JP2006065154A - Liquid crystal display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a low-cost and small-sized liquid crystal display device which readily provides an electronic equipment handling image data without having a display device with a display function. <P>SOLUTION: In the liquid crystal display device, a controller circuit 9 receives image files from an external device through an external interface 5, memorizes the just one image file into a first memory means 4, reads out the just one image file memorized in the first memory means 4 and inputs the image file into a driver circuit 6. The driver circuit 6 displays the image on a liquid crystal display 7 based on the data of the image file inputted from the controller circuit 9. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device for information equipment that handles digital image files.

  In recent years, the evolution of liquid crystal displays has been remarkable, and liquid crystal displays have been adopted as display devices for many electronic devices. Most of these liquid crystal displays are dedicated display devices for the electronic device, and often cannot be used outside the electronic device. On the other hand, there are quasi-generic liquid crystal displays that can be used in other devices. For example, a liquid crystal display for a PC (Personal Computer) can be used in a PC other than the PC. However, even a liquid crystal display for a PC cannot display an image or the like without a PC main body.

  Therefore, a liquid crystal display device capable of displaying an image or the like without a PC main body has been disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  A liquid crystal display device to which the invention described in Patent Document 1 is applied includes a liquid crystal screen (liquid crystal display) for displaying documents, moving images, and still images, a driver circuit for the liquid crystal screen, a first image memory, and a controller circuit. It has. The liquid crystal display device can be connected to an external device capable of generating digital image data via a digital signal cable capable of transmitting a moving image. Further, the controller circuit is sent to the liquid crystal display device from the external device via the digital signal cable and first means for reading out the image data from the first image memory and displaying it on the liquid crystal screen. Second means for displaying the incoming digital image data on the liquid crystal screen and the digital image data sent from the external device to the liquid crystal display device via the digital signal cable are directly written into the first image memory. And a third means.

  According to the invention described in Patent Document 1, a highly useful liquid crystal display device that can be used as a moving image display device of a general-purpose computer system or as a single portable image display device can be obtained.

However, the invention described in Patent Literature 1 cannot provide a low-cost and small-sized liquid crystal display device that easily provides a display function to an electronic device that handles image data and does not have a display device. .
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-288253

  The present invention provides a low-cost and small-sized liquid crystal display device that easily provides a display function to an electronic device that handles image data and that does not have a display device. The task is to do.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configuration.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display for displaying image data, a driver circuit for driving the liquid crystal display, first storage means for storing an image file to be displayed on the liquid crystal display, and an external device including the first device. The liquid crystal display device includes at least an external interface capable of accessing one storage means and a controller circuit. The controller circuit accepts only one image file from the external device via the external interface and stores only one image file in the first storage means, and only one image file stored in the first storage means. Is input to the driver circuit. Subsequently, the driver circuit displays an image on the liquid crystal display based on the image file data input from the controller circuit.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display device according to the first aspect, the external interface is a general-purpose interface that does not specify an external device that can access the storage unit.

  A third aspect of the present invention is the liquid crystal display device according to the second aspect, wherein the general-purpose interface is a universal serial bus (USB).

  The invention described in claim 4 is the invention described in claim 1, wherein the controller circuit further sets the file name of the image file stored or stored in the first storage means to a fixed value.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the liquid crystal display device according to the first aspect, wherein the liquid crystal display, the driver circuit, the first storage means, the external interface, and the battery for supplying power to the controller circuit I have.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display for displaying image data, a driver circuit for driving the liquid crystal display, a controller circuit, first storage means for storing an image file to be displayed on the liquid crystal display, A liquid crystal display device comprising at least two storage means and an external interface that allows the external device to access the first storage means and the second storage means. The liquid crystal display device stores in advance a setting information file in which operation identification information for identifying the operation content of the controller circuit is stored in the second storage unit. The controller circuit receives the setting information file from an external device via an external interface and stores the setting information file in the second storage unit, or causes the external device to rewrite the setting information file via an external interface; A step of reading operation identification information with reference to the setting information file stored in the second storage means, and based on the read operation identification information, the liquid crystal display, the driver circuit, the first storage means, Based on the second storage means or the hardware control of the external interface and the read operation identification information, an image file is received from the external device via the external interface and stored in the first storage means. Storing only one step and the read operation identification information Based on, it executes the steps of reading the first single image file stored in the storage means of the input to the driver circuit. Subsequently, the driver circuit displays an image on the liquid crystal display based on the data of the image file input from the controller circuit.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display device according to the sixth aspect, the first storage means and the second storage means are the same.

  The invention according to claim 8 is a liquid crystal display for displaying image data, a driver circuit for driving the liquid crystal display, a controller circuit, first storage means for storing an image file to be displayed on the liquid crystal display, and liquid crystal The liquid crystal display device includes at least a second storage unit that can be attached to and detached from the display device, and an external interface that allows the external device to access the first storage unit. A setting information file storing operation identification information for identifying the operation content of the controller circuit is stored in advance in the second storage means. The controller circuit refers to the setting information file stored in the second storage means, reads out the operation identification information, and based on the read out operation identification information, the liquid crystal display, the driver circuit, the first The step of performing hardware control of one storage means, the second storage means, or the external interface, and receiving an image file from an external device via the external interface based on the read operation identification information A step of storing only one image in the first storage means, and a step of reading out only one image file stored in the first storage means based on the read operation identification information and inputting it to the driver circuit. And execute. Subsequently, the driver circuit displays an image on the liquid crystal display based on the data of the image file input from the controller circuit.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid crystal display device according to the eighth aspect, the first storage means and the second storage means are the same and are detachable from the liquid crystal display apparatus. .

  The controller circuit receives an image file from an external device via the external interface and stores only one image in the first storage means, and reads out only one image file stored in the first storage means to read out the driver circuit. To enter

A low-cost and small-sized liquid crystal display device that easily provides a display function to an electronic device that handles image data and that does not have a display device can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the liquid crystal display device according to the present embodiment. The liquid crystal display device stores only one liquid crystal display 7 for displaying image data, a liquid crystal controller unit 6 as a driver circuit for driving the liquid crystal display 7, and only one image file to be displayed on the liquid crystal display 7. A memory unit 4 as one storage unit, an external interface 5 that allows an external device to access the memory unit 4, a controller circuit 9, and a power supply unit 8 are provided. However, in FIG. 1, the external interface 5 is represented as an external I / F.

  Here, it is assumed that the external device includes an external interface 5 similar to the liquid crystal display device and predetermined control software. Examples of the external device include an image scanner and an electronic blackboard. The external device can access the memory unit 4 of the liquid crystal display device via the external interface 5 by executing the control software.

  Next, the configuration of the controller circuit 9 will be described in detail. The controller circuit 9 includes a CPU 1 as processing means, and a ROM 2 and RAM 3 as storage means. The CPU 1 reads out a predetermined program stored in the ROM 2 to the RAM 3 and executes it, thereby controlling the external interface 5 and simply displaying the image file stored in the memory unit 4 on the liquid crystal display 7. Do. Therefore, the management of the image file stored in the memory unit 4 is substantially performed by the external device.

  Next, the operation of the liquid crystal display device will be described.

  The controller circuit 9 receives an image file from an external device via the external interface 5 and stores it in the memory unit 4. When an image file is already stored in the memory unit 4, the controller circuit 9 deletes the stored image file and then stores the received image file in the memory unit 4. As a result, only one image file is stored in the memory unit 4. Subsequently, the controller circuit 9 reads out only one image file stored in the memory unit 4 and inputs it to the liquid crystal controller unit 6.

  Then, the liquid crystal controller unit 6 displays an image on the liquid crystal display 7 based on the input image file data.

  According to this, the controller circuit 9 does not have to have a routine for requesting the user to make a determination in the control. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide an operation part in a liquid crystal display device. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a liquid crystal display device that is very simple, easy to use, and low in cost.

[Embodiment 2]

  In the present embodiment, a general-purpose interface that does not specify an external device that can access the memory unit 4 is employed as the external interface 5 of the first embodiment. As the general-purpose interface, SCSI (Small Computer System Interface), USB (Universal Serial Bus), and the like are applicable.

  According to this, the liquid crystal display device can be connected to various external devices having a general-purpose interface. For this reason, the user can display the image data of various external devices with one liquid crystal display device. Therefore, a liquid crystal display device that is very economical for the user can be provided.

[Embodiment 3]

  In this embodiment, USB is adopted as the general-purpose interface of the second embodiment. Since USB is currently in widespread use, various technical information has been released, and the technology is making great progress.

  According to this, not only the improvement of development efficiency and cost reduction is easy, but also it is possible to supply power, so there is no need to provide the power supply unit 8. Therefore, a small liquid crystal display device can be provided at low cost. When the external device uses an operating system such as MS-WINDOWS (registered trademark), the memory unit 4 of the liquid crystal display device can be recognized as an external storage drive by USB connection. Therefore, it is easy to rewrite the image file stored in the memory unit 4.

[Embodiment 4]

  In the present embodiment, in the liquid crystal display device of the first embodiment, the controller circuit 9 further stores the file name of the image file stored or stored in the memory unit 4 to a fixed value. The configuration and operation will be specifically described below.

  A fixed value is stored in advance in the ROM 2 of the controller circuit 9 as the file name of the image file. When receiving an image file from an external device via the external interface 5, the controller circuit 9 reads a fixed value as a file name of the image file from the ROM 2. Then, the controller circuit 9 stores the received image file in the memory unit 4 with the read fixed value.

  Subsequently, the controller circuit 9 reads an image file that matches the read fixed value from the memory unit 4 and inputs it to the liquid crystal controller unit 6.

  Then, the liquid crystal controller unit 6 displays an image on the liquid crystal display 7 based on the input image file data.

  According to this, the controller circuit 9 can specify the image file by searching with the file name of the fixed value image file. For this reason, when data other than an image file is stored in the memory unit 4, a routine for the controller circuit 9 to specify a file can be simplified, and the development of the controller circuit 9 is facilitated. Therefore, a low-cost liquid crystal display device can be provided.

[Embodiment 5]

  In the present embodiment, a battery is employed as the power supply unit 8 of the first embodiment.

  According to this, it is not necessary to supply power from an external power source such as an outlet or an external interface 5 such as a USB. Therefore, a liquid crystal display device with excellent portability can be provided.

[Embodiment 6]

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the liquid crystal display device according to the present embodiment. The liquid crystal display device includes only a liquid crystal display 7 for displaying image data, a liquid crystal controller unit 6 as a driver circuit for driving the liquid crystal display 7, a controller circuit 9, and an image file to be displayed on the liquid crystal display 7. Memory unit 4 as a first storage unit that stores only one memory, second memory unit 10 as a second storage unit, and an external device can access the memory unit 4 and the second memory unit 10 An external interface 5 and a power supply unit 8 are provided. However, in FIG. 2, the external interface 5 is represented as an external I / F.

  The second memory unit 10 stores a setting information file that stores operation identification information for identifying the operation content of the controller circuit. The operation identification information includes, for example, an operation related to hardware control such as setting the luminance of the liquid crystal display to a predetermined value, or an operation related to software control such as setting the file name of the image file to a fixed value.

  Here, it is assumed that the external device includes an external interface 5 similar to the liquid crystal display device and predetermined control software. Examples of the external device include an image scanner and an electronic blackboard. The external device can access the memory unit 4 and the second memory unit 10 of the liquid crystal display device via the external interface 5 by executing the control software.

  Next, the configuration of the controller circuit 9 will be described in detail. The controller circuit 9 includes a CPU 1 as processing means, and a ROM 2 and RAM 3 as storage means. The CPU 1 reads out a predetermined program stored in the ROM 2 to the RAM 3 and executes it, thereby controlling the external interface 5 and simply displaying the image file stored in the memory unit 4 on the liquid crystal display 7. Do. Therefore, the management of the image file stored in the memory unit 4 is substantially performed by the external device.

  Next, the operation of the liquid crystal display device will be described.

  The controller circuit 9 receives the setting information file from the external device via the external interface 5 and stores it in the second memory unit 10 or causes the external device to rewrite the setting information file via the external interface 5. It has become. Then, the controller circuit 9 reads the operation identification information with reference to the setting information file stored in the second memory unit 10.

  Next, the controller circuit 9 performs hardware control of the liquid crystal display 7, the liquid crystal controller unit 6, the memory unit 4, the second memory unit 10, or the external interface 5 based on the read operation identification information.

  Subsequently, the controller circuit 9 receives an image file from the external device via the external interface 5 based on the read operation identification information and stores it in the memory unit 4. When an image file is already stored in the memory unit 4, the controller circuit 9 deletes the stored image file and then stores the received image file in the memory unit 4. As a result, only one image file is stored in the memory unit 4. Subsequently, the controller circuit 9 reads out only one image file stored in the memory unit 4 based on the read operation identification information, and inputs it to the liquid crystal controller unit 6.

  Then, the liquid crystal controller unit 6 displays an image on the liquid crystal display 7 based on the input image file data.

  According to this, the liquid crystal display device can designate the operation content of the controller circuit without having an operation unit for instructing the operation of the controller circuit. Therefore, a low-cost liquid crystal display device can be provided.

[Embodiment 7]

  In the present embodiment, the configuration in which the memory unit 4 and the second memory unit 10 are the same in the sixth embodiment is adopted.

  According to this, the number of devices used as the storage means of the liquid crystal display device can be reduced. Therefore, a small liquid crystal display device can be provided at low cost.

[Embodiment 8]

  In the present embodiment, the liquid crystal display device displays a liquid crystal display 7 for displaying image data, a liquid crystal controller unit 6 as a driver circuit for driving the liquid crystal display 7, a controller circuit 9, and an image displayed on the liquid crystal display 7. A memory unit 4 as a first storage unit that stores only one file, a second memory unit 10 as a second storage unit that can be attached to and detached from the liquid crystal display device, and an external device accesses the memory unit 4 An external interface 5 and a power supply unit 8 are provided. For example, a memory card corresponds to the second memory unit 10.

  The second memory unit 10 stores a setting information file that stores operation identification information for identifying the operation content of the controller circuit. The operation identification information includes, for example, an operation related to hardware control such as setting the luminance of the liquid crystal display to a predetermined value, or an operation related to software control such as setting the file name of the image file to a fixed value. Further, the second memory unit 10 can be detached from the liquid crystal display device and attached to an external device such as a PC. Therefore, the setting information file can be rewritten by an external device such as a PC.

  Here, it is assumed that the external device includes an external interface 5 similar to the liquid crystal display device and predetermined control software. Examples of the external device include an image scanner and an electronic blackboard. The external device can access the memory unit 4 of the liquid crystal display device via the external interface 5 by executing the control software.

  Next, the configuration of the controller circuit 9 will be described in detail. The controller circuit 9 includes a CPU 1 as processing means, and a ROM 2 and RAM 3 as storage means. The CPU 1 reads out a predetermined program stored in the ROM 2 to the RAM 3 and executes it, thereby controlling the external interface 5 and simply displaying the image file stored in the memory unit 4 on the liquid crystal display 7. Do. Therefore, the management of the image file stored in the memory unit 4 is substantially performed by the external device.

  Next, the operation of the liquid crystal display device will be described.

  The controller circuit 9 reads the operation identification information with reference to the setting information file stored in the second memory unit 10. The controller circuit 9 performs hardware control of the liquid crystal display 7, the liquid crystal controller unit 6, the memory unit 4, the second memory unit, or the external interface 5 based on the read operation identification information.

  Subsequently, the controller circuit 9 receives an image file from the external device via the external interface 5 based on the read operation identification information and stores it in the memory unit 4. When an image file is already stored in the memory unit 4, the controller circuit 9 deletes the stored image file and then stores the received image file in the memory unit 4. As a result, only one image file is stored in the memory unit 4. Subsequently, the controller circuit 9 reads out only one image file stored in the memory unit 4 based on the read operation identification information, and inputs it to the liquid crystal controller unit 6.

  Then, the liquid crystal controller unit 6 displays an image on the liquid crystal display 7 based on the input image file data.

  According to this, the liquid crystal display device can designate the operation content of the controller circuit without having an operation unit for instructing the operation of the controller circuit. Therefore, a low-cost liquid crystal display device can be provided.

[Embodiment 9]

  In the present embodiment, in the eighth embodiment, the memory unit and the second memory unit are the same and are detachable from the liquid crystal display device.

  According to this, the number of devices used as the storage means of the liquid crystal display device can be reduced, and the liquid crystal display device can control the operation contents of the controller circuit without having an operation unit for instructing the operation of the controller circuit. Can be specified. Therefore, a small liquid crystal display device can be provided at low cost.

  In the first to ninth embodiments described above, the image file is stored in the memory unit 4 as the first storage unit. However, a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory is employed in the ROM 2 of the controller circuit 9, and An image file may be stored in the ROM 2.

〔Example of use〕

  Next, a usage example of the liquid crystal display device when the external device is an image scanner (hereinafter referred to as a network scanner) that can be distributed over the network and the external interface 5 is USB will be described. Here, it is assumed that the power supply of the liquid crystal display device is supplied from the network scanner via the USB.

  The user connects the network scanner and the liquid crystal display device with a USB cable. When the network scanner and the liquid crystal display device are connected by the USB cable, the network scanner automatically detects that the liquid crystal display device is connected, and executes a USB driver program as control software. Then, the network scanner displays the image data read by the scanner unit on the liquid crystal display device as follows.

  The network scanner reads a document from the scanner unit in accordance with a request from the operation unit. Subsequently, the network scanner creates an image file from the read image data, and transfers the created image file to the liquid crystal display device via the USB cable.

  The liquid crystal display device displays the image file received from the network scanner on the liquid crystal display by the method described above. After confirming that the image displayed on the liquid crystal display is in a desired state, the user designates a target distribution destination and distributes the image by the function of the network scanner.

  As described above, it is possible to provide a low-cost and small-sized liquid crystal display device that easily provides a display function to an electronic device that handles image data and does not have a display device, such as an image scanner or an electronic blackboard. it can.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal display device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a liquid crystal display device according to Embodiment 6.

Explanation of symbols

1 CPU (Processor of controller circuit)
2 ROM (storage means for controller circuit)
3 RAM (controller circuit storage means)
4 Memory part (first storage means)
5 External interface 6 LCD controller (driver circuit)
7 Liquid crystal display 8 Power supply unit 9 Controller circuit 10 Second memory unit (second storage means)

Claims (9)

A liquid crystal display for displaying image data; a driver circuit for driving the liquid crystal display; first storage means for storing an image file to be displayed on the liquid crystal display; and an external device accessing the first storage means. A liquid crystal display device including at least an external interface and a controller circuit,
The controller circuit accepts an image file from an external device via an external interface and stores only one image file in the first storage means, and reads only one image file stored in the first storage means Input to the driver circuit, and
A liquid crystal display device, wherein the driver circuit displays an image on a liquid crystal display based on image file data input from the controller circuit.   The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the external interface is a general-purpose interface that does not specify an external device that can access the storage unit.   The liquid crystal display device according to claim 2, wherein the general-purpose interface is a universal serial bus (USB).   2. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein the controller circuit sets the file name of the image file stored or stored in the first storage unit to a fixed value.   The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, further comprising a battery that supplies power to the liquid crystal display, the driver circuit, the first storage unit, the external interface, and the controller circuit. Liquid crystal display for displaying image data, driver circuit for driving the liquid crystal display, controller circuit, first storage means for storing an image file to be displayed on the liquid crystal display, second storage means, and external device A liquid crystal display device comprising at least an external interface capable of accessing the first storage means and the second storage means,
In the second storage means, a setting information file storing operation identification information for identifying the operation content of the controller circuit is stored in advance,
The controller circuit comprises:
a) accepting the setting information file from an external device via an external interface and storing it in the second storage means, or causing the external device to rewrite the setting information file via an external interface;
b) referring to the setting information file stored in the second storage means and reading the operation identification information;
c) performing hardware control of the liquid crystal display, the driver circuit, the first storage unit, the second storage unit, or the external interface based on the read operation identification information;
d) receiving an image file from an external device via an external interface based on the read operation identification information, and storing only one in the first storage means;
e) reading out only one image file stored in the first storage means based on the read operation identification information and inputting it to the driver circuit;
And
A liquid crystal display device, wherein the driver circuit displays an image on a liquid crystal display based on image file data input from the controller circuit.   The liquid crystal display device according to claim 6, wherein the first storage unit and the second storage unit are the same. A liquid crystal display for displaying image data, a driver circuit for driving the liquid crystal display, a controller circuit, a first storage means for storing an image file to be displayed on the liquid crystal display, and a second removable to the liquid crystal display device A liquid crystal display device comprising at least a storage unit and an external interface that allows the external device to access the first storage unit,
In the second storage means, a setting information file storing operation identification information for identifying the operation content of the controller circuit is stored in advance,
The controller circuit comprises:
a) referring to the setting information file stored in the second storage means and reading the operation identification information;
b) performing hardware control of the liquid crystal display, the driver circuit, the first storage unit, the second storage unit, or the external interface based on the read operation identification information;
c) accepting an image file from an external device via an external interface based on the read operation identification information and storing only one in the first storage means;
d) reading out only one image file stored in the first storage means based on the read operation identification information and inputting it to the driver circuit;
And
A liquid crystal display device, wherein the driver circuit displays an image on a liquid crystal display based on image file data input from the controller circuit.   9. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 8, wherein the first storage means and the second storage means are the same and are detachable from the liquid crystal display device.

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