JP2024082041A - Electronics - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an electronic device configured to reduce the thickness of an enclosure.SOLUTION: An electronic device is configured by connecting a first enclosure and a second enclosure with a hinge. The first enclosure includes an enclosure member having an inner surface, a display panel having a display surface and a back surface which is supported by an inner surface of the enclosure member, and brackets each having a connection section for connecting the hinge and fixed to the inner surface of the enclosure member. The bracket includes a first portion arranged on a side of an outer peripheral end surface of the display panel and including the connection section, and a second portion arranged between the back surface of the display panel and the inner surface of the enclosure member and provided in a position farther than the first portion with respect to the display surface based on a thickness direction of the display panel.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to an electronic device equipped with a display panel.

In electronic devices such as notebook PCs, a first housing with a display panel and a second housing with a keyboard and other components are connected by a hinge. In this type of electronic device, a bracket may be fixed to the inner surface of a housing member that constitutes the first housing, and the hinge may be screwed to this bracket (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2016-139653 A

In the first housing as described above, it is desirable to improve the appearance quality by making the width of the bezel surrounding the periphery of the display panel as narrow as possible. On the other hand, the bracket to which the hinge is connected is fixed, for example, with an adhesive to the inner surface of the housing member, but it is necessary to ensure a sufficient adhesion area in order to ensure strength.

One solution is to overlap the bracket with the back side of the display panel to expand the attachment area. However, in this case, the housing becomes thicker by the thickness of the bracket placed on the back side of the display panel, which results in a decrease in the appearance quality of the electronic device.

The present invention was made in consideration of the problems with the conventional technology described above, and aims to provide an electronic device that can reduce the thickness of the housing.

The electronic device according to the first aspect of the present invention is an electronic device in which a first housing and a second housing are connected by a hinge, the first housing comprising a housing member having an inner surface, a display panel having a display surface and a back surface, the back surface of which is supported by the inner surface of the housing member, and a bracket having a connecting portion for connecting the hinge and fixed to the inner surface of the housing member, the bracket having a first portion disposed to the side of the outer peripheral end surface of the display panel and having the connecting portion, and a second portion disposed between the back surface of the display panel and the inner surface of the housing member, and disposed at a position farther from the display surface than the first portion when the thickness direction of the display panel is taken as the reference.

According to the above aspect of the present invention, the thickness of the housing can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an electronic device according to an embodiment viewed from above. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the first housing as viewed from the front side. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the bracket and its surroundings shown in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of an electronic device according to a comparative example. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of an electronic device including a bracket according to a modified example.

The following describes in detail a preferred embodiment of the electronic device according to the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an electronic device 10 according to an embodiment, viewed from above. As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device 10 of this embodiment is a clamshell-type notebook PC, in which a first housing 11 and a second housing 12 are connected by a hinge 14 so that they can rotate relative to one another. In this embodiment, a notebook PC electronic device 10 is shown as an example, but the electronic device may be other than a notebook PC, such as a standalone display device, a tablet PC, a mobile phone, a smartphone, or a portable game console.

The electronic device 10 is capable of rotating between the housings 11 and 12 in a storage configuration (see FIG. 4) and a usage configuration (see FIG. 1, for example). In the storage configuration, the faces of the housings 11 and 12 are substantially parallel to each other, with an intersecting angle of approximately 0 degrees. In the usage configuration, for example, the intersecting angle between the faces of the housings 11 and 12 is approximately 90 degrees to 180 degrees. The rotation range between the housings 11 and 12 may be 180 degrees or more, or may be 180 degrees or less.

The second housing 12 is a flat box. Inside the second housing 12, various electronic components such as a motherboard equipped with a CPU, a battery device, memory, an antenna device, etc. are housed. A keyboard 16 and a touch pad 17 are located on the top surface of the second housing 12.

The first housing 11 is a flat box that is thinner than the second housing 12. The first housing 11 is equipped with a display panel 18. The display panel 18 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

The first housing 11 and each of the components mounted thereon will be described below with reference to the direction as seen by a user viewing the display surface 18a of the display panel 18, with the left-right direction referred to as the X1 and X2 directions, the up-down direction referred to as the Y1 and Y2 directions, and the depth direction (thickness direction) referred to as the Z1 and Z2 directions. The X1 and X2 directions may also be collectively referred to as the X direction, and the Y1, Y2 directions and the Z1, Z2 directions may also be referred to in the same manner.

The display surface 18a of the display panel 18 faces the Z1 side surface (front surface 11a) of the first housing 11. The first housing 11 has a housing member 20 that forms the Z2 side surface (back surface 11b) and a bezel member 22 that forms the periphery of the front surface 11a. The top, bottom, left and right sides of the first housing 11 are formed by upright walls 23 that stand up from the four periphery portions of the housing member 20. The bezel member 22 is a frame-shaped thin plate material that surrounds the outer periphery of the display panel 18. The upright walls 23 may be formed integrally with the bezel member 22. The hinge 14 is connected to the Y2 side edge (one edge portion 11c) of the first housing 11 and is covered with a rod-shaped hinge cover 14d that extends in the X direction.

Figure 2 is a schematic front view of the first housing 11 as viewed from the front surface 11a side. Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the bracket 30 and its surroundings shown in Figure 2. Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view along line IV-IV in Figure 2. Figure 2 omits the illustration of the bezel member 22, and illustrates only the outer shape of the display panel 18 with a two-dot chain line. As a result, Figure 2 illustrates the inner surface 20a of the housing member 20 (the surface behind the rear surface 11b) and certain components installed on this inner surface 20a. Figure 4 also illustrates the cross-sectional shape of the electronic device 10 along line IV-IV when the housings 11 and 12 are in the stored form.

First, the configuration of the housing member 20 will be described.

As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the housing member 20 of this embodiment has a rectangular plate portion 26 that forms most of the housing member 20, including the central portion, and a frame-shaped frame portion 27 that is joined to the outer periphery of the plate portion 26. Note that the housing member 20 does not have to have the plate portion 26 and the frame portion 27, and may be formed, for example, from a single metal plate or resin plate.

The plate portion 26 is composed of, for example, a prepreg laminate, a resin plate, or a metal plate such as aluminum or titanium. A prepreg laminate is formed by laminating multiple layers of prepregs in which reinforcing fibers such as carbon resin are impregnated with a matrix resin (for example, a thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin or a thermoplastic resin), and, depending on the specifications, an intermediate material such as a foam is sandwiched between the prepreg layers. The plate portion 26 in this embodiment is a carbon fiber reinforced resin plate (CFRP plate) that uses carbon fiber as the reinforcing fiber.

The frame portion 27 is formed by injection molding a resin material onto the outer peripheral edge of the plate portion 26 and bonding it thereto. Examples of resin materials that form the frame portion 27 include polyethylene resin and polypropylene resin, and fiber-reinforced resin (e.g., GFRP) in which these resins contain reinforcing fibers such as glass fiber may also be used. The plate portion 26 formed from a carbon fiber reinforced resin plate is light and strong, but has problems with the ease of machining and shaping. Therefore, the housing member 20 has a frame portion 27 formed from a resin material around the plate portion 26, and the vertical wall 23 and various shapes are formed on this frame portion 27.

As shown by the triple hexagon in FIG. 2, the housing member 20 of this embodiment has a curved surface 28 with a smoothly recessed inner surface 20a. The curved surface 28 is formed by causing a part or all of the area of the plate portion 26 to bulge toward the back surface 11b, thereby causing the inner surface 20a to be recessed into a dish shape. In other words, the back surface 11b of the housing member 20 forms a dome shape 29 that bulges slightly toward the Z2 side in part or in whole (see FIG. 4). In FIG. 2, the curved surface 28 is illustrated as a schematic hexagon, but in reality it is a gently elliptical recess that extends over most of the plate portion 26.

The curved shape 28 (dome shape 29) forms a space with a certain height between the inner surface 20a and the back surface 18b of the display panel 18. This space is used, for example, as an installation space for a control board for the display panel 18. Note that the display panel 18 is supported at an appropriate position on the back surface 18b by the inner surface 20a using a support member such as a cushioning material.

Next, the connection structure of the hinge 14 to the first housing 11 will be described.

As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the hinge 14 is connected to the Y2 side edge (one edge 20b) of the housing member 20. The first housing 11 has a pair of left and right brackets 30, 30. One bracket 30 is disposed at the corner between the X1 side end and the Y2 side end of the inner surface 20a of the housing member 20, and is provided along one edge 20b. The other bracket 30 is disposed at the corner between the X2 side end and the Y2 side end of the inner surface 20a of the housing member 20, and is provided along one edge 20b.

The left and right brackets 30, 30 have a symmetrical structure and are substantially identical in basic configuration and function, so the following description will not specify which bracket 30 is being described. The left and right brackets 30, 30 do not necessarily have to have a symmetrical structure.

The bracket 30 is a metal plate such as stainless steel or aluminum. The bracket 30 is not limited to a metal plate, and may be a block-shaped metal part having a different thickness for each part, formed in a predetermined shape on a metal member such as stainless steel. The bracket 30 is positioned with a predetermined positioning pin or the like with respect to the inner surface 20a, and fixed with an adhesive or the like. The bracket 30 has a first part 30a, a second part 30b, and a crank part 30c. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the bracket 30 of this embodiment is formed in a substantially L-shape in a plan view, but may be formed only of a rectangular part extending in the X-direction along one edge part 20b. It goes without saying that the outer shape of the bracket 30 is not limited to these L-shapes or rectangles.

The first portion 30a is disposed along the outer peripheral edge of the housing member 20. The first portion 30a is also disposed to the side of the outer peripheral end surface 18c of the display panel 18. The Z2 side surface of the first portion 30a is fixed to the inner surface 20a of the frame portion 27. It is preferable that at least a portion of the first portion 30a is disposed on the Z1 side of the back surface 18b of the display panel 18, when the thickness direction (Z direction) of the display panel 18 or the first housing 11 is used as a reference. This is to suppress the total thickness of the housings 11, 12 by disposing position P1, which indicates the Z direction position of the corner between one edge portion 20b and the back surface 11b of the first housing 11 described later, as close to the Z1 side as possible.

Three connecting portions 32, for example, are formed along one edge 20b of the first portion 30a. The connecting portions 32 are boss-shaped protrusions with female threads formed on the inner circumference. The connecting portions 32 are portions for connecting the hinge 14 (see Figures 2 and 4).

As shown in FIG. 2, the hinge 14 has two connecting plates 14a and 14b and a hinge shaft 14c. The connecting plate 14a is a metal plate that is connected to the first housing 11 (housing member 20). The connecting plate 14a is provided with holes that fit into the connecting parts 32, and is fixed to the bracket 30 using screws 34 (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 4). The connecting plate 14b is a metal plate that is connected to the second housing 12. The hinge shaft 14c is a metal shaft that serves as the axis of the hinge 14, and supports the connecting plates 14a and 14b so that they can rotate relatively.

As shown in FIG. 4, the connecting plate 14a and a portion of the hinge shaft 14c are housed in a hinge cover 14d attached to one edge 20b. A rotational torque is applied to the hinge shaft 14c from a predetermined torque generator, which applies a predetermined rotational torque to the rotational movement between the connecting plates 14a and 14b, i.e., the rotational movement between the housings 11 and 12.

The second part 30b is disposed between the back surface 18b of the display panel 18 and the inner surface 20a of the housing member 20. The Z2 side surface of the second part 30b is fixed to the inner surface 20a of the frame part 27, and the Z1 side surface faces the back surface 18b. That is, the second part 30b is fixed to the inner surface 20a while being inserted into the gap between the back surface 18b and the inner surface 20a. Therefore, the second part 30b is provided at a position farther from the display surface 18a than the first part 30a when the thickness direction (Z direction) of the display panel 18 (first housing 11) is used as a reference. More specifically, the bracket 30 is provided at a position where the surface 30b1 (Z1 side surface) facing the back surface 18b of the second part 30b is offset toward the Z2 side from the surface 30a1 (Z1 side surface) on which the connecting part 32 of the first part 30a is formed.

In this way, the bracket 30 is arranged such that the second portion 30b is offset toward the Z2 side from the first portion 30a. The crank portion 30c is provided between the first portion 30a and the second portion 30b, and forms a step in the Z direction between the first portion 30a and the second portion 30b. As shown in FIG. 4, the crank portion 30c is arranged so as to wrap around the corner portion 18d of the display panel 18 from the outer peripheral end surface 18c side to the back surface 18b side of the display panel 18.

In the configuration example shown in FIG. 4, the crank portion 30c is formed by an inclined surface that gradually slopes toward the Z2 side from the first portion 30a toward the second portion 30b, and two bent portions formed on both sides of this inclined surface. The crank portion 30c may be, for example, a right-angled or Z-shaped crank shape. Note that if the bracket 30 is not plate-shaped but is, for example, block-shaped, the crank portion 30c will have a crank-shaped slope in the Z direction on at least the Z1 side surface, but the Z2 side surface may not need to have a step.

As described above, in the electronic device 10 of this embodiment, the bracket 30 having the connecting portion 32 for connecting the hinge 14 is fixed to the inner surface 20a of the housing member 20 constituting the first housing 11 on which the display panel 18 is mounted. The bracket 30 has a first portion 30a that is disposed to the side of the outer peripheral end surface 18c of the display panel 18 and that is provided with the connecting portion 32, and a second portion 30b that is disposed between the display panel 18 and the housing member 20 and that is provided at a position farther from the display surface 18a than the first portion 30a when the thickness direction (Z direction) of the display panel 18 is used as a reference.

Therefore, the housing member 20 of the electronic device 10 can form a curved shape 28 (dome shape 29) with a large inclination due to the step of the parts 30a, 30b from the center to the one edge part 20b. The height H1 in FIG. 4 indicates the difference in height of the inclination of the curved shape 28 toward the Z1 side. As a result, the housing member 20 is positioned such that the position P1 of the corner between the one edge part 20b of the housing member 20 and the back surface 11b, which is indicated by a cross mark in FIG. 4, is somewhat significantly closer to the Z1 side. As a result, the electronic device 10 can reduce the thickness T1 of the housings 11, 12 and reduce the size of the thickness T1, which is one of the thinnest parts. As described above, the bracket 30 is not limited to a plate shape, and the effect of reducing the thickness T1 can be obtained even if the parts 30a and 30b have different thicknesses, for example.

Here, FIG. 5 shows a schematic side cross-sectional view of electronic device 40 according to a comparative example. Electronic device 40 shown in FIG. 5 has a flat bracket 42 that does not have portions 30a and 30b, and the basic configuration is the same as electronic device 10 shown in FIG. 4, except that the shape of housing member 20 corresponds to the shape of bracket 42.

The electronic device 40 shown in FIG. 5 has a flat bracket 42. Therefore, the bracket 42 extends on the XY plane from the Y1 side portion disposed between the display panel 18 and the housing member 20 to the Y2 side portion where the connecting portion 32 is provided. Therefore, the height H2 indicating the difference in the inclination height of the curved shape 28 of the electronic device 40 must be smaller than the height H1 of the electronic device 10 of this embodiment shown in FIG. 4. In other words, the housing member 20 of the electronic device 40 has a position P2 of the corner between the one edge portion 20b and the back surface 11b offset toward the Z2 side from the position P1 of this embodiment shown in FIG. 4. As a result, in the electronic device 40 of the comparative example, the thickness T2 at the thinnest portion of the housings 11 and 12 is larger than the thickness T1 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, that is, it can be seen that the bracket 42 hinders the thinning of the housings 11 and 12.

In this way, in the electronic device 10 of this embodiment, the thickness T1 of the housings 11 and 12 can be suppressed by having a step in the parts 30a and 30b of the bracket 30 that include the connecting part 32 for connecting the hinge 14, and thus a thinner product can be achieved. Note that "the first part 30a of the bracket 30 is disposed to the side of the outer peripheral end surface 18c of the display panel 18" refers not only to the case where part or all of the first part 30a is directly beside the display panel 18 in the thickness direction (Z direction) of the first housing 11, but also to the case where the Z direction position of the Z1 side surface of the first part 30a is flush with the back surface 18b or slightly closer to the Z2 side.

In addition, because the bracket 30 has a crank portion 30c, it can smoothly avoid the corner portion 18d of the display panel 18 as shown in FIG. 4, while providing high fixing strength to the inner surface 20a and contributing to the thinning of the housings 11 and 12. Furthermore, because the crank portion 30c of the bracket 30 is arranged so as to go around the corner portion 18d, it also contributes to the miniaturization of the dimensions of the housings 11 and 12 in the Y or X direction.

In particular, the housing member 20 of this embodiment has a curved shape 28 in which the inner surface 20a is smoothly recessed toward the center, and the bracket 30 is arranged along one edge 20b. Therefore, the bracket 30 is more effective in thinning the edge 20b. That is, the bracket 30 is one of the laminated parts that determine the thickness of the electronic device 10, but in the case of a housing member 20 having a dome shape 29, position P1, which is generally lower than the apex of the dome shape 29, is one of the measurement points for the thinnest part of the product. Therefore, in order to make the product look thin, it is necessary to devise a way to lower the measurement point, position P1, but this is difficult to achieve with the conventional bracket 42 shown in FIG. 5. In this regard, the bracket 30 of the electronic device 10 of this embodiment makes it possible to lower this position P1 to the Z1 side, which can contribute to making the product thinner.

Figure 6 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of an electronic device 10 equipped with a bracket 50 according to a modified example.

The bracket 50 shown in FIG. 6 differs from the bracket 30 shown in FIG. 4 in that it has a bent portion 50a instead of the crank portion 30c, and the portions 30a, 30b are generally formed in a generally boomerang shape rather than a generally crank shape. The bent portion 50a is formed between the first portion 30a and the second portion 30b, and changes the surface direction of the portions 30a, 30b. The second portion 30b is gradually inclined from the bent portion 50a toward its tip in a direction gradually moving away from the back surface 18b of the display panel 18. The bracket 50 is arranged so that the second portion 30b wraps around the corner 18d of the display panel 18 from the outer peripheral end surface 18c side of the display panel 18 to the back surface 18b side.

As a result, even in a configuration using bracket 50, it is possible to make the housings 11 and 12 thinner, as in the configuration using bracket 30 shown in FIG. 4. Similarly to the bracket 30 described above, bracket 50 is not limited to a plate shape, and for example, portions 30a and 30b may have different thicknesses.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can of course be freely modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10, 40 Electronic device 11 First housing 12 Second housing 14 Hinge 18 Display panel 20 Housing member 28 Curved surface shape 30, 42, 50 Bracket 30a First portion 30b Second portion 30c Crank portion 32 Connecting portion 50a Bent portion

Claims (5)

An electronic device in which a first housing and a second housing are connected by a hinge,
The first housing includes:
a housing member having an inner surface;
a display panel having a display surface and a back surface, the back surface being supported by an inner surface of the housing member;
a bracket having a connecting portion for connecting the hinge and fixed to an inner surface of the housing member;
Equipped with
The bracket is
a first portion disposed on a side of an outer peripheral end surface of the display panel and including the connecting portion;
a second portion disposed between a rear surface of the display panel and an inner surface of the housing member, the second portion being located farther from the display surface than the first portion when a thickness direction of the display panel is taken as a reference;
An electronic device comprising: 2. The electronic device according to claim 1,
the bracket has a crank portion provided between the first portion and the second portion, forming a step between the first portion and the second portion in the thickness direction. 3. The electronic device according to claim 2,
the crank portion is disposed so as to wrap around a corner of the display panel from an outer peripheral end face side to a rear face side of the display panel. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1,
The bracket has a bent portion between the first portion and the second portion,
the second portion is inclined from the bent portion toward the tip in a direction gradually moving away from the rear surface of the display panel. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
the housing member has an inner surface having a concave curved shape that is smoothly recessed toward a center portion,
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the bracket is provided along one edge of the housing member.

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