KR20020086371A - Input device & Extension-pack installed mobile terminal case - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A portable terminal case is provided to embed a foldable keyboard and an extension pack like an extension memory device so that it makes it easy connecting a portable terminal to the keyboard and compensates for drawbacks of a conventional portable terminal, for example, a difficulty in inputting data or a memory shortage. CONSTITUTION: The device comprises a cradle(2), an extension pack(3), a keyboard(4), and a keyboard cover(5). The cradle(2) places a portable terminal on, for example, a PDA(Personal Data Assistant) or a PCS(Personal Communication System). When the portable terminal is placed on the cradle(2), a connection slot, formed at a bottom of the cradle(2) is connected to a slot of the portable terminal so that the data is communicated between the extension pack(3) and the portable terminal. The extension pack(3), such as an extension memory device and a wireless communication card, is installed at an upper part of a back side of a main body(B). An auxiliary battery(3a) can be installed at the back side of the main body(B) for supplying a power to the portable terminal while fixing the extension pack(3). The keyboard(4), foldable, is electrically connected to the main body(B), positioned on the back side of the main body and covered by the keyboard cover(5) when not used. The keyboard cover(5), supported by a hinge, rotates freely about a hinge axis.

Description

Portable device case with input device and extension pack {Input device & Extension-pack installed mobile terminal case}

The present invention relates to a case of a portable terminal such as a PDA or a portable computer. More specifically, the built-in expansion pack, such as an expansion memory, a secondary battery, and an input device keyboard are built into the portable terminal case, so that the portable terminal does not have to carry a terminal and a peripheral device separately. There is this.

Most users of portable terminals such as PDAs and portable computers use only limited functions such as using simple memos or address books. However, with the development of multimedia technology, it is expected that portable terminals that will function as desktop computers will replace notebook computers. A notebook computer is smaller than a desktop computer but is not easy to carry, while a portable terminal is easy to carry but does not provide the performance and convenience of a notebook computer.

For example, a portable terminal generally inputs text using a touch screen method, but it is inconvenient for a beginner or a user who has many data inputs to input text on a small screen. In order to alleviate this inconvenience and simplify carrying, a thumb input keyboard, a mini keyboard, a rolled up keyboard, and the like have been developed, but do not satisfy the inconvenience of unskilled users.

In addition, when using a separate terminal such as multimedia or many kinds of programs, cameras or scanners through a portable terminal, there is not enough memory, a short use time, and an accessory that can be connected when using various peripherals is not separately installed in the terminal. Or there was little in one place and there was inconvenience in use.

When using multimedia, the storage capacity of the memory is about 6-7 songs, and the battery life that can be used continuously is only about 2-3 hours, and most users use the extended memory, secondary battery, wireless communication card, etc. It is inconvenient to buy an expansion pack separately, expensive and expensive to follow, there was a problem that the keyboard as an input device to buy separately and carry.

In addition, there is a problem that the liquid crystal screen of the front surface of the display device of the portable terminal is exposed to the outside as it is easily damaged by external shock.

As described above, according to the present invention, the connection between the portable terminal and the input device (keyboard, wireless LAN, GPS, and other peripheral devices) can be made easier, and the cover can protect the LCD screen of the portable terminal from external shock. In addition, the object is to provide a case that solves the inconvenience of data input, lack of memory, short duration of use, etc. convenient and portable device configuration.

1 is a perspective view showing an example of use of a portable terminal case according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view when the portable terminal is used in a hand while being mounted in the case of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view when the portable terminal is placed on the floor in a state of being mounted in the case of FIG.

Figure 4 is a side view when using a keyboard on the floor in a state in which the portable terminal is mounted on the case of FIG.

5A to 5C are plan, rear and side views of a portable terminal according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a circuit connection state of an empty hinge portion of the keyboard illustrated in FIG. 1.

7 is a front view of the case with the keyboard cover opened;

8 is a schematic circuit diagram of a portable terminal case according to the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing>

1: Cover 1a, 1b: Rotating shaft

1c: cover support 2: mounting portion

3: expansion pack 3a: auxiliary battery

4: keyboard 4a: horizontal hinge

5: Keyboard cover 5a: Vertical hinge

6: Keyboard cover lock 7: Cover support mounting groove

8: connection slot 9: USB port

10 pen holder 11: blank hinge

12: keyboard controller 13: expansion pack and secondary battery circuit

14 circuit connection 15 circuit board

A: Case B: Body

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a portable terminal case that can be used by replacing an expansion memory, a wireless communication device, and other peripheral devices, and is portable and easy to use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal case which can facilitate the connection between the portable terminal and the keyboard and protect the LCD screen on the front of the terminal from external impact.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a main body having a mounting portion having a space on which the portable terminal is mounted;

A keyboard having a plurality of keys and divided into a plurality of parts by at least one hollow hollow hinge;

A horizontal hinge pivotally connecting the keyboard to the main body so as to position the keyboard in a space formed under the main body back; And

A cover support fixed to the rear surface of the main body so as to be pivoted about the rotational shaft and serving as a support of the main body;

To provide a portable terminal case comprising a.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view showing an example of use of a portable terminal case according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a portable terminal such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, and personal communications services (PCS) may be mounted on the front of the main body B of the case A. The mounting part 2 is formed. At this time, the connection slot 8 formed in the main body B at the bottom of the mounting part 2 and the slot of the portable terminal are coupled to each other so that data can be exchanged between the expansion pack 3 of the case A and the portable terminal. . An expansion pack (3), such as an expansion memory, a wireless communication card, and a slot for other peripheral devices, is mounted on an upper portion of the rear surface of the main body (B), and an expansion pack (3) to supply auxiliary power of the terminal while fixing the expansion pack (3). The auxiliary battery 3a is mounted on the rear surface of the main body B at the rear. At this time, two expansion packs (2) can be mounted on both sides at the same time, so that they can be used more conveniently than mounting one.

The main body B is electrically connected to a collapsible keyboard 4 composed of a plurality of keys, and when the keyboard 4 is not used, the main keyboard B is flipped back in a folded state, and the lower part of the lower surface of the bottom B Located in the space portion is protected by the keyboard cover (5).

In this case, the keyboard 4 is provided in the same size as a standard keyboard used by ordinary PC users. The keyboard cover 5 is rotated about the vertical hinge 5a and is locked or released by the keyboard cover lock 6 on the other side of the back of the main body B on which the vertical hinge 5a is formed.

When the portable terminal is mounted on the case A, the cover 1 serving to protect the LCD screen of the portable terminal can be flipped off the cover support 1c and the cover support 1c serving as a pedestal has a main body ( B) It can be flipped from the back.

As a result, when the portable terminal is held in the hand as shown in FIG. 2, the cover 1 is flipped, and when used on a flat floor as shown in FIG. 3 or 4, the cover 1 is folded again. The cover support 1c is flipped over.

The pen for data input by the user is inserted into the pen holder 10 formed on the front surface of the main body S under the holder 2. In addition, the USB port 9 is formed on the side of the main body (B) below the mounting portion 2, as shown in Figure 7, it is possible to charge the portable terminal and free exchange of data is made, the USB port (9) Peripherals such as computers, digital cameras, and external storage devices are connected.

Figure 2 is a side view when using the portable terminal in a hand mounted state in the case according to the present invention. The cover 1 is connected to the cover support 1c by the first pivot shaft 1a to be able to be flipped, and the cover support 1c is connected to the rear surface of the main body B by the second pivot shaft 1b. It can be flipped. That is, the second pivotal shaft 1b causes the cover support 1c to rotate while fixing the cover support 1c to the back of the main body B, and the first pivotal shaft 1a covers the cover 1 with the cover support ( The cover 1 is rotated while connecting to 1c).

When the hand is used as shown in FIG. 2, the cover 1 is flipped upward with respect to the first pivotal shaft 1a to reveal the LCD screen of the terminal protected by the cover 1. The keyboard 4 is folded back about the horizontal hinge 4a in the folded state and is positioned in the space portion under the rear surface of the main body B so as to be protected by the keyboard cover 5, and the keyboard cover 5 is the keyboard cover lock ( The lock state is maintained by 6). The horizontal hinge 4a connects the main body B and the keyboard 4 to position the keyboard 4 in the space portion under the rear surface of the main body B.

Figure 3 is a side view when using the portable terminal placed on the floor in a state according to the present invention. The cover 1 is flipped upward with respect to the first pivotal shaft 1a and the cover support 1c is flipped backwards with respect to the second pivotal shaft 1b to cover the cover 1 and the cover support 1c. It serves as a pedestal. The keyboard 4 is folded back about the horizontal hinge 4a in the folded state and is positioned in the space portion under the back of the case A, and is protected by the keyboard cover 5 in this state.

Figure 4 is a side view when using a keyboard placed on the floor in a state in which the portable terminal is mounted on the case according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the cover 1 and the cursor supporter 1c are flipped backwards to serve as a stand of the case A, but the keyboard 4 located at the lower portion of the rear surface of the main body B is the keyboard cover lock 6. The keyboard cover 5 is unlocked and rotated forward about the horizontal hinge 4a so as to be placed on the floor.

Figure 5a is a plan view of the case according to the invention, the keyboard is located on the back of the main body to show the folded state. As shown, the keyboard 4 is folded back about the horizontal hinge 4a, positioned on the back of the main body B, and folded with the empty hinge 11 as the axis. The keyboard cover 5 is rotated about a vertical hinge 5a installed at one side of the main body B, and is locked or released by the keyboard cover lock 6 formed at the other side of the case A opposite to the vertical hinge 5a. By this configuration, the keyboard 4 is protected by the keyboard cover 5 in a folded state on the lower rear surface of the main body B, and the locked state is maintained by the keyboard cover lock 6. A cover support mounting groove 7 is formed in a portion where the cover support 1c comes into contact with the rear surface of the main body B in the vertical direction, and the cover support 1c is positioned in the cover support mounting groove 7. The support base 1c can be flipped back and can be used easily as a base of the case A.

In FIG. 6 the keyboard 4 is foldable, electrically connected, and divided into several parts by a hollow hollow hinge 11. Each part of the divided keyboard 4 uses one flexible circuit board 15 interconnected between the parts via a blank hinge 11 for the interconnection of keys. In the present invention, the blank hinge 11 divides the keyboard 4 vertically and divides the keyboard 4 vertically into four. The keyboard 4 is arranged in the same layout as the keyboard of a general standard keyboard, and unlike a mini keyboard used in a conventional portable terminal, there is no inconvenience in input and the thickness of the circuit board 15 is reduced by using a thin circuit board. . In the keyboard of the keyboard 4, the size of the numeric keys is reduced, and function keys, which are mainly used in the terminal, are arranged on the left side for convenience of the user and reduction in size for easy portability.

Figure 5b and Figure 5c is a rear view and side view of the case according to the present invention, showing a state in which the expansion pack and the auxiliary battery is mounted. Expansion pack (3) mounted on both sides of the main body (B) is to supplement the performance of the conventional terminal, consisting of expansion memory, wireless communication card, other peripheral slots, the rear of the expansion pack (3) An auxiliary battery (3a) for supplying auxiliary power is mounted on the back of the main body (B) to protect the expansion pack (3). In the case of the expansion memory, CF-type memory currently on sale or more than 1GB recently released The micro-drive can be attached and detached as needed, allowing users to store and upgrade data as required. In addition, the detachable wireless communication card can be used anytime, anywhere necessary information.

7 is a front view of the keyboard cover in the expanded state in the case according to the present invention. As shown in the drawing, the keyboard cover 5 is unlocked to extend to the side of the main body A with respect to the vertical hinge 5a. On the other hand, the cover 1 covers the mounting portion 2 on the front of the case (A), when the portable terminal is mounted on the mounting portion 2, the LCD screen of the terminal is protected.

8 shows the overall circuit concept according to the invention.

The circuit connected to the connection slot 8 at the bottom of the cradle 2 shown in FIG. 1 is connected to a keyboard controller 12 that is connected to the keyboard 4 and controls the keyboard 4, and has a space on one side of the cradle 2. It is connected to the expansion pack and the auxiliary battery circuit 13 through the in-circuit connection 14. In addition, through the USB port 9 at the bottom of the main body B, the terminal is charged and connected to peripheral devices such as a computer, a digital camera, and an external storage device, thereby freely exchanging data.

Summary of the Invention An object of the present invention is an integrated concept that makes the connection between the terminal and the input device easier, protects the liquid crystal display on the front of the terminal from external shocks, and at the same time compensates for the disadvantages of data input, memory shortage and usage time of the existing portable terminal. The purpose of the case configuration is to maximize the convenience of portability and use.

Claims (10)

A main body having a space in which the portable terminal is mounted and mounted on the front surface; A keyboard having a plurality of keys and divided into a plurality of parts by at least one hollow hollow hinge; A horizontal hinge pivotally connecting the keyboard to the main body so as to position the keyboard in a space formed under the main body back; And A cover support fixed to the rear surface of the main body so as to be pivoted about the rotational shaft and serving as a support of the main body; Portable terminal case comprising a. The portable terminal case of claim 1, wherein the empty hinge is vertically formed to have four folds. The portable terminal case of claim 1, wherein the cover is pivotally connected to the cover support by another rotating shaft to protect the LCD screen of the portable terminal mounted on the holder. The portable terminal case of claim 1, wherein a cover support mounting groove into which the cover support is inserted is formed at a rear portion of the main body which is in contact with the cover support. The portable terminal case of claim 1, wherein a pen holder into which a pen for user input is inserted is formed on the front of the main body. The expansion pack is mounted on the upper rear of the main body, and the auxiliary battery is mounted on the rear of the rear main body of the expansion pack, and data is transmitted and received between the expansion pack and the portable terminal through a connection slot provided at the front of the main body. Portable terminal case. The method of claim 6, wherein the side of the main body is provided with a USB port connected to a peripheral device such as a computer, a digital camera, an external storage device, the battery is charged through the USB port and data is transmitted and received between the peripheral device and the portable terminal Portable terminal case. The portable terminal case of claim 6, wherein the circuit connected to the connection slot is connected to a keyboard controller for controlling the keyboard by being connected to the keyboard, and connected to the expansion pack and the auxiliary battery circuit through a circuit connection part which is a space on one side of the mounting part. The portable terminal case of claim 6, wherein two expansion packs are mounted on both sides of the rear surface of the main body. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the keyboard is located on the back of the main body, it is protected by a keyboard cover pivoted about a vertical hinge formed on one side of the main body, the keyboard cover is locked or unlocked by a keyboard cover lock provided on the other side of the main body Portable terminal case characterized in that.