JP5471996B2 - Electronic device and connecting unit - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device and a connection unit.

  2. Description of the Related Art An electronic device having a connection unit that connects two housings so as to be relatively rotatable around two axes is known. Patent Document 1 discloses such an electronic device.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-20804

  There are cases where such two cases are connected by a cable. In such a case, it is conceivable to use a longer cable in order to prevent the cable from being pulled with the relative rotation of the two housings. However, if a long cable is used, the manufacturing cost may increase.

  An object of this invention is to provide the electronic device and connection unit which can employ | adopt a short cable.

  The electronic device disclosed in the present specification includes the first and second housings, a cable connecting the first and second housings, and the first and second shafts around the first and second axes intersecting each other. A coupling unit that couples the second housing so as to be relatively rotatable, and the coupling unit includes first and second fixing members that are respectively fixed to the first and second housings, and the first fixing member. A connecting member connected to be rotatable about a first axis and holding the second fixing member so as to be relatively rotatable about the second axis, and the cable is arranged around the second axis of the second fixing member. The first fixing member has a restricting portion that restricts a rotation range around the second axis of the cable.

  The first disclosed connecting unit is a connecting unit that connects the first and second housings connected by the cable so as to be relatively rotatable around first and second axes intersecting each other. First and second fixing members fixed to the two housings, respectively, and connected to the first fixing member so as to be relatively rotatable around the first axis, and the second fixing member can be relatively rotated around the second axis. And the cable rotates around the second axis with relative rotation of the second fixing member around the second axis, and the first fixing member is connected to the cable. A restricting portion for restricting a rotation range around the second axis;

  An electronic device and a connecting unit that can employ a short cable can be provided.

1A and 1B are explanatory views of an electronic apparatus according to the present embodiment. 2A to 2C are explanatory diagrams of a transition state of the housing from the horizontal posture to the vertical posture. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating a side surface of the electronic device. FIG. 4 is a view showing the back surface of the housing. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the connecting unit. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the connecting unit. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the connecting unit. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the connecting unit. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the connecting unit. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the connecting unit. FIG. 11A is a top view of the electronic device when the housing is in a horizontal posture, and FIG. 11B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 11A. 12A is a top view of the electronic device when the casing is in a vertical posture, and FIG. 12B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 12A. FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of the connecting unit of FIG. 11B. FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of the connecting unit of FIG. 12B. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of the restriction of the rotation range of the cable.

  1A and 1B are explanatory views of an electronic apparatus A according to the present embodiment. The electronic device A includes a first housing (hereinafter referred to as a housing) 1, a housing 2 connected to the housing 1 so as to be relatively rotatable, and a housing 3 that supports the housing 1. The housing 1 houses a mother board (not shown) for controlling the entire operation of the electronic device A. The housing 2 includes a display D that displays an image. The display D is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, but is not limited thereto. A plurality of ports P are provided on the side surface of the housing 1. The housing 3 is provided with a reproducing device S for reproducing a disk type recording medium. 1A and 1B show a state in which the tray of the reproducing apparatus S is opened.

  The rotation angle range of the housing 2 is 90 degrees. FIG. 1A shows the housing 2 in a horizontal posture, and FIG. 1B shows the housing 2 in a vertical posture. The housing 2 has a substantially rectangular shape. The horizontal posture is a posture in which the long side of the housing 2 is along the horizontal direction, and the vertical posture is a posture in which the long side of the housing 2 is along the vertical direction.

  2A to 2C are explanatory diagrams of the transition state of the housing 2 from the horizontal posture to the vertical posture. By rotating the casing 2 clockwise, the casing 2 shifts from a horizontal posture to a vertical posture. As shown in FIG. 2C, when the casing 2 is in a vertical posture, the concave portion R of the casing 1 is exposed. As shown in FIG. 2A, when the casing 2 is in a horizontal posture, the concave portion R is concealed by the casing 2. The That is, the recess R is exposed and concealed according to the posture of the housing 2. The housing 2 can accommodate, for example, A peripheral devices and cables.

  The position of the rotation center of the housing 2 that rotates from the horizontal posture to the vertical posture is different from the position of the center of gravity of the housing 2. The gravity center position of the housing 2 in the vertical posture is obtained by moving the gravity center position of the housing 2 in the horizontal posture in the horizontal direction. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, the casing 2 in the vertical posture moves to the right as compared to the casing 2 in the horizontal posture. By moving the housing 2 in this way, the left portion of the housing 1 can be exposed when the housing 2 is in a vertical posture. Thereby, the recessed part R mentioned above can be exposed. Further, since the housing 2 moves in this way, the housing 2 is prevented from interfering with the playback device S.

  3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating a side surface of the electronic apparatus A. FIG. FIG. 3A shows the housing 2 in a horizontal posture, and FIG. 3B shows the housing 2 in a vertical posture. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the housing 2 can change the tilt angle in any posture. Thereby, the user can set the inclination angle of the housing 2 so that the display D can be easily seen. A connecting unit U that enables relative rotation of the casings 1 and 2 is provided between the casings 1 and 2. A cable C is connected between the housings 1 and 2. The cable C electrically connects the motherboard in the housing 1 and the printed circuit board in the housing 2.

  FIG. 4 is a view showing the back surface of the housing 2. FIG. 4 shows the back surface when the housing 2 is in a horizontal posture. Below, the connection unit U is demonstrated.

  5-10 is explanatory drawing of the connection unit U. FIG. FIG. 5 shows the connection unit U when the housing 2 is in a horizontal posture, and FIGS. 6 and 7 show the connection unit U when the housing 2 is in a vertical posture. FIG. 8 shows the bottom side of the connecting unit U.

  The connecting unit U includes a first fixing member (hereinafter referred to as a fixing member) 10, a second fixing member (hereinafter referred to as a fixing member) 20, and connecting members 30 and 40. The fixing member 10 is fixed to the housing 1 side. The fixing member 20 is fixed to the housing 2 side. The connecting member 30 is connected to the fixed member 10 so as to be relatively rotatable about the first axis a1. The connecting member 40 is held by the connecting member 30 and connects the fixing member 20 around the second axis a2 so as to be relatively rotatable. By the relative rotation of the fixing members 10 and 20 around the second axis a2, the housing 2 is switched to the horizontal posture or the vertical posture. The casing 2 can change the inclination angle by the relative rotation of the fixing members 10 and 20 around the first axis a1. The direction of the first axis a1 and the direction of the second axis a2 intersect. Specifically, the direction of the first axis a1 and the direction of the second axis a2 are orthogonal.

  The fixing member 10 and the connecting member 30 will be described. FIG. 9 is a view showing only the fixing member 10 and the connecting member 30. The fixing member 10 includes a fixed wall portion 11 fixed to the housing 1, and two connecting wall portions 13 extending perpendicularly to the fixed wall portion 11 on both sides of the fixed wall portion 11. The connection member 30 includes a support wall portion 31 and two connection wall portions 33 that extend perpendicularly to the support wall portion 31 on both sides of the support wall portion 31. The first shaft a <b> 1 passes through the connecting wall portion 13 and the connecting wall portion 33. Thereby, the fixing member 10 and the connecting member 30 are connected so as to be relatively rotatable around the first axis a1. A groove 14 is formed in the connection wall 13 within a predetermined range. The connecting wall portion 33 is provided with a protrusion 34 that moves in the groove portion 14 with relative rotation of the fixing member 10 and the connecting member 30. The groove portion 14 restricts the range of relative rotation of the fixing member 10 and the connecting member 30 by restricting the movement range of the protrusion 34. A regulating portion 12 is formed on the edge of the fixed wall portion 11 of the fixed member 10. The restricting portion 12 has an arc shape.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the connecting member 40 is fixed to the support wall portion 31 of the connecting member 30. FIG. 10 is a view showing only the fixing member 20 and the connecting member 40. The connecting member 40 includes a low wall portion 41 and connecting wall portions 42 and 43 extending from the low wall portion 41 in the vertical direction. The connection wall portions 42 and 43 are connected to the connection wall portion 23 and the fixed wall portion 21 of the fixing member 20 so as to be relatively rotatable by the second axis a2. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 10, a groove 44 is formed in the connecting wall 43.

  The fixing member 20 includes a fixed wall portion 21 fixed to the back side of the housing 2, a support wall portion 22 extending in the vertical direction from the fixed wall portion 21, and a vertical position from the support wall portion 22 so as to face the fixed wall portion 21. The connecting wall portion 23 extends in the direction, and the two side wall portions 25 extend in the vertical direction of the support wall portion 22 so as to face each other from the support wall portion 22. The two side wall portions 25 are also fixed to the back side of the housing 2. Note that the cable C extends between the two side wall portions 25 along the direction of the second axis a2.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 10, a protrusion 24 is formed on the fixed wall portion 21. The groove 44 restricts the range of relative rotation of the fixing member 20 and the connecting member 40 by restricting the movement of the protrusion 24. The groove 44 restricts the relative rotation range of the fixing member 20 and the connecting member 40 to 90 degrees.

  The fixing members 10 and 20 and the connecting members 30 and 40 are each made of sheet metal. For this reason, manufacture is also easy and it contributes to size reduction. Further, the connecting unit U can be handled as a unit. Therefore, the connecting unit U can be easily adopted not only in the electronic device A as described above but also in other electronic devices.

  The state of the connecting unit U in a state adopted in the electronic device A will be described. 11A is a top view of the electronic apparatus A when the housing 2 is in a horizontal posture, and FIG. 11B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 11A. 12A is a top view of the electronic apparatus A when the housing 2 is in a vertical posture, and FIG. 12B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 12A. FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of the connecting unit U of FIG. 11B, and FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of the connecting unit U of FIG. 12B.

  13 and 14 also show the shield cover 50 attached to the fixing member 20. The shield cover 50 surrounds the cable C in cooperation with the fixing member 20. 13 and 14 show a part of the connecting unit U when viewed from the housing 2 in the direction of the second axis a2 of the housing 1. An escape groove 54 is formed in the shield cover 50. The cable C passes between the escape groove 54 and the support wall portion 22 of the fixing member 20. As the fixing member 20 rotates about the second axis a2, the cable C also rotates about the second axis a2.

  The front plate 80 is provided on the front side of the housing 1 facing the back surface of the housing 2. The cable C is connected to the mother board in the housing 1 through the through hole 82 of the front plate 80. The cable C extends in the vertical direction and is connected to the housing 1 side.

  As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the cable C abuts on the restriction portion 12 formed on the fixed wall portion 11 of the fixing member 10. Thereby, the rotation range of the cable C around the second axis a2 is restricted. This will be described in detail below.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of the restriction of the rotation range of the cable C.
The rotation center RC is the rotation center of the second axis a2. Positions C1 and C2 indicate the position of the cable C when the casing 2 is in a horizontal posture and a vertical posture, respectively. Positions C <b> 1 and C <b> 2 indicate the position of the cable C when the rotation range of the cable C is restricted by the restriction portion 12 formed on the fixed wall portion 11 of the fixing member 10. Positions C1 ′ and C2 ′ indicate the position of the cable C when the rotation range of the cable C is not restricted by the restriction portion 12 of the fixing member 10.

  When the restricting portion 12 is not provided, the cable C can freely move in the escape groove 54 of the shield cover 50, and thus may be positioned at the positions C1 ′ and C2 ′ shown in FIG. The rotation angle range R2 between the positions C1 ′ and C2 ′ is larger than 90 degrees that is the rotation angle range of the housing 2. In this case, the movement distance L2 in the horizontal direction between the positions C1 ′ and C2 ′ is longer than the movement distance L1 in the horizontal direction between the positions C1 and C2. For this reason, in order to prevent the cable from being pulled by the relative rotation of the housing 2, it is necessary to use a relatively long cable in consideration of the moving distance L2. However, the rotational angle range R1 between the positions C1 and C2 is regulated by providing the regulating member 12 on the fixing member 10 as in this embodiment. Thereby, the movement distance L1 becomes short. Therefore, in this embodiment, a relatively short cable C can be employed. The restricting portion 12 restricts the rotation angle range R1 so as not to exceed 90 degrees, which is a relative rotatable range with the fixing member 20 and the connecting member 40, but is not limited thereto.

  13 to 15, when the cable C is viewed from the housing 2 side to the housing 1 side in the direction of the second axis a2, the cable C is around the second axis a2 of the cable C. It extends to the housing 1 side so as to be included in the angular range of rotation. For example, when the cable C extends toward the housing 1 so as to be out of the rotational angle range around the second axis a2 of the cable C, the length of the cable C required at each of the positions C1 and C2 is increased. The difference increases. For this reason, a relatively long cable C must be employed. However, since the cable C of the present embodiment extends toward the housing 1 so as to be included in the angle range, the lengths of the cables C required at the positions C1 and C2 are substantially the same. For this reason, the length of the required cable C may be relatively short.

  The restricting portion 12 has an arc shape, which prevents the cable C from sliding on the restricting portion 12 and scratching the cable C.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.・ Change is possible.

  The connection unit U may be employed in a mobile phone having two housings connected so as to be relatively rotatable. Further, the connecting unit U may be employed in a notebook computer.

  In the said Example, although the connection unit U has the connection members 30 and 40 which are separate components, you may form the connection members 30 and 40 with a single sheet metal.

  In the above-described embodiment, the direction of the first axis a1 and the direction of the second axis a2 are orthogonal to each other.

A Electronic device C Cable C
U connection unit a1 first shaft a2 second shaft 1 first housing 2 second housing 10 first fixing member 11 fixed wall portion 12 restricting portion 20 second fixing member 30, 40 connecting member 50 shield cover

Claims (7)

First and second housings;
A cable connecting the first and second housings;
A connection unit for connecting the first and second housings so as to be relatively rotatable around first and second axes intersecting each other;
The connecting unit includes first and second fixing members fixed to the first and second housings, respectively, and is connected to the first fixing member so as to be relatively rotatable around the first axis. A coupling member held so as to be relatively rotatable about the second axis,
The cable rotates around the second axis with relative rotation of the second fixing member around the second axis,
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first fixing member includes a restricting portion that restricts a rotation range of the cable around the second axis. The first fixing member is a flat fixed wall portion fixed to the first housing, and is connected to the connection member so as to be rotatable about the first axis, extending in a vertical direction from the fixed wall portion. A wall,
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the restricting portion is provided at an edge of the fixed wall portion.   When viewed in the direction of the second axis from the second housing side to the first housing side, the cable is included in an angular range of rotation around the second axis of the cable. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device extends toward the first housing.   The restricting portion restricts the cable so that a rotation angle range around the second axis of the cable does not exceed an angular range in which the second fixing member can rotate relatively around the second axis. Item 4. The electronic device according to any one of Items 1 to 3.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a shield cover that covers the cable together with the second fixing member is connected to the second fixing member.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second fixing members and the connecting member are each formed of sheet metal. A connecting unit for connecting the first and second housings connected by a cable so as to be relatively rotatable around first and second axes intersecting each other;
First and second fixing members respectively fixed to the first and second housing sides;
A coupling member connected to the first fixing member so as to be relatively rotatable around the first axis, and holding the second fixing member so as to be relatively rotatable around the second axis;
The cable rotates around the second axis with relative rotation of the second fixing member around the second axis,
The first fixing member has a restricting portion that restricts a rotation range of the cable around the second axis.

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