JP2006253878A - Mobile communication terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic apparatus in which a response to image alteration can be enhanced without damaging design significantly when a part of a display image in a passive image display means is altered. <P>SOLUTION: The electronic apparatus (portable telephone) 20 comprises a passive image display means (display panel) 31 which can sustain the display state of an image even in a nonfeeding state, and a writing means 200 for making the passive image display means 31 display a desired image. The passive image display means 31 has a plurality of display areas 31A and 31B which can display images independently from each other. The writing means 200 rewrites the display images independently from each other for the plurality of display areas 31A and 31B. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device such as a mobile communication terminal.

In recent years, the non-powered image display means such as electronic paper does not consume power while the image display state is maintained, so that a general display means that consumes power while the image display state is maintained. Compared with, the energy saving effect is high and attracts attention. For this reason, various methods of utilizing the non-powered image display means have been proposed in order to effectively use such energy saving effects.
In Patent Document 1, an image representing information such as newspaper article information received from an information management server connected to a communication line in a state that can be perceived by a user is displayed on electronic paper (non-powered image display means). An information terminal as a device is disclosed. According to this information terminal, power is not consumed while the user is viewing the image displayed on the electronic paper, so that energy saving can be achieved as compared with the above general display means.
Patent Document 2 discloses an electronic device in which electronic paper is provided on the outer surface of a housing, and a design image displayed on the electronic paper can be changed. According to this electronic device, the housing design can be easily changed according to the user's preference. The housing design is generally desired to maintain the display state for a long period of time. However, if the electric power is continuously consumed for such a long period of time, it becomes impractical. Since the electronic device disclosed in Patent Document 2 uses electronic paper as means for displaying a housing design, it can continue to display the housing design for a long time without consuming power, and is highly practical. It can be said.

JP 2002-163257 A JP 2004-64612 A

  The non-powered image display means includes not only an image constituting a housing design that is a design of the outer wall portion of the electronic device, but also various information images that are changed at a timing shorter than an image constituting the housing design. May be displayed. However, when a part of the display image displayed on the conventional non-powered image display unit is to be changed, the image is redrawn for the entire display area of the non-powered image display unit including the image part that is not changed. In addition, the drawing speed is slower than that of a normal liquid crystal display. For this reason, there is a problem that the response of changing the display image is poor. In addition, since the image is redrawn with respect to the entire display area of the non-powered image display means and the drawing process takes time, the design of the outer wall portion of the electronic device is impaired when the display image is changed. There was also a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and the object of the present invention is to change the display image of the non-powered image display means without greatly degrading the design by the display image. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic device that can increase the responsiveness of change.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is directed to a non-powered image display means capable of maintaining an image display state even in a non-powered state, and drawing so that a desired image is displayed on the non-powered image display means. An electronic device including a drawing processing means for processing, wherein the non-powered image display means has a plurality of display areas capable of displaying images independently of each other, and the drawing processing means includes the plurality of display areas. The drawing processing is performed so that the display images are rewritten independently of each other.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device according to the first aspect, the non-powered image display means changes the display image of each display area by a drawing drive signal supplied to each of the plurality of display areas. The drawing processing means supplies the drawing drive signal only to the display area to be changed among the plurality of display areas.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device according to the first or second aspect, the electronic device according to the first or second aspect further comprises display image designating means for a user to designate an image to be displayed on the non-powered image display means, Are a display area for a user for displaying an image specified by a user using the display image specifying means, a display area for a system in which a display image cannot be specified by the user, as the plurality of display areas. It is characterized by having.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device according to the third aspect, the image displayed in the system display area is an image of device state related information related to the operating state of the electronic device. To do.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device according to the third aspect, the image displayed in the system display area is an image of time information.
The invention of claim 6 is characterized in that the electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is provided with a communication means for communicating via a mobile communication network.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device according to the sixth aspect, the image displayed in the display area is an image of communication-related information related to communication by the communication means. .
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the electronic device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects further comprises a short-range wireless communication means for transmitting / receiving information to / from an external information processing apparatus by short-range wireless communication. It is a feature.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device according to the eighth aspect, the image displayed in the display area is an image of information transmitted / received to / from the information processing apparatus by the short-range wireless communication means. It is characterized by this.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device according to any one of the sixth to ninth aspects, the drawing is performed so as to change an image to be displayed in the display area based on a communication result received through communication by the communication unit. A control means for controlling the processing means is provided.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device according to any one of the first to tenth aspects of the present invention, storage means for storing image data to be displayed in the display area, and image data stored in the storage means in advance. And a control means for controlling the drawing processing means so as to change an image to be displayed on the display area.

The “electronic device” includes all electronic devices including information storage means such as a mobile communication terminal and a portable information terminal (PDA: Personal Digital Assistance). Further, as the “mobile communication terminal”, mobile phones such as PDC (Personal Digital Cellular) system, GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) system, TIA (Telecommunications Industry Association) system, IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications) -2000, etc. Mobile phone standardized by TD-SCDMA (MC: Multi Carrier), which is one of TD-SCDMA (Time Division Asynchronous Code Division Multiple Access) methods, PHS (Personal Handyphone System), and the like.
The processing and control in the electronic device can also be realized by executing a predetermined program on a computer provided in the electronic device. Delivery of the program used in the computer may be performed using a recording medium such as an FD or a CD-ROM in which the program is recorded as digital information, or may be performed using a communication network such as a computer network.

  According to the present invention, the non-powered image display means capable of maintaining the image display state even in the non-powered state has a plurality of display areas capable of displaying images independently of each other, and the drawing processing means includes a plurality of display areas. A drawing process is executed so that the display images are rewritten independently of each other. When changing a part of the display image displayed on the non-powered image display means, a drawing process for rewriting the display image so that the changed image is displayed only for the display area to be changed among the plurality of display areas. The drawing process can be prevented from being executed for other display areas. Since the drawing process is executed only for the display area to be changed in this way, it is possible to avoid the design of the display image from changing greatly when a part of the display image is changed. Accordingly, when a part of the display image is changed, unlike the case where the drawing process is executed for the entire non-powered image display unit, the design by the display image is not greatly impaired. In addition, since the drawing process for changing the image is executed only for the display area displaying the image to be changed, the responsiveness of the image change compared to the case where the drawing process is performed for the entire non-powered image display means. There is an effect that it becomes possible to increase.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1A is a front view showing an example of the appearance of the mobile phone 20, and FIG. 1B is a rear view of the mobile phone 20. This mobile phone 20 is a clamshell (folding) type mobile phone having a lid portion 29 and a main body portion 30 that can swing relative to each other about a hinge portion. The lid 29 has an open state (the state shown in FIG. 1) in which the keys 21 to 25 of the key operation unit provided in the main body unit 30 can be operated, and a closed state that covers the keys 21 to 25 of the key operation unit. To get. The casing constituting the outer wall portion of the lid 29 in the open state has a liquid crystal display (LCD) 27 that is a general power supply image display means that consumes power while the image display state is maintained, a speaker 28 etc. are provided. The casing constituting the outer wall portion of the main body 30 is provided with keys 21 to 25 constituting the key operation portion, a microphone 26, and the like.
Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, a display panel 31 functioning as a non-powered image display means is exposed to an externally exposed portion of the upper casing on the lid 29 side that is exposed to the outside when in the closed state. Is provided. The display panel 31 can change the display image by receiving a drawing drive signal for switching the display image, and can maintain the display state of the image even in a non-powered state. The display panel 31 has a plurality of display areas 31A and 31B that can display images independently of each other.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the display panel 31 may be configured to have a third display region 31 </ b> C in an externally exposed portion of the main body 30 that is exposed to the outside when in the closed state. . In this case, the display panel 31 has three display areas 31A, 31B, and 31C that can display images independently of each other.

  FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of the display panel 31 in the mobile phone 20 of the present embodiment. The display panel 31 is formed using cholesteric liquid crystal and is provided on the casing 290 of the lid portion 29. The display panel 31 has a three-layer structure including a transparent lower base material layer 311, a cholesteric liquid crystal layer 312, and a transparent upper base material layer 313. As the transparent lower base material layer 311 and the transparent upper base material layer 313, for example, a glass thin plate can be used. A row electrode 314 as a lower grid electrode is provided on the upper side of the transparent lower base material layer 311, that is, on the outer side of the mobile phone 20, and on the lower side of the transparent upper base material layer 313, that is, on the inner side of the mobile phone 20 A column electrode 315 is provided as an upper grid electrode. The column electrode 314 is composed of a large number of line-shaped electrodes with a predetermined pitch extending in parallel with the horizontal direction of the mobile phone 20 (the horizontal direction in FIG. 1), and the end portions of these line-shaped electrodes are drawn as described later. The output terminal of the unit 200 is connected. The column electrode 315 is composed of a large number of line-shaped electrodes with a predetermined pitch extending in parallel with the vertical direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1) of the mobile phone 20, and the end portions of these line-shaped electrodes are similarly drawn. It is connected to the output terminal of the processing unit 200. The row electrodes 314 and the column electrodes 315 are arranged so that the extending directions of the electrodes are orthogonal to each other over the entire display areas 31A and 31B of the display panel 31. Then, a drawing drive signal (electrical signal) is input to the row electrode 314 and the column electrode 315 at an appropriate ON / OFF timing from the drawing processing unit 200 described later, whereby the row electrode at any point in the display areas 31A and 31B. The potential difference between 314 and the column electrode 315 can be controlled.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the cholesteric liquid crystal 312 enables full color expression by selectively reflecting light having a wavelength determined according to the helical period L of the molecular arrangement in the incident light. Yes. Since the helical period L of the molecular arrangement generally becomes smaller as the temperature rises, a desired color can be expressed by temperature control. Also, the cholesteric liquid crystal 312 can fix the helical period L of the molecular arrangement by rapidly cooling. Therefore, after fixing the helical period L, the color can be fixed. Due to such characteristics, the display panel 31 using the cholesteric liquid crystal 312 consumes power to supply a drawing drive signal for temperature control when performing a drawing process for switching the display image, but once the image is displayed. After being done, it is possible to continue displaying images without power.

  The display panel that can maintain the display state of the image even in a non-powered state is not limited to the cholesteric liquid crystal, and may be, for example, a ferroelectric liquid crystal.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a display panel 31 according to another configuration example. The display panel 31 is provided on the casing 290 of the lid 29 and has a four-layer structure including a transparent lower base material layer 316, an image recording layer 317, a transparent upper base material layer 318, and a protective layer 319. A row electrode 314 as a lower grid electrode is provided above the transparent lower base material layer 316, that is, outside the mobile phone 20, and below the transparent upper base material layer 318, that is, inside the mobile phone 20, A column electrode 315 is provided as an upper grid electrode. The row electrode 314 is composed of a large number of line-shaped electrodes having a predetermined pitch extending in parallel with the horizontal direction of the mobile phone 20 (the horizontal direction in FIG. 1). Is connected to the output terminal. The column electrode 315 is composed of a large number of electric wires having a predetermined pitch extending in parallel with the vertical direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1) of the mobile phone 20, and the end portions of these line electrodes are similarly drawn in the drawing processing unit. It is connected to 200 output terminals. The row electrodes 314 and the column electrodes 315 are arranged so that the extending directions of the electrodes are orthogonal to each other over the entire display areas 31A and 31B of the display panel 31. A potential difference between the row electrode 314 and the column electrode 315 at an arbitrary point in the display regions 31A and 31B is input by inputting a drawing drive signal (electrical signal) with appropriate ON / OFF timing from the drawing processing unit 200. Can be controlled.

  The image recording layer 35 can control the visible state of the point by the potential difference applied between the row electrode 38 and the column electrode 39, and no electric signal is input from the drawing processing unit 200. However, what maintains the visible state can be used. For example, a large number of white particles and black particles are encapsulated in a transparent microcapsule and arranged at all points (pixel points) at which the electric wires of the row electrode 314 and the column electrode 315 intersect each other. The recording layer 317 can be used. In this case, the white particles and the black particles in each microcapsule are charged with opposite polarities. For example, a negatively charged substance is used as white particles, and a positively charged substance is used as black particles. When an electric signal is input from the drawing processing unit 200 and the potential of the row electrode 314 at a certain pixel point is negative and the potential of the column electrode 315 is positive, black particles are aligned in the microcapsules at that pixel point. Electrophoresis is performed on the electrode 315 side, and white particles are electrophoresed on the row electrode 314 side. As a result, when this pixel point is viewed from the outside of the mobile phone 20, the pixel point appears black. Conversely, pixel points when the potential of the row electrode 314 is positive and the potential of the column electrode 315 is negative appear white. By performing such drawing control over the entire display areas 31A and 31B, a desired monochrome image can be displayed in the display areas 31A and 31B. In addition, the arrangement of the black particles and the white particles in each microcapsule is maintained even when the electric signal is not input from the drawing processing unit 200. Therefore, the display panel 31 can maintain the once displayed image as it is even in the non-powered state. In addition, a multi-tone monochrome image can be displayed in accordance with an electric signal input from the drawing processing unit 200.

  Although a monochrome image has been described here, a color image can also be displayed. As a specific example for displaying a color image, a color filter layer is provided between the transparent upper substrate layer 318 and the protective layer 319. When three color filters of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) are used as the color filter layer, three adjacent to each other among the points where the row electrode 314 and the column electrode 315 intersect each other. A point is treated as one pixel. Then, a color filter layer is provided so that the R, G, and B filter portions face each other at these three points. Thus, for example, when a certain pixel is red, white particles migrate to the column electrode 315 side for the microcapsules facing the R filter portion, and for the microcapsules facing the G filter portion and the B filter portion. A drawing drive signal (electric signal) is inputted so that the black particles are electrophoresed to the column electrode 315 side.

  The display panel 31 that can be used in the present invention can be used as long as the display image can be switched and the display state of the display image can be maintained even in a non-powered state. For example, other known electronic paper that can change the display image by receiving a drawing drive signal (electrical signal) for switching the display image and can maintain the display state of the image even in a non-powered state is used. Can do.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a drawing processing unit 200 as a drawing processing unit that performs drawing processing so as to display a desired image on the display panel 31 using the cholesteric liquid crystal or the like. The drawing processing unit 200 can perform drawing processing by supplying drawing drive signals (drive voltages) to the two display areas 31A and 31B of the display panel 31 independently of each other. The drawing processing unit 200 includes a drive control signal generation unit 201, a column electrode drive unit 202, and a row electrode drive unit 203. The drive control signal generation unit 201 is a drive for controlling the drawing drive signal output from the column electrode drive unit 202 and the row electrode drive unit 203 to the display panel 31 based on the image data sent from the main control unit. Generate a control signal. The column electrode driver 202 supplies a drawing drive signal to a predetermined column electrode 315 based on the column electrode drive control signal received from the drive control signal generator 201. Further, the row electrode driving unit 203 supplies a drawing drive signal to a predetermined row electrode 314 based on the row electrode drive control signal received from the drive control signal generation unit 201. The row electrode driving unit 203 includes a first row electrode driving unit 203A corresponding to the first display region 31A that is a part of the display panel 31, and a second row electrode driving unit corresponding to the second display region 31B. 203B. Here, when switching the display image of the first display area 31A, the drawing drive signal is supplied from the first row electrode driving unit 203A only to the row electrode 314A corresponding to the display area 31A. On the other hand, when switching the display image of the second display region 31B, the drawing drive signal is supplied from the second row electrode driving unit 203B only to the row electrode 314B corresponding to the display region 31B. By supplying the drawing drive signal only to the display area portion to be switched in this way, the display image switching processing time can be shortened compared to the case where the drawing drive signal is supplied to the entire display area for rewriting. Thus, it is possible to reduce the power consumption required for switching the display image.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of the mobile phone 20 according to the present embodiment.
This cellular phone 20 is the same as the cellular phone 10 of this embodiment, the main control unit 210 as a control unit, the internal memory 211 as a storage unit, and wireless communication as a communication unit that performs communication via a cellular phone communication network. A portion 212 and an antenna 213. Furthermore, the cellular phone 20 includes the drawing processing unit 200, the sound signal processing unit 214, the display control unit 215, a key operation unit 216 as an operation unit, and a clock unit 217 as a time measuring unit. .

  The main control unit 210 is composed of, for example, a CPU, a cache memory, a ROM, a system bus, and the like. By executing a predetermined control program, the main control unit 210 is connected to the internal memory 211, the wireless communication unit 212, the clock unit 216, and the like. To send and receive data and control each part. The main control unit 210 is connected to a microphone 26 as a sound input unit and a speaker 28 as a sound output unit via a sound signal processing unit 214, and a general power supply image display unit via a display control unit 215. A certain liquid crystal display 27 is connected. In addition, the display panel 31 is connected to the main control unit 210 via the drawing processing unit 200 described above. Furthermore, a key operation unit 216 and a clock unit 217 are connected to the main control unit 210.

  The main control unit 210 controls the wireless communication unit 212, the internal memory 211, and the like so as to execute a predetermined communication process when making a call or sending / receiving mail with another mobile phone or the like. To do. The main control unit 210 performs data communication with a cellular phone communication network or a server on the Internet, and executes predetermined communication processing when downloading data of various contents or receiving distribution information. Thus, the wireless communication unit 212, the internal memory 211, and the like are controlled.

The internal memory 211 is composed of a semiconductor memory such as a RAM or a ROM, for example, and stores a control program executed by the main control unit 210 and various data. The internal memory 211 is also used as content data storage means for storing content data such as images, music, and programs downloaded from information providing sites. Further, the internal memory 211 is also used as sound data storage means for storing sound data output from the speaker 109.
The internal memory 211 also stores image data storage means for storing display target image data to be displayed on the display panel 31 and the liquid crystal display 27, and drawing corresponding to all pixels on the screen of the display panel 31 and the liquid crystal display 27. It is also used as drawing data storage means for storing data.
As these storage means, instead of the internal memory 211, a storage medium such as a memory card or an IC card that can be attached to and detached from the mobile phone body may be used.

  The wireless communication unit 212 includes, for example, a modem, a synthesizer, a frequency converter, a high frequency amplifier, and the like, and communicates with various devices and servers or communicates with other mobile phones via a mobile phone communication network. Perform the process.

  The display control unit 215 controls to display an image on the display 27 based on the image data and drawing data sent from the main control unit 120.

  The speaker 28 receives an analog signal converted from a digital signal by the sound signal processing unit 214, and outputs a voice during a call, or outputs a mail ringing tone, a telephone ringing tone, music, or the like. The speaker 28 may be configured by separately providing a receiver speaker (receiver) for listening to voice during a call and an external output speaker for outputting a ring tone, music, or the like. You may comprise by one speaker so that the speaker for receivers and the speaker for external outputs may be combined.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the key operation unit 216 includes a data input key (ten key, * key, # key) 21, a call start key 22, an end call key 23, a scroll key 24, a multi-function key 25, and the like. Consists of multiple keys. The key operation unit 216 is used when the user gives an instruction to start or end a call, menu selection, screen switching, etc. or inputs information, and the user designates an image to be displayed on the display panel 31. It is also used as display image designating means for doing this.

  The clock unit 217 counts the correct date and time and generates time information for update processing and the like. The microphone 26 converts the user's voice into an electrical signal (analog signal). An audio electrical signal (analog signal) output from the microphone 26 is input to the sound signal processing unit 214 and converted into a digital signal. The microphone 26 can be used to input voice used for normal telephone calls and videophone calls.

  FIG. 7 is an external view of a mobile phone showing an example of an image displayed on the display panel 31 in a closed state in which the lid portion 29 and the main body portion 30 are folded. In the display example of FIG. 7, a display panel 31 is provided on the outer wall portion of the lid portion 29 of the mobile phone 20, and the first display area 31 </ b> A of the display panel 31 cannot specify a display image by the user. It is used as a display area. In the system display area 31A, the current time information 320 output from the clock unit 217 is displayed. Further, in the system display area 31A, as communication related information output from the wireless communication unit 212, information 321 on the electric field intensity of radio waves used for wireless communication and information 322 on the remaining battery capacity as device operation related information are stored. It is displayed.

  Note that the area of each of the plurality of display areas of the display panel is made smaller as the display area in which the display image is frequently switched, so that the power of changing the display image is reduced and the responsiveness of the image change is improved. This is desirable. For example, since the current time information, communication related information, device operation related information, etc. displayed in the system display area 31A are switched relatively frequently, the area of the system display area 31A is displayed for the user as shown in FIG. It is desirable to make it smaller than the area of the region 31B.

In addition to the field strength information, the communication-related information includes information indicating the presence of unread mail (unread mail display), information indicating that there was a missed call (missed call display), and distributed from the communication network side. Weather information (weather icon) may be displayed. Further, as the communication related information, information indicating that there is a simple answering machine (display of simple answering machine), manner mode setting information, silent setting information, vibration ON / OFF setting information, and the like may be displayed.
Further, as the device operation related information, in addition to information on the remaining battery level, information on whether or not an application program such as a JAVA (registered trademark) program is activated, information on insertion and removal of a card such as a memory card, and the like may be displayed. .

Of the information displayed in the system display area 31A, the current time information 320 is output from the clock unit 217 configured to operate in the background when the main power supply of the mobile phone 20 is turned off. The display may be updated as follows. In this case, the current time can be confirmed even when the main power supply of the mobile phone 20 is turned off.
The electric field strength information 321 and the remaining battery capacity 322 of the built-in battery may not be displayed when the main power supply of the mobile phone 20 is turned off.

  In the display example of FIG. 7, the first display area 31 </ b> B of the display panel 31 is used as a user display area for displaying an image designated by the user using the key operation unit 216. In this user display area 31B, a map image downloaded from a site providing a navigation service on the network is displayed. The map image in the user display area 31B is read from the internal memory 211 once saved by the download and displayed, and the display state is maintained even after the cellular phone 20 is turned off. Can be used for guidance etc.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of rewriting control of the current time information, the electric field strength information, and the remaining battery capacity information in the system display area 31A.
First, the main control unit 210 of the cellular phone 20 determines whether or not a display switching event that triggers display switching of the image in the system display area 31A has occurred at a predetermined timing set in advance (step 1). . As this display switching event, an event output from the clock unit 217 when the unit of the minute of time changes, or an event output from a battery remaining amount detection unit (not shown) when the remaining amount of the built-in battery decreases by a predetermined amount There is an event output from the wireless communication unit 212 when the intensity of the radio wave received from the base station changes.

Next, when the display switching event occurs, the main control unit 210 determines display switching target information (step 2).
Here, when the display switching target is information on the current time, the main control unit 210 acquires the information on the current time from the clock unit 217, and includes the information on the acquired current time in the system display area 31A. Image data is generated and sent to the drawing processing unit 200 (step 3). The drawing processing unit 200 generates a drive control signal for selecting a drawing drive signal to be supplied to the display panel 31 based on the image data received from the main control unit 210. Then, the drawing processing unit 200 supplies a drawing drive signal from the column electrode drive unit 202 and the row electrode drive unit 203 to the display panel 31 based on the generated drive control signal. At this time, since it is not necessary to switch images for the user display area 31B, the row electrode driving unit 203 supplies a drawing drive signal only to the row electrodes in the display area 31A. By supplying the drawing drive signal, the display image of the user display area 31A is switched.

  When the display switching target is information on the remaining battery level, the main control unit 210 acquires the remaining battery level information from a not-shown remaining battery level detection unit and includes the acquired remaining battery level information. Image data of the system display area 31A is generated and sent to the drawing processing unit 200 (step 5). Similar to the case of the current time information, the drawing processing unit 200 supplies a drawing drive signal only to the system display area 31A to switch the display image (step 6).

  When the display switching target is electric field intensity information, the main control unit 210 acquires electric field intensity information from the wireless communication unit 212, and includes the acquired electric field intensity information in the system display area 31A. Image data is generated and sent to the drawing processing unit 200 (step 7). Similar to the case of the current time information, the drawing processing unit 200 supplies a drawing drive signal only to the system display area 31A and switches the display image (step 8).

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of display control of the map image in the user display area 31B. First, the user operates the key operation unit 216 of the mobile phone 20 to display a list of images that can be displayed on the display panel 31 on the liquid crystal display 27 (step 1). Next, when the user operates the key operation unit 216 to specify a specific image (a map image in this example) in the image list, the image specifying data is input (step 2). The main control unit 210 reads predetermined image data from the internal memory 211 based on the input image designation data and sends it to the drawing processing unit 200 (step 3). Next, the drawing processing unit 200 generates a drive control signal for selecting a drawing drive signal to be supplied to the display panel 31 based on the image data received from the main control unit 210. Then, the drawing processing unit 200 supplies a drawing drive signal from the column electrode drive unit 202 and the row electrode drive unit 203 to the display panel 31 based on the generated drive control signal. At this time, since it is not necessary to switch the image for the system display area 31A, the row electrode driving unit 203 supplies a drawing drive signal only to the row electrodes in the user display area 31B. By supplying the drawing drive signal, the display image in the user display area 31B is switched to a map image.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a part of the display image displayed on the display panel 31 is changed, the changed image is displayed only for the display area to be changed among the plurality of display areas 31A and 31B. It is possible to execute a drawing process for rewriting a display image so as to display, and not to execute a drawing process for other display areas. Since the drawing process is executed only for the display area to be changed in this way, it is possible to avoid the design of the display image from changing greatly when a part of the display image is changed. Therefore, when a part of the display image is changed, unlike the case where the drawing process is executed for the entire display panel 31, the design by the display image is not greatly impaired. In addition, since the drawing process for changing the image is executed only for the display area displaying the image to be changed, the responsiveness of the image change is improved as compared with the case where the drawing process is performed for the entire display panel 31. It becomes possible. Accordingly, it is possible to increase the processing speed when changing the image on the display panel 31.
Further, it is possible to save power by partially supplying the drawing drive signal only to the display area to be changed in the display panel 31.

  In the above embodiment, the display image of the display panel 31 may be switched based on the communication result received from the communication network side. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the mobile phone 20 receives distribution information such as news, weather forecast, and advertisement information by a push type information distribution service in the communication network, the distribution information is used for the system of the display panel 31. You may control to display on the display area 31A.

  Further, in the above embodiment, a non-contact IC device is provided as a short-range wireless communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from an external information processing device by short-range wireless communication, and a communication result by the non-contact IC device is displayed on a display panel 31 may be displayed.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of the mobile phone 20 including the non-contact IC device 218. The non-contact IC device 218 is incorporated in the mobile phone 20 and serves as short-range wireless communication means for transmitting / receiving information to / from an external information processing device (reader / writer) such as a shopping terminal device by short-range wireless communication using electromagnetic waves. Function. The non-contact IC device 218 includes an IC chip, an antenna, and the like, and various shapes such as a card type, a label type, a coin type, and a stick type can be used. The short-range wireless communication method in the non-contact IC device 218 includes a non-contact IC card, a non-contact IC module, a wireless communication method used in an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) wireless communication method, Various systems such as a wireless communication system using infrared rays can be employed.

The non-contact IC device 218 includes, for example, a loop antenna, a wireless interface unit, a code modulation / demodulation unit, a data processing unit, and the like. The loop antenna is combined with a capacitor to form an LC circuit that resonates with a predetermined frequency of an electromagnetic wave transmitted from an external information processing device (reader / writer). The wireless interface unit detects and demodulates a reception wave signal received via the antenna, or generates a transmission wave signal to be transmitted to the antenna by modulating a signal to be transmitted by a predetermined modulation method. The code modulation / demodulation unit encodes the transmission target data received from the data processing unit with a predetermined code and sends it to the wireless interface unit, or decodes the received data received from the wireless interface unit and sends it to the data processing unit. To do. The data processing unit includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, an EEPROM, an input / output interface, and the like that can exchange data with each other via a bus. The code modulation / demodulation unit is connected to the bus of the data processing unit so that data can be transmitted and received between the data processing unit and the code modulation / demodulation unit. In addition, data is transmitted and received between the data processing unit and the main control unit 210 on the main body side of the mobile phone 20 through the input / output interface.
The non-contact IC device 218 is preferably configured to be able to acquire electric power from electromagnetic waves emitted from the external information processing device so that the non-contact IC device 218 can be operated even when the power of the mobile phone is turned off. For example, an AC signal obtained by receiving an electromagnetic wave transmitted from an external information processing apparatus is rectified, and electrical energy (electric power) of the rectified signal is temporarily stored in a capacitor or the like. The circuit of each part of the non-contact IC device 218 operates by the electric energy (electric power) supplied from the capacitor or the like. In this case, the display image switching process of the display panel 31 can also be performed using the power obtained from the electromagnetic waves received from the external information processing apparatus.
A control program for operating the non-contact IC device 218 in accordance with a predetermined procedure is stored in a ROM, an EEPROM, or the like constituting a data processing unit in the non-contact IC device 218, and non-contact as necessary. The data is read out and executed by the CPU and RAM in the IC device 218.
As information of an image transmitted / received to / from the non-contact IC device 218 and displayed on the display panel 31, transaction related information, settlement information, and the like can be displayed. For example, reservation processing and settlement processing are performed by communicating with the non-contact IC device 218, and ticket reservation information and ticket purchase information are displayed as an authentication image (code image) such as a QR code (registered trademark). It may be displayed.

  Further, in the above embodiment, control may be performed so that information stored in advance in the mobile phone 20 is automatically displayed in the system display area 31 </ b> A of the display panel 31. For example, information such as the company name and logo of the corporation and the employee ID of the user is stored in advance in the internal memory 211 of the mobile phone 20 sold for corporate users. When the mobile phone 20 is turned on and used, information such as the company name, logo, and employee ID stored in the internal memory 211 is read and automatically displayed in the system display area 31A of the display panel 31. You may control to do.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, based on the instruction | command from the application program currently performed with the mobile telephone 20, you may control to switch and change the display image of each display area 31A, 31B of the display panel 31. FIG. Further, it may be controlled to display whether or not the application program is activated in the system display area 31A.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the mobile phone 20 that can execute an application program and can change the images in the display areas 31A and 31B of the display panel 31 based on display control commands from the application program. . FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a software structure in the mobile phone 20. The application program execution management unit 219 includes the above-described system bus, a part of the CPU and RAM, and the like. The application program execution management unit 219 corresponds to the central “application execution environment” in the software structure of FIG. 13, and includes a class library, an execution environment management library, and an application program developed by object-oriented programming. Software such as application management is provided to manage the execution environment of application programs. This application execution environment is appropriately selected according to the application program to be executed. For example, if the application program to be executed is written in JAVA (registered trademark), the JAVA (registered trademark) application execution environment is selected. If the application program to be executed is written in C language that operates in the BREW (registered trademark) execution environment, the BREW (registered trademark) application execution environment is selected. If the application program to be executed is written in JAVA (registered trademark), by constructing a JAVA (registered trademark) application execution environment on the BREW (registered trademark) application execution environment, This can be done.
Here, the application program can be used by calling a class library such as a function in the application execution environment via a class library API (application interface). The call history of the class library such as this function is stored in the application storage area in the RAM 202 until the virtual execution environment (virtual machine: VM) of the application program is terminated. The application execution environment also saves various data used when executing the application program in the application storage area. When these various data are used, they are read from or written to the application storage area. The execution environment management library in the application execution environment can be used by calling a telephone platform library in the telephone platform described later via the telephone platform API.

  The main control unit 210 of the mobile phone 20 exchanges control commands and various data with the application program execution management unit 219, and performs control in cooperation with these. This main control unit corresponds to the lowermost “telephone platform” in the software structure of FIG. 13, and executes a control program and user interface for controlling the telephone communication unit, etc. Or provide. The telephone platform executes various processes in an application program by sending an event to an execution environment management library in the application execution environment, or performs application management software in the application execution environment via an application management API. Can be called and used. When the application execution environment calls and uses the telephone platform library via the telephone platform API, the telephone platform executes processing according to the telephone platform library. For example, the telephone platform reads data stored in the platform storage area managed by the telephone platform in the internal memory based on an instruction from the application execution environment using the telephone platform library, and stores the data in the application storage area. Can be migrated.

  Further, when switching the image displayed on the display panel 31 to another image according to the contents of the application program, the following operation is performed. First, the user downloads and acquires an application program that can control an image displayed on the display panel 31 from the download server, and registers it. Specifically, the user operates a key to access the download server. As a result, a download selection screen for selecting a downloadable application program is displayed on the liquid crystal display 27. When the application program to be executed is selected on the download selection screen using the scroll key 24 and the multi-function key 25 is pressed, the main control unit 210 controls the communication device 212 to download the application program. Download from the server. The application program downloaded in this way is stored in the internal memory 211 by the main control unit 210. When executing the downloaded application program in this way, the user operates a key of the key operation unit 216 to select an application program to be executed and perform an execution instruction operation. Then, an application program execution instruction is input to the telephone platform shown in FIG. Thereby, the main control unit 210 reads a predetermined application program and starts it. When a display control command is sent from this application program to the application execution environment shown in FIG. 13, the application program execution management unit 219 sends a display control command to the main control unit 210 of the telephone platform. Receiving this, the main control unit 210 reads image data related to the display control command from the internal memory 211. Thereafter, the main control unit 210 outputs a display control command based on the image data to the drawing processing unit 200. Thereby, the image displayed on the display panel 31 is switched to another image according to the contents of the application program. Since the image displayed on the display panel 31 can be switched in accordance with the contents of the application program in this way, the appearance design of the mobile phone can be related to the contents of the application program during execution of the application program.

In the above embodiment, the case where the display panel 31 has the two display areas 31A and 31B has been described. However, the number of display areas is not limited to two. For example, the present invention can be applied to a case where there are three or more display areas.
In the above embodiment, the cellular phone 20 has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to other mobile communication terminals and electronic devices such as portable devices.

(A) is a front view which shows an example of the external appearance of the mobile telephone which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (B) is a rear view of the mobile phone. The rear view of the mobile telephone which concerns on a modification. (A) is sectional drawing which shows one structural example of the display panel in the mobile telephone of this embodiment. (B) is explanatory drawing which shows the operation principle of the display panel. Sectional drawing of the casing which shows the structure of the display panel which concerns on another structural example. The block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of a drawing process part. The block diagram which shows the main structures of the mobile telephone which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 3 is an external view of a mobile phone showing an example of an image displayed on a display panel. The flowchart which shows an example of rewriting control of the information of the present time in the display area for systems of a display panel, the information of electric field strength, and the residual amount information of an internal battery. The flowchart which shows an example of the display control of the map image in the display area for users of a display panel. The external view of the mobile telephone which displayed the image of the news in the display area for systems of the display panel. The block diagram which shows the main structures of the mobile telephone provided with the non-contact IC apparatus. The block diagram of the mobile telephone which can execute an application program. Explanatory drawing of the software structure in the mobile phone.

Explanation of symbols

20 Cellular Phone 29 Lid 290 Casing 30 Main Body 31 Display Panel (Power-Free Image Display Means)
31A First display area (system display area)
31B Second display area (user display area)
311 Transparent lower substrate layer 312 Cholesteric liquid crystal layer 313 Transparent upper substrate layer 314 Column electrode 315 Row electrode

Claims (11)

An electronic apparatus comprising a non-powered image display means capable of maintaining a display state of an image even in a non-powered state, and a drawing processing means for performing a drawing process so as to display a desired image on the non-powered image display means,
The non-powered image display means has a plurality of display areas capable of displaying images independently of each other,
The electronic apparatus characterized in that the drawing processing means performs a drawing process so as to rewrite a display image independently for each of the plurality of display areas. The electronic device according to claim 1.
The non-powered image display means is configured such that a display image of each display area is changed by a drawing drive signal supplied to each of the plurality of display areas.
The electronic apparatus characterized in that the drawing processing means supplies a drawing drive signal only to a display area to be changed among the plurality of display areas. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2,
A display image specifying means for the user to specify an image to be displayed on the non-powered image display means,
The non-powered image display means may designate a display area for a user for displaying an image designated by the user using the display image designation means and a display image by the user as the plurality of display areas. An electronic device having a display area for a system that cannot be used. The electronic device according to claim 3.
An image displayed in the system display area is an image of device state related information related to an operation state of the electronic device. The electronic device according to claim 3.
An electronic device characterized in that the image displayed in the system display area is an image of time information. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An electronic apparatus comprising a communication means for communicating via a mobile communication network. The electronic device according to claim 6.
The electronic device characterized in that the image displayed in the display area is an image of communication related information related to communication by the communication means. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
An electronic apparatus comprising short-range wireless communication means for transmitting / receiving information to / from an external information processing apparatus by short-range wireless communication. The electronic device according to claim 8.
The electronic device, wherein the image displayed in the display area is an image of information transmitted / received to / from the information processing apparatus by the short-range wireless communication means. The electronic device according to any one of claims 6 to 9,
An electronic apparatus comprising: control means for controlling the drawing processing means so as to change an image to be displayed in the display area based on a communication result received through communication by the communication means. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
Storage means for storing image data to be displayed in the display area;
An electronic apparatus comprising: control means for controlling the drawing processing means so as to change an image to be displayed in the display area based on image data stored in advance in the storage means.