KR20120115629A

KR20120115629A - Portable electronic device having collapsible-type transparent touch panel element

Info

Publication number: KR20120115629A
Application number: KR1020110033049A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 한민형
Original assignee: 한민형
Priority date: 2011-04-11
Filing date: 2011-04-11
Publication date: 2012-10-19

Abstract

PURPOSE: A portable electronic device with a collapsible-type transparent touch panel is provided to selectively use the transparent touch panel or a keyboard as an input interface of the portable electronic device. CONSTITUTION: A transparent touch panel(200) is connected with a display panel(100) by using a first hinge in order to be rotated. A main body(300) is connected with an end of the transparent touch panel by using a second hinge in order to be rotated. The main body includes a keyboard(310). If the display panel, the transparent touch panel, and the main body are folded, the transparent touch panel is used as an input interface. If the transparent touch panel is kept open to the main body, the transparent touch panel or the keyboard is used as the input interface.

Description

Portable electronic device having a collapsible transparent touch panel unit {Portable Electronic Device Having Collapsible-Type Transparent Touch Panel Element}

The present invention relates to a portable electronic device having an open transparent touch panel unit.

More specifically, the present invention provides a foldable transparent touch panel unit between the display panel unit and the main body unit, the transparent touch panel unit for input when the display panel unit, the transparent touch panel unit, and the main body unit is kept in a folded state When the transparent touch panel portion is kept open to the main body portion, the transparent touch panel portion or the keyboard provided on the main body portion functions as an input interface, so that portability and convenience are improved, and the user is comfortable. Since the posture can be maintained, the present invention relates to a portable electronic device capable of preventing various diseases caused by long-term use of the portable electronic device.

With the development of electronic communication technology, portable electronic devices having mobile computing functions have become an essential tool. Electronic devices for mobile computing include various devices including, for example, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld PCs (HPCs), palm-sized PCs, handy terminals, and the like. In mobile computing, 'mobile' means simply 'portable', which means 'portable' or 'portable', which means you can work on the go, as well as anytime, anywhere. Includes the meaning of a mobile network. Mobile computing terminals can be broadly divided into notebook series and handheld series, and are mainly used in mobile environments such as laptops, PDAs, handheld PCs, palm-size PCs, laptop PCs, UMPCs, and tablet PCs. Includes devices for use. Recently emerged smartphones are high-performance mobile computing terminals, which are equipped with the functions of a conventional mobile phone (also called a feature phone) and a PC. As components of mobile computing terminals become smaller and more functional, notebooks and handhelds are breaking down the boundaries of performance in addition to their architectural aspects.

The notebook series has a system structure similar to that of a desktop PC, and is composed of a processor for a mobile PC, memory, a display, a power management system, an expansion system such as USB, a PC card, and a communication system, and an operating system. In addition, the notebook series is also referred to as a bi-fold design PC (hereinafter referred to as a "bifold PC" or "bifold PC"), such as notebook PC, webbook PC, netbook PC, laptop PC, etc. This belongs to this. Here, a small PC including a web-book, a net-book, a mini-notebook, etc. refers to an intermediate concept between a UMPC (Ultra-mobile PC) and a notebook PC. In terms of terminology, it refers to a bi-folded PC that minimizes weight and screen size to maximize portability, allowing you to access the Internet anytime and anywhere for information retrieval and document writing.

The handheld family includes portable electronic devices such as UMPC, tablet PCs, feature phones, and smartphones, which are more mobile and portable.

The basic structure of the bifold PC described above is configured such that the display portion and the main body portion are opened and closed by a pivoting connection device. More specifically, since one end of the display unit and one end of the main body are assembled and connected by a pivoting hinge device, the display unit and the main body are closed to form a flat book. Therefore, it is configured to occupy less space and to be relatively portable. When using a bifold type PC, the input operation is performed using a mechanical full qwerty type keyboard generally provided in the main body with the display unit and the main body opened at an appropriate angle.

Conventional bifold type PCs are generally used with the main body and the display open at an appropriate angle open before use. Bifold-type PCs are also difficult to use with both hands, so they are usually placed on a desk or lap. Unlike desktop PCs, bi-fold PCs are structurally connected to the display and the main body by rotation. Therefore, since the main body is positioned along the position of the hand operating the keyboard, the position of the display connected to the main body is generally far below the eye level. Due to these structural constraints, the bifolded PC is used with its head bowed down considerably, ie with its neck bent forward. Therefore, when the bifold type PC is used for a long time, the head is bowed downward, and the posture of the neck, shoulders and back and the lower back are bent or bent, which is likely to cause turtle neck syndrome. . Turtle neck syndrome is a symptom that the user's neck is bent forward like a turtle's neck while looking down at the monitor of an electronic device at a lower position than the eye level for a long time.

When using a portable electronic device such as a bifold PC, a UMPC, a tablet PC, a feature phone, a smartphone, a portable video player, etc., the user's body and the display should be kept closer to each other. Therefore, as described above, since the upper body posture of the user is maintained worse, more severe turtle neck syndrome occurs, which causes the neck disc and the waist disc. Since adolescents are in the midst of growth, the use of portable electronic devices in unfavorable positions for a long time as described above causes various serious physical problems.

In order to solve the above problems, it is desirable to raise the display unit of the bifold type PC to eye level. However, unlike the desktop PC, in general, the bi-fold type PC has a limited configuration to adjust the height appropriately by raising or lowering only the screen of the display unit due to the structural limitations.

In order to solve the above problems, US Patent No. 6,054,707, titled 'Portable Computer', discloses a configuration of a notebook PC that can adjust the height and angle of the display unit within a limited space. In addition, US Patent Publication No. US2009 / 0086424 entitled "Tri-layer folding laptop computer" discloses a configuration for a notebook PC ergonomically configured to increase the computer screen. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. JP03184108, entitled "Portable Electronic Device," discloses a configuration capable of adjusting the height of a display unit. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. JP08054962, entitled "Portable Personal Computer," discloses a configuration in which one display unit is pivotally connected to one end of the main body and the display unit is pivotally connected to the other end of the display unit. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. JP09044098, entitled "Notebook-type Personal Computer with Variable LCD," also discloses a configuration capable of adjusting the height of the display unit. Japanese international patent application JP-P-2003-00431443, titled 'Portable Electronic Device', discloses a notebook PC which is configured to be rotatable by adjusting its height by attaching an arm to a display unit. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication JP2005004742, titled "Portable Computer Device", discloses a configuration for receiving a transmission line through an internal space of a snow rock that can adjust the height of the display unit.

However, almost all of the conventional technologies raise the display part of the bifold type PC to eye level due to the disadvantage that the device configuration is not only complicated and difficult, but also high in manufacturing cost and practically insufficient to be implemented as a finished product, and thus difficult to mass-produce. There is no effective solution to give.

A portable computer, which is designed to implement an input interface more simply and easily than a conventional bifold type PC, is a tablet PC belonging to the handheld series. Tablet PCs generally have a display unit and a body unit integrated in a single panel, excluding a mechanical keyboard having a physical structure. That is, a composite film (hereinafter, simply referred to as “touch film”) configured to have a touch sensor function is generally provided on the surface of the display unit and used as an input means. The screen provided with the touch film may be referred to as a touch screen. The touch screen can be conveniently used as an input interface without a mouse or a mechanical keyboard because only a touch operation on the touch screen enables a quick and effective input operation.

The tablet PC may set a virtual keyboard on the display unit screen. However, since the virtual keyboard is input through the touch film, more errors occur in the input operation than the mechanical keyboard, and multiple touches are disadvantageous compared to the mechanical keyboard, and the input speed is relatively slow. In addition, since the virtual keyboard occupies a large portion of the screen, an area that can be used as an effective screen on the display is reduced, which is inconvenient for the user. Many attempts have been made to address the shortcomings of these touchscreens and to provide a mechanical keyboard separately for the tablet PC. For example, US Patent Publication No. US 2004/0208681 entitled 'Computer or input device with back side keyboard' is provided with a keyboard on the display unit of the portable handheld computer and the back of the main body to complement the input device. Is starting. In addition to the US patent publication US 2004/0208681, other similar technologies for providing a mechanical keyboard separately to a tablet PC have a low level of completeness due to a complicated configuration and an uneven surface of the mechanical keyboard. It is difficult to completely solve the above problems due to inconvenience.

U.S. Patent No. 6,054,707; US Patent Publication US2009 / 0086424; Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. JP03184108; Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. JP08054962; Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. JP09044098; Japanese International Patent Application JP-P-2003-00431443; Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication JP2005004742; US Patent Publication US 2004/0208681; US Patent Publication US 2004/0208681; And US Patent Publication US 2004/0021681.

The present invention was devised to solve the above problems, and provides a foldable transparent touch panel portion between the display panel portion and the main body portion, while maintaining the display panel portion, the transparent touch panel portion, and the main body portion folded. The transparent touch panel unit functions as an input interface, and when the transparent touch panel unit maintains an open state with respect to the main body unit, a keyboard provided in the transparent touch panel unit or the main body unit functions as an input interface. The improved and the user can maintain a comfortable posture to provide a portable electronic device that can prevent various diseases caused by the use of the portable electronic device for a long time.

Portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a display panel unit having a screen; A transparent touch panel unit having one end pivotally connected to the display panel unit by a first hinge coupling device; And a main body part pivotally connected to the other end of the transparent touch panel part by a second hinge coupling device and having a keyboard, wherein the display panel part, the transparent touch panel part, and the main body part are in the folded state. The touch panel unit may be used as an input interface, and when the transparent touch panel unit maintains an open state with respect to the main body unit, the transparent touch panel unit or the keyboard may be used as an input interface.

In addition, in a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention, a touch input member is provided on a surface of the transparent touch panel unit, and coordinates of the touch input member correspond to coordinates of the screen.

In addition, in the portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first hinge coupling device may be implemented as a multiple hinge coupling device.

In addition, in the portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the display panel unit may be implemented as a double-sided display panel unit having a screen on both surfaces.

In addition, in the portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the display panel unit may be implemented by any one of a TFT-LCD, an OLED, and an electronic paper (e-Paper).

In addition, in the portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention, any one of a resistive method, a capacitive method, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) method, and an infrared (IR) method may be used as the touch sensing method of the touch input member.

The following advantages are achieved by using a portable electronic device having a collapsible transparent touch panel unit according to the present invention.

1. The user can select and use the transparent touch panel unit or the mechanical keyboard as an input interface for portable electronic devices.

2. The portability and convenience of portable electronic devices are significantly improved.

3. Since the user's posture is kept comfortable when using the portable electronic device, various diseases caused by using the portable electronic device for a long time can be significantly reduced or substantially prevented.

Further advantages of the present invention can be clearly understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like or similar reference numerals denote like elements.

1 is a side view illustrating a state in which the portable electronic device is completely folded and stacked according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a front view illustrating a state in which the portable electronic device is opened and opened according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a side view illustrating a state in which the portable electronic device is preferably opened according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4A is a diagram illustrating a posture of using a portable electronic device on a desk according to the related art.
4B is a diagram illustrating a posture of using a portable electronic device on a desk according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5A is a diagram illustrating a posture of using a portable electronic device on a knee according to the related art.
5B is a diagram illustrating a posture of using a portable electronic device on a knee according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5C is a diagram illustrating a posture of lying down and using a portable electronic device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
6A to 6E are side views illustrating a state in which the portable electronic device is deployed at various angles and used according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Various embodiments described below are provided only as examples to ensure that the technical spirit of the present invention to those skilled in the art will fully convey. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, but may be embodied in other forms. In the illustrated drawings, the proportions and dimensions of the components are for illustrative purposes only and may be exaggerated or understated for convenience.

1 is a side view illustrating a state in which a portable electronic device is completely folded and stacked according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating a state in which the portable electronic device is opened and opened in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. to be.

1 and 2, a portable electronic device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a display panel unit 100, a transparent touch panel unit 200, and a main body unit 300. The display panel unit 100 is implemented as a relatively flat flat panel composed of the screen 110 and the rear surface 120. The transparent touch panel unit 200 may be implemented as a transparent plastic plate or a transparent glass plate provided with a touch input member 210 such as, for example, a known touch film. The touch input member 210 may function as a touch sensor that senses a touch signal on each touch input surface, and may be used as an input interface by distinguishing and processing the input touch signal according to a coordinate position. In addition, the main body 300 includes a keyboard 310. The keyboard 310 may be implemented as a mechanical keyboard of the known art that may be selected from a QWERTY type keyboard or a Dvorak type keyboard.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, one end of the display panel unit 100 may be freely rotated relatively freely by one end of the transparent touch panel unit 200 and the first hinge coupling device 220. Assembled and assembled so as to be pivotal. In addition, the other end of the transparent touch panel unit 200 is assembled by the rear end of the main body unit 300 and the second hinge coupling device 230 so as to be freely relatively rotatable so as to allow relatively rotational movement. Are combined. Accordingly, the display panel unit 100 and the transparent touch panel unit 200 may maintain an unfolded state (hereinafter, referred to as an “unfolded state”) at any angle desired by the user with respect to the main body unit 300. have. Here, the open state includes a state in which the transparent touch panel unit 200 is opened by a predetermined angle with respect to the main body unit 300 integrally with the display panel unit 100 or independently of the display panel unit 100. The display panel 100 and the transparent touch panel 200 maintaining the open state may be set by the user by appropriate frictional force of the first and second hinge coupling devices 220 and 230 unless a separate external force is applied again. Stay locked at a specific position and angle. As shown in FIG. 1, the display panel unit 100 is completely closed and stacked in a state where the portable electronic device 10 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is completely closed (hereinafter, referred to as a “folded state”). In FIG. 3, a user may view information displayed on the screen 110 of the display panel 100 through the transparent touch panel unit 200. The screen 110 of the display panel unit 100 may be referred to as a screen or a monitor.

The coordinates of the touch input member 210 provided on the surface of the transparent touch panel unit 200 are disposed to precisely correspond to the coordinates of the screen 110 of the display panel unit 100. More specifically, since the panel planes of both of the transparent touch panel unit 200 are located in close proximity to the upper portion of the display panel unit 100 in parallel, the display panel unit ( When looking at 100, the two-dimensional coordinate positions between the panel plane of the transparent touch panel unit 200 and the panel plane of the display panel unit 100 may be considered to be substantially the same. Therefore, in a state where the portable electronic device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is folded, a touch operation may not be directly performed on a specific coordinate of the screen 110 of the display panel unit 100 by the user. In this case, the touch operation by the user is directly performed on the touch input member 210 provided on the surface of the transparent touch panel unit 200 covering the upper portion of the display panel unit 100. When touch contact is made on the transparent touch panel unit 200, a corresponding touch signal is generated on the touch input member 210. As a result, a signal of the coordinate information on the touch input member 210 (same as the coordinate information on the screen 110 of the display panel unit 100) corresponding to the touch signal is transmitted to the control system of the main body unit 300 (not shown). Is delivered). In this manner, the transparent touch panel 200 may be used as an input interface of the portable electronic device 10 instead of the display panel 100. Therefore, in the present invention, the transparent touch panel unit 200 may implement the same function as the input interface same as the touch screen provided in the smartphone or tablet PC. The touch sensing method of the touch input member 210 used in the transparent touch panel unit 200 according to the present invention is a known resistive method (or a reduced pressure method) or a capacitive method. In addition to this, other surface acoustic wave (SAW) or infrared ray (IR) touch sensing methods may be used, or these methods may be used in combination.

On the other hand, the main body 300 of the portable electronic device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a keyboard 310, a CPU (not shown), a storage device (not shown), and a power supply device (not shown). It includes a control system (not shown). The electrical connection between the main body 300 and the transparent touch panel unit 200 and the electrical connection between the transparent touch panel unit 200 and the display panel unit 100 are preferably, for example, known flexible printed circuit boards. (flexible printed circuit board: hereinafter referred to as 'flex') can be used. The flex may also be used for electrical connection inside the first hinge coupling device 220 and the second hinge coupling device 230. The general electrical connection configuration related to the flex method and other pivotal coupling devices employed in the bifold type PC is well known in the art and thus the detailed description thereof is omitted.

Referring back to FIG. 1, in a state where the transparent touch panel 200, the display panel 100, and the main body 300 are folded, the portable electronic device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a general touch. It can be used in the same use environment as a screen smart phone or a touch screen tablet PC. More specifically, the transparent touch panel unit 200 not only functions as a kind of lid that covers the upper portion of the screen of the display panel unit 100, but also allows the user to exemplify the upper surface of the transparent touch panel unit 200. For example, it has a function as an input interface for inputting commands such as character input, cursor movement, and other menu selection by touching with a finger. Therefore, even in a folded state in which the user cannot use the keyboard 310 provided in the main body 300, the user can use the transparent touch panel unit 200 as an input interface to quickly and conveniently perform an input operation. Can be. The transparent touch panel unit 200 which is such a characteristic configuration of the present invention can be applied to a bifold type PC. That is, even when the computer monitor and the main body are not opened, the user can use the bifold PC by performing the necessary work while looking at the display panel unit 100 (ie, corresponding to the monitor screen of the bifold PC) at any time. That the advantage is achieved. In this case, the virtual keyboard may be floated on the display panel 100 so that all input operations can be easily performed even in a minimum space. In addition, in the folded state as shown in FIG. 1, unlike a general bifold type PC, a user uses only one hand to hold the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention or put it on a hand, and input work with the other hand. As such, the desired advantages of handheld electronics can be implemented equally.

3 is a side view illustrating a state in which the portable electronic device is preferably opened according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, in the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention, the transparent touch panel unit 200 is open by an angle T ° with respect to the main body unit 300 in a horizontal state, and the display panel unit 100 is transparent. The display panel 200 is opened to the touch panel unit 200 by an angle D °. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the user places the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention in an open state on a desk or on a lap and is implemented by a mechanical keyboard such as, for example, a full qwerty keyboard. By using the keyboard 310, various necessary input operations such as text input can be efficiently performed. In this case, the transparent touch panel unit 200 has a function of adjusting the height of the display panel unit 100.

4A illustrates a posture of using a portable electronic device on a desk according to the related art, and FIG. 4B illustrates a posture of using a portable electronic device on a desk according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4A and 4B, when a user uses the desk in an open state as illustrated in FIGS. 2 or 3 of the portable electronic device 10 'of the prior art and the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention. Each user's posture is illustrated. As shown in FIG. 4A, when a user uses a conventional portable electronic device 10 'such as a notebook PC, a bifolded PC such as a webbook PC, and puts it on a desk, the user is tilted forward and the head Since the bowed condition must be maintained for a long time, various diseases including turtle neck syndrome, neck disk, and lumbar disk occur. However, as shown in FIG. 4B, when using the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention, the user unfolds the transparent touch panel unit 200 by an appropriate angle in a sitting position of a chair, and displays the display panel unit 100. Can be adjusted to suit your eye level. That is, the user can maintain the ergonomically correct posture and can perform a desired task comfortably without feeling tired. Therefore, even if the user uses the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention for a long time, the possibility of occurrence of various diseases that may occur in the prior art may be significantly reduced or substantially prevented.

5A is a diagram illustrating a posture of using a portable electronic device on a knee according to the prior art, and FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating a posture of using a portable electronic device on a knee according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5A and 5B, when using a conventional portable electronic device 10 'such as a bi-folded PC sitting in a seat of public transportation such as a bus or subway, or in a waiting room of a train station or an airport (FIG. 5A). When the user places the conventional portable electronic device 10 'on the knee and uses the portable electronic device for a long time, the user needs to tilt the posture more forward and maintain the head down for a long time than the case shown in FIG. 4A. Therefore, various diseases occur including turtle neck syndrome, neck disk, and lumbar disk. However, when the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention is used on a lap (in case of FIG. 5B), the user adjusts the transparent touch panel unit 200 by an appropriate angle similarly to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4B. By maintaining the correct posture in a more comfortable position ergonomically can use the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention.

5C is a diagram illustrating a posture of lying down and using a portable electronic device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5C, for example, a patient in a hospital or a person with a disability who lives lying down may not be able to see a computer screen of a general notebook PC or a tablet PC in a sitting position due to physical limitations, but the portable electronic device of the present invention may be used. In the case of using 10, the user may view the screen 110 of the display panel unit 100 corresponding to the computer screen even while lying by adjusting the transparent touch panel unit 200 by an appropriate angle. More specifically, the user puts the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention on his or her stomach or chest in a state of lying down, and the screen 110 is directed toward the line of sight, so that the transparent touch panel unit 200 and the display panel unit 100 are positioned. In addition to adjusting the appropriate angle to view the screen 110 comfortably, both hands can operate a keyboard (not shown) or a mouse.

6A to 6E are side views illustrating a state in which the portable electronic device is deployed at various angles and used according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 6A, as described above, a finger of the transparent touch panel unit 200 is seen while viewing the screen 110 of the display panel unit 100 through the transparent touch panel unit 200 as in the conventional bifold type PC. Touch to perform the desired task.

Referring to FIG. 6B, an example in which the transparent touch panel unit 200 and the display panel unit 100 are overlapped with the main body unit 300 by using a predetermined angle is used. In this case, the input operation is performed by touching the transparent touch panel unit 200 with a finger in the direction of the arrow.

6C to 6E, an example in which the transparent touch panel 200 and the display panel 100 are opened at a predetermined angle with respect to the main body 300 in an overlapping state (FIGS. 6C and 6E). ) And an example of using the transparent touch panel unit 200 and the display panel unit 100 in an overlapped state with respect to the main body unit 300 (in FIG. 6D). In this case, the screen 110 of the display panel unit 100 may be configured in a touch screen manner, and an input operation may be performed by directly performing a touch operation on the screen 110 of the display panel unit 100 in the direction of the arrow. Can be.

On the other hand, in the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention shown in Figures 1 to 3, the first hinge coupling device 220 is a display panel unit 100 and the transparent touch panel unit 200 in a conventional single pivot point method. ). When the hinge coupling device 220 of the single pivot point method illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 is implemented in the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention, the display panel unit 100 may be formed of the transparent touch panel unit 200. Rotation to be located on top is not easy. In order to solve this problem, the present invention may be implemented with the multiple hinge coupling device 220 'illustrated in FIG. 6A instead of the conventional first hinge coupling device 220 shown in FIGS. That is, in the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6E, the multiple hinge coupling device 220 ′ may connect the display panel 100 and the transparent touch panel 200 in a multi-turning point manner. To combine. Therefore, the display panel unit 100 may rotate in a clockwise and counterclockwise direction up to approximately 360 degrees with respect to the transparent touch panel unit 200.

1 to 6E, the screen 110 of the display panel unit 100 is illustrated to be provided on only one surface thereof. However, in the portable electronic device 10 according to the present invention, an additional screen (not shown) is further provided on the back of the display panel unit 100 so that the screens are provided on both surfaces of the display panel unit 100, respectively. The double-sided display panel unit 100 may be used. In this case, when the display panel unit 100 and the transparent touch panel unit 200 are unfolded and used as a single body, the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention may be used in the same manner as a conventional bifold PC. have. In addition, even when the user of the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention needs to show a screen to another person at the same time, the configuration of the double-sided display panel unit 100 may be very useful. As the display panel unit 100 of the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention, a thin film liquid crystal (TFT-LCD) type display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) type display, or the like may be used as a digital screen. . In particular, since the OLED display can emit light by itself without using a backlight device, the display panel 100 can be made thinner, so that the overall weight of the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention is reduced. Is achieved. In addition, since the OLED display is not required, the portable electronic device 10 having the above-described double-sided display panel unit 100 may be implemented. In addition, the OLED display has a higher brightness than the conventional TFT-LCD, thereby enabling the implementation of the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention to provide a clear screen even outdoors. In addition, the display panel unit 100 of the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention may be implemented by various electronic papers (e-Paper) widely used in an e-book reader. Unlike LCDs or other digital screens, electronic paper displays do not require backlighting and can provide screens that look like ink on real paper. Current commercialized electronic paper can be implemented with E-ink's electrophoretic technology, which produces images by moving white and black particles floating on a transparent liquid. E-Ink Pearl, the latest version of E-ink, is more responsive and has a higher contrast than traditional displays, and popular e-books like Amazon.com's Kindle 3. Used for readers. While the Kindle electronic paper is black and white, Qualcomm MEMS Technologies and Liquavista, which are currently entering the e-book reader market, are unveiling alternative display alternatives with improved color and speed. Such electronic papers typically display images on the display with only a small amount of voltage, operate with about 1/10 to 1/100 of the power of the LCD, and have the advantage that no backlight is required even on a reflective screen.

As described above, the portable electronic device 10 of the present invention has been exemplarily described as a conventional keyboard of a mechanical method as the keyboard 310 provided in the main body 300, but the name of the invention is' Dual. The keyboard 310 may be implemented as a touch screen keyboard, as disclosed in US Patent Publication No. US 2004/0021681, " -touch-screen mobile computer. " When the keyboard 310 of the main body 300 adopts the touch screen keyboard method, the touch screen itself also has the function of another display panel unit 100, thereby expanding the display panel unit 100 and Effects such as enlargement of the display information area can be achieved.

In addition, the present invention is applied to a variety of electronic devices, including smartphones such as Samsung Electronics Galaxy series smartphone, and Apple's iPhone series smartphone, the smart phone in the folded state by the configuration as the present invention The touch panel may be used as an input interface, and in an open state, the keyboard of the main body may be used as the input interface. That is, it is apparent that the portable electronic device of the present invention can be applied to existing portable or mobile communication terminal devices including bifold type PCs, tablet PCs, and smart phones.

The present invention may be variously modified or changed by equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the various embodiments of the present invention described above do not limit the scope of the present invention, and the present invention may be limited only by the appended claims.

10, 10 ': portable electronic device 100: display panel unit
110: screen 120: back
200: transparent touch panel unit 210: touch input member
220,230: hinge coupling device 220 ': multiple hinge coupling device
300: main body 310: keyboard

Claims

In portable electronic devices,
A display panel unit having a screen;
A transparent touch panel unit having one end pivotally connected to the display panel unit by a first hinge coupling device; And
A main body part which is connected to the other end of the transparent touch panel part by a second hinge coupling device in a rotatable manner and has a keyboard;
Including,
When the display panel unit, the transparent touch panel unit, and the main body unit are folded, the transparent touch panel unit is used as an input interface.
When the transparent touch panel unit maintains an open state with respect to the main body unit, the transparent touch panel unit or the keyboard is used as an input interface.
Portable electronic devices.

The method of claim 1,
A touch input member is provided on a surface of the transparent touch panel portion,
The coordinates of the touch input member correspond to the coordinates of the screen.
Portable electronic devices.

The method of claim 1,
The first hinge coupling device is a portable electronic device implemented as a multiple hinge coupling device.

The method of claim 1,
Portable electronic device implemented as a double-sided display panel unit having the display panel portion on both surfaces.

The method of claim 1,
A portable electronic device in which the display panel unit is implemented by any one of a TFT-LCD, an OLED, and an electronic paper.

[2]
The touch sensing method of the touch input member may be any one of a resistive method, a capacitive method, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) method, and an infrared (IR) method.