Portable computer having keyboard structure including two sub-keyboards mounted for rotation between a longitudinally aligned position and a mutually parallel position

• US 5,615,081 A
• Filed: 01/31/1996
• Issued: 03/25/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hsi-Kuang Ma
• Original Assignee: Hsi-Kuang Ma
• Inventors: Ma, Hsi-Kuang
• Primary Examiner(s): Phillips, Michael W.
• Application Number:
  US08/594,463
• Time in Patent Office: 419 Days
• Field of Search: 364/708.1, 400/472, 400/479, 400/488-492, 400/682, 400/691-693, 395/168, 395/169, 200/5 A, 361/680, 361/683
• US Class Current: 361/679.14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1622 with enclosures rotating around an axis perpendicular to the plane they define or with ball-joint coupling, e.g. PDA with display enclosure orientation changeable between portrait and landscape by rotation with respect to a coplanar body enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1666 Arrangements for reducing the size of the integrated keyboard for transport, e.g. foldable keyboards, keyboards with collapsible keys G06F1/1664 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 13/84 characterised by ergonomic functions, e.g. for miniature keyboards; characterised by operational sensory functions, e.g. sound feedback legends H01H13/83
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2223/05 composed of hingedly connected sections
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2223/052 reductible in size, e.g. for transportation

Abstract

A portable computer includes a mechanism for connecting two sub-keyboards to a mainframe to impart a rotary motion to the sub-keyboards so that the sub-keyboards may be opened outwardly to be in a longitudinally aligned state or closed inwardly to be in a parallel relationship.

Claims

1. An improved portable computer of the type consisting of a mainframe, a display and a keyboard, said improvement comprising:

a means for connecting said keyboard to said mainframe and imparting rotary motion to said keyboard, and said keyboard consisting of two sub-keyboards mounted on said mainframe and capable of being opened outwardly to be in a longitudinally aligned state or closed inwardly to be in a parallel relationship, wherein said means consists of two depressions formed in an upper side of said mainframe, each of said depressions having a shaft hole in a bottom side thereof;

two toothed blocks near a pivot connecting said display and said mainframe, said toothed blocks being respectively provided with an array of teeth at a position near said depressions, a projection being disposed at an upper end of each of said toothed blocks, said display being provided with two key slots respectively disposed on either side of the pivot for receiving said projections of said toothed blocks;

and two gears provided on the respective bottom sides of said sub-keyboards, said gears respectively having a gear ring of a size matching that of said depressions and a plurality of teeth matching said teeth of said toothed blocks, said gears further respectively having a shaft of a diameter matching that of said shaft holes and being connected to a motherboard of the computer, whereby said gear shafts and said gear rings of said gears are respectively disposed in said shaft holes and said depressions in said mainframe and said teeth of said gears engage with said teeth of said toothed blocks to enable said sub-keyboards to rotarily turn on said mainframe.

2. An improved portable computer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said depressions and said shaft holes are preferably elongated in shape with their ends configured to be hemispherical.

3. An improved portable computer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said key slots of said display preferably extend obliquely upward from both sides of the pivot.

4. An improved portable computer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said mainframe is provided with a plurality of stop posts near the pivot.