WO2003077098A1

WO2003077098A1 - Mobile communication device, display control method of mobile communication device, and program therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2003077098A1
Application number: PCT/JP2002/002199
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tsuyoshi Senpuku; Hirohiko Higuchi; Tomoaki Tsukada; Daisuke Iizawa
Original assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
Priority date: 2002-03-08
Filing date: 2002-03-08
Publication date: 2003-09-18
Also published as: JP4082352B2; JPWO2003077098A1

Abstract

Herein disclosed is a method for using a plurality of displays of a mobile communication device more effectively. A pair of displays arranged vertically are assigned to respective different application programs so that the input to a control unit disposed below the displays may be reflected by one application program. Which of the application programs which the input is to be reflected by is displayed a display of a soft key or by the difference in luminance or saturation. Which of the applications the exchange and control of the contents displayed on the two displays are to be reflected on can be changed by the user operation.

Description

Description Mobile communication device, display control method for mobile communication device, and program therefor

The present invention relates to a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone, a mobile information terminal having a wireless communication function, a display control method thereof, and a program, and particularly to a device having a plurality of displays. Background art

Conventionally, various types of mobile phones have been developed and used. However, many were mobile phones with a single display. Further, as a mobile phone having a plurality of displays, there is a mobile phone described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-247250. This mobile phone uses two foldable displays as a single screen to display text messages by e-mail and wireless calling, data with a large amount of information from facsimile or personal computers, etc. be able to.

However, in the conventional mobile phone as described above, since a plurality of displays are used as a single screen, a large screen size can be realized, but specific technologies regarding an effective use of the plurality of displays are used. However, there was a problem that no improvement was made in the user interface since no disclosure was made.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and has a user interface for a mobile communication device having a plurality of displays. The purpose is to improve. Disclosure of the invention

The mobile communication device of the present invention is a display control unit that executes a pair of displays and two types of application programs, and allocates and displays screen displays of these application programs to each of the pair of displays. And an operation unit for operating the application program, and a program selection unit for selecting an application program to be operated by the operation unit. The display control unit is configured to select the application program selected by the program selection unit. A display that displays an active display on the display to which the screen display is assigned, indicating that it is an operable screen on the operation unit, and displays an active display when the selection on the program selection unit is switched. Is switched.

Further, the active display performed by the display control unit is characterized in that the display has a higher luminance or saturation than the other display.

Further, the operation unit is a soft key to which a function corresponding to a use state is assigned, and the active display performed by the display control unit is a display of a function icon representing a function of a soft key.

A pair of displays are arranged vertically, and an operation unit is arranged below the pair of displays, and is a plurality of soft keys to which functions corresponding to a use state are assigned, and is performed by a display control unit. The active display is a display of a plurality of function icons each representing a function of a plurality of soft keys, and these function icons are respectively displayed at positions corresponding to the plurality of soft keys. And

The display control unit further includes a change request button for requesting a change of the screen display accompanying the execution of the application program. The screen display assigned to the pair of displays is switched in response to a switching request by the user.

Further, a switching button for selecting one of the displays is further provided, and the program selection unit selects an application program for displaying a screen on the display selected by the switching button.

The image analysis unit further includes a camera that captures a face image of the user, and an image analysis unit that analyzes an image captured by the camera and specifies a display that the user looks directly at. It is characterized by selecting an application program for displaying a screen on the specified display.

The display control method for a mobile communication device according to the present invention executes two types of application programs, allocates and displays screen displays of these application programs on each of a pair of displays, and operates an operation unit. When an application program to be operated by is selected, an ACTIP display is displayed on the display to which the screen display of the selected application program is assigned, indicating that the screen can be operated by the operation unit. When the selection of the application program is switched, the display for performing the active display is switched.

The display control program for a mobile communication device according to the present invention executes two types of application programs, allocates and displays screen displays of these application programs on each of a pair of displays, and operates an operation unit. When an application program to be operated by is selected, the screen to which the screen display of the selected application program is assigned must be an operable screen on the operation unit. And displaying the active display when the application program selection is switched.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing details of the mobile communication device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state where the mobile communication device according to Embodiment 1 is contracted.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a state where the mobile communication device according to Embodiment 1 is extended.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state where the mobile communication device according to Embodiment 1 is contracted.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state where the mobile communication device according to Embodiment 1 is extended.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which a user is photographed using a camera provided in a conventional general mobile communication device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which a user is photographed using a camera provided in the mobile communication device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the inside of the memory included in the mobile communication device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a display control method of the mobile communication device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of the liquid crystal display device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the liquid crystal display device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the liquid crystal display device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the inside of a memory included in the mobile communication device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a display control method of the mobile communication device according to the second embodiment. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a mobile communication device, a display control method of the mobile communication device, and a display control program of the mobile communication device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing details of the mobile communication device according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 1 has a function of controlling the operation of each device, and a video circuit 2, a video decoder / encoder, an IZO (Input and Output) controller 6 via a bus. , Memory 9, transmission / reception circuit 10, and audio decoder / encoder 12. The video circuit 2 includes a video memory (not shown) and electrically drives the liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b. Here, the video circuit 2 can independently control the liquid crystal display device (first display) 3a and the liquid crystal display device (second display) 3b.

The liquid crystal display devices 3 a and 3 b display images such as characters, still images, and moving images in accordance with control signals from the video circuit 2. The video decoder / encoder 4 encodes the video captured by the camera 5 into compressed data in accordance with an encoder system such as MPEG 4 (Moving Picture Experts Group 4), and an antenna 11 and a transmission / reception circuit 10. And a decoder that decodes the received encoded data and restores the original video. For example, as this video decoder / encoder 4, For example, a commercially available MPEG decoder / encoder IC can be used. The controller / 0 controller 6 is a controller that performs input / output processing for transmitting input signals from various devices to the MPU 1 and transmitting output signals from the MPU 1 to various devices. The open / close sensor 7 is a sensor that detects the position of the liquid crystal display device 3b movably provided. For example, the switch may be provided at a position where the switch is pushed by the liquid crystal display device 3b or its housing when the liquid crystal display device 3b moves to the closed position. The plurality of operation buttons 8 are assigned corresponding functions and characters, and are used as input devices.

The memory (storage unit) 9 stores various programs and data. Use an appropriate memory type (volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, etc.) according to the type of data. The transmission / reception circuit (transmission / reception unit) 10 is a circuit for performing voice / data communication via the antenna 11. Various types of circuits are known as the transmission / reception circuit 10, and the PDC (Personal Digital Cellular), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) system, which is already widely used, or will be widely used in the future next-generation communication systems will, W- CDMA can use send and receive circuitry for communication systems such as (Wide-band Code Division Multiple Access ) s c dma 2000 scheme.

The audio decoder encoder 12 is a circuit including an encoder that encodes an audio signal acquired by the microphone 14 and a decoder that decodes the encoded data received by the transmission / reception circuit 10 into an audio signal. As an audio encoding method, a CE LP (Code Exited Linear Prediction) encoding method is widely known. The audio signal decoded by the audio decoder / encoder 12 is reproduced via the speaker 13. It should be noted that the speakers 13 are not limited to audio signals but may be generated by a synthesizer circuit (not shown). Music and sound effects are reproduced by the generated electric signal.

2 and 3 are front views of the mobile communication device, and the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same or corresponding parts. Here, FIG. 2 shows a state in which the liquid crystal display device 3b is hidden behind the liquid crystal display device 3a. As shown in FIG. 3, the liquid crystal display device 3b has a structure in which the liquid crystal display device 3b slides with respect to the main body housing 20, and the user can use the liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b at the same time. The buttons 8a and 8b (operation unit) and the buttons 8c to 8e are input devices that function as the operation buttons 8, and the buttons 8a and 8b are arranged side by side at the lower end of the liquid crystal display device 3a. ing.

The soft key 8a functions as a direction key that generates a signal indicating the direction by pressing the periphery of the button, and a decision button that determines the specified option by pressing the center of the button and instructs the next operation. Has functions. For example, when the user designates an option on a menu, the user instructs to move the cursor or highlight displayed on the screen and presses the button, so that the MPU 1 executes the process assigned to the option. .

The soft key 8b is provided in correspondence with the options displayed on the liquid crystal display device 3a or the liquid crystal display device 3b, and is an input device used when instructing execution of the displayed function. The numeric button 8c is an input device used for inputting numbers or characters. Further, the switching button 8d is an input device used to switch one of the operable screens of the liquid crystal display device 3a and the liquid crystal display device 3b. The exchange request button 8e is an input device used to exchange the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 3a with the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 3b.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are side views of the mobile communication device shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in which the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same or equivalent parts. ing. Here, FIG. 4 shows a state where the liquid crystal display device 3b is hidden and cannot be used similarly to FIG. On the other hand, FIG. 5 corresponds to FIG. 3, and shows a state in which the liquid crystal display device 3a slides with respect to the main body housing 20 and is pulled out. As can be seen from FIG. 5, the main housing 20 and the sub-housing 21 supporting the liquid crystal display device 3b have a curved slide surface. Therefore, when the sub-housing 21 is pulled out, the sub-housing 21 and the camera 5 and the liquid crystal display device 3b protrude while changing the angle to the front side, so that the camera 5 and the liquid crystal display device 3b are moved out. The angle is adjusted to be easy for the user to use. FIG. 6 (a) is a diagram showing a state in which a user is photographed using a camera provided in a conventional general mobile communication device. As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional general mobile communication device has a display screen and a camera arranged on a plane. For this reason, if the device is held so that the display screen is at an easy-to-view angle, the user's image captured by the camera will be an image looking up from below, as shown in Fig. 6 (b).

On the other hand, in the mobile communication device according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7A, the display screens of the liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b and the camera 5 are arranged on a curved surface. I have. Therefore, when the device is held so that the display screen is at an easy-to-view angle, the image of the user captured by the camera 5 is a relatively natural image captured from the front as shown in Fig. 7 (b). Becomes

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the inside of the memory 9. As shown in the figure, the memory 9 includes a display control program 22 for controlling the display of the liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b, a browser software (application program) 23, and a mail software (application program) 24. Is remembered. In addition, the display control program 22 executes the browser software 23 and the mail software 24 to display the screens of the software 23 and 24 on the liquid crystal display devices 3 a and 3 b respectively. Assigned to And a program selection unit 22b for selecting software 23, 24 to be operated by the soft keys 8a, 8b.

In the present embodiment, the browser software 23 and the mail software 24 are used. However, other software such as schedule management software and document creation software may be used.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, when the user presses the center of the soft key 8a, the display control program 22 is started under the control of the MPU 1, and the initial screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b. Is displayed (step 100). In this state, when the user presses the upper or lower end of the soft key 8a, a menu screen as shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 3a (step 101). . In the initial state of the menu screen, the focus (highlighted block) for specifying a predetermined menu is superimposed on the top menu (however, the figure shows the state where the focus has already moved to the middle row). ing) . Further, when the user keeps pressing the upper end or the lower end of the designation button 8a, the focus moves up and down, and a predetermined menu can be selected (step 102).

Here, when the user wants to display the web page, the user first presses the upper end or the lower end of the software 8a and sets the focus position to “Web page display” in the menu. Match. Further, when the user presses the center of the software 8a, the display processing of the Web page is selected (step 103). When the display processing of the Web page is selected, the browser software 23 is started, and the Web page is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 3a (step 104). '

Next, the user refers to the web page displayed on the liquid crystal display device 3a. If you want to compose an outgoing mail, press the soft key 8b (assuming that the “Menu” function is currently assigned), and the menu screen shown in Fig. 10 will be displayed on the LCD 3b. (Step 101). Then, when the user presses the upper or lower end of the soft key 1a, sets the focus position to "Create outgoing mail" in the menu, and presses the center of the designation button 8a, the outgoing mail Is selected (steps 102, 105). When the outgoing mail creation process is selected, the mail software 24 is started, and the outgoing mail creation screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display 3b (step 106). As a result, as shown in FIG. 11 (a), a web page is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 3a, and a screen for creating an outgoing mail is displayed on the liquid crystal display device 3b.

Since the latest activated software is the mail software 24, the mail software 24 can be controlled based on the operation of the software keys 8a to 8c. To clarify this, the display control unit 22a performs the following active display on the liquid crystal display device 3b. First, screen control is performed so that the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 3b has a higher brightness than the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 3a. Second, the display control unit 22 a adds a function icon 25 representing the function of each of the soft keys 8 a to 8 c at the bottom of the screen of the liquid crystal display device 3 b.

As described above, by actively displaying the liquid crystal display device 3b, which screen displayed on the liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b can be operated by each of the soft keys 8a to 8c can be determined. Users can easily grasp. In addition, since the function icons 25 are displayed at positions corresponding to the soft keys 8a to 8c, the functions assigned to the soft keys 8a to 8c can be visually grasped. be able to.

Note that active display and inactive display are limited to the above examples. Other display methods as shown below may be used as long as the display shows that the screen can be operated by each of the soft keys 8a to 8c without being displayed. For example, (1) use high-saturation graphics for active display and use low-saturation graphics for non-active display; (2) blink the outline of the active display screen; (3) use a different background color than the non-active display screen To display the active display screen. Such an active display can be supported by either a node device or graphics software.

B¾ <f, o

Switching the active display

Next, when the user wants to operate the web page displayed on the liquid crystal display device 3a, the user presses the switch button 8d (step 107), and the program selection section 22b Is performed, and as shown in FIG. 11 (b), the display of the liquid crystal display 3b is changed from active to inactive, and the display of the liquid crystal display 3a is changed from non-active to active. It is changed (step 108). That is, for the liquid crystal display device 3b, the brightness of the display screen is reduced, and the function icons 25 disappear. In addition, the brightness of the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 3b is increased, and the function icons 25 are displayed at the bottom of the screen. Then, in the subsequent processing, it is possible to control the Web page displayed on the liquid crystal display device 3a by operating each of the soft keys 8a to 8c.

As described above, the operable screen can be switched between the liquid crystal display device 3a and the liquid crystal display device 3b very easily by simply pressing the switching button 8d. It can provide an excellent user interface that meets the needs of users who want to use it.

Swap display screens In addition, the user may use the liquid crystal display device 3b as an operation screen mainly because the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 3b is larger than the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 3a. In this case, when the user presses the exchange request button 8e, the screen display of the liquid crystal display device 3a and the screen display of the liquid crystal display device 3b can be exchanged.

In other words, as shown in Fig. 12 (a), the web page is displayed in a non-activate manner on the liquid crystal display 3a, and the user creates an outgoing mail creation screen on the liquid crystal display 3b in an active manner. When the exchange request button 8e is pressed (step 107), the mail creation screen is displayed inactive on the liquid crystal display 3a as shown in FIG. 12 (b), and W is displayed on the liquid crystal display 3b. eb ぺ —The page is activated (step 109). In the subsequent processing, it is possible to control the Web page displayed on the liquid crystal display device 3b by operating each of the soft keys 8a to 8c.

As described above, the screen display between the liquid crystal display device 3a and the liquid crystal display device 3b can be extremely easily exchanged only by pressing the exchange request button 8e, so that one screen can always be operated. It is possible to provide an excellent user interface that matches the needs of the user who wants to identify the user.

Embodiment 2

Next, a second embodiment will be described. The hardware configuration of the mobile communication device according to the second embodiment is the same as or similar to that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, and a description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the inside of the memory 9 included in the mobile communication device according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, the memory 9 includes a display control program 26 for controlling display of the liquid crystal display devices 3 a and 3 b, a browser software (application program) 27, and a mail software. Ware (application program) 28 is stored. The display control program 26 executes the browser software 27 and the mail software 28 to display the screens of these software 27 and 28 on the liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b, respectively. Display control section 26a for assigning and displaying to software, program selection section 2 & b for selecting software programs 27, 28 to be operated by softkeys 8a, 8b, and shooting with camera 5 An image analysis unit 26c is provided for analyzing the obtained image and identifying the liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b for the user to look directly at.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in a state where different applications are displayed on the liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b, when the user turns his or her gaze on the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 3a, the face image of the user is displayed. Photographed by the camera 5 (step 120). The captured image data is given to the image analysis unit 26c, which uses the existing image analysis technology to display the liquid crystal displays 3a, Identify 3b (step 1 2 1). The analysis result of the image analysis unit 26c is given to the program selection unit 26b. The program selection unit 26b selects the liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b that are currently active and the image analysis unit 26b. A comparison is made with the liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b specified in c (step 122). As a result of the comparison, when these liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b match, the processing is terminated (step 123). If the results of the comparison show that the liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b do not match, the liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b specified by the image analysis unit 26c are set to the active display, and the currently active display is performed. The active liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b are changed to an inactive display (step 124).

With the above processing, the liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b where the user's gaze is focused are always displayed in an active manner, so that the operation of each soft key 8a to 8c can be performed. Based on this, it is possible to control the application program displayed on this screen. In addition, since the active display of the liquid crystal display devices 3a and 3b is automatically switched based on the movement of the user's line of sight, the number of operations is reduced and work efficiency is improved.

In each of the embodiments, the integrated mobile communication device has been described as an example, but the present invention is also applicable to a two-fold type mobile communication device, a PDA with a communication function, a notebook computer with a communication function, and the like. Needless to say. Industrial applicability

As described above, the mobile communication device, the display control method of the mobile communication device, and the program of the mobile communication device according to the present invention improve the operability of the user by improving the display on the two displays. Because of the improvement, it is suitable for use as a display interface in a mobile communication device for transmitting and receiving large amounts of data of various types.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A pair of displays,

A display control unit that executes two types of application programs, allocates and displays screen displays of these application programs to each of the pair of displays,

An operation unit for operating the application program;

A program selection unit for selecting an application program to be operated by the operation unit,

The display control unit performs an active display on the display to which the screen display of the application program selected by the program selection unit is assigned, indicating that the screen is an operable screen of the operation unit. A mobile communication device characterized in that when the selection in the program selection unit is switched, a display for displaying the active display is switched.

2. The mobile communication device according to claim 1, wherein the active display performed by the display control unit is a display for increasing luminance or saturation as compared with the other display.

3. The operation unit is a soft key to which a function corresponding to a use state is assigned,

2. The mobile communication device according to claim 1, wherein the active display performed by the display control unit is a display of a function icon representing a function of the soft key.

4. The pair of displays are arranged vertically, and the operation unit is arranged below the pair of displays and used. A plurality of soft keys to which functions corresponding to the states are assigned; the active display performed by the display control unit is a display of a plurality of function icons each representing a function of the plurality of soft keys; The mobile communication device according to claim 1, wherein is displayed at a position corresponding to each of the plurality of soft keys.

5. The system further includes a change request button for requesting a change of screen display upon execution of the application program.

The mobile object according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit exchanges screen displays assigned to the pair of displays in response to an exchange request by the exchange request button. Communication device.

6. A switching button for selecting any one of the displays, wherein the program selection unit selects an application program for displaying a screen on the display selected by the switching button. The mobile communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. A camera that captures the face image of the user,

An image analysis unit that analyzes an image captured by the camera and specifies a display directly viewed by a user,

6. The mobile communication device according to claim 1, wherein the program selection unit selects an application program for displaying a screen on the display specified by the image analysis unit.

8. The two types of application programs are executed, the screen display of these application programs is assigned to each of the pair of displays, and displayed.

When an application program to be operated by the operation unit is selected, a screen to which the screen display of the selected application program is assigned can be operated by the operation unit. The active display indicating that

A display control method for a mobile communication device, further comprising: when a selection of an application program is switched, switching a display on which the active display is performed.

9. Execute the two types of application programs, assign the screen display of these application programs to each of a pair of displays, and display them.

When an application program to be operated by the operation unit is selected, an actuating screen indicating that the screen display of the selected application program is operable on the operation unit is displayed on the display to which the screen display is assigned. Display,

A display control program for a mobile communication device, wherein a display for performing the active display is switched when the selection of an application program is switched.