U.S. patent application number 10/813310 was filed with the patent office on 2004-12-16 for pivoted device and portable computer.
This patent application is currently assigned to International Business Machines Corporation. Invention is credited to Kuratomi, Hitoshi, Takahashi, Tomoyuki, Yamazaki, Kazuhiko.
Application Number | 20040251391 10/813310 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33409390 |
Filed Date | 2004-12-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040251391 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kuratomi, Hitoshi ; et
al. |
December 16, 2004 |
Pivoted device and portable computer
Abstract
A pivot member supports a device on a placement plane when the
device is placed on the plane. The pivot member acts as a pivot
which allows the orientation of the device to be changed when the
device is tilted by lifting its front end. When the lifted end is
manually moved to rotate about the pivot and the device has the
desired orientation, the lifted end is lowered so that the device
is again placed on the placement plane allowing the orientation of
the device to be changed.
Inventors: |
Kuratomi, Hitoshi;
(Tokyo-to, JP) ; Takahashi, Tomoyuki;
(Fujisawa-shi, JP) ; Yamazaki, Kazuhiko;
(Hiratsuka-shi, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
IBM CORPORATION
PO BOX 12195
DEPT 9CCA, BLDG 002
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK
NC
27709
US
|
Assignee: |
International Business Machines
Corporation
Armonk
NY
|
Family ID: |
33409390 |
Appl. No.: |
10/813310 |
Filed: |
March 30, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/371 ;
G9B/33.004 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B 33/025 20130101;
G06F 1/1616 20130101; G06F 1/1656 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
248/371 |
International
Class: |
E04G 021/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 1, 2003 |
JP |
2003-097666 |
Claims
We claim as our invention:
1. A pivot device, comprising a pivot member which supports the
device on a placement plane when the device is placed on the plane,
wherein the pivot member acts as a pivot that allows the
orientation of the device to be changed when the device is tilted
by lifting its predetermined end.
2. The device according to claim 1, further comprising: three or
more rubber pads which support the device on the placement plane
when the device is placed on the plane, wherein when the device is
tilted as described above, the device rotates using predetermined
two of said rubber pads as supporting axes until said pivot member
comes into contact with the placement plane, said pivot member
being positioned outside of said supporting axes.
3. The device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of pivot
members are provided and a different one of said plurality of pivot
members acts as the pivot according to the position of the lifted
end.
4. The device according to claim 1, wherein said pivot member is
formed integrally with a member constituting the base of the
device.
5. The device according to claim 1, wherein an interstitial member
is provided on the portion of said pivot member that comes into
contact with the placement plane, wherein the interstitial member
is selected form the group consisting of a predetermined coating
applied to said pivot member and a cover member.
6. The device according to claim 1, wherein said portion of said
pivot member that comes into contact with the placement plane has a
spherical shape.
7. Apparatus comprising: a portable body having a keyboard on its
top face and having various connectors on its back face; a lid
portion having a display, the lid portion provided to said body via
a hinge so as to open and close with the display face side of the
display facing said keyboard; rubber pads provided at the four
corners on the base of the body; and a pivot member provided on the
base of said body farther to the back face side than two of said
rubber pads on the back face side of the body; wherein said pivot
member serves as a pivot that allows the orientation of the
portable computer to be changed by coming into contact with the
placement plane when the front end portion of the body placed on
the placement plane is lifted.
8. Apparatus of claim 7 wherein two pivot members are provided in
right and left positions apart from each other, respectively and
the right pivot member acts as a pivot when the front left end of
the body is lifted and the left pivot member acts as the pivot when
the front right end of the body is lifted.
9. Apparatus of claim 7, wherein the positions of said two rubber
pads on the back face side of the body are near enough to the back
face of the body that the front end of the body does not rise even
when a force is applied to said lid portion to open it, and the
positions of said pivot members are apart enough from said two
rubber pads toward the back face of the body depending on the
heights of the lower ends of the pivot members that the lower end
of the pivot member comes into contact with the placement plane
when the front end of the body is lifted a predetermined amount.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a pivoted device and
portable computer, comprising a pivot member that acts as a pivot
allowing its orientation to be changed when it is tilted a
predetermined amount by lifting its end.
[0002] A portable computer such as a note PC generally has rubber
pads in the bottom face to prevent slipping and absorb shock. When
using the note PC on a desk, it is sometimes desired to move it on
the top of the desk. In such a case, it is necessary to lift the
entire note PC while moving it so that the rubber pads do not rub
the top of the desk. This operation requires some labor and the
note PC may be given a shock when it is again placed on the top of
the desk.
[0003] In the prior art, a technology is known in which rollers are
provided in the bottom face of a device such as a note PC so that
the device can be easily translated on the top of a desk, for
example. In this technology, only the rollers come into contact
with the top of the desk when the front portion of the device is
lifted so that the device can be moved with the rotating rollers
(see Patent documents 1 and 2, for example).
[0004] In addition, a technology is also known in which a note PC
or the like is mounted on a support having three or four rotatable
balls in its lower face so that the note PC can be smoothly moved
on a placement plane (see Patent document 3, for example). Further,
a technology is also known in which casters are provided to a heavy
rear projector or the like to move it with a slight force. In
transit, the rear projector is tilted by pulling a carriage handle
and only the casters come into contact with the floor face so that
the rear projector can be moved with the rotating casters (see
Patent document 4, for example).
[0005] [Patent Document 1]
[0006] Published Unexamined patent Application No. 2000-181576
[0007] [Patent Document 2]
[0008] Published Unexamined patent Application No. 5-75274
[0009] [Patent Document 3]
[0010] Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2001-175357
[0011] [Patent Document 4]
[0012] Published Unexamined patent Application No. 2002-296678
[0013] However, these prior art technologies are not suitable for
the application of changing the orientation of a device since they
use rotators such as rollers and casters exclusively for the
purpose of translating the device. This is because when the device
is turned by lifting its end to change the orientation of it, the
device does not stay in any fixed position due to the rotating
rotators and so an extra force is needed to control the position of
the device.
[0014] In addition, such prior art technologies involve a complex
mechanism for supporting rotators such as rollers and casters,
increasing the cost of the device. In addition, the prior art
technologies are disadvantageous in terms of space saving when they
are applied to a portable device requiring compactness since the
mechanism for supporting the rotators must be provided in the
limited space within the device.
[0015] A purpose of the invention is to provide a new technology of
allowing the orientation of a device such as a note PC to be easily
changed in a convenient configuration.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] To achieve this object, a pivoted device according to the
present invention comprises a pivot member for supporting the
device on a placement plane when the device is placed on the
placement plane, wherein the pivot member acts as a pivot that
allows the orientation of the device to be changed when the device
is tilted by lifting its predetermined end.
[0017] An exemplary device may be a mobile personal computer or
desktop personal computer, for example. An exemplary placement
plane may be the top of a desk or counter, for example. An
exemplary predetermined end may be the front end of the device, or
the left or right portion of the front end, for example. A pivot
member used may be one that has a spherical-shaped portion that
comes into contact with the placement plane, for example. The lower
end of the pivot member may or may not come into contact with the
placement plane when the device is placed on the placement
plane.
[0018] In this configuration, the pivot member can act as a pivot
that supports the device when the device is tilted by lifting its
predetermined end by hand, allowing the orientation of the device
to be changed. The weight of the device is then borne by the hand
lifting the end of the device and the pivot member. Then, the
lifted end is rotated about the pivot by hand so that the device is
turned in a horizontal plane. When the device finds its desired
orientation, the lifted end is lowered so that the device is again
placed on the placement plane, thus allowing the orientation of the
device to be changed.
[0019] Thus, the orientation of the device can be easily changed by
rotating the device by one hand since about half the weight of the
device is borne by the pivot member while the orientation of the
device is being changed. In addition, neither movable part nor
complex mechanism is needed since the pivot member is only required
to act as a pivot. Therefore, there is no space limitation of the
device, increased manufacturing cost, or added manufacturing
process.
[0020] According to a preferred aspect of the present invention,
the device comprises three or more rubber pads for supporting the
device on a placement plane when the device is placed on the
placement plane. When the device is tilted by lifting its
predetermined end, the device is turned on predetermined two of the
rubber pads acting as supporting axes until the pivot member comes
into contact with the placement plane. The pivot member is
positioned outside the supporting axes. That is, first the device
is turned on the two rubber pads acting as supporting axes when the
end of the device is lifted and then the device is tilted. While
the device is tilted a predetermined amount, the pivot members come
into contact with the placement plane and act as supporting points.
Thus, the pivot members can act as pivots.
[0021] In addition, the number of the pivot members is not limited
to one and may be two or more. In that case, a different pivot
member acts as a pivot depending on the position of the end lifted
by hand. That is, when one end is lifted, the pivot member on the
opposite side to the lifted end with respect to substantially the
center of gravity of the device supports the device and so the
pivot member acts as a pivot.
[0022] In addition, the pivot member may be formed integrally with
a member constituting the base of the device, for example. In that
case, there is substantially no increased manufacturing process or
manufacturing cost. On the portion of the pivot member that comes
into contact with the placement plane, a coating or cover member of
a predetermined material may be provided. The predetermined
material used may be a slippery one such as nylon, for example.
[0023] When the present invention is applied to a portable computer
as a device, the portable computer used may be, for example, one
that comprises a body having a keyboard on its top face and various
connectors on its back face, a lid portion having a display, the
lid portion provided to the body via a hinge so as to open and
close with the display face side of the display facing the
keyboard, and rubber pads provided at the four corners on the
bottom face of the body. In this case, a pivot member may be
provided on the bottom face of the body further toward the back
face side than the two rubber pads on the back face side of the
body. The pivot member serves as a pivot that allows the
orientation of the portable computer to be changed by coming into
contact with the placement plane when the front end portion of the
body placed on the placement plane is lifted.
[0024] In this case, two pivot members, for example, may be
provided in right and left positions apart from each other,
respectively. In this case, the right pivot member acts as a pivot
when the front left end of the body is lifted and the left pivot
member acts as the pivot when the front right end of the body is
lifted.
[0025] In addition, preferably, the positions of the two rubber
pads on the back face side of the body are near enough to the back
face of the body that the front end of the body does not rise even
when a force is applied to the lid portion to open it, and the
positions of the pivot members are apart enough from the two rubber
pads on the back face side of the body toward the back face of the
body depending on the heights of the lower ends of the pivot
members that the lower end of the pivot member comes into contact
with the placement plane when the front end portion of the body is
lifted.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] Some of the purposes of the invention having been stated,
others will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in
connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0027] FIGS. 1A and 1B are left and right side views of a note PC
according to one embodiment of the present invention,
respectively;
[0028] FIG. 2 is a rear view of the note PC in FIG. 1;
[0029] FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the note PC in FIG. 1;
[0030] FIG. 4 is a right side view illustrating the note PC as
placed on the placement plane P in FIG. 1; and
[0031] FIGS. 5A and 5B are right side and bottom views illustrating
a note PC according to another embodiment of the present invention,
respectively.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS
[0032] While the present invention will be described more fully
hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which a
preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown, it is to be
understood at the outset of the description which follows that
persons of skill in the appropriate arts may modify the invention
here described while still achieving the favorable results of this
invention. Accordingly, the description which follows is to be
understood as being a broad, teaching disclosure directed to
persons of skill in the appropriate arts, and not as limiting upon
the present invention.
[0033] Referring now more particularly to the accompanying
drawings, FIG. 1 shows a side view of a note PC according to one
embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 1A and 1B show left and
right side views of the note PC, respectively. FIG. 2 shows a rear
view of the note PC in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of the
note PC in FIG. 1. As shown in these figures, the note PC comprises
a body 1 having a keyboard or the like on its top face, a lid
portion 2 provided with a display, the lid portion provided to the
body 1 via a hinge so as to open and close with the display face
side of the display facing the keyboard, and rubber pads 3a and 3b
provided at the four corners on the bottom face of the body 1.
[0034] The two rubber pads 3a are provided on the front end side of
the body 1and the other two rubber pads 3b are provided on the back
face side of the body 1. A pivot member 4 is provided on the bottom
face of the body 1 further toward the back face side than the two
rubber pads 3b on the back face side. In FIG. 1, the front end
portion of the note PC is shown as lifted from a placement plane P.
The pivot member 4 is then into contact with the placement plane P
and acts as a pivot (rotation axis), making it easy to change the
orientation of the note PC.
[0035] As shown in FIG. 1A, on the left side face of the note PC is
provided a hard disk cover 6, a headphone jack 7, a microphone jack
8, a floppy disk unit 9, and a USB port 10 for providing connection
to a USB compatible device. On the right side face of the note PC
is provided a PC card slot 11 into which a PC card is inserted and
an optical drive 12 such as a CD-ROM drive, as shown in FIG.
1B.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 2, on the back face side of the note PC is
provided a CRT port 13 for providing connection to an external CRT
monitor, a parallel port 14 for providing connection to a printer
or the like, a PC/2 port 15 to which a mouse is connected, a USB
port 16 for providing connection to a USB compatible device, a RJ45
connector 17 for providing connection to a LAN or the like, a RJ11
connector 18 for connection to a telephone line or the like, and a
DC input terminal 19.
[0037] As shown in FIG. 3, on the bottom face of the note PC is
provided a battery housing portion 21and a DIMM (Dual In-line
Memory Module) housing portion 22. Reference numeral 20 denotes a
fan unit.
[0038] The battery used is of a large type and the total weight of
the note PC including the battery is on the order of 3 to 4 kg. The
battery housing portion 21 is provided on the bottom face side of
the front portion of the body 1. The positions of the rubber pads
3b on the back face side of the body are near enough to the back
face of the body 1 that the front end of the body 1 does not rise
even when a force is applied to the lid portion 2 to open it. That
is, the positions of the rubber pads 3b and the weight distribution
of the entire PC are such that the front portion of the body 1 does
not rise even when only the lid portion 2 is opened by lifting
it.
[0039] FIG. 4 is a right side view illustrating the note PC as
placed on the placement plane P. As shown in FIG. 4, the pivot
member 4 is positioned further toward the back face side than the
rubber pads 3b and provided such that the lower end of the pivot
member 4 does not come into contact with the placement plane P when
note PC is placed on it. In addition, the position of the pivot
member 4 is apart enough from the rubber pads 3b on the back face
side toward the back face of the body 1 depending on the heights of
the lower ends of the pivot members that the lower end of the pivot
member surely comes into contact with the placement plane P and
serves as a pivot when the front end portion of the body 1 is
lifted a certain amount. The pivot member 4 is formed integrally
with a member constituting the base of the body 1and has an outer
shape as a part of a sphere.
[0040] In this configuration, when the orientation of the note PC
is desired to be changed while the note PC is used with the lid
portion 2 opened, the front portion of the body 1 is first lifted
slightly by one hand. Then, the note PC is first turned on the two
rubber pads 3b on the back face side acting as supporting axes and
is tilted with respect to the placement plane so that the two
rubber pads 3a on the front end side leave the placement plane.
When the front portion of the body 1 is further lifted, the lower
end of the pivot member 4 comes into contact with the placement
plane. The note PC is then tilted on the contact point acting as a
supporting point and the rubber pads 3b leave the placement plane.
Then, only the spherical surface at the lower end of the pivot
member 4 comes into contact with the placement plane, allowing the
pivot member 4 to act as a pivot.
[0041] Then, the hand lifting the front portion of the body 1 is
moved to a desired direction so that the front portion of the body
1 rotates about the pivot. The note PC is correspondingly turned
about the pivot in a horizontal plane. When the note PC is turned
to a desired position, the hand is slowly lowered. Thereby, the
rubber pads 3b again come into contact with the placement plane and
the pivot member 4 leaves the placement plane. By further lowering
the hand, the rubber pads 3a on the front end side come into
contact with the placement plane. Thus, the note PC is again
supported by the rubber pads 3a and 3b on the placement plane,
completing the changing of the orientation of the note PC. During
this operation, the balance of the note PC is easily maintained by
the hands of the operator when the pivot member 4 acts as a
pivot.
[0042] Thus, according to this embodiment, the orientation of a
note PC can be easily changed by one hand. A possible situation
where the orientation of a note PC needs to be changed may be such
that in the business talk of financing in a financial institution,
for example, the clerk operates the note PC and presents data such
as graphs displayed on the display to a customer when the clerk
gives explanations for the customer. In such a case, the clerk must
lift the entire PC by both hands and then turn by both hands if the
note PC has a certain degree of weight. This operation requires
considerable labor. According to this embodiment, the orientation
of the note PC can be quickly changed to the customer by one hand.
In addition, it is convenient that the orientation of the display
can be easily changed when viewing the display from various
directions.
[0043] In addition, various connectors are provided on the back
face of the note PC, as described above. When an operator makes
connections to these connectors, the operator need not stand up and
look in the back face of the note PC from above if the back face is
turned to the operator, making it easy to perform operation. Again,
according to this embodiment, the operator can easily perform
connection operation since the orientation of the note PC can be
very easily changed.
[0044] In addition, the pivot member 4 may be formed integrally
with the base of the body 1 and requires no complex mechanism.
Therefore, the pivot member 4 can be provided without the need of
increasing cost or adding processes. In addition, there is no space
limitation for a planer board and a cooling unit inside the note PC
and no volume limitation for the note PC requiring compactness
since no complex mechanism is required and therefore no space is
needed for incorporating such a mechanism.
[0045] FIG. 5 illustrates a note PC according to another embodiment
of the present invention. FIGS. 5A and 5B are right side and bottom
views, respectively. This embodiment differs from the
above-described embodiment only in the number, position and shape
of a pivot member. In this embodiment, two pivot members 31a and
31b are provided in right and left positions apart from each other,
respectively. The pivot members 31a and 31b are positioned further
toward the back face side than the pivot member 4 according to the
embodiment shown in FIG. 1. The pivot members 31a and 31b have a
plate-like shape extending along the back face of the body 1and the
portions of the pivot member 31a and 31b that come into contact
with a placement plane have a shape like a capsule that is
longitudinally halved. The right pivot member 31a acts as a pivot
when the front left end 32a of the body 1 is lifted and the left
pivot member 31b acts as the pivot when the front right end 32b of
the body 1 is lifted.
[0046] Also in this embodiment, the orientation of a note PC can be
easily changed by one hand, as in the embodiment in FIG. 1. In
addition, this embodiment has the advantage that a small amount of
movement of the hand on the customer side is needed when the
display contents are presented to the customer since the note PC is
turned by lifting the front left or right end of the body 1.
[0047] The present invention is not limited to the above-described
embodiments and modifications may be made thereto as appropriate.
For example, in the above description, there is nothing particular
on the portion of the pivot member 4 that comes into contact with
the placement plane. But instead, a coating of slippery material
may be applied to or a cover member of nylon or the like may be
provided on that portion.
[0048] In addition, in the above description, the pivot member does
not come into contact with the placement plane when the device is
placed on it and comes into contact with the placement plane and
acts as a pivot when the body is tilted. But instead, the pivot
member may come into contact with the placement plane or support
the body before the body is tilted. For example, the device may
have two rubber pads and a pivot member, which support the body
when the device is placed on the placement plane, and when the body
is tilted, the rubber pads leave the placement plane and only the
pivot member supports the body on the placement plane.
[0049] As described above, according to the present invention,
there is provided a pivot member that acts as a pivot allowing the
orientation of the device to be changed when the device is tilted
by lifting its end. Thus, the orientation of the device can be
easily changed by one hand.
[0050] In the drawings and specifications there has been set forth
a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific
terms are used, the description thus given uses terminology in a
generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of
limitation.
* * * * *