have a structure that does not rotate in conjunction with sliding of the housing.

  The cable driving unit 50 includes a rack (plate-shaped gear) 51 and a pinion gear (circular small gear) 52 fitted to the rack 51. A substantially L-shaped support portion 53 is attached to the end portion of the rack 51. And the support part 53 penetrates the opening part which is provided in the two housing | casing demonstrated previously, and is connected with the back surface of the 1st housing | casing 11. As shown in FIG. As a result, when the first casing 11 and the second casing 12 slide relative to each other, the rack 51 moves along the longitudinal direction of the casing. The pinion gear 52 is connected to the rotating shaft 43 of the cable holding unit 40. As a result, when the first casing 11 and the second casing 12 slide relative to each other and the rack 51 moves along the longitudinal direction of the casing, the pinion gear 52 that engages with the rack 51 rotates clockwise in plan view. Or it rotates counterclockwise. For this reason, the cable holding part 40 connected with the pinion gear 52 and the rotating shaft 43 also rotates clockwise or counterclockwise in plan view in conjunction with this. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the position of the cable holding portion 40 in a state in which the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are contracted is referred to as a “first position”, as shown in FIG. 3. In addition, the position of the cable holding portion 40 in a state where the first casing 11 and the second casing 12 are extended is referred to as a “second position”.

[Action and effect]
4 and 5 are schematic plan views showing the internal structure of the mobile phone 10 according to the present embodiment. Among these, FIG. 4 shows a state when two housings are contracted, and FIG. 5 shows a state when two housings are extended. 6 and 7 are schematic side views showing the internal structure of the mobile phone 10 according to the present embodiment. Among these, FIG. 6 shows a state when two housings are contracted, and FIG. 7 shows a state when two housings are extended.

  In the cellular phone 10 according to the present embodiment, when the first casing 11 and the second casing 12 are contracted, the cable 20 is displayed on the first casing 11 by a guide portion 30 as shown in FIG. The portion 13 (see FIG. 1) is slacked into a substantially Ω shape in a horizontal plane direction. Moreover, as shown in the side view of FIG. 6, the cables 20 are stored without overlapping each other.

  When the first casing 11 and the second casing 12 are slid and extended in this state, the pinion gear 52 fitted to the rack 51 rotates clockwise in plan view, and the pinion gear 52 and the rotating shaft 43 are rotated. The cable holding portions 40 connected in the above manner also rotate clockwise (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4) about the rotation shaft 43. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the cable holding part 40 moves from the first position to the second position, and the cable 20 is forcibly moved from the first position to the second position. Become. As a result, the cable 20 extends in a substantially linear shape in a plan view, and also in a substantially straight shape in a side view as shown in FIG.

  When the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 are slid and contracted from each other from the state of FIG. 5, the pinion gear 52 fitted to the rack 51 rotates counterclockwise in plan view. The cable holding unit 40 connected to the pinion gear 52 and the rotating shaft 43 also rotates counterclockwise (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5) about the rotating shaft 43. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the cable holding portion 40 is moved again from the second position to the first position, and accordingly, the cable 20 is forcibly moved to the first position. As a result, the cable 20 is loosened to a substantially Ω shape again in plan view.

  According to the mobile phone 10 according to the present embodiment, when the first casing 11 and the second casing 12 are slid and contracted with each other, the cable 20 is loosened in the horizontal plane direction with respect to the display unit 13. Therefore, compared with the case where the FPC is bent in the thickness direction of the housing, it is not necessary to lengthen the folded portion, and the cable length can be shortened. For this reason, fluctuations in antenna impedance characteristics are reduced, and deterioration of communication characteristics can be suppressed. Although the cable length varies depending on the form of wiring, it can be shortened to about 2/3 at the maximum. In addition, since the cable 20 in which a plurality of coaxial cables are bundled is used as the connecting member, it is possible to prevent the influence of noise from an external device and the generation of unnecessary radiation waves that affect the external electronic device.

  Further, since the cable 20 in which a plurality of coaxial cables are bundled is loosened in a substantially Ω shape in the plane direction horizontal to the display unit 13, even if the bending radius of the bent portion is increased, a slide-type housing Can be fully accommodated in the bending space required. Therefore, the product can be thinned.

  Further, in the structure of the present embodiment, when the two housings are extended, the cable 20 extends substantially in a straight line. Therefore, even when the cable 20 is also used as a built-in antenna, good communication characteristics can be obtained. it can.

  Furthermore, according to the structure of the present embodiment, since it is not necessary to forcibly reduce the bending radius of the bent portion, stress due to repeated opening / closing operations is greatly reduced, and the life until cable breakage can be extended. Therefore, the number of bendings required as a product can be sufficiently maintained. Further, it is possible to prevent the cable 20 housed in the housing from being bent and wrinkled.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the guide part 30 is provided, the cable 20 can be extended or slackened so as to always have the same shape, so that irregular deformation of the cable 20 during the opening / closing operation can be prevented. . In particular, in the guide portion 30 of the present embodiment, the cable 20 is forcibly moved to the first or second position by the cable holding portion 40 and the cable driving portion 50, and therefore interlocked with the sliding of the two housings. Thus, the cable 20 can be stretched or slackened smoothly and reliably.

  A slide-type mobile phone having a distance of 2 mm between circuit boards mounted on two housings was manufactured, and the opening / closing operation was repeated to verify the presence or absence of cable disconnection. In the example manufactured based on the structure of the above embodiment, disconnection of the cable could not be confirmed even when the opening / closing operation exceeded 100,000 times. On the other hand, in the comparative example of the conventional structure in which the FPC is arranged in a U shape in the thickness direction of the casing, the disconnection of the cable was confirmed in less than 10,000 opening / closing operations.

The schematic perspective view which shows the external appearance of the mobile telephone concerning embodiment. (a) is a schematic perspective view which shows an external appearance when two housings are shrunk. (B) is a schematic perspective view which shows an external appearance when extending two housings. The schematic perspective view which shows an internal structure when the mobile telephone concerning embodiment is shrunk | reduced. The schematic perspective view which shows an internal structure when the mobile telephone concerning embodiment is extended. The schematic plan view which shows an internal structure when the mobile telephone concerning embodiment is shrunk | reduced. The schematic plan view which shows an internal structure when the mobile telephone concerning embodiment is extended. The schematic side view which shows an internal structure when the mobile telephone concerning embodiment is shrunk | reduced. The schematic side view which shows an internal structure when the mobile telephone concerning embodiment is extended.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Mobile phone 11 ... 1st housing | casing 12 ... 2nd housing | casing 13 ... Display part 14 ... Reception part 15 ... Operation part 16 ... Transmission part 17, 18 ... Connector connection part 20 ... Cable 21, 22 ... Connector 30 ... Guide part 31 ... Plate 33, 41 ... Pin 40 ... Cable holding part 42 ... Rotating plate 43 ... Rotating shaft 50 ... Cable driving part 51 ... Rack 52 ... Pinion gear 53 ... Supporting part

Claims (3)

A portable device having a first housing having a display unit and a receiving unit, and a second housing having an operation unit and a transmitting unit, and extending and contracting by sliding the first and second housings relative to each other. An information terminal,
A connection member comprising a plurality of coaxial cables, and both ends of which are electrically connected to the substrates of the first and second housings,
A guide portion that extends or loosens the connection member in conjunction with the sliding of the first and second housings;
With
The guide portion includes a cable holding portion that slidably holds a part of the connection member;
A cable drive unit having a rack connected to the first housing, and a pinion gear fitted to the rack and connected to a rotation shaft of the cable holding unit;
Including
When the first and second housings are slid and contracted with each other, the cable holding portion connected in conjunction with the movement of the pinion gear rotates to move to the first position, thereby connecting the connection. When the member is slackened in a horizontal plane direction with respect to the display unit and the first and second housings are slid and extended, the cable holding unit rotates and moves to the second position. By extending the connecting member, a portable information terminal.   The guide portion extends the connection member substantially linearly when the first and second casings are slid and extended, and the first and second casings slide and contract each other. 2. The portable information terminal according to claim 1, wherein when connected, the connection member is slackened into a substantially Ω shape in a plane direction horizontal to the display unit of the first housing. The cable holding portion is a fan-shaped plate provided on an upper surface of a plate fixed to the second housing, and is rotatably attached to the plate by the rotation shaft.
The cable holding part is rotatably attached to the fan-shaped plate material, and has a rotating plate on which a pair of pins into which the connecting member is fitted is disposed.
The portable information terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the pair of pins are pivotally supported so as to be rotatable with respect to the rotating plate .

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