PORTABLE DEVICE

- FUJITSU LIMITED

A portable device includes: first and second cases; a biasing member which is secured to the first case side; and a slider which is secured to the second case side, which is slidably connected to the first case, and which is pushed by the biasing member; wherein: the slider includes: a first pushed portion pushed by the biasing member when the slider slides from a beginning of a sliding range to an end of the sliding range; a second pushed portion pushed by the biasing member when the slider slides from the end to the beginning; a first guiding portion guiding a pushed position pushed by the biasing member from the first pushed portion to the second pushed portion; and a second guiding portion guiding the pushed position from the second pushed portion to the first pushed portion.

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Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-118414, filed on May 15, 2009, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-214992, filed on Sep. 16, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The embodiment discussed herein is related to a portable device.

BACKGROUND

It is known a portable device that includes first and second cases slidably connected to each other (See Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 2007-49650 and 2008-196525). Such a portable device includes: a biasing member biasing the first or second case in a sliding direction so as to assist sliding; a mechanism of changing the biasing direction of the biasing member depending on a position of sliding. For example, when the second case is slid from the beginning of a sliding range to the end thereof, the biasing direction is changed from the state of being pushed to the beginning by the biasing member to the state of being pushed to the end while the second case is slid. In this way, sliding is assisted.

Generally, in each case where the second case is slid from the beginning to the end or where the second case is slid from the end to the beginning, the direction where the biasing member assists the sliding is changed by a single mechanism. For this reason, when the second case is slid from the beginning to the end, the biasing force of the biasing member which pushes the second case to the end is exerted as an assist of the sliding. However, when the second case is slid from the end to the beginning, the biasing force of the biasing member which pushes the second case to the end is exerted as a resistance of the sliding. As mentioned above, whether the biasing force of the biasing member is exerted as an assist or a resistance of the sliding depends on the sliding direction. That is, the cases where the biasing force of the biasing member is exerted as an assist and a resistance are two sides of the same coin.

Thus, when the range is set such that the second case is pushed to the end at the time of sliding from the beginning to the end, the range is set such that the second case is pushed to the beginning, and the ranges are also set such that the second case is pushed to the beginning and the end at the time of sliding from the end to the beginning. In this manner, the range where the sliding of the second case is assisted cannot be individually set for every sliding direction.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the embodiments, a portable device includes: first and second cases; a biasing member which is secured to the first case side; and a slider which is secured to the second case side, which is slidably connected to the first case, and which is pushed by the biasing member; wherein: the slider includes: a first pushed portion pushed by the biasing member when the slider slides from a beginning of a sliding range to an end of the sliding range; a second pushed portion pushed by the biasing member when the slider slides from the end to the beginning; a first guiding portion guiding a pushed position pushed by the biasing member from the first pushed portion to the second pushed portion; and a second guiding portion guiding the pushed position from the second pushed portion to the first pushed portion; a direction where the slider is pushed by the biasing member is changed from a direction toward the beginning to a direction toward the end, in response to a movement of the pushed position on the first pushed portion; and the direction where the slider is pushed by the biasing member is changed from the direction toward the end to the direction toward the beginning, in response to a movement of the pushed position on the second pushed portion.

The object and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIGS. lA to 1E are explanatory views of a portable phone according to a first embodiment;

FIGS. 2A to 2E are explanatory views of a portable phone having a different structure from the portable phone according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the portable phone in a fully closed state;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the portable phone in a fully opened state;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the portable phone in the fully closed state;

FIGS. 6A to 6D are perspective views of a pushing mechanism and a changing member at the time of sliding;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are perspective views of a pushing mechanism and a changing member at the time of the sliding;

FIGS. 8A to 8D are perspective views of a guiding surface;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a portable phone according to a second embodiment;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are perspective views of a guiding member;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a portable phone according to a third embodiment;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are perspective views of the portable phone according to the third embodiment;

FIGS. 13A and 13B are perspective views of a portable phone according to a fourth embodiment; and

FIG. 14A is a perspective view of the portable phone according to the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 14B is a perspective view of the portable phone according to the third embodiment.

 DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the following, plural embodiments will be described. Additionally, for example, a portable device is a portable phone.

First Embodiment

FIGS. 1A to 1E are explanatory views of a portable phone according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 1A illustrates a fully closed state to be mentioned later. FIG. 1B illustrates a partway state from the fully closed state to a fully opened state. FIG. 1C illustrates the fully opened state. FIG. 1D illustrates a partway state from the fully opened state to the fully closed state. FIG. 1E illustrates the fully closed state.

The portable phone according to the first embodiment includes a main body portion (first case) 10, and a display portion (second case) 20 slidably connected to the main body portion 10 in a liner manner. The display portion 20 is provided at its front face with a display 22 which is always exposed. As illustrated in FIG. 1C, the main body portion 10 is provided with numeric keys 12 and functional keys 14. A mechanism, to be mentioned later in detail, for assisting sliding the display portion 20 is provided between the main body portion 10 and the display portion 20. This mechanism is provided with a biasing member, which is provided between the main body portion 10 and the display portion 20, and which assists the sliding. Additionally, the sliding range is indicated by L, the beginning of the sliding range is indicated by P1, and the end is indicated by P2, as illustrated in FIGS. lA to 1E.

FIG. 1A illustrates the fully closed state where the main body portion 10 and the display portion 20 are overlapped with each other. When the display portion 20 is upwardly pushed relative to the main body portion 10 in the fully closed state, the display portion 20 slides on the main body portion 10 to start exposing the numeric keys 12 which are covered with the display portion 20, as illustrated in FIG. 1B. In the state between the fully closed state and the state illustrated in FIG. 1B, the biasing member attempts to return the display portion 20 to the beginning P1. This range is indicated by La. When the display portion 20 illustrated in FIG. 1B is further pushed, the biasing member attempts to push the display portion 20 to the end P2. By the pushing force of the biasing member, the display portion 20 is shifted to the fully opened state illustrated in FIG. 1C. That is, a user has only to slide the display portion 20 by the range La against the biasing force of the biasing member, so that the biasing member assists in sliding the display portion 20 to the end P2. The range La2, where the biasing member pushes the display portion 20 to the end P2, is longer than the half of the entire sliding range L. That is, the range La2 is longer than the range Lal.

When the display portion 20 is downwardly pushed relative to the display portion 20 in the fully opened state, the display portion 20 starts covering the functional keys 14 as illustrated in FIG. 1D. Between the fully opened state and the state illustrated in FIG. 1D, the biasing member attempts to return the display portion 20 to the end P2. This range is indicated by Lbl. When the display portion 20 is further pushed, the biasing member attempts to push the display portion 20 to the beginning P1. By the pushing force of the biasing member, the display portion 20 is shifted to the fully closed state as illustrated in FIG. 1E. That is, a user has only to slide the display portion 20 by the range Lbl against the biasing force of the biasing member, so that the biasing member assists in sliding the display portion 20 to the beginning P1. The range Lb2, where the biasing member pushes the display portion 20 to the beginning P1, is longer than the half of the entire sliding range L. That is, the range Lb2 is longer than the range Lb 1.

In this manner, even in any case where the fully opened state is shifted to the fully closed state or where the fully closed state is shifted to the fully opened state, a user has only to push the display portion 20 by a slight distance against the biasing force of the biasing member. Accordingly, the operability is improved in the portable phone according to the first embodiment. In particular, the operability is improved in a portable phone having a large sliding range.

Next, a description will be given of sliding of a portable phone having a structure different from that of the portable phone according to the first embodiment. FIGS. 2A to 2E are explanatory views of sliding of the portable phone having the structure different from that of the portable phone according to the first embodiment.

Additionally, the sliding range L is the same.

The biasing member attempts to return a display portion 20x to the beginning P1 between the fully closed state illustrated in FIG. 2A and the state illustrated in FIG. 2B. The range, where the biasing member biases the display portion 20x to the beginning P1, is the half of the entire sliding range L. When the display portion 20x is further pushed from the state illustrated in FIG. 2B, the biasing member attempts to push the display portion 20x to the end P2. By the biasing force of the biasing member, the display portion 20x is shifted to the fully opened state illustrated in FIG. 2C. When the fully opened state is shifted to the state illustrated in FIG. 1D, the biasing member attempts to return the display portion 20x to the end P2. The range, where the biasing member the display portion 20x to the end P2, is the half of the entire sliding range L. When the display portion 20x is further pushed to the beginning P1 in the state illustrated in FIG. 2D, the biasing member attempts to push the display portion 20x to the beginning P1. Accordingly, the fully closed state is performed again. In this manner, the boundary point, where the direction that the biasing member pushes the display portion 20x is changed, is a substantially center point of the sliding range.

This is because the mechanism for changing the direction that the biasing member pushes the display portion 20x is commonly used in any case where the display portion 20x is slid from the beginning P1 to the end P2 or where the display portion 20x is slid from the end P2 to the beginning P1. Thus, it is supposed that the range be set longer than the half of the entire sliding range L, the range being where the biasing member pushes the display portion 20x to the end P2. In this case, the range where the biasing member assists in sliding the display portion 20x is made long. When the display portion 20x is slid from the beginning P1 to the end P2, the operability is improved. However, it is necessary to push the display portion 20x by a long range against the biasing force of the biasing member, when the display portion 20x is slid from the end P2 to the beginning P1. Thus, in the portable phone having such a structure, the boundary point, where the direction that the biasing member pushes the display portion 20x is changed, is set to be a substantially center point of the sliding range.

However, in the above mentioned portable phone according to the first embodiment, the boundary point where the direction that the biasing member pushes the display portion 20 is changed, is not a substantially center point of the sliding range. Further, in any sliding direction, the range where the biasing member pushes the display portion 20 is longer than the entire sliding range. In the following, the structure of the portable phone will be described in detail according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the portable phone in the fully closed state. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the portable phone in the fully opened state. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the portable phone in the fully closed state.

Between the main body portion 10 and the display portion 20, there are arranged a base plate 30, a slider 40, a biasing member 50, changing members 60a and 60b, and a pushing mechanism 90, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The base plate 30 is secured to a front face side of the main body portion 10 facing the display portion 20.

The slider 40 is secured to a rear face side of the display portion 20 facing the main body portion 10. Guide portions 31 are provided at left and right edge portions of the base plate 30, respectively. Rail portions 41 are provided at left and right edge portions of the slider 40. The guide portion 31 is slidably engaged with the rail portions 41. Thus, the main body portion 10 is slidably connected to the display portion 20 in a liner manner within a given range. Further, the changing members 60a and 60b, and stoppers 42 and 43 are secured to a face of the slider 40 facing the main body portion 10 by adhesive bonding. Details will be described later.

The main body portion 10 is electrically connected to the display portion 20 by a flexible printed circuit 70. The slider 40 is provided with a cutout portion 47 for escaping the flexible printed circuit 70.

The biasing member 50 is arranged between the main body portion 10 and the slider 40. The biasing member 50 is arranged on the base plate 30. The biasing member 50 includes a coil portion 51, and arm portions 53 and 55. The end of the arm portion 53 is connected to the main body portion 10 side. The end of the arm portion 55 is connected to an arm 96, as will be mentioned later.

The pushing mechanism 90 is provided on the base plate 30. The base plate 30 is secured to the main body portion 10. In other words, the pushing mechanism 90 is provided on the main body portion 10 side. The pushing mechanism 90 includes arms 92 and 96, and a roller 98. The arm 92 is swingably connected to the base plate 30. The arm 92 swings on the surface of the base plate 30. The end of the arm 92 is connected to the arm 96. The arm 96 swings in the thickness direction of the main body portion 10 or the display portion 20 and is swingably connected to the arm 92. The end of the arm 96 is provided with the roller 98. In response to sliding of the slider 40, the roller 98 moves on pushed portions 61a, 62a, 61b, and 62b, as will be mentioned later. The arm 96 is connected to the arm portion 55 of the biasing member 50. The biasing member 50 biases the arm 96 to the changing member 60a side or the changing member 60b side. The changing member 60a includes the pushed portions 61a and 62a which are continuous with each other. The changing member 60b includes the pushed portions 61b and 62b which are continuous with each other. With such arrangements, the roller 98 pushes one of the pushed portions 61a, 62a, 61b, and 62b.

The changing members 60a and 60b are secured to each other by an adhesive bonding. The changing members 60a and 60b each have a triangle shape. The changing members 60a and 60b are overlapped with each other in the thickness direction of the portable phone. The roller 98 moves on the pushed portions 61a, 62a, 61b, and 62b in response to sliding of the display portion 20. The pushed portions 61a, 62a, 61b, and 62b each have a channel shape so as to engage the roller 98. The pushed portions 61a, 62a, 61b, and 62b each have a liner shape, but are not limited to the liner shape. For example, if the pushed portion 61 has a curve shape, the relation ship between a sliding degree and an assisting force is nonlinearly changeable. Therefore, a pattern of changing the assisting force is changeable.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the lengths of the pushed portions 61a, 62a, 61b, and 62b in the sliding direction correspond to the ranges Lal, La2, Lbl, and Lb2 as mentioned above, respectively.

Next, the pushing mechanism 90 and the changing members 60a and 60b will be described in more detail.

FIGS. 6A to 6D, and 7A and 7B are explanatory views of the pushing mechanism 90 and the changing members 60a and 60b at the time of sliding. As illustrated in FIG. 6A, in the fully closed state, the roller 98 pushes the pushed portion 61a. Further, in the fully closed state, the roller 98 abuts the stopper 43 to prevent the roller 98 from disengaging from the pushed portion 61a or 62b. Furthermore, the roller 98 abuts the stopper 43 to define the position of the beginning P1 of the sliding range. When the display portion 20 is slid, the changing member 60a also moves in response to the sliding of the display portion 20. The changing member 60a moves, so that the roller 98 moves to climb up the pushed portion 61a. While the roller 98 is located on the pushed portion 61a, the biasing force of the biasing member 50 exerts the changing member 60a to return to the beginning P1. The pushed portion 61a corresponds to a first retuning area.

The display portion 20 is further slid to the end P2, so that the roller 98 arrives at the boundary point between the pushed portions 61a and 62a as illustrated in FIG. 6B. Additionally, FIG. 6B corresponds to FIG. 1B. The display portion 20 is further slid to the end P2, so that the roller 98 moves on the pushed portion 62a as illustrated in FIG. 6C. While the roller 98 is located on the pushed portion 62a, the biasing force of the biasing member 50 exerts the changing member 60a to be pushed to the end P2. The pushed portion 62a corresponds to a first pushing area. The changing member 60a is pushed to the end P2 by the biasing force of the biasing member 50, and then the roller 98 moves to the end of the pushed portion 62a. In this way, the fully closed state is shifted to the fully opened state.

In this way, in response to the movement of the pushed position from the pushed portion 61a to the pushed portion 62a, the direction where the slider 40 is pushed by the biasing member 50 is changed from the direction toward the beginning P1 to the direction toward the end P2. Further, the position of the boundary between the pushed portions 61a and 62a is closer to the end of the pushed portion 61a than to the end of the pushed portion 62a. In other words, the pushed portion 62a is longer than the pushed portion 61a in the sliding direction of the slider 40. Accordingly, the range La2, where the biasing member 50 assists in sliding the display portion to the end P2, can be made long.

Additionally, in the fully opened state, the roller 98 abuts the stopper 42 to prevent the roller 98 from disengaging from the pushed portions 62a and 61b. The roller 98 abuts the stopper 42 to define the position of the end P2 in the sliding range. Further, the roller 98 is moved from the pushed portion 62a to the pushed portion 61b by a guiding surface formed at the end of the pushed portion 62a, as will be described later.

Next, the change from the fully opened state to the fully closed state will be described. When the display portion 20 slides downwardly from the fully opened state illustrated in FIG. 6D, the roller 98 moves to climb up the pushed portion 61b as illustrated in FIG. 7A. While the roller 98 is located the pushed portion 61b, the biasing force of the biasing member 50 exerts the changing member 60b to be returned to the end P2.

The display portion 20 is further slid to the beginning P1, the roller 98 moves on the pushed portion 62b as illustrated in FIG. 7B. While the roller 98 is located the pushed portion 62b, the biasing force of the biasing member 50 exerts the changing member 60b to be pushed to the beginning P1. Therefore, the roller 98 moves to the end of the pushed portion 62b, so that the fully closed state is achieved as illustrated in FIG. 6A. Additionally, the end of the pushed portion 62b is provided with a guiding surface guiding the roller 98 from the pushed portion 62b to the pushed portion 61a. This will be described later.

As described above, in response to the movement of the pushed position from the pushed portion 61b to the pushed portion 62b, the direction where the slider 40 is pushed by the biasing member 50 is changed from the direction toward the end P2 to the direction toward to the beginning P1. Further, the position of the boundary between the pushed portions 61b and 62b is closer to the end of the pushed portion 61b than to the end of the pushed portion 62b. In the other words, the pushed portion 62b is longer than the pushed portion 61b in the sliding direction of the slider 40. Accordingly, the range Lb2, where the biasing member 50 assists in sliding the display portion 20 to the beginning P1, can be made long.

Consequently, the changing members 60a and 60b each have the function for changing the direction where the slider 40 is pushed by the biasing member 50. The changing members 60a and 60b correspond to the case where the display portion 20 is slid from the beginning P1 to the end P2 and the case where the display portion 20 is slid form the end P2 to the end P2, respectively. The range where the biasing member 50 assists in sliding the display portion 20 can be set for every sliding direction.

Next, the guiding surface will be described. FIGS. 8A to 8D are explanatory views of the guiding surface. A guiding surface 65a is provided at the end of the pushed portion 62a. As illustrated in FIG. 8A, the guiding surface 65a inclines relative to the vertical direction. Further, the biasing force of the biasing member 50 allows the roller 98 to push the guiding surface 65a. Thus, the roller 98 slides on the guiding surface 65a from the pushed portion 62a to the pushed portion 61b, as illustrated in FIG. 8B. Further, a guiding surface 65b is provided at the end of the pushed portion 62b. As illustrated in FIG. 8C, the guiding surface 65b also inclines. The biasing force of the biasing member 50 causes the roller 98 to push the guiding surface 65b, so that the roller 98 slides on the guiding surface 65b from the pushed portion 62b to the pushed portion 61a as illustrated in FIG. 8D.

Additionally, the ranges Lal and Lb1 may have different lengths from each other, and the ranges La2 and Lb2 may have different lengths from each other. That is, for every sliding direction, the range where the biasing member 50 assists the sliding is changeable. Specifically, in the design, the ratio of the length of the pushed portion 61a to that of the pushed portion 62a in the sliding direction may be different from the ratio of the length of the pushed portion 61b to that of the pushed portion 62b in the sliding direction. For example, the range where the biasing force assists in changing the state from the fully closed state to the fully opened state may be longer than the range where the biasing force assists in changing the state from the fully opened state to the fully closed state.

Second Embodiment

Next, a portable phone according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the portable phone according to the second embodiment. Additionally, the display portion and the slider are omitted in FIG. 9.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the portable phone according to the second embodiment includes: a guiding member 44 abutting the arm 96 in the beginning P1 position; and a guiding member 45 abutting the arm 96 in the end P2 position. The guiding members 44 and 45 are secured to the slider not illustrated.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are explanatory views of the guiding members. As illustrated in FIG. 10A, the guiding member 44 includes a guiding surface 443 and a defining surface 441. The guiding surface 443 inclines. The defining surface 441 is vertical. In sliding from the end P2 to the beginning P1, the roller 98 moves on the pushed portion 62b. The roller 98 arrives at the end of the pushed portion 62b, so that the arm 96 abuts and slides on the guiding surface 443 and then abuts the defining surface 441. In this way, swinging the arm 96 is guided in the thickness direction of the portable phone. Consequently, the roller 98 moves from the pushed portion 62b to the pushed portion 61a.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 10B, the guiding member 45 includes a defining surface 451 and a guiding surface 453. The guiding surface 453 inclines. The defining surface 451 is vertical. The roller 98 arrives at the end of the pushed portion 62a, so that the arm 96 abuts and slides on the guiding surface 453 and then abuts the defining surface 451. Thus, the roller 98 moves from the pushed portion 62a to the pushed portion 61b.

Third Embodiment

A portable phone according to the third embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the portable phone according to the third embodiment. The display portion and the slider are omitted in FIG. 11.

A pushing mechanism 90b includes: a rail 93; a sliding member 94 slidably engaging the rail 93; the arm 96 swingably supported by the sliding member 94; and the roller 98 connected to the end of the arm 96. The rail 93 extends in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction of the display portion. Further, the end of the arm portion 55 is secured to the sliding member 94. With such arrangements, the sliding member 94 is always biased to the changing members 60a and 60b by the biasing member 50.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are perspective views of the portable phone according to the second embodiment. FIG. 12A illustrates the portable phone in the fully closed state. FIG. 12B illustrates the portable phone in the fully opened state. As illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B, in response to sliding of the display portion 20, the sliding member 94 slides on the rail 93. This keeps the roller 98 pushing the changing members 60a and 60b.

Fourth Embodiment

A portable phone according to the fourth embodiment will be described.

FIGS. 13A and 13B are explanatory views of the portable phone according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13A illustrates a part of the portable phone according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13B illustrates a cross sectional view of the portable phone according to the fourth embodiment. The display portion 20 and the slider 40 are omitted in FIG. 13A.

A base plate 30c is provided with a guiding groove 153. The guiding groove 153 extends in the direction substantially perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the main body portion 10c and the sliding direction of the display portion 20. The guiding groove 153 substantially parallel to the rail 93. A sliding member 154 for the biasing member 50 slidably engages the guiding groove 153. That is, the sliding member 154 is slidably provided in the main body portion 10c. The arm portion 53 of the biasing member 50 is connected to the sliding member 154. Specifically, one end of the biasing member 50 is connected to the sliding member 94 and the arm 96, and the other end of the biasing member 50 is connected to the sliding member 154. The coil portion 51 is arranged on the sliding member 154. The sliding member 154 is provided with a driven roller 158. The driven roller 158 is rotatable.

The biasing force of the biasing member 50 causes the sliding member 154 to push the slider 40. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 13B, the biasing force allows the driven roller 158 to push the rail portion 41 of the slider 40, and the driven roller 158 abuts the inside of the rail portion 41. The driven roller 158 rotates in response to sliding of the slider 40 relative to the main body portion 10c. Since the slider 40 is secured to the display portion 20, the driven roller 158 abuts the display portion 20 side. Thus, the pushing of the biasing member 50 allows the sliding member 154 to push the display portion 20 side. When the driven roller 158 abuts the rail portion 41, the sliding member 154 does not abut the end of the sliding member 154. Therefore, the biasing force of the biasing member 50 is not directly exerted on the main body portion 10c.

FIG. 14A is an explanatory view of the structure of the portable phone according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 14B is an explanatory view of the structure of the portable phone according to the third embodiment. FIGS. 14A and 14B schematically illustrate the structures.

As illustrated in FIG. 14A, the sliding member 154 is slidable relative to the main body portion 10c. The driven roller 158 provided in the sliding member 154 is biased to the rail portion 41 side of the slider 40 by the biasing member 50. Further, the arm 96 is biased to the changing members 60a and 60b side by the biasing member 50. In this way, one end of the biasing member 50 biases the changing members 60a and 60b of the slider 40, and the other end of the biasing member 50 biases the inside of the rail portion 41 of the slider 40.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 14B, in the portable phone according to the third embodiment, one end of the biasing member 50 is directly connected to a main body portion 10b, and the other end of the biasing member 50 is connected to the arm 96. The biasing force of the biasing member 50 causes the arm 96 to bias the changing members 60a and 60b provided in the display portion 20 side in the direction substantially perpendicular to the sliding direction. That is, in the portable phone according to the third embodiment, the biasing member 50 biases the display portion 20 relative to the main body portion 10b in the direction substantially perpendicular to the sliding direction. In this way, as illustrated in FIG. 14B, the display portion 20 is always biased relative to the main body portion 10b in the left direction in FIG. 14B by the biasing member 50. A clearance is defined between the guide portion 31 and the rail portion 41. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 14B, the frictional force, between the guide portion 31 and the rail portion 41 illustrated at the left side of FIG. 14B, is increased by the biasing force of the biasing member 50. Therefore, it may be difficult to slide the main body portion 10b and the display portion 20.

In the portable phone according to the fourth embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 14A, the biasing force of the biasing member 50 does not directly exerted on a main body portion 10c. Thus, the display portion 20 is not biased relative to the main body portion 10c in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction. This facilitates sliding of the display portion 20 relative to the main body portion 10c.

Further, the arm portion 53 of the biasing member 50 is connected to the sliding member 154, and the sliding member 154 is connected to the main body portion 10c side. Accordingly, even when the display portion 20 slide relative to the main body portion 10c, the biasing member 50 is held at a given position of the main body portion 10c. With such a configuration, even when the display portion 20 slides relative to the main body portion 10c, the biasing member 50 is capable of pushing the changing members 60a and 60b with the biasing member 50 held at a given position.

A portable device is not limited to a portable phone. For example, a portable device may be any device as long as two cases are slidably and linearly connected to each other, for example, a PDA or a notebook computer. The slider 40 and the changing members 60a and 60b may be integrally formed with each other, and may be made of a synthetic resin for example.

The portable phone according to the fourth embodiment may be provided with the stopper 42 or 43, or the guiding member 44 or 45.

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be constructed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiment of the present inventions has been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the sprit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A portable device comprising:

first and second cases;
a biasing member which is secured to the first case side; and
a slider which is secured to the second case side, which is slidably connected to the first case, and which is pushed by the biasing member,
wherein:
the slider comprises: a first pushed portion pushed by the biasing member when the slider slides from a beginning of a sliding range to an end of the sliding range; a second pushed portion pushed by the biasing member when the slider slides from the end to the beginning; a first guiding portion guiding a pushed position pushed by the biasing member from the first pushed portion to the second pushed portion; and a second guiding portion guiding the pushed position from the second pushed portion to the first pushed portion;
a direction where the slider is pushed by the biasing member is changed from a direction toward the beginning to a direction toward the end, in response to a movement of the pushed position on the first pushed portion; and
the direction where the slider is pushed by the biasing member is changed from the direction toward the end to the direction toward the beginning, in response to a movement of the pushed position on the second pushed portion.

2. The portable device of claim 1, wherein:

the first pushed portion comprises: a first retuning area which attempts to return the slider to the beginning by the pushing of the biasing member; and a first pushing area which attempts to push the slider to the end by the pushing of the biasing member;
the second pushed portion comprises: a second retuning area which attempts to return the slider to the end by the pushing of the biasing member; and a second pushing area which attempts to push the slider to the beginning by the pushing of the biasing member;
the first pushing area is longer than the first retuning area in such a direction that the slider slides; and
the second pushing area is longer than the second retuning area in such the direction that the slider slides.

3. The portable device of claim 1, further comprising a pushing mechanism pushing the slider by the biasing member,

wherein the pushing mechanism comprises: an arm which is swingably supported in a thickness direction of the first case, and which is biased by the biasing member; and a roller which is connected to the arm, and which pushes the first or second pushed portion by a biasing force of the biasing member.

4. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the first and second pushed portions are aligned in a thickness direction of the first or second case.

5. The portable device of claim 3, wherein the arm comprises:

a first arm which is swingably supported by the first case, and which is biased by the biasing member; and
a second arm which is swingably supported by the first arm, which is swingable in a thickness direction of the first case, and which is connected to the roller.

6. The portable device of claim 3, wherein the pushing mechanism comprises:

a guiding rail which is provided in the first case; and
a slide member which slides on the guiding rail, which is biased by the biasing member, and which holds the arm for swinging.

7. The portable device of claim 6, further comprising a slide member, for the biasing member, which is connected to one end of the biasing member, which is slidably provided relative to the first case, and which pushes the second case side by the biasing force of the biasing member while allowing the second case to slide, the other end of the biasing member being connected to the arm of the biasing member.

8. The portable device of claim 7, wherein the slide member, for the biasing member, comprises a driven roller which pushes the second case and rotates in response to sliding of the second case.

9. The portable device of claim 3, further comprising a stopper which abuts the roller to prevent the roller from disengaging from the first or second pushed portion.

10. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the first guiding portion comprises a guiding surface which is provided in the first pushed portion, and which guides the pushed position to the second pushed portion by the biasing force of the biasing member.

11. The portable device of claim 1, wherein the first guiding portion comprises a guiding member which abuts the arm in response to sliding of the slider, and which guides the arm so as to guide the pushed position.

Patent History
Publication number: 20100288656
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 7, 2010
Publication Date: Nov 18, 2010
Applicant: FUJITSU LIMITED (Kawasaki-shi)
Inventors: Nobuhiko Onda (Kawasaki), Tomoyuki Nagamine (Kawasaki)
Application Number: 12/755,661
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Combined Or Convertible (206/216)
International Classification: B65D 90/02 (20060101);