JP2008085171A - Mobile electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile electronic device in which many functional parts are arranged on the side of the housing. <P>SOLUTION: The above problem is solved by providing a mobile telephone 1 comprising: an external connection part 20 provided in a second housing 3; a concave part 23 formed on a side face 17 of the second housing 3; and an opening part 25 formed on a bottom face 24 of the concave part 23 in which a connection face of the external connection part 20 is exposed, wherein a tact switch 32 as a functional part is arranged in a region excluding the opening part 25 in the bottom face 24 of the concave part 23. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable electronic device such as a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), and a digital camera.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and digital cameras have an external connection portion to which a connector having a cable for connecting to an external device such as a PC (personal computer) is connected. . FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional folding cellular phone. As shown in the figure, the foldable mobile phone 101 includes a rectangular thin plate-shaped first housing 102 and a substantially rectangular thin plate-shaped second housing 103 that is substantially the same shape as the first housing 102. The hinges 104 are connected to each other so as to be foldable. The first housing 102 is provided with a liquid crystal display unit 105, and the second housing 103 is provided with an operation unit 114. A concave portion 123 is formed on the side surface 117 of the second housing 103, and an opening 125 is provided on the bottom surface 124 of the concave portion 123. In addition, the connection surface of the external connection portion 120 is disposed in the opening 125 so as to be exposed. When the external connection part 120 is not used, a cap (not shown) is attached to the recessed part 123 so as to prevent dust and water from entering from the outside so as to close the opening 125 (for example, Patent Documents). 1).

  By the way, the connector 150 of the cable for connecting to an external device includes a terminal portion 151 inserted into the opening 125 of the concave portion 123 and a housing 152 that covers the cable side of the terminal portion 151, from the end surface 153 of the housing 152. The terminal part 151 protrudes. When connecting such a connector 150 to the external connection part 120, it is necessary to form the recessed part 123 in consideration of the size of the housing 152. That is, the concave portion 123 formed on the side surface 117 of the second housing 103 needs to be formed to be considerably larger than the opening 125 in which the external connection portion 120 is disposed.

Further, even if the standard of the shape and size of the terminal portion 151 is the same, the size of the housing 152 ′ may differ depending on the manufacturer, for example, as shown as the connector 150 ′ in FIG. In some cases, it is formed to be somewhat large so as to be compatible with housing end faces of various sizes.
JP-A-11-146046

  Until now, there were few members to be arranged on the side of the casing in the portable electronic device, so it was not a big problem, but in recent years, as various functions are installed in the portable electronic device, However, since external connection parts such as switches, connectors, and card slots are provided, it is necessary to save even a little useless space.

  In addition, providing a plurality of operation keys and external connection portions in the housing results in the formation of a large number of openings in the housing, and as a result, the strength of the housing may be significantly reduced.

  The present invention includes an external connection portion provided in a housing, a recess formed on the outer surface of the housing, an opening formed on a bottom surface of the recess and exposing the connection surface of the external connection portion, and the bottom surface of the recess. The problem described above is solved by providing a portable electronic device including a tact switch disposed in a region excluding an opening.

  The cap may be further provided so as to cover the concave portion, and the cap may have a protruding pusher formed at a position facing the tact switch in a state of being attached to the concave portion.

  The cap may have a recess or a protrusion formed at a position corresponding to the position of the pusher on a surface opposite to the surface on which the pusher is formed.

  The cap may have a predetermined mark formed at a position corresponding to the position of the pusher on a surface opposite to the surface on which the pusher is formed.

  The concave portion and the cap are formed symmetrically with respect to each other, and the cap is rotated 180 degrees without changing the front and back of the cap, and the pusher is mounted on the concave portion so as to be on the side not facing the tact button. In this case, a predetermined gap may be formed between the surface of the cap and the tact button.

  The present invention also provides an external connection portion provided in the housing, a recess formed on the outer surface of the housing, an opening formed on a bottom surface of the recess and exposing the connection surface of the external connection portion, and a bottom surface of the recess. The above-described problems are solved by providing a portable electronic device including a functional unit having a predetermined function in a region excluding the opening in

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a portable electronic device in which a predetermined functional unit is disposed in a region excluding an opening that exposes a connection surface of an external connection unit, which is a bottom surface of a recess formed on an outer surface of a housing. it can. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the opening formed in the housing, suppress the strength reduction of the housing, and effectively use the space.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, a mobile phone will be described as a portable electronic device, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other portable electronic devices such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a notebook computer, a digital camera, and a small audio player. It may be.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, a mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment is a foldable mobile phone, and has a first housing 2 having a substantially rectangular thin plate shape, and a thin plate shape having substantially the same shape as the first housing 2. The 2nd housing | casing 3 is connected with respect to each other via the hinge part 4 so that folding is possible. In the folded state, the first casing 2 is overlaid on the second casing 3, and the entire casing is rectangular even in the folded state.

  The first housing 2 includes a display unit 5 such as a liquid crystal display or an organic display for displaying various kinds of information at a substantially central portion of the surface facing the second housing 3 in a folded state.

  The second housing 3 is provided in an opening 18 </ b> D formed in the operation portion 14 disposed on the surface facing the first housing 2 in a folded state and the bottom surface 18 </ b> C of the recess 18 formed in the side surface 17. And an external connection portion 20 provided in an opening 25 formed in the bottom surface 24 of the recess 23 formed in the side surface 17. And the external shape in the 2nd housing | casing 3 is comprised by the 1st case 11 and the 2nd case 12 which were integrally molded, respectively.

  The first case 11 has a substantially rectangular upper surface 11A that faces the display unit 5 of the first housing 2 in a folded state, and an operation unit 14 is provided on the upper surface 11A. The operation unit 14 includes various pressable operation keys such as a numeric keypad 15 for inputting numbers and characters, a function key 16A, and a cursor key 16B. Various operations on the mobile phone 1 are performed via these operation units 14. The second case 12 has a lower surface 12A having substantially the same outer shape as the upper surface 11 of the first case 11, and an opening (not shown) for replacing the battery is provided on the lower surface 12A. The second housing 3 is provided with an antenna, a circuit board on which a radio unit and a control unit connected to the antenna are mounted, a circuit board on which a tact switch 32 is provided, and the like.

  The outer periphery of the upper surface 11A of the first case 11 is curved over substantially the whole and extends downward. Further, the outer periphery of the lower surface 12A of the second case 12 is curved over substantially the whole and extends upward. By fitting the portion 17A extending downward from the first case 11 and the portion 17B extending upward from the second case 12, the first case 11 and the second case 12 can form a rectangular second housing 3 as a whole. Composed. A slightly rounded side surface 17 of the second housing 3 is formed by a portion 17A extending below the first case 11 and a portion 17B extending above the second case 12.

  The concave portion 18 for the earphone connecting portion 18A can be opened and closed by a cap 18B, and the concave portion 23 for the external connecting portion 20 can be opened and closed by a cap 19.

  Recesses are formed in a part of the lower end of the portion 17A extending downward from the first case 11 and a part of the upper end of the portion 17B extending upward of the second case 12, respectively. Then, by fitting a portion 17A extending downward from the first case 11 and a portion 17B extending upward from the second case 12, these recesses are coupled to form a rectangular recess 18 and a recess 23. The bottom surfaces 18C and 24 of the recess 18 and the recess 23 extend in parallel with the side surface 17. An elongated opening 25 is provided on the second case 12 side of the bottom surface 24, and the external connection portion 20 is provided in the opening 25 so as to expose the connection surface, and the second case 12 on the bottom surface 18 </ b> C. On the side, an elongated opening 18D is provided, and an earphone connection portion 18A is provided in the opening 18D so as to expose the connection surface.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the second housing 3 in a state in which the operation unit 14 such as the first case 11, the numeric keypad 15, the function key 16, and the caps 18B and 19 are removed from the state of FIG. As shown in the figure, a circuit board 28 such as a flexible board on which an electric circuit is printed is disposed inside the second housing 3. The circuit board 28 is a thin plate having a substantially rectangular shape, and a part of a substantially central portion on one side of the longitudinal edge 30 extends outward, then bends downward, and extends so as to bend. A tact switch 32 is provided at the tip of the portion 31. The tact switch 32 is not limited to this, but in the present embodiment, a metal dome switch is used for the reason that the click feeling is clear, the contact reliability is high, the weight is low, and the thickness is thin. The tact switch 32 is assigned an operation different from the operation that can be performed by the numeric keypad 15 and the function key 16. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the same operation as the numeric keypad 15 or the function key 16 may be performed. Further, the operation assigned to the tact switch 32 is not limited to this, but an operation that is unlikely to be operated in a state where an external connection terminal is inserted into the external connection unit 20 is assigned. .

  When the circuit board 28 is placed at a predetermined position in the second case 12, the tact switch 32 is disposed along the bottom surface 24 of the recess 23. The position along the bottom surface 24 of the tact switch 32 does not overlap the opening 25 and is a position that does not hinder the attachment / detachment of the external connection terminal. The first case 11 is provided with a notch (not shown) for allowing the extension portion 31 to pass at a position where the extension portion 31 comes when the first case 11 is fitted to the second case 12. Then, from the state of FIG. 2, when the first case 11 is covered by placing the operation unit 14 such as the numeric keypad 15 and the function key 16 on the upper surface of the circuit board 28, the circuit board 28 extends due to the cut. The existing portion 31 and the tact switch 32 are arranged outside the recess 23 as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a view of the cap 19 viewed from the inner surface 19A facing the inner side of the mobile phone 1 in the mounted state. The outer peripheral shape of the cap 19 is rectangular and point-symmetric, and the outer surface 19 </ b> B facing outward when mounted in the recess 23 is curved in accordance with the curvature of the side surface 17 of the second housing 3. Then, when the cap 19 is attached to the recess 23, it smoothly continues to the side surface 17 of the second housing 3. On the inner surface 19 </ b> A of the cap 19, a protruding pusher 35 is provided at a position facing the tact switch 32 when mounted on the second housing 3. Similarly, a circular recess 36 is provided on the inner surface 19A of the cap 19 at a position opposite to the side where the pusher 35 is provided in the longitudinal direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a protrusion 37 is provided on the outer surface 19B of the cap 19 at a position corresponding to the position of the pusher 35 as a predetermined mark for grasping the position of the protrusion from the outer surface 19B of the cap 19. Is provided. The predetermined mark is not limited to the protruding portion, and may be any mark that can be used to recognize the position of the presser 35 from the outside, and may be a depression, a predetermined color, or a mark.

  Next, the operation of the mobile phone 1 of this embodiment will be described. 4 is a view showing a state in which the cap 19 is put on the concave portion 23, and FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which the cap 19 is attached to the concave portion 23 with the left and right sides reversed without changing the front and back sides. First, when connecting a connection cable in order to connect the mobile phone 1 to an external device, the cap 19 is removed from the recess 23 and the connection terminal portion of the connector of the connection cable is inserted into the opening 25 and connected to the external connection portion 20. . Thereby, the mobile phone 1 can be connected to an external device.

  When not connecting to an external device, the cap 19 is put on the recess 23 as shown in FIGS. This prevents the entry of dust and water into the external connection portion 20 outside.

  When the protrusion 37 is pushed from the outer surface 19B in the state shown in FIG. 4, the position of the protrusion 37 corresponds to the position of the pusher 35 of the inner surface 19A of the cap 19. The child 35 is pressed against the back side of the recess 23. Since the pusher 35 faces the tact switch 32 in a state where the cap 19 is mounted on the second housing 3, the tact switch 32 is pressed by the tip of the pusher 35 and assigned to the tact switch 32. The operation is performed.

  Thus, the pusher 35 is provided at a position facing the tact switch 32 on the inner surface 19 </ b> A of the cap 19, and the protrusion 37 is provided at a position corresponding to the pusher 35 on the outer surface 19 </ b> B of the cap 19. . Therefore, even when the cap 19 is attached to the recess 23, the position of the pusher 35 can be easily grasped by the presence of the protrusion 37. Then, when the projection 37 on the outer surface 19B of the cap 19 is pressed, the cap 19 is slightly deformed, and the tact switch 32 is pressed by the pusher 35 provided on the inner surface 19A of the cap 19, so that the tact even when the cap 19 is mounted. The switch 32 can be pressed reliably.

  Here, since the tact switch 32 is provided along the bottom surface 24 of the recess 23, it is not necessary to separately secure a space for the new tact switch 32. Moreover, since the tact switch 32 is provided in the part except the opening 25 in the recessed part 23, a dead space can be utilized effectively.

  Next, the cap 19 is attached to the recess 23 with its left and right sides reversed without changing the front and back sides. As shown in FIG. 5, since the outer peripheral shape of the cap 19 is made point-symmetric, it can be rotated 180 ° without changing the front and back and can be mounted in the recess 23. 2 A side surface 17 of the housing 3 and a smooth outer shape are formed. In this case, the protruding portion 37 is disposed on the opposite side to the side where the tact switch 32 is disposed in the recessed portion 23 as illustrated. That is, the pusher 35 is also arranged on the side opposite to the side where the tact switch 32 is arranged, and a recess 36 is arranged at a position facing the tact switch 32 on the inner surface 19A of the cap 19. A gap is formed between the tact switch 32 and the cap 19 by this depression. Even if the cap 19 is pressed when the mobile phone 1 is carried around in this state, the possibility that the tact switch 32 is pressed is reduced. In this way, the tact switch 32 can be prevented from being erroneously pressed by rotating and attaching the cap 19 without changing the front and back of the cap 19.

  According to this embodiment, the space of the side surface 17 in the second housing 3 is effectively used. Moreover, since the opening for the operation switch is not increased, the strength of the second housing 3 is not lowered. Furthermore, a portable electronic device that is smart in design can also be provided.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this form was described, this invention can be implemented with a various form, without being limited to embodiment mentioned above. For example, in this embodiment, the tact switch 32 is disposed in the recess 23, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the cover can be made transparent, for example, an LED, a light emitting unit, and IrDA can be provided, and a functional unit such as a speaker can be provided. You can also

  Further, what is disposed in the opening 25 formed in the bottom surface 24 of the recess 23 is not limited to the external connection portion 20 to the connector of a connection cable such as a PC (Personal Computer), and other than that, the SD It may be a connection part to an external memory card such as a card or an emergency battery, an earphone connection part, or a power supply terminal connection part. Further, as an example of the arrangement position of the tact switch 32, an example in which the tact switch 32 is arranged in the vicinity of the short side of the opening 25 in the bottom surface 24 of the recess 23 is shown.

It is a perspective view which shows the mobile telephone of one Embodiment of this invention. It is the perspective view which showed the state which removed the 1st case etc. of the housing | casing in the 2nd housing | casing of the mobile telephone shown in FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the cap from the direction used as an inner surface in a mounting state. It is the perspective view which showed the state which attached the cap to the recessed part. It is the perspective view which showed the state which rotated the cap 180 degrees without changing the front and back, and was attached to the recessed part. It is the perspective view which showed the conventional folding type mobile telephone.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile phone 2 1st housing | casing 3 2nd housing | casing 11 1st case 12 2nd case 14 Operation part 17 Side surface 19 Cap 19A Inner surface 19B Outer surface 20 External connection part 23 Recessed part 24 Bottom face 25 Opening 32 Tact switch 35 Pusher 36 Dimple 37 Projection

Claims (6)

An external connection provided in the housing;
A recess formed on the outer surface of the housing;
An opening formed on the bottom surface of the recess and exposing the connection surface of the external connection portion;
And a tact switch disposed in a region excluding the opening on the bottom surface of the recess. A cap that can be mounted so as to cover the recess;
The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the cap has a projecting pusher formed at a position facing the tact switch in a state where the cap is mounted in the recess.   The portable electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the cap has a depression or a protrusion formed at a position corresponding to the position of the pusher on a surface opposite to the surface on which the pusher is formed.   The portable electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the cap has a predetermined mark formed at a position corresponding to the position of the pusher on a surface opposite to a surface on which the pusher is formed. The recess and the cap are each formed point-symmetrically,
When the cap is rotated 180 degrees without changing the front and back, and the pusher is mounted on the recess so as to be on the side not facing the tact button, between the surface of the cap and the tact button The portable electronic device according to claim 2, wherein a predetermined gap is formed in the portable electronic device. An external connection provided in the housing;
A recess formed on the outer surface of the housing;
An opening formed on the bottom surface of the recess and exposing the connection surface of the external connection portion;
A portable electronic device comprising: a functional unit having a predetermined function in a region excluding the opening on the bottom surface of the concave portion.

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