JP5097680B2 - Portable electronic devices - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable electronic device such as a cellular phone.

  Currently, electronic devices such as personal computers often display a plurality of windows simultaneously on one display device. Then, the user selects any window to make it active, and performs a desired operation on the activated window.

  However, in a portable electronic device such as a mobile phone having a screen with a relatively narrow display area, when a plurality of windows are simultaneously displayed in one screen, there is a problem that each window becomes small and visibility is deteriorated.

  Therefore, in a portable electronic device such as a cellular phone that has a limited size, more information can be displayed while keeping the size of the device small by selectively displaying multiple desktop screens on one display device. It becomes possible to do. In such a portable electronic device, a user selects any one of a plurality of desktop screens as an active screen, for example, activates a desired application on the active screen and performs an operation. .

As a technique for selectively displaying a plurality of desktop screens on such a single display device, for example, Patent Document 1 can be cited. Patent Document 1 discloses a portable electronic device that includes a sensor that measures the tilt or acceleration of the portable electronic device, and a control unit that automatically selects an active screen from a plurality of desktop screens based on the measurement result of the sensor. Has been proposed.
JP 2007-206108 A

  However, when a plurality of applications corresponding to each of a plurality of desktop screens are activated, even if a plurality of notification information such as error display and confirmation items to the user is generated by each application, the generated notifications are generated. Information may be displayed on the active screen in a duplicated manner, and the user may not be able to properly view the notification information.

  Then, an object of this invention is to provide the portable electronic device which can display suitably several alerting | reporting information produced | generated by several applications.

  In order to solve the above problems, a portable electronic device according to the present invention has a desktop management unit that arranges a plurality of desktop screens adjacent to each other on a virtual plane, an application management unit that manages a plurality of applications, A display unit configured to display one of the plurality of desktop screens as an active screen; and a display control unit configured to control the display unit, wherein the desktop management unit uses a predetermined application in the application management unit. When it is detected that notification information to the user has been generated, it is determined at which position on the virtual plane the desktop screen corresponding to the predetermined application exists on the basis of the active screen, and the display The control unit is configured to activate the act based on the determination by the desktop management unit. And controls to display the notification information in a predetermined area of the probe screen.

  In addition, when the desktop management unit determines that the desktop screen corresponding to the predetermined application is not the active screen on the virtual plane, the display control unit determines whether the notification information is the latest notification information. When the broadcast information is the latest broadcast information, the entire broadcast information is displayed in the predetermined area of the active screen. When the broadcast information is not the latest broadcast information, the active screen It is preferable to perform control so that a part of the notification information is displayed in a predetermined area.

  In addition, on the basis of one desktop screen among the plurality of desktop screens, a plurality of input screens associated with each of the directions in which other desktop screens adjacent to the one desktop screen on the virtual plane exist. The display control unit further includes an operation unit, and the display control unit displays the active screen on the virtual plane according to an operation of the plurality of input operation units when the notification information is displayed in the predetermined area of the active screen. When the one desktop screen is switched from the one desktop screen to another desktop screen, it is determined whether the application that generated the notification information is activated on the switched other desktop screen, and based on the determined result And controlling to display the notification information in the predetermined area on the other desktop screen Preferred.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the portable electronic device which can display suitably several alerting | reporting information produced | generated by several applications can be provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a mobile phone 1 which is an example of a mobile electronic device according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a so-called foldable mobile phone, but the mobile phone according to the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a sliding type in which one casing is slid in one direction from a state in which both casings are overlapped, or a rotary type in which one casing is rotated around an axis along the overlapping direction ( Turn type), or a type (straight type) in which the operation unit and the display unit are arranged in one housing and does not have a connecting unit.

  The mobile phone 1 includes an operation unit side body unit 2 and a display unit side body unit 3. The operation unit side body unit 2 includes an operation unit 11 and a microphone 12 into which a voice uttered by a user of the mobile phone 1 is input. The operation unit 11 includes a function setting operation key 13 for operating various functions such as various settings, a telephone book function, a mail function, and the like, and an input operation key 14 for inputting a telephone number and characters such as mail. , And a determination operation key 15 for performing determination and scrolling in various operations.

  Further, the display unit side body unit 3 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) display unit 21 for displaying various types of information and a speaker 22 for outputting the voice of the other party on the call.

  Further, the upper end of the operation unit side body 2 and the lower end of the display unit side body 3 are connected via a hinge mechanism 4. In addition, the cellular phone 1 relatively rotates the operation unit side body 2 and the display unit side body 3 connected via the hinge mechanism 4, thereby displaying the operation unit side body 2 and the display. It can be in a state where the unit side body 3 is open to each other (open state), or the operation unit side body 2 and the display unit side body 3 are folded (folded state).

  Further, the operation unit side body unit 2 is provided with a sub LCD display unit 30 on the outer plane portion for displaying a clock, incoming mail, or the like.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing functions of the mobile phone 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile phone 1 includes an operation unit 11, a microphone 12, a main antenna 40, an RF circuit unit 41, an LCD control unit 42, an audio processing unit 43, a memory 44, and a control unit. 45 is provided in the operation unit side body unit 2, and the LCD display unit 21 (display unit), the speaker 22, the driver IC 23, and the sub LCD display unit 30 are provided in the display unit side body unit 3. ing.

  The main antenna 40 communicates with a base station or the like in a first use frequency band (for example, 800 MHz), and can support a second use frequency band (for example, 1.5 GHz) for GPS communication. It is. In the present embodiment, the first frequency band used is 800 MHz, but other frequency bands may be used. Further, the main antenna 40 may be separately provided with an antenna that communicates with an external device in the first use frequency band and can correspond to the second use frequency band for GPS communication.

  The RF circuit unit 41 demodulates the signal received by the main antenna 40 and supplies the processed signal to the control unit 45. Then, the signal supplied from the control unit 45 is modulated and transmitted to an external device (base station) via the main antenna 40. On the other hand, the control unit 45 is notified of the strength of the signal received by the main antenna 40.

  The LCD control unit 42 performs predetermined image processing according to the control of the control unit 45, and outputs the processed image data to the driver IC 23. The driver IC 23 stores the image data supplied from the LCD control unit 42 in the frame memory and outputs it to the LCD display unit 21 or the sub LCD display unit 30 at a predetermined timing.

  The sound processing unit 43 performs predetermined sound processing on the signal supplied from the RF circuit unit 41 under the control of the control unit 45, and outputs the processed signal to the speaker 22. The speaker 22 outputs the signal supplied from the sound processing unit 43 to the outside.

  In addition, the audio processing unit 43 processes the signal input from the microphone 12 according to the control of the control unit 45 and outputs the processed signal to the RF circuit unit 41. The RF circuit unit 41 performs a predetermined process on the signal supplied from the sound processing unit 43 and outputs the processed signal to the main antenna 40.

  The memory 44 includes, for example, a working memory and is used for arithmetic processing by the control unit 45. The memory 44 stores a plurality of applications, various tables necessary for the applications, various information, and the like. The memory 44 may also serve as a removable external memory.

  The control unit 45 controls the entire mobile phone 1 and is configured using a central processing unit (CPU) or the like.

  Next, functions of the operation unit 11, the control unit 45, the LCD control unit 42, and the LCD display unit 21 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing functions of the operation unit 11, the control unit 45, the LCD control unit 42, and the LCD display unit 21.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the control unit 45 includes an application management unit 451, a desktop management unit 452, and a window management unit 453.

  The application management unit 451 manages a plurality of applications that are started on a plurality of desktop screens. The application management unit 451 notifies the desktop management unit 452 when notification information to the user is generated by a predetermined application.

  The notification information includes application error display, notes for the user, and confirmation items. The notification information is generated for each application.

  The desktop management unit 452 manages a plurality of desktop screens and arranges the plurality of desktop screens so as to be adjacent to each other on a virtual plane. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a plurality of desktop screens arranged on a virtual plane. As shown in FIG. 4, the desktop management unit 452 arranges four different desktop screens 51, 52, 53, and 54 adjacent to each other on the virtual plane.

  Specifically, in FIG. 4A, the desktop screen 51 is an active screen, and in FIG. 4B, the desktop screen 52 is an active screen. In FIG. 4C, the desktop screen 53 is an active screen, and in FIG. 4D, the desktop screen 53 is an active screen.

  Based on one of the desktop screens 51 to 54 as a reference, according to the operation of the operation unit 11 associated with each direction in which another desktop screen adjacent to this one screen on the virtual plane exists, Any one of these desktop screens 51 to 54 is used as an active screen and is sequentially switched by a window management unit 453 described later and displayed on the LCD display unit 21.

  Further, in response to the notification that the notification information has been generated by the application management unit 451, the desktop management unit 452 selects any one of the virtual planes on the basis of the desktop screen corresponding to the predetermined application as the active screen. Determine if it exists at the position.

  The window management unit 453 controls the LCD control unit 42 according to control by the desktop management unit 452. Then, the window management unit 453 controls the LCD control unit 42 to display the notification information in a predetermined area of the active screen based on the determination result by the desktop management unit 452.

  Here, a predetermined area of the desktop screen for displaying the notification information will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a predetermined area for displaying notification information on the desktop screen. As shown in FIG. 5, display areas 61 to 69 are provided on the desktop screens 51 to 54 as predetermined areas for displaying the notification information.

  In the present embodiment, the window management unit 453 causes the notification information to be displayed outside the display area when the notification information exceeds each of the display areas 61 to 69. In addition, when different notification information overlaps in the same display area, the window management unit 453 performs control so that the notification information with a new time generated by the application is superimposed on the old notification information.

  Next, a specific example of the notification information displayed on the active screen will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of notification information displayed on the desktop screen 51 which is an active screen.

  Here, on the desktop screen 51 shown in FIG. 6, the application that generated the notification information “failed to receive mail” is running, and on the desktop screen 52, the notification information “playing video” is generated. The application is activated, and the desktop screen 53 is activated with the application that generated the notification information “1 absence”, and the desktop screen 54 is activated with the application that generated the notification information “Download failed”. Suppose that

  As illustrated in FIG. 6, the desktop management unit 452 determines that the desktop screen corresponding to the application that generated the notification information “mail reception failed” is displayed on the virtual plane based on the desktop screen 51 that is the active screen. It is determined whether it exists in position.

  As a result of the determination, the desktop management unit 452 notifies the window management unit 453 that the desktop screen corresponding to the application that has generated the notification information “Failed to receive mail” is the desktop screen 51.

  Then, the window management unit 453 is notified by the notification from the desktop management unit 452 because the desktop screen corresponding to the application that generated the notification information “failed to receive mail” is the desktop screen 51 that is the active screen. Control is performed so that information is displayed in the display area 65.

  Similarly, the desktop management unit 452 has a desktop screen 53 corresponding to the application that has generated the notification information “video is being played”, and the desktop screen 53 on the virtual plane is the desktop screen 51 that is the active screen. Is notified to the window management unit 453.

  Then, the window management unit 453 notifies the display area 68 of the notification information “video” because the desktop screen 53 is positioned below the active desktop screen 51 in response to the notification from the desktop management unit 452. Is displayed.

  The desktop management unit 452 also displays the desktop screen 52 corresponding to the application that generated the notification information “one absence” as the desktop screen 52. On the virtual plane, the desktop screen 52 corresponds to the desktop screen 51 that is the active screen. The window management unit 453 is notified that it is located on the right.

  Then, the window manager 453 is notified by the notification from the desktop manager 452 because the desktop screen 52 is positioned on the right side with respect to the desktop screen 51 that is the active screen on the virtual plane. Control to display “1”.

  The desktop management unit 452 also displays the desktop screen 54 corresponding to the application that generated the notification information “Download failed” on the virtual plane, and the desktop screen 54 is displayed on the desktop screen 51 that is the active screen. In contrast, the window management unit 453 is notified that it is located at the lower right.

  The window management unit 453 is notified by the notification from the desktop management unit 452 because the desktop screen 54 is positioned on the lower right side of the desktop screen 51 that is the active screen on the virtual plane. Control to display "Download failed".

  As described above, according to the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment, it is determined in which position on the virtual plane the desktop screen on which the application that generated the notification information is activated is based on the active screen. As a result of the determination, when the desktop screen on which the application that generated the notification information is active is the active screen, control is performed to display the notification information on the display area 65, and the application that generated the notification information is started. If the current desktop screen is not the active screen, it corresponds to the direction in which the desktop screen in which the application that generated the notification information is running is present in the display areas 61 to 64 and the display areas 66 to 69 as viewed from the active screen. Control to display the notification information in the area to be performed.

  As a result, even when the user activates a plurality of applications on a plurality of desktop screens that are not displayed on the LCD display unit 21 other than the active screen, the application that generated the notification information is activated on any desktop screen. Can be easily identified.

  If the desktop management unit 452 determines that the desktop screen corresponding to the predetermined application is not an active screen on the virtual plane, the window management unit 453 determines whether the notification information is the latest notification information.

  Then, when the notification information is the latest notification information, the window management unit 453 performs control so that the entire notification information is displayed in a predetermined area of the active screen. Further, when the broadcast information is not the latest broadcast information, control is performed so that a part of the broadcast information is displayed in a predetermined area of the active screen.

  Here, the notification information displayed on the desktop screen 51, which is the active screen, will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 6, notification information is displayed in display areas 65, 66, 68, and 69 on the desktop screen 51. Then, since the notification information displayed in the display area 65 is the latest notification information, the window management unit 453 displays the entire notification information and the notification information displayed in the display areas 66, 68, 69. Controls to display in different windows.

  In addition, the window management unit 453 indicates that the notification information displayed in the display areas 66, 68, and 69 is notification information before the latest notification information, and any of the desktop screens 52 to 54 other than the desktop screen 51 that is an active screen. Since the notification information is generated by an application corresponding to the above, control is performed so that a part of the notification information is displayed.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of notification information displayed on the desktop screen 51 which is an active screen. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the window management unit 453 corresponds to any of the desktop screens 52 to 54 other than the desktop screen 51 that is the active screen, in which the notification information displayed in the display area 69 is the latest notification information. Because the notification information is generated by the application, the entire notification information is displayed, and control is performed so that the notification information is displayed in a window different from the notification information displayed in the display areas 65, 66, and 68.

  As described above, according to the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment, when the notification information is the latest notification information, the entire notification information is displayed in a predetermined area of the active screen, and the notification information is not the latest notification information. In such a case, control is performed so that a part of the notification information is displayed in a predetermined area of the active screen.

  Thereby, the user can easily identify whether or not the notification information displayed on the active screen is the latest notification information. In addition, since the latest notification information is considered to be highly urgent, it is possible to alert the user of the latest notification information.

  Further, the window management unit 453 displays the active screen from one of the desktop screens on the virtual plane according to the operation of the operation unit 11 when the notification information is displayed in a predetermined area of the active screen. When the screen is switched to another desktop screen, it is determined whether the application that generated the notification information is activated on the switched other desktop screen.

  Then, based on the determined result, the window management unit 453 controls to display the notification information in a predetermined area on another desktop screen. Here, a specific example of the notification information displayed in the predetermined area based on the determined result will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of notification information displayed on the desktop screen 52 when the active screen is switched to the desktop screen 52 in accordance with the operation of the operation unit 11 from the desktop screen 51 illustrated in FIG. 6.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the application that generated the notification information “Mail reception failed” displayed in the display area 65 of FIG. 6 is activated on the desktop screen 51. Then, since the desktop screen 51 in FIG. 8 is located on the right side of the desktop screen 52 which is the active screen, the window management unit 453 controls to display the notification information “Failed to receive mail” in the display area 64. To do.

  Similarly, the application that generated the notification information “one absence” displayed in the display area 66 of FIG. 6 is activated on the desktop screen 52. Then, since the desktop screen 52 of FIG. 8 is an active screen, the window management unit 453 performs control so that the notification information “one absence” is displayed in the display area 65.

  In addition, the application that generates the notification information “moving video is being displayed” displayed in the display area 68 of FIG. 6 is activated on the desktop screen 53. Then, since the desktop screen 53 in FIG. 8 is located at the lower left of the desktop screen 52 that is the active screen, the window management unit 453 performs control so that the notification information “moving video is being reproduced” is displayed in the display area 67.

  Further, the application that generates the notification information “Download failed” displayed in the display area 69 of FIG. 6 is activated on the desktop screen 54. Then, since the desktop screen 54 in FIG. 8 is located below the desktop screen 52 that is the active screen, the window management unit 453 performs control so that the notification information “Download failed” is displayed in the display area 68.

  As described above, according to the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment, when the active screen is switched from one desktop screen to another desktop screen in accordance with the operation of the operation unit 11, the switching destination desktop screen, that is, a new active screen is displayed. The direction in which the desktop screen on which the application that generated the notification information is running is determined with reference to the desktop screen that is the screen. And based on the determined result, it controls to display alerting | reporting information in the predetermined area | region in a new active screen.

  Thereby, even if it is a case where a user switches an active screen, the alerting | reporting information corresponding to the switched active screen can be displayed.

  Next, the flow of processing of the control unit 45 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the processing flow of the control unit 45.

  In step S <b> 1, the application management unit 451 receives notification information generated by a predetermined application and notifies the desktop management unit 452.

  In step S2, the desktop management unit 452 determines whether the desktop screen on which the application that generated the notification information notified in step S1 is activated is an active screen. If it is an active screen (Yes), the process proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, when it is not an active screen (No), it moves to step S6.

  In step S3, the window management unit 453 determines whether or not the notification information generated by the application is the latest notification information. If it is the latest notification information (Yes), the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if it is not the latest notification information (No), the process proceeds to step S5.

  In step S4, since the notification information is the latest notification information, the window management unit 453 displays the entire notification information in a different form from the other notification information in the display area 65 of the desktop screen that is the active screen.

  In step S5, since the notification information is other than the latest notification information, the window management unit 453 displays the entire notification information in the same manner as other notification information in the display area 65 of the desktop screen that is the active screen.

  In step S <b> 6, the window management unit 453 determines whether the desktop screen on which the application that generated the notification information is running is any one of the top, bottom, left, right, top left, bottom left, top right, and bottom right with respect to the active screen. Determine if it exists at the position.

  In step S7, the window management unit 453 determines whether or not the notification information generated by the application is the latest notification information. If it is the latest notification information (Yes), the process proceeds to step S8. On the other hand, if it is not the latest notification information (No), the process proceeds to step S9.

  In step S <b> 8, the window management unit 453 changes a part of the notification information in the display areas 61 to 64 and the display areas 66 to 69 according to the position of the active screen determined in step S <b> 6 from the other notification information. To display.

  In step S <b> 9, the window management unit 453 displays part of the notification information in the display areas 61 to 64 and 66 to 69 in the same manner as other notification information in accordance with the position of the active screen.

  In step S <b> 10, the window management unit 453 determines whether the active screen has been switched according to the operation of the operation unit 11. When the active screen is switched (Yes), the process proceeds to step S2, and the processes of step S2 to step S9 are repeated again. On the other hand, when the active screen is not switched (No), the series of processing is terminated.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment was described, this invention can be implemented with a various form, without being limited to embodiment mentioned above. For example, in the present embodiment, the mobile phone 1 is described as a mobile electronic device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, but is not limited to this, but a PHS (registered trademark), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable navigation device, a notebook. A personal computer etc. may be sufficient.

  Moreover, although the window management part 453 of this embodiment controlled to switch a some desktop screen according to operation of the operation part 11, it is not restricted to this. For example, the window management unit 453 may control the desktop screen on which the application that generated the notification information is activated to switch to the active screen after a predetermined time has elapsed since the notification information was generated. Thereby, alerting | reporting information can be alerted with respect to a user.

  In the above-described embodiment, the desktop management unit 452 manages four desktop screens arranged on the virtual plane. However, the number of desktop screens arranged on the virtual plane may be two or more desktop screens. There is no particular limitation.

1 is an external perspective view of a mobile phone 1 that is an example of a mobile electronic device according to the present invention. 3 is a functional block diagram showing functions of the mobile phone 1. FIG. It is a functional block diagram shown about the function of an operation part, a control part, a LCD control part, and a LCD display part. It is a figure which shows an example of the some desktop screen arrange | positioned on the virtual plane. It is a figure shown about the specific example of the predetermined area | region for displaying the alerting | reporting information in a desktop screen. It is a figure which shows an example of the alerting | reporting information displayed on an active screen. It is a figure which shows an example of the alerting | reporting information displayed on an active screen. It is a figure which shows an example of the alerting | reporting information displayed when an active screen is switched. It is a flowchart shown about the flow of a process of a control part.

Explanation of symbols

1 Cellular phone 45 Control unit 451 Application management unit 452 Desktop management unit 453 Window management unit

Claims (3)

A desktop management unit for arranging a plurality of desktop screens adjacent to each other on a virtual plane;
An application management unit for managing multiple applications;
A display unit for displaying one of the plurality of desktop screens as an active screen;
A display control unit for controlling the display unit,
The desktop management unit, when the application management unit detects that notification information to the user is generated by a predetermined application, the desktop screen corresponding to the predetermined application is based on the active screen as the virtual screen. Determine where it is on the plane,
The portable electronic device, wherein the display control unit controls the notification information to be displayed in a predetermined area of the active screen based on the determination by the desktop management unit. The display control unit
When the desktop management unit determines that the desktop screen corresponding to the predetermined application is not the active screen on the virtual plane, determines whether the notification information is the latest notification information;
When the broadcast information is the latest broadcast information, the entire broadcast information is displayed in the predetermined area of the active screen, and when the broadcast information is not the latest broadcast information, the predetermined area of the active screen is displayed. 2. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein control is performed so that a part of the notification information is displayed. A plurality of input operation units associated with each of the directions in which other desktop screens adjacent to the one desktop screen on the virtual plane exist with respect to one desktop screen of the plurality of desktop screens Further comprising
The display control unit is configured to display the one desktop screen on the virtual plane according to an operation of the plurality of input operation units when the notification information is displayed in the predetermined area of the active screen. Is switched to another desktop screen, it is determined whether the application that generated the notification information is running on the switched other desktop screen, and based on the determined result, the other desktop screen is determined. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the notification information is controlled to be displayed in the predetermined area.

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