JP2000207100A - Keyboard of portable information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To press the keyboard buttons of a portable information processor comfortably when it is used and also to make the entire portable information processor more compact than conventional ones. SOLUTION: A keyboard 3 has such key pitches as to be housed in a liquid crystal display 2 and a device main body 4 in a housing state in which the display 2 of a notebook-sized personal computer 1 and the body are closed. Meanwhile, in a use state where the display 2 and the body 4 are opened, the key pitches are made to be expanded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention comprises an apparatus body having display means such as a liquid crystal display and a keyboard in which key switches are arranged in two directions orthogonal to each other on a plane. The term refers to a keyboard of a portable information processing device such as a notebook personal computer, which is connected so that the display surface of the display means and the keyboard of the device main body can be closed and opened with the inside facing inside.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a keyboard of this type of portable information processing apparatus, a keyboard described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-258868 is known.

The keyboard of the portable information processing apparatus described in this publication is set to be larger than the size of the portable information processing apparatus and is divided into two or more units, and these two or more units are connected. Are integrated.

This keyboard is used in a state where the display means and the apparatus main body are opened and two or a plurality of units are combined and used, while in a storage state where the display means and the apparatus main body are closed. The divided two or more units are stacked and housed between the display means and the apparatus main body.

[0005] A sufficient size of the keyboard is ensured by combining and integrating two or more units. This allows the operator to type comfortably.

[0006]

However, the keyboard of the portable information processing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-258868 has a structure in which two or a plurality of divided units are stacked and the display means and the main body of the apparatus are stacked. Therefore, there is a limit in reducing the size of the portable information processing device.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a keyboard of a portable information processing apparatus which can be typed comfortably at the time of use and which can make the whole portable information processing apparatus more compact than before.

[0008]

In order to achieve this object, according to the present invention, the keyboard is provided inside the display means and the apparatus main body when the display means and the apparatus main body of the portable information processing apparatus are closed. The key pitch is set such that the key pitch can be accommodated. On the other hand, the key pitch is widened when the display means and the apparatus main body are open in use.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the overall configuration of, for example, a notebook personal computer 1 as a portable information processing apparatus having the keyboard 3 of the present invention will be described.

The notebook personal computer 1 includes a display means such as a liquid crystal display 2 and an apparatus main body 4 having a keyboard 3. The display surface 5 of the liquid crystal display 2 and the keyboard 3 of the apparatus main body 4 are set inside. And closed (see FIG. 2) and opened (see FIG. 3).

The keyboard 3 is configured as shown in FIGS.

The keyboard 3 includes a key switch 6 and
A key switch holding expansion / contraction means such as an expansion / contraction rail 7, a key switch coupling means such as a film cable 8, and a gap holding means such as a gap holding wire 9 are provided.

A plurality of key switches 6 are arranged side by side in two directions orthogonal to each other on a plane.

The telescopic rails 7 are provided with one stage of key switches 6 arranged in one of two directions orthogonal to each other on a plane, and extend in one direction and extend and contract in one direction. The key switch 6 is arranged in one direction and is movable in one direction. As the telescopic rail 7, for example, two or more rail components having a U-shaped cross-section and a cross-sectional size that is large and small are slidably fitted to each other so as to be expandable and contractable. There is.

The key switch 6, for example, is provided with a ball bearing 10 at a side end, and can be moved smoothly along the telescopic rail 7. The key switch 6 is prevented from being twisted by being fitted to the telescopic rail 7.

The film cable 8 connects the key switches 6 on one telescopic rail 7 to each other. The key switches 6 located at both ends of the telescopic rail 7
It is fixed to the telescopic rail 7. As the key switch 6 expands and contracts in one direction, the fixed key switch 6 and the other key switches 6 are pulled through the film cable 8 with the expansion and contraction of the telescopic rail 7 in one direction. It is designed to roll. The film cable 8 is set so that its length becomes the maximum value of the one-way length of the keyboard 3.

The spacing wire 9 connects the telescopic rails 7 to each other in two directions orthogonal to each other on a plane, and the length thereof is the maximum value of the length of the keyboard 3 in the other direction. Is set to

When the liquid crystal display 2 of the notebook computer 1 and the apparatus main body 4 are closed as shown in FIG. 2, the keyboard 3 is completely inside the liquid crystal display 2 and the apparatus main body 4 as shown in FIG. Key pitch 1 that fits in
2, 13 (see FIG. 5 of the pitch between the key switches 6), for example, they are arranged with no gap at the minimum key pitch. On the other hand, when the liquid crystal display 2 and the apparatus main body 4 are open as shown in FIG. The key pitches 12 and 13 are expanded as shown in FIG.

The keyboard 6 has the following structure.
When using and storing the notebook PC 1, key pitch 1
2, 13 are widened or narrowed.

The keyboard 3 configured as described above expands or contracts as the notebook computer 1 opens and closes as follows.

Liquid crystal display 2 of notebook type personal computer 1
Is opened from the apparatus main body 4, the telescopic rail 7 is extended to both sides in one direction according to the angle of the opening, and the movement of the end of the telescopic rail 7 stops soon. In accordance with the extension of the telescopic rail 7 to both sides in one direction, the key switch 6 fixed to the end of the telescopic rail 7 and the other key switches 6 are pulled via the film cable 8 and slid in one direction. Moving. As a result, the keyboard 3 is divided into two parts from the approximate center 11 of the length in one direction, and slides in one direction so that the divided bodies are separated from each other.

The telescopic rails 7 extend in this one direction and simultaneously slide away from each other in the other direction.

When the liquid crystal display 2 is completely opened,
The keyboard 3 has a one-way length corresponding to the length of the tensioned film cable 8, the one-way key pitch 12 has the maximum value, and the other-direction length has a length corresponding to the length of the tensioned wire 9 for tension. The key pitch 13 in the direction has the maximum value. At this time, both ends in one direction of the keyboard 3 protrude beyond the end of the apparatus main body 4. Since the key pitches 12 and 13 of the keyboard 3 are widened and sufficiently secured,
The operator does not press adjacent key switches 6, and can type comfortably with a margin.

When the liquid crystal display 2 is closed after use, the key pitches 12 and 13 are reduced in contradiction to the above-described spreading operation in conjunction with the closing operation, and the keyboard 3 as a whole is moved in two orthogonal directions on a plane. The size of the liquid crystal display 2 is reduced so that the liquid crystal display 2 and the apparatus main body 4 are completely closed. This saves space in the notebook computer and improves portability.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the spacing wire 9 is shown as the spacing means. However, the invention is not limited to this. For example, the film cable 8 described above may be integrally extended so as to extend in the other direction in one direction. It may be formed, and according to this, the efficiency of the wiring pattern is improved.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the portable information processing device is closed, the keyboard has a key pitch that fits inside the portable information processing device. Will spread. Therefore, typing can be performed comfortably at the time of use, and at the time of closed storage, the whole portable information processing apparatus can be made compact as compared with a conventional apparatus in which divided keyboards are stacked.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an operation state diagram showing the portable information processing device of FIG. 1 in the middle of opening.

FIG. 2 is an operation state diagram showing the portable information processing apparatus provided with the keyboard of the present invention in a closed storage state.

FIG. 3 is an operation state diagram when the portable information processing apparatus of FIG. 1 is fully used.

4 is an operation state diagram of the keyboard when the portable information processing device of FIG. 1 is housed.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged plan view of a keyboard of the portable information processing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged side view of the keyboard of FIG. 5;

7 is an operation state diagram of the keyboard when the portable information processing device of FIG. 3 is used.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 notebook personal computer (portable information processing device) 2 liquid crystal display (display means) 3 keyboard 4 device body 5 display surface 6 key switch 7 telescopic rail (expandable means for holding key switch) 8 switch cable (key switch connecting means) 9 interval Holding wire (space maintaining means) 10 Ball bearing 11 Key pitch fluctuation center line 12 Key pitch (vertical direction) 13 Key pitch (horizontal direction)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A display device, comprising: a device main body having a keyboard in which key switches are arranged in two directions orthogonal to each other on a plane, wherein the display means and the device main body include a display surface of the display means and a device main body. Close with the keyboard inside and
In the keyboard of the portable information processing device that is coupled so as to be able to be opened, the key pitch is such that the portable information processing device can be accommodated inside the display means and the device main body in the closed storage state, On the other hand, the keyboard of the portable information processing device is configured so that the key pitch is widened when the portable information processing device is opened. 2. The keyboard according to claim 1, wherein the key pitch is configured to be widened or narrowed in two directions orthogonal to each other on a plane. 3. The keyboard according to claim 1, wherein the gap between the keys is set to be substantially zero when the portable information processing device is stored. . 4. In conjunction with an operation of opening the portable information processing device,
The keyboard of the portable information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a key pitch is configured to be widened. 5. The keyboard for a portable information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a key pitch is narrowed in conjunction with an operation of closing the portable information processing apparatus. 6. A key switch extending in one of two directions orthogonal to each other on a plane and extending and contracting in one of the directions, aligning the key switches in one direction, and arranging the key switches movably in one direction. Holding / expanding means, for connecting the key switches on the key switch holding / expanding means to each other, and a key switch connecting means whose length is the maximum value in one direction of the keyboard; The key switch holding expansion / contraction means is connected to each other in two directions orthogonal to each other on a plane, and the length of the key switch holding expansion / contraction means is the maximum value in the other direction of the keyboard. The keyboard of the portable information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein 7. The keyboard according to claim 6, wherein the key switch is provided with a ball bearing so that the key switch holding expansion / contraction means can be moved smoothly.