JP5169038B2 - Information browsing terminal device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information browsing terminal device using an electrophoretic display that enables display contents on a plurality of flat displays to be handled like one page of a book.

In an information browsing terminal device having display means that can handle display contents like one page of a book, a typical flat display means is a liquid crystal display. However, the liquid crystal display requires a complicated device such as a control unit and a backlight for displaying, and becomes heavy and unsuitable for carrying a number of liquid crystal displays by people.
Conventionally, various proposals have been made to use a display using electrophoretic migration and a display using electrophoretic migration in an information browsing terminal apparatus having display means that can handle display contents like a page of a book. (For example, see Patent Documents 1 to 3). Hereinafter, a display using electrophoresis using an electric field, a display using electrophoresis using a magnetic field, and the like are collectively referred to as an electrophoresis display.
In general, an electrophoretic display includes a liquid in which white particles and black particles charged with different charges are dispersed between opposed electrode substrates. One of the opposed electrodes is a transparent common electrode, and the other is a pixel electrode partitioned in a matrix.
The electrophoretic display has a simple mechanism for displaying an image, and has a memory property that retains display contents at the time of driving without turning off the power and driving the TFT, and has a feature that a display unit can be manufactured at low cost. . If the display contents do not need to be changed frequently, a light and thin display can be provided.
Instead of updating the display contents, a number of electrophoretic displays are arranged and used as a substitute for paper. In this way, a plurality of electrophoretic displays are grouped together such as an information browsing terminal device.
Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus in which a plurality of such electrophoretic displays are bundled to form a book. Patent Document 2 discloses an apparatus in which an electrophoresis display unit that displays information and a control unit that determines display contents are detachable.
In patent document 2, when the signal from a control part stops, a display content is changed and it is comprised so that the confidentiality of a display content may be improved. Patent Document 3 discloses an apparatus in which various display devices are bundled to form a book.
JP 2006-003906 A JP 2002-108267 A JP 2006-208771 A

However, in particular, in the information browsing terminal device as in Patent Document 1, mobility due to the lightness and ease of handling of the electrophoretic display unit is lost. There is a demand for an apparatus that ensures the mobility of a single electrophoretic display and facilitates the management of multiple electrophoretic displays.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to determine which of a plurality of electrophoretic displays is viewed by making the display detachable and detecting the spread state of the attached display in consideration of the above-described situation. An object of the present invention is to provide an information browsing terminal device that determines and identifies a display whose display contents are to be updated by this determination.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention according to claim 1 is an information browsing terminal device in which a plurality of display means are bundled, and holds display media having display means on at least one surface thereof and the display media. A holding device, an opening detection device that detects a spread state of the display medium included in the holding device from an opening angle thereof, and a spread determination device that determines a display means that is opened based on a detection state of the opening detection device; The holding device has a circumferential portion that rotates around a rotation axis in accordance with an opening / closing operation, and detects the opening angle by varying the radius of the circumferential portion, and the result of the spread determination device The display means for updating the display is determined based on the above.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the information browsing terminal device according to the first aspect, the display medium is detachable .

  According to the present invention, the display means that the user of the information browsing terminal device can view can be estimated by the spread determination device, and the content displayed on the information browsing terminal device can be appropriately estimated by estimating the browsing state of the user. It is possible to switch to

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an information browsing terminal device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a side view of the information browsing terminal device of FIG.
1 and 2, the information browsing terminal device 1 has one or more holding devices 2, and the holding device 2 includes display means 5 and an information connection unit 3 a in the information browsing terminal device 1. 3 is connected. In addition, the information browsing terminal device 1 has an operation unit 4.
The information connection unit 3 a is a part that inputs or outputs information to be displayed on the display unit 5 of the display medium 3. For example, electrical information is exchanged with the outside of the display medium 3 by electrical contacts and modulated electromagnetic waves. It may also serve as a power source connection for updating the display contents of the display medium 3.
The holding device 2 is a mechanism for connecting the display medium 3 to the information browsing terminal device 1. By making the information browsing terminal device 1 and the display medium 3 separable, only a portion where necessary information is displayed can be taken out, and information that is not bulky can be taken out.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the configuration of the holding device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the holding device. First, in the configuration of the first embodiment in FIG. 3, the holding device 2 includes a clamp portion 2 a and a spring switch 2 b that are fixed with the display medium 3 interposed therebetween.
The holding device 2 corresponds to the information connection unit 3 a (FIG. 1) of the display medium 3 and relays information with the information browsing terminal device 1. Further, the power is relayed from the information browsing terminal device 1 to the display medium 3. The holding device 2 has a mechanism for changing the orientation of the display medium 3 with respect to the information browsing terminal device 1. This mechanism is constituted by circumferential portions 2d and 2e having different radii with respect to the spring switch 2b and the rotating shaft 2c of the holding device 2.
This mechanism is an opening detection device and detects the angle of the display medium 3 held by the holding device 2. For this detection, the spring switch 2b is pressed against the outer peripheral portions of the circumferential portions 2d and 2e of the holding device 2. In the circumferential portion 2e having a large radius, the spring switch 2b is turned on. The spring switch 2b is turned off at the circumferential portion 2d having a small radius.
If the circumferential radii of the clockwise direction portion and the counterclockwise direction portion of the rotating shaft 2c are made different with respect to the clamp portion 2a to which the display medium 3 is connected, the direction in which the display medium 3 is opened can be known.
In FIG. 3, if the spring switch 2b is on, the display medium 3 is opened leftward in the figure, and if the spring switch 2b is off, the display medium 3 is opened rightward in the figure. Although the switch is used in this embodiment, other means for detecting the rotation angle, for example, a rotary encoder may be used. Since the opening detection device is configured to detect an angle, it can be realized with a simple structure.

In the configuration of the second embodiment of the holding device in FIG. 4, at least a part of the holding device 2 of the electronic book 1 which is an information browsing terminal device is made of a flexible material. First and second strain sensing elements 7 and 8 are installed on both surfaces of the holding device 2. The holding device 2 and the strain detection elements 7 and 8 bend according to the opening of the display medium 3.
The strain sensing element is, for example, a piezoelectric element. It is a sensor that utilizes the phenomenon of generating electricity by the pressure applied to the piezoelectric element, and when used in a bent part, it generates electricity by its stress. The strain detection element can be opened and used in a detection device, and the structure becomes simple.
For example, in FIG. 4, when the display medium 3 is opened on the left side, the first strain sensing element 7 contracts and the second strain sensing element 8 expands. Conversely, when the display medium 3 is opened on the right side, the first strain sensing element 7 expands and the second strain sensing element 8 contracts.
The direction in which the electrophoretic display is opened is detected by observing the difference between the voltages generated by the first and second strain sensing elements 7 and 8. By giving flexibility to the member that holds the display medium 3 in the information browsing terminal device 1, a shape close to an actual book can be realized.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a first embodiment of the opening detection device. The opening detection device may not be installed in the holding device. FIG. 5 shows first, second and third display media 9, 10, 11, and these display media 9, 10, 11 are convex portions 9 a, 10 a, 11 a at different positions above in the drawing. have. Sensors 9b, 10b, and 11b that detect the presence or absence of convex portions are provided at positions corresponding to the convex portions 9a, 10a, and 11a of the display media 9, 10, and 11, respectively.
Since the detection values of the sensors 9b, 10b, and 11b differ depending on the overlap of the display media 9, 10, and 11, the overlap of pages can be determined. As a result, a spread page is determined.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a second embodiment of the opening detection device. FIG. 6 shows the information browsing terminal device 1 as seen from the cross section. The display medium 12 is provided with an impedance element. Here, the resistor 14 will be described as an example.
The resistor 14 is connected to electrodes 13 and 13 a installed on the front and back surfaces of the display medium 12. The size of the electrode 13 on one surface of the display medium 12 and the electrode 13a on the other surface are different. When the display media 12 overlap, the resistors 14 in the respective display media 12 are connected in parallel.
The information browsing terminal device 1 has an electrode 15 and is in contact with the electrode 13 a of the display medium 12 that is in contact with the information browsing terminal device 1. The information browsing terminal device 1 is provided with an impedance measuring instrument, here a resistance meter 16, and detects the resistance value of the display medium 12. If the resistance value of the resistor 14 is known in advance, the number of display media 12 overlapping the resistance value of the resistance meter 16 can be estimated.
The ohmmeter 16 adds the impedance Z of the element to be measured, the voltage V or current I to the element to be measured, and obtains the current value I or voltage V flowing to the element to obtain the impedance of the element to be measured as Z = V · I. Ask.
Although a resistor has been described as an example here, a capacitor, an inductor, or a mixed configuration thereof may be used. By making the overlapping of a plurality of display media be a connection of impedance elements, it is possible to easily know the overlapping state of the display media by measuring impedance.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a third embodiment of the opening detection device. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the state of the information browsing terminal device 1 having three display media is viewed from the cross section by the holding device having the opening detection device.
In the figure, although the description of the opening detection device is omitted, it is the same as the configuration described in the configuration of the second embodiment of the holding device in FIG. The first display medium 17 on the left side is set to 1.2 pages, and the rightmost third display medium 19 is set to 5.6 pages.
A state in which the display media 17, 18, 19 are tilted on the left side in the drawing by the opening detection device configured by the first strain detection elements 17 a, 18 a, 19 a and the second strain detection elements 17 b, 18 b, 19 b is “←”. The state in which the display medium is tilted to the right side in the drawing by the opening detection device is represented as “→”.
The state of each open detection device from the left side of the figure,
If the state is “→→→”, it is determined that the first page is open.
If the state is “← →→”, it is determined that the second and third pages are opened.
If the state is “←← →”, it is determined that the fourth and fifth pages are open.
If the state is “←←←”, it is determined that the sixth page is opened.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of spread determination. The program of the opening detection device as described above is stored in the internal memory of the information browsing terminal device and is executed by the CPU. In FIG. 8, it is determined that the place where the left and right direction of the opening detection device changes is opened.
First, the state of the opening detection device is acquired (S1). Next, it is determined whether or not “→→→”. If so, it is determined that the first page is opened (S2). Next, it is determined whether or not “← →→”. If so, it is determined that the second and third pages are open (S3).
Next, it is determined whether or not “←← →”. If so, it is determined that the fourth and fifth pages are open (S4). Next, it is determined whether or not “←←←”, and if so, it is determined that the sixth page is opened (S5). If it is not “←←←”, the program is terminated as indefinite (S6).
Here, three display media are exemplified, but the same applies to three or more and three or less. With one opening detection device, the opening direction can be determined only by the left and right judgments. In the case where a rotary encoder or a strain detection element is used for the opening detection device, a finer angle can be detected.

In the device using the switch described in relation to FIG. 3, there are two types of right-opening and left-opening, but this can be increased to three or more types. For example, it is a state of right opening, left opening, and closing. The closed state is a state where the information browsing terminal device is closed like a book.
Here, it indicates that the display medium 3 is in a vertical position in FIG. 3 or FIG. A determination range of a desired angle, for example, ± 10 degrees, is set to a closed state as a right side + angle and a left side-angle with respect to a vertical state. If all the display media are in the closed state, it can be determined that the information browsing terminal device is closed.
If a display medium is in a closed state, the display medium on the left side of the display medium is “←”, and the display medium on the right side is “→”, the display medium is held by the user. It can be judged.
In the present invention, the state transition of the opening detection device is detected and used as transition information. Thus, it can be detected that the user is turning the page. The transition information is recorded including the time. Alternatively, the transition time interval is obtained. Estimate the usage status from the page turning time interval.
For example, the standard reading time is determined in advance from the number of characters of the displayed information and the complexity of the text. This standard time is compared with the page turning time interval. If the page turning interval is, for example, less than half or twice the standard time, the user of the information browsing terminal device determines that the page is not read.

The display means that the user of the information browsing terminal device is viewing can be specified by the spread determination device. For example, when text data is displayed on the information browsing terminal device, the display means of the display medium that the user is viewing is not rewritten. Then, the display means that the user has not seen is rewritten. By doing so, an information browsing terminal device closer to an actual book can be provided.
Conversely, only the page of the display means that the user is viewing is rewritten, and the page that is not viewed is not written. Then, it is possible to suppress the rewriting of the page that is not viewed, and to save power consumption. For example, when displaying a quiz on the information browsing terminal device, the problem is displayed on the open display means, and the answer is written in the display means hidden behind the display means.
You may connect the display medium which has a display means of a different kind, resolution, and size to an information browsing terminal device. In such a case, the type, resolution, and size are recorded in the identification ID of the display medium, and can be dealt with by reading the information browsing terminal device.
The present invention is not limited to the configuration in which the display medium is attached to and detached from the holding device, but can be similarly applied to a configuration in which the holding device and the display medium are not separated but separated on the information browsing terminal device side. It is not always necessary to separate the display media. In that case, there is no need to provide a mechanism such as a clamp for separating the display media.
In order to retain display contents when separated from the information browsing terminal, the display medium may be equipped with a battery as a power source. The battery may be a rechargeable battery. The rechargeable battery may be charged by receiving power from the information connection unit. A photoelectric conversion element may be mounted on the display medium and a rechargeable battery of the display medium may be charged.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an electrophoretic display used as a display device in the information browsing terminal device of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of the electrophoretic display of FIG. FIG. 11 is an enlarged schematic view showing the TFT portion in FIG.
9 to 11, first, in the electrophoretic display C of FIG. 9, a positive charge or a negative charge is placed between the upper and lower substrates 20, 21 between the opposing electrode substrates 22, 23. A liquid in which charged white particles 24 and black particles 25 are dispersed is enclosed. Here, the white particles 24 and the black particles 25 are charged with different charges.
One of the opposed electrodes is a transparent common electrode 20, and the other is a pixel electrode 21 partitioned in a matrix. During operation, a constant voltage is applied to the common electrode 20. Each of the pixel electrodes 21 is electrically connected to a source electrode 27 (FIG. 11) of a thin film transistor (hereinafter referred to as TFT (Thin Film Transistor)) 26.
The TFTs 26 arranged in the row direction have their gate electrodes 28 connected to each other by a scanning line 30 (FIG. 10), and the TFTs 26 arranged in the column direction have their drain electrodes 29 connected to each other by a signal line 31.

The TFT 26 has a function of controlling the amount of current flowing between the source electrode 27 and the drain electrode 29 by the potential applied to the gate electrode 28. (Hereinafter, the state in which the amount of current is increased is called “TFT switching on”, and the state in which the amount of current is reduced is called “TFT switching off”)
On the other hand, there is a drive circuit for supplying a signal to the TFT 26, which is composed of a controller 32, a memory 33, a scanning line driver 34 and a signal line driver 35. The memory 33 stores display data for each pixel of the frame.

Next, the general operation of the configuration examples shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 will be described below. The operation switching unit 4 generates a display switching command signal and a display switching operation stop command signal. The display switching operation is started or stopped by transmitting and recognizing these signals to the controller 32.
When a new frame is displayed on the display medium (FIG. 1), a command signal 36B is sent from the controller 32 to the scanning line driver 34. In response to this command signal 36B, a voltage is applied from the scanning line driver 34 to the gate electrode 28 of each TFT 26 through the scanning line 30, and the TFT switching is controlled.
The command signal 36B from the controller 32 here includes a control signal for turning on the TFT switching of which scanning line 30 and a control signal for determining the timing of voltage output from the scanning line driver 34.

On the other hand, an addressing signal 36A is sent from the controller 32 to the memory 33, and a command signal 36C is sent to the signal line driver 35. The display data of each pixel of the above-described frame is extracted from the memory 33 by the addressing signal 36A to the memory 33. The extracted display data 36D is sent to the signal line driver 35.
A voltage is applied from the signal line driver 35 to the drain electrode 29 of each TFT 26 through the signal line 31 by the display data 36D and the command signal 36C. The command signal 36 </ b> C from the controller 32 here includes a control signal for determining the timing for outputting the voltage from the signal line driver 35. The display data 36D extracted here corresponds to a pattern displayed on the TFT 26 in which TFT switching is turned on.
In each TFT 26, a signal applied to the drain electrode 29 during the switching-on period flows to the pixel electrode 23, and a positive voltage or a negative voltage is applied to the pixel electrode 23. Then, an electric field due to a potential difference is generated between the pixel electrode 23 and the common electrode 22, and the white migrating particles 24 or the black migrating particles 25 move toward the common electrode 22, and a pattern is displayed on the common electrode 22 side.
In this manner, the scanning lines 30 are sequentially switched on (hereinafter referred to as scanning), and the display of the frame is completed when a desired pattern is displayed on all the pixels of the TFT 26.
Here, a display using electrophoretic migration was described as the electrophoretic display, but a display using electrophoretic migration using a magnetic field is also conceivable.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the information browsing terminal device of the present invention. The information browsing terminal device 1 includes at least a CPU 37, an internal memory 38, an external memory 39, an operation unit (operation button) 4, an external communication I / F 40, and a communication decoder / encoder 41. The operation unit 4 is used for an interface with a user, and a switch is disposed on the operation unit 4.
An I / F (interface) (not shown) is connected to the bus of the CPU 37 for one or more opening detection devices 42. The communication decoder / encoder 41 performs I / F with the display medium 3.
The information browsing terminal device (electronic book) 1 acquires the content to be displayed on the display medium 3 from the external memory 39 or the external communication I / F 40 and sends it to the display medium 3. As a power source, a battery and an external power source are transformed to a desired voltage and used. The battery may be configured to be charged from an external power source as a rechargeable battery. The rechargeable battery may be charged by a photoelectric conversion element that converts light into electricity.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a display medium applied to the present invention. The display medium 3 has an electrophoretic display 5a constituting the display means 5 on at least one surface thereof. The display medium 3 has an identification ID 43.
This identification ID 43 is different for each display medium 3.
The identification ID 43 may have information on the display means 5 mounted on the display medium 3. The information of the display unit 5 includes at least one of the type of the display unit 5, the number of pixels, the resolution, and the size of the physical display range.
The frame memory 33 stores image data to be displayed on the electrophoretic display 5a. The frame memory 33 may store image data corresponding to the plurality of electrophoretic displays 5a. The communication encoder / decoder 41 converts the display control information and the content to be displayed on the electrophoretic display 5a into a format for communicating with the information browsing terminal device 1 through the information connection unit 3a.
The communication encoder / decoder 41 receives the content to be displayed on the electrophoretic display 5 a from the information connection unit 3 a and develops it in the frame memory 33. The communication encoder / decoder 41 transmits the identification ID 43 to the information browsing terminal device 1 in response to a request from the information browsing terminal device 1.
The controller 32 performs communication control between the display medium 3 and the information browsing terminal device 1 and display control on the electrophoretic display 5a. The display content of the electrophoretic display 5a is updated according to a command from the information browsing terminal device 1.
The selector 44 selects the electrophoretic display 5 a and connects it to the controller 32 and the frame memory 33. Which electrophoretic display is connected is determined by communication from the information browsing terminal device 1.

The operation will be further described with reference to FIGS. The information browsing terminal device 1 tries to communicate with the display medium 3 and confirms the presence or absence of the display medium 3. An identification ID 43 is requested from the display medium 3. The type of the display means 5 of the display medium 3 is specified from the returned identification ID 43. A display area corresponding to the electrophoretic display 5a of each page is calculated.
The information browsing terminal device 1 acquires the content to be displayed on the display medium 3 from the external memory 39 or the external communication I / F 40 according to the state of the operation unit 4 and the opening detection device 42 which is a spread determination device. The display contents are assigned to each electrophoresis display 5a.
The information browsing terminal device 1 develops the assigned display contents in the internal memory 38 so as to correspond to the pixels of the electrophoretic display 5a. The information browsing terminal device 1 sends the developed display content to the display medium 3 through the communication decoder / encoder 41 and displays it on the electrophoretic display 5a according to the states of the operation unit 4 and the opening detection device 42.

Here, the electrophoretic display has been described as an example of the display means of the display medium 3, but various display means may be used depending on the purpose of use. As another example of the display means, one described in Patent Document 3 can be used.
Even when display means other than the electrophoretic display is used in the present invention, it is possible to provide an information browsing terminal device that can specify the display device being browsed by the user when a plurality of display devices are used.
The display means 5 can be easily specified by giving the identification IDs 43 unique to the plurality of display media 3. Even when the order of the detachable display media 3 is changed in the electronic book as the information browsing terminal device 1, it can be specified from the unique identification ID 43 where which display means is connected.
It becomes possible to associate the unique identification ID 43 with the displayed content. Thereby, the contents previously displayed on the display means 5 can be known. Knowing the previous display content makes it possible to determine the necessity of updating.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing an organic EL element as display means applicable to the present invention. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an organic EL (electroluminescence) element which is an example of electronic display means suitably applied to the composite display unit of the present invention.
The organic EL element A has a structure in which a first electrode 46, a charge transporting colored layer 47, a light emitting layer 48, and a second electrode 49 are sequentially stacked on a substrate 45. In the organic EL element A, light emitted from the light emitting layer 48 is extracted through the charge transporting colored layer 47, the transparent first electrode 46, and the transparent substrate 45. The charge transporting colored layer 47 functions as a color filter, and the emission spectrum distribution is corrected and colored light is extracted.
In the organic EL element A applied to the present invention, a hole transport layer or a hole injection layer colored by adding a function such as hole transport or hole injection to the charge transporting colored layer 47 is formed. Further, an arbitrary luminescent color can be extracted by combining the light emitting layer 48 with a white light emitting layer and combining the white light emitting layer with a colored hole transport layer and hole injection layer.

In addition to being capable of color display in this way, organic EL elements
(1) Since it is a self-luminous element, the viewing angle is not limited and the visibility is excellent.
(2) Unlike LCDs (liquid crystal devices), no backlight is required, making it easy to reduce the thickness and size.
(3) The response speed is faster than LCD, so it is excellent for video display.
(4) Low power consumption because it generates little heat,
(5) Because the light emitting cell is made of solid, a flexible substrate can be created.
There are features such as.
By the way, the current television switches the screen at 30 frames / s and displays a moving image. However, in general, a pixel response speed of 15 ms or less is required to comfortably view a moving image.
In contrast, in the case of an organic EL element, the response speed of the pixel can be realized at 10 μs or less. That is, the organic EL element can be said to be an excellent display device having sufficient performance for performing comfortable color moving image display.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing a full-color organic EL display applied to the present invention. The full color organic EL display B is provided with a first electrode 46 on a substrate 45. A red charge transporting colored layer 50, a green charge transporting colored layer 51, and a blue charge transporting colored layer 52 are provided on the first electrode 2, and the charge transporting colored layers 50, 51, 52 of these three colors are provided on the first electrode 2. The light emitting layer 48 has a structure in which the second electrode 49 is further laminated on the light emitting layer 48.
By finely arranging such charge transporting colored layers (hole transport layers) 50, 51, and 52 of red, green, and blue, a fine arrangement of the light emitting layer 48 and a color filter are required. Therefore, the red, green, and blue light emitting pixels can be finely arranged, and the full-color organic EL display B can be formed. Of course, the fine arrangement of these charge transporting colored layers 50, 51 and 52 can be used in combination with the fine arrangement of the light emitting layer 48 and a color filter.

The EL layer provided in the organic EL element applied to the present invention is an organic layer provided between the first electrode and the second electrode facing each other. There is no limitation as long as at least one of the EL layers causes electroluminescence. Moreover, although the EL layer is provided on the first electrode (between the first electrode and the second electrode), even if the EL layer is provided directly on the first electrode, the first electrode and the EL layer are provided as necessary. Another layer may be interposed between them.
The EL layer of the present invention further includes a light-emitting layer, a charge transporting colored layer as an essential layer, a hole transport layer that transports holes to the light-emitting layer, and an electron transport layer that transports electrons as optional layers. (These may be collectively referred to as a charge transport layer), and a hole injection layer that injects holes into the light emitting layer or the hole transport layer, and an electron injection layer that injects electrons into the light emitting layer or the electron transport layer (These may be collectively referred to as a charge injection layer).
Examples of materials constituting these EL layers include the following. First, the charge transporting colored layer is a charge transporting colored layer used in the present invention, which is an organic compound layer having a charge transporting property that increases the light transmittance only in a specific wavelength region.

The charge transporting colored layer used in the present invention is composed of a dye and a pigment having charge transportability per se, or is formed by dispersing a dye and a pigment which may not have charge transportability in a charge transporting material. Is done. Further, it may have other functions such as hole injection and hole transport.
Examples of the dye and pigment that can be used in the charge transporting colored layer include organic dyes such as triphenylmethane dye, xanthine dye, and azo dye, metal complexes such as metal phthalocyanine and metal complex azo, α-Fe ₂ O ₃ Inorganic pigments such as CoO.Al ₂ O ₃ and semiconductors having a band gap value in the visible region such as CdS and CdSSe. As a charge transporting material for dispersing a dye or pigment, a hole transporting material described later can be used. When such a material is used, the emission intensity is not adversely affected.
The thickness of the charge transporting colored layer is preferably 20 to 2000 nm, more preferably 100 to 500 nm, which is thicker than a normal hole transport layer, in order to make the transmittance outside the selective transmission wavelength region 20% or less. . When dyes and pigments are used dispersed in a charge transporting material, precipitation and color change are not likely to occur due to the formation of a salt or the formation of a charge transfer complex between the dye and pigment and the charge transporting material. This is very important.

Next, the light emitting layer is a layer having a function of emitting light by providing a field for recombination of holes and electrons, and can inject holes from the anode or hole transport layer when a voltage is applied, and can also be a cathode or electron injection layer. Further, it can have a function of injecting electrons from the electron transport layer and a function of moving the injected charges.
Examples of materials that can be used as a material for the light emitting layer include various metal complexes represented by metal complexes and rare earth complexes of oxadiazole derivatives, styrylbenzene derivatives, coumarin derivatives, perylene derivatives, quinacridone derivatives, 8-quinolinol derivatives, and the like. , Polymer compounds such as polythiophene derivatives, polyphenylene vinylene derivatives, polyfluorene derivatives, and mixtures thereof.
Next, the hole transport layer is a layer having at least one of a function of injecting holes from the anode, a function of transporting holes, and a function of blocking electrons injected from the cathode. Moreover, you may divide | segment into several layers, such as a positive hole injection layer and a positive hole transport layer according to a function.
As a material constituting the hole transport layer, for example, a hole transporting low molecule such as a carbazole derivative, a triazole derivative, an oxazole derivative, an oxadiazole derivative, a hole transporting polymer such as a polyvinyl carbazole derivative, a polythiophene derivative, Examples thereof include those in which a hole transporting low molecule is dispersed using a polymer having no charge transporting property such as polymethyl methacrylate or polystyrene as a binder. It can be used as a hole transporting layer colored by dispersing the above-mentioned charge transporting colored layer material.

In the present invention, the electrode provided first is referred to as a first electrode, and the electrode provided on the EL layer thereafter is referred to as a second electrode. These electrodes are not particularly limited, but preferably the electrodes are composed of an anode and a cathode. In this case, the first electrode may be either an anode or a cathode. Preferably, one of the anode and the cathode is transparent or translucent.
The anode material preferably has a work function larger than 4 eV so that holes can be easily injected. For example, anode materials include conductive metal oxides such as tin oxide, zinc oxide, indium oxide and indium tin oxide (ITO), metals such as gold, silver, chromium and nickel, and inorganic such as copper iodide and copper sulfide. Examples thereof include conductive materials, organic conductive materials such as polyaniline and polypyrrole, mixtures or laminates thereof, and ITO is particularly preferable from the viewpoint of high conductivity and transparency.
The cathode material preferably has a work function smaller than 4 eV so that electrons can be easily injected. For example, as the cathode material, alkali metals (for example, lithium, sodium, cesium, etc.) and fluorides thereof, alkaline earth metals (calcium, magnesium, etc.) and fluorides thereof, metals such as aluminum, silver and alloys thereof or the like A mixture etc. are mentioned.

In the present invention, a substrate can be provided. This substrate is provided with an electrode and an EL layer on it, and can be made of a transparent material if desired, but may be an opaque material.
The substrate is made of sheet-like or plate-like materials, such as glass plates such as quartz and soda glass, metal plates and foils, plastic substrates / sheets such as acrylic resins, styrene resins, polycarbonate resins, etc. Although used, transparent materials such as glass and plastic are desirable.
In particular, since plastic substrates / sheets can be reduced in weight, are not easily broken, and are flexible, the operability of the display means is close to that of paper, and it is easy to adjust to the hand during use (pages when switching to other display means) This is preferable because the feeling of turning is close to that of paper.

The manufacturing method of the color organic EL element of the present invention is not limited as long as the organic EL element can be manufactured. Specifically, for example, a step of providing a first electrode on a substrate, a step of forming a red, green and blue charge transporting colored layer on the first electrode, and a charge transport of the red, green and blue A method for producing an organic EL device comprising at least a step of forming a white light emitting layer on the colored layer and a step of providing a second electrode on the white light emitting layer can be used.
Compared with the conventional general procedure for sequentially providing a color filter, a first electrode, a hole transport layer, a white light emitting layer, and a second electrode on the substrate, the manufacturing process is made by the manufacturing method according to such a procedure. Can be shortened. Note that the arrangement of the color filter, the substrate, and the first electrode in this order is not practical because the parallax increases.
In addition, since the light emitting layer and the charge transporting colored layer are adjacent to each other, the color purity is further improved as compared with the organic EL element in which the first electrode is sandwiched between the conventional color filter and the light emitting layer. Furthermore, since the first electrode can be formed on the substrate without interposing a heat-sensitive intermediate layer such as a color filter having a heat-resistant temperature of about 250 ° C. at the maximum, the first electrode can be formed at a high temperature. There is an advantage that the resistance value of the first electrode is reduced to about ¼ of the conventional one, the conductivity is increased, and the light emission efficiency of the organic EL element is increased.
In addition, since the hole transport layer that can be used in the present invention can be thickened, a printing method can be used for forming the hole transport layer and the charge transporting colored layer. The manufacturing process can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.
Furthermore, the light emitting layer of the EL element needs to be thin and avoid contact with air, and patterning is difficult. However, the present invention is advantageous in terms of the manufacturing process because it can be performed on a charge transporting colored layer that is easy to pattern without patterning the light emitting layer.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing a liquid crystal display element which is an example of electronic display means suitably applied to the composite display unit of the present invention. FIG. 17 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a case where the liquid crystal display element is applied only to the reflection type. Here, an embodiment of a reflective liquid crystal display element that requires less power consumption will be described, but the present invention is not limited to this.
A reflective liquid crystal display element suitably applied to the present embodiment includes a pair of translucent substrates disposed opposite to each other and a liquid crystal sandwiched between opposing surfaces of the pair of translucent substrates. A liquid crystal display element that performs display using the electro-optic effect of the liquid crystal material. A light reflection layer and a light-transmitting light scattering layer are laminated in this order on either side of the pair of light-transmitting substrates.
As shown more specifically in FIG. 16, the liquid crystal display element (reflection liquid crystal display element) 60 includes a reflection layer (light reflection layer) 62 and a light transmission layer on the upper surface (opposing surface) of the light transmissive substrate 61. Light scattering layer 63, a plurality of signal electrodes (liquid crystal driving electrodes) 65 arranged in parallel, and a signal electrode side substrate 67 in which a liquid crystal alignment film 66 is formed in this order.

The liquid crystal display element 60 is also a scanning in which a plurality of scanning electrodes (liquid crystal driving electrodes) 73 and a liquid crystal alignment film 74 arranged in parallel are formed in this order on the lower surface (opposing surface) of the translucent substrate 72. An electrode side substrate 71 is provided.
Thus, the liquid crystal display element 60 has a liquid crystal panel structure disposed so as to face each other so that the liquid crystal material 68 is sandwiched between the facing surfaces of the signal electrode side substrate 67 and the scanning electrode side substrate 71. Further, the signal electrode 65 and the scanning electrode 73 are arranged so as to be orthogonal to each other.
Each “opposing surface side of the light-transmitting substrate” refers to a portion between the facing surface side of the light-transmitting substrate 61 (or the light-transmitting substrate 72) and the liquid crystal material 68. In addition, the light reflecting layer and the light scattering layer are laminated in this order on the facing surface side, and the light reflecting layer is positioned closer to the facing surface than the light scattering layer. Accordingly, in some cases, another layer may be interposed between the facing surface and the light reflecting layer.
The liquid crystal display element 60 is a simple matrix type liquid crystal display element applied to monochrome display. More specifically, this is a reflective liquid crystal display element that performs display using the electro-optic effect of the liquid crystal material 68 by applying a predetermined voltage between the intersections of the signal electrode 65 and the scanning electrode 73.
In this liquid crystal panel structure, each “opposing surface” of each of the translucent substrates 61 and 72 forms an inner surface of the liquid crystal cell, and is sometimes referred to as an “inner surface”. The back surface of the “inner surface” of each of the translucent substrates 61 and 72 is referred to as an “outer surface”.

Hereinafter, the outline of the manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display element 60 will be described. First, the manufacturing process of the signal electrode side substrate 67 constituting the liquid crystal display element 60 will be described. First, a thin film made of a material having high reflection characteristics such as aluminum, that is, a reflective layer 62 is uniformly formed on one surface (opposing surface) of the translucent substrate 61 by sputtering.
The layer thickness (film thickness) of the reflective layer 62 is not particularly limited, but is about 1000 mm in the present embodiment. The material for forming the reflective layer 62 is not particularly limited as long as it has a desired reflection characteristic. For example, silver or the like can be used.
Subsequently, a light-transmitting resin material in which granular silica (light scattering particles) 64 having a particle diameter of 2 μm is substantially uniformly dispersed in the acrylic resin as a base material is uniformly applied on the reflective layer 62 by spin coating, For example, a light scattering layer (translucent resin layer) 63 having a layer thickness of 6 μm was formed by ultraviolet curing.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16, the light scattering layer 63 is formed so that the reflective layer 62 is completely covered. Further, the thickness of the light scattering layer 63 is not particularly limited, but is within the range of 5 μm to 15 μm for the reason of suppressing the in-plane distribution of the scattering characteristics due to the film thickness distribution while ensuring the planar flatness. More preferably.

The base material forming the translucent resin material is not particularly limited as long as it has translucency and can be dispersed without altering the light scattering particles. For example, silicon resin, epoxy resin Etc. can be used in place of the acrylic resin. However, an acrylic resin is more preferable from the viewpoint that a flat thin film can be easily formed (planar flatness is good).
The light scattering particle 64 is not particularly limited as long as it is a particulate material having a refractive index different from that of the substrate and has a particle diameter equal to or smaller than the thickness of the light scattering layer 63. For example, glass beads, plastic beads, etc. can be used.
Subsequently, a transparent conductive film made of a transparent (translucent) conductive material such as ITO (indium tin oxide) was formed on the light scattering layer 63 uniformly by sputtering. Then, by patterning this transparent conductive film by a photolithography method, a plurality of signal electrodes (only one is shown) 65 arranged substantially parallel to each other are formed.
Then, a thin film made of a translucent material such as a polyimide material is patterned by a printing method so as to cover the signal electrode 65 and flatten the unevenness, and a liquid crystal alignment is performed by rubbing the thin film. A film 66 is formed. The signal electrode side substrate 67 is manufactured as described above.

Next, an outline of the manufacturing process of the scan electrode side substrate 71 will be described below. First, a transparent conductive film made of a transparent (translucent) conductive material such as ITO (indium tin oxide) is uniformly formed in one plane on one surface (opposing surface) of the translucent substrate 72 by sputtering. To do.
Then, by patterning the transparent conductive film by a photolithography method, a plurality of scanning electrodes 73 arranged substantially parallel to each other are formed. Then, a thin film made of a translucent material such as a polyimide material is patterned by a printing method so as to cover the scanning electrode 73 and flatten the unevenness, and a liquid crystal alignment is performed by rubbing the thin film. A film 74 is formed.
Subsequently, the spacer 69 is dispersed with respect to one of the liquid crystal alignment films 66 and 74 (or both in some cases), and at the periphery of the signal electrode side substrate 67 or the scan electrode side substrate 71 as an adhesive and a sealing material. A sealing resin layer 70 is formed. Note that the sealing resin layer 70 is not formed in a portion corresponding to a liquid crystal injection port (not shown). Then, the signal electrode side substrate 67 and the scan electrode side substrate 71 are bonded together with a seal resin 70 interposed therebetween.

Next, a liquid crystal display element 60 is manufactured by injecting and filling the liquid crystal material 68 into the liquid crystal cell from the liquid crystal injection port and sealing the liquid crystal injection port. The spacer 69 functions to keep the cell spacing of the liquid crystal display element 60 constant. Further, the signal electrode 65 may function as a scan electrode, and the scan electrode 73 may function as a signal electrode.
As described in the above manufacturing process, both the reflective layer 62 and the light scattering layer 63 are uniformly formed in a planar shape. Therefore, a conventional reflection type liquid crystal display element (referred to as a conventional type liquid crystal display element) which forms a light scattering / reflecting plate by forming a reflection layer (light reflection layer) along the shape on a resin layer having an uneven shape. In comparison, it is not necessary to provide a leveling resin layer for leveling the uneven shape.
Therefore, it is possible to efficiently manufacture a reflective liquid crystal display element having a target light scattering / reflecting plate (that is, a laminated structure plate of the reflecting layer 62 and the light scattering layer 63 in the present embodiment). .

In the present embodiment, the reflective layer 62 is extremely thin, has a thickness of 1000 mm, and is formed on the inner surface of the translucent substrate 61, and is considered to have the same flatness as the inner surface. That is, since the light scattering layer 63 is formed on the reflective layer 62 having high flatness, it can be formed with good in-plane distribution and inter-substrate distribution (that is, good quality stability).
In the present embodiment, the thickness of the light scattering layer 63 is 6 μm, and both the in-plane distribution and the inter-substrate distribution are excellent, and the surface flatness is extremely excellent within ± 0.1 μm based on the horizontal plane. The value was shown.
Further, in this structure, since there is no layer interposed between the reflective layer 62 and the light scattering layer 63, it is possible to suppress optical loss, which is extremely excellent equivalent to the conventional liquid crystal display element. It is possible to satisfactorily manufacture quality stability of a reflective liquid crystal display element having optical characteristics (contrast, viewing angle, etc.).

As shown in FIG. 17, when the manufactured liquid crystal display element 60 is applied only to the reflection type, the light used for display is on the outer surface side of the translucent substrate 72 (the side where the observer M is present in the figure). Is incident on the liquid crystal display element 60 from the light source 75 for reflection.
This light is given to the liquid crystal display element 60 as, for example, light transmitted through a film (hereinafter referred to as a polarization phase difference plate 76) formed by laminating a polarizing plate and a phase difference plate. This light passes through the light-transmitting substrate 72 and the liquid crystal material 68 and reaches the reflection layer 62 (not shown) on the light-transmitting substrate 61, and is reflected by the reflection layer 62 toward the light-transmitting substrate 72.
Although omitted in FIG. 17, as described in relation to FIG. 16, the liquid crystal material 68 in which the light scattering particles 64 are scattered is included between the light transmitting substrate 72 and the light transmitting substrate 61. Similarly, a scanning electrode 73 made of a transparent conductive material (a part of the light passes between the scanning electrodes 73 and 73), a liquid crystal light distribution film 74, a liquid crystal alignment film 66, and a signal electrode 65 made of a transparent conductive material. (A part of the light is transmitted between the signal electrodes 65 and 65), and a light scattering layer 63 and a reflection layer 62, which are translucent resin layers.

The light reflected by the reflective layer 62 is immediately incident on the light scattering layer 63, and is uniformly diffused inside the liquid crystal cell by the light scattering particles 64 uniformly dispersed in the light scattering layer 63 and used for display. Is done. The light scattering characteristics (light diffusion characteristics) of the light scattering layer 63 are, for example, a combination of a base material and the light scattering particles 64; the particle diameter of the light scattering particles 64; the content of the light scattering particles 64; the layer thickness; It can be controlled as desired by changing factors such as the degree of dispersion uniformity of the light scattering particles 64 in the material.
The polarization phase difference plate 76 only needs to be disposed between the light source 75 for reflection and the liquid crystal display element 60, and is attached to the outer surface of the translucent substrate 72 and integrated with the liquid crystal display element 60. It may be a thing.
By providing the polarization phase difference plate 76, it is possible to obtain a good display quality in the presence of the reflection light source 75. The reflection light source 75 that emits the light is not particularly limited, and may be arbitrarily selected from a natural light source or an artificial light source (such as an auxiliary light source).

Note that glass substrates are generally used as the translucent substrates 61 and 72 for reasons such as excellent dimensional stability. However, considering the portability as in the present invention and considering the speciality of switching to other display means during use, a translucent plastic substrate (a substrate made of a translucent plastic material) is used. It is desirable to do.
For this reason, the liquid crystal display element 60 according to the present embodiment is preferably applied to monochrome display.
(1) The number of resin layers formed on each of the translucent substrates 61 and 72 is relatively small, and control of dimensional changes is relatively easy.
(2) Strict alignment is basically required only for the positional relationship between the liquid crystal driving electrodes (the signal electrode 65 and the scanning electrode 73), so that the tolerance for dimensional change is relatively wide.
(3) By making it flexible, it is possible to obtain a feeling of use closer to paper (feeling of turning pages) when switching to other display means, that is, easy to adjust to the hand.
Etc.
In addition, if a translucent plastic substrate is used in place of the glass substrate, the reflective liquid crystal display device according to the present invention can be made thinner and lighter, and breakage and cracking are less likely to occur. There are advantages. In the present invention, even when a light-transmitting plastic substrate is actually used as the light-transmitting substrates 61 and 72, good display quality can be obtained by applying the display optical system shown in FIG.

In the present invention, the plastic substrate is not particularly limited as long as it is a transparent and flexible plastic substrate. For example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethersulfone (PES), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN). ), Polycarbonate (PC), nylon, polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polysulfone (PSF), polyetherimide (PEI), polyarylate (PAR), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), or polyimide substrate ing.
The response speed of the liquid crystal display element is the fastest and is about 10 ms, which is a level at which a comfortable moving image can be displayed, but it does not reach the above-described organic EL element. That is, normal moving image display can be performed without any problem, but the organic EL element is more advantageous when there is a demand for comfortable high-speed moving image display.
However, the liquid crystal display element is advantageous over the organic EL element in terms of low power consumption. In particular, in the case of a reflection type liquid crystal that does not use a backlight as described above, the power consumption is very small. Therefore, in a device that is assumed to be carried as in the present invention, the battery capacity is small, which is advantageous. It is.
By the way, the liquid crystal display element also uses a color filter, and color display is possible. Therefore, when a high speed moving image display is not required and color display is desired with low power consumption, the liquid crystal display element is It is advantageous.

It is a schematic perspective view which shows the information browsing terminal device by this invention. It is the schematic which shows the side of the information browsing terminal device of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the structure of 1st Embodiment of a holding | maintenance apparatus. It is the schematic which shows the structure of 2nd Embodiment of a holding | maintenance apparatus. It is the schematic which shows 1st Embodiment of an opening detection apparatus. It is the schematic which shows 2nd Embodiment of an opening detection apparatus. It is the schematic which shows 3rd Embodiment of an opening detection apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of spread determination. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the electrophoretic display used as a display apparatus for the information browsing terminal device of this invention. It is a block diagram explaining the circuit structure of the electrophoretic display of FIG. It is the schematic which expands and shows the TFT part in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the information browsing terminal device of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the display medium applied to this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows an organic EL element as a display means applicable to this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the full color organic electroluminescent display applied to this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the liquid crystal display element which is an example of the electronic display means applied suitably for the composite display unit of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing explaining the case where a liquid crystal display element is applied only to a reflection type.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information browsing terminal device (electronic book), 2 Holding device, 2a Opening detection device (clamp part), 2b Opening detection device (spring switch), 2c Opening detection device (rotary shaft), 2d Opening detection device (circumferential part) 2e Open detection device (circumferential portion), 3 display media, 3a information connection unit, 4 operation unit, 5 display means, 5a display, 7 open detection device (flexible member, strain detection element), 8 open Detection device (flexible member, strain detection element), 9a spread determination device (convex portion of display medium 9), 9b spread determination device (sensor), 10a spread determination device (convex portion of display medium 10), 10b Spread determination device (sensor), 11a spread determination device (convex part of display medium 11), 11b spread determination device (sensor), 12 display media, 13 spread spread Device (electrode), 14 spread determination device (impedance element, resistor), 15 spread determination device (electrode), 16 spread determination device (impedance measuring device, resistance meter), 32 controller, 37 CPU, 43 identification IC, 60 liquid crystal Display element (reflection type liquid crystal display element), 67 Signal electrode side substrate, 71 Scan electrode side substrate, A organic EL element, B organic EL element, C electrophoretic display

Claims (2)

In the information browsing terminal device that bundles a plurality of display means,
A display medium having display means on at least one surface thereof; a holding device that holds the display medium; an opening detection device that is included in the holding device and detects a spread state of the display medium from an opening angle; and the opening detection A spread determination device that determines a display means that is spread based on a detection state of the device, and the holding device has a circumferential portion that rotates around a rotation axis in accordance with an opening and closing operation, An information browsing terminal device , wherein an opening angle is detected by changing a radius, and display means for updating a display is determined based on a result of the spread determination device. In the information browsing terminal device according to claim 1,
The information browsing terminal device, wherein the display medium is detachable .

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