Portable terminal
View Patent ↗A portable terminal including a first housing including a first display; a second housing including a second display; and a hinge portion that couples the first housing and the second housing so as to be openable and closable with respective opposing end portions of the first housing and the second housing adjacent to each other and with respective surfaces of the first housing and the second housing positioned in the same plane as each other in an open state. The hinge portion is disposed so as to not be visible from a front side of the first display and the second display when the first housing and the second housing are in the open state.
1. A portable terminal including:
a first housing including a first display;
a second housing including a second display; and
a hinge portion that couples the first housing and the second housing so as to be openable and closable with respective opposing end portions of the first housing and the second housing adjacent to each other and with respective surfaces of the first housing and the second housing positioned in the same plane as each other in an open state, wherein
the hinge portion is disposed so as to not be visible from a front side of the first display and the second display when the first housing and the second housing are in the open state, wherein
the hinge portion includes a drawing mechanism that generates a drawing force for bringing the opposing end portion of the second housing closer to the opposing end portion of the first housing when the first housing and the second housing are within a predetermined range proximate to a closed state.
2. The portable terminal of claim 1 , wherein
the hinge portion includes a first arm member, one end of which is rotatably supported at a first location of the first housing in the vicinity of the opposing end portion.
3. The portable terminal of claim 2 , wherein
the hinge portion includes a second arm member, one end of which is rotatably supported at a first location of the second housing in the vicinity of the opposing end portion and the other end of which is rotatably coupled to the other end of the first arm member.
4. The portable terminal of claim 3 , wherein
the hinge portion includes a third arm member, one end of which is rotatably supported at a second location of the first housing closer to the opposing end portion than the first location and the other end of which is rotatably supported at an intermediate location of the second arm member.
5. The portable terminal of claim 4 , wherein
the hinge portion includes a fourth arm member, one end of which is rotatably supported at a second location of the second housing closer to the opposing end portion than the first location and the other end of which is rotatably supported at an intermediate location of the first arm member.
6. The portable terminal of claim 5 , wherein
the hinge portion includes a reverse opening prevention mechanism that restricts the amount of opening by which the opposing end portions are opened away from each other with respective free end portions of the first housing and the second housing opposite to the opposing end portions kept closed in a closed state.
7. The portable terminal of claim 6 , wherein
the reverse opening prevention mechanism includes a first projecting portion that projects in a lateral direction from an intermediate portion of the third arm member and a second projecting portion that projects in a lateral direction from an intermediate portion of the fourth arm member, and when the respective opposing end portions of the first housing and the second housing are urged to be opened away from each other with the free end portions of the two housings kept closed in the closed state, the first projecting portion and the second projecting portion abut against each other to hinder such opening operation.
8. The portable terminal of claim 3 , further comprising:
a flexible cable that electrically connects between the first housing and the second housing, wherein one end of the flexible cable is fixedly connected in the first housing, and the other end of the flexible cable is fixedly connected to the second housing, and an intermediate point of the flexible cable is fixed to a predetermined position of at least one of the first and second arm members.
9. The portable terminal of claim 1 , wherein
the hinge portion rotatably couples the first housing and the second housing such that both the first and second displays are exposed to the outside in a closed state and the first and second display screens are positioned adjacent to each other in substantially the same plane in the open state.
10. The portable terminal of claim 1 , wherein
at least the second display portion includes a touch panel having a touch region that overlaps the entirety or a part of the second display.
11. The portable terminal of claim 1 , wherein
the hinge portion includes a reverse opening prevention mechanism that restricts the amount of opening by which the opposing end portions are opened away from each other with respective free end portions of the first housing and the second housing opposite to the opposing end portions kept closed in a closed state.
12. The portable terminal of claim 1 , further comprising:
a reverse torque generation mechanism provided with a first elastic member formed from a coil spring, wherein the drawing mechanism is provided with a second elastic member formed from a coil spring, and the first elastic member and the second elastic member have different diameters, and one of the elastic members is internally contained in a space occupied by the other elastic member.
13. The portable terminal of claim 1 , further comprising:
circuitry configured to determine whether the first and second housings are in the open state or a closed state.
14. The portable terminal of claim 13 , wherein
the circuitry is configured to activate the first and second displays when it is determined that the first and second housings are in the open state.
15. The portable terminal of claim 13 , wherein
the circuitry is configured to activate the first display and deactivate the second display when the first and second housing are in the closed state.
16. The portable terminal of claim 13 , further comprising:
a first touch panel having a touch region that overlaps the entirety or a part of the first display; and
a second touch panel having a touch region that overlaps the entirety or a part of the second display.
17. The portable terminal of claim 16 , wherein
the circuitry is configured to activate the first and second displays and the first and second touch panels when it is determined that the first and second housings are in the open state.
18. The portable terminal of claim 16 , wherein
the circuitry is configured to activate the first display and the first touch panel and deactivate the second display and the second touch panel when it is determined that the first and second housings are in the closed state.
19. The portable terminal of claim 16 , wherein
the circuitry is configured to activate the first display, the first touch panel and the second touch panel and deactivate the second display when it is determined that the first and second housings are in the closed state.
20. A portable terminal including:
a first housing;
a second housing;
a hinge portion that couples the first housing and the second housing so as to be openable and closable; and
a flexible cable that electrically connects between the first housing and the second housing, wherein
the hinge portion includes at least one arm member and a slide member, and
a first intermediate point of the flexible cable is fixed to a predetermined position of the one arm member, and a second intermediate point of the flexible cable is fixed to a predetermined position of the slide member.
21. A portable terminal including:
a first housing including a display;
a second housing including the display; and
a hinge portion that couples the first housing and the second housing so as to be openable and closable with respective opposing end portions of the first housing and the second housing adjacent to each other and with respective surfaces of the first housing and the second housing positioned in the same plane as each other in an open state, wherein
the hinge portion is disposed so as to not be visible from a front side of the first housing and the second housing when the first housing and the second housing are in the open state, wherein
the hinge portion includes a drawing mechanism that generates a drawing force for bringing the opposing end portion of the second housing closer to the opposing end portion of the first housing when the first housing and the second housing are within a predetermined range proximate to a closed state.