Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Kimiaki Imai

Hirofumi Oda

Satoshi Mizuno

Minoru Makino

Kenzoh Daimon

Masayuki Mifune

Masaru Matsumoto

Yoshihiko Handa

Toyohiro Arakane

Ayako Kuga

Kohichi Matsuda

Sunao Kajihara

Tomotaka Nishihara

Katsuhiko Gennai

Akemi Sakamoto

In a portable terminal, a plurality of operation keysare formed in a key through hole, which is formed in a housing main body that covers a printed board, by partitioning a stainless steel sheet(a key sheet) by slits. A urethane sheetis attached to the rear side of the stainless steel sheet, where the urethane sheethas ridge portionsthat bulge out through the slitsto the front side of the stainless steel sheet, and the rear sides of the ridge portionshave groove-like openings. A rubber layeris attached to the rear side of the urethane sheet, where the rubber layerhas a plurality of protruding portionsthat protrudes toward a substrateat positions corresponding to a plurality of fixed contactsover the substrate. LEDs (light emitting means) and a light guide sheetare disposed closer to the substrate than the rubber layeris. Recess grooves(wrong operation preventing means), for preventing the operation keyslocated adjacent to each ridge portionfrom being depressed at the same time, are formed in the rubber layerat locations corresponding to the rear sides of the ridge portions. This implements the operation keysthat have a nice feel and are less likely to cause wrong operation, while uniformly guiding light from the LEDs to the operation keys

Portable terminal

Foldable mobile equipment is provided with a first housingincluding a liquid crystal display part (display part) at the front face thereof, a second housingincluding an operation part at the front face thereof, and a hinge portionconnecting the first housingand the second housingto each other foldably about an open/close axis X and supporting the first housingso that the first housingcan be flipped over about a vertical axis Y vertical to the open/close axis X. The liquid crystal display part is supported on the first housingby means of a cam mechanism(a support mechanism) so as to be switchable between a portrait orientation and a landscape orientation.

Foldable mobile equipment

There are provided a speaker for outputting sound, a plurality of sound output holes formed in a reverse side cabinet, a mesh sheet, a two-sided tape, and a transparent sheet. The sound output holes, the mesh sheet, the two-sided tape, and the transparent sheet control the direction of sound output from the speaker.

Portable communication tool

A sliding mechanism is provided to couple slidably a first housing having on its surface a vertically long liquid crystal display part long in the vertical direction to a second housing having on its surface an operating part. This slide mechanism includes a rail part which is mounted on the surface of the second housing in a manner of extending in the vertical direction and is configured such that when the first housing has slidingly moved by means of the slide mechanism to the upper end side of the second housing, the operating part of the second housing will appear. Further, by means of the cam mechanism (support mechanism), the first housing is supported relative to the second housing in a switchable manner between the vertically long state and the horizontally long state.

Sliding type mobile terminal

A folding mobile phone (folding portable communications device) includes a first housing including a liquid crystal display part (display part) provided at a surface thereof, a second housing including an operating part provided at a surface thereof, and a hinge connecting the first and second housings to allow the first and second housings to be freely opened and closed in their folded form. A cam mechanism (support mechanism) supports the liquid crystal display part switchably between a vertical position and a horizontal position and to allow the liquid crystal display part to turn both clockwise and counterclockwise as viewed from the front.

Folding portable communications device

A torsion coil spring has first and second coil parts and first to third straight line parts. One end of the first coil part is continued to a first straight line part, while the other end is continued to one end of a second straight line part. The other end of the second straight line part is continued to one end of a second coil part, and the other end of the second coil part is continued to one end of the third straight line part. Also, a mobile terminal having a first housing slidably coupled to a second housing is provided. On the surface of the second housing, a pair of rail parts is provided extending in a sliding direction of the first housing. Between the rail parts, the torsion coil spring is provided for aiding sliding of the first housing on the rail parts of the second housing.

Torsion coil spring and sliding type mobile terminal equipped therewith

A longitudinally-extending liquid crystal display part is provided at a front face of a first housing. A camera accommodation part is provided at an upper end of a second housing to bulge from a front face of the second housing and extend laterally, and an operating part is disposed in the second housing below the camera accommodation part. The first housing is supported by a cam mechanism (support mechanism) in the second housing changeably between a vertical position in which it is superposed on the second housing as viewed from the front face of the second housing and a horizontal position in which it lies orthogonal to the second housing to expose the operating part by turning the first housing on and along the front face of the second housing by means of the cam mechanism.

Portable electronic device

A light-source cover for controlling transmission of light from a light source mounted in a portable device is made of an optical material. The front surface of the light-source cover has a knurl finish composed of linear grooves and the back surface thereof has a spin finish composed of ripple grooves. Alternatively, both the front and back surfaces of the light-source cover have knurl finishes composed of linear grooves. Still alternatively, only the back surface of the light-source cover has a knurl finish or a spin finish.

Light-source cover and portable device therewith

A foldable portable instrument with camera includes a first housing and a second housing connected in a foldable manner, a main display portion provided in the first housing, and a camera provided in the second housing. The camera is attached to the second housing such that a perpendicular direction with respect to a display surface of main display portion and an optical axis direction of the camera are identical when the first housing and the second housing are in an opened state. Accordingly, a foldable portable instrument with camera allowing natural image pick-up and directing the camera to a subject in a facilitated manner with a simplified configuration, when an image is picked up by the camera while it is monitored on the display portion, is obtained.

Foldable portable instrument with camera

A camera-equipped portable device has first and second bodies, a camera for taking a picture, and a main display portion displaying the taken picture. The camera and the main display portion are arranged on the same surface of first body, and the camera is fixed to the first body such that an optical axis of the camera extends in a direction different from a direction perpendicular to a display surface of the main display portion. Thereby, it is possible to provide an image pick-up device, which allows picture-taking in a natural position, can suppress increase in product cost and can have a compact structure.

Image pick-up device including camera angled with respect to a display device

An earphone microphone terminal cover is a lid for covering an opening formed at a mobile phone body, and includes a lid portion covering the opening and located in a groove communicated with the opening; and a first projection formed at the lid portion for insertion into a concavity extending from the groove. The first projection extends outward from the lid portion, and has a contact portion for contact with the concavity, and a distance between a front surface of the lid portion and the contact portion is equal to or longer than a distance between the front and rear surfaces of the lid portion.

Lid with projections for covering an opening formed at a mobile communication terminal

A first box body is inserted between a first flat part and a first frame portion of a cover and is fastened to the cover by means of a first fastening member so that the first frame portion is interposed between the first box body and a plate-shaped first fixing member forming a first fixing member window for exposing a display section. A second box body is inserted between a second flat part and a second frame portion of the cover and is fastened to the cover by means of a second fastening member so that the second frame portion is interposed between the second box body and a plate-shaped second fixing member forming a second fixing member window for exposing an operation section.

Folding portable electronic equipment

A portable phoneincludes a first housing, a second housinghaving a display section, and a hinge sectionthat connects the first housingand the second housingso that the display section is positioned horizontally when placing the portable phoneon an object. The hinge sectionincludes a first rotation axisthat allows the hinge sectionand the second housingto rotate toward the first housingand with a second rotation axisthat is disposed orthogonal to the first rotation axisin a region apart from the second central face &#x3c0;in the second housing. The distance between the second rotation axisand the side faceon the second rotation axispart with respect to the second central face &#x3c0;in the second housingis configured in such a way as to either substantially equal or be shorter than the distance between the first rotation axisand the front faceof the first housing

Growing community of inventors

Hiroshima, Japan

Kimiaki Imai