JP2005292674A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display device which allows a position of an operation object part to be easily confirmed, when illuminating. <P>SOLUTION: The display device is provided with a nose which can be opened/closed and has a back light 14 as a light-emitting part and a liquid crystal panel 10 arranged therein; a device body which has a CD insertion hole or the like, which appears in response to an open state of the nose and is shielded, in response to a close state, arranged in a front surface thereof; a control part 40 which causes the back light 14 to selectively illuminate the CD insertion hole or the like, in response to the open state of the nose; an illumination pattern storage part 34; and a display processing part 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device that illuminates an insertion slot of a CD or the like and an operation unit in the vicinity thereof.

Conventionally, a liquid crystal display is placed over the insertion slot of a CD, etc., and when a CD is played back, a predetermined display is performed with the insertion slot closed with the liquid crystal display, and a liquid crystal display is inserted when a CD is inserted into or removed from the insertion slot. A display device that tilts and illuminates an insertion slot is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this display device, when illuminating with a tilted liquid crystal display device, the luminance of the backlight is dimmed to the maximum, the color tone of the screen is changed to a white or other monochrome screen, and the viewing direction is changed by changing the contrast. These have been devised to improve visibility. Thus, by using a liquid crystal display as an illuminating device when a CD or the like is inserted / extracted, an illuminating unit such as an LED used only for illuminating the insertion port of the CD or the like can be eliminated, and the device can be reduced in size and cost. Can be realized.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-327051 (page 3-6, FIG. 1-3)

  By the way, in the display device disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, the entire liquid crystal display set to white or other single color is used as the light emitting unit, and the front surface of the housing including the insertion slot for CDs and the like is evenly illuminated. In addition, the user has to find the position of the insertion port from its shape and the like, and there is a problem that it is not easy to confirm the position of the part to be operated. For example, unlike the case where an illuminating unit such as an LED is arranged around the insertion slot, the user himself / herself needs to find out from the front of the casing that is brightened by the illumination.

  The present invention has been created in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to provide a display device capable of easily confirming the position of an operation target part during illumination.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a display device according to the present invention is capable of being opened and closed and appears when the light emitting unit is arranged, and when the display means is in an open state, and is shielded when it is in a closed state. The apparatus main body in which the operation target part is arranged on the operation target surface, and the illumination control means for selectively illuminating the operation target part by the light emitting unit when the display means is in the open state. Instead of illuminating the entire surface of the apparatus main body with the light emitting part of the display means, the user himself / herself searches for the position of the operation target part by selectively illuminating only the operation target part. The position can be easily confirmed without any problem.

  In addition, the display unit described above preferably includes a backlight as a light emitting unit and a liquid crystal panel disposed on a light emitting surface of the backlight. As a result, it becomes possible to illuminate the operation target part using a liquid crystal panel with a backlight, which is adopted in many apparatuses, and it is not necessary to provide a separate light emitting part for illumination, thereby reducing the number of parts. Cost reduction associated with this is possible.

  Further, the illumination control means described above controls at least one of the brightness and color of the light emitted from the light emitting unit to each of the operation target part and the other part by controlling the display content of the liquid crystal panel. It is desirable to cause selective illumination of the operation target part. Or the illumination control means mentioned above irradiates the light which specified the specific image | video (a character, a figure, a symbol, etc.) to the operation object part or its periphery from the light emission part by controlling the display content of a liquid crystal panel. Therefore, it is desirable to selectively illuminate the operation target part. By simply changing the display content of the liquid crystal display panel, that is, the content of the image to be displayed, it is possible to perform illumination by emphasizing the operation target part without performing complicated processing, thereby simplifying the processing. become.

  In addition, the illumination control unit described above adjusts the voltage applied to the electrodes provided in the liquid crystal panel when the display unit is in an open state to change the orientation angle of the liquid crystal and direct it from the light emitting unit to the operation target site. It is desirable to increase the amount of light irradiation. As a result, it is possible to reduce the amount of light directly directed from the liquid crystal panel to the user at the same time as increasing the amount of light directed toward the operation target part, so that the direct light enters the field of view and becomes dazzling. Can be prevented.

  Further, the liquid crystal panel described above is a combination of the first liquid crystal panel close to the backlight and the second liquid crystal panel far from the backlight, and the illumination control means is configured such that when the display means is in the open state, The voltage applied to the electrodes provided in each of the first and second liquid crystal panels is adjusted to set the orientation angle of the liquid crystal contained in the first liquid crystal panel substantially perpendicular to the light emitting surface of the backlight. It is desirable to change the alignment angle of the liquid crystal contained in the liquid crystal panel 2 to increase the amount of light irradiated toward the operation target site. As a result, even when two liquid crystal panels are used, the amount of light directed toward the operation target portion is increased and at the same time, as in the case where a single liquid crystal panel is used, and at the same time, direct to the user. The amount of light can be reduced.

  In addition, the display unit described above includes a light emitting unit and an adjusting unit that changes the direction of light emitted from the light emitting unit, and the illumination control unit is configured such that when the display unit changes from the closed state to the open state, It is desirable to control the adjusting means to direct the light emitted from the light emitting unit to the operation target site. Thereby, it becomes easy to selectively illuminate the operation target part.

  In addition, the adjustment unit described above is a lens whose direction can be changed, and the illumination control unit preferably directs the light emitted from the light emitting unit to the operation target portion by changing the direction of the lens. Thereby, the irradiation light of a light emission part can be reliably directed with respect to the operation object site | part.

  Hereinafter, a display device according to an embodiment to which an electronic device operating device of the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a display device according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the display device 100 according to the present embodiment includes a liquid crystal panel 10, a liquid crystal driving unit 12, a backlight 14, a backlight driving unit 16, a display processing unit 20, an open / close detection unit 30, and a media insertion detection unit 32. The illumination pattern storage unit 34 and the control unit 40 are included.

  The liquid crystal panel 10 is attached to one surface of a nose that can be opened and closed, and can display an arbitrary color with a predetermined resolution. 2 and 3 are diagrams showing an installation state of the liquid crystal panel. A display device 100 is provided as a part of the in-vehicle device 200 shown in FIGS. This in-vehicle device 200 includes a nose 202 that can be opened and closed, and a device main body 204 to which the nose 202 is attached. The nose 202 covers the entire front surface 210 of the apparatus main body 204 in the closed state. In this closed state, the liquid crystal panel 10 is installed on a surface visible to the driver. Further, the nose 202 can be shifted from the closed state to the open state where the liquid crystal panel 10 gradually slides upward and finally becomes almost horizontal. On the contrary, it is possible to shift from the open state to the closed state. These opening / closing operations may be performed manually by the user in addition to the case where the operation is automatically performed by the drive unit. When the nose 202 is in the open state, the CD insertion slot 220 and the MD insertion slot 230 provided on the front surface 210 of the apparatus main body 204 and the corresponding ejection buttons 222 and 232 are exposed to the outside.

  The liquid crystal driving unit 12 performs display control on the liquid crystal panel 10 by applying a predetermined driving voltage to electrodes disposed on the entire surface of the liquid crystal panel 10. The backlight 14 is disposed inside the nose 202 and on the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10, and irradiates the entire surface of the liquid crystal panel 10 with illumination light composed of monochromatic light. The backlight 14 does not necessarily have to be disposed on the entire back surface of the liquid crystal panel 10, but is disposed near the edge of the liquid crystal panel 10 so that the irradiation light is reflected by a reflection sheet or the like and irradiated to the liquid crystal panel 10. May be. The backlight drive unit 16 controls the illumination state of the backlight 14. The display processing unit 20 performs processing for displaying an image on the liquid crystal panel 10 by controlling the backlight driving unit 16 and the liquid crystal driving unit 12. For example, when drawing data is input, the display processing unit 20 controls the liquid crystal driving unit 12 to display an image corresponding to the drawing data on the liquid crystal panel 10. In addition, the display processing unit 20 sends an instruction to the backlight driving unit 16 to turn on the backlight 14 with a predetermined luminance.

  The open / close detection unit 30 detects the open / closed state of the nose 202. For example, a switch whose on / off state is switched according to the open / close state can be used as the open / close detection unit 30. Alternatively, an optical sensor as the open / close detection unit 30 may be provided on a part of the front surface 210, and the open / closed state of the nose 202 may be detected by the optical sensor.

  The media insertion detection unit 32 detects the insertion state of the CD into the CD insertion slot 220 and the insertion state of the MD into the MD insertion slot 230. The illumination pattern storage unit 34 stores image data indicating illumination patterns corresponding to the shapes and arrangements of the CD insertion slot 220, the MD insertion slot 230, and the eject buttons 222 and 232.

  The control unit 40 controls the overall operation of the display device 100 including control for changing the display content of the liquid crystal panel 10 in accordance with the opening / closing operation of the nose 202. In addition, this control part 40 may serve as the control part which controls the whole vehicle-mounted apparatus 200, and may be provided separately.

  The front surface of the apparatus main body 204 described above is the operation target surface, and the CD insertion slot 220, the MD insertion slot 230, and the eject buttons 222 and 232 are the operation target parts. The liquid crystal panel 10, the liquid crystal drive unit 12, the backlight 14, and the backlight drive. The unit 16 corresponds to the display unit, the backlight 14 corresponds to the light emitting unit, and the control unit 40, the illumination pattern storage unit 34, and the display processing unit 20 correspond to the illumination control unit.

  The display device of the present embodiment has such a configuration, and the operation thereof will be described next. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the display device 100 performed in accordance with the opening / closing operation of the nose 202.

  The control unit 40 determines whether or not the nose 202 has been opened by monitoring the detection state by the open / close detection unit 30 (step 100). If it is not in the open state, a negative determination is made and this determination is repeated. Further, when the nose 202 changes from the closed state to the open state and that is detected by the open / close detection unit 30, an affirmative determination is made in the determination of step 100.

  Next, the control unit 40 reads the illumination pattern image data stored in the illumination pattern storage unit 34 (step 101), and the media (CD, MD) are inserted into the insertion ports 220 and 230, respectively. Whether or not (step 102). In the case of insertion, an affirmative determination is made, and then the control unit 40 reads the image data of the read illumination pattern in order to identify that the CD or MD is being inserted from the case where it is not inserted. A part of the color is changed (step 103). For example, when the CD is being inserted, the colors of the CD insertion slot 220 and the eject button 222 are changed, and when the MD is being inserted, the colors of the MD insertion slot 230 and the eject button 232 are changed. If neither CD nor MD is inserted, a negative determination is made in the determination in step 102, and the color change in step 103 is not performed.

  Next, the control unit 40 performs an illumination pattern rendering process based on the illumination pattern image data read from the illumination pattern storage unit 34 or based on the image data after the color change ( Step 104), the display content so far is changed to an illumination pattern (Step 105).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of display of an illumination pattern. The display example shown in FIG. 5 shows a state in which the nose 202 in the open state is viewed from above, and the upper side corresponds to the lower part of the front surface 210 of the apparatus main body 204. The region P1 includes a portion P11 that covers the CD insertion slot 220 and the eject button 222 in a state where the nose 202 is closed, and a portion P12 that covers the MD insertion slot 230 and the ejection button 232, and is colored brightly. For example, when both CD and MD are not inserted, both the regions P11 and P12 are set to white. When only the CD is inserted, one area P11 is set to red and the other area P12 is set to white. When only MD is inserted, one area P11 is set to white, and the other area P12 is set to red. When both CD and MD are inserted, both areas P11 and P12 are set to red.

  The regions P2 and P3 are portions that gradually move away from the region P1, and are gradually darkened (for example, gray and black).

  By displaying such a display pattern on the liquid crystal panel 10, only the CD insertion slot 220, the MD insertion slot 230, the eject buttons 222 and 232 corresponding to the area P 1 and the peripheral parts thereof are brightly illuminated, and the other parts are illuminated. It is illuminated so that it gradually becomes darker.

  Next, the control unit 40 determines whether or not the closed state of the nose 202 has been detected (step 106). If the closed state is not detected, a negative determination is made, and the processing after the media insertion determination in step 102 is repeated.

  When the closed state of the nose 202 is detected, an affirmative determination is made in step 106, and then the control unit 40 returns the illumination pattern displayed so far to the original display content (step 107). The processes after the determination of the open state of the nose 202 in step 100 are repeated.

  As described above, in the display device 100 of the present embodiment, the entire front surface 210 of the device main body 204 is not illuminated by the liquid crystal panel 10 and the backlight 14, but only to the CD insertion slot 220 or the like as the operation target portion. By selectively illuminating the user, the user can easily confirm the position without searching for the position of the operation target part.

  Further, since the liquid crystal panel 10 with the backlight used in many apparatuses is used to illuminate the operation target site, it is not necessary to provide a separate light emitting unit for illumination. Down is possible.

  In addition, by simply changing the display content of the liquid crystal panel 10, that is, the content of the image to be displayed, it is possible to perform illumination while emphasizing the operation target portion without performing complicated processing, and the processing can be simplified. become.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the display of the illumination pattern. The display example shown in FIG. 6 shows a state in which the nose 202 in the open state is viewed from above, similarly to the display example shown in FIG. The region P21 is a portion that covers the CD insertion slot 220 and the eject button 222 in a state where the nose 202 is closed, and this portion independently forms one region. The region P22 is a portion that covers the MD insertion slot 230 and the eject button 232 in a state where the nose 202 is closed, and this portion independently forms one region. These areas P21 and P22 are set in a bright color, and are the same as the display example shown in FIG. 5 in that the colors are changed according to the insertion state of the CD and MD. A dark color is set in the region P23 other than the regions P21 and P22.

  By the way, in the above description of the present embodiment, the case where openings such as the CD insertion slot 220 and the MD insertion slot 230 are formed in the front surface 210 of the apparatus main body 204 has been described. The present invention can also be applied to the case where only the unit is disposed on the front surface 210 of the apparatus main body 204. Even in such a case, by displaying the illumination pattern shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 on the liquid crystal panel 10, it is possible to illuminate the periphery including each operation unit.

  Further, when the operation unit is illuminated, characters corresponding to the contents of the operation unit may be projected. 7 to 9 are diagrams illustrating modifications in the case where characters are projected on the operation unit. As shown in FIG. 7, two operation buttons 240 and 244 are provided on the front surface 210 of the apparatus main body 204. Under these operation buttons 240 and 244, “UP” indicating each operation content is displayed. The letters “DOWN” are drawn. The illumination pattern shown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the front surface 210 of the apparatus main body 204. Each of the regions P31 and P32 is a portion corresponding to the operation buttons 240 and 244 when the nose 202 is closed, and a bright color is set, and when projected into each region, it is shown in FIG. Thus, upside down characters are included so that the characters “UP” or “DOWN” are displayed on the operation buttons 240 and 244.

  As described above, the operation in the dark place is facilitated by illuminating the operation target portion of the front surface 210 of the apparatus main body 204 by including characters (or graphics or symbols that can understand the operation content). In addition, the contents of operation instructions can be confirmed.

  In this embodiment, the orientation angle of the liquid crystal is not particularly described, but it is desirable to control the orientation angle so that the corresponding portion of the front surface 210 of the apparatus main body 204 is brightest when displaying the illumination pattern. . That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the liquid crystal panel 10 has a structure in which the liquid crystal E is sandwiched between two glasses G1 and G2 with electrodes, and a voltage is not applied to the electrodes, When the light 14 is turned off, it looks black from the outside. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, when the voltage is applied to the electrodes, the orientation angle of the liquid crystal E changes, and the irradiation light of the backlight 14 can be viewed from the outside through the liquid crystal panel 10, and the illumination pattern It becomes possible to irradiate light from the liquid crystal panel 10 on which is displayed. In particular, the orientation angle of the liquid crystal E can be adjusted by controlling the voltage applied to the electrodes. As shown in FIG. 12, the liquid crystal panel 10 placed in a horizontal state faces the front surface 210 of the apparatus main body 204. It becomes possible to guide the irradiation light of the backlight 14. As a result, it is possible to efficiently illuminate the corresponding part of the front surface 210 of the apparatus main body 204 to improve the visibility, and that the irradiation light of the liquid crystal panel 10 directly enters the field of view of the driver or the passenger on the passenger seat. It is possible to prevent or reduce the glare.

  Some LCD panels combine two LCD panels to achieve stereoscopic viewing and allow two users to see different images from different angles. Also in this case, the visibility by illumination can be improved by controlling the orientation angle of the liquid crystal of each liquid crystal panel. For example, when two liquid crystal panels 10A and 10B are stacked as shown in FIG. 13, the voltage applied to the electrodes included in the liquid crystal panels 10A and 10B is controlled as shown in FIG. As a result, the orientation angle of the liquid crystal contained in the liquid crystal panel 10B on the side close to the backlight is set substantially perpendicular to the light emitting surface of the backlight, and the orientation angle of the liquid crystal contained in the liquid crystal panel 10A on the side far from the backlight is set. It is possible to increase the irradiation amount of light directed to the corresponding part of the front surface 210 of the apparatus main body 204.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment described above, the backlight 14 combined with the liquid crystal panel 10 is used as a light emitting unit to illuminate the operation target portion of the front surface 210 of the apparatus main body 204. However, other light emitting units may be used. Good.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a display device according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 15, the display device 300 according to this embodiment includes a light emitting unit 50, a lens 52, a driving unit 54, an open / close detection unit 60, an illumination position storage unit 62, and a control unit 70. Note that the on-vehicle device including the display device 300 is the same as that shown in FIGS. However, in the present embodiment, since the light emitting unit 50 is used instead of the liquid crystal panel 10, it is necessary to replace the liquid crystal panel 10 included in the nose 202 shown in FIG. 2 or 3 with the light emitting unit 50.

  The light emitting unit 50 uses LEDs or other lamps, and radiates light radially within a predetermined range. For example, the light emitting unit 50 is used as various indicators. The lens 52 is disposed in the vicinity of the light emitting unit 50, and collects light emitted radially from the light emitting unit 50. The drive unit 54 mechanically adjusts the direction of the lens 52. A plurality of light emitting units 50 are provided on one surface of the nose 202, and a lens 52 and a driving unit 54 are provided corresponding to each light emitting unit 50.

  The open / close detection unit 60 detects the open / closed state of the nose 202. When the nose 202 is opened, the illumination position storage unit 62 adjusts the lens 52 necessary for directing the irradiation light of the light emitting unit 50 toward the operation target site (such as the CD insertion slot 220) included in the front surface 210. Stores data about.

  The control unit 70 performs overall control of the display device 300 and performs control to change the direction of the lens 52 in accordance with the opening / closing operation of the nose 202. Specifically, when the open / close detection unit 60 detects that the nose 202 has shifted from the closed state to the open state, the control unit 70 reads data relating to the adjustment amount of the lens 52 from the illumination position storage unit 62. Based on the data, the drive unit 54 is controlled to change the direction of the lens 52. For example, when the nose 202 is in the closed state, what is set in the direction of the lens 52 shown in FIG. 16 is changed to the direction of the lens shown in FIG. 17 when the nose 202 is in the open state. . Thereby, it becomes possible to irradiate the operation target part of the front surface 210 of the apparatus main body 204 in a spot manner with the light emitted from the light emitting unit 50, and the visibility of the operation target part can be improved. .

  The light emitting unit 50, the lens 52, and the driving unit 54 described above correspond to a display unit, the control unit 70 and the illumination position storage unit 62 correspond to an illumination control unit, and the lens 52 and the driving unit 54 correspond to an adjustment unit, respectively.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation implementation is possible within the range of the summary of this invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the display devices 100 and 300 included in the in-vehicle device 200 have been described. However, the present invention can be applied to display devices included in various devices other than the in-vehicle device 200.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the display apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the installation state of a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows the installation state of a liquid crystal panel. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of the display apparatus performed with opening / closing operation | movement of a nose. It is a figure which shows the specific example of a display of an illumination pattern. It is a figure which shows the modification of a display of an illumination pattern. It is a figure which shows the modification in the case of projecting a character on an operation part. It is a figure which shows the modification in the case of projecting a character on an operation part. It is a figure which shows the modification in the case of projecting a character on an operation part. It is a figure which shows the modification which controls the orientation angle of the liquid crystal contained in a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows the modification which controls the orientation angle of the liquid crystal contained in a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows the modification which controls the orientation angle of the liquid crystal contained in a liquid crystal panel. It is a figure which shows the modification in the case of using two liquid crystal panels. It is a figure which shows the modification in the case of using two liquid crystal panels. It is a figure which shows the structure of the display apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the specific example which adjusts the direction of a lens and changes the direction of the irradiation light of a light emission part. It is a figure which shows the specific example which adjusts the direction of a lens and changes the direction of the irradiation light of a light emission part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Liquid crystal panel 12 Liquid crystal drive part 14 Backlight 16 Backlight drive part 20 Display processing part 30, 60 Opening / closing detection part 32 Media insertion detection part 34 Illumination pattern storage part 40, 70 Control part 50 Light emission part 52 Lens 54 Drive part 62 Illumination Location storage

Claims (8)

Display means that is openable and closable and in which the light emitting part is arranged;
An apparatus main body in which an operation target portion that appears when the display means is in an open state and is shielded when the display means is in a closed state is disposed on the operation target surface;
Illumination control means for selectively illuminating the operation target site by the light emitting unit when the display means is in an open state;
A display device comprising: In claim 1,
The display device includes a backlight as the light-emitting unit and a liquid crystal panel disposed on a light-emitting surface of the backlight. In claim 2,
The illumination control unit controls at least one of brightness and color of light emitted from the light emitting unit to each of the operation target part and the other part by controlling display contents of the liquid crystal panel. A display device that selectively illuminates the operation target part. In claim 2,
The illumination control means controls the display content of the liquid crystal panel, thereby irradiating the operation target site or its surroundings with light having a specific image as a content, thereby selecting the operation target site. A display device characterized by performing a general illumination. In any one of Claims 2-4,
The illumination control unit adjusts a voltage applied to an electrode provided in the liquid crystal panel when the display unit is in an open state to change the orientation angle of the liquid crystal, and directs the light emitting unit toward the operation target site. A display device characterized by increasing the amount of irradiated light. In any one of Claims 2-4,
The liquid crystal panel is a combination of a first liquid crystal panel close to the backlight and a second liquid crystal panel far from the backlight,
The illumination control means is included in the first liquid crystal panel by adjusting a voltage applied to an electrode provided in each of the first and second liquid crystal panels when the display means is in an open state. The orientation angle of the liquid crystal is set substantially perpendicular to the light emitting surface of the backlight, and the amount of light irradiated toward the operation target site is increased by changing the orientation angle of the liquid crystal contained in the second liquid crystal panel. A display device. In claim 1,
The display unit includes the light emitting unit and an adjusting unit that changes a direction of light emitted from the light emitting unit.
The illumination control unit controls the adjustment unit to direct light emitted from the light emitting unit toward the operation target part when the display unit changes from a closed state to an open state. . In claim 7,
The adjusting means is a lens whose direction can be changed,
The display device according to claim 1, wherein the illumination control unit directs light emitted from the light emitting unit toward the operation target portion by changing a direction of the lens.

Images