JPH11231972A - Portable electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a cover member separable from an outer case by an outer force at the time of opening a cover and to prevent the cover member from being damaged by providing an electronic circuit part facing the outside through a hole provided in the outer case, also providing the cover member supporting the outer case in a turnable way and making the cover member freely attachable and detachable to/from the outer case. SOLUTION: A cover member 110 is provided with a pair of arm parts 113 on one side, the parts 113 are provided with a pair of mutually facing supporting spindles 111 and 112 and the spindles 111 and 112 are accordingly interfitted into a pair of supporting holes 107 provided on both sides of an almost central part on the side of an upper face of a housing 101 that is an outer case and are supported in a turnable way. And, an electronic circuit part facing the outside through a hole provided on the housing 101 is provided, pressing parts 102 and 103 which press depressing switches connected to the electronic circuit part are provided and also operation elements 121 and 122 of a cover member 110 with the cover closed are provided at the positions corresponding to the parts 102 and 103.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable electronic device used as an auxiliary storage device such as a memory card device of information equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional portable electronic device such as a memory card device or a child device which is used by being inserted into a master device such as an information device such as a video game machine is a main body (master device) of the information device. And a non-volatile storage element for storing data.

FIG. 68A shows a configuration example of a main part of a memory card device as an example of such a conventional portable electronic device. This conventional memory card 10 includes a control unit 11 for controlling the operation, a connector 12 for connecting to a terminal provided in a slot of an information device or the like, and a nonvolatile memory 16 for storing data. And the connector 12 and the non-volatile memory 16
It is connected to the.

[0004] The control means 11 is configured using, for example, a microcomputer (abbreviated as a microcomputer in the following figures). As the nonvolatile memory 16, for example, E
A flash memory such as an EPROM is used. Also,
A microcomputer may be used as a control means for interpreting a protocol in a connection interface with an information device or the like.

FIG. 68B shows a conventional memory card 10.
3 shows control items in the control means 11.

As described above, the conventional memory card only has a main body connection interface for connecting to a main body of an information device or the like and a memory interface for inputting / outputting data to / from a nonvolatile memory.

Further, a conventional video game device such as a home TV game device has a function of storing game data and the like in an auxiliary storage device. The memory card device described above is also used as an auxiliary storage device of such a video game device.

FIG. 69 shows an example of a conventional video game apparatus using a memory card as an auxiliary storage device. A main body 2 of the conventional video game apparatus 1 is housed in a substantially rectangular casing, and a disc mounting section 3 for mounting an optical disc, which is a recording medium on which a video game application program is recorded, in a central portion thereof. When,
Reset switch 4 for arbitrarily resetting the game
, A power switch 5, a disk operation switch 6 for operating the mounting of the optical disk, and, for example, two slot sections 7A and 7B.

A memory card 10 used as an auxiliary storage device is inserted into the slots 7A and 7B. For example, a result of a game executed on the video game device 1 is sent from a control means (CPU) 19. Is written to the nonvolatile memory 16. The slot portions 7A, 7
A plurality of operating devices (controllers), not shown, are also connected to B, so that a plurality of users can simultaneously play a battle game or the like.

[0010] Among the above-mentioned portable electronic devices, there is an electronic device having a terminal for connecting to an external device for transmitting and receiving information signals. In such a portable electronic device, a portion provided with a terminal portion is fitted into a fitting portion for connection of an external device, and the terminal portion is connected to a connection portion of an electronic circuit of the external device. It has been done.

[0011]

By the way, in the portable electronic device as described above, the terminal portion is exposed to the outside of the outer casing in order to connect with the external device. However, since the terminal portion is connected to an integrated circuit or the like in the portable electronic device, there is a possibility that, when a finger or the like comes into contact, the integrated circuit or the like may be electrostatically damaged.

Therefore, when the terminal is not connected to an external device, it is necessary to protect the terminal with a cover made of an insulator. However, the cap type used as such a cover, that is, the one used detachably with respect to the outer housing, may be lost while being connected to the external device. , Handling is troublesome.

It is also conceivable to provide a pivotable lid on the outer casing and protect the terminal portion with this lid. However, in the pivotable lid, when the lid is opened, the externally applied force is applied. There is a possibility that the support portion may be damaged, and it may be a hindrance to connection to an external device. Further, in the case where the rotary lid is provided, if the apparatus configuration is downsized, there is no place for providing an operation unit such as a push switch on the portable outer housing.

Therefore, the present invention is proposed in view of the above situation, and is intended to be used in a portable electronic device having a terminal portion for connection to an external device when not connected to the external device. A portable electronic device in which the terminal portion is securely protected, easy to handle, easy to operate a push switch and the like even when downsized, and can be smoothly connected to an external device. It is intended to provide.

[0015]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a portable electronic device according to the present invention is provided with a terminal portion for connection with an external device provided in the outer housing from the outer housing. An electronic circuit portion facing outward through the through hole, and a lid member rotatably supported by the outer housing.

The lid member reliably protects the terminal portion and can be attached to and detached from the outer casing. Therefore, when the lid is opened, the lid member is detached from the outer casing by an external force and is damaged. Can be prevented, and can be intentionally removed when it interferes with connection.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, the portable electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention can be used as a memory card device used in an entertainment system such as a video game device serving as a master device, or as a single portable small game device. It is. In addition, the parent machine is not limited to the video game machine,
The portable electronic device serving as a slave does not necessarily have to have a memory card function.

In the following description, first, a description will be given of a video game apparatus as an example of a parent device in which a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention is used as a child device.

FIG. 1 shows an external appearance of a video game apparatus as a parent machine to which a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted. The video game device 1 is for reading a game program recorded on, for example, an optical disk or the like, and executing the program in response to an instruction from a user (game player). The execution of the game means
It mainly refers to controlling the progress of the game and the display and sound.

The main body 2 of the video game apparatus 1 is housed in a substantially rectangular housing, and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM as a recording medium for supplying an application program for a video game or the like is provided in a central portion thereof. A disk mounting portion 3 to be mounted, a reset switch 4 for arbitrarily resetting the game, a power switch 5, a disk operation switch 6 for operating the mounting of the optical disk, and, for example, two slot portions 7A, 7B.

Note that the recording medium for supplying the application program is not limited to the optical disk, and the application program may be supplied via a communication line.

Two operating devices 20 can be connected to the slots 7A and 7B, so that two users can play a battle game or the like. Also, the slot portions 7A,
The memory card device described above and the portable electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention can be inserted into 7B. FIG. 1 illustrates a structure in which two slots 7A and 7B are provided, but the number is not limited to two.

The operating device 20 includes a first operating unit 2 and a second operating unit 2.
1 and 22, an L button 23L, an R button 23R, a start button 24, and a selection button 25, and furthermore, operation units 31 and 32 capable of analog operation, and operation modes of these operation units 31 and 32 And a display unit 34 for displaying the selected operation mode. Further, a vibration imparting mechanism (not shown) is provided inside the operation device 20.

FIG. 2 shows the state of the slots 7A and 7B provided on the front surface of the main body 2 of the video game apparatus 1.

In this embodiment, the slot portions 7A, 7B
Are formed in two stages, and the memory card 10 described above and the portable electronic device 10 described later are formed in the upper stage.
Memory card insertion sections 8A and 8B into which 0 is inserted are provided. Controller connection sections (jacks) 9A and 9B to which a connection terminal section (connector) 26 of the controller 20 is connected are provided below the memory card insertion sections 8A and 8B.

The insertion holes (slots) of the memory card insertion portions 8A and 8B are formed in a rectangular shape that is long in the horizontal direction, and the lower end corners are more rounded than the upper end corners. The structure is such that the memory card is not inserted in the wrong direction. The memory card insertion unit 8
A and 8B are provided with shutters for protecting connection terminals for obtaining electrical connections provided therein.

On the other hand, the controller connecting sections 9A and 9B
A structure in which the lower end corners of the horizontally long rectangular insertion hole are rounded more than the upper end corners so that the connection terminal portions 26 of the controller 20 are not connected in the wrong direction. And the memory card insertion section 8A,
8B has a structure in which the shape of the insertion hole is different.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which a portable electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention to be described later is inserted into a memory card insertion portion 8A of a slot portion 7A on the front surface of the video game machine 1.

Next, FIG. 4 shows the above-described video game apparatus 1.
3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic circuit configuration of a main part of FIG.

The video game apparatus 1 has a control system 50 including a central processing unit (CPU) 51 and peripheral devices thereof, and an image processing apparatus (GPU: Graphic Prism) for drawing in a frame buffer 63.
processing unit (SP) 62 and a sound processing device (SP) that generates musical sounds, sound effects, and the like.
U: Sound Processing Unit) and an optical disk control unit 80 for controlling an optical disk on which application programs are recorded.
And a memory card 1 for storing a signal from the controller 20 to which an instruction from a user is input, a game setting, and the like.
0, a communication control unit 90 for controlling the input and output of data from the portable electronic device 100, which will be described later, and a bus BUS to which the above units are connected.

The control system 50 includes a CPU 51 and interrupt control and direct memory access (DMA: Dinami
c Memory Access) Peripheral device control unit 52 for controlling transfer and the like, and random access memory (RAM: Random A)
main memory (main storage device) composed of ccess memory)
3, the main memory 53, the graphic system 60,
A read only memory (ROM: Read Only Memory) 54 storing a program such as a so-called operating system for managing the sound system 70 and the like is provided. Here, the main memory means a memory capable of executing a program on the memory.

The CPU 51 controls the entire video game apparatus 1 by executing an operating system stored in the ROM 54.
For example, it is composed of a 32-bit RISC-CPU.

When the video game device 1 is powered on, the CPU 51 of the control system 50
By executing the operating system stored in M54, the CPU 51 controls the graphic system 60, the sound system 70, and the like. Further, when the operating system is executed, the CPU 51 initializes the entire video game apparatus 1 such as operation check, and then controls the optical disc control unit 80 so that the game or the like recorded on the optical disc is performed. Execute the application program. By executing a program such as a game, the CPU 51 causes the graphic system 6 to respond to an input from a user.
0, control the sound system 70, etc. to display images,
Controls the generation of sound effects and musical sounds.

The graphic system 60 described above
Is a geometry transfer engine (GTE) 61 that performs processing such as coordinate transformation.
G to perform drawing in accordance with a drawing instruction from the CPU 51
It includes a PU 62, a frame buffer 63 for storing an image drawn by the GPU 62, and an image decoder 64 for decoding image data compressed and encoded by orthogonal transform such as discrete cosine transform.

The GTE 61 includes, for example, a parallel operation mechanism for executing a plurality of operations in parallel.
It is possible to perform high-speed operations such as coordinate conversion, light source calculation, matrix or vector operation in response to an operation request from. Specifically, for example, in the case of an operation for performing flat shading in which one triangular polygon is drawn in the same color, the GTE 61 can perform a coordinate operation of up to about 1.5 million polygons per second. Thus, in this video game apparatus, the load on the CPU 51 can be reduced, and high-speed coordinate calculation can be performed.

The above-mentioned GPU 62 draws a polygon (polygon) on the frame buffer 63 in accordance with a drawing command from the CPU 51. This GPU62
Can draw up to about 360,000 polygons per second.

Further, the above-mentioned frame buffer 63
It comprises a so-called dual port RAM, so that drawing from the GPU 62 or transfer from the main memory and reading for display can be performed simultaneously. The frame buffer 63 has a capacity of, for example, 1 Mbyte, and has a width of 1024 bits each having 16 bits.
It is treated as a matrix consisting of pixels and 512 pixels vertically. The frame buffer 63 stores a color lookup table (CLUT: Color Lock Up Table) that is referred to when the GPU 62 draws a polygon or the like, in addition to a display area output as a video output. The area and the GPU 6
2 is provided with a texture area for storing a material (texture) to be inserted (mapped) into a polygon or the like drawn by the second method. The CLUT area and the texture area are dynamically changed according to a change in the display area.

The GPU 62 includes Gouraud shading, which determines the color in the polygon by complementing the colors of the vertices of the polygon, in addition to the flat shading described above.
Texture mapping for pasting a texture stored in the above-described texture area to a polygon can be performed. When performing these Gouraud shading or texture mapping,
The above-mentioned GTE 61 can perform a coordinate calculation of about 500,000 polygons at maximum per second.

Further, the image decoder 64 performs the above-described CP operation.
Under the control of U51, the image data of the still image or the moving image stored in the main memory 53 is decoded and stored in the main memory 53.

The reproduced image data is stored in a GP.
By storing the image in the frame buffer 63 via the U62, the image can be used as the background of the image drawn by the GPU 62 described above.

The sound system 70 has a CPU 5
S for generating musical tones, sound effects, etc. based on an instruction from
The SPU 71 includes a PU 71, a sound buffer 72 in which waveform data and the like are recorded, and a speaker 73 that outputs musical tones, sound effects, and the like generated by the SPU 71.

The SPU 71 stores, for example, an ADPCM decoding function for reproducing audio data that has been subjected to adaptive predictive coding (ADPCM: Adaptive Differential PCM) as 16-bit audio data as a 4-bit differential signal, and is stored in the sound buffer 72. It has a reproduction function of generating a sound effect and the like by reproducing the waveform data stored therein, a modulation function of modulating and reproducing the waveform data stored in the sound buffer 72, and the like.

By providing such a function, the sound system 70 can be used as a so-called sampling sound source that generates musical tones, sound effects, and the like based on waveform data recorded in the sound buffer 72 in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 51. Is available.

The optical disk control section 80 is provided with an optical disk device 81 for reproducing programs, data, and the like recorded on the optical disk, and an error correction code (ECC: Erro).
r Correction Code), a decoder 82 for decoding programs, data, and the like recorded therein, and a buffer 83 for temporarily storing data from the optical disk device 81 to speed up the reading of data from the optical disk. And The decoder 82 includes:
The sub CPU 84 is connected.

The audio data read by the optical disk device 81 and recorded on the optical disk includes:
In addition to the above-described ADPCM data, there is so-called PCM data obtained by converting an audio signal from analog to digital.

As ADPCM data, for example, audio data recorded by representing the difference of 16-bit digital data by 4 bits is decoded by the decoder 82,
It is supplied to the above-mentioned SPU 71, and the digital /
After being subjected to processing such as analog conversion, it is used to drive the speaker 73.

The audio data recorded as PCM data, for example, as 16-bit digital data, is decoded by the decoder 82 and then used to drive the speaker 73.

Further, the communication control unit 90 controls the communication with the CPU 51 via the bus BUS.
A controller 2 for inputting an instruction from a user
And a memory card 1 as an auxiliary storage device for storing game setting data and the like.
0 and memory card insertion sections 8A and 8B to which a portable electronic device 100 described later is connected are provided in the communication controller 91 described above.

The controller 20 connected to the controller connection section 9 has, for example, 16 instruction keys for inputting an instruction from a user. Is transmitted to the communication controller 91 about 60 times per second by synchronous communication. Then, the communication controller 91 transmits the state of the instruction key of the controller 20 to the CPU 51.

Thus, the instruction from the user is transmitted to the CPU 5.
1 and the CPU 51 performs a process according to an instruction from the user based on a game program or the like that is being executed.

Here, the main memory 53 and the GPU
62, the image decoder 64 and the decoder 82, etc.
When a program is read, an image is displayed, or a drawing is performed, a large amount of image data needs to be transferred at a high speed. Therefore, in this video game apparatus, data is directly transferred between the main memory 53, the GPU 62, the image decoder 64, the decoder 82, and the like under the control of the peripheral device control unit 52 without the intervention of the CPU 51 as described above. So-called DMA transfer can be performed. Thus, the load on the CPU 51 due to data transfer can be reduced, and high-speed data transfer can be performed.

When it is necessary to store the setting data of the game being executed, the CPU 51 transmits the stored data to the communication controller 91, and the communication controller 91 transmits the data from the CPU 51. Is written into the memory card 10 or the portable electronic device 100 inserted into the slot of the memory card insertion section 8A or the memory card insertion section 8B.

Here, the communication controller 91 has a built-in protection circuit for preventing electrical destruction.
The memory card 10 and the portable electronic device 100 are separated from the bus BUS, and can be detached while the power of the apparatus main body is turned on. Therefore, when the storage capacity of the memory card 10 or the portable electronic device 100 becomes insufficient, a new memory card can be inserted without turning off the power supply of the apparatus main body. Therefore, a new memory card can be inserted and necessary data can be written to the new memory card without losing game data that needs to be backed up.

The parallel I / O interface (P
IO) 96 and a serial I / O interface (SI
O) 97 is an interface for connecting the memory card 10 or the portable electronic device 100 to the video game apparatus 1.

Next, a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Hereinafter, the portable electronic device 100 according to the present invention will be described on the assumption that the portable electronic device 100 is used as a child device by being inserted into the video game device 1 of the above-mentioned parent device.

That is, the portable electronic device 100 serving as the child device is inserted into the memory card insertion portion 8 provided in the slots 7A and 7B of the video game device 1 serving as the parent device. It can be used as a unique memory card corresponding to a plurality of operating devices 20 that have been set. For example, when two users (game players) play a game, they have a conventional function of recording their own game results and the like in the two portable electronic devices 100, respectively.

When the memory card 10 or the portable electronic device 100 is inserted into the memory card insertion section 8, the power supply terminal and the ground (ground) terminal are first electrically connected. The conductors of the power supply and ground (ground) connection terminals of the connectors of the card 10 and the portable electronic device 100 are formed longer than the other terminals. This is to ensure the safety and stability of the electrical operation. Even if the connection conductor of the memory card insertion portion 8 of the video game device 1 is formed to be longer, or both are formed to be longer. Good. In order to prevent erroneous insertion, the left and right shapes of the connector portion are formed asymmetrically.

FIGS. 5 to 7 show the appearance of the portable electronic device 100 as an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the portable electronic device 100, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the lid member 110 is closed.
Shows perspective views in a state where the lid member 110 is opened.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the portable electronic device 100 according to the present invention includes a housing 101 which is an outer housing, and is used for inputting an event, making various selections, and the like. An operation unit 120 having one or a plurality of operators 121 and 122, a display unit 130 formed of a liquid crystal display (LCD) or the like, and a window for performing, for example, infrared wireless communication by wireless communication means described later. A part 140 is provided.

The housing 101 includes an upper shell 101a and a lower shell 101b, and houses a substrate 151 on which a memory element and the like are mounted. The housing 101 can be inserted into the slots 7A and 7B of the main body of the video game apparatus 1, and has a connector 150 having a rectangular window formed on one side surface thereof.

The window 140 is provided at the other end of the housing 101 formed in a substantially semicircular shape. The display unit 130 occupies a substantially half area of the upper surface of the housing 101 and is provided near the window 140. The operation unit 120 includes the housing 1
In the upper surface portion 01, it is provided in a portion opposite to the window portion 140 occupying a substantially half area of the upper surface portion. The operation unit 120 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, is rotatably supported by the housing 101, and has one or a plurality of operators 121 and 122.
0, and switch pressing portions 102, 10 provided at positions opened and closed by the lid member 110 on the housing 101.
And 3.

The operating elements 121 and 122 are provided to penetrate the lid member 110 from the upper surface side to the lower surface side of the lid member 110. Then, these operators 121 and 122
Is movable in a direction in which it protrudes and retracts from the upper surface of the lid member 110 and is supported by the lid member 110.

The switch pressing portions 102 and 103 have a pressing member which is movable in a direction of protruding and retracting with respect to the upper surface of the housing 101 and supported by the housing 101. This pressing element is disposed on the substrate 151 in the housing 101 by being pressed from above.
For example, a pressing switch such as a diaphragm switch is pressed.

The switch pressing portions 102 and 103 are
In a state where the lid member 110 is closed, each operating element 12
It is provided at a position corresponding to the positions 1,122. That is, in a state where the lid member 110 is closed, when each of the operators 121 and 122 is pressed from the upper side in a direction to be immersed in the upper surface portion of the lid member 110, the operators 121 and 122 become Corresponding switch pressing part 10
The corresponding push switch in the housing 101 is pushed via the pushers 2 and 103.

The switch pressing portions 102, 10
A flexible protective sheet may be stuck on 3. By sticking this protection sheet, the pressing members of the switch pressing portions 102 and 103 can be pressed directly from above the protection sheet without the intervention of the operating members 121 and 122 by hand. The dust can be prevented from entering the housing 101 from this portion.

As shown in FIG. 8, power supply and signal terminals 152 are provided in the windows of the connector 150.
Arranged above and facing.

The shape, dimensions, and the like of the connector section 150 are common to those of the ordinary memory card 10 used in the video game apparatus 1.

FIG. 9A is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a main part of the portable electronic device.

The portable electronic device 100 stores control means 41 for controlling its operation, a connector 42 for connecting to a slot of an information device or the like, and data, similarly to the ordinary memory card 10 described above. A non-volatile memory 46, which is an element for performing the operation, is provided.

The control means 41 is constituted using, for example, a microcomputer (abbreviated as a microcomputer in the figure), and has a program memory section 41a as a program storage means therein. In addition, the nonvolatile memory 46
For example, a semiconductor memory element such as a flash memory that retains a recorded state even when the power is turned off is used.
Since the portable electronic device 100 according to the present invention includes a battery 49 as described later, a static random access memory (SRAM) that can input and output data at high speed can be used as the nonvolatile memory 46. .

The portable electronic device 100, in addition to the above configuration, displays operation (event) input means 43 such as operation buttons for operating a stored program, and displays various information in accordance with the program. A display means 44 such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) as a display means, a wireless communication means 48 for transmitting and receiving data to and from another memory card or the like by infrared rays or the like, and a battery 49 for supplying power to the above-mentioned respective parts.
Is different.

The portable electronic device 100 incorporates a small battery 49 as power supply means. For this reason,
It is possible to operate alone even in a state where it is removed from the slot portions 7A and 7B of the video game device 1 of the parent machine. Note that a rechargeable secondary battery may be used as the battery 49. When the portable electronic device 100 of the child device is inserted into the slots 7A and 7B of the video game device 1 of the parent device, power is supplied from the video game device 1 of the parent device. That is, the power supply terminal 50 is connected to the connection end of the battery 49 via the backflow prevention diode 51. When the power supply terminal 50 is inserted and connected to the slot of the parent machine such as the video game apparatus 1, the child terminal moves from the parent machine to the child. Power is supplied to the machine side, and when a secondary battery is used, the secondary battery is also charged.

The portable electronic device 100 further includes a clock 45, a speaker 47 which is sound generating means for generating sound in accordance with the program, and the like. Each of the above units is connected to the control unit 41 and operates according to the control of the control unit 41.

FIG. 9B shows the control items of the control means 41. The ordinary memory card 10 has only a main body connection interface to an information device and a memory interface for inputting and outputting data to and from the memory, but the portable electronic device 100 according to the present embodiment has In addition, a display interface, an operation input interface, a voice interface, a wireless communication interface, a clock management, and a program download interface are provided.

As described above, the portable electronic device 100 is provided with an interface (hereinafter referred to as an interface) for managing the functions added according to the present embodiment independently of the main body (master) connection interface and the nonvolatile memory management, which are the conventional functions. driver)
Is provided in the control means (microcomputer) 41, so that compatibility with conventional functions can be maintained.

The portable electronic device 100 includes input means 43 such as button switches for operating a program to be executed, and display means 44 using a liquid crystal display (LCD) or the like. Therefore, when the game application is operated, application as a portable game device is possible.

Moreover, the portable electronic device 100 has a function of storing the application program downloaded from the main body of the video game apparatus 1 in the program memory section 41a of the microcomputer 41. Application programs and various types of driver software that operate on the electronic device 100 can be easily changed.

As described above, the operation of the portable electronic device 100 according to the present invention can be controlled independently of the video game device 1. Therefore, on the portable electronic device 100 side,
Data of an application stored in the program memory unit 41a, which is a program storage unit, can be created independently of the application software of the video game apparatus 1. Also, by exchanging this data with the video game device 1, a cooperative operation (link) between the portable electronic device 100 and the video game device 1 becomes possible.

Further, the portable electronic device 100 includes a watch 4
5, the time data can be shared with the video game apparatus 1 side. That is, not only can time data be matched with each other, but also data for controlling the progress of a game executed independently of each other in accordance with real time can be shared.

A specific example of the cooperative operation between the video game device 1 and the portable electronic device 100 will be described later.

FIG. 10 shows a portable electronic device 1 according to the present invention.
The situation where wireless communication is performed between 00's is schematically shown. Thus, the portable electronic device 100
Window section 14 serving as a wireless communication window for performing wireless communication using infrared rays or the like in wireless communication means 48.
The internal data can be exchanged between a plurality of memory cards by transmitting and receiving data via the "0".
The internal data includes data transferred from an information device such as a video game device and stored in storage means inside the memory card.

In the above embodiment, the portable electronic device 100 has been described as being used as an auxiliary storage device of a video game device. However, the application object is not limited to the video game device. For example, it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a search for various information.

Next, a cooperative operation between the portable electronic device 100 and the video game device 1 serving as the above-described parent device will be described.

As described above, the portable electronic device 100
The game data generated by the microcomputer 41 as the control means, the time data obtained by the clock 45 in the memory card, the data generated by another memory card obtained through the wireless communication means 48, etc. It can be shared with the main body of the video game device 1.

FIG. 11 shows a video game apparatus 1 serving as a parent machine.
FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a state in which a cooperative operation is performed between the portable electronic device 100 serving as a child device.

In the following, as an example of such a cooperative operation, an optical disk (CDROM), which is a recording medium on which a program of application software is recorded, is mounted on the video game apparatus 1 of the parent machine, and read out therefrom. A case will be described where the downloaded program is downloaded to portable electronic device 100 of a child device inserted into slots 7A and 7B of the main body of video game device 1.

First, prior to a specific description of the cooperative operation, download of a program which is a prerequisite for performing the cooperative operation will be described.

FIG. 12 shows an optical disk (CDROM) mounted on the disk mounting unit 3 of the video game apparatus 1 of the parent machine.
A video game application program supplied from a device such as
The flow of data when the data is directly transferred (downloaded) to the program memory unit 41a, which is a program storage unit, in the microcomputer 41, which is the control unit of the portable electronic device 100 of the slave unit, via the unit 51 is shown. .

FIG. 13 shows the download procedure of FIG.

In step ST1, first, a portable electronic device 100 (hereinafter referred to as a child device) as a child device is read from a CDROM mounted on the disk mounting portion 3 of the video game device 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as the parent device) as the parent device. In this case, an application program of a video game operating on a microcomputer in the slave unit is read as data. As described above, this application program is generally stored in the video game device 1 of the master device.
It is different from the one that works above.

Next, in step ST2, the CPU 51 as control means of the master unit issues a "program download request command" to the microcomputer 41 as control means of the portable electronic device 100 as the slave unit. Then, the CPU 51 performs polling to receive the “program download permission status” from the microcomputer 41. Note that polling here means
This is a method of performing a service by inquiring about the presence or absence of a service request.

In step ST3, the microcomputer 41 on the portable electronic device 100 side of the slave unit transmits the
A "program download request command" is received from U51.

Then, in step ST4, when the microcomputer 41 of the slave unit ends the routine currently being processed and becomes ready to execute the program download, the "program download permission status" is sent to the CPU 51 of the master unit. I will send it back.

Next, at step ST5, the CPU of the master unit
When the 51 receives the “program download permission status” from the slave-side microcomputer 41, the program read from the CDROM or the like in step ST1 is stored in the program memory unit 41a, which is a program storage unit of the portable electronic device 100. Transfer (download) and write. Then, the CPU 51 performs polling to receive the “program start permission status” from the microcomputer 41.

At this time, the microcomputer 41 manages the address of the program memory section 41a where the downloaded data is written. Further, in the above description, the case where the program downloaded from the master unit is stored in the program memory unit 41a in the microcomputer 41 is described as an example, but the program is stored in a storage element such as an SRAM that can input and output data at high speed. May be performed.

At step ST6, the microcomputer 41 of the memory card receives the program transferred from the master as data, and
Write to. At this time, the CPU 51 of the master unit appears to be writing the program data directly to the program memory unit 41a of the portable electronic device 100 of the slave unit.
As described above, the address of the program memory unit 41a is managed by the microcomputer 41.

Then, in step ST7, when the microcomputer 41 of the portable electronic device 100 of the slave sets an environment in which the final program data can be received from the master and executed, the “program start permission status” is sent to the CPU 51 of the main unit. I will send it back.

At step ST8, the CPU 51 of the base unit
Is the microcomputer 41 of the portable electronic device 100.
Receives the “program start permission status” from the server and issues a “program start command”.

When the microcomputer 41 of the portable electronic device 100 receives the "program start command" from the CPU 51 of the master unit, the microcomputer 41 operates the program from a predetermined address.

According to the above procedure, the portable electronic device 10 of the child device inserted from the video game device 1 of the parent device
The application program is directly transferred (downloaded) to the program memory unit 41a in the microcomputer 41 of the “0”.

As described above, the means for supplying the application program is not limited to a recording medium such as an optical disk, but may be supplied via a communication line. In that case, only the step ST1 differs in the above procedure.

By the way, the above-mentioned download procedure is performed by the application from the video game device 1 of the base unit to the program memory unit 41a in the microcomputer 41 which is control means of the portable electronic device 100 of the child unit inserted in the base unit. This describes a download procedure when a program is directly downloaded.

On the other hand, after the CPU 51 of the parent device downloads the data of the application program to the nonvolatile memory 46 in the portable electronic device 100 of the child device, the data is stored in the program memory section 41 a of the microcomputer 41. It may be copied and executed.

FIG. 14 shows a data flow in such a case. That is, an application program of a video game supplied from an optical disk or the like mounted on the disk mounting unit 3 of the video game device 1 of the master device is transmitted to the portable game device of the child device via the CPU 51 which is a control unit of the video game device 1. Non-volatile memory 46 in electronic device 100
Is transferred (downloaded) to the program memory section 41a in the microcomputer 41 which is a control means.
To be executed.

FIG. 15 shows the above-mentioned download procedure.

In step ST11, first, the CDR mounted on the disk mounting section 3 of the video game apparatus 1 of the master machine is set.
From the OM, an application program of a video game running on a microcomputer in the portable electronic device 100 of the child device is read as data.

Then, in step ST12, CPU 51, which is the control means of the parent device, transfers (downloads) the program data read from the CDROM to nonvolatile memory 46 of portable electronic device 100 of the child device. This procedure is the same as when backing up data in a conventional video game device.

Next, at step ST13, the microcomputer 41 serving as control means of the portable electronic device 100
Receives the application program transferred from the CPU 51 of the parent device as data and writes it in the nonvolatile memory 46 in the same procedure as in the conventional data backup.

Next, in step ST14, the microcomputer 41 of the portable electronic device 100
When a “program start request command” is received from 51, data of the designated size is copied to the program memory unit 41 a in the microcomputer 41 from the address designated by the command in the nonvolatile memory 46.

Then, the microcomputer 41 of the portable electronic device 100 executes the program copied to the program memory unit 41a from the start address.

According to the above procedure, the video game device 1 of the parent device is replaced with the portable electronic device 10 of the child device inserted therein.
The program of the application software is transferred (downloaded) as data to the program memory unit 41 a in the microcomputer 41 via the nonvolatile memory 46.

The application program downloaded from the video game device 1 of the parent device to the portable electronic device 100 of the child device is generally different from the one that operates on the video game device 1 of the parent device. . of course,
The downloaded application program may operate on both the video game device 1 and the portable electronic device 100. However, in this case, there is a restriction that the CPU of the video game device 1 and the microcomputer of the portable electronic device 100 are the same processor.

Next, the program of the application software downloaded from the video game device 1 of the parent device in the above-described procedure is transferred to the portable electronic device 100 of the child device.
A description will be given of a cooperative operation that is executed independently above, and the execution result is exchanged with the video game apparatus 1 again.

Here, attribute data of a person or a character appearing in a so-called role playing game or the like operating on the video game device 1 of the parent device is downloaded to the portable electronic device 100 of the child device. It should be noted that the above attribute data is also data indicating the degree of growth, personality, and the like.

Then, by raising the characters and characters on a program executed by the microcomputer 41 in the portable electronic device 100 of the child device, the attributes of the characters and characters are raised by the main body of the video game device 1 of the parent device. Change independently of the program to be executed.

The portable electronic device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured to operate independently, and is small and portable. For this reason, the user (game player) can always bring up and bring up a person or character to appear by the program executed on the portable electronic device 100. In addition, the user can also transfer (upload) the attributes of the characters and characters brought up at hand from the portable electronic device 100 to the main body of the video game apparatus 1.
In this case, the characters or characters whose attributes have changed can be taken into the program executed on the video game device 1 as the parent machine and operated.

As described above, the video game device 1 as the parent device and the portable electronic device 100 as the child device perform a cooperative operation by sharing and changing attribute data such as characters. Can compose video games that can.

By the way, this portable electronic device 100
As described above, the terminal unit 152 is housed in the housing 101 and is connected to an external device. The terminal portion 152 is exposed to the outside through a connector portion 150 which is a through hole provided in the housing 101, but is covered with a lid member 110 as shown in FIGS. Protected. FIG. 16 (a)
16 (b) shows the front, FIG. 16 (c) shows the bottom, FIG. 17 shows the left side, and FIG. 18 shows the right side. The lid member 110 is supported by the housing 101 so as to be rotatable between a closed state in which the terminal section 152 is covered and an open state in which the terminal section 152 faces outward.

That is, as shown in FIG. 20, the lid member 110 has a pair of arm portions 113 on one side, and a pair of opposed shaft portions 111 and 113 on the arm portions 113. 112, and these shaft portions 111,
The housing 112 is rotatably supported by being fitted into a pair of support holes 107 provided on both sides of a substantially central portion on the upper surface side of the housing 101.

As shown in FIG. 32, the housing 101 has a pressing portion 102 for pressing the pressing switch 157 disposed on the substrate 151 and connected to the electronic circuit portion by being pressed as shown in FIG. , 103 are provided. As shown in FIG. 29, the lid member 110 is movably supported by the lid member 110 while penetrating the lid member 110, and a position corresponding to the pressing element when the lid member 110 is in the closed state. Are provided. These controls 1
As shown in FIG. 30, the members 21 and 122 are integrally connected to each other via a runner portion 123 by a flexible material such as a synthetic resin material, and are movably supported by the lid member. Have been.

That is, when the cover members 110 are in the closed state, the operating members 121 and 122 press the pressing switch 157 via the pressing members by being pressed.

The pressing members forming the pressing portions 102 and 103 may be separate members from the housing 101 movably supported with respect to the housing 101.
As shown in FIG. 32, the housing 101 may be constituted by a part of an outer plate. In this case, the portion surrounded by the U-shaped cuts 102a and 103a provided on the outer plate of the housing 101 becomes the pressing element. A slit 102 is provided at the base end side of these pressing elements.
b, 103b are provided.
Elastic displacement with respect to 01 is possible. And
A flexible protective sheet 101c is attached to the upper surface of the portion where these pressers are formed. Since the protection sheet is attached, the pressing members of the switch pressing portions 102 and 103 can be directly pressed from the protection sheet with the fingers without the intervention of the operation members 121 and 122, and the pressing members of the pressing members can be pressed. Intrusion of dust from the portion into the housing 101 is prevented.

In the state where the cover member 110 is opened, the portion including the connector portion 150 is fitted into the slot portions 7A and 7B, which are concave holding portions of the external device, as shown in FIG. The terminal 152 can be connected to an external device.

Then, the lid member 110 is provided as shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, it is detachable from the housing 101. That is, the spindle portion 1 of the lid member 110
As shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, at least one of the support shaft portions 111 has an open hollow portion at the distal end portion and the peripheral surface portion so that the diameter can be reduced elastically in one direction. ing. And, in the housing 101,
As shown in FIG. 22, the support shaft portion 111 which can be reduced in diameter is used.
A groove 108 is formed from the support hole 107 into which the is fitted to the side of the housing 101. As shown in FIGS. 25 to 27, the support shaft portion 111, whose diameter can be reduced, can be attached to and detached from the housing 101 by passing through the groove 108 in a reduced diameter state.

The support shaft 111 can pass through the groove 108 when the cover member 110 is in the open state. When the lid member 110 is in the closed state, as shown in FIG. 28, the direction in which the diameter of the support shaft 111 can be reduced is a direction orthogonal to the width direction of the groove 108, and thus the support shaft 111 is It cannot pass through the groove 108.

In the portable electronic device 100, as shown in FIG. 33, light from a display light source (LED) 145 that emits visible light for display is guided in two directions, and the portable electronic device 100 communicates with external devices. The light receiving element 144 for receiving infrared light for performing infrared communication has an optical system for receiving infrared light from two directions. here,
Two directions for guiding light from display light source 145 and light receiving element 1
The two directions 44 receive infrared light are the window 140 side and the display unit 130 side. The window 140 is provided in the housing 10.
An infrared light source (LED) 14 that is provided at the upper end of the device 1 and emits infrared light for performing infrared communication with an external device
6 is for emitting infrared light emitted from the housing 6 to the outside of the housing 101.

This optical system includes a transparent protective plate 131 for protecting the display unit 130 and a prism 141 as an optical element provided in the window 140. Display unit 13
Numeral 0 is a display means provided in the housing 101 and serving as a display means facing the outside of the housing 101 through a through hole provided in the front part of the housing 101 as described above. (LCD) and the like. The transparent protective plate 131 is made of, for example, a transparent material such as acrylic, and is disposed with the through hole closed. Prism 141
Is made of a transparent material such as acrylic, for example.
0 is disposed with the lid closed. The display unit 130 faces the front of the housing 101 and
The window 140 is provided in a direction different from that of the window 140 provided at the upper end of the first unit 1.

The infrared light source 146 is located on the substrate 151 in the housing 101, located above the display unit 130. A display light source (LED) 145 that emits visible light for display is located above the display unit 130 and is provided on the substrate 151 in the housing 101. The light receiving element 144 that receives infrared light for performing infrared communication with an external device is located above the display unit 130 and is provided on the substrate 151 in the housing 101. The infrared light source 146, the display light source 145, and the light receiving element 144 are arranged in a state of being substantially arranged in a line.

As shown in FIG. 34, the prism 141
The infrared light emitted from the infrared light source 146 toward the window 140 is transmitted through the window 140 and emitted to the outside of the housing 101. As shown in FIG. 35, the prism 141 receives the visible light emitted from the display light source 145 toward the display unit 130, reflects the visible light at the interface, and reflects the visible light to the window unit 1.
Projection part 14 which guides to the 40 side and injects outward through the
Two. The visible light transmitted through the projection 142 enters the transparent protection plate 131 from the projection 132 of the transparent protection plate 131, passes through the transparent protection plate 130, and exits outward on the display unit 130 side. Is done. In this way, the window 140 emits not only the infrared light emitted by the infrared light source 146 but also the visible light emitted by the display light source 145 to the outside of the housing 101.

As shown in FIG. 36, the prism 141 has a projection 143 that reflects infrared light incident from the window 140 at the interface, guides the infrared light to the light receiving element 144, and receives the light. The infrared light incident on the transparent protective plate 131 from the display unit 130 side is reflected by the protrusion 133 of the transparent protective plate 131.
The light further enters the protrusion 143 of the prism 141, and is received by the light receiving element 144 through the protrusion. In this way, the light receiving element 144 receives the infrared light incident from two directions, the display unit 130 side and the window unit 140 side.

As shown in FIG. 19, on the back surface of the housing 101, a battery holder 104 for mounting a battery for supplying power for driving each part of the portable electronic device 100 to the housing 101 is provided. Installed.
The battery holder 104 is attached to the housing 101 so as to close a through hole formed on the rear surface of the housing 101, and is detachable from the housing 101. As shown in FIG. 37, the battery holder 104 holds a battery 155 that supplies power to an electronic circuit unit in the housing 101. This battery 155
This is a so-called button battery that is formed in a substantially disk shape. When the battery holder 104 is attached to the housing 101, the battery 155 held by the battery holder 104 makes the outer peripheral surface portion serving as an anode contact the positive power supply terminal 154 provided on the substrate 151, and The main surface portion, which is a cathode, is brought into contact with the negative power supply terminal 153 provided at the terminal. The battery 155 is connected to the electronic circuit unit on the substrate 151 by supplying the power to the power terminals 154 and 153 in this manner, and supplies power to the electronic circuit unit.

Although not shown, a reset button for resetting the setting state to the state at the time of shipment from the factory is provided on the rear surface of the housing 101 at the back of a hole formed in the housing 101. And can be pressed with a pin or the like.

As shown in FIG. 38, the battery holder 104 is formed in a substantially disk shape slightly larger than the battery 155, and has a claw-shaped battery holding portion for holding the outer peripheral edge portion of the battery 155 on the outer peripheral portion. It has parts 104a and 104b. As shown in FIG. 39, when holding the outer peripheral edge portion of the battery 155, the battery holding portions 104a and 104b are brought into a state in which the tip ends are along the outer edge of the projection 156 of the cathode portion. When the battery 155 faces the cathode with respect to the battery holder 104, the battery holders 104 a and 10
4b, and only when the anode faces the battery holder 104, the protrusion 156 projects from between the battery holders 104a and 104b. Can be entered. That is, the battery holder 104 of the battery holder 104
Reference numerals a and 104b denote erroneous insertion preventing members that prevent the battery 155 from being held in the opposite polarity direction to the predetermined polarity direction with respect to the battery holder 104.

The battery holder 104 may be formed in a rectangular plate shape as shown in FIG. In this case, the battery holder 104 may be provided with an engagement claw for engaging an edge of a through hole provided in the housing 101, and may be provided with a screw hole 104d for screwing. The screw hole 104d has a housing 10
The screw 104c to be screwed into one screw hole is inserted. As shown in FIG. 41, the battery holder 104 has battery holding portions 104a and 104b on the back surface side, and holds the battery 155 in a predetermined polarity direction between the battery holding portions 104a and 104b.

As shown in FIG. 42, a protective case 1 for storing and protecting the portable electronic device 100 is provided.
60 are conceivable. The protective case 160 holds the portable electronic device 10 between the upper case 161 and the upper case 161 by being abutted against the upper case 161.
Lower case 16 forming a closed space for accommodating therein
Consists of two. These cases 161 and 162 are made of, for example, polymethylmethacrylate.
It is formed of a transparent synthetic resin material such as (acrylic) or polycarbonate (Polycarbonate).

Each of the cases 161 and 162 has an engaging portion at one end. This engaging portion is provided in the upper case 1
61, a hook-shaped engaging claw 163 provided on the lower case 1
62. The engaging portion holds the cases 161 and 162 in a state where the engaging claws 163 are inserted into the engaging ring portion 164 and the cases 161 and 162 are abutted against each other. And, on the other end side of these cases 161, 162, a fastening portion is provided. The fastening portion includes a screw insertion piece 170 provided on the upper case 161 and a screw insertion piece 171 provided on the lower case 162. These screw insertion pieces 1
70 and the screw-in piece 171 are connected to each case 161, 162
Are superimposed on each other in a state where they are butted against each other. Then, the fastening screw 172 is inserted into a screw insertion hole formed in the screw insertion piece 170, and the fastening screw 172 is screwed into the screw hole of the screw insertion piece 171, whereby the screw insertion piece 170 is screwed into the screw insertion piece. The piece 171 is fixed to each other, and maintains the cases 161 and 162 in an abutted state. The head of the fastening screw 172 is formed with a linear groove into which a peripheral portion of, for example, a 100 yen coin or a 500 yen coin can be fitted. That is, the fastening screw 172 is
As shown in FIG. 3, the periphery of a 100-yen coin or a 500-yen coin is fitted into the groove of the head, so that the coin can be easily rotated.

Then, at least one of the cases 161 and 162, for example, the upper case
A plurality of through holes 169 are provided corresponding to the pressing operation portions 121 and 122 of the portable electronic device 100 housed in the gaps formed by 61 and 162. Further, these through holes 169 are closed by a sealing member 167 serving as a push button 165. The sealing member 167 is formed of an elastic material (elastomer), and is formed in a state of being attached to the back surface of the upper case 161. The push button 165 is
The sealing member 167 in the vicinity of the inner peripheral edge of the through hole 169 is elastically deformed, so that the sealing member 167 can move in a direction in which the sealing member 167 protrudes and retracts from the upper surface of the upper case 161. The sealing member 167 is formed integrally with a sealing member 168 that seals a gap between butted portions of the upper case 161 and the lower case 162. The sealing member 168 is provided over the entire periphery of the edge where the upper case 161 and the lower case 162 abut. This sealing member 168 is
When the upper case 161 and the lower case 162 abut each other, the upper case 161 and the lower case 162 are sandwiched between these cases 161 and 162,
The space between the cases 161 and 162 is sealed. This sealing member 1
68 prevents water from entering the protective case 160. That is, with the sealing member 168, the protective case 160 can be used as a waterproof case as well as protecting the portable electronic device 100 from vibration and impact.

As shown in FIG. 45, when the portable electronic device 100 is stored in the protective case 160 with the display unit 130 as the upper case 161 side, as shown in FIG. The abutments correspond to the pressing surfaces of the children 121 and 122. Therefore, in a state where the portable electronic device 100 is stored in the protective case 160, each of the operating elements 121 and 1 is operated by pressing each of the push buttons 165.
The pressing switch 157 can be pressed through the pressing unit 22 and the pressing units 102 and 103.

[0139] The protective case 160 is a portable electronic device 1 housed in a gap in the protective case 160.
The position corresponding to the display unit 130 of 00 may be a magnifying lens unit. That is, by bulging the outer wall portion of the protective case 160 at a position corresponding to the display unit 130 into a concave shape, this portion functions as a concave lens, and the display unit 130 can be viewed in an enlarged manner.

By the way, in the above-described embodiment, the operators 121 and 122 provided on the lid member 110 are composed of four push button-shaped operators 121 and one push button-shaped operator 122. As shown in FIG. 46, the four push button-shaped operation elements 121 may be replaced with one cross-shaped seesaw button 121a. The seesaw button 121a has arms extending in four directions from a central portion, and these arms correspond to the pressing members of the four pressing portions 102 of the housing 101, respectively. The seesaw button 121a presses the pressing member of the pressing portion 102 in the tilted direction by pressing one arm portion and tilting the arm portion toward the arm portion.

Further, as shown in FIG. 47, the operator provided on the lid member 110 is provided with one of the seesaw buttons 12 described above.
1a and four push button-like operators 122a, 122b, 12
2c and 122d. These four operating elements 122a, 122b, 122c, 122d correspond to the pressing elements of the four pressing sections 103 of the housing 101, respectively. That is, in this case, the housing 101 has four operating elements 122a, 122b, 122
Four pressing portions 103 corresponding to c and 122d are provided. These four operators 122a, 122b, 122
When pressed, c and 122d respectively press the pressing elements of the corresponding pressing portions 103 of the housing 101. Note that these four operators 122a, 122
For example, square marks, circle marks, triangle marks, and cross marks are printed on the pressing portions b, 122c, and 122d, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 48, the operation member provided on the lid member 110 is a disk-shaped one seesaw button 1.
21b and two push button-like operators 122a and 122b. The seesaw button 121b has triangular arrows on four sides on the upper surface, and these arrow portions correspond to the pressing elements of the four pressing portions 102 of the housing 101, respectively. The seesaw button 121b presses the pressing element of the pressing portion 102 in the tilted direction by pressing one arrow and tilting in the direction of the arrow. The two operating elements 122a and 122b correspond to the pressing elements of the two pressing portions 103 of the housing 101, respectively. That is, in this case, the housing 101
Are assigned to the two operators 122a and 122b.
The pressing portions 103 are provided. These two controls 1
Each of the pressing members 22a and 122b presses a corresponding one of the pressing portions 103 of the housing 101 by being pressed. Note that these two operators 122a, 1
For example, a cross mark and a circle mark are printed on the pressing portion 22b, respectively.

Further, as shown in FIG. 49, the operation members provided on the cover member 110 are three push button-like operation members 121.
c, 121c, and 121c. The three operating elements 121c, 121c, 121c correspond to the pressing elements of the three pressing sections 102 of the housing 101, respectively. That is, in this case, the housing 101 is provided with three pressing portions 102 corresponding to the three operators 121c, 121c, 121c. These three operating members 121c, 121c, 121c press the corresponding pressing members of the pressing portion 102 of the housing 101 by being pressed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 50, the cover 110 may not be provided with an operation element. In this case, when operating the pressing portions 102 and 103 of the housing 101, the lid member 110 is opened, or
Removal is performed from the housing 101.

Further, as shown in FIG.
In the case where one disc-like seesaw button 121d and two push button-like operators 122a and 122b are provided at 0,
The seesaw button 121d may have a protruding portion extending in four directions from the center instead of the above-mentioned triangular arrow. In the seesaw button 121d, these protruding portions correspond to the pressers of the four press portions 102 of the housing 101, respectively. The seesaw button 121d presses the pressing member of the pressing portion 102 in the tilted direction by pressing one protruding portion and tilting in the direction of the protruding portion. The two operators 122a and 122b are
Similarly to the above, they correspond to the pressing elements of the two pressing portions 103 of the housing 101, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 52, the four operating elements provided on the cover member 110 are four push-button operating elements 121.
a, 121b, 121c, 121d and two push-button-like controls 122a, 122b. These six operators 121a, 121b, 121c,
121d, 122a, and 122b correspond to the pressing members of the two pressing portions 102 and the four pressing portions 103 of the housing 101, respectively. That is, in this case, the housing 101 has four operating members 121a and 121a.
b, 121c, and four pressing portions 10 corresponding to 121d
2 and 2 corresponding to the two operators 122a and 122b.
And a plurality of pressing portions 103. These six controls 121a, 121b, 121c, 121d, 122
The pressing members a and 122b press the pressing members of the corresponding pressing portions 102 and 103 of the housing 101 by being pressed. In addition, these six operators 121 in total
a, 121b, 121c, 121d, 122a, 122
A square mark, a circle mark, a triangle mark, a cross mark, etc. are printed on the pressing portions b as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 53, the cover member of the portable electronic device 100 is replaced with the cover member 110 rotatably supported by the housing 101 as described above. Cover-like lid 110 configured to house detached housing 110
a may be used. This cover-like lid 110a is similar to that shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the rear side has a concave portion 113 into which the housing 101 can be inserted, and is formed in a disk shape as a whole. When the housing 101 is inserted into the recess 113, the display unit 130
A faces the front side through the display through-hole 115 formed through the front part from the inside of the recess 113 of FIG. The display through-hole 115 may be closed by a protective plate 114 made of a transparent material. This cover-like lid 110a
It has the same operation members 121 and 122 as the lid member 110 described above, and it is possible to press the pressing portions 102 and 103 of the housing 101 via these operation members 121 and 122.

In such a cover-like lid 110a, as shown in FIG.
A door 116 that can be opened and closed may be provided. This door 116
, One side is connected to the cover-like lid 110a with the hinge portion 1
The housing 101 is rotatably supported via the opening 17, and when the cover is closed, the recess 113 is closed while the housing 101 is housed in the recess 113. When the door 116 is closed, the housing 1
01 is prevented from falling off. By opening the door 116, the housing 101 can enter and exit the recess 113.

To close the recess 113 on the back surface of the cover-like cover 110a, as shown in FIG. 55 (b), the cover covering the entire back surface of the cover-like cover 110a. A disk-shaped lid plate 116 that can be attached to and detached from the lid 110a may be used. The cover plate 116 is attached to the cover-like lid 110a by fitting the outer periphery to the outer periphery of the cover-like lid 110a, and the housing 101 is housed in the recess 113. This recess 113 is closed. When the cover plate 116 is attached to the cover-like cover 110a, the recess 1
13 prevents the housing 101 from falling off. By removing the lid plate 116 from the cover-like lid 110a, the housing 101 can enter and exit the recess 113.

As shown in FIG. 56, the lid member attached to the housing 101 may be a lid member 110b which is slidably attached to and detached from the housing 101. The lid member 110b is removed from the housing 101 by being slid with respect to the housing 101 to the side where the terminal portion 152 is provided, and is slid from the side where the terminal portion 152 is provided. As a result, it is attached to the housing 101.
An operator may or may not be provided on the lid member 110b.

The actual dimensions of the morphological electronic device in the above-described embodiment are as follows: front view in FIG. 57, right side view in FIG. 58, rear view in FIG. 59, top view in FIG. 60, bottom view in FIG. 62, a bottom side external view of FIG. 62, a front view of the housing 101 with the lid member 110 removed in FIG. 63, a bottom view of the same housing 101 only in FIG. 64, and a right side view of the same housing 101 only in FIG. 66 is a right side view of only the lid member 110, and FIG. 67 is a front view of only the lid member 110.

The numbers described on the dimension lines in FIGS. 57 to 67 are lengths in mm. The numbers following R in FIGS. 57 to 67 are expressed in units of mm.
Is the radius of curvature of the arc portion.

[0153]

As described above, in the portable electronic device according to the present invention, the lid member reliably protects the terminal portion and is detachable from the outer housing. Can be prevented from being damaged by detaching from the outer casing by an external force, and can be intentionally removed when it interferes with connection. Further, the lid member is provided with an operation element which is located at a position corresponding to the pressing part of the outer housing in the closed state, and the operation on the pressing part is possible via this operation element.

That is, the present invention relates to a portable electronic device having a terminal portion for connection to an external device. When the portable electronic device is not connected to the external device, the terminal portion is securely protected and easy to handle. Therefore, it is possible to provide a portable electronic device which is reduced in size and can easily operate a push switch and the like, and can be smoothly connected to an external device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an external appearance of a video game device serving as a parent device in which a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention is used as a child device.

FIG. 2 is a rear view showing a state of a slot section of the video game device.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the video game device.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration example of a main part of the video game device.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the appearance of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the portable electronic device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state where a lid member is opened in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view showing the appearance of the portable electronic device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for describing a wireless communication function of the embodiment of the portable electronic device according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a cooperative operation between the embodiment of the portable electronic device according to the present invention and the video game device main body.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a flow of program data downloaded from the video game device main body to a memory card.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a procedure of the download.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another flow of the program data downloaded from the video game device main body to the memory card.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a procedure of the download.

FIG. 16 is a three-view diagram showing the front, top, and bottom surfaces of the external appearance of the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 17 is a right side view illustrating an appearance of the portable electronic device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a left side view illustrating an appearance of the portable electronic device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a rear view illustrating an appearance of the portable electronic device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing a state in which a lid member is removed in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a state where a lid member is removed in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a main part showing a configuration of a supporting portion of a lid member in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a main part showing a configuration of a support shaft of a cover member in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 24 is an essential part cross sectional view showing a configuration of a support shaft of a lid member in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a state of a support portion when a lid member is attached in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 26 is an essential part cross-sectional view showing a state of a support portion when a cover member is attached in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 27 is an essential part cross-sectional view showing a state of a support portion when a cover member is attached in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 28 is an essential part cross sectional view showing a state of a support portion when a lid member is closed in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an operation member of a lid member in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 30 is a plan view showing a configuration of a manipulator of a lid member in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 31 is a plan view showing another configuration of the pressing portion in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 32 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the configuration of the pressing portion in the portable electronic device.

FIG. 33 is a plan view illustrating a configuration of an infrared transceiver in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 34 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an infrared transmitting unit in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 35 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a display visible light emitting section in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 36 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an infrared receiving unit in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 37 is a rear view showing an arrangement of a substrate and a battery in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 38 is a rear view showing a configuration of a battery holder in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 39 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a battery holder in the embodiment of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 40 is an external perspective view showing another embodiment of the configuration of the battery holder in the portable electronic device.

FIG. 41 is a perspective view on the inner side showing another embodiment of the configuration of the battery holder in the portable electronic device.

FIG. 42 is a two-sided view showing the front and bottom surfaces of the configuration of the protective case for housing the portable electronic device.

FIG. 43 is a side view showing a configuration of a protective case for housing the portable electronic device.

FIG. 44 is a two-view diagram showing the front and bottom surfaces of the configuration of the protective case accommodating the portable electronic device.

FIG. 45 is a side view showing the configuration of the protective case containing the portable electronic device.

FIG. 46 is a perspective view showing an embodiment in which four operators of the portable electronic device are replaced by one seesaw switch.

FIG. 47 is a perspective view showing an embodiment in which the operator of the portable electronic device has one seesaw switch and four buttons.

FIG. 48 is a perspective view showing an embodiment in which the operator of the portable electronic device has one circular seesaw switch and two buttons.

FIG. 49 is a perspective view showing an embodiment in which the operator of the portable electronic device has three buttons.

FIG. 50 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the portable electronic device in which no operation element is provided.

FIG. 51 is a front view showing an embodiment in which the operator of the portable electronic device is a seesaw switch having irregularities and two buttons.

FIG. 52 is a front view showing an embodiment in which the operation device of the portable electronic device has six buttons.

FIG. 53 is a front perspective view showing an embodiment in which a cover member of the portable electronic device covers an outer housing.

FIG. 54 is a rear perspective view showing an embodiment in which a cover member of the portable electronic device covers an outer housing.

FIG. 55 is a rear side perspective view showing an embodiment in which a cover member of the portable electronic device covers an outer housing and a door is provided on a back portion.

FIG. 56 is a front view showing an embodiment in which the cover member of the portable electronic device is of a plug-in type.

FIG. 57 is a front view showing dimensions of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 58 is a right side view showing dimensions of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 59 is a rear view showing dimensions of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 60 is a top view illustrating dimensions of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 61 is a bottom view showing dimensions of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 62 is a bottom view showing the external dimensions of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 63 is a front view showing dimensions of an outer housing of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 64 is a bottom view showing dimensions of an outer housing of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 65 is a right side view showing dimensions of an outer housing of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 66 is a right side view showing dimensions of a lid member of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 67 is a front view showing dimensions of a lid member of the portable electronic device.

FIG. 68 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a main part of a conventional memory card device.

FIG. 69 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional video game device using a memory card as an auxiliary storage device.

[Description of Signs] 41 control means, 42 connector, 43 button switch, 44 display screen, 45 clock, 46
Nonvolatile memory, 47 speaker, 48 wireless communication means, 49 battery, 100 memory card, 10
2,103 pressing portion, 107 support hole, 110 lid member,
111, 112 spindle, 121, 122 operator

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An outer housing, comprising: a terminal portion housed in the outer housing for connection with an external device; and the terminal portion is connected through a through hole provided in the outer housing. An electronic circuit portion facing the outside, and a cover state covering the terminal portion and an open state facing the terminal portion outside the cover portion. A portable electronic device comprising: a lid member rotatably supported; wherein the lid member is detachable from the outer housing. 2. A pusher provided on the outer housing and pressed by a push operation to push a push switch connected to the electronic circuit portion, and a movable member that can be moved by the lid member while penetrating the lid member. An operating element that is supported and is positioned at a position corresponding to the pressing element when the lid member is in the closed state. The operating element is pressed when the lid member is in the closed state. 2. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the pressing switch is pressed via the pressing element.