JPH11163542A - Electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic device which can be stably held even by a user's single hand. SOLUTION: A body 10 of the electronic device is provided therein with a through hole 22 at a position spaced by a predetermined distance from a specific outer peripheral edge 20. When the thumb finger of user's one hand is passed through the hole 22 and the other fingers of the same hand are engaged to the edge 20, the body 10 can be stably held by the user. The distance between the edge 20 and the hole 22 is adjusted according to user's palm size. In this case, the opening shape of the through hole 22 is made in the form of a nearly ellipse.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a handy type electronic device, and more particularly, to an electronic device which can be reliably held with one hand.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, a large number of small electronic devices are sold. For example, there are a video camera, a POS terminal used in a retail store, various small electric signal measuring devices, and the like. When using these electronic devices, it is necessary to hold the body of the electronic device with one hand, perform necessary operations with the other free hand, and change settings by operating switches of the electronic device. Will be

[0003] The shape of these electronic device bodies is often a rectangular parallelepiped. In this case, if the width of the rectangular parallelepiped is appropriate,
By pressing one of both side surfaces of the electronic device main body with the thumb and the other surface with the other finger, the main body can be held with one hand without particularly providing a holding mechanism. In some small video cameras, a belt is provided diagonally on a rectangular parallelepiped main body, and one hand is inserted between the belt and the main body to hold the main body.

[0004]

In the electronic device as described in the above example, in order to obtain good holding properties, the width of the main body of the electronic device should be set to the inside of the palm (the inside when the object is gripped). It is necessary to take the size of the part into consideration. However, this is one of the factors that deprives the degree of freedom in designing electronic devices. Also, technically, even if the width can be made small enough to be held with one hand, there is actually a limit in cost.

At present, POS terminals generally used in retail stores such as convenience stores have a liquid crystal display screen larger than the palm, and the main body itself is of course larger than the palm. A belt is hung on the main body, the main body is held using one hand and arm, and product information is input to the liquid crystal display screen with the other free hand. However, this cannot always be said to have good holding properties, and the main body cannot be held firmly so as not to rattle, and the device often falls.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electronic device, and has a through hole provided at a predetermined distance from a specific outer edge of a main body of the electronic device. A finger passes through the through hole and a specific outer edge at a predetermined distance from the through hole. The main body can be held by placing another finger of the same hand as the finger passed through the body. The predetermined distance between the specific outer edge portion and the through hole may be determined in accordance with the size of the palm (the portion that becomes the inside when grasping an object). For example, the thumb passes through the through hole.

[0007] The shape of the opening of the through hole is preferably substantially elliptical such as elliptical or oval. Further, it is preferable that the long axis of the substantially elliptical shape is directed toward the specific outer edge portion. As a result, when the finger is passed through the through hole, the engagement of the finger with the main body is improved. If the shape of the specific outer edge portion is also a curved line, the hook on the finger is improved, and the holding property can be improved.

[0008] A switch may be provided at the specific outer edge. According to this, the switch can be operated while holding the main body with the finger. A switch may be provided between the through hole and the specific outer edge. In this case, the switch can be operated while holding the main body with a finger. When a plurality of switches are provided between the through hole and the specific outer edge, if the functions assigned to the plurality of switches can be arbitrarily changed, the functions of the switches can be assigned according to the preference of the operator. In addition, it can be set so that it can be easily operated with either the left or right hand.

[0009]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Here, a small electric signal measuring device will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the electric signal measuring device, and can be applied to general electronic devices such as a video camera and a television receiver. The electric signal measuring device
The main body 10 has a display screen 12, and displays an electric signal obtained from the tip of the probe 14 as a waveform. The display screen is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display device. On the front surface of the main body, a power switch 16 and a setting change switch 18 for changing settings such as display and measurement are provided. The particular outer edge portion 20 of the body, indicated by a square dashed line,
It is formed in a U-shaped curved shape. Then, a through hole 22 that penetrates the main body at a predetermined distance from the specific outer edge portion 20 is provided.

On the outer edge portion 20, first and second switches 28 and 30 are provided. First and second switches 28
And 30 may be provided with depressions 24 and 26, respectively, to make it easier to push. A third switch 32 is further provided between the specific outer edge portion 20 and the through hole 22. The third switch 32 is provided at a position where it is easy to press with a finger that has passed through the through hole 22. A feature common to the plurality of switches 28 to 32 provided between the specific outer edge portion 20 and the through hole 22 is that the switches 28 to 32 are provided at positions where the device main body 10 can be easily pressed with one hand while being held. This makes it possible to change settings of the apparatus while holding the main body.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state where the electric signal measuring device shown in FIG. 1 is held with one hand. According to the present invention,
By passing a finger (here, a thumb) through the through-hole 22 and hanging the other finger of the same hand on the specific outer edge portion 20, the body 10 of the device itself can be firmly held with one hand rather than indirectly using a band. Can hold. According to the present invention,
Since the finger is passed through the through hole 22, even if the hand slips, the risk of dropping the main body due to the finger being caught by the main body is reduced.

The distance between the specific outer edge portion 20 and the through-hole 22 is determined in consideration of the size of the palm (the portion that becomes inside when the object is grasped) so as to be easily grasped and held by hand. An inclined region 34 may be provided at the edge of the opening of the through hole 22, thereby improving the engagement of the finger with the main body. In this embodiment, the first and second switches 28 and 30 are provided at positions where the index finger and the middle finger of the specific outer edge portion 20 are easy to press, but switches may be provided at positions where the other fingers can easily press.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the main body 10 of the device according to the present invention is held by the right hand. In this case, for example, the index finger may be passed through the through-hole 22 and the thumb may be applied to the specific outer edge portion 20 and held. At this time, the third switch 32 can be pressed and operated with the index finger, and the first and second switches 28 can be operated.
And 30 can be operated by pushing with the thumb.

The plurality of switches 28 to 32 provided between the specific outer edge portion 20 and the through hole 22 are assigned functions most frequently used in the apparatus. The operator (user) determines which switch is assigned which function.
Should be able to be changed arbitrarily later. Thereby, operability can be improved. For example, a function can be assigned to each switch so that each person can use it most easily regardless of whether the dominant hand is left or right.

The shape of the opening of the through hole 22 may be circular, but is more preferably elliptical or oval (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as substantially elliptical). In FIG.
The dashed line 36 shown above indicates the major axis of the substantially elliptical shape, and the dashed line 38 indicates the minor axis. The substantially elliptical shape of the opening of the through hole 22 is as follows.
It is preferable to form the long axis 36 in the direction of the specific outer edge 20. In other words, it is preferable to form the long axis 36 in the direction (the direction of the arrow 40 in FIG. 2) in which the finger passed through the through-hole 22 is applied to the main body surface. This makes it easier to hold the main body 10 when a finger is inserted.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. This is an embodiment suitable for a POS terminal, for example. 1 to 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals and described. Reference numeral 42 indicates a human arm. In this example, the display screen 12 becomes larger as compared with FIG.
The main body 10 is also large. The most suitable holding method in this case is to put the thumb through the through hole 22 and put the specific outer edge 20 on the other fingers. In addition, in the embodiment of FIG. 4, the back surface of the main body is supported by the arm (forearm) from below. With these, the main body itself can be firmly held with only one hand.

Since the main body 10 can be held with one hand, various operations can be performed with the other hand. In other words, if the display screen 12 is used as a touch panel, it is possible to input information by operating the display screen 12 with a free hand.

A plurality of switches 28 to 32 may be provided between the through hole 22 and the specific outer edge portion 20, as in the above-described example. Further, switches 16 and 18 operated by a free hand may be provided in the same manner as in the example of FIG.

In the example of the embodiment used in the description, the shape of the specific outer edge portion 20 is S-shaped. However, the shape is not limited to the S-shape. Can be. Further, the shape of the main body may be a simple rectangular parallelepiped, and the shape of the specific outer edge portion 20 may be a straight line instead of a curve.

As described above, the electronic device according to the present invention can hold the main body itself by hand without using a belt or the like. Also, by passing your finger through the through hole,
The risk of dropping the device is reduced because the body is caught on a finger. Furthermore, since the width of the main body itself can be designed without being greatly restricted by the size of the palm, the present invention can be applied to a slightly larger electronic device such as a POS terminal.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing one embodiment of an electronic device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state where the device is held by hand in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the device is held by the other hand in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view showing another embodiment of the electronic device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electronic device main body 12 Display screen 14 Probe 16 Power switch 18 Setting change switch 20 Specific outer edge 22 Through hole 28 1st switch 30 2nd switch 32 3rd switch 34 Inclined area 36 Substantially elliptical long axis of opening of through hole 38 A substantially elliptical short axis of the opening of the through hole 40 An arrow indicating the direction in which the finger is applied to the main body

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A through hole is provided at a predetermined distance from a specific outer edge of a main body, and a finger is passed through the through hole, and the other hand of the same hand as the finger is inserted into the specific outer edge at a predetermined distance from the through hole. An electronic device, wherein the main body can be held by putting a finger. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined distance between the specific outer edge portion and the through hole is determined according to a size of a palm. 3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a thumb is passed through the through hole. 4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the opening of the through hole is substantially elliptical. 5. The shape of the opening of the through-hole is substantially elliptical, and the major axis of the substantially elliptical shape is oriented toward the specific outer edge portion. Electronic devices. 6. The holding property is improved by making the shape of the specific outer edge a curved line.
6. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, 7. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a switch at the specific outer edge portion, wherein the switch can be operated while holding the main body with the finger. 8. The switch according to claim 1, further comprising a switch between the through hole and the specific outer edge, wherein the switch can be operated while holding the main body with the finger. Electronic devices. 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of switches between the through hole and the specific outer edge, wherein a function assigned to the plurality of switches can be arbitrarily changed. Electronic devices.