JP4090941B2 - Electronic equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a display technology for an electronic device used in a narrow space such as an in-vehicle audio device or a navigation device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, in an in-vehicle audio device, when playing back audio data recorded on a recording medium such as a CD, MD, CD-R, DVD, HDD, etc., the artist name and title of the currently playing song on the display The name is displayed. This type of display often displays the operating state of the audio device (for example, during playback) and the like, and usually displays the name of the currently reproduced song or artist in combination with characters.
[0003]
In addition, some recent audio devices display information related to these characters in a predetermined area of the display so that other song titles recorded on the disc being played can be confirmed in consideration of user convenience. . If other recorded songs can be confirmed, it is convenient because the user can immediately select a song that he / she wants to listen to according to his / her mood. It is preferable to secure a wider display area in the display in order to display characters for songs other than the song being played in this way. However, since the interior space in which the in-vehicle audio device is installed is extremely narrow, there is a limit to increasing the display portion. Therefore, a display window is formed in the display area so that, for example, 3 to 5 songs following the song being played can be displayed from the songs recorded on the disc. In each window, information related to one song is generally displayed in one line of about 10 to 15 characters due to the limitation of the display area described above.
[0004]
Normally, character data such as artist name and song name is recorded along with audio data on a music CD, and the artist name and the like are displayed on the display based on this character data. Also, in recent years, optical disk recording technology has advanced, and users can edit their favorite songs and record them on the optical disk. For example, with the advancement of data compression technology, a large amount of music can be recorded on a CD, DVD, etc. while being compressed by MP3 or the like, and this can also be used for an in-vehicle audio apparatus. Even in such an original CD, the user records information such as an artist name and a title name as in the case of a commercially available CD.
[0005]
When a CD or a user's original CD as described above is loaded onto an audio device and the artist name, song title, etc. are displayed on the display screen, the number of characters to be displayed often exceeds the number of characters that can be displayed. For example, in the case of a display capable of displaying up to 16 characters for one song, the artist name and the song name are supposed to be displayed continuously based on information from the disc. If the artist is “Smashing Pumpkins” of the rock band and the song name is “Today”, it should be displayed as “Smashing Pumpkins Today” as shown in the upper part of FIG.
[0006]
However, the number of characters that can be displayed on the display is 16. Therefore, the initial display on the display is “Smashing Pumpkin” (16 characters including one space character). Therefore, the user sequentially scrolls the displayed character string to the right, and confirms up to the last character “Today” as shown in the lower row through the middle state as shown in the middle portion of FIG. Then, if the next song is also from the same artist and the song name is “Tonight, Tonight”, “Smashing Pumpkins Tonight, Tonight” should be displayed, but “Smashing Pumpkin” will still be displayed. In this case as well, it is necessary to confirm the hidden character “s Tonight, Tonight” by scrolling the screen. For example, when two display windows are provided on the display, the initial display is “Smashing Pumpkin” in both cases, and the user cannot confirm the difference.
[0007]
  That is, according to the conventional display method, if the character string to be displayed is long when there is one display window showing the recorded music, the display contents cannot be reliably grasped. In addition, multiple display windows are provided for user convenience so that they can be selected.Has becomeIn some cases, if the display of each display window is the same, the two cannot be identified. Therefore, the user scrolls the characters to display the hidden characters after that, and performs the selection operation after confirming the display contents and confirming the characters necessary for identifying the music. When selecting a song by looking at the display on the display window, it is possible to select two songs in a relatively short time. However, for example, when five display windows (five rows) are provided and all five artists displayed here are the same, the scrolling process takes a long time, and the user feels bothersome. .
[0008]
In relation to the display as described above, the present applicant has proposed a related technique in a patent application related to Patent Document 1. In this patent document 1, for example, when the disc being reproduced is a hit collection of one artist, a technique is disclosed in which the artist name is not duplicated. According to this technique, it is possible to limit the display of similar characters repeatedly in a limited display range, so that the appearance is refreshed and the display device for an audio device that is easy for the user to use.
[0009]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2002-298562 A
[0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is mainly intended to eliminate the difficulty of viewing the display due to the display of similar characters. This technique cannot solve the problem that the number of characters to be displayed becomes long, so that the content to be shown in the character string cannot be confirmed, or the preceding and following songs cannot be identified. The main object of the present invention is to provide a function for displaying a character string which cannot be displayed in the display area due to the long number of characters contained in the character string, and thus can be easily confirmed. It is to provide an electronic device.
[0015]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  The purpose is to display the characters in the character string when the number of characters of the character string to be displayed exceeds the number of characters that can be displayed in the display region, based on the data The character string to be displayed in the display area can be confirmed.Display a part omittedDisplay change means, wherein the display area includes two or more display windows so that a plurality of character strings showing different contents can be displayed simultaneously, and the display change meansIsThe character comparison means for comparing the difference in character from the beginning between the plurality of character strings, and when the character comparison means confirms that a predetermined number of characters from the first character are the same between the character strings, Display a certain number of characters from the beginning and a certain number of characters confirmed to be differentAnd omit the same characters between themAnd a display character string changing unit. According to the present invention, when attempting to display a character string that exceeds the displayable number of display areas, the display changing means compares the difference in characters from the beginning among a plurality of character strings, and compares the character differences from the beginning. When a certain number of characters are confirmed to be the same from the characters, a certain number of characters from the beginning and a certain number of characters from the confirmed difference are displayed.The same characters between a certain number of characters from the beginning and characters that have been confirmed to be different are omitted and displayed.Therefore, different characters can be displayed in the latter half of the display area. As a result, even if the first half of the character string is similar, different portions can be confirmed from the beginning, so that the user can easily confirm the contents indicated by the character string.
[0016]
  Here, the predetermined number of the same characters can be defined based on the total number of characters that can be displayed in the display area. In addition, the same characters between a certain number of character strings from the top and a certain number of character strings from the characters in which the difference is confirmed may be omitted and displayed. Also in this case, when the number of characters in the character string to be displayed exceeds the number of characters that can be displayed in the display area, the character comparison unit further includes a character number determination unit that determines the total number of characters in the character string. Character comparison may be started based on the determination signal of the copy. An in-vehicle audio device, a navigation device, or the like that includes the above-described configuration as a part can be provided as a preferable electronic device that can display necessary characters even in a narrow space.
  Further, the object is to provide a control means for displaying characters in a preset display area based on data, and when the number of characters in the character string to be displayed exceeds the number of characters that can be displayed in the display area, The character string to be displayed in the display area can be checkedScroll display to display statusDisplay change means for changing, and the display area includes two or more display windows so that a plurality of character strings showing different contents can be displayed simultaneously, and the display change means Compare the difference of characters from the beginning, and when the comparison confirms that a predetermined number of characters or more from the first character are the same between the character strings, the scrolling speed when displaying the same portion, etc. This is achieved by an electronic device characterized in that it is set faster than the scrolling speed for displaying the part. According to the present invention, since the display of different portions between a plurality of character strings is performed at a relatively slow speed, the user can easily confirm the contents indicated by the character strings.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention. The first embodiment is a block diagram of an audio apparatus which is an embodiment of the electronic apparatus of the present invention. This audio device reproduces a disc 1 such as a CD, MD, or DVD. In the figure, a disc 1 is loaded on a player 2 and rotated by a motor 3. The RF data recorded by the optical pickup 4 moving on the radial axis of the disc is read out. These motor 3 and optical pickup 4 are controlled by a servo driver 10. The servo driver 10 is controlled by a system controller 11 that controls the entire audio disc player, and can start and stop playback of the disc 1 and read various data recorded on the disc 1.
[0018]
The signal from the optical pickup 4 is amplified by an RF amplifier 5 and supplied to a system decoder 6 that can separate and decode audio data 7 of music recorded on the disc 1 and character data 8 related to the recorded music. . The system decoder 6 is controlled by the system controller 11. The audio data 7 decoded here is subjected to signal processing and output from the speaker 9.
[0019]
The character data 8 includes the artist name and song name of the recorded song. These are read into the data storage unit 12. In other words, the artist name 13 and the song title 14 of the recorded song are read in the data storage unit 12, and the performance time 15 and other information 16 such as the year, month, genre, etc. recorded on this disc as required. Each is read. The data storage unit 12 is configured by a memory such as a DRAM.
[0020]
Data on the artist name 13 and the song title 14 is supplied from the data storage unit 12 to the character number determination unit 20. The number-of-characters determination unit 20 compares the number of characters that can be displayed on the display 22 (for example, 16 characters) with the data provided from the data storage unit 12 to determine whether the number of characters can be displayed on the display 22 at a time. In the case of “Smashing Pumpkins Today” described above, there are 23 characters in total. The number-of-characters determination unit 20 determines that seven characters of “s Today” are exceeded. Further, in the case of “Smashing Pumpkins Tonight, Tonight”, it is determined that 17 characters in total are exceeded by 33 characters. This determination signal is supplied to the scroll speed changing unit 28. The system controller 11, the character number determination unit 20, and the scroll speed change unit 28 can be realized by an arithmetic element such as a CPU that realizes a desired function by executing a program, for example. A block indicated by a broken line in FIG. 2 means this CPU.
[0021]
The scroll speed changing unit 28 supplies the display control unit 21 with a speed change signal for changing the scroll speed according to the characters exceeding the character display area of the display 22 based on the determination by the character number determining unit 20. The scroll speed changing unit 28 waits for an instruction from the system controller 11 and supplies the speed change signal to the display control unit 21. An example of changing the scroll speed based on the speed change signal supplied from the scroll speed changing unit 28 will be described later with reference to the drawings.
[0022]
The system controller 11 is connected to an operation signal input unit 25 for performing this device by a user operation. The operation signal input unit 25 can include keys, remote control keys, a touch panel, and a voice recognition device provided in the apparatus. In particular, the operation signal input unit 25 is provided with a scroll key 26 that functions as a scroll means so that a user can scroll display characters. As the scroll key 26, a touch panel or a voice recognition device may be employed in addition to a scroll switching key provided on a player or the like, a display key of a remote control.
[0023]
When the controller 11 confirms that the user has scrolled the character string displayed on the display 22 by operating the scroll key 26, the controller 11 sends a predetermined signal to the scroll speed changing unit 28 so as to change the scroll speed. Supply. At this time, the scroll speed changing unit 28 supplies the display control unit 21 with a signal to increase the scroll speed as the number of characters to be displayed on the display 22 increases.
[0024]
To summarize the above audio device, this audio device has a control means 11 for displaying characters in a preset display area based on data, and the number of characters in the character string to be displayed is the number of characters that can be displayed in the display area. The electronic device includes display change means 20 and 28 for changing the display state of the character string displayed in the display area so that the content indicated by the character string can be confirmed when the character exceeds the limit.
[0025]
FIG. 3 shows an example of a flowchart executed at this time. The user operates the scroll key 26 when not all characters can be confirmed in some character strings displayed on the display. Therefore, when it is confirmed that the scroll key 26 has been operated (S11), the scroll speed changing unit 28 responds to the total number of characters in the character string to be displayed based on the determination signal from the character number determination unit 20 (S12). The scroll speed is changed (S13). The scroll speed change signal from the scroll speed change unit 28 is supplied to the display control unit 21 (S14). The display control unit 21 executes control to increase the scroll speed of the character string displayed on the display 22 (S15). Therefore, since the user can see the hidden part of the character string in a shorter time than before, the user can check the artist name and the song name and select the song.
[0026]
Various methods for changing the scroll speed by the scroll speed changing unit 28 may be considered. For example, the scroll speed changing unit 28 sets a scroll speed corresponding to a predetermined number of characters. In this case, for example, the scroll speed changing unit 28 has a table describing the relationship between the number of characters and the scroll speed, and reads the scroll speed corresponding to the number of characters to be displayed from the table and outputs it to the display control unit 21. In this case, the scroll speed may be set for each character, or a plurality of characters may be assigned to one scroll speed. As another method, for example, a condition that all characters are displayed in the display area within 5 seconds may be set in the scroll speed changing unit 28.
[0027]
FIG. 4 schematically shows the state when the scroll speed is changed so that it can be easily understood. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the character display area 221 of the display 22. This character display area 221 illustrates a case where a three-line display window is provided. Each line displays a character string related to a different song. In the first line, “Smashing Pumpkins Today” is displayed, in the second line “Smashing Pumpkins Tonight, Tonight”, and in the third line “Smashing Pumpkins Bullet With Wings”. However, since the number of characters is large, the initial display is “Smashing Pumpkin”.
[0028]
However, according to the present embodiment, when the user scrolls the second line, the number of characters is larger than that of the first line, so that scrolling is performed faster. Further, when the third line is scrolled, the number of characters is larger, so that the scroll is performed faster than the second line. Therefore, the user can immediately confirm the display contents even if the number of characters to be displayed increases. In this embodiment, the system controller 11, the character number determination unit 20, the display control unit 21, the scroll key 26, and the scroll speed change unit 28 form a display change unit that changes the display state of the character string.
[0029]
(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an audio device which is one form of the electronic device, as in the case of the first embodiment. In FIG. 5, the same parts as those in the configuration shown in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In particular, this apparatus includes a display switching unit 38. In the first embodiment described above, all characters can be confirmed quickly by increasing the scroll speed when the number of characters is large. In the case of this embodiment, the display switching unit 38 switches the character examples displayed in the display area 221 so that the remaining character strings that are not displayed are sequentially displayed. As a result, all characters are displayed for confirmation. In other words, the audio device shown in FIG. 5 has a control means 11 for displaying characters in a preset display area based on the data, and when the number of characters in the character string to be displayed exceeds the number of characters that can be displayed in the display area. The electronic device includes display change means 20 and 38 that change the display state of the character string displayed in the display area so that the content indicated by the character string can be confirmed.
[0030]
FIG. 6 shows an example of a flowchart executed at this time. When the character number determination unit 20 determines that the character string to be displayed exceeds the number of displayable characters (S21), the determination signal is supplied to the display switching unit 38 (S22). The display switching unit 38 sets the number of switching displays according to the total number of characters in the character string to be displayed (S23). The display switching signal of the display switching unit 38 is supplied to the display control unit 21 (S24). The display control unit 21 switches the remaining character strings hidden on the display 22 to the set number of times and displays them in order (S25). Therefore, since the user can see the character strings of the hidden parts that follow the first character string in a shorter time than before, the user can check the artist name and the song name and select a song.
[0031]
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the character examples shown in the display area 221 are sequentially switched by the display switching unit 38. As in the case of FIG. 4 described above, there are three display windows, and contents relating to different songs are displayed in each line. FIG. 7A shows the first line, and “Smashing Pumpkins Today” is to be displayed. In this case, the display is switched once, and the display area 221 displays “s Today” following the display of “Smashing Pumpkin”. In this way, the display can be instantly switched every 16 characters to indicate the remaining character strings, so that the user can quickly confirm the contents.
[0032]
Similarly, in FIG. 7B, when the display in the second line is “Smashing Pumpkins Tonight, Tonight”, similarly, in FIG. 7C, the display in the third line is “Smashing Pumpkins Bullet with Butterfight Wings”. Shows the case. In these cases, even if the display is switched once, undisplayed characters still remain, so the display switching is executed twice. In the case of this example, if the display is repeated so that the first character string is displayed again after showing the character string including the last character, even if the user once misses the display The display contents can be grasped reliably.
[0033]
(Third embodiment)
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the third embodiment. FIG. 8 is also a block diagram showing an audio apparatus which is one form of the electronic apparatus, as in the first and second embodiments. In this embodiment, when the character number determination unit 20 determines that the number of characters exceeds the number of displayable characters in the display area, this determination signal is supplied to the character comparison unit 40. Upon receiving this determination signal, the character comparison unit 40 compares the difference in characters between the character strings displayed in the display area. The character comparison unit 40 compares differences from the first character of each character string displayed in the display area. In this comparison, for example, when it is confirmed whether or not the same characters are arranged more than the number of displayable characters (16 characters in this example), it is further confirmed from which character it is different. The signal of the comparison result by the character comparison unit 40 is supplied to the display character string changing unit 48.
[0034]
  Display textStringUpon receiving the signal, for example, the changing unit 48 displays a certain number of characters (here, 5 characters) from the first character, omits halfway characters, and starts display from the first different character in the second half. FIG. 9 shows this point for easy understanding. FIG. 9 also shows an example of the Smashing Pumpkins song exemplified above. 9A shows the case of the song name “Today”, FIG. 9B shows the case of the song name “Tonight, Tonight”, and FIG. 9C shows the case of the song name “Bullet with Butterfight Wings”. As can be confirmed from FIG. 9, the first 5 characters suggesting the artist and the 5 to 7 characters which are the points for identifying the music in the subsequent stage are displayed. Therefore, since the user can identify the music of each line together with the artist at a glance, the music can be selected quickly. It is desirable to clearly indicate to the user that the omitted intermediate part is omitted using a symbol such as *.
[0035]
Note that FIG. 9 shows a case in which all of the first to third lines simultaneously displayed in the display area 221 are compared under the same character condition. Therefore, the first half of the first and second lines is “To ··”, but the third line is “Bu”, so the characters are determined to be different. If the comparison is made between two adjacent rows, “day” is displayed for the first row, and “night, T” is displayed for the second row.
[0036]
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a flowchart executed when characters are displayed on the display 22 by the audio apparatus shown in FIG. This flowchart is executed when the character number determination unit 20 determines that the number of characters that can be displayed exceeds 16 characters. The character comparison unit 40 sequentially acquires characters from the beginning of the character string to be displayed in three lines (S31), and compares whether or not the three lines are the same (S32). In the next step 33, it is compared whether or not the number of characters that can be exceeded in the display area is the same, exceeding 16 characters.
[0037]
If it is determined in step 33 that they are not identical, each character string is displayed as it is (S35). In this step 35, it is desirable to set to execute the display according to the first or second embodiment described above. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 33 that the characters are the same over 16 characters, first, different characters are searched (S34). The comparison result of step 34 is supplied to the display character string changing unit 48. The display character string change unit 48 supplies the display control unit 21 with a character string change signal in which five characters from the beginning and four characters in the middle are omitted symbols, and thereafter the characters after the different characters are within a total of 16 characters. Based on this signal, the display control unit 21 displays on the display a character string in which the same part as illustrated in FIG. 9 is omitted (S36). In the case of the present embodiment, the user can know the artist and the song title from the initially displayed character string, so that even when the character to be displayed becomes long, the user can perform an operation such as selecting a song immediately.
[0038]
As described above, the audio apparatus shown in FIG. 8 has the control means 11 for displaying characters in a preset display area based on the data, and the number of characters in the character string to be displayed exceeds the number of characters that can be displayed in the display area. In some cases, the electronic apparatus includes display change means 20, 40, and 48 that change the display state of the character string displayed in the display area so that the content indicated by the character string can be confirmed.
[0039]
(Other embodiments)
As other embodiments, the first and third embodiments may be combined. For example, when the same character specified in the third embodiment is displayed by scrolling, the scroll speed is set relatively fast, and when other different characters are displayed, the scroll speed is set relatively slow. To do. Since different characters are displayed at a relatively low speed, the user can easily specify the title.
[0040]
The plurality of embodiments described above are audio devices which are one form of the electronic device including the disc 1, but the present invention is not limited to these. An audio apparatus which is an embodiment of the electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes at least recording means (medium) for storing data such as a song and its attribute information (artist name, song name, performance time, etc.), and means for displaying the recording means. It is what it has. In addition to the disk-shaped optical recording medium, the recording means also includes a recording medium for magnetically recording information on the disk. In addition to a disk, a semiconductor memory may be used. The present invention also includes an electronic device configured to be supplied with a sound source from the outside. In other words, the electronic device may have an interface with an external sound source, take in music data from the sound source, and store the data in an internal storage unit. In the case where the user changes the title of the song imported in this way, the present invention is particularly effective when a title similar to a plurality of songs is given. Of course, the electronic device of the present invention may be configured so as to include a disk-shaped recording medium in a fixed manner, or the disk-shaped recording medium may be removable.
[0041]
Furthermore, the electronic device of the present invention includes a control unit that displays characters in a preset display area based on data, and the number of characters in the character string to be displayed exceeds the number of characters that can be displayed in the display area. Including all of the devices including a configuration including a display change means for changing the display state of the character string displayed in the display area so that the content indicated by the character string can be confirmed. For example, an electronic device in which these means are incorporated in a navigation device may be used. In particular, the present invention has a special effect in an electronic device in which the amount of information that can be displayed is limited.
[0042]
The data targeted by the present invention is not limited to music data, and in principle, various data can be handled in the same manner as music data. For example, the title of a file or folder can be handled in the same way as the title of song data.
[0043]
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and the above-described embodiments are within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. Various modifications and changes in configuration and other embodiments are also included.
[0044]
【The invention's effect】
  As is clear from the above detailed description, according to the present invention,The user can easily confirm the contents indicated by the character string.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a case where a long character is displayed and scrolled on a display in a conventional apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the audio apparatus according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a flowchart executed by the apparatus according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a character display area of the display according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart executed by the apparatus according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing how character examples are switched by a display switching unit in the second embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a third embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state of change by a display character string changing unit in the third embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart executed by the apparatus according to the second embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 System controller
12 Data storage
20 Character number judgment part
21 Display controller
22 display
26 Scroll key
28 Scroll speed change part
38 Display switching section
40 character comparison part
48 Display string change part
221 Character display area

Claims (4)

Control means for displaying characters in a preset display area based on the data;
When the number of characters in the character string to be displayed exceeds the number of characters that can be displayed in the display area, a part of the character string displayed in the display area is omitted and displayed so that the contents indicated by the character string can be confirmed. Change means,
The display area includes two or more display windows so that a plurality of character strings showing different contents can be displayed simultaneously,
Check with the display change means includes character comparing means for comparing the difference from the first character among the plurality of character strings, are identical predetermined number or more characters from the first character among the character string by said character comparing means Display character string changing means for displaying a certain number of characters from the beginning and a certain number of characters from which the difference has been confirmed, and omitting the same characters between them. An electronic device.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined number of the same characters is defined based on the number of displayable characters that can be displayed in the display area.   When the number of characters in the character string to be displayed exceeds the number of characters that can be displayed in the display area, the character comparison unit further includes a character number determination unit that determines the total number of characters in the character string, and the character comparison unit outputs a determination signal of the character number determination unit. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein character comparison is started based on the character comparison. Control means for displaying characters in a preset display area based on the data;
When the number of characters in the character string to be displayed exceeds the number of characters that can be displayed in the display area, a display that changes the display state of the character string displayed in the display area to a scroll display so that the content indicated by the character string can be confirmed Change means,
The display area includes two or more display windows so that a plurality of character strings showing different contents can be displayed simultaneously,
The display change unit compares the difference in characters from the beginning between the plurality of character strings, and when the comparison confirms that a predetermined number of characters from the first character are the same between the character strings, An electronic apparatus characterized in that a scroll speed when displaying the same portion is set faster than a scroll speed when displaying other portions.

Images