JP5439321B2 - Sliding mobile device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a slide type mobile terminal provided with a slide mechanism that slidably connects a first housing and a second housing.

  Conventionally, the first casing and the second casing are slidably connected to each other, and the first casing and the second casing overlap with each other, or the first casing slides. A slide-type portable terminal that can be switched to an open state in which a part of the surface of the second casing is exposed is known.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a slide-type mobile terminal device in which a display unit housing having a display unit and an operation unit housing having an operation unit are slidably coupled, and the main surface of the display unit housing And a rail and a frame that are relatively slidably engaged with each other, the rail is fixed to the metal plate by welding, and the frame is fixed to the operation unit casing. .

JP 2010-136259 A

  However, in the conventional slide type mobile terminal, the rail and the frame are parallel to each other with a highly rigid metal in which the left and right are connected to each other. In addition, when the display unit housing has a horizontally long structure, the portion connecting the left and right of the rail and the frame becomes large and the mass increases. Also, looseness is likely to occur between the rail and the frame, and a gap is expected to reduce the backlash. If the value is made smaller, there is a problem that the movement of the display unit casing becomes worse when the display unit casing is tilted with respect to the operation unit casing.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to have a simple and lightweight structure and smoothly slide the first casing without tilting with respect to the second casing. There is to let it be.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a pinion shaft having rollers as well as a pinion at both ends is provided as a slide mechanism.

Specifically, in the first invention,
A sliding portable terminal including a sliding mechanism that slidably connects a first housing and a second housing is an object.

And the slide mechanism is
A pair of racks provided at intervals on the back surface of the first housing;
A roller contact portion disposed on the back surface of the first housing in parallel with the racks;
A pinion provided on the surface of the second casing and meshing with the racks and a pinion shaft having rollers at both ends contacting the roller contact portion are provided.

  According to the above configuration, since the pinions are provided at both ends of the pinion shaft and these pinions are meshed with the pair of racks, the pair of pinions rotate in synchronization with each other, and the first housing has the second housing. Slides smoothly without tilting with respect to the housing. In addition, since the roller is connected to the pinion shaft, even if a biased force is applied to the first housing and the first housing is inclined with respect to the second housing, the roller and the roller contact with each other. The load can be shared with the part, and the tilt is effectively prevented. Furthermore, since the left and right pinions rotate synchronously on the pinion shaft to prevent the first housing from tilting, a conventional rigid frame that connects the rails to prevent the first housing from tilting is provided. Since it becomes unnecessary and the length of the sliding direction of the portion engaged with the rail can be shortened, a lightweight sliding mechanism can be obtained.

In the second invention, in the first invention,
The outer diameter of the roller is equal to the pitch circle diameter of the pinion.

  According to the above configuration, when the pinion rotates on the rack, the roller always abuts against the roller abutting portion, so that the load is appropriately shared between the pinion and the roller, and the first housing is the second housing. Slide smoothly on the housing.

In the third invention, in the first or second invention,
The pinion and the roller are formed integrally with the pinion shaft.

  According to the above configuration, when the pinion rotates on the rack, the roller also forcibly rotates, so that the roller does not slide on the roller contact portion, and the first casing further smoothly moves on the second casing. Slide.

In the fourth invention, in the third invention,
The pinion shaft is a resin molded product.

  According to the above configuration, the pinion shaft extends on the surface of the second casing, but is a resin molded product, and thus does not cause radio interference as in the case of metal. And if it is a resin molded product, it is lightweight and easy to mold.

In the fifth invention, in the fourth invention,
The pinion shaft is formed of a polyether ether ketone resin.

  According to said structure, the pinion shaft excellent in abrasion resistance and a sliding characteristic can be shape | molded.

In a sixth invention, in the fifth invention,
The rack and roller contact portions are also formed of polyetheretherketone resin.

  According to the above configuration, even a complicated shape having a rack and a roller contact portion can be easily formed, and since it has excellent wear resistance and sliding characteristics, a smooth sliding operation is maintained even after long-term use.

In a seventh invention, in any one of the first to sixth inventions,
The slide mechanism is
A pair of pinion side frames having a pinion shaft support portion that rotatably supports the pinion shaft and an engagement portion that engages with the rear surface of the rack are provided.

  According to said structure, a 1st housing | casing does not remove | deviate from a 2nd housing | casing because the engaging part of a pinion side frame engages with a rack back surface. In addition, since the pinion shaft is provided to prevent the first casing from being inclined with respect to the second casing, it is not necessary to lengthen the engaging portion in the sliding direction in order to maintain parallelism, and a lightweight sliding mechanism is provided. can get.

In the eighth invention, in the seventh invention,
In the sliding mechanism, the first casing is moved in the open state where the first casing slides relative to the second casing and the surface of the second casing is exposed. Tilt means for inclining the second housing so as to approach the front side is provided.

  According to the above configuration, since the first casing rises to the near side in the open state by the tilting means, it is easy to operate the second casing while looking at the first casing.

In the ninth invention, in the eighth invention,
The tilting means is
A protrusion that protrudes toward the surface of the second housing formed on the pair of pinion-side frames;
A guide groove that is recessed in parallel to the rack on the back surface of the second housing, and in which the protrusion moves.
It is comprised with the taper surface formed in the edge part of the said guide groove.

  According to the above configuration, the protrusion of the pinion side frame moves in the guide groove in the middle of the slide, and climbs onto the tapered surface at the end of the slide movement and the first casing is tilted. A simple construction tilting means is obtained.

In a tenth invention, in any one of the first to ninth inventions,
Between the pair of racks in the first casing, a signal line connecting the first board in the first casing and the second board in the second casing is connected to the first casing and the first casing. A signal line recess is formed that is movable during the sliding operation of the second housing.

  According to the above configuration, since the signal line moves in the signal line recess during the slide, the signal line does not come into contact with the pinion shaft and is not damaged, or the slide operation is not hindered.

In an eleventh invention, in any one of the first to tenth inventions,
The first housing includes a display unit,
The longitudinal direction of the first casing coincides with the longitudinal direction of the pinion shaft.

  According to the above configuration, since the longitudinal direction of the first casing and the longitudinal direction of the pinion shaft are coincident with each other, the distance between the racks is increased, and the first casing is relative to the second casing. Although it is easy to tilt, since the roller is always in contact with the roller contact portion, the occurrence of tilt is reliably suppressed, and a smooth slide operation is possible. In addition, since the pair of pinions are connected by a pinion shaft, there is no need to provide a connecting portion unlike the conventional frame structure, and the effect of weight reduction is great.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a pair of racks and roller contact portions are provided at intervals on the back surface of the first housing, and a pinion and a roller are provided at both ends on the surface of the second housing. The pinion shaft is provided, and the roller is brought into contact with the roller contact portion while the pair of pinions are rotated synchronously. Therefore, the first housing can be smoothly slid and moved without tilting with respect to the second housing with a simple and lightweight structure.

It is the I section enlarged bottom view of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the closed state of a slide type mobile telephone. It is a perspective view which shows the open state of a slide type mobile telephone. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a front view of FIG. 3. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5. It is the VII-VII sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the slide mechanism in an open state from the near side. It is a bottom view of FIG. It is a right view of FIG. It is a perspective view which expands and shows a part of slide mechanism in the closed state concerning a modification. It is a perspective view which expands and shows a part of slide mechanism in the open state concerning a modification. It is a perspective view which shows the back surface side of the 1st housing | casing concerning a modification. It is a perspective view which shows the surface side of the 2nd housing | casing concerning a modification.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  2 to 7 show a slide-type mobile phone 1 as a slide-type mobile terminal according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In the mobile phone 1 of this embodiment, the first has a horizontally long display unit 2 on the left and right. The housing 3 and the second housing 5 having the operation unit 4 on the surface are slidably connected by a slide mechanism 10. The display unit 2 is covered with a cover 2a such as an acrylic plate, and may be a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or a touch panel. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the torsion coil spring 6 that assists the sliding movement of the first housing 3 with respect to the second housing 5 includes the back surface of the first housing 3 and the second housing. It is arrange | positioned between 5 surfaces. One end 6 a of the torsion coil spring 6 is rotatably connected to the back surface of the first housing 3 with a screw (not shown), and the other end 6 b is rotatably connected to the support pin 6 c on the surface of the second housing 5. Has been. For simplification of description, the longitudinal direction of the display unit 2 is the left-right direction, and the width direction is the up-down direction.

  A signal line 9 that connects the first substrate 7 in the first housing 3 and the second substrate 8 in the second housing 5 is deeper than the outer diameter of the signal line 9 and on the back surface of the first housing 3. It is accommodated in the recessed part 3a for signal lines that has been depressed (see FIGS. 5 and 13).

  The slide mechanism 10 includes a pair of racks 11, and the pair of racks 11 is provided on the back surface of the first housing 3 with a gap. Each rack 11 is formed on the left and right outer sides of the rack unit 12 that is fitted in the rack recesses 3 b (see FIGS. 6 and 7) formed on the left and right of the first housing 3. As shown in FIG. 1 in an enlarged manner, roller contact portions 13 are arranged in parallel to the rack 11 on the left and right inner sides of the rack unit 12. The rack unit 12 includes a rack mounting portion 12b having a plurality of through holes 12a for mounting on the back surface of the first housing 3 on the left and right inner sides of the roller contact portion 13. The surface height of the roller contact portion 13 is equal to the height of the reference pitch line of the rack 11.

  On the other hand, the slide mechanism 10 includes a pinion shaft 30, and this pinion shaft 30 is accommodated in a pinion shaft recess 5 a (see FIGS. 4 and 7) that is recessed to extend left and right on the surface of the second housing 5. Has been. The pinion shaft 30 includes pinions 31 that engage with the rack 11 at both ends, and has rollers 32 that abut against the roller abutting portions 13 on the left and right inner sides, respectively. The pinion 31 and the roller 32 are integrally formed on the pinion shaft 30 with a polyether ether ketone resin (PEEK resin). For this reason, the pinion shaft 30 excellent in wear resistance and sliding characteristics can be easily formed, and the pinion shaft 30 extends substantially over the entire left and right sides of the second housing 5, but is a resin molded product. It does not cause radio interference as in the case of metal. The outer diameter of the roller 32 is set equal to the pitch circle diameter of the pinion 31. The rack unit 12 including the rack 11 and the roller contact portion 13 is also formed of polyether ether ketone resin. For this reason, even a rack unit 12 having a complicated shape compared to metal can be easily formed, is lightweight, and has excellent wear resistance and sliding characteristics, so that a smooth sliding operation is maintained even when used for a long time. .

  The pinion shaft 30 is rotatably supported by a pinion side frame 33 attached to the left and right frame recesses 5b (shown in FIG. 4) on the upper side of the second housing 5 with a space therebetween. The pinion side frame 33 is made of, for example, a press-formed product of a stainless steel plate, and has a through hole 33 a for attaching to the surface of the second housing 5. The pinion side frame 33 is bent to the front side (the back side of the first housing 3) vertically on the left and right sides, and the pinion shaft support that supports one of both ends of the pinion shaft 30 on the bent standing portion 33b. A portion 34 is formed. Engagement portions 33c that are further bent are formed at both ends in the sliding direction (vertical direction) of the standing portion 33b. The engaging portion 33 c engages with the sliding surface 11 a on the back surface of the rack 11 so that the first housing 3 does not come off from the second housing 5.

  Next, the operation of the sliding portable terminal according to the present embodiment will be described.

  First, in the closed state shown in FIG. 2, the pinion 31 is at the upper end position of the rack 11 (see FIG. 4). In this state, the torsion coil spring 6 is in a natural length or slightly twisted.

  Next, when any part of the first housing 3 is pushed upward against the elastic force of the torsion coil spring 6, the pinion 31 moves downward of the rack 11 while the torsion coil spring 6 is twisted. At this time, since the longitudinal direction of the first casing 3 and the longitudinal direction of the pinion shaft 30 coincide, the distance between the left and right racks 11 is large, and the first casing 3 is the second casing 5. It is easy to lean against. However, since pinions 31 are provided at both ends of the pinion shaft 30 and these pinions 31 are meshed with the pair of racks 11, the pair of pinions 31 rotate in synchronization with each other, and the first housing 3 becomes 2 slides smoothly without tilting relative to the housing 5. In addition, since the roller 32 is connected to the pinion shaft 30 and is always in contact with the roller contact portion 13, a biased force is applied to the first housing 3, so that the first housing 3 becomes the second housing. Even if it tries to incline with respect to the body 5, a load can be shared between the roller 32 and the roller contact part 13, and an inclination is prevented effectively. Further, since the pair of pinions 31 are connected by the pinion shaft 30, it is not necessary to maintain a parallel degree by providing a rigid connection portion as in the conventional frame structure, and the engagement portion 33 c in the sliding direction. Since the length can be shortened, the effect of weight reduction is great. Further, when the pinion 31 rotates on the rack 11, the roller 32 is also forcibly rotated. Therefore, the roller 32 does not slide on the roller contact portion 13, and the first housing 3 moves on the second housing 5. Slide smoothly. Since the signal line 9 moves in the signal line recess 3a during the slide, the signal line 9 does not come into contact with the pinion shaft 30 and is not damaged, or the slide operation is not hindered.

  When the maximum torsion angle of the torsion coil spring 6 is exceeded, the first housing 3 is automatically moved to the open position by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 6. At this time, the first housing 3 slides smoothly without being tilted by the action of the slide mechanism 10, so that the opening operation of the first housing 3 is extremely easy.

  In the open state, the operation unit 4 is operated while looking at the horizontally long display unit 2.

  To return to the closed state, the reverse operation is performed. Even when returning to the closed position, the closing operation of the first casing 3 is very easy due to the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 6.

  Therefore, according to the sliding portable terminal according to the present embodiment, the first casing 3 can be smoothly slid and moved without tilting with respect to the second casing 5 with a simple and lightweight structure.

-Modification of the embodiment-
FIGS. 11-14 shows the modification of embodiment of this invention, and it differs from the said embodiment by the point from which the structure of the slide mechanism 110 differs. In addition, in this modification, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the same part as FIGS. 1-10, and the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  That is, the slide mechanism 110 is configured so that the first housing 3 is in the open state in which the first housing 3 slides with respect to the second housing 5 and the surface of the second housing 5 is exposed. Tilt means for inclining the second casing 5 so as to approach the front side is provided.

  Specifically, differences from the above-described embodiment will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 13, guide grooves 3 c are recessed in parallel to the rack 11 on the left and right inner sides of the rack mounting portion 12 b. At the slide end (lower end) of the guide groove 3c, a tapered surface 12c that is formed on the left and right peripheral edge portions of the rack unit 12 and is inclined downward toward the surface of the second housing 5 is disposed. The tapered surface 12c is not formed by the wall surface of the guide groove 3c, but is formed on the rack unit 12 made of polyetheretherketone resin, so that the tapered surface 12c is excellent in wear resistance and sliding characteristics. ing.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14, the upper side (opposite side of the operation unit 4) of the pinion side frame 33 is extended to the left and right inner sides, and the left and right inner ends thereof are the front side (the back side of the first housing 3). A protruding portion 35 is formed that is bent to the side of the second housing surface. The lower side of the protrusion 35 has a form that tapers downward. The protrusion 35 is positioned so as to move in the guide groove 3 c of the first housing 3. Thus, in this modification, a tilting means with a simple configuration that does not hinder smooth sliding can be obtained.

  Next, the operation of the slide mechanism 110 of this modification will be described.

  When the first casing 3 is slid upward with respect to the second casing 5 and switched to the open state, the tapered surface 12c comes into contact with the protruding portion 35 at the end of the sliding movement. Then, the first housing 3 tilts toward the front side with respect to the second housing 5 around the lower end side (around the pinion shaft 30) of the first housing 3.

  For this reason, since the display part 2 inclines moderately, it becomes easy to operate the operation part 4 while seeing the display part 2. FIG. In this modification, in order to incline the first housing 3 toward the front side, the engaging portion 33c is divided into two parts in the vertical direction, and the gap between the upper engaging portion 33c and the sliding surface 11a of the rack 11 is increased. However, since the pinion 31 is rotated on the left and right by the pinion shaft 30, the first housing 3 is not tilted during the slide.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention may be configured as follows with respect to the above embodiment.

  That is, in the above embodiment, the sliding mobile terminal 1 is the sliding mobile phone 1 in the above embodiment, but it may be a sliding PC, mobile tool, electronic dictionary, calculator, PHS, PDA, or the like.

  Further, the first housing 3 is configured to rotate about the pinion shaft 30 when the first housing 3 is in the sliding direction end position on the upper side of the second housing 5 in the opened state. May be. In this case, what is necessary is just to comprise so that engagement with the engaging part 33c and the sliding face 11a may be cancelled | released in a sliding direction terminal position. According to this structure, the 1st housing | casing 3 can be inclined to a favorite angle in an open state.

  In addition, the above embodiment is an essentially preferable illustration, Comprising: It does not intend restrict | limiting the range of this invention, its application thing, or a use.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for a sliding portable terminal including a slide mechanism that slidably connects a first housing and a second housing such as a mobile phone.

1 Sliding mobile phone (sliding portable terminal)
3 First housing 3c Guide groove (tilting means)
7 First substrate 8 Second substrate 9 Signal line 10 Slide mechanism 11 Rack 12c Tapered surface (tilting means)
13 Roller contact portion 30 Pinion shaft 31 Pinion 32 Roller 33 Pinion side frame 33c Engagement portion 34 Pinion shaft support portion 35 Protruding portion (tilting means)
110 Slide mechanism

Claims (11)

A sliding mobile terminal comprising a slide mechanism that slidably connects a first housing and a second housing,
The slide mechanism is
A pair of racks provided at intervals on the back surface of the first housing;
A roller contact portion disposed on the back surface of the first housing in parallel with the racks;
A sliding portable terminal comprising a pinion provided on a surface of the second casing and meshing with each rack, and a pinion shaft having rollers at both ends contacting the roller contact portion. The sliding mobile terminal according to claim 1,
A sliding portable terminal characterized in that an outer diameter of the roller is equal to a pitch circle diameter of the pinion. The sliding mobile terminal according to claim 1 or 2,
The slide type portable terminal, wherein the pinion and the roller are formed integrally with the pinion shaft. The sliding mobile terminal according to claim 3, wherein
The above-described pinion shaft is a resin molded product. The sliding portable terminal according to claim 4, wherein
The above-described pinion shaft is formed of a polyether ether ketone resin. The sliding mobile terminal according to claim 5, wherein
A sliding portable terminal characterized in that the rack and roller contact portions are also formed of polyetheretherketone resin. The sliding mobile terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The slide mechanism is
A sliding portable terminal comprising a pair of pinion-side frames having a pinion shaft support portion that rotatably supports the pinion shaft and an engagement portion that engages with the rear surface of the rack. The sliding mobile terminal according to claim 7,
In the sliding mechanism, the first casing is moved in the open state where the first casing slides relative to the second casing and the surface of the second casing is exposed. A sliding portable terminal, characterized in that tilting means for tilting toward the front side of the two housings is provided. The sliding mobile terminal according to claim 8, wherein
The tilting means is
A protrusion that protrudes toward the surface of the second housing formed on the pair of pinion-side frames;
A guide groove that is recessed in parallel to the rack on the back surface of the second housing, and in which the protrusion moves.
A sliding portable terminal comprising a tapered surface formed at an end of the guide groove. The sliding mobile terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
Between the pair of racks in the first casing, a signal line connecting the first board in the first casing and the second board in the second casing is connected to the first casing and the first casing. A sliding portable terminal, wherein a signal line recess is formed that is movable during a sliding operation of the second housing, and the depth of the signal line recess is equal to or greater than the outer diameter of the signal line. The sliding mobile terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
The first housing includes a display unit,
A sliding portable terminal characterized in that a longitudinal direction of the first casing and a longitudinal direction of the pinion shaft coincide with each other.

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