JPH10269339A - Portable terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable terminal device which maintains high work efficiency regardless of an operation form at the time of use. SOLUTION: A body 2 is equipped with a function that is used as a generalized portable terminal, emits read light from a sensor window 6 and scans when a switch 5a is operated. A gripping part 3 holds the body 2 with it contained inside a holding member 9. A lever 8 that is attached to a grip 7 is used when a user instructs scan reading. Therefore, a mechanism which communicates that the lever 8 is operated to the body 2 when the body 2 is attached to the part 3. With this, it can be used as a gun type portable terminal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a portable terminal device which is carried by a user and mainly used for work on site.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, portable terminal devices (hereinafter, abbreviated as portable terminals) for users to carry and input data as needed have been widely used in order to improve work efficiency and the like.
This portable terminal is a commercialized device that is intended to be used mainly on site. Most of them are products (or boxes containing the products) so that they can be quickly identified.
And a scanner for reading a bar code or the like attached to the device.

[0003] The operation modes of portable terminals in the field can be roughly classified into two types. Specifically, there are two types of operation, such as factories and warehouses (hereinafter referred to as a first operation type), and many types of stores such as stores (hereinafter referred to as a second operation type). Can be roughly divided into two types.

[0004] In the field such as factories and warehouses, it is generally necessary to manage a large amount of commodities. Therefore, the user always works while holding the portable terminal in his hand. As described above, the first operation mode has a large usage amount (percentage of operating the portable terminal) per unit time.

[0005] On the other hand, on the spot such as a store, the management is often performed while checking the sales of commodities.
Therefore, the user works while using the portable terminal intermittently as needed. in this way,
The second operation mode has a small usage amount per unit time.

[0006] The specifications required for the portable terminal differ depending on the operation mode. Specifically, in the first mode of operation, the object to be read (such as a barcode) is read so as to obtain high work efficiency.
Easy to aim and scan (emission of reading light)
A portable terminal that can easily perform the same is desired. On the other hand, in the second operation mode, there is a demand for a portable terminal that can be kept out of the way when not in use.

[0007] Since there are different demands for each of the above-described operation modes, two types of portable terminals are roughly commercialized, a gun type and a general-purpose type. The gun type is a type commercialized for the first operation mode, and the general-purpose type is a type commercialized for the second operation mode.
For this reason, the user can purchase a mobile terminal of a type suitable for the work content (use).
The gun type and the general-purpose type are classifications based on the appearance of the portable terminal.

[0008]

The operation mode of the portable terminal may be different depending on a place, a situation, etc. even at the same site. Taking a store as an example, even if a mobile terminal is used in the second operation mode in the store, the terminal device is used in the first operation mode in a warehouse that stores products arranged in the store. Often.

[0009] As a conventional portable terminal, both a gun type and a general type have been commercialized. For this reason, in the above-mentioned field, a countermeasure has been taken by purchasing both a gun-type and a general-purpose type of portable terminal, or purchasing only any type of portable terminal.

[0010] However, the former method has a problem that a large amount of cost is required since the number of portable terminals to be purchased increases. On the other hand, the latter method has another problem that the work efficiency in the entire site is reduced because a mobile terminal suitable for the work content cannot always be used.

In recent years, stores such as convenience stores have been frequently seen. In such stores, the mobile terminal is often used in a different operation form. For this reason, it has been strongly desired from the site to be able to avoid the above problems.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a portable terminal (portable terminal device) capable of maintaining high work efficiency regardless of the operation mode at the time of use. .

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A portable terminal device of the present invention is a device in which a user carries data and carries data.
Scanner and first for instructing driving of the scanner
Main body provided with an instruction means, holding means for detachably holding the apparatus main body, and a grip portion provided with a second instruction means for instructing driving of the scanner, and the apparatus main body held by the holding means And a transmitting means for transmitting the content of the operation performed by the second instructing means of the grip portion to the apparatus main body and driving the scanner.

In the above arrangement, the transmission means is provided with a switch for instructing the scanner to drive the scanner in the main body of the apparatus.
It is desirable that the grip unit be provided with a mechanism for transmitting the movement of the second instruction means when the second instruction means is operated to the switch.
Alternatively, it is desirable to provide a means for outputting an optical signal when the second instruction means is operated on the grip portion, and to provide a means for instructing the scanner to be driven when the optical signal is received, on the apparatus main body.

Preferably, the holding means is a battery cover of the apparatus body. It is desirable that a battery serving as a power source of the apparatus main body can be stored in the grip portion.

According to the present invention, a device main body usable as a general-purpose portable terminal device is detachably held by a grip portion having a grip which is a portion held by a user, and the grip is provided. The scanner is driven in response to an operation on a second instruction means (for example, a lever) provided in the unit. Thereby, when the device main body is held by the grip portion, it can be used as a gun-type portable terminal device.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. <First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is an external view of a portable terminal (portable terminal device) according to a first embodiment. This figure 1
The configuration and usage of the mobile terminal 1 according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the portable terminal 1 is composed of a main body 2 having an overall shape of a thick flat plate, and a grip portion 3 capable of detachably holding the main body. Each of them has the following configuration.

The main body 2 has a display unit 4 for displaying various data and information on a top surface thereof, and a key operation unit 5 including various keys.
Are arranged, and a sensor window 6 from which reading light is emitted is arranged on the front surface.

The expressions such as the upper surface and the front surface are based on the state of the main body 2 (portable terminal 1) during normal use. Hereinafter, the expression from such a viewpoint is used unless otherwise specified.

Although not shown, a scanner composed of a light source such as a semiconductor laser and a light receiving element such as a photodiode is provided inside the sensor window 6. The switch 5 a in the key operation unit 5 is a switch for emitting reading light from the light source and instructing scanning (reading) of a reading target located in front of the sensor window 6.

The main body 2 performs data processing and the like in accordance with an instruction via the key operation unit 5 in addition to scanning and reading an object to be read. Therefore, the main body 2 can be used as a general-purpose mobile terminal by itself.

The other grip portion 3 includes a grip 7 which is a part held by the user, a lever 8 attached to the front surface of the grip 7, and a holding member 9 attached above the lever. It has become.

The holding member 9 is formed by bending a plate-like member into a rectangular shape having a gap on one side in accordance with the sectional shape of the housing of the main body 2. On the back side (the side facing the user), a projection 9a is formed over one lower side. The main body 2 is detachably mounted inside the holding member 9.

The main body 2 is attached as shown in FIG.
This can be achieved by inserting the sensor window 6 inside the holding member 9 with the side opposite to the surface on which the sensor window 6 is formed first until the tip of the sensor window 6 contacts the projection 9a. Removal of the main body 2 can be performed by pulling out the main body 2 in a direction opposite to the direction in which the main body 2 was attached.

A large gap is formed on the upper surface of the holding member 9. Therefore, even if the main body 2 is held, the key operation unit 5 is not covered with the holding member 9. Thereby, when the main body 2 is attached to the grip section 3, it is possible to prevent the user from hindering the operation of the key operation section 5.

Although not particularly shown, a lock mechanism is provided so that the attached main body 2 does not easily come off the grip portion 3. The locking mechanism is realized by, for example, providing a groove in the main body 2, and providing the grip portion 3 with a protruding member in accordance with the position of the groove, a lever for moving the protruding member into and out of the holding member 9, and the like. It is a thing.

The lever 8 provided on the grip 7 enables the user to drive the scanner without operating the switch 5a on the main body 2 when the main body 2 is mounted on the grip portion 3. is there. The main body 2 and the grip section 3 are separately manufactured. For this reason,
To operate the scanner by operating the lever 8,
The first embodiment has the following configuration.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a mechanism for transmitting the movement of the lever 8. In the state where the main body 2 is attached to the grip portion 3, the configuration of the main body 2 and the grip portion 3 particularly relating to the transmission of the movement of the lever 8 is extracted and shown. With reference to FIG. 2, a configuration for driving the scanner in accordance with the operation on lever 8 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 2, a hole is formed in the lower part of the main body 2 so as to form a housing.
1 is provided. The switch 11, like the switch 5a provided on the upper surface of the main body 2, is a switch to which a function of instructing driving of the scanner is assigned.
In the first embodiment, the function of driving the scanner is transmitted to the switch 8 by transmitting the movement of the lever 8 to the switch 11.

Although the switch 11 is located at a position where it is difficult to operate, when the main body 2 is not attached to the grip portion 3, it is covered with a cover or the like so that unintended operation can be reliably avoided. It has become.

The lever 8 normally maintains the state shown in FIG. 2 by the action of an elastic member (not shown). When the user pushes in the direction of the arrow represented by the straight line in FIG. 2, the shaft 12 rotates from the normal state with the shaft 12 as a fulcrum.

The lever 8 has a transmission member 13
Is attached. The transmission member 13 rotates in the same direction about the shaft 12 as the fulcrum with the rotation of the lever 8 about the shaft 12 as a fulcrum. At this time, the end of the transmitting member 13 moves upward (see the arrow shown by the curve in FIG. 2).

The grip (3) has a hole in its housing (holding member (9)) corresponding to the position of the switch (11) when the main body (2) is attached. The end of the transmitting member 13 is
It is arranged to fit in the hole. When the lever 8 is in the normal state, the lever 8 is located at an opposed position near the switch 11.

In the above-described configuration, when the user presses the lever 8, the end of the transmitting member 13 is switched to the switch 11.
Will be pressed. Therefore, the user is required to
The portable terminal 1 can be used as a gun when the main body 2 is held by the grip portion 3 by operating the scanner.

As described above, the portable terminal 1 according to the first embodiment is used as a general-purpose portable terminal using only the main body 2 and as a gun-type portable terminal when the main body 2 is held by the grip portion 3. be able to. For this reason, the user can efficiently perform the operation in one of the first and second operation modes with one portable terminal.

The first embodiment (the present invention) is realized by adding a relatively small number of functions (such as the switch 11) to a general-purpose portable terminal and newly manufacturing a grip portion suitable for the function. Can be. Adding a function to a general-purpose mobile terminal can be performed easily and easily. The grip portion can be manufactured at a lower cost as compared with the main body (general-purpose mobile terminal).

From these facts, the manufacturing cost of the first embodiment (the present invention) does not significantly differ from that of the conventional portable terminal. Therefore, as compared with the case of purchasing both general-purpose and gun-type portable terminals, the cost for purchasing the portable terminal can be significantly reduced.

In the first embodiment, the main body 2 is held by the grip portion 3 in order to stably mount the grip 7 while avoiding an increase in the size of the main body 2. It is not necessary to do so. A configuration in which the grip 7 is attached to the main body 2 may be adopted.

In the first embodiment, the operation of the lever 8 is transmitted to the main body 2 by a mechanical mechanism. For example, the grip 3 (the lever 8) and the main body 2 are connected to each other. The operation may be performed by electrically connecting the main body 2 to detect the operation of the lever 8 from a change in the electric signal. <Second Embodiment> As described above, in the first embodiment, the movement of the lever 8 is mechanically transmitted to the main body 2 side. In such a transmission method, as shown in FIG.
Both the main body 2 and the grip 3 need to be provided with holes in the housing. Portable terminals are often used for outdoor work. For this reason, it is necessary to apply a drip-proof (water-proof) process to a portion provided with a hole in the housing. However, these parts cannot be easily subjected to drip-proof processing because their structures are relatively complicated. The number of parts also increases. In the second embodiment, such a situation is avoided.

The configuration of the second embodiment is basically the same as that of the first embodiment. For this reason, the same or almost the same components are denoted by the reference numerals assigned in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a configuration for transmitting the movement of the lever 8 to the main body 2. In the state where the main body 2 is attached to the grip section 3, the configuration of the main body 2 and the grip section 3 particularly related to transmission of the movement of the lever 8 is extracted and shown. With reference to FIG. 3, a configuration for driving the scanner in accordance with an operation on lever 8 in the second embodiment will be described in detail.

At the lower part of the main body 2, as shown in FIG. 3, a hole is formed in a member constituting the housing, and a light receiving element (for example, a phototransistor) 21 is disposed inside the hole. A hole is formed in the other grip portion 3 in the housing (holding member 9) in accordance with the position of the light receiving element 21 when the main body 2 is attached, and a light emitting element (eg, LED) 22 is provided inside the hole. Is arranged. Although the detailed description is omitted, the light receiving element 21 of the main body 2 is
Upon receiving the light emitted from the scanner 2, the scanner is driven.

When the user operates (pulls) the lever 8 of the grip portion 3, the switch 25 arranged inside is depressed. A battery (for example, a dry battery) housed in the grip unit 3 is connected to the switch 25. The light emitting element 22 is connected to a battery via the switch 25. As a result, the switch 25 is pressed down, in other words, the lever 8 is operated to light up. Therefore, the user can drive the scanner by operating the lever 8.

As described above, the second embodiment employs a method of notifying the main body 2 that the lever 8 has been operated via the optical signal from the grip portion 3. This eliminates the need for mechanical and electrical contact between the main body 2 and the grip portion 3. Therefore, when performing the drip-proof (waterproof) processing on the holes provided as the optical signal paths in the housing of the main body 2 and the grip part 3, it is only necessary to satisfy the condition that the optical signals are not blocked. become. For this reason, drip-proof processing can be performed easily and simply.
In the second embodiment, the holes of the main body 2 and the grip portion 3 are
Cover the member that does not block the light emitted by the light emitting element 22
This is done by arranging them as 3 and 24, respectively. <Third Embodiment> In general-purpose mobile terminals, a key operation unit, a display unit, and the like must be arranged on the upper surface, and therefore, a battery storage unit is generally provided on the back surface side. Also in the first embodiment, it is provided on the back side of the main body 2.

If the battery housing is provided on the back side of the main body 2, the grip 3 tends to cover the battery housing when the main body 2 is attached to the grip 3. When the grip unit 3 covers the battery storage unit, the battery cover must be removed after removing the main body 2 from the grip unit 3 when replacing the battery.
Battery replacement is troublesome. In the third embodiment,
Such a thing is avoided.

FIG. 4 is an external view of a portable terminal according to the third embodiment. With reference to FIG. 4, the configuration and usage of the mobile terminal 30 according to the third embodiment will be described in detail.

The main body 31 of the portable terminal 30 has basically the same configuration as the main body 2 of the portable terminal 1 according to the first embodiment. On the back side of the main body 31, a battery 3 indicated by a broken line
3 is provided. When the battery cover 35 is attached after the battery 33 is stored in the space, the main body 31 is ready for use as a general-purpose mobile terminal.

The grip portion 32 has a structure including a grip 36, which is a part held by the user, a lever 37 attached to the front surface of the grip 36, and a holding member 38 attached above the lever 37. ing.

The holding member 38 includes a battery cover 35.
It is basically the same shape. The main body 31 is held by the grip portion 32 by attaching a holding member 38 instead of the battery cover 35. The reason why the battery cover 35 is large in view of the size of the main body 31 is to allow the holding thereof to be stably maintained.

As described above, in the third embodiment, the holding member 35 is used as the battery cover 35 in addition to holding the main body 32. For this reason, the number of steps of the replacement operation of the battery 33 is such that
Irrespective of whether it is held in This prevents the battery replacement operation from being troublesome when the main body 31 is held by the grip portion 32.

In the third embodiment, the battery can be stored in the grip 36 of the grip portion 32. When the main body 31 is held by the grip portion 32, current is supplied from the grip portion 32 to the main body 31. The battery is detached by removing a battery cover (not shown) provided on the grip 36.

The main body 31 is provided with a connector 34 in a space where the battery 33 is stored. The other grip part 3
Although not shown, a plug suitable for the connector 34 is prepared for the connector 2. The main body 3 in the grip portion 32
1 is attached to connect the plug to the connector 34. By connecting them, the current from the stored battery and the signal indicating the operation state of the lever 37 are transmitted from the grip portion 32 to the main body 31.
Thereby, the portable terminal 30 can be used as a gun-type portable terminal.

When the battery is stored in the grip 32, the position of the center of gravity when the main body 31 is attached to the grip 32 approaches the grip 32. for that reason,
It is possible to improve the operability such that the weight balance of the portable terminal 30 is improved, the hand holding the portable terminal 30 is less likely to be tired, and it is easier to aim at the object to be read.

In the third embodiment, when attaching the main body 31 to the grip portion 32, the battery 33 must be removed, but this is not always necessary. The connector 34 may be arranged in a place where it does not hinder the storage of the battery 33, and the battery stored in the grip portion 32 may be used as an auxiliary. In addition, when the main purpose is to speed up the replacement operation of the battery 33, the battery need not be stored in the grip portion 32.

In the first and second embodiments, the battery serving as the power source of the main body 2 is not housed in the grip portion 3 as in the third embodiment.
In the embodiment described above, such a battery may be accommodated in the grip portion 3. For this purpose, for example, a connector or a plug may be provided on the protrusion 9a on the grip portion 3 side, and a plug or a connector may be provided on the corresponding position on the main body 2 side.

[0057]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a device main body usable as a general-purpose portable terminal device is held by a grip portion having a grip, a lever provided on the grip portion is used. The scanner is driven according to the operation. Therefore, the user can arbitrarily change the type (from a gun type to a general-purpose type or from a general-purpose type to a gun type) depending on whether or not the grip unit holds the apparatus main body. Thereby, the portable terminal device can always be used in a type suitable for the work content.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a portable terminal device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a mechanism for transmitting the movement of a lever (first embodiment).

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for transmitting the movement of a lever to a main body (second embodiment).

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a portable terminal device according to a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 30 Portable terminal device 2, 31 Main body 3, 32 Grip part 5a, 11, 25 Switch 6 Sensor window 7, 36 Grip 8, 37 Lever 9, 38 Holding member 13 Transmission member 21 Light receiving element 22 Light emitting element 23, 24 cover 34 connector 35 battery cover

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A terminal device for carrying data input carried by a user, comprising: a scanner; and a first device for instructing driving of the scanner.
A gripping unit having detachable holding means for holding the device body detachably, and a second instruction means for instructing driving of the scanner; and Transmitting means for transmitting the operation performed by the second instruction means of the grip portion to the apparatus main body when the main body is held, and driving the scanner. Type terminal device. 2. A mechanism for providing a switch for instructing driving of the scanner to the apparatus main body, and for transmitting the movement when the second instruction means is operated to the grip unit to the switch. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the portable terminal device is provided. 3. The transmission means includes means for outputting an optical signal when the second instruction means is operated on the grip portion, and the apparatus main body drives the scanner when receiving the optical signal. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the portable terminal device is provided with an instruction unit. 4. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein said holding means is a battery cover of said device main body. 5. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein a battery serving as a power supply of the device main body can be stored in the grip portion.