Dynamic optical information storage or retrieval – Particular cabinet structure for optical media
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-20
2004-08-03
Cao, Allen (Department: 2652)
Dynamic optical information storage or retrieval
Particular cabinet structure for optical media
Reexamination Certificate
active
06772422
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus including a display portion for displaying information, and particularly to an optical disc apparatus including a display portion for displaying information recorded and/or reproduced on or from an optical disc or a magneto-optical disc.
The present invention also relates to an electronic apparatus including a lid body, which is openable/closable with respect to an apparatus main body, and particularly, which has a display portion on its one surface.
Disc players of a type in which video information or music information is reproduced from a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) representative of an optical disc are known.
A portable disc player of this type includes a player main body for reproducing information from an optical disc, and a lid body openable/closable with respect to the player main body and having a display portion for displaying the information reproduced by the player main body.
The player main body includes a disc rotating mechanism for rotating an optical disc, and a reproducing mechanism having an optical pickup for reproducing information from an optical disk. The disc rotating mechanism has a disc table on which an optical disc is to be mounted, and a spindle motor for rotating the disc table. The reproducing mechanism has the optical pickup for reproducing information from an optical disc and a feeding mechanism for moving the optical pickup in the radial direction of an optical disc.
The lid body is turnably supported, at its one side end portion, by the player main body via a lid body turnably supporting mechanism, and has a display portion provided on its surface opposed to a principal surface of the player main body. The lid body is supported in such a manner as to be closable in a closed state in which the lid body is closed with the display portion being in contact with the principal surface of the player main body and to be openable in an open state in which the display portion is opened with respect to the principal surface of the player main body. The lid body turnably supporting mechanism has a turning shaft for openably/closably supporting the one side end portion of the lid body, and a bearing portion provided on the player main body in such a manner as to support both ends of the turning shaft.
The disc player configured as described above is operated as follows. First, the lid body is opened with respect to the player main body. At this time, the lid body is turned via the turning shaft of the lid body turnably supporting mechanism, and the display portion of the lid body is directed outwardly. Next, an optical disc is rotated by the disc rotating mechanism of the player main body and information is reproduced from the optical disc by the optical pickup. The reproduced information is displayed on the display portion of the lid body.
As described above, in the related art display player, a space occupied by the disc player in the open state in which the lid body is opened with respect to the player main body with a display screen of the display portion directed outwardly becomes larger than a space occupied by the disc player in the closed state. As a result, when the disc player is used in a passenger room, for example, in a railroad vehicle or a passenger airplane, there arises an inconvenience that the disc player in the open state occupies a space on a placing surface of a tray provided for a passenger seat.
In the related art disc player of this type, since the open state in which the display portion is opened with respect to the player main body is bulky, it is difficult for a user to certainly hold the disc player in a state in which the display portion is directed outwardly. Accordingly, the disc player of this type causes a practical problem that it is difficult for a user who straphangs, for example, in a railroad vehicle to use the disc player in the state in which the display portion is directed outwardly while holding the player main body by the disengaged hand.
A disc player of a type in which a display screen of a display portion is previously directed outwardly is known. Such a disc player, however, has a problem that the display screen of the display portion is liable to be damaged during a period in which the disc player is carried by a user. Accordingly, the disc player of this type is required to include a cover member for covering the display screen of the display portion. In this case, there occurs an inconvenience that the mounting/dismounting of the cover member is laborious.
A portable type or on-vehicle type navigation device for displaying topographic features is known. In this navigation device, a lid body having a displaying portion is turnable with respect to a device main body in a state in which the display portion is directed outwardly. The navigation system of this type, however, has a problem that since the display portion of the lid body is usually directed outwardly, the display screen of the display portion is easy to be damaged.
A portable video camera device of a type in which a display portion is movable to be reversed with respect to a device main body via a display portion turnably supporting mechanism is known. The video camera device of this type, however, has a problem that since an approximately central portion of one side portion of the display portion turnably supported by the device main body is turned via a turning shaft, the display portion turnably supporting shaft must be enlarged, with a result that the thickness of the entire video camera device becomes large.
By the way, a related art disc player includes a lid body opening/closing detecting mechanism for detecting a turning position of a lid body with respect to a player main body, wherein a display portion of the lid body is lighted out when the lid body is closed with respect to the player main body.
In general, the lid body opening/closing detecting mechanism of the related art disc player has a projecting portion for detection, which projects outwardly from the lid body side or the apparatus main body, and a detecting switch for detecting a turning position of the lid body when the projecting portion for detection is depressed along with the opening/closing operation of the lid body with respect to the apparatus main body. The projecting portion for detection and the detecting switch are provided at opposed positions of the apparatus main body and the lid body closed with respect to the apparatus main body.
The disc player having the lid body opening/closing mechanism, however, has an inconvenience that since the projecting portion for detection projects outwardly from the principal surface of the lid body on which the display portion is provided or the principal surface of the apparatus main body, the external appearance of the entire apparatus is degraded.
A related art disc player including another lid body opening/closing detecting mechanism is known. This detecting mechanism has a projecting portion for detection, which projects from an outer peripheral portion of a turning shaft provided in the lid body. In the disc player of this type, however, since the turning shaft having, on its outer peripheral portion, the projecting portion for detection must be sufficiently smaller than a thickness of the lid body, the total thickness of the disc player is required to be relatively large.
Accordingly, in the above-described related art disc player, since the projecting portion for detection is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the turning shaft provided in the lid body, the thickness of the lid body becomes larger, with a result that it is difficult to thin the entire disc player.
A disc player shown in
FIG. 1
is also known.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, there is shown a portable disc player
301
including a player main body
302
for reproducing information from an optical disc, and a lid body
303
openable/closable with respect to the player main body
302
and having a display portion
304
for displaying the information reproduced by the player
Nakazawa Masahide
Nonaka Akifumi
Tamura Masafumi
Yano Kazuyoshi
Cao Allen
Ryan Matthew K.
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