JPH11184442A - Back light controller and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable power consumption to be suppressed minutely and also to enable effective emphasis displays to be performed even on a display screen performing a monochromatic display by reducing illumination with respect to unwanted parts in an illuminator performing illumination from the back of the display screen. SOLUTION: In a back light controller controlling the lighing and the putting out of plural illuminators 2... arranged in a matrix at the back of the LCD (liquid crystal panel) had by a display device, display positions of data to be displayed on th LCD are specified by a back light driving controller 17 based on display information to be generated by a CPU 11 and illumination is performed with respect to only parts on which displays are to be performed on the LCD by lighting only illuminators corresponding to specified positions.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a backlight control device and a storage medium for controlling a backlight device that illuminates from behind a display screen in a liquid crystal display device or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An LCD (Liquid Crystal D) using a liquid crystal.
A display device that performs display using an isplay screen has many advantages, such as easy miniaturization, and has been rapidly spread in recent years with technological progress.

[0003] Of these liquid crystal display devices, a liquid crystal display screen for performing color display requires a backlight device for illuminating from the back of the display screen. Also, in a liquid crystal display device that performs monochrome display, a backlight device is not necessary if the surroundings are sufficiently bright, but for example, a portable terminal device may be used even in a dim place, and a monochrome screen may be used. In many cases, a backlight device was provided.

[0004] As a conventional backlight device, for example, a device using a fluorescent tube can be cited. In particular, when it is necessary to reduce the size and thickness, an EL (Electronic L) is used.
uminescence) elements have been used.

[0005]

However, in the backlight device using the above-mentioned EL element, there is a problem that relatively large power is consumed. In particular, in a small electronic device, it is very important to reduce the size of a power supply portion. For this reason, a device for suppressing power consumption has been devised. However, on the other hand, the size of the display screen is increasing, and the power consumption tends to increase. Therefore, a technique of suppressing power consumption is regarded as more important.

The backlight device has also been devised for power saving, but the conventional method has been to turn off the light mainly when it is not necessary to perform illumination. For example, in a mobile phone, a method of turning on a backlight when a key is pressed in a dark place and turning off the light when the operation is completed and no input is performed for a predetermined time has elapsed. there were.

However, the conventional method as described above only controls turning on and off of the backlight. For example, even when a small amount of information is input, illumination is performed over the entire display screen. There was a lot of waste, and it was not possible to take measures to save power more finely.

[0008] Among the liquid crystal display screens, electronic devices having a liquid crystal display screen for performing monochrome display are widely used because a small display screen can be provided at low cost. However, on a liquid crystal display screen that performs monochrome display, only the method of performing blinking display or the like can be used to perform highlighted display, and there is a problem that effective highlighted display cannot be performed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a lighting device that illuminates from the back of a display screen, by reducing the illumination of unnecessary parts, thereby finely suppressing power consumption, and is also effective for a display screen that performs monochrome display. That is, the highlighting can be performed.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A backlight control device that is arranged in a matrix on the back of a display screen and controls a plurality of lighting devices that illuminate the display screen, and when information is displayed on the display screen, a display position of the information. And a lighting control means for lighting the lighting device corresponding to the position on the display screen specified by the display position specifying means.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the illuminating device corresponding to the position where information is displayed on the display screen is turned on, so that only a necessary portion on the display screen is illuminated, and unnecessary illumination is performed. Therefore, unnecessary power consumption can be suppressed and efficiency can be improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus having a display screen and input means for inputting data at a specific position on the display screen, wherein the electronic apparatus is arranged in a matrix on the back of the display screen. A backlight control device that controls a plurality of lighting devices that illuminate a display screen, comprising: a position detection unit that detects a position where data is input by the input unit; and a display control unit that detects a position on the display screen detected by the position detection unit. And lighting control means for turning on the lighting device corresponding to the position.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when a position for inputting data is designated by the input means, the illuminating device corresponding to this position is turned on, so that the position to be illuminated on the display screen Can be quickly identified, the input area can be highlighted, and unnecessary areas are not illuminated, reducing power consumption and increasing efficiency. Can be achieved.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a computer system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a computer system 1 includes a CPU 11, an input device 12, a RAM,
13, storage device 14, storage medium 1 included in storage device 14
5. Display device 16, LCD 16 included in display device 16
a, a backlight driving device 17, a backlight unit 18 connected to the backlight driving device 17, and a bus 19, the storage medium 15 and the backlight unit 18.
Are connected to a bus 19.

CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11
Reads and executes a program stored in the storage medium 15, expands the program in a memory area provided in the RAM 13, and stores various data stored in the storage medium 15 and data input by the input device 12. Based on the instruction input from the input device 12, predetermined data processing is executed.

The CPU 11 generates display information for displaying data input from the input device 12 and a result of performing predetermined data processing on the LCD 16a, outputs the display information to the display device 16, and outputs the display information to the display device 16. To be displayed. In addition, based on the display information, data indicating a position at which display is performed on the LCD 16a is generated, output to the backlight driving device 17, and illumination is performed by the backlight unit 18.

The input device 12 comprises a keyboard having cursor keys, numeric input keys, and various function keys. When each key is detected to be pressed, a corresponding press signal is generated and output to the CPU 11. . In addition,
The input device 12 is not limited to a keyboard, and may include a pointing device such as a mouse or a touch panel as needed.

The storage device 14 has a storage medium 15 in which programs, data, and the like are stored. The storage medium 15 is constituted by a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory. The storage medium 15 is fixedly provided in the storage device 14 or is detachably mounted.
A program for generating display information by the CPU 11, a program for processing various data input from the input device 12, and the like are stored.

The data and the like stored in the storage medium 15 may be received and stored from another device connected via a communication line or the like, and may be connected via a communication line or the like. Alternatively, a storage device having the above storage medium may be provided on another device side, and the program and data stored in the storage medium 15 may be used via a communication line.

The display device 16 is an LCD (Liquid Crystal).
Display 16a, which is generated by the CPU 11 based on various data and the like input by the input device 12, and displays on the LCD 16a based on the input display information.

The backlight driving device 17 includes the display device 1
6 is provided with a backlight unit 18 installed on the back of the LCD 16a. The backlight unit 18 includes a plurality of lighting devices 2 arranged on a matrix, as described later. The backlight driving device 17 receives data indicating a display position generated by the CPU 11. Then, on / off of each lighting device 2,... Of the backlight unit 18 is controlled based on this data.

A RAM (Random Access Memory) 13
A memory area for temporarily storing various programs processed by the CPU 11 and data related to the processing is formed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of data stored in the RAM 13. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the display start position in the horizontal axis direction is stored in the RAM 13 as “number a”, and similarly, the display position in the vertical axis direction is “number b”, and the number of characters to be displayed is “number b”. The number c is stored. Also, variables w, z, X, and Y are stored in the RAM 13, and these variables include the lighting devices 2 to be turned on in the lighting control process of the lighting devices 2,. When specifying..., The respective numerical values related to the processing are stored.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration and an operation state of the backlight unit 18. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, (a)
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the backlight unit 18, and FIG. 2B is a side view. (C) is a diagram showing a state in which all the lighting devices 2 provided in the backlight unit 18 are turned on, and (d) is a diagram showing a state in which some of the lighting devices 2 are turned on. It is.

That is, as shown in these figures, the backlight section 18 is composed of a total of 48 lighting devices 2, arranged in a matrix of 8 rows and 6 columns, and is arranged in horizontal rows. Are denoted by a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and h, respectively, and similarly,
, Are assigned. Each of the lighting devices 2,... Can be designated by these codes.
In the figure, the lighting devices 2 arranged in the fourth column from the left and the second column from the top are identified by being represented by “d,”.

Also, taking the example of FIG. 3D as an example, in the state shown in FIG. 3D, the lower two columns are all lit.
In order for the backlight unit 18 to be turned on in this way, an instruction of “turn on” may be input from the backlight driving device 17.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a connection state between the backlight driving device 17 and the backlight section 18. As shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, each column of the backlight unit 18 in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction is connected to the backlight driving device 17, and an instruction is output from the backlight driving device 17.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which an instruction is output from the backlight drive unit 17 to the backlight unit 18 and each of the lighting devices 2,... Of the backlight unit 18 is turned on in accordance with the instruction. In the state shown in FIG. 5, “a lighting” and “,
"ON" has been input. The instruction of “a lighting” is an instruction to specify a horizontal row, and the instruction of “, lighting” is an instruction to specify a vertical row. As a result of the control based on this instruction, in the backlight unit 18, only the lighting devices 2,... Belonging to the column and the columns among the lighting devices 2,. In this way, by outputting the instructions for designating the vertical and horizontal rows from the backlight driving device 17, the specific lighting device 2, among the lighting devices 2,. ... can be turned on one by one.

FIG. 6 shows a display on the LCD 16a when processing is executed by the computer system 1,
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a lighting state of the backlight device 18 at that time. On the LCD 16a, it is possible to display six character strings vertically, and to display a character string of 24 characters horizontally. Therefore, the same number of characters as the lighting devices 2 are displayed in the vertical direction with respect to the arrangement of the lighting devices 2 in the backlight portion 18, and the area corresponding to one lighting device 2 is displayed in the horizontal direction. Three characters are displayed.

In the example shown in FIG.
"Menu" is displayed at the bottom of 6a.
In this case, in the backlight unit 18 as well, all of the lighting devices 2,... In the lowermost row are turned on, and the other lighting devices 2,.

In the state shown in FIG. 6B, "memo input mode" and seven characters are displayed in the uppermost row, that is, in the center of the column, as data to be displayed. Leave a letter and "meet on February 4"
And 10 characters are displayed. In this case, the backlight unit 18 illuminates the columns c, d, e, and f so that all characters are illuminated.
In the columns, columns a, b, c, and d are lit.

Then, further input is performed from the state shown in FIG. 6B, and "place is headquarters" is displayed in the column with five characters. The lighting devices 2,... in column c are lit.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the control processing of the backlight unit 18 by the backlight driving device 17.

First, for the data displayed on the LCD 16a, the display start position on the horizontal axis, the display start position on the vertical axis, and the number of characters displayed in a row are stored in the RAM 13 (FIG. 3).
Are stored as a, b, and c (step S1).

Subsequently, the number a set in step S1 is divided by 3, and the quotient obtained by rounding up the fraction to become an integer is substituted for a variable w. Similarly, the number c is divided by 3, the fraction is rounded up, and the quotient is substituted into the variable z as an integer (step S
2).

As described above, on the LCD 16 a of the computer system 1, three characters are displayed side by side in an area covered by one lighting device 2.
Therefore, in order to calculate the lighting devices 2,... To be turned on to cover all the characters, the display start position on the horizontal axis and the number of characters arranged horizontally are divided by 3, and further rounded up, the quotient is calculated. It should be an integer.

Thereafter, the value of the variable w is substituted for the variable X,
The numerical value of b is substituted for the variable Y (step S3), and an instruction to turn on the lighting devices 2,... In the vertical Y column and an instruction to light the lighting devices 2,. ).
Thereby, one lighting device 2 belonging to the Y-th column on the vertical axis and belonging to the X-th column on the horizontal axis, that is, the lighting device 2 for illuminating the first character in the vertical column for displaying characters
Lights up.

Thereafter, the variable z is decremented (-1) (step S5), and whether or not the variable z is 0, that is, all the illumination devices 2,.
It is determined whether or not the lighting process has been completed (step S
6).

In step S6, unless z = 0, the variable w is incremented (+1) (step S6).
8) Return to step S3, and repeat the processing from step S3 to step S6.

Then, in step S6, z = 0, and all the lighting devices 2,.
When the lighting process is completed for the lighting devices 2,..., The unspecified lighting devices 2,... Are turned off, and only the specified lighting devices 2,.

Further, when displaying a character string which is arranged in a plurality of columns in a vertical direction, it can be controlled by repeating the above processing for each column.

In the computer system 1, when the entire screen such as a menu screen is to be illuminated, an instruction to display all the illuminating devices 2,... Desired illumination can be performed.

As described above, according to the computer system 1 of the first embodiment of the present invention, the lighting devices 2,... The lighting devices 2 can be individually turned on and off. With this, LCD
When a character is displayed on the LCD 16a, the lighting devices 2,... Corresponding to the position of the character are turned on.
There is no need to illuminate the area where characters are not displayed. Therefore, when displaying on a part of the LCD 16a, waste such as illuminating the entire LCD 16a can be eliminated, and power consumption can be suppressed.

In the computer system 1 according to the first embodiment, the backlight driving device 1
7 may be configured to be capable of performing control based on information input from the input device 12. In this case, when the lighting control of the lighting devices 2,... Is performed by the backlight driving device 17, the user decides whether or not to input data related to lighting and turning off of the lighting devices 2,. This can be realized by adopting the configuration required in (1).

(Second Embodiment) Next, a computer system 10 as a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this computer system 10, the configuration of each unit except for the input device 22 is the same as that of the computer system 1 according to the first embodiment.

The input device 22 includes a recognition unit 22a and a touch panel 22b connected to the recognition unit 22a. The touch panel 22b is configured such that a plurality of pressing portions 23,... That output a pressing signal when the surface is pressed and a touch input is performed are arranged in a matrix.

The recognition unit 22a is provided with the touch panel 22
Based on the pressing signals input by the pressing units 23,... b, the pressed position is specified, and position information indicating the pressed position is output to the CPU 11 and the backlight driving device 17.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a main part showing a configuration including a display device 16, an input device 22, a backlight drive device 17, and a backlight unit 18 in a computer system 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. It is.

As shown in FIG. 8, the touch panel 22
b are arranged on the surface of the LCD 16 a of the display device 16, and the lighting devices 2,.
The touching portions 23,... Of the touch panel 22b have the same size, and the front of each lighting device 2,.
Each pressing part 23,... Therefore,
One pressing unit 23 can be illuminated by one illuminating device 2.

That is, the pressing parts 23,.
,,,, And a, b, c,
The rows are arranged in columns d, e, f, g, and h.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a process of detecting an input to the touch panel 22b by the recognition unit 22a and a process of controlling the lighting of the lighting devices 2,... By the backlight driving device 17.

That is, the touch panel 2 is operated by an input pen or the like.
When a part of the pressing part 2b is pressed, the recognition unit 22a
Based on the pressing signals output from 3,..., Position information for specifying the pressed position is generated. For example, in the state shown in FIG. 9, the recognition unit 22a outputs position information “a ,,”. Based on this information, the backlight drive device 17 outputs “a lighting” and “, lighting” instructions to the backlight unit 18 in order to illuminate the pressed position. Belong to a column, and
The columns and the lighting devices 2 belonging to the columns are lit.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display executed by the computer system 10 on the LCD 16a. FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating an example of a menu screen displayed on the LCD 16a, and FIG.
It is a figure showing the state where touch input was performed in the display state shown to (a). FIG. 11C is a diagram illustrating a state where a touch input is further performed in the state illustrated in FIG.

In FIG. 10A, the menu screen is displayed on the LCD 16a. This screen is a screen requesting the user to select a menu,
The user can select a menu by pressing a portion where a desired menu is displayed and performing touch input.

Here, when a touch input is performed, FIG.
The state shifts to the state shown in FIG. That is, when the user selects “Menu 1” and performs a touch input on the LCD 16a, the lighting device 2 is displayed in the portion where “Menu 1” is displayed.
Illumination by ... is performed.

Here, the touch input is made to the pressing portion 23 in the row b and the row. Therefore, the position information is “b,”. "Menu 1" is displayed at the position where the touch input has been made, and this display straddles the adjacent pressing portion 23 and is also displayed in column c. Therefore, in the backlight unit 18, it is necessary to illuminate the c-th row together with the b-th row, and therefore, in FIG. 10B, the illuminating devices 2,... ing.

Then, when “menu 8” is further selected from the state shown in FIG. 10B and a touch input is performed, as shown in FIG. 10C, the portion where “menu 8” is displayed is displayed. Lighting is performed. Therefore, among the displayed menus, “Menu 1” and “Menu 8”
Are emphasized by the lighting.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the control processing of the backlight section 18 executed by the input device 22 and the backlight driving device 17.

First, when a touch input is made on the touch panel 22b, the input position is recognized, and the input position is set as w on the horizontal axis and b on the vertical axis (step S11).

Subsequently, after substituting w for the variable X1 and b for the variable Y (step S12), it is checked whether the touch-input position corresponds to the right half or the left half of one data (step S12). S13).

If it is the right half of the data displayed as one unit, the portion corresponding to the remaining left half of the data also needs to be illuminated. The value reduced by 1 is substituted for a variable X2 (step S14). Similarly, if the touched position is the left half of one piece of data, a value obtained by adding 1 to w is substituted for the variable X2 (step S15).

Then, the lighting devices 2,... Belonging to the X1-th and X2-th columns in the horizontal direction and belonging to the Y-th column in the vertical direction are turned on (step S16), and it is determined whether or not the input has been completed. Confirm (step S17).

If the input is not completed, step S11
The process is terminated if the input has been completed.

As described above, according to the computer system 10 of the second embodiment of the present invention, when a touch input is performed on the touch panel 22b, the input position is specified by the recognition unit 22a, and the corresponding position is specified. .. Are illuminated by the illumination devices 2,... At the portions where the data to be displayed are displayed, so that the necessary portions can be emphasized particularly. As a result, L for performing monochrome display
Effective highlighting can also be performed on a CD. In addition, since the backlight is not turned on in unnecessary portions, power consumption can be suppressed.

In the above embodiment, LC
Although characters are displayed on D16a, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be configured to display general image information, such as video and symbols, that is not restricted to character frames. In this case, it can be realized by controlling the lighting and extinguishing of each of the lighting devices 2,... Based on the coordinates of the display position on the LCD 16a.

It is optional to perform color display or monochrome display by the LCD 16a. However, in the case of monochrome display, it is particularly necessary to use a method of performing highlighted display, such as blinking display, which is usually performed. It can be used for effective highlighting and is very useful. Others
Needless to say, the configuration of the details can be appropriately changed within a range that does not impair the gist of the present invention.

[0068]

According to the first and fifth aspects of the present invention, the illuminating device corresponding to the position where information is displayed on the display screen is turned on, so that only necessary parts on the display screen are illuminated. Since unnecessary lighting is not performed, unnecessary power consumption can be suppressed and efficiency can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, when there is a portion to be illuminated on the display screen, this portion can be designated and illuminated. Since the convenience is not impaired while suppressing power consumption, efficiency can be improved without increasing the burden on the user.

According to the third and sixth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to quickly specify a position to be illuminated on the display screen, and to emphasize and display an input portion. In addition, since unnecessary portions are not illuminated, power consumption can be suppressed and efficiency can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the effect of the third aspect of the invention can be obtained in an electronic device having a touch screen on a liquid crystal display screen. Illumination is performed, convenience at the time of input is improved, and more effective highlighting can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a computer system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of data stored in a RAM of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration and an operation state of the backlight unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a backlight driving device and a backlight unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the backlight driving device of FIG. 1 controls a backlight unit.

6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating an example of a display executed on the LCD along with the processing by the computer system of FIG. 1; FIG. 6A illustrates a state where the display is performed on the LCD;
FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a state where illumination is performed by the lighting device, and FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating a state where further input is performed.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control process of a backlight unit by the backlight drive device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of a computer system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a lighting control process of the lighting device executed by the backlight driving device of FIG. 8;

10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating a display example on the LCD in FIG. 8, wherein FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating an example of a menu screen displayed on the LCD, and FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating a display state illustrated in FIG. It is a diagram showing a state in which a touch input has been performed in,
(C) is a diagram illustrating a state in which a touch input is further performed in the state illustrated in (b).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a control process of a backlight unit performed by the backlight drive device of FIG. 8;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 computer system 2 lighting device 11 CPU 12, 22 input device 13 RAM 14 storage device 15 storage medium 16 display device 16a LCD 17 backlight driving device 18 backlight unit 22a recognition unit 22b touch panel 23 pressing unit

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI G09F 9/00 337 G09F 9/00 337B G09G 3/34 G09G 3/34 J // G05B 15/02 G05B 15/02 A

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A backlight control device which is arranged in a matrix on the back of a display screen and controls a plurality of lighting devices for illuminating the display screen, wherein when information is displayed on the display screen, A display position specifying means for specifying a display position of the information; and a lighting control means for lighting the lighting device corresponding to the position on the display screen specified by the display position specifying means. Light control device. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a lighting position designating unit for designating a position on which illumination is to be performed on the display screen, wherein the lighting control unit is configured to specify a position where illumination is to be performed by the illumination position designating unit. The backlight control device according to claim 1, wherein in the case, the lighting device corresponding to the position is turned on. 3. An electronic device comprising a display screen and input means for inputting data at a specific position on the display screen, wherein the electronic apparatus is arranged in a matrix behind the display screen to illuminate the display screen. A backlight control device that controls a plurality of lighting devices, comprising: a position detection unit that detects a position where data is input by the input unit; and a position corresponding to a position on the display screen detected by the position detection unit. A backlight control device, comprising: lighting control means for lighting a lighting device. 4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the display screen is a liquid crystal display screen, and the input device is a touch screen capable of inputting by touching a surface. Item 4. The backlight control device according to item 3. 5. A storage medium which stores a program which is arranged in a matrix on the back of a display screen and which can be executed by a computer which controls a plurality of illuminating devices for illuminating the display screen. When is displayed, a computer-executable program code for specifying a display position of the information, and a computer-executable program code for turning on the lighting device corresponding to the specified position on the display screen A storage medium storing a program including: 6. An electronic device comprising a display screen and input means for inputting data at a specific position on the display screen, wherein the electronic apparatus is arranged in a matrix behind the display screen to illuminate the display screen. A storage medium storing a computer-executable program for controlling a plurality of lighting devices, the computer-executable program code for detecting a position where data is input by the input unit, and the detected display screen A storage medium storing a program comprising: a computer-executable program code for lighting the lighting device corresponding to the upper position.