Electronic apparatus

• US 20090002927A1
• Filed: 06/27/2008
• Published: 01/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Client Computing Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Iijima, Takashi, Yamamoto, Nobuyuki, Kobayashi, Sonomasa
• Granted Patent: US 7,706,137 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/162 changing, e.g. reversing, the face orientation of the screen with a two degrees of freedom mechanism, e.g. for folding into tablet PC like position or orienting towards the direction opposite to the user to show to a second user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1679 for locking or maintaining the movable parts of the enclosure in a fixed position, e.g. latching mechanism at the edge of the display in a laptop or for the screen protective cover of a PDA G06F1/1681 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1681 Details related solely to hinges hinge details related to the transmission of signals or power are classified in G06F1/1683
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0212 with a two degrees of freedom mechanism, i.e. folding around a first axis and rotating around a second axis perpendicular to the first
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 248/917 Video display screen support

Abstract

An electronic apparatus includes a first housing; a second housing; and a coupling unit that openably/closably and rotatably couples the second housing with the first housing. The coupling unit is a biaxial coupling unit having: a rotation axis that vertically extends when the first housing is placed on a horizontal table, and is rotatably coupled to the first housing; and an opening/closing axis that is fixed to the rotation axis, horizontally extends, openably/closably supports the second housing with respect to the first housing, and rotates as the rotation axis rotates. The coupling unit includes a stopper to rotate the rotation axis-only when the second housing is opened with respect to the first housing within a range of rotation-allowing opening angle that allows for rotation.

Claims

1. An electronic apparatus, comprising:

a first housing;

a second housing; and

a coupling unit that openably/closably and rotatably couples the second housing with the first housing,

wherein the coupling unit is a biaxial coupling unit comprised of a rotation axis that vertically extends when the first housing is placed on a horizontal table, and is rotatably coupled to the first housing, and an opening/closing axis that is fixed to the rotation axis, horizontally extends, openably/closably supports the second housing with respect to the first housing, and rotates as the rotation axis rotates, and

the coupling unit comprises a stopper to rotate the rotation axis only when the second housing is opened with respect to the first housing within a range of rotation-allowing opening angle that allows for rotation.

2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stopper is unrotatably supported by the first housing, and the stopper and the rotation axis comprise a stopper-side fitting section and a rotation axis-side fitting section, respectively, which are fitted into each other in a closed state in which the second housing is laid over the first housing, and

the stopper and a second housing assembly, which includes the second housing and the opening/closing axis, comprise a stopper-side contact member and a second housing-side contact member, respectively, which are brought into contact with each other to release the fit of the stopper-side fitting section into the rotation axis-side fitting section when the second housing is opened within the range of rotation-allowing opening angle from the closed state.

3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the second housing is rotated about the rotation axis after the second housing-side contact member is brought into contact with the stopper-side contact member, the contact of the second housing-side contact member with the stopper-side contact member is released, and the release of the fit of the stopper-side fitting section into the rotation axis-side fitting section is kept.

4. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the stopper-side fitting section is formed of a protruding portion that protrudes upward, and the rotation axis-side fitting section is formed of a depressed portion that opens downward, and into which the protruding portion is fitted, and

the stopper is energized upward by a spring and the protruding portion is fitted into the depressed portion in the closed state, and the second housing-side contact member pushes down the stopper-side contact member from above to remove the protruding portion from the depressed portion when the second housing is opened within the range of rotation-allowing opening angle from the closed state.

5. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a set of the stopper-side fitting section and the rotation axis-side fitting section, and a set of the stopper-side contact member and the second housing-side contact member are provided, respectively, on both sides of the center of the rotation axis.

6. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the stopper-side contact member is made of a stiffer material than that of a portion other than the stopper-side fitting section of the stopper.

7. The electronic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the stopper comprises an arm extending on both sides of the center of the rotation axis, the stopper-side fitting section at a position halfway of the arm, and the stopper-side contact member at an end of the arm.

8. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second housing-side contact member is a metal member, and the stopper-side contact member is a resin member having a higher lubricating property than that of the second housing-side contact member.

9. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second housing comprises a display screen where information is displayed.

10. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first housing comprises a keyboard by which instructions corresponding to operation is entered.

11. The electronic apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising display control means that displays, in a first usage state in which the second housing is opened with respect to the first housing, information in a first display mode in which information is displayed on the display screen with the direction of the rotation axis as the vertical direction, and also displays, in a second usage state in which the second housing is laid over the first housing with the display screen turned outward, information in a second display mode in which information is displayed with the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis as the vertical direction.