JP2007256559A - Display device with four-display-direction switching function - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display device with a four-display-direction switching function which can minimize the number of segments in 7-segments liquid crystal display in accordance with four display directions by switching display patterns with reduced cost. <P>SOLUTION: The display device comprises: a display means on which a first display pattern 7 corresponding to an upward direction, a second display pattern 8 corresponding to a right direction, a third display pattern 9 corresponding to a downward direction, and a fourth display pattern 10 corresponding to a left direction are formed by the combinations of a plurality of 7-segments liquid crystal display groups; a display direction switching operation means for selecting any one of the first to fourth display patterns; and a display direction switching means for selecting any one of the first to fourth display patterns in accordance with the operation of the display direction switching operation means to execute display operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device that mainly displays numbers such as electric energy, the display direction of which can be switched between four directions of up, down, left and right.

  With the recent increase in awareness of global environmental issues, the need to meticulously manage electric power energy has arisen, and circuit breaker-type electronic devices that have been reduced in size to be installed on existing distribution boards and mechanical equipment. An energy meter is already known.

  The circuit breaker-type electronic watt-hour meter that used to be a one-way connection in the past has a demand for four-way connection (up, down, left, right) because of its shape, so that it can handle this four-way connection. In addition, as shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 9, (a) is a T type (upper power connection type), (b) is a B type (lower power connection type), (c) is an L type (left power connection type), (D) is R type (right power supply connection type). 101 is a housing of an electronic watt-hour meter, 102 is a power supply side terminal screw, 103 is a load side terminal screw, 104 is a metering display unit composed of a plurality of sets of 7 segments of liquid crystal display, and 105 is an operation display unit by liquid crystal display. .

  Since four models were prepared, the number of models was four times that of one model, which required time and effort for manufacturing and managing an electronic watt-hour meter.

  As a solution to the above-described problems, a display device in which a measurement display unit (liquid crystal display) is mechanically rotatable with respect to a device main body is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-315363 (Patent Document 1). Has been.

  This is because the weighing display unit can be aligned with the display direction of the device body by pulling the weighing display unit horizontally from the device body, rotating it in accordance with the display direction (installation direction) and then returning it to the original position. . Rather than pulling out the weighing display portion vertically from the device main body, it is possible to satisfy the dimensional regulation of the device for the distribution board by adopting a configuration in which it is pulled out in the horizontal direction and then rotated.

  An electronic watt-hour meter shown in FIG. 10 is conventionally known. This is because the display direction of the measurement value and the measurement unit can be set by changing the display pattern of the measurement display unit 107 by operating the display direction changeover switch 106 without mechanically rotating the measurement display unit. It is possible to match the direction. 10 (a) corresponds to the T type in FIG. When the display direction switch 106 is switched to the right side, the display pattern is switched to the R type display pattern as shown in FIG. When the display direction selector switch 106 is switched to the left side, the display pattern is switched to the L type display pattern as shown in FIG.

  In the case shown in FIG. 10, the measurement value is displayed on the dot matrix liquid crystal display, so that the display direction of the measurement value and the like can be adjusted to the installation direction (three directions) of the apparatus main body.

Also in the time switch, Japanese Patent No. 3308660 (Cited document 2) discloses that the display direction can be adjusted to the installation direction of the time switch by displaying the time with a dot matrix liquid crystal display. .
JP 2003-315363 A Japanese Patent No. 3308660

The thing shown by patent document 1 requires the following extra parts compared with the apparatus with which the measurement display part is fixed.
・ Support parts for pulling out the weighing display part horizontally and moving it by sliding ・ Support parts for rotating the weighing display part ・ Supporting parts for fixing the weighing display part every 90 degrees Parts and weighing display parts for fixing the display unit to the device body Relay board and connection cable for connecting the electronic circuit board inside the device body The weighing display for the cost required to manufacture, assemble and adjust these parts Compared to equipment with fixed parts, the manufacturing cost is certainly increased.

  In addition, the series of operations in which the weighing display unit is pulled out from the instrument body in the horizontal direction, rotated in accordance with the installation direction, and then returned to the original position, may cause an excessive load on the weighing display unit during operation. If foreign matter is mixed between the weighing display unit and the device main body, it may lead to malfunction or failure. Therefore, when rotating the measurement display unit, careful work is required, and usability is deteriorated.

  The thing shown in FIG. 10 and patent document 2 presupposes using a dot matrix liquid crystal display for a numerical display. A general liquid crystal display is roughly divided into 7 segments and a dot matrix, and each has an optimum use.

  The dot matrix liquid crystal display displays characters and figures to be displayed as dots (pixels), that is, a collection of fine dots. Therefore, if the dots are made fine, it is possible to display a complicated shape, which is mainly used for displaying graphics and images. On the other hand, the seven-segment liquid crystal display is a combination of seven trapezoidal, hexagonal, or rectangular segments (elements). It is mainly used for displaying numbers and some alphabets by combining the display of 7 segments.

  Thus, although both have different configurations and uses, the display principle of changing the display state depending on whether the display unit is turned on or off is the same. This display unit corresponds to one dot in a dot matrix liquid crystal display and one segment in a 7 segment liquid crystal display.

  Therefore, for example, when displaying the number “7”, it is only necessary to light four segments in a 7-segment liquid crystal display, but many times as many dots must be lighted in a dot matrix liquid crystal display.

  Since it is necessary to arrange and wire each display unit with electrodes, as the number of display units increases, the number of electrodes and wiring increases in proportion thereto, and the structure of the liquid crystal display main body becomes complicated. Along with this, the configuration of the drive circuit for controlling the display of the liquid crystal display is also complicated, and further, the configuration of the software for controlling the drive circuit is also complicated.

  When a dot matrix liquid crystal display is used mainly for the purpose of displaying numbers, such as weighing value display, the manufacturing cost of the drive circuit, not to mention the cost of the display body, compared to the 7-segment liquid crystal display, and The cost of creating software will definitely increase.

  In addition, the dot matrix liquid crystal display has a drawback that so-called dot missing (a defective state in which some dots are not lit or not turned off while being lit) is more likely to occur as the number of pixels increases. Although the segment lighting failure may occur even in the 7-segment liquid crystal display device, the number of segments is remarkably smaller than the dots of the dot matrix liquid crystal display device, so the probability of the lighting failure occurring is significantly lower.

(Object of the present invention)
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a display device with a 4-display-direction switching function that can minimize the number of segments of the liquid crystal display 7-segment to cope with four display directions by switching display patterns and can reduce costs. It is.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention corresponds to a first display pattern corresponding to the upward direction, a second display pattern corresponding to the left direction, a third display pattern corresponding to the downward direction, and a right direction. A display means in which the fourth display pattern is formed by a combination of a plurality of liquid crystal display 7 segments; a display direction switching operation means for selecting one of the first to fourth display patterns; A display device with a four-display-direction switching function is provided that includes any one of the first to fourth display patterns selected according to the operation of the display-direction switching operation means and a display direction switching means for performing a display operation. is there.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the number of segments of the seven segments of the liquid crystal display for corresponding to the four display directions by switching the display pattern, thereby reducing the cost.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention is as described in Examples 1 and 2 described later.

  1 to 4 show a circuit breaker type electronic watt-hour meter which is Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of the electronic power meter 1, 2 is a power terminal screw, 3 is a load terminal screw, 4 is a nameplate, and 5 is a display means located at the center of the nameplate 4. (Liquid crystal display). FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the display means 5. 1 and 2 show all the segments in the display state (all lighting state). Reference numeral 6 denotes a push button type display direction changeover switch.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the display means 5 corresponds to the T type (first) display pattern 7 corresponding to the upward direction, the R type (second) display pattern 8 corresponding to the right direction, and the downward direction. The B type (third) display pattern 9 and the L type (fourth) display pattern 10 corresponding to the left direction are formed by a combination of a plurality of sets of liquid crystal display 7 segments 11 (FIG. 2). . All the liquid crystal display segments 11 have the same shape and size. The display patterns 7 to 10 are sequentially switched every time the display direction changeover switch 6 is turned on.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the display means 5 is formed by arranging a plurality of sets of liquid crystal display 7 segments 11 in a cross shape in the vertical and horizontal directions. In the cross-shaped intersection, four liquid crystal display 7 segments 11 are assembled in a block shape, and include liquid crystal display segments (segments hatched in FIG. 2) that are commonly used for the display patterns 7 to 10. A plurality of cross-shaped liquid crystal display 7 segments 11 and a liquid crystal display segment 12 for decimal point display constitute a weighing display section. Reference numeral 13 denotes a liquid crystal display segment constituting the measurement unit display section. The liquid crystal display segment 14 for displaying the operation and the liquid crystal display segment 15 for displaying the non-weighing constitute an operation display unit.

  The measurement display unit, the measurement unit display unit, and the operation display unit are included in the display patterns 7 to 10 as shown in FIG. Therefore, when the installation direction of the housing 1 is changed as shown in FIG. 4, the display direction on the display unit 5 is changed in the same manner as in the weighing display unit. Therefore, the display on the display means 5 can be easily read.

  In FIG. 4, the character direction of the nameplate 4 is different between the T type and R type and the B type and L type. This is because when the display direction is specified at the time of receiving the order, the nameplate 4 in the character direction corresponding to the display direction is pasted in the manufacturing process. It goes without saying that the character direction of the nameplate 4 may correspond to only the T type.

  The display direction switching operation of the CPU provided in the electronic watt-hour meter will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S1, initialization processing is performed. In step S2, it is determined whether or not the display direction selector switch 6 is turned off. “Off” means a state where the display direction switch 6 is not pressed, and “On” means a state where the display direction switch 6 is pressed.

  If it is off, it waits until it is turned on in step S3, and if it is on, it proceeds to step S4. Steps S <b> 2 and S <b> 3 are routines that do not detect the next turn-on unless the turn-off of the display direction change-over switch 6 is detected once, and prevent the display direction from being sequentially switched while being turned on.

  In step S4, the display direction (display pattern) stored in storage means (not shown) such as an EEPROM is read out, and it is determined whether or not the display direction is the T type. If it is T type, it is assumed that it is the current display direction, and the display direction is switched to R type in step S5. Then, the contents of the storage means are rewritten to the display direction switched in step S6, that is, the R type.

  If it determines with the display direction read in step S4 not being T type, it will progress to step S7 and it will be determined whether it is R type. If it is the R type, it is assumed that it is the current display direction, and the display direction is switched to the B type in step S8. Then, the contents of the storage means are rewritten to the display direction switched in step S6, that is, the B type.

  If it is determined that the display direction read in step S7 is not the R type, the process proceeds to step S9 to determine whether it is the B type. If it is the B type, it is assumed that it is the current display direction, and the display direction is switched to the L type in step S10. Then, the contents of the storage means are rewritten to the display direction switched in step S6, that is, the L type.

  If it is determined that the display direction read in step S9 is not the B type, the process proceeds to step S11, and the display direction is switched to the T type assuming that the remaining L type is the current display direction. Then, the contents of the storage means are rewritten to the display direction switched in step S6, that is, the T type.

  FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment in functional blocks. When the display direction changeover switch 6 as the display direction changeover operation means is operated, the CPU display corresponding to the operation of steps S4, S7 and S9 in FIG. 5 based on the display direction stored in the storage means 16 is performed. The direction determination means 17 determines the current display direction. In accordance with the determination result, the display direction (display pattern) of the display unit 5 is switched by the display direction switching unit 18 of the CPU corresponding to the operation of steps S5, S8, S10, and S11 in FIG. The display means 5 includes a measurement display unit 19, a measurement unit display unit 20, and an operation display unit 21 including a liquid crystal display 7 segment 11 and the like.

  As described above, by switching the display patterns 7 to 10 in accordance with the installation direction of the device main body, the display direction can be changed without mechanically rotating the measurement display unit and irrespective of the character direction of the nameplate 4. It can be adjusted to the installation direction of the equipment body. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the disadvantages of the conventional example, the increase in manufacturing cost due to the increase in the number of components, and the malfunction and failure due to the complicated mechanism.

  Further, by using the liquid crystal display 7 segment 11 for numerical display, the configuration of the liquid crystal display body, the drive circuit of the liquid crystal display, and the software for controlling the drive circuit can be simplified compared to the dot matrix liquid crystal display. Become. In addition, each segment has the same size and shape, which contributes to simplification of the structure of the liquid crystal display. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the disadvantages of the conventional example, such as an increase in manufacturing cost due to complication of the drive circuit, an increase in cost for creating software, and a display defect due to missing dots.

  FIG. 7 shows display means of a circuit breaker type electronic watt-hour meter which is Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and FIG. 8 shows states corresponding to four display directions.

  In FIG. 7, reference numeral 22 denotes display means, which includes a weighing display unit 23, weighing unit display units 24 and 24 ′, and an operation display unit 25. The main part of the weighing display section 23 is formed by arranging a liquid crystal display segment group 26 in which two liquid crystal display 7 segments are keyed by sharing four segments in a line in the left-right direction. Reference numeral 27 denotes a liquid crystal display segment for decimal point display of the weighing display unit 23. FIG. 7 shows all the segments in the display state (all lighting state).

  The weighing unit display unit 24 ′ is upside down with respect to the weighing unit display unit 24. The operation display unit 25 includes a liquid crystal display segment 28 for displaying an operation and a liquid crystal display segment 29 for displaying no measurement.

  In FIG. 8, 31 is a housing of an electronic watt-hour meter, 32 is a power supply side terminal screw, and 33 is a load side terminal screw. Reference numeral 34 denotes a nameplate, and 35 denotes a display direction changeover switch. FIG. 8 shows four display patterns (T type, R type, B type, L type) of the display means 22 corresponding to the display direction. As can be seen, in the R type and the L type, the liquid crystal display 7 segments display the measurement values in a line in the vertical direction. Further, the display state changes depending on the display direction only in the weighing display unit 23 and the weighing unit display units 24 and 24 ′, and the display state of the operation display unit 25 does not change.

  The present invention can be applied not only to electronic watt-hour meters but also to display devices for devices such as ammeters, time switches, etc., which mainly display numbers, in which the display direction is preferably aligned with the installation direction of the device body.

It is a front view which shows the electronic watt-hour meter which is Example 1 of this invention. It is a front view which shows the display means of all the display states in Example 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating four display patterns of Example 1. FIG. It is a front view which shows each state switched to four display directions of Example 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a display state switching operation according to the first embodiment. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of Example 1 by a functional block. It is a front view which shows the display means of all the display states in Example 2 of this invention. It is a front view which shows each state switched to four display directions of Example 2. FIG. It is a front view which shows the electronic watt-hour meter which is a 4 types conventional example according to a display direction. It is a front view which shows the electronic watt-hour meter which is a prior art example of a display pattern switching type.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,31 Case of electronic wattmeter 2,32 Power supply side terminal screw 3,33 Load side terminal screw 5,22 Display means 6,35 Display direction changeover switch 7-10 Display pattern 11 Liquid crystal display 7 Segment 12-15 Liquid crystal display segment 16 Storage means 17 Display direction determining means 18 Display direction switching means 19, 23 Weighing display sections 20, 24, 24 'Weighing unit display sections 21, 25 Operation display section 26 Liquid crystal display segment group

Claims (5)

  A first display pattern corresponding to the upper direction, a second display pattern corresponding to the right direction, a third display pattern corresponding to the lower direction, and a fourth display pattern corresponding to the left direction are a plurality of sets of liquid crystal displays Display means formed by a combination of seven segments, display direction switching operation means for selecting any one of the first to fourth display patterns, and the first direction according to the operation of the display direction switching operation means. A display device with a four display direction switching function, comprising: display direction switching means for selecting any one of the first to fourth display patterns and performing a display operation.   The display device with a four-display direction switching function according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of sets of liquid crystal display 7 segments have the same shape and size.   The display means is formed by arranging a plurality of sets of liquid crystal display 7 segments in a cross shape in the vertical and horizontal directions, and is common to the first to fourth display patterns at the cross-shaped intersection. The display device with a 4-display direction switching function according to claim 1, further comprising a liquid crystal display segment used in the display.   3. The display unit according to claim 1, wherein the display means is formed by arranging a liquid crystal display segment group in which two liquid crystal display 7 segments form a key shape by sharing four segments in a line in the left-right direction. 4. A display device with a four-display direction switching function. 5. The display device with a 4-display direction switching function according to claim 1, wherein each of the first to fourth display patterns includes an operation display unit for displaying an operation.

Images