JPH06187068A - Portable personal computer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the portable personal computer equipped with both of keyboard input type and pen input type merits. CONSTITUTION:A keyboard 12 is fitted on an upper face 11a of a main body case 11 for housing the main body of the computer, a liquid crystal display 17 for displaying various kinds of information based on a command from the main body of the computer is fitted to an inner face 16a of a planar lid body 16 provided with the almost same shape as the upper face of the main body case 11 and further, a touch panel mechanism is fitted on the front face of this liquid crystal display for reading a coordinate position on the liquid crystal display touched by a touch pen and sending it to the main body of the computer. Further, this computer is provided with a pair of turn arms 14a for which one terminal is freely turnably fitted to one side on the side face of the main body case 11 and the other terminal is pivotally supported at the almost central part on the side face of the planar lid body 16 so as to freely rotatably support the lid body 16.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable personal computer called a notebook personal computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, portable personal computers called notebook type personal computers have been put into practical use in which personal computers have been reduced in size and weight and can be easily carried by an operator with one hand, for example.

FIG. 5 is an external view showing a portable personal computer. For example, various commands and data are input to the upper surface 1a of a thin box-shaped main body case 1 having a built-in computer main body including a CPU, ROM, RAM, bus, auxiliary storage device such as FDD or HDD, and various input / output interfaces. A keyboard 2 for doing is attached. A lower end of a plate-like lid body 3 is pivotally supported above the keyboard 2 on the upper surface 1a of the main body case 1 by hinge mechanisms 4a and 4b. A liquid crystal display 5 for displaying various information based on a command from the computer main body is fitted on the inner surface 3a of the lid 3.

In such a portable personal computer, when the portable personal computer is not used or is carried, the lid 3 is rotated in the direction of the arrow to cover the keyboard 2 with the lid 3. By closing the lid 3 in this manner, it can be easily carried.

Further, recently, a pen input type portable personal computer as shown in FIG. 6 has been developed.
That is, in this pen-input type computer,
The body case 6 for accommodating the computer body has rounded corners so that it can be easily carried, as compared with the box-type body case 1 of the keyboard input type computer shown in FIG.

A liquid crystal display 7 for displaying various information is fitted on the upper surface 6a of the main body case 6. Further, a transparent touch panel 8 is attached to the front surface of the liquid crystal display 7. When the touch pen 9 using magnetism makes contact, the touch panel 8 reads the coordinate position of the contact position and transmits it to the computer body. The computer body reads the input information from the coordinate position with the touch pen 9.

For example, when the operator touches one item (icon) to select the touch pen 9 while the menu screen for selecting a plurality of items is displayed on the liquid crystal display 7, the computer body is touched. Understand that the corresponding item has been selected from the coordinate position. Further, for example, when a character is drawn with the touch pen 9 in a predetermined area determined in advance, the character is determined by the pattern recognition method from the graphic information drawn by the computer body.

Thus, by using the touch panel 8 and the touch pen 9, the keyboard 2 shown in FIG.
Instead of this, various commands and information can be input. Therefore, by removing the keyboard 2, the portability can be further improved. Then, for example, since this portable personal computer can be used to input various information by using the touch pen 9 with one hand and the other hand, it is easy even in the outdoors where an appropriate stand for placing the main body case 6 cannot be prepared. Can be operated.

[0009]

However, the pen input type portable personal computer shown in FIG. 6 still has the following problems to be improved.

That is, the information that can be input using the touch pen 9 is only about selecting the displayed item or inputting a simple message. And the program itself is the RAM board or H of the computer main body in advance.
Recorded in DD. Therefore, when changing these programs or changing the setting data, it is necessary to connect a keyboard separately and input the data.

As described above, it is very uneconomical to separately prepare a dedicated keyboard, and the manufacturing cost of the entire apparatus increases. Further, since it is necessary to store a keyboard that is not used for normal work, securing and managing the storage place becomes a problem.

Further, when it is necessary to input a large amount of data, in the input method using the touch pen 9,
Compared with the case of using the normal keyboard 2, the operation efficiency of data input operation is significantly reduced. Further, since the liquid crystal display 7 is exposed to the outside, it is necessary to protect the liquid crystal display 7 from external damage by covering it with a dedicated cover or the like when it is not used.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a lid body having a liquid crystal display fitted on its inner surface is attached with a keyboard and is rotatable front and back with respect to a main body case via a rotating arm. By supporting the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable personal computer that can simultaneously realize the advantages of both keyboard input type data input operation efficiency improvement and pen input type operability improvement under bad work conditions. To do.

[0014]

In order to solve the above problems, a portable personal computer of the present invention is attached to a computer main body, a main body case for housing the computer main body, and an upper surface of the main body case. Keyboard for inputting various commands and data, a plate-shaped lid that has almost the same shape as the top surface of the main body case, and the inner surface of the lid that is fitted on the keyboard to receive various commands. A liquid crystal display that displays information, a touch panel mechanism that is attached to the front of the liquid crystal display, reads the coordinate position on the liquid crystal display that is touched with a touch pen, and sends it to the computer main body, and one end on one side of the main body case Is rotatably attached to the plate-shaped lid, and the other end is pivotally supported substantially at the center of the side surface of the plate-shaped lid, and a pair of rotatably supporting the lid rotatably And an arm.

[0015]

In the portable personal computer having such a structure, the liquid crystal display is fitted on the inner surface of the plate-like lid which covers the upper surface of the main body case having the keyboard mounted on the upper surface. The substantially central position of the side surface of the lid is pivotally supported on the other end of the rotating arm. One end of the rotating arm is rotatably attached to one side surface of the main body case.

Therefore, in the state in which the pair of rotating arms are rotated up to about 90 ° with respect to the main body case, the lid body pivotally supported at the other end of the rotating arms is rotated this time. The other end of the moving arm can freely rotate about the axis of rotation. Therefore, by setting the rotation angle of the lid so that the liquid crystal display faces the keyboard side, the operator can operate the keyboard while looking at the liquid crystal display.

Further, the rotating arm is once rotated to about 90 ° with respect to the main body case, and in this state, the rotation angle of the lid is set so that the liquid crystal display faces upward, and thereafter, the rotating arm. Return the rotation angle of to the body case position. Then, the lid body is covered on the upper surface of the main body case with the inside of the lid upside down. Therefore, since the liquid crystal display faces the upper surface, it is possible to input various information by touching the touch panel on the front surface of the liquid crystal display with a touch pen.

When the portable personal computer is not used or is carried, the rotation angle of the lid may be set so that the outer side of the lid is the upper surface, and the pivot arm may be folded.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are external views of the portable personal computer of the embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the portable personal computer is used as a keyboard input type computer, FIG. 2 shows a state in which the portable personal computer is used as a pen input type computer, and FIG. In addition, it shows a state where it is not used. Further, FIG. 4 is a side view for explaining the operation procedure.

In FIG. 1, for example, CPU, ROM, R
Auxiliary storage device such as AM, bus, FDD or HDD. A keyboard 12 for inputting various commands and data is attached to an upper surface 11a of a thin box-shaped main body case 11 having a built-in computer main body including various input / output interfaces. Sides 11b, 11 of the body case 11
The shaft 13 is located at the upper side (back side) of the keyboard 12 in c.
The lower ends of the rotating arms 14a and 14b are rotatably attached via. Swivel arm 14a. The central position of the side surface of the lid body 16 is pivotally supported by the upper end of 14b via a shaft 15.

The lid 16 is formed in a thin plate shape having substantially the same shape as the upper surface of the case body 11. Lid 16
A liquid crystal display 17 for displaying various information based on a command from the computer main body is fitted on the inner surface 16a of the. Further, a transparent touch panel 18 is attached to the front surface of the liquid crystal display 17. This touch panel 1
8 is a touch pen 19 using, for example, magnetism shown in FIG.
When is touched, the contacted coordinate position information is transmitted to the computer main body. Nothing is attached to the outer surface 16b of the lid 16 as shown in FIG. An operation method of the portable personal computer configured as described above will be described.

A) First, in a state where the portable personal computer is not used or is carried, as shown in FIG. 3, the outer surface 16b faces upward and the lid 16 is the keyboard of the main body case 11. 12 covers the upper surface provided. In this case, the body case 11
The pair of rotating arms 14a, 14b connecting the both side surfaces 11b, 11c of the main body case 11 and the both side surfaces of the lid body 16 are maintained substantially parallel to the upper surface of the main body case 11. Therefore,
This portable personal computer can be easily carried.

B) Next, when using as a normal keyboard input type computer, place this portable personal computer on a table such as a desk and hold the front end of the lid body 16 in the state of FIG. Lift the lid 16. Then,
As shown in FIG. 4, the pair of rotating arms 14 a and 14 b are provided on the side surface 11 b. Rotation starts in the direction of arrow A in the figure around the shaft 13 of 11c.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the rotating arms 14a and 14b are rotated by about 90 °, the lid 16 is rotated.
Is slightly rotated in the direction of arrow A about the shaft 15 of the rotating arms 14a and 14b to bring the state of FIG. In this state vinegar, the liquid crystal display 17 fitted on the inner surface 16a of the lid 16 faces toward the front. Then, the angle of the lid 16 is adjusted in a direction that is easy for the operator to see. Therefore, in this state, the operator can input various commands and data using the keyboard 12 while looking at the liquid crystal display 17.

C) Next, when used as a pen-input type computer, hold the front end of the lid 16 in the state of FIG. 3 and lift it up to the state of FIG.
Rotate b. Then, this time, the lid body 16 is rotated about the shaft 15 in the B direction in the figure by 180 ° so that the inner side 16a of the lid body 16 is directed upward.

With the liquid crystal display 17 on the inner surface 16a of the lid 16 facing upward, the pair of rotating arms 14a, 14b.
Is rotated in the direction of arrow B, and the outer surface 16b of the lid 16 is
As shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface 11 a of the body case 11 is brought into contact with the upper surface 11 a. A protrusion (not shown) is formed around the outer surface 16b of the lid 16 so that the outer surface 16b of the lid 16 does not directly contact the keyboard 12.

On the front surface of the liquid crystal display 17, the touch pen 1
A touch panel 18 for sending information on the contacted coordinate position to the computer main body in the main body case 11 when the contact is made.

Therefore, the operator selects the respective items on the menu screen displayed on the liquid crystal display 17 by using the touch pen 19 or draws characters or figures with the touch pen 19 to obtain the character information or the figure information. Can be input to the computer body. Since the liquid crystal display 17 and the main body case 11 can be operated in a folded state in this manner, the main body case 11 and the lid body can be held with one hand even under a bad condition such as a field where the main body case 11 is not found. 16 can be held, and various information can be input using the touch pen 19 with the other hand.

The portable personal computer having such a structure can be used as a normal keyboard input type computer by opening the lid 16 as shown in FIG. 1, while it can be used as shown in FIG. By reversing the cover 16 by 180 ° and covering the main body case 11, it can be used as a pen input type computer.

Therefore, the advantage of being able to efficiently input a large amount of data as a keyboard input type computer to a single portable personal computer in a short time, and bad conditions such as outdoors as a pen input type computer. Also, it has an advantage that it can be easily operated. Further, when not in use, as shown in FIG. 3, since the liquid crystal display 17 is not exposed to the outer surface, the liquid crystal display 17 is less likely to be damaged.

Further, for example, by inputting simple data with the touch pen 19 at the manufacturing site or on the go, and returning to the office, the collected data is read out using the ordinary keyboard 12 to perform various detailed data processing. It is possible to

[0033]

As described above, in the portable personal computer of the present invention, the lid body in which the liquid crystal display having the touch panel for pen input is fitted is attached to the main body case to which the keyboard is attached. It is rotatably supported on the front and back via a rotating arm. Therefore, it can be used as a normal keyboard input type computer and as a pen input type computer as needed. Therefore, it is possible to simultaneously realize the advantages of both the keyboard input type data input operation efficiency improvement and the pen input type operability improvement under bad work conditions.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a portable personal computer according to an embodiment of the present invention is used as a normal keyboard input type computer.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the computer of the embodiment is used as a pen-input type computer.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a carrying state of the computer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a handling procedure of the computer of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a general keyboard input type computer.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a general pen input type computer.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Main body case, 11a ... Top surface, 11b, 11c ... Side surface, 12 ... Keyboard, 13, 15 ... Shaft, 14a, 14
b ... Pivoting arm, 16 ... Lid, 16a ... Inner surface, 16b ...
External surface, 17 ... Liquid crystal display, 18 ... Touch panel, 19 ...
Touch pen.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A computer main body, a main body case for accommodating the computer main body, a keyboard attached to an upper surface of the main body case for inputting various commands and data to the computer main body, and a main body case of the main body case. A plate-shaped lid having substantially the same shape as the upper surface, a liquid crystal display fitted on the inner surface of the lid to display various information based on a command from the computer body, and a front surface of the liquid crystal display. A touch panel mechanism for reading the coordinate position on the liquid crystal display, which is in contact with the touch pen with the touch pen, and sending it to the computer main body; one end is rotatably attached to one side of the side face of the main body case, and the other end is A portable personal computer provided with a pair of pivoting arms pivotally supported at substantially the center of the side surface of the plate-like lid and rotatably supporting the lid. Computer.