JP2003015795A - Information display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information display device capable of providing a comfortable operation environment to a user by sensing the operation of the user by a simple operation. SOLUTION: This information display device is provided with a display panel 10 having flexibility for displaying information, a case body 20 having flexibility for holding the display panel 10, and a pressure sensor 26 for detecting the bending stress of the case body 20. The display panel 10 is formed by interposing a liquid crystal layer between film substrates. When the case body 20 is bent, it is detected by the pressure sensor 27, and the page of contents displayed at the display panel 10 is advanced by one, and the information is displayed. Also, tag information may be displayed. Also, when the bending quantity is large, continuous page feed may be executed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information display device, and more particularly to an information display device for displaying information such as characters and images using a display medium such as liquid crystal.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, various display devices such as electronic book devices and electronic information terminals have been provided as devices for displaying information such as characters and images using a display medium such as liquid crystal.
In this type of information display device, in order to display contents, the user's operations such as page-by-page page feed, continuous page feed, and jumping to a desired page are performed by various buttons and buttons provided on the housing of the device. Input was made by operating the touch panel.

However, it is inconvenient that inputs can be made only by using buttons or a touch panel, since only one kind of operation contents can be entered, which may cause an operation error.
It lacked comfort.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an information display device which can sense a user's operation by a simple operation and provide a comfortable operating environment to the user.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above objects, the information display device according to the present invention has a flexible display panel for displaying information, and a flexible display panel for holding the display panel. A housing having flexibility, a sensor for detecting a bending stress applied to the housing, and a controller for judging an operation by a user based on the stress detected by the sensor are provided. .

In the information display device according to the present invention, when the user bends the housing, the sensor detects the bending stress applied to the housing, and the control unit controls the operation by the user based on the detected stress. to decide. The operation determined here is, for example, a page change operation, a continuous page change operation, a display change instruction operation such as a tab display operation, a communication processing operation, a device control operation such as a content read / write operation, and the like.

In the information display device according to the present invention, the control unit may determine the type of operation by the user based on the magnitude of the stress detected by the sensor.
For example, when a large stress is detected (when the housing is bent greatly), it is determined that continuous page feeding is performed, and when a small stress is detected (when the housing is bent slightly), page feeding is performed page by page. Judge that there is.

Further, the information display device according to the present invention comprises an operating member operated by a user, and the control section is operated by the user based on a stress detected by the sensor and a signal input from the operating member. The type of operation may be determined. The plurality of operation members are, for example, operation members for instructing display update such as page feed, continuous page feed, and tag display.When these operation members are operated, bending stress is detected. Under this condition, the display panel or the like is controlled by validating the instruction from the operation member.

The display panel includes a film substrate and a display layer formed on the film substrate, for example,
A liquid crystal display element in which a liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between a pair of film substrates, an organic electroluminescence (EL) element in which an organic light emitting layer is formed on a film substrate, or the like can be used.

The control unit judges the operation by the user based on the stress detected by the sensor, and controls at least one device in the display device. The device to be controlled is typically a display panel or a display control unit for controlling the display panel, and if the device has a communication module or a read / write device for a recording medium, these devices are used.

According to the information display device of the present invention, the user's intention can be sensed by a simple operation of bending the housing, and a predetermined bending operation similar to turning a page of a book is performed. The fact that the operation has been performed is input, and a comfortable operating environment that is easy for the user to use is provided.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of an information display device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First Embodiment, see FIGS. 1 to 6) FIG.
1 shows a first embodiment of an information display device according to the present invention. The information display device 1 generally includes a liquid crystal display panel 10 and a housing 2.
It is composed of 0 and.

The liquid crystal display panel 10 is a cholesteric liquid crystal that exhibits a cholesteric phase at room temperature and selectively reflects light having a predetermined wavelength (preferably a chiral nematic liquid crystal composition obtained by adding a chiral material to nematic liquid crystal can be used). Used. By using this type of liquid crystal composition, a thin and flexible display panel can be manufactured by sandwiching the liquid crystal composition between a pair of resin films, and the electrodes formed on the film can be used. The display state is maintained (that is, it has a memory property) even if the voltage application is stopped after applying a predetermined drive voltage for display, which makes it an energy-saving type, which is ideal as a portable display device. Is.

The housing 20 is composed of a frame-like body 21 and a back plate 22, and is formed of rubber or resin so as to have flexibility. The housing 20 holds the liquid crystal display panel 10 on the front, has a control unit 50 shown in FIG. 4 built therein, and further includes a power switch 25 and a pressure sensor 26.

The pressure sensor 26 is a well-known push switch that operates in either an on / off state, and is fixed to the upper member 21a at at least one of the upper portion and the lower portion of the frame-shaped body 21 at the center in the width direction. (Fig. 2 (A))
reference). The pressure sensor 26 is off in the normal state where the housing 20 is flat, and when the housing 20 is bent (FIG. 2B).
(See), the back plate 22 is pressed and turned on. The pressure sensor 26 may be fixed to the back plate 22. Figure 3
An example of the usage state of the information display device 1 is shown in FIG.

The control unit 50, as shown in FIG.
51 mainly, various interface unit 5
2, a memory 53, a drive unit 54 of the display panel 10, and a stress detection unit 55 including the pressure sensor 26. C
The PU 51 fetches a predetermined number of pages of image data from the interface unit 52 and temporarily stores it in the memory 53.
The image data stored in the memory 53 is transferred to the drive unit 54 page by page and displayed on the display panel 10.
Further, the stress detector 55 transfers the ON / OFF signal from the pressure sensor 26 to the CPU 51, and the CPU 51 sends the ON / OFF signal.
Based on the off signal, the predetermined instruction information is transferred to the drive unit 54 and reflected on the display on the display panel 10.

Next, the control procedure of the image display in the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

FIG. 5 shows the main routine of the CPU 51. When the power is turned on, the controller 50 is first initialized (step S1), an operation check is executed (step S2, which will be described below), and the power is turned on. When is turned off (YES in step S3), the control ends. On the other hand, if the power is not turned off (NO in step S3), after waiting for a predetermined time (step S4), the process returns to step S2.

Although the power is turned off by operating the power switch 25, the power is automatically turned off when steps S2 to S4 are repeated a predetermined number of times or more without the bending of the housing 20 being detected in step S2. You may do it. Moreover, since the liquid crystal display panel 10 used in the first embodiment has a memory property, an image may already be displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 10 when the power is turned on. Therefore, in step S1, it is not essential to reset the screen, and the display image up to that point may be maintained.

FIG. 6 shows the operation check subroutine executed in step S2. Here, the CPU 51
The stress detection data transferred from the stress detection unit 55 is read (step S11), and it is determined whether or not the display device 1 is bent by the user (step S12). If it is not curved, this subroutine is ended, and if it is curved, the display on the panel 10 is rewritten (step S1).
3). That is, when the display device 1 is bent, the display is advanced by one page.

With the above control, when the bending of the display device 1 is detected, the display on the panel 10 is advanced by one page, and the user can turn over the pages of the book without pressing the push button. A page can be turned with a folding operation similar to, and a comfortable environment for use can be obtained.

It is also possible to provide a measuring means for measuring the bending time, and to execute continuous page feeding when the bending state is continued for a certain time or longer. In addition, the housing 20
The power switch 25 can be omitted when the power is turned on by bending.

(Second Embodiment, see FIGS. 7 and 8) As shown in FIG. 7, the information display device 2 according to the second embodiment has a bending stress of 2 as a pressure sensor 27 for detecting the bending stress.
A push switch that can be detected in stages is used. The pressure sensor 27 can detect a state where the device 2 is bent relatively small and a state where the device 2 is bent relatively large. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the same members in FIG. 7 as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The control unit is also similar to the control unit 50 shown in FIG.

Here, the control procedure of the image display in the second embodiment will be described. The main routine at power-on is similar to that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 8 shows the operation check subroutine executed in step S2.

Here, the stress detection data (bending amount) detected by the two-stage detection type pressure sensor 27 and transferred from the stress detecting section 55 is read (step S21),
It is determined whether the display device 2 has been bent by the user (step S22). If it is not curved, this subroutine is ended, and if it is curved, the stress detection data (bending amount) is compared with a predetermined value (step S23). If the bending amount is small, the display on the panel 10 is rewritten (step S24). That is, when the display device 2 is bent slightly, the display is advanced by one page. On the other hand, if the bending amount is large, pages are continuously rewritten. When the bending of the display device 2 is returned, continuous page feeding is stopped, and the page displayed when stopped is displayed as a still image.

When the bending of the display device 2 is detected by the above control, one page of the display on the panel 10 is fed when the bending amount is small, and pages are continuously fed when the bending amount is large. As a result, the user can perform page turning by a bending operation similar to turning a page of a book without pressing a push button, resulting in a comfortable use environment.

(Third Embodiment, See FIGS. 9 and 10) This Third
The information display device 3 according to the embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The housing 20 having flexibility is provided with the stress detecting means 30 having rigidity, and the bending stress of the housing 20 can be detected in a plurality of steps. Although not shown in FIG. 9, the liquid crystal display panel 10 shown in FIG. 1 is used as the display panel.

That is, the stress detecting means 30 uses the pin 32 as a fulcrum at one end of the scale member 31 having rigidity to form the casing 2.
It is attached to the bottom surface of the housing 0, and the detection member 33 is fixed to the other end side of the bottom surface of the housing 20 so as to straddle the scale member 31. The facing position of the detection member 33 with respect to the scale member 31 changes relative to the bending amount of the housing 20, and the bending amount is detected. The stress detecting means 30 may be installed on the top surface side of the housing 20.

A first example of the scale member 31 is shown in FIG.
0 (A) shows that an optically detectable encode pattern 31a is formed, and an optical sensor is used as the detection member 33. By counting the number of times the detection member (optical sensor) 33 has crossed the pattern 31a,
The amount of bending can be detected.

A second example of the scale member 31 is shown in FIG. 10 (B).
Shown in. The scale member 31 is formed with an electrical encoding pattern 31b, and a switch having an electrical contact (brush) crossing the pattern 31b is used as the detection member 33. The amount of bending can be detected by the energization state at the position where the brush of the detection member 33 crosses the pattern 31b.

The control unit is the same as the control unit 50 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Further, in the image display control procedure, if the size of the bending amount is detected and one page feed and continuous page feed are executed, the same processing as the operation check subroutine shown in FIG. 8 may be performed. In the third embodiment, a plurality of bending amounts can be detected in addition to the large and small binary values, and display control other than page feed and continuous page feed may be performed based on the detection of the plurality of bend amounts.

(Fourth Embodiment, See FIGS. 11 to 15)
1 shows a fourth embodiment of the information display device according to the present invention. The information display device 4 is similar to the first embodiment in that it is composed of a liquid crystal display panel 10 and a housing 20, and a push switch capable of detecting bending stress in two steps is used as the pressure sensor 27. It is built in at least one of the upper part and the lower part of the body 20 and in the center part in the width direction.

FIG. 11 is different from the first embodiment.
As shown in (A), a plurality of push switches 41 are provided as operating members on one side of the housing 20 (first example),
Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 11B, a touch panel 42 is provided as an operation member on one side of the housing (second example).
It is in.

Content chapters, download tags, and content storage tags can be displayed on one side of the liquid crystal display panel 10, and a plurality of push switches 41 are installed in one-to-one correspondence with these tags. . In addition, the touch panel 42 has a pressing portion 42 that corresponds to these tags on a one-to-one basis.
a is displayed. FIG. 12 shows an example of a usage state of the information display device 4.

The control unit 50 of the fourth embodiment is as shown in FIG. 13, and basically has the same configuration as the control unit 50 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
Further, a push switch 41 or a touch panel 42 that is an operation member is connected to the recording medium 5 such as a magnetic disk.
7 is connected to a read / write device 56 for reading data from and storing data.

Next, an image display control procedure in the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

The main routine when the power is turned on is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. However, when the power is turned on, the operation of the operation member (switch 41 or touch panel 42) is invalidated. FIG. 14 shows the operation check subroutine executed in step S2.

Here, the stress detection data (bending amount) transferred from the stress detection unit 55 is read (step S3).
1) Next, the operation state of the operation member (switch 41 or touch panel 42) is read (step S32). Then, it is determined from the stress detection data whether or not the display device 4 is bent by the user (step S33), and if it is not bent, this subroutine is immediately ended.

If it is curved, the stress detection data (bending amount) is compared with a predetermined value (step S35).
When the bending amount is small, the operation of the operation member is set to be effective (step S36, an effective flag is set), and the tag is displayed on the display panel 10.

On the other hand, when the bending amount is large, it is determined whether or not the operating member is set to be effective (step S38). If the display device 4 is curved slightly and the display device 4 is further curved after the tag is displayed in step S37 (step S38).
YES), the type of the operated operation member is determined, and the process corresponding to the type is executed (step S39, which will be described below). If the display device 4 is largely curved from the beginning, NO is determined in step S38, and pages are continuously rewritten (step S40). Then, when the bending of the display device 4 is returned, the continuous page feeding is stopped, and the page displayed when it is stopped is displayed as a still image.

FIG. 15 shows the operation member determination subroutine executed in step S39. The operating member (the switch 41 or the pressing portion 42a of the touch panel 42) has a one-to-one correspondence with each display of the tag as described above. In this subroutine, it is determined which operating member has been operated (step S41). To 46), a page corresponding to the operated operation member is displayed on the panel 10 (step S
51 to 53, if the second operation member is operated, the first page of the content chapter 2 is displayed on the panel 10 in step S52), the content is downloaded (step S54), or the content is downloaded. Recording medium 57
(Step S55).

If none of the operation members is operated, the pages are continuously rewritten (step S4).
7).

By the above control, an operating environment which is convenient for the user is realized based on the combined use of the detection of bending stress and the operation determination of the operating member. A push switch or the like that can detect bending stress in multiple stages of three or more stages may be used as a pressure sensor to more finely detect the type of operation performed by the operator.

(Fifth Embodiment, See FIGS. 16 and 17) FIG.
As shown in Nos. 6 and 17, the bending direction of the information display device 5 (whether it is curved convexly or concavely) is detected, and the content of the instruction to the display device 5 is changed accordingly. Good. For example, when curving to a concave shape (see FIG. 16), when curving to the opposite side, such as controlling to page feed in the direction opposite to the page feeding direction when curving to a convex shape Can be made to perform the reverse operation.

Various means can be used as the detecting means for detecting the bending direction, and there is no particular limitation.
For example, as shown in FIG. 17, the upper member 21 of the housing 20.
a and the back plate 22 are provided with slide pieces 61 and 62 having only one end fixed respectively, and the difference between the free ends 61a and 62a when the housing 20 is curved (the upper member 2 when curved).
It is possible to employ a configuration in which a sensor detects the difference in circumferential length between 1a and the back plate 22).

Although the information display device 5 shown in FIG. 16 is shown as being similar to the first embodiment in appearance, the structure for detecting the bending direction of the display device by using the slide pieces 61 and 62 is the same as that of the first embodiment. It is applicable to any of the embodiments.

(Sixth Embodiment, see FIG. 18) As shown in FIG. 18, the pressure sensors 26 are arranged on four sides of the housing 20 of the information display device 6 so that the display device 6 can be operated in the vertical and horizontal directions. It may be configured so that any curvature can be detected.
As a result, regardless of whether the display device 6 is used vertically or horizontally (portrait and landscape when the screen has a rectangular shape), the housing 20 is maintained while maintaining its arrangement.
You will be able to execute the instructions by bending.

Although the information display device 6 shown in FIG. 18 is shown as being similar to the first embodiment in appearance, it has a structure in which four pressure sensors 26 are used to detect bending of the display device in multiple directions. It is applicable to any of the above embodiments.

(Other Embodiments) The information display device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but can be variously modified within the scope of the gist thereof.

In particular, the display panel may be a display panel using a liquid crystal other than the chiral nematic liquid crystal composition, or may be a display panel using a display medium other than the liquid crystal.

As a mode of control, after detecting a user's operation such as bending of the apparatus, various controls and processing can be performed based on this detection, and page turning and display as shown in the above-described embodiment are possible. In addition to screen control on the panel such as updating of the display, communication processing, and control of various devices such as a device for reading / writing data from a recording medium, various controls for the display device can be the target of the instruction. For example, image enlargement / reduction, image rotation, image deformation, screen contrast adjustment (dark / light), lighting control (on / off, bright / dark), speaker volume control (on / off, high / low). Various controls such as (small) can be the target of the instruction.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B show a first embodiment of an information display device according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is an external perspective view and FIG. 1B is a vertical sectional view.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a pressure sensor portion of the first embodiment, (A) showing a normal state and (B) showing a bent state.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a usage state of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control unit of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control procedure (main routine) of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control procedure (operation check subroutine) of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a pressure sensor portion of a second embodiment of the information display device according to the present invention, (A) showing a normal state and (B) showing a bent state.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control procedure (operation check subroutine) of the second embodiment.

9A and 9B are bottom views showing a pressure sensor portion of a third embodiment of the information display apparatus according to the present invention, where FIG. 9A shows a normal state and FIG. 9B shows a bent state.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a scale member of the stress detecting means used in the third embodiment, FIG.
(B) shows a second example.

FIG. 11 is an external perspective view showing a fourth embodiment of the information display device according to the present invention, (A) shows a first example in which a push switch is used as an operating member, and (B) shows a touch panel as an operating member. The 2nd example used is shown.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an example of a usage state of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a control unit of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a control procedure (operation check subroutine) of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a control procedure (operation member determination subroutine) of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is an external perspective view showing a usage state of the fifth embodiment of the information display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory view showing a manner of detecting a bending direction in the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 18 is an external perspective view showing a sixth embodiment of the information display device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ... Information display device 10 ... Liquid crystal display panel 20 ... Case 26, 27 ... Pressure sensor 30 ... Stress detecting means 41 ... Push switch (operation member) 42 ... Touch panel (operation member) 50 ... Control unit 55 ... Stress detector 61, 62 ... Slide piece for stress detection

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Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A display panel having flexibility for displaying information, a flexible housing for holding the display panel, and a bending stress applied to the housing is detected. An information display device, comprising: a sensor for controlling the operation of the sensor; and a control unit that determines an operation performed by a user based on the stress detected by the sensor. 2. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the type of operation by the user based on the magnitude of the stress detected by the sensor. 3. An operation member operated by a user is further provided, and the control unit determines the type of operation by the user based on a stress detected by the sensor and a signal input from the operation member. The information display device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that. 4. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein the display panel includes a film substrate and a display layer formed on the film substrate. . 5. The control unit controls the at least one device in the display device based on the stress detected by the sensor. 4. The information display device described in 4. 6. A display control unit for controlling a display panel, the control unit controlling the display control unit on the basis of the stress detected by the sensor. The information display device according to claim 3 or 4.