KR20040035019A - Speaker system for portable computer and its driving method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A speaker system for a portable computer and a method for operating the same are provided to use at least two speakers in stereo by embedding three speakers into the portable computer. CONSTITUTION: The first and the second speaker(161,162) are joined to a speaker frame(160) to a lower inside of a front and a rear cover. The first and the second speaker are respectively installed to a left/right side of the speaker frame. A microphone and an earphone jack(164) are installed to a center of the speaker frame. In case of a portrait mode, the first and the second speaker are used in the stereo. The third speaker(163) is installed to a right inside of the front and the rear cover. When a screen mode is changed, the second speaker is used as a right speaker and the third speaker is used as a left speaker by linking with the second speaker.

Description

Speaker system for portable computer and its driving method

The present invention relates to a portable computer, and more particularly, to a single pad speaker system and a speaker driving method having a plurality of display panels and a system body integrally.

In line with the times, most systems in use today are small, light and portable. These include note book personal computers, personal digital assistants, and smart phones.

Notebook computers or portable digital terminals, which are typically portable computers, have two types. One type is equipped with a keyboard, which is a basic input device, and the operation is performed around the keyboard, and the pen has a keyboard pad type configured to serve as a pointing device. It has a form of a touch pad that can hold a computer with a hand and operate the computer with only a pen or hand with the other hand.

Here, a portable computer, referred to as a notebook computer, is lighter and smaller in volume than a general desktop computer, and can be easily carried, thereby providing a lot of conveniences that cannot be obtained in a general desktop computer. In addition, the use of the computer is hardly restricted by the place, and the use range of the computer is further expanded.

Particularly emphasized in portable computers, as opposed to desktop computers, are mobility, simplicity, and the ability to replace desktop computers. Due to the particularity that the portable computer requires mobility, weight reduction and miniaturization of components are essential. In addition, the parts to be installed must be securely fixed to withstand shaking and impact.

Recently, portable computers such as a wallet personal computer (PC), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a hand-held personal computer (HPC), and the like have been introduced in various models with the development of technology, and the range of their use has been gradually increasing. These portable computers are versatile and are also compared to notebook computers in that they are easy to carry and use. While such portable computers have various functions, they are becoming smaller. The hardware structure for accommodating and supporting electronic devices such as various boards and storage devices of the portable computer becomes more complicated. Therefore, the configuration of hardware for accommodating and supporting electronic devices has become a very important issue. The configuration of the hardware should consider the convenience of the user with the convenience of production.

As shown in FIG. 1, there are no fixed elements in appearance of the portable computer 1000, but many fixing elements are embedded in the portable computer 1000 to perform the functions of the portable computer 1000. . The portable computer 1000 includes a speaker for outputting sound, and the speaker is fixed by various types of fixing methods inside the portable computer 1000. In addition, a grill 1010 or the like is formed on the outer surface of the portable computer 1000 in which a speaker is installed so that sound is efficiently output. Various methods are used to install a speaker inside the portable computer 1000. 2 generally illustrates a method of installing a speaker in a portable computer.

Referring to FIG. 2, two bosses 1130 are provided in proximity to the rib 1120 and the rib 1120 to accommodate the speaker 1110 on the bottom surface of the housing 1100 in which the speaker 1110 is installed. To form. After mounting the speaker 1110 on the rib 1120, the fixing plate 1140 is fixed to the boss 1130 by a screw 1150 to support the rear surface of the speaker 1110 with the fixing plate 1140. Let's do it.

However, this speaker fixing method has various problems. In the method of fixing a speaker by a screw, the speaker may be improperly fixed to the housing, and thus, a sound generated from the speaker may not be accurately transmitted to the outside. In addition, a separate assembly mechanism is required when mounting or detaching a speaker by fastening a screw to a boss formed in the housing, and a boss may be broken when mounting or detaching the speaker. Therefore, the damaged housing during the assembly of the speaker can not be used again, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost, and when the speaker needs to be replaced, it becomes difficult to install the speaker due to the breakage of the boss.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a portable computer having a plurality of panels and a system body integrally, that is, three speakers inside the portable computer, and using stereo at least two according to the screen mode. An object of the present invention is to provide a speaker system and a speaker driving method for a portable computer.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a speaker system and a speaker driving method of a portable computer that allow the speaker output to be constantly output from the lower end of the portable computer even when the screen mode is changed in port rate or landscape.

1 is a speaker mounting structure of a conventional notebook computer.

2 is an exploded perspective view of a speaker of a conventional notebook computer.

3 is an exploded perspective view showing a portable computer according to the present invention.

Figure 4 (a) (b) is a combination of the portable computer according to the present invention and the operation state diagram.

5 is an exploded perspective view showing an LCD panel fastening device of a portable computer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a system configuration of a portable computer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a configuration of a speaker system of a portable computer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of driving a speaker of a portable computer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100 ... Portable Computer 200 ... Stylus

300 ... keyboard 330 ... rotating member

110 ... front cover 210 ... rear cover

120 ... transparent panel 122 ... LCD panel

126 Digitizer Panel 160 Speaker Frame

161 ... first speaker162 ... second speaker

163 ... third speaker

Speaker system of a portable computer according to the present invention,

In a [composite] portable computer system having a display panel and a system body integrally,

A speaker frame having at least one first speaker integrated into one side of the system, and at least one second speaker disposed at the other side of the system;

The first or second speaker output is selectively used according to the screen mode.

Preferably, the screen mode is characterized in that the system automatically recognizes the portrait or the landscape according to the user's use of the screen mode, and switch the output to the first or second speakers.

Preferably, when the screen mode is a portrait mode, the first speaker is used in stereo, and in the landscape mode, the second speaker is used in stereo.

A method of driving a speaker of a portable computer according to the present invention, the portable computer system having a display panel and a system body integrally, comprising the steps of: checking a display screen mode; Driving at least one first speaker installed at an inner side of the system when the screen mode is the port rate mode; And driving at least one or more second speakers installed on the other side of the system when the screen mode is a landscape mode.

Hereinafter, a portable computer applied to the present invention will be described in detail. Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a portable computer according to the present invention, Figure 4 (a) (b) is a coupling and operation state diagram of the portable computer according to the present invention, Figure 5 is a portable computer according to an embodiment of the present invention Is an exploded perspective view of the LCD panel fastening device.

3 and 4, the portable computer includes a portable computer 100 having a heterogeneous display panel and a system main body integrally therewith, and a rotating member 330 coupled to a rear end portion thereof. The superimposition with the 100 and the superimposed portable computer 100 are rotated by a predetermined angle with respect to the point, and is configured as a key board part 300 having a key pad 320.

In the case of the portable computer system 700, when the keyboard unit 300 is coupled and overlapped, data and the like may be input to the portable computer system 700 using the stylus 200 as an input device. In particular, the keyboard unit 300 overlapped with the portable computer 100 as described above is used as a point, and when the portable computer 100 is rotated at a predetermined angle, the input device of the portable computer 100 is the stylus 200. And double, the keyboard unit 300 is switched to put a large amount of data, such as put on a desk or table like a conventional notebook. In addition, since the portable computer system 700 has a structure in which the portable computer 100 and the keyboard unit 300 are overlapped and coupled, the portable computer system 700 easily carries with the stylus 200 or the keyboard unit while carrying the portable computer system. 300) has a feature that allows easy input of data.

The portable computer system 700 may carry the portable computer 100 alone and input the input device using a stylus, or selectively connect the keyboard unit 300 to the portable computer 100 to use a keypad or stylus. It can also be used.

The portable computer 100 may be input to the stylus 200 firstly, and may be input by writing a letter with a pen or by selecting a key provided on the screen. It also has a mouse function that allows you to select a menu at a specific location on the screen.

Secondly, the portrait mode is the default display mode, and if the user changes the display information as necessary, the screen can be used in landscape mode, i.e., by changing the screen aspect ratio, the portrait mode or landscape mode. Can be used to switch to.

Third, high-speed wireless communication is possible by incorporating high-speed communication modules (IEEE802.11a and IEEE802.11b).

Fourth, a voice recognition module is built-in, which enables voice commands and voice web browsing.

Fifthly, the portable computer 100 and the keyboard unit are directly connected to the connector, and the keyboard is overlapped and coupled to the rear side of the portable computer, and the portable computer 100 is rotated to the point of the keyboard so that a predetermined inclination angle is obtained from the keyboard plane. And the portable computer 100 can be used. This allows the keyboard and mouse to be used as well as the stylus 200 as an input device. The portable computer 100 and the keyboard unit are superimposed and made portable.

Referring to FIG. 5, the heterogeneous display panel combination of the portable computer will be described in detail. For convenience of description, a portrait direction having a longer vertical direction than a horizontal direction will be described as a default mode.

The portable computer 100 is composed of a front cover 110 and a rear cover 210 in terms of appearance, and different types of panels are internally installed therein, and a system for system operation is provided. The body is integrally coupled.

In addition, the portable computer 100 may use the stylus 200, the keypad 320 of the keyboard unit 300, and a mouse as input devices, and switch the screen mode from the fortress mode to the landscape mode according to the use state. This is possible. Here, the front cover 110 is made of a plastic material, and the rear cover is made of magnesium to reduce heat dissipation and light weight generated inside.

First, the front cover 110 is configured to combine the transparent panel 120, the LCD panel 122 and the digitizer panel 126 in the front, the rear cover 210, the system main body (HDD, Main board, etc.) and batteries, etc. are combined. A transparent transparent panel 120 is attached to the front cover 110 to the front cover, and the LCD panel 122 and the digitizer panel 126 are sequentially stacked and coupled.

The transparent panel 120 is a transparent material having a predetermined strength to protect the LCD panel from the front of the front cover 110, the double-sided tape 121 is attached to the rear outer surface of the transparent panel 120. The transparent panel 120 to which the double-sided tape 121 is attached is attached to and fixed by the double-sided tape 122 when the transparent panel 120 is seated in the transparent panel insertion groove 111a formed on the front outer circumferential surface of the front cover 110. do. That is, the double-sided tape (120b) is attached to the front of the back of the transparent panel and the rear of the transparent panel insertion groove (120a), thereby fixing the transparent panel 120 in close contact with the front cover (110).

In addition, the LCD panel 121 has an outer circumference thereof fitted into the outer circumferential frame 123, and foreign matter such as dust is introduced into the LCD panel between the LCD panel 122 and the outer circumferential frame 123. In order to prevent the band-like nonwoven fabric 125 is attached to the coupling portion.

Here, the front transparent panel 120 and the LCD panel 122 installed on the front cover 110, and the transparent panel 120 in the cleaning room (cleaning room) in order to prevent foreign substances, such as dust flows in The bonding process of the LCD panel 122 is performed. At this time, after attaching the nonwoven fabric 125 to the coupling portion between the LCD outer periphery frame 123 and the LCD panel 122, and close to the front cover 110, the nonwoven fabric 125 attached to the LCD panel 122 The double-sided tape 121 is attached to the edge of the transparent panel 120, thereby preventing the inflow of foreign matter between the transparent panel 120 and the LCD panel 122.

In addition, the left and right sides of the outer peripheral frame 123 fixed to the LCD panel 122 are fastened with fixing frames 124 and screws 101, respectively. Here, the screw fastening direction is fastened in an outward direction opposite to the front cover from the inside of the LCD panel 122.

The fixing frame 124 fastened to the left and right sides of the LCD panel 122 is screwed to a boss (not shown) protruding in the rearward direction from the inside of the front cover 110, thereby fixing the LCD panel 122 to the front cover. It is fixed to the 110, and the digitizer panel 126 is in close contact with the LCD panel rearward, and then tightened with a screw.

As described above, the transparent panel 120 is positioned on the front surface of the front cover 110, and then the two panels 122 and 126 are laminated and fastened inside to be fastened by screws from the outside of the front cover 110. It can improve the appearance.

The inverter circuit board and the inverter cable for driving the LCD panel 122 are connected to each other, and the LCD inverter circuit board and the digitizer controller board are positioned and coupled to the rear surface of the digitizer panel 126.

In addition, the LCD panel 122 and the digitizer panel 126 are each provided with an inverter inside the upper part to supply appropriate voltages. The auxiliary battery is electrically connected to the inverter to minimize work when the main battery is replaced or the battery capacity is insufficient. It can supply power to the LCD panel 122 for.

The front cover 110 in which the heterogeneous panels 122 and 126 are built is coupled to the rear cover 210. The rear cover 210 includes a main board 180, an HDD and a battery electrically connected to the main board. Combined together. The HDD is coupled to the HDD detachment device 250 and the battery detachment device 265, respectively.

At the bottom of the motherboard 180 mounted on the rear cover 210, a disk drive socket for interfacing with a CD-ROM drive, a floppy disk drive, and the like is electrically connected. When the disk drive socket is not used, foreign matters are introduced. To prevent this, it includes a socket-protection lever that opens when you engage the drive connector and closes when you disconnect the drive connector.

After the front cover 110 and the rear cover 210 are in close contact with each other, the portable computer 100 in which the main system (main body) and the panels 122 and 126 are coupled to each other by fastening with screws and screws inside the front cover at the rear cover. Will complete.

In addition, in order to accommodate the stylus 200, the upper right side of the rear cover 210 is coupled with the stylus holder 220 and various function buttons and jog dials.

A power switch 230 is installed on the right side of the curved assembly 144 on the upper right side of the rear cover 210, and the stylus holder 220 is coupled to the top surface.

The button assembly 240 is coupled to a plurality of function buttons in the upper right corner. These function buttons are a power switch, a quick button, a tap button, an Esc button, a privacy management button, a jog dial, and the like. The jog dial moves in the up / down direction with respect to the center and performs level adjustment and menu movement with up / down functions corresponding to the enter and up / down directions for OSD adjustment. In addition, the personal information management button, which is one of the function buttons, acts as a pop-up menu when the power is turned off or executes another program, thereby providing information on the pop-up menu on the screen. The pop-up menu information includes user's personal information or schedule information.

The main board 180 is electrically connected with a PCMCIA card storage unit 183 and a USB port at the upper right side thereof, and a communication port 184 including a serial communication port and a LAN port at the center thereof. An Infrared Data Association (IRDA) for infrared communication is connected. And a port cover 185 for protecting the communication port is coupled.

Meanwhile, the components of the main board 180 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 6 as follows.

The jog dial and button unit 270 as buttons for inputting signals for operating various functions, the firmware unit 271 for analyzing and transmitting signals input from the jog dial and button unit 270, and the digitizer panel 122 Digitizer control unit 272 for interpreting and transmitting the detected signal from the audio signal, voice signal processing unit 275 for processing voice signals by converting voice signals and PCM signals, and HDD connector 276 to which a hard disk drive is connected. PCI bus control unit 277 for controlling the interface with the PCI bus receiving the signals transmitted from each unit, a central processing unit 278 for controlling each system unit, and the PCI bus and various USB ports. Expansion card having a USB bus 279 for interfacing, an image processing unit 280 connected to the PCI bus to process an image, an Ethernet card 281 connected to a LAN (RJ 45), and a PCMCIA slot 282a And a mini PCI 285 connected to a bus 282, a modem 283 and a wireless LAN 284, and RAM and ROMs 286 and 287.

In addition, the main board 180 includes a clock generator 289 generated to supply a clock to each unit, and a DC / DC converter 290 for supplying a DC voltage.

Briefly, the operation thereof is as follows.

The jog dial / button unit 270 receives signals from various buttons, switches, and jog dials, and then transmits the signals to the firmware unit 271, and the firmware unit 271 performs the jog dial / button unit. The signal transmitted from the processor 270 is transferred to the PCI controller 277.

The PCI control unit 277 transmits the signal to the central processing unit 278 through the PCI bus so that the central control unit 278 controls each unit such that an operation corresponding to a signal input from the jog dial / button unit 271 is performed. do.

In addition, the PCI controller 277 transmits / receives a voice signal input / output from the voice processor 275, and transmits / receives data with the HDD through the HDD connector.

The voice processor 275 codes and decodes a voice signal input / output from various voice input / output devices by the codec 275a. The speaker amplifying unit 275b amplifies the audio signal and outputs the voice signal to the outside through the speaker 294.

The digitizer controller 272 detects and decodes an input signal to the stylus 200 from the stylus panel, transfers it to the PCI controller 277, and transmits the input signal to the central processor 278 through the PCI bus.

Meanwhile, the PCI bus interfaces with the PCI control unit 277, the USB bus 279, the image processing unit 280, the Ethernet card 281, the card bus unit 282, and the mini PCI 285, and transmits and receives data transmitted and received at high speed. Pass it on.

The USB bus 279 is connected to various USB ports (USB1, USB2, USB3) to perform universal serial communication, and the image processing unit 280 is connected to the LCD connector, the CRT connector, and the expansion device to perform image signal processing. In charge.

In addition, the image processor 280 may display the image displayed on the LCD screen in the horizontal direction or in the vertical direction according to the landscape mode or the portrait mode.

The Ethernet card 281 also interfaces with the communication port RJ45, and the expansion card bus 282 reads the information written on the PCMCIA card mounted in the PCMCIA slot and transmits it to the PCI bus.

The mini PCI 285 is connected to a modem and a LAN card, and is responsible for wired / wireless communication through wired and wireless LANs.

In addition, the central processing unit 278 controls a double data rate (DDR) and single data rate (SDR) RAM 286, a ROM for a serial mode bit, and a serial CMS (Conversational Monitor System) for various kinds of control. Read the data stored in ROM 287.

In addition, the main board 180 is equipped with a voice recognition module to interpret the voice command from the user and perform a corresponding function. In particular, it supports voice web browsing function.

In this state, when the user wants to input, when the user touches the front transparent panel of the front cover 110 using the stylus 200, the digitizer panel 122 recognizes the coordinates of the stylus 200 located on the transparent panel. After recognizing the coordinates, the information is transmitted to the main board 180 to be interpreted to perform the corresponding function.

The portable computer as described above will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the portable computer 100, an LCD panel 121, a digitizer panel 122, and a main board 180 for system operation are combined into a single pad, and the keyboard unit 300 detachable to the portable computer 100 is provided. ), It can be used as a portable computer.

Accordingly, the portable computer 100 can be used alone and can be used by using the stylus 200. Alternatively, the keyboard can be selectively mounted on the portable computer 100 to use the keyboard and mouse and the stylus 200 when necessary. 100), when a user wants to edit a simple document and access the web, when the user inputs a character or inputs a specific menu to the portable computer 100 using the stylus 200, the corresponding function Can be performed. That is, when inputting a character to be input using the stylus 200 or selecting a specific menu, the digitizer controller controls the coordinates of the digitizer panel 122 corresponding to the RF signal generated by the stylus 200. After decoding, the main board 180 is delivered. Then, the main board 180 is controlled to perform an operation corresponding to the input information.

When a key signal is input using an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, the key signal input through the USB port and the keyboard connector is transferred to the central processing unit through the USB bus. The central processor displays the LCD panel 121 in response to the key signal.

When only the portable computer 100 is used, when the display information is changed to the screen mode to be used, the screen mode is changed to the portrait mode or the landscape mode. That is, if the display information is selected as 1024 * 768 or 768 * 1024, the display state is changed to the corresponding screen mode.

On the other hand, in a state where the portable computer 100 and the keyboard are coupled, the keyboard unit 300 is upward from the upper side, and the screen of the portable computer 100 overlaps with the upward side from the lower side, so that the keyboard unit 300 The portable computer 100 may be rotated 180 degrees at the rear end and the inclination angle of the portable computer 100 may be used as a notebook. In this case, when the portable computer 100 is rotated by a predetermined angle or more, driving power is supplied to the keyboard to enable the keyboard. This method is abbreviated as a hot plug method.

That is, when the portable computer 100 and the keyboard overlap, there is no power consumption from the keyboard, and when the portable computer 100 is rotated at an angle to the keyboard point to use the keyboard, the keyboard switch is rotated to the main board 180. The system detects and supplies power to the keyboard, allowing the keyboard to be used.

To this end, the keyboard and the portable computer 100 are directly connected to each other by a connector, keeping the connected state regardless of whether the portable computer 100 is rotated or not. It accepts key signals input from. As such, by providing the portable computer system 400 that couples the portable computer 100 and the keyboard, only the stylus 200 may be used, and both the stylus 200 and the keyboard may be used if necessary. Such a keyboard is removable from the portable computer 100.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the speaker system, first and second speakers 161 and 162 are fixedly coupled to the speaker frame 160 at an inner lower side of the front and rear covers 110 and 210, and the speaker frame 160 is integrated. ) Is a configuration in which the first and second speakers (left, light speakers) 161 and 162 are integrally formed at the left and right, and the microphone and the ear jack terminal 164 are integrally formed at the center thereof. For example, the pair of first and second speakers may be provided on one side and the pair of third and fourth speakers may be provided on the other side.

In portrait mode, the first and second speakers 161 and 162 are used in stereo.

In addition, a third speaker 163 is coupled to the inside of the right side of the front and rear covers 110 and 210, and the third speaker 163 is interlocked with the second speaker 162 when the screen mode is switched, and the second speaker 162 is connected to the second speaker 162. 162 is used to drive the light speaker, the third speaker 163 is driven to the left speaker.

In the method of driving a speaker for each screen mode, as shown in FIG. 8, when power is supplied to the system (S101), it is checked whether the screen is in a portrait mode (S102). In this case, if the screen is in the portrait mode, the first and second speakers 161 and 162 set as the basic speaker modes are driven to be used as the first and second speakers in stereo (S103 and S104).

On the contrary, in the landscape mode (S015), only the second speaker and the third speaker are positioned at the lower end of the cover in the state, so that the central processing unit blocks the driving switch of the first speaker 161 and the second speaker. And third speakers 162 and 163 to be used in stereo as the second and third speakers (S106, S107).

Here, since the screen mode can be manually switched even when the power is on, the speaker mode can be switched manually or automatically according to the screen mode.

As an embodiment, a low output speaker may be installed in a portable computer, a high output speaker may be installed in a docking station for a desktop, and two speakers may be used according to a use state of the portable computer.

As described above, the speaker system and the speaker driving method of the portable computer according to the present invention is provided with three speakers, two of which are used as stereo speakers, and the other speaker is one of the two speakers when switching the screen mode. By being able to be driven with a stereo speaker, there is an effect that can selectively use the speaker according to the screen mode.

Claims (4)

In a [composite] portable computer system having a display panel and a system body integrally, A speaker frame having at least one first speaker integrated into one side of the system, and at least one second speaker disposed at the other side of the system; And selectively using the first or second speaker output according to a screen mode. The method of claim 1, The screen mode is a speaker system of a portable computer, characterized in that the system automatically recognizes the portrait or the landscape in accordance with the user's use of the screen mode, and switch the output to the first or second speakers. The method of claim 2, And a first speaker in stereo when the screen mode is in portrait mode and a second speaker in stereo when in landscape mode. A portable computer system having an integrated display panel and a system body, Checking a display screen mode; Driving at least one first speaker installed at an inner side of the system when the screen mode is the port rate mode; And driving at least one or more second speakers installed on the other side of the system when the screen mode is the landscape mode.