Patent Publication Number: US-2012038893-A1

Title: Portable computer with projecting function

Description:
This application is a continuation application of co-pending application Ser. No. 12/407,127, filed on Mar. 19, 2009, which claims the benefit of Taiwan application Serial No. 97118490, filed May 20, 2008. These related applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a portable computer and, more particularly, to a portable computer with a projecting function. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     The popularity of desktop or portable computers enables users to enjoy the convenience from computers no matter they are at home, work, or outside. The computer not only provides many functions such as processing documents, accessing the Internet, drawing, and audio and video entertainment, but also can be used with other electronic devices. 
     When used in a business or academic field, a portable computer is often used with a projecting device for enlarging information to enable the attendants to get the content of the information synchronously at a conference or a lecture. However, many transmission cables need to be used to connect a computer to a projecting device. For example, the cable is used between the computer and the projecting device, and the cable is used between the projecting device and the power supply. This results in inconvenient operation. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention provides a portable computer with a projecting function. The potable computer includes a main body, a display module, a pivot, and a projection module. The display module is connected to the main body via the pivot and capable of rotating relative to the main body. The projection module is disposed on the pivot for projecting the information of the main body. 
     The invention provides another portable computer with a projecting function. The potable computer includes a main body, a display module, a pivot, and a projection module. The display module is connected to the main body via the pivot and capable of rotating relative to the main body, and it includes a display surface and a marginal surface adjacent to the display surface. The projection module, for projecting the information of the main body, is disposed on the marginal surface of the display module. 
     These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing a portable computer with a projecting function according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram showing the display module in  FIG. 1  with a rotation angle more than 180 degrees; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram showing a projection module disposed in the display module; and 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram showing the projection module in  FIG. 3  in operation. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing a portable computer with a projecting function according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The portable computer  10  includes a main body  110 , a display module  120 , a projection module  130 , and a pivot  140 , wherein the system of the portable computer  10  is installed in the main body  110 . The display module  120  is connected with the main body  110  via the pivot  140  and may rotate relative to the main body  110 . The projection module  130  is provided for projecting the information on a display surface  122 . 
     The portable computer  10  in the embodiment may be a laptop computer or a tablet computer, while the display module  120  may be a liquid crystal display module. In addition, an inputting device (not shown) may be disposed on the main body  110  and between the main body  110  and the display module  120 , and it may be a keyboard or a touch panel for users to operate the portable computer  10 . 
     The pivot  140  may be, for example, a multi section fixing pivot to fix the display module  120  at different angles after the display module  120  rotates relative to the main body  110 , and it can bear the weight of the portable computer  10  at other configuration states. 
     Preferably, the projection module  130  corresponds to the rotating axis  142  of the pivot  140 . The projection module  130  includes a projection lens  132  located on the extension direction of rotating axis  142  of the pivot  140 , and the projection lens  132  may be disposed, for example, flush with the marginal surface  124  of the display module  120  to keep the integrity of the device. In the embodiment, the projection module  130  may be a liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) projection module or a digital light processing (DLP) projection module. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the main body  110  and the display module  120  are set with anti-skid members  112  and  126  on their outside margins, respectively. The anti-skid member  112  and  126  are provided for preventing the portable computer  10  from skidding when the portable computer  10  is disposed horizontally or vertically. The anti-skid members  112  and  126  completely cover the margins of the main body  110  and the display module  120  respectively or only cover part of the side surfaces. The anti-skid members  112  and  126  are made from anti-skid material such as plastics, rubber, or leather, or a patterned grain may be made at the marginal surface of the device body  110  and the display module  120  to increase the friction force between the main body  110  or the display module  120  and other members to ensure the portable computer  10  stable at different configuration states. 
     After the display module  120  rotate an angle relative to the main body  110 , the display module  120  and the main body  110  may be disposed to form an inverted V-shape structure, and therefore the portable computer  10  stands vertically to allow users to use the projection module  130  on the pivot  140  conveniently. When the rotating angle of the display module  120  is less than 180 degrees, the display surface  122  of the display module  120  is disposed inwards. In addition, as shown in  FIG. 2 , when the rotating angle of the display module  120  is larger than 180 degrees, the display surface  122  of the display module  120  is disposed outwards. During projecting, the projection module  130  faces a screen (not shown), and it projects the information on the display surface  122  to the screen. Since the display surface  122  is disposed outwards, users can directly watch the information on the display surface  122  besides the screen when operating the portable computer  10 . 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram showing a projection module disposed in the display module;  FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram showing the projection module in  FIG. 3  in operation. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the projection module  130 ′ directly disposed in the display module  120  may be, for example, a movable device to be movably disposed on the marginal surface  124  of the display module  120 . When the projection module  130 ′ needs to be operated, it may be moved out of or ejected from the marginal surface  124  of the display module  120 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , a projection lens  132 ′ of the projection module  130 ′ is disposed outwards to face the screen. 
     According to the embodiments of the invention, a portable computer with a projecting function includes a built-in projection module and has a projection or power point function directly without an external projecting device. Therefore, the conventional problem of needing many connecting transmission cables is settled. The projection module is disposed along the edge of the display module, or preferably disposed on the pivot between the display module and the main body. Via the pivot between the display module and the main body, the display module and the main body can form an inverted V-shape structure to enable the display surface of the display module to be set inwards or outwards. In addition, anti-skid members may be disposed on the external marginal surface of the portable computer to increase the friction force between the portable computer and other members to ensure the portable computer stable at different configuration states, and they are made of anti-skid material such as plastics, rubber, or leather etc., and may be a patterned grain. 
     Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, the disclosure is not for limiting the scope of the invention. Persons having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments described above.