JP2000056893A - Portable terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To switch a screen display through easy operation without using a screen switching icon, etc. SOLUTION: The portable terminal device 1 is equipped with an information display screen of liquid crystal, etc., and has a virtual screen larger than the information display screen; and an obliqueness and direction detecting means 10 detects the obliqueness and direction of the portable terminal device, a display area arithmetic means 11 calculates a virtual screen are at a display switching destination according to the detected obliqueness and direction and virtual screen area data held in a virtual screen holding means 12, and a virtual screen control means 13 performs state control over the virtual screen and sets the display area in a display area holding means 14, so that a display means 15 makes a display on the screen of the portable terminal device according to the setting. Consequently, the operator can change the screen which is currently displayed to an arbitrary direction by an arbitrary quantity through easy operation, thus the screen is effectively used to improve the operability.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a portable terminal device for displaying an arbitrary area on a virtual screen by an operator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The greatest feature of a portable terminal device is portability, and its size and weight have been reduced year by year. However, with this, the screen for displaying information such as liquid crystal has become smaller. Generally, a mobile terminal device is provided with a plurality of information management applications such as an address book application and a schedule application, and when these are used, a single area (window) for displaying a set of information on a screen is provided. A plurality of sheets are displayed, an arbitrary position is designated or operated with a touch pen, a mouse, or the like, and a necessary window is selected and displayed.

[0003]

However, in the conventional portable information terminal, for example, when an address book application and a schedule application, which are applications mounted on the portable information terminal, are simultaneously activated and the information is referred to alternately, A region for a display switching icon is required because the window is selected and switched by a window selection means such as a display switching icon, or a plurality of windows are displayed in a superimposed manner. was there. Furthermore, for a window that exceeds the size of the screen, it was necessary to prepare buttons and the like for scrolling on the application side in order to refer to a non-displayed area. However, there is a problem that the screen cannot be effectively used.

[0004] In another conventional scrolling direction indicating method and apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-73008, there is disclosed a technique for instructing a scrolling direction using a pointing device. ,
Pointing on the display screen by the pointing device is limited to scrolling.For example, when the pointing operation itself is data input like a memo pad, it is necessary to prepare another method, and the display screen is always displayed. There is no means to switch.

[0005] The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and one or more sheets referred to by a simple operation without using a pointing device such as a pen or a mouse and without using icons or the like for scrolling. Window area,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an excellent portable terminal device capable of changing another data display area.

[0006]

According to the present invention, an information display screen such as a liquid crystal and data of a virtual screen area which is virtually larger than the information display screen area are stored in a storage device or the like. Virtual screen holding means, virtual screen control means for managing and controlling the state of the virtual screen, display means for displaying on the information display screen, and the operator moving the portable terminal device in any direction to change the display screen. Inclination and direction detection means for detecting the inclination and direction thereof when tilted, inclination and direction detected by the inclination and direction detection means, and virtual screen data held in the virtual screen holding means. Display area calculation means for calculating a virtual screen area of a display switching destination from the display area, and the virtual screen control means sets the display area obtained by the display area calculation means in the display area holding means. As well as, the receiving and display unit a request from the virtual screen control means and performing a display on the information display screen.

Further, the present invention monitors the inclination and the direction of the portable terminal device at an arbitrary cycle based on the detection result of the inclination / direction detecting means, and the inclination within the arbitrary cycle is a predetermined angle. It is characterized in that it is automatically determined whether or not it has exceeded, and when the angle exceeds a predetermined angle, a calculation request is output to the display area calculation means to switch the screen.

Further, according to the present invention, the display area calculating means includes:
When calculating the destination display area from the actual display area on the current virtual screen in response to the request from the inclination / direction detection device, if the destination has no virtual screen area, the current display area Is not changed, and the virtual screen control unit is instructed to make a screen display request to the display unit only when the display area of the movement destination exists.

Further, according to the present invention, the virtual screen control means includes:
Monitors the contents of the entire virtual screen and updates the corresponding virtual screen area when there is a screen switching or data display request requested by the operator or a display request of information or the like from an application or system. A screen display request is made to the display means only when an area in the virtual screen is changed.

Further, according to the present invention, when the display unit receives a display request from the virtual screen control unit, the display unit compares the actual screen currently displayed with the area to be displayed on the virtual screen and changes the display. It is characterized in that only an area or an area stored in advance is displayed on the screen.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention is a virtual screen holding means for holding data such as the size and area of a virtual screen itself, a current display area, and the like. A gradient / direction detecting means for detecting a gradient and a direction when the terminal is tilted in an arbitrary direction; a gradient and a direction detected by the gradient / direction detecting means; and a virtual set in the virtual screen holding means. A display area calculating means for calculating an area to be changed in display from the screen data, and a virtual screen control for managing and controlling the entire virtual screen by setting the display area calculated by the display area calculating means in the display area holding means And display means for actually displaying the information on the screen. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 12 denotes a virtual screen holding device which holds the size and area of a screen (hereinafter, referred to as a virtual screen) that is virtually larger than an actual screen. Means 10 are inclination / direction detection means for detecting the angle of the portable information terminal 1 from the horizontal or vertical direction and the inclination direction of the portable information terminal 1 as viewed from a certain direction, and 11 is inclination / direction detection. A display area calculating means for calculating a virtual screen area of a display switching destination from the inclination and direction detected by the means 10 and the virtual screen data set in the virtual screen holding means 12; A display area holding means for holding the area obtained in step 1; a virtual screen control means 13 for controlling the entire virtual screen and setting the display area on the display area holding means 14; A display means for performing display on the LCD screen of the actual portable terminal device display area requested by. In this embodiment, a portable terminal device having one display screen will be described.

First, an outline of the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The inclination / direction detection means 10 monitors the inclination of the portable terminal device 1 and its direction at an arbitrary cycle. When the operator tilts the mobile terminal device 1 in an arbitrary direction, the inclination / direction detecting means 10 determines the angle of the mobile terminal device 1 from the horizontal direction or the vertical direction and the angle of the mobile terminal device 1.
The tilt direction based on the predetermined direction is detected, and a calculation request for calculating an area for changing the display is issued (S1).

Display area calculation means 1 which has received a calculation request
In FIG. 1, the inclination and the direction of the portable terminal device 1 detected by the inclination / direction detection means 10, the size and area of the virtual screen previously held by the virtual screen holding means 12, and the current display area Then, the moving direction and the moving amount from the currently displayed area in the virtual screen area are calculated, the area to be switched for display is calculated, and an area change request is issued to the virtual screen control means 13 (S2). For example, the display switching area is converted from the inclination and the direction detected by the inclination / direction detection unit 10 into a moving direction and a moving amount in the virtual screen, and calculated from the calculation using the triangle theorem or the like. Ask.

The virtual screen control means 13 which has received the area change request reflects the display request from the application or system on the virtual screen, and sets the display area obtained by the display area calculation means 11 in the display area holding means 14. Then, a display request is issued to the display means to be displayed on the mobile terminal screen (S3).

The display unit 15 that has received the display request actually performs screen display based on the area in the virtual screen set in the display area holding unit 14.

Next, the operation of the inclination / direction detecting means 10 will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 2 shows time on the horizontal axis,
The vertical axis represents the inclination of the mobile terminal device 1 detected by the inclination / direction detection means 10, and shows an example of detection at a certain time.

The inclination / direction detecting means 10 monitors the inclination and the direction of the portable terminal device 1 from the time of starting the system.
The inclination and its direction are detected at an arbitrary period t (detection period). In the detection, it is determined whether the mobile terminal device 1 is simply supported by the operator or a screen switching request. In the case of the screen switching request, an area calculation request S1 is issued to the display area calculation unit 11. If you simply support,
The area stored in the display area holding means 14 is displayed on the display means 15.

An example of a method for determining whether the operator supports the portable terminal device 1 or requests a screen switching will be described. First, the detection cycle t is divided into a fixed judgment cycle T,
At the beginning of the judgment cycle, the current gradient d1 is detected, and this is set as a reference gradient. If the angle detected before the end of the determination cycle T is within a certain range D from the angle d1, it is simply determined that the portable terminal device 1 is supported (a). Judgment cycle T
The angle d2 detected at the end of is set as a new reference angle, and detection is performed. In the detection cycle, when the detected angle once exceeds the range D and returns to the range D again, it is determined that the screen switching request is made (b).

Next, the operation of the display area calculation means 11 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows the display area calculation means 1.
1 shows an example of a method of calculating and calculating an area in the virtual screen to be changed in display.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 20 denotes a virtual screen area which is an area of the entire virtual screen, and reference numeral 21 denotes a display area currently displayed on the screen of the portable terminal device. From the inclination A detected by the inclination / direction detection means 10 and the direction B,
The moving amount C is obtained as C = Ak using a predetermined constant k. The moving direction is determined so as to move below the virtual screen when the front side of the portable terminal device 1 is tilted downward when viewed from the horizontal direction, and the moving amount H in the horizontal direction is obtained as, for example, H = C · cosB. The vertical movement amount V is obtained, for example, as V = C · sinB, and the movement destination area 22 is determined by calculation. The display area calculation means 11 issues a display area change request S2 to the virtual screen control means 13 using the area 22 obtained by the calculation as data.

Next, the operation of the virtual screen control by the virtual screen control means 13 will be described with reference to FIG. When a request to the virtual screen control means 13 is monitored and a request is made to the virtual screen control means 13, first, the request is
It is determined whether or not the display area change request S2 (30),
If the request is the display area change request S2, the process proceeds to a step of issuing a display request to the display unit 15. If the request is not the display area change request S2, it is determined whether the request is a data display request by a user or a data display request such as information from a system or an application (31). Update as requested (3
2) It is determined whether or not the area in the virtual screen currently displayed on the screen has been changed (33), and if so, a screen display request S3 is issued to the display means 15 (3).
4).

The above-described virtual screen control processing is repeated at an arbitrary cycle. Thereby, the number of screen displays can be suppressed, and the processing speed is improved. The period for monitoring the request to the virtual screen control unit 13 may be an arbitrary constant period, or may be a variable period based on inclination / direction detection and other input units.

Next, a specific screen display example will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5A shows a case where the application is a spreadsheet. A large application window 23 is displayed on the virtual screen area 20, and the application window 23 on the virtual screen area 20 is displayed on the liquid crystal screen. Is displayed. In this state, when the front side of the mobile terminal device 1 is tilted downward, the display area 2
Since 1 moves below the virtual screen area 20, the image appears to move upward on the liquid crystal screen. Then, when the display area 21 reaches the lowermost position of the virtual screen area 20, scrolling is stopped at that point.

FIG. 5B shows a case where two applications are displayed on a virtual screen, two windows 24 and 25 are displayed in parallel on a virtual screen area 20, and a virtual screen is displayed on the liquid crystal screen. Only one window 24 on the area 20 is displayed. In this state, when the right side of the mobile terminal device 1 is tilted downward, the display area 21
Moves to the right in the virtual screen area 20, the image appears to move to the left on the liquid crystal screen, and one window 24 comes off the liquid crystal screen and the other window 25 is displayed.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the calculation means calculates the display area on the virtual screen from the inclination and direction detected by the inclination / direction detection means, and the display means displays the area. By providing a portable terminal device, the operator of the portable terminal device can change the display by a simple operation by tilting the portable information terminal by an arbitrary amount in any direction in which the display is to be changed, If only the information on the screen is referred to, the operation can be performed with only one hand, so that the operability is improved and the screen can be effectively used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a portable information terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of inclination / direction detection.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a method for calculating a display area in a virtual screen.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing in a virtual screen control unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific screen display example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 mobile terminal device 10 inclination / direction detection means 11 display area calculation means 12 virtual screen holding means 13 virtual screen control means 14 display area holding means 15 display means 20 virtual screen area 21 display area 22 areas 23, 24, 25 windows

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Tomitsu Tsukuya 2-chome, Meido, Izumi-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture Inside Matsushita Communication Sendai Research Laboratories Co., Ltd. No. 5 F-term in Matsushita Communication Sendai Laboratory (reference) 5B019 DB03 DB06 DB10 EA01 HD01 HD02 KA04 KA10

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An information display screen such as a liquid crystal display, virtual screen holding means for storing data of a virtual screen area virtually larger than the information display screen area in a storage device, and state management and control of the virtual screen. Virtual screen control means, display means for displaying information on an information display screen, inclination / direction detection means for detecting the inclination when the operator inclines the portable terminal device body in an arbitrary direction, and the inclination / direction detection means; Display area calculating means for calculating a virtual screen area of a display switching destination from the inclination and direction detected by the degree / direction detecting means and the virtual screen data held in the virtual screen holding means; The screen control means sets the display area obtained by the display area calculation means in the display area holding means, and in response to a request from the virtual screen control means, the display means sets the information display image. A portable terminal device for displaying on a surface. 2. The inclination / direction detection means monitors the inclination and direction of the portable terminal device at an arbitrary cycle, and automatically determines whether the inclination within the arbitrary cycle exceeds a predetermined angle. 2. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein a determination request is issued to the display area calculation means to switch a screen when the angle exceeds a predetermined angle. 3. The display area calculating means receives a request from the inclination / direction detection device and calculates a destination display area from an actual display area on a current virtual screen. When there is no virtual screen area, the current display area is not changed, and the virtual screen control means is instructed to make a screen display request to the display means only when the destination display area exists. Claim 1 or 2
The portable terminal device according to the above. 4. The virtual screen control means monitors the contents of the entire virtual screen, and corresponds to a case where there is a screen switching or a display request of data or the like requested by an operator, or a display request of information or the like from an application or a system. 4. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the virtual screen area is updated, and a screen display request is issued to the display means only when the area within the currently displayed virtual screen is changed. 5. The display means, upon receiving a display request from the virtual screen control means, compares an actual screen currently displayed with an area to be displayed on the virtual screen, 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein only a previously stored area is displayed on the screen.
The portable terminal device according to the above.