JPH09160672A - Portable information processor with infrared ray communication function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform easy communication between processors installed at random by separating an infrared ray communication circuit from a processor main body, turning it to a unit and arbitrarily changing the direction of the infrared ray unit. SOLUTION: For the infrared ray communication circuit, a board for infrared ray communication is turned to the unit 3 and turned to a case by a mold or a metal fitting and the cable 2 of a reel type capable of being pulled out for an optional length is used for a connection cable. Also, this portable information processor 1 for mounting the unit 3 for the infrared ray communication is provided with a structure for fixing a reel part for winding an extension cable 2, is in the structure for housing the infrared ray unit 3 further and is capable of detachment and the infrared ray communication is performed without changing the installation direction of the main body processor 1. As a result, since an infrared ray communication direction is freely selected and the communication direction is selected while the direction of the main body processor is fixed in an OA environment where the plural processors are installed, the communication is easily performed between the required processors.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an infrared communication of a portable information processing apparatus, and more particularly to a portable type with an infrared communication function suitable for a business requiring infrared communication with a plurality of (randomly arranged) apparatuses. The present invention relates to an information processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method of this kind, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-57
As described in JP-A-212577, the direction of the information reading device is directed toward the target. Further, there is a condition that the position of the target for communication is on the conveyance path, etc., and the condition is always faced to the condition side, and only a slight vertical or horizontal adjustment is required. In a portable information processing device to which the infrared communication mechanism is fixed, even if the operator is operating a key or checking the screen display, the working position of the operator must be changed as the device changes direction. I have to. Furthermore, under the OA environment, the target is always in front of the user, and a slight operation does not always face the target. It is conceivable that if a plurality of targets are installed and one of them is installed directly behind the operator, communication is required.

[0003]

In the infrared communication unit mounted on the conventional portable information processing device, the infrared transceiver module is fixed to the main body device. Therefore, the direction of the main body device must be changed toward the infrared transceiver module of the partner device with which communication is to be performed, and infrared communication cannot be easily performed in an environment in which the direction of the device cannot be changed easily. It is an object of the present invention to change only the communication direction of an infrared communication unit mounted on the device while fixing the direction of the device main body, which does not affect the working environment of the operator and is randomly installed. Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable information processing device with an infrared communication function, which enables easy communication between the devices.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a means for connecting an infrared communication unit to the device body by separating the infrared communication circuit from the device body into a unit, and the infrared communication. It is characterized in that means for accommodating the communication unit in the apparatus main body and means for arbitrarily changing the direction of the infrared communication unit are provided. More specifically, it is achieved by the following method. An infrared communication unit (or an infrared transceiver module) mounted on the portable information processing device is connected by an extendable cable (for example, a reel cable). In this case, the infrared communication unit (or infrared transceiver module) is not fixed to the main unit, but can be removed and moved up and down.
By making it a structure that can move in the left and right directions,
The orientation and the position of the infrared communication unit (or infrared transceiver module) can be changed within the extension range of the cable without changing the orientation of the main body device. Alternatively, the infrared communication unit (or infrared transceiver module) has a structure in which the position where the unit is mounted on the portable information processing device can be freely selected. In addition, an infrared communication unit (or an infrared ray) is provided in advance in a portion that can be seen 360 degrees from the main body device (for example, the upper part of the CRT in the case of a desktop type information processing device or the tip of the LCD in the case of a portable information processing device). Equipped with a transceiver module)
The part has a structure that can be rotated vertically and horizontally. Furthermore, mounting multiple infrared transceiver modules,
By recognizing the change in sensitivity of the received data, the target and the communication destination are automatically scanned and tracked without intervention of the operator.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the present invention, the infrared communication circuit is separated from the main board of the portable information processing device and unitized on a separate board. The infrared communication unit is not fixedly built in the device, but has a structure that can be removed and stored. Furthermore, this unit is connected to the main unit by a reel type cable that can be extended. In addition, an independent infrared communication unit is installed at the front end of the device or a part with a good view, and the unit itself is connected to rotate in the left-right direction (360 degrees), and the infrared transceiver module part can rotate in the vertical direction. It has a different structure. Furthermore, multiple infrared transceiver modules are installed for each direction of data input and output, and the target is automatically scanned and tracked to enable infrared communication with the target in all directions. Or detect and identify the change in the sensitivity of the received data of the infrared transceiver module,
It recognizes the moving direction of the target and automatically changes the communication direction to always track the target without causing a communication interruption.

[0006]

1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a portable information processing device and an infrared communication unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the infrared communication unit 3 is connected by the extension cable 2 to realize free-direction communication. First, the infrared communication circuit (not shown)
The main board is separated from the main board, and the cable connection is targeted. That is, the infrared communication board is used as the unit 3 and is molded or molded into a case. At this time, as the connection cable, a reel type cable 2 that can be pulled out to an arbitrary length is used. The portable information processing device 1 equipped with the infrared communication unit 3 has a structure for fixing the reel portion on which the extension cable 2 is wound. Further, the portable information processing device 1 has a structure for accommodating the infrared communication unit 3 and can be removed. This enables infrared communication without changing the installation direction of the main body device 1.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of a portable information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, which is (a).
Is a diagram in which the infrared communication unit 3 shown in the first embodiment is mounted on the portable information processing device main body of the present embodiment, and FIG. 6B is a view showing a movable direction of the infrared communication unit 3. In addition, 4 is an infrared transceiver module. In this embodiment, the infrared communication unit 3 is mounted on the tip portion of the main body device 1 to realize vertical communication. First, the infrared communication section is unitized by the method described in the first embodiment. This infrared communication unit 3
Is mounted on the LCD of the main unit 1 by projecting it to the tip of the LCD, or by pushing the infrared communication unit 3 out when needed by a fitting storage method, and pushing it in when not needed. Installed in. At this time, the unit section takes a connection form as shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a structure for vertically moving the infrared communication unit 3 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 (a) shows a fixing base 5 for fixing the infrared transceiver module 4 on the back side. FIG. 6B is a view of the infrared transceiver module 4 and the fixed base 5 as seen from the side. In this embodiment, since the infrared transceiver module 4 is operated in the vertical direction, the module 4
The fixing bases 5 and 5'for fixing the terminals are semicircular, and the movable terminals 6 having the same shape are provided. In this case, the cable connecting the module 4 and the movable terminal 6 is passed through the fixed bases 5 and 5 '.
By bringing the movable terminal 6 and the fixed terminal 7 provided on the rotary shaft 10 into contact with each other, the infrared transceiver module 4 fixed by the movable shaft 12 can be moved up and down by a driving means (not shown) such as a motor.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a main part of a portable information processing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the infrared communication unit 3 shown in the second embodiment is used.
Can be rotated 360 degrees not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction. A rotary terminal 8 is provided on a rotary shaft 10 that connects the infrared communication unit 3 to the main body device 1. The rotary terminal 8 is wound around the rotary shaft 10 once. The rotary terminal 8 is connected to a pinching type fixed terminal 9 provided on the main body apparatus side mounting portion (LCD front end portion) 11. In addition, the fixed terminal 7 and the main body side movable terminal 8 of the infrared communication unit 3
Is connected by a cable (not shown) that passes through the inside of the rotary shaft 10. As a result, the infrared communication unit 3 can be rotated 360 degrees with respect to the main unit. This operation may be automatically performed for each axis by controlling the main body device. As a result, the work load of the operator can be significantly reduced. The operation of both shafts is performed by a driving means (not shown) such as a motor as in the second embodiment. According to this embodiment, since the infrared communication unit 3 can be operated in the vertical and horizontal directions (360 degrees), infrared rays can be emitted without changing the installation direction of the main body device.

Next, a method for automatically adjusting the orientation of the infrared communication unit on the main body side of the portable information processing apparatus will be described. In this embodiment, a plurality of infrared communication units shown in the second or third embodiment are mounted on a portable information processing device, and infrared data are sequentially emitted from the infrared transceiver module 4 from A to C shown in FIG. Then
The presence or absence of response data for it is monitored. In this way, automatic scanning of the target is realized, and communication is started by the module that has exchanged data. For example, use the infrared transceiver module of B as a reference (the reference module can be set arbitrarily), and perform the scanning operation of the infrared transceiver modules of A and C in addition to the communication operation of the infrared transceiver module of B. Thus, even if the target moves, an automatic tracking system that can automatically start communication with the infrared transceiver module A or C, which is the moving destination, is constructed. By installing multiple infrared communication units in this way, it is possible to multiply the incoming and outgoing radiation width of data by multiple times, but further, by operating each infrared transceiver module independently in the moving direction of the target, further data It is possible to widen the incident and radiation width of.

FIG. 6 shows that the main body side of the portable information processing device is
A method of recognizing the sensitivity change of the data received by the infrared transceiver module 4 shown in the second or third embodiment and automatically changing the receiving direction of the infrared transceiver module 4 in accordance with the recognition change will be described. Normally, the data reception sensitivity is highest at the position A shown in FIG. 6 and low at the positions B and C. Therefore, if the sensitivity of the data received at the position A begins to decrease, the direction in which the sensitivity becomes higher is recognized by shaking the reception direction of the infrared transceiver module 4 up and down, left and right. For example, when the target moves in the direction of B, the reception direction is made to follow the direction of B as shown by the broken line, and the direction of the infrared transceiver module 4 is changed so that the reception data of the direction B becomes the center of the incident angle. In this way, by recognizing the moving direction of the target and directing the receiving direction of the infrared transceiver module 4 to the position of the highest sensitivity state, the infrared communication with high sensitivity is always possible.

[0012]

According to the present invention, it is possible to freely select the infrared communication direction in the information processing apparatus having the infrared communication function. This means that in an OA environment where a plurality of devices having an infrared communication function are installed, the communication direction can be selected while the direction of the main body device is fixed, and therefore the time and effort for installation and modification of the device can be saved. O
A Effective for smoothing work. Furthermore, since the communication direction can be easily selected, it is effective in creating an environment in which unnecessary data is not acquired and communication is limited to necessary devices.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing appearances of a portable information processing device and an infrared communication unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing appearances of a portable information processing device and an infrared communication unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating vertical movement of an infrared transceiver module according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a 360-degree rotation operation of the infrared communication unit according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an automatic communication direction adjusting method using a plurality of infrared communication units according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an infrared communication direction automatic adjustment method based on reception data sensitivity recognition in a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Portable information processing device (main unit), 2 ... Reel type extension cable, 3 ... Infrared communication unit,
4 ... Infrared transceiver module, 5 ... Infrared transceiver module fixed base, 6 ... Unit side movable terminal, 7 ... Unit side fixed terminal, 8 ... Main body side movable terminal, 9 ... Main body side fixed terminal, 10 ... … Unit rotation axis,
11 ... LCD end of main unit, 12 ... Module movable axis.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Katsuyoshi Hiramatsu 1 Ikegami, Haruoka-cho, Owariasahi-shi, Aichi Hitachi Ltd. Office Systems Division

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a portable information processing device having an infrared communication function, an infrared communication circuit is separated from the device main body into a unit, and means for connecting the infrared communication unit and the device main body, and the infrared communication unit are provided. A portable information processing device with an infrared communication function, comprising: a means for accommodating the device body and a means for arbitrarily changing the direction of the infrared communication unit.