JP2008052058A - Display device, communication system, viewing angle control method, viewing angle control program, recording medium and display controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display device capable of preventing leakage of information by automatically narrowing a viewing angle when displaying an image of high secrecy. <P>SOLUTION: The mobile phone (display device) 1 as an information terminal device of viewing angle variable type capable of displaying a content is provided with: an image display part 31 (display means) of displaying the content related with viewing angle determination information; a viewing angle control discrimination signal preparing part 25 (viewing angle control means) of preparing a viewing angle control data for controlling a viewing angle of an image display part 31 when the content is displayed based on the viewing angle determination information; and a viewing angle changing part 32 (viewing angle control means) of changing a viewing angle of the display means based on the viewing angle control data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device capable of controlling the viewing angle of the display unit, a communication system including the display device, a viewing angle control method of the display device, a viewing angle control program, and a recording in which the program is recorded It relates to the medium.

  Conventionally, a liquid crystal display (LCD) has been widely used as a display of a portable information terminal device such as a mobile phone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). LCDs have been considered to have a narrow viewing angle compared to CRTs (Cathode Ray Tubes), plasma displays, and the like, but with the recent advances in LCD technology, viewing angles have been widened.

  However, when the portable information terminal device is used in a crowded situation such as in a train or a bus, the content displayed on the display screen of the portable information terminal device may be peeped by the surrounding people. . In particular, when creating and browsing an electronic mail, it is not preferable in terms of privacy that the contents are peeped by people around.

  In response to this problem, LCDs that can control the viewing angle have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4). In such an LCD, the normal wide viewing angle mode and the narrow viewing angle mode with a narrow viewing angle can be switched from one to the other. The narrow viewing angle mode is a mode in which a normal display image can be visually recognized from directly in front of the display screen where the user is present, and a plain image or another image can be viewed from an oblique direction.

  For example, the viewing angle variable element described in Patent Document 1 has a narrow viewing angle when liquid crystal molecules in a liquid crystal layer between a pair of substrates are aligned in a direction perpendicular to the substrates, and is aligned in a parallel direction. With a wide viewing angle. Moreover, the portable terminal device of patent document 2 changes the viewing angle of the information display means by changing the orientation of the liquid crystal between two glass plates.

  Furthermore, by dividing the display device into several sections and changing the liquid crystal alignment direction etc. in each section, when the display screen is viewed from a direction other than the front in the narrow viewing angle mode, it is displayed on the display screen. There is also a configuration that makes it possible to visually recognize another image different from the image. For example, Patent Document 3 describes a liquid crystal display device in which an alignment film sandwiching a liquid crystal layer is divided into a plurality of regions, and the alignment directions of adjacent regions are different. Patent Document 4 describes a liquid crystal display device in which first liquid crystal cells and second liquid crystal cells having different viewing angle directions are alternately arranged.

Furthermore, the portable terminal device described in Patent Document 2 controls the viewing angle according to the type of application being executed. Thereby, a viewing angle can be automatically changed according to a use condition, and the troublesomeness in which a user determines a viewing angle one by one can be avoided. Patent Document 5 discloses a portable terminal capable of adjusting the viewing angle of a liquid crystal display screen depending on whether or not the image display mode is set. Patent Document 6 discloses a mobile phone that changes the viewing angle of a display device in accordance with the function of the device itself. Patent Document 7 discloses a technique for controlling the viewing angle based on the usage status of a device.
JP-A-9-105958 (release date: April 22, 1997) JP 2004-62094 (release date: February 26, 2004) JP 2001-264768 (release date: September 26, 2001) JP-A-2004-38035 (Release date: February 5, 2004) JP-A-2004-233527 (release date: August 19, 2004) JP 2005-260858 (release date: September 22, 2005) WO2006 / 025326A1 (Publication date: March 9, 2006)

  Recently, with the development of communication technology in portable information terminal devices, it has become possible to easily view each homepage (so-called web page) via the Internet using a mobile phone or the like in a public place. . For this reason, opportunities for viewing highly confidential information such as Internet banking in public places are increasing, and the risk of information leakage is increasing. Therefore, by controlling the viewing angle of the display device as described above and setting the narrow viewing angle mode when viewing information that should be kept confidential, it is possible to prevent others from peeping at the information. it can.

  However, the current viewing angle control type display device, as disclosed in each of the above patent documents, narrows the viewing angle by setting by the user himself or according to the function of the device itself. The viewing angle is controlled, and the viewing angle cannot be changed according to the necessity of confidentiality of the displayed image content (content) itself. Therefore, if some of the web content displayed using the same application contains highly sensitive information, the image display mode is always set to the wide viewing angle mode. There is a risk that the information will be peeped by others.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a display device that can automatically change a viewing angle according to displayed content and contribute to prevention of information leakage.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the display device according to the present invention is a variable viewing angle display device that displays content, the display unit displaying content associated with viewing angle determination information, and the viewing field. Viewing angle control means for controlling the viewing angle of the display means when the content is displayed based on the angle determination information.

  The display device of the present invention is a variable viewing angle display device for displaying content. Here, the variable viewing angle display device includes a wide viewing angle display mode in which the viewing angle on the display screen is equal to or larger than a predetermined angle, and a narrow viewing angle display mode in which the viewing angle on the display screen is less than the predetermined angle. A display device capable of switching and displaying at least two display modes.

  According to the display device of the present invention, based on the viewing angle determination information associated with the content, by changing the viewing angle of the display means to a predetermined target state when the content is displayed, The viewing angle can be controlled automatically. That is, the viewing angle can be controlled according to the content of the displayed image without bothering the user. In addition, even when the user forgets to manually set the narrow viewing angle, the viewing angle determination information for changing to the narrow viewing angle at the transmission source is added to the content in advance, so that the image information that should be kept confidential can be obtained. When displaying, the narrow viewing angle mode can be automatically set. Therefore, it can contribute to information leakage prevention.

  Conventionally, there is a technique for automatically changing the viewing angle (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 7), but since the viewing angle is changed according to the application or the device used, the content of the displayed image The viewing angle cannot be controlled according to (content). On the other hand, since the display device of the present invention can change the viewing angle according to the content to be displayed, it can perform finer viewing angle control.

  Here, the contents are contents such as characters and images displayed on the display means, and mean, for example, web contents, moving image contents (stream data), and the like. In this specification, content is also called image information. The viewing angle determination information associated with the content is information for determining the viewing angle when the content is displayed.

  It is preferable that the display device of the present invention further includes receiving means for receiving the content and viewing angle determination information associated with the content.

  According to the above configuration, the display device includes the receiving unit, so that the content and the viewing angle determination information associated with the content can be received from the outside of the device.

  In the display device of the present invention, the content is web content, and the viewing angle determination information is information added to a text file of the web content that determines a viewing angle when the web content is displayed. Preferably there is.

  According to said structure, a viewing angle can be automatically controlled based on the viewing angle control signal added to the received web content. As a result, in the case of image information that should be kept confidential, a user can manually set the viewing angle to a narrow viewing angle by adding a viewing angle control signal to the web content transmitted from a provider or the like in advance. Even if the user forgets to do so, the narrow viewing angle mode can be automatically set, so that information leakage can be prevented.

  In the present invention, the received web content may be temporarily stored in the storage unit in the terminal device and then displayed on the display means.

  In the display device of the present invention, the content is web content, the viewing angle determination information is information indicating whether the web content is encrypted, and the viewing angle control means includes the viewing angle control unit. Based on the determination information, when the web content is encrypted, it is preferable to make the viewing angle of the display unit narrower than when the web content is not encrypted.

  According to the above configuration, it is determined that the encrypted web content received by the display device is the image information that needs to maintain the confidentiality of the display content, compared to the case where the content is not encrypted. The viewing angle can be narrowed automatically. As a result, it is possible to automatically display an image in a narrow viewing angle mode or the like regarding encrypted web content that is highly necessary to maintain confidentiality, and to prevent leakage of information. In this case, the viewing angle determination information is information regarding whether or not the web content is encrypted.

  In the display device according to the aspect of the invention, the content may be moving image content, and the viewing angle determination information may be information added to the moving image content to determine a viewing angle when the moving image content is displayed. preferable.

  According to said structure, a viewing angle can be automatically controlled based on the viewing angle control signal added to the received moving image content.

  Examples of the moving image content include television images transmitted by terrestrial digital broadcasting, movies distributed by CATV, satellite broadcasting, and the like.

  In the display device of the present invention, the viewing angle control means may further include a viewing angle of the display means based on second viewing angle determination information determined for each application software used for displaying the content. Is preferably controlled.

  According to the above configuration, the viewing angle can be automatically changed based on the viewing angle determination information associated with the content, and based on the second viewing angle determination information determined for each application software The viewing angle can be automatically changed.

  In addition, a communication system according to the present invention includes the transmission unit that transmits the content and viewing angle determination information associated with the content, and the display device.

  According to the communication system of the present invention, for example, the image information to be prevented from leaking information is transmitted in association with viewing angle determination information in which the display image has a narrow viewing angle, and the display device displays the image information. , The image displayed on the display device can have a narrow viewing angle. Thereby, the communication system which reduced the risk of information leakage is realizable.

  A viewing angle control method according to the present invention is a viewing angle control method in a display means for displaying content, provided in a variable viewing angle display device, in order to solve the above problems. A step of creating a viewing angle control signal defining a viewing angle of the display means when the content is displayed based on the associated viewing angle determination information, and the content based on the viewing angle control signal Controlling the viewing angle of the display means when displayed.

  According to the viewing angle control method of the present invention, based on the viewing angle determination information associated with the content, the viewing angle control identification for changing the viewing angle of the display means to a specified state when the content is displayed. Signals can be created and the viewing angle can be controlled automatically. That is, the viewing angle can be controlled according to the displayed image without bothering the user. In addition, even when the user forgets to manually set the narrow viewing angle, the viewing angle determination information for changing to the narrow viewing angle at the transmission source is added to the content in advance, so that the image information that should be kept confidential can be obtained. When displaying, the narrow viewing angle mode can be automatically set. Therefore, it can contribute to information leakage prevention.

  Conventionally, there is a technique for automatically changing the viewing angle (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 7), but since the viewing angle is changed according to the application or the device used, the content of the displayed image The viewing angle cannot be controlled according to (content). On the other hand, since the viewing angle control method of the present invention can change the viewing angle according to the content to be displayed, it can perform finer viewing angle control.

  Here, the contents are contents such as characters and images displayed on the display means, and mean, for example, web contents, moving image contents (stream data), and the like. In this specification, content is also called image information. The viewing angle determination information associated with the content is information for determining the viewing angle when the content is displayed.

  The viewing angle control in the display device may be realized by a computer. In this case, a viewing angle control program for realizing the display device by a computer by operating the computer as the viewing angle control means. A computer-readable recording medium on which is recorded also falls within the scope of the present invention.

  That is, the viewing angle control program according to the present invention is for realizing a viewing angle control function in a display device having any one of the above-described structures by a computer. A recording medium according to the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium on which the viewing angle control program is recorded.

  In order to solve the above problems, a display controller according to the present invention is a display controller that controls display in a display device with variable viewing angle, and an image that controls display of content associated with viewing angle determination information A display control unit and a viewing angle control unit that controls a viewing angle of a display image when the content is displayed based on the viewing angle determination information are provided.

  The display controller of the present invention controls display in a display device with variable viewing angle. Here, the display controller means an arithmetic processing device having an image processing function, and is realized as, for example, a graphic LSI.

  According to the display controller of the present invention, the image display control unit controls the display of content, and the display when the content is displayed based on the viewing angle determination information associated with the content by the viewing angle control unit. By controlling the viewing angle of the image, the viewing angle can be automatically controlled according to the content to be displayed. That is, the viewing angle can be controlled according to the content of the displayed image without bothering the user. Accordingly, when displaying image information that should be kept confidential, the user can automatically set the narrow viewing angle mode without manually setting the narrow viewing angle, thereby contributing to prevention of information leakage.

  Note that the viewing angle of the display image is a viewing angle in a display unit of a display device with a variable viewing angle.

  The control circuit of the present invention includes the display controller described above. The control circuit of the present invention is realized as a CPU, MPU, DSP, or the like, for example.

  Furthermore, the display device of the present invention may include the display controller or the control circuit.

  As described above, the display device of the present invention is a variable viewing angle display device that displays content, and is based on display means for displaying content associated with viewing angle determination information and the viewing angle determination information. And viewing angle control means for controlling the viewing angle of the display means when the content is displayed.

  Therefore, according to the display device of the present invention, based on the viewing angle determination information associated with the content, when the content is displayed, the viewing angle of the display unit is changed to a target state, thereby automatically The viewing angle can be controlled. That is, the viewing angle can be controlled according to the content of the displayed image without bothering the user. In addition, even when the user forgets to manually set the narrow viewing angle, the viewing angle determination information for changing to the narrow viewing angle at the transmission source is added to the content in advance, so that the image information that should be kept confidential can be obtained. When displaying, the narrow viewing angle mode can be automatically set. Therefore, the effect that it can contribute to information leakage prevention is produced.

[Embodiment 1]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 shows the appearance of a mobile phone (display device) 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The cellular phone 1 according to the present embodiment is a so-called clamshell type, and shows an open state in FIG. FIG. 2A shows a portion that becomes an inner side when the mobile phone 1 is closed, and a side that is mainly used by a user when the mobile phone 1 is opened. Therefore, in this application, the side shown in FIG. FIG. 5B shows a portion that is on the outside when the cellular phone 1 is closed, and is on the opposite side to the side in FIG. 5A when the cellular phone 1 is opened. Therefore, in the present application, the side shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile phone 1 includes a main body 2 and a lid 3, and the main body 2 and the lid 3 are connected in a hinge shape. The lid 3 is provided with a main screen 4 on the front side and a sub screen 5 on the back side. Although not shown in the figure, an antenna is provided in the lid 3.

  The main body 2 is provided with a main operation button group 6 on the front side. The main operation button group 6 includes a function button group 7 for performing various settings and function switching in the mobile phone 1 and an input button group 8 for inputting symbols such as numbers and characters. Specifically, the function button group 7 activates a power button for switching the power on / off of the mobile phone, a manner mode button for turning on / off the manner mode setting, a camera button for activating the photographing mode, and a mail mode. It includes a mail button, a connection button for connecting to the Internet, a cross button for moving the selection object in the up / down / left / right directions, and a determination button arranged at the center of the cross button for determining various selections. The input button group 8 is a numeric keypad. A camera 9 is provided on the back side of the main body 2.

  The mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment has a function of controlling the viewing angle of the main screen 4 to switch from one of the wide viewing angle mode and the narrow viewing angle mode to the other. The switching of the viewing angle mode can be executed by the user operating a predetermined operation button. Various structures for changing the viewing angle are known, and are described in, for example, the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1, 3, and 4. Therefore, the description thereof is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the viewing angle mode can be automatically switched based on the content (image information) received by the mobile phone 1 via the Internet. Details of this viewing angle control will be described later.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the mobile phone 1 of the present embodiment displays viewing angle information 60 indicating the state of the viewing angle on the main screen 4. Thereby, even if the state of the viewing angle automatically changes corresponding to the received content, the user can easily determine the state of the viewing angle only by looking at the main screen 4 from the front. In the illustrated example, the viewing angle information 60 is displayed at the center of the upper end of the main screen 4, but can be displayed at any position on the display screen 4. In the illustrated example, the viewing angle information 60 is expressed by a character string, but can also be expressed by a graphic such as an icon.

  In the mobile phone 1, for example, the received content is an Internet banking page; a net securities page (especially a stock trading screen); a credit card number input page for electronic payment; personal information (address, telephone number when applying for a gift or sample) ) In the case of web content such as an input page, it is necessary to maintain the confidentiality of the display content (hereinafter referred to as high confidentiality), so the narrow viewing angle mode is automatically set. On the other hand, for example, if the received content is a search site; a homepage of a general company; an information distribution page for news, weather, traffic information, etc .; Since it is not necessary to hold (hereinafter referred to as low confidentiality), the wide viewing angle mode is automatically set.

  FIG. 3 shows an image viewed by a person Pf in the front direction of the main screen 4 and the main screen 4 when the main screen 4 automatically enters the wide viewing angle mode by displaying an image with low confidentiality. The images viewed by the persons Pl and Pr in the diagonal direction are shown. FIG. 4 shows an image viewed by a person Pf in the front direction of the main screen 4 when the main screen 4 automatically enters the narrow viewing angle mode by displaying a highly confidential image. The images viewed by the persons Pl and Pr in the diagonal direction of the screen 4 are shown.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the wide viewing angle mode, the main screen 4 is viewed from the front (front direction), and is also viewed from the front diagonally from the front toward the main screen 4 (right side). (Azimuth), the image of the main screen 4 is also visually recognized when viewed from the front facing the main screen 4 from the diagonal front (left side orientation). At this time, viewing angle information 60w indicating a wide viewing angle is displayed on the main screen 4.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, in the narrow viewing angle mode, the image of the main screen 4 is visually recognized in the front direction, but a black display or another image is visually recognized from the right side direction or the left side direction. The image of the main screen 4 is not visually recognized. At this time, viewing angle information 60n indicating a narrow viewing angle is displayed on the main screen 4.

  Next, a detailed configuration of the mobile phone 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the mobile phone 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a part related to the control of the viewing angle of the mobile phone 1.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the mobile phone 1 includes a control unit 11, a main display unit (display unit) 12, an incoming call notification unit 13, an operation unit 14, a storage unit 15, an application software storage unit 16, an antenna unit 70 (reception unit). ), Wireless processing unit 71 (receiving means), audio processing unit 72, audio input unit 73, audio output unit 74, data processing unit 75, sub display unit 76, photographing unit 78, and power supply unit 77.

  The antenna unit 70 is for sending radio waves to the outside and receiving radio waves from the outside. Specifically, the antenna unit 70 is for transmitting and receiving radio waves for mobile phones in the 800 MHz band or 1.5 GHz band.

  The wireless processing unit 71 converts the data received from the voice processing unit 72 or the data processing unit 75 into a format suitable for wireless transmission, and transmits the converted wireless signal to the outside via the antenna unit 70. The wireless processing unit 71 converts a wireless signal received from the outside via the antenna unit 70 into an original format, and transmits the converted data to the voice processing unit 72 or the data processing unit 75. Specifically, the wireless processing unit 71 performs channel codec processing, baseband signal processing, data modulation / demodulation processing, RF (Radio Frequency) processing, and the like.

  The audio processing unit 72 converts the audio signal from the audio input unit 73 into predetermined audio data and transmits it to the radio processing unit 71, and converts the audio data from the radio processing unit 71 into an audio signal and converts it into an audio output unit. 74 to be transmitted. Specifically, the audio processing unit 72 includes an A / D converter, a D / A converter, an amplifier, and an audio codec circuit.

  The voice input unit 73 converts a sound wave input from the outside into a voice signal that is an electrical signal and transmits the voice signal to the voice processing unit 72. Specifically, the voice input unit 73 includes a microphone.

  The audio output unit 74 converts the audio signal from the audio processing unit 72 into a sound wave and outputs it to the outside. Specifically, the audio output unit 74 includes a speaker, an earphone, an audio output connector, and the like. Normally, the mobile phone 1 uses an earphone when making a call and a speaker when notifying an incoming call. Also, when listening to music, headphones are connected to the audio output connector in consideration of the surrounding people.

  In the case of a telephone, it is desirable that the user's voice input to the voice input unit 73 is heard from the voice output unit 74. For this reason, it is desirable that the audio processing unit 72 adjusts the audio signal from the audio input unit 73 to a predetermined volume level and then transmits it to the audio output unit 74.

  The data processing unit 75 encodes data from the control unit 11 into data of a predetermined format and transmits the data to the wireless processing unit 71, and also decodes data from the wireless processing unit 71 and transmits the data to the control unit 11. . Examples of data encoding / decoding (codec) systems performed by the data processing unit 75 include MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) -4 and ITU-T Recommendation H.264. H.263.

  The operation unit 14 creates operation data and transmits it to the control unit 11 when a user operates an input device such as the main operation button group 6 provided on the surface of the mobile phone 1. Examples of the input device include a touch panel in addition to the button switch. In addition, the operation unit 14 creates operation data instructing to change the viewing angle when the user operates a predetermined operation button, and transmits the operation data to the control unit 11.

  The storage unit 15 stores various data and programs. Examples of the storage unit 15 include a ROM (Read Only Memory) that is a read-only semiconductor memory that stores fixed data such as programs and communication control data required when the control unit 11 operates, and barcode recognition and communication. RAM (Random Access Memory) as a so-called working memory for temporarily storing data related to data, data used for calculation, calculation results, and the like.

  The main display unit 12 and the sub display unit 76 receive content from the control unit 11 and display an image based on the received content. Specifically, the main display unit 12 and the sub display unit 76 include a display element such as a PDP (Plasma Display Panel), an LCD, and an EL (Electroluminescence) display, and a driver circuit that drives the display element based on the received content. It is the structure provided with.

  In the present embodiment, the main display unit 12 has a function of receiving viewing angle control data (viewing angle control identification signal) from the control unit 11 and changing the viewing angle based on the received viewing angle control data. . Note that the sub display unit 76 may have a function of changing the viewing angle.

  The image capturing unit 78 captures a subject and generates video data. Specifically, the photographing unit 78 captures an electrical signal from the image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) and a CMOS (Complementary Metal-oxide Semiconductor) that converts light from the subject into an electrical signal in RGB colors. And a video processing circuit for converting the digital video data. The imaging unit 78 transmits the generated video data to the control unit 11.

  The power supply unit 77 supplies appropriate power to various components in the mobile phone 1. The power supply unit 77 includes, for example, a rechargeable secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery, a power supply circuit, and the like.

  The incoming call notification unit 13 notifies that there is an incoming call by sound or vibration when the mobile phone 1 receives an incoming call.

  The application software storage unit 16 stores software for various applications executed on the mobile phone 1 such as mail software, game software, basic software, and word processing software.

  The control unit 11 comprehensively controls various configurations in the mobile phone 1. The function of the control unit 11 is realized by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program stored in a storage device such as a RAM or a flash memory. Such a CPU (control circuit) is also included in the scope of the present invention. When the control unit 11 is realized by a CPU or the like, an image display control unit 22 that controls display of content and a viewing angle that controls the viewing angle of the display image when the content is displayed based on the viewing angle determination information. The control unit 23 can be realized as a graphic LSI (display controller) having an image processing function.

  FIG. 1 shows the details of the configuration related to the operation of controlling the viewing angle based on the content among the above-described configurations in the mobile phone 1. FIG. 1 also shows an example of a communication system according to the present invention that includes the mobile phone 1 and a provider server 61 (transmission means). Note that the mobile phone 1 according to the present invention can manually change the viewing angle when the user presses the viewing angle change button or the like from the operation unit 14 as in the case of the viewing angle control in the conventional mobile phone. The viewing angle control operation performed manually by the user is the same as in the conventional method, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone 1 includes a control unit 11, a main display unit 12, a storage unit 15, and an external information receiving unit 18 (receiving unit) as a configuration related to the operation for controlling the viewing angle. The external information receiving unit 18 shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to a part that functions as a receiving unit in the communication unit of the mobile phone 1 including the antenna unit 70 and the wireless processing unit 71 shown in FIG.

  As described above, the main display unit 12 has a function of receiving the viewing angle control data from the control unit 11 and changing the viewing angle based on the received viewing angle control data. Inside the main display unit 12, a viewing angle changing unit 32 (viewing angle changing unit) that changes the viewing angle of the display image based on the viewing angle control data received from the viewing angle control unit 23 (viewing angle control means) in the control unit 11. Angle control means) and an image display unit 31 (corresponding to the main screen 4 in FIG. 2) for displaying an image based on various contents received from the control unit 11.

  The storage unit 15 can temporarily store the web content (image information) received by the external information receiving unit 18.

  The external information receiving unit 18 receives various types of information from the outside of the mobile phone 1, and receives web content transmitted from the provider server 61, for example, as shown in FIG. Here, a viewing angle control signal (viewing angle determination information associated with the content) is added to the web content received by the external information receiving unit 18. The mobile phone 1 can not only receive information from the provider server 61 but also transmit information from the mobile phone 1 to the provider server 61.

  Inside the control unit 11, an image-related information acquisition unit 21, an image display control unit 22, and a viewing angle control unit (viewing angle control means) 23 are provided.

  The image related information acquisition unit 21 acquires information (contents) related to image display from the data received by the external information reception unit 18. The image display control unit 22 causes the image display unit 31 to display based on the content acquired by the image related information acquisition unit 21. In addition, the image display control unit 22 can also control to display content such as web content once stored in the storage unit 15. In this case, there is a table in the storage unit 15 that stores the web content in association with the viewing angle control signal added to the text file.

  Further, a viewing angle control signal extraction unit 24 and a viewing angle control identification signal creation unit 25 are provided inside the viewing angle control unit 23.

  The viewing angle control signal extraction unit 24 extracts a viewing angle control signal from the transmitted image information such as web content. The viewing angle control signal is a signal that is added to the HTML text file of the web content transmitted from the provider server 61 and controls the viewing angle when the web content is displayed.

  The viewing angle control identification signal creating unit 25 has a purpose of setting the viewing angle of the main display unit 12 to be a narrow viewing angle or a wide viewing angle when the corresponding web content is displayed based on the extracted viewing angle control signal. The viewing angle control data for changing to the state to be created is created. Based on the viewing angle control data, the viewing angle changing unit 32 changes the viewing angle of the display image.

  The state (degree) of the viewing angle may be expressed by an actual viewing angle, or by a viewing angle such as a wide viewing angle, a narrow viewing angle, or a middle viewing angle. In the present embodiment, the viewing angle state is represented by a wide viewing angle with a wide viewing angle and a narrow viewing angle with a viewing angle narrower than the wide viewing angle.

  That is, in the present embodiment, between the wide viewing angle mode in which display is performed at a constant viewing angle and the narrow viewing angle mode in which display is performed at a constant viewing angle narrower than the wide viewing angle mode. An example of switching the viewing angle has been described. In this case, the viewing angle determination information associated with the web content includes information that sets the size of the viewing angle to a predetermined size in each of the wide viewing angle mode and the narrow viewing angle mode. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the viewing angle determination information added to the content may be information that determines the viewing angle so that the viewing angle has various angles for each content.

  When the image display control unit 22 displays content such as web content once stored in the storage unit 15, the content stored in the storage unit 15 and the viewing angle control signal associated therewith are first displayed as a viewing angle. It is transmitted to a viewing angle control signal extraction unit 24 in the control unit 23, where a viewing angle control signal (viewing angle determination information) is extracted. Thereafter, the content is transmitted to the image display control unit 22, and the viewing angle control signal is transmitted to the viewing angle control identification signal creation unit 25.

  Next, the processing operation in the mobile phone 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 shows a processing operation that the control unit 11 controls to change the viewing angle according to the received web content.

  As shown in FIG. 6, first, it is confirmed whether or not the image-related information acquisition unit 21 has received web content in the external information reception unit 18 (step S10 (hereinafter may be abbreviated as “S10”). The same applies to the steps in step 1)). If no web content is received (NO in S10), the process returns to step S10 and the above operation is repeated.

  On the other hand, when the web content is received (YES in S10), the image-related information acquisition unit 21 acquires the web content and transmits it to the image display control unit 22 and the viewing angle control signal extraction unit 24. . The viewing angle control signal extraction unit 24 extracts a viewing angle control signal added to the transmitted web content (S11).

  In S10, the received web content can be temporarily stored in the storage unit 15. In this case, when the web content stored in the storage unit 15 is taken out, the processing operations after step S11 are executed.

  The viewing angle control signal extraction unit 24 transmits the extracted viewing angle control signal to the viewing angle control identification signal creation unit 25. The viewing angle control identification signal creating unit 25 uses viewing angle control data (viewing angle control signal for setting the viewing angle of the image displayed on the image display unit to a narrow viewing angle or a wide viewing angle based on the viewing angle control signal. Alternatively, a viewing angle control identification signal) is created (S12). Based on the viewing angle control data, the viewing angle changing unit 32 changes the viewing angle so that the web content displayed on the image display unit 31 has a corresponding viewing angle (S13).

  The mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment can automatically control the viewing angle based on the viewing angle control signal added to the received web content. That is, the viewing angle corresponding to the displayed image can be controlled without bothering the user. As a result, in the case of content that should be kept confidential, a user forgets to manually set the narrow viewing angle by adding a viewing angle control signal for narrow viewing angle to the web content transmitted from the provider in advance. In this case, it is possible to automatically set the narrow viewing angle mode, so that information leakage can be prevented.

  In addition, the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment may be capable of receiving moving image content by digital broadcasting such as one segment. In this case, a viewing angle control signal may be added to the moving image content to be transmitted.

  FIG. 7 shows a configuration example when the mobile phone receives moving image content by digital broadcasting. As shown in FIG. 7, in the mobile phone 1 ′, the external information receiving unit 18 receives the moving image content (content) distributed from the video distribution server 62 that is the distribution source of the digital broadcast. Then, the video information acquisition unit 41 in the control unit 11 acquires the distributed video content. The video information acquisition unit 41 transmits the moving image content to the image display control unit 22 and the viewing angle control signal determination unit 44. The viewing angle control signal discriminating unit 44 discriminates and extracts a viewing angle control signal from the transmitted moving image content.

  The viewing angle control processing operations other than those described above are the same as those of the cellular phone 1 shown in FIG.

  The moving image content transmitted from the video distribution server 62 is not limited to that transmitted by one-segment broadcasting (one segment broadcasting), but transmitted by other terrestrial digital broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, cable broadcasting, or the like. There may be. In this case, the display device needs a receiver for receiving each broadcast.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope shown in the claims. That is, technical means appropriately modified within the scope of the claims or embodiments obtained by combining technical means described in other embodiments described later are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the mobile phone 1 is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any PHS (Personal Handy-phone System), PDA, mobile PC (Personal Computer), or portable DVD (Digital Versatile) can be used as long as it has a display device having a viewing angle control function. It can be applied to any portable display device such as a disk). Alternatively, it may be applied to a stationary display.

  In the above-described embodiment, there are only two types of viewing angle modes, the wide viewing angle mode and the narrow viewing angle mode. However, more viewing angle modes can be provided. For example, an intermediate viewing angle mode in which the viewing angle is neither wide nor narrow may be provided. This viewing angle mode is suitable when a display screen is viewed by a few persons including the user.

  Further, each block of the mobile phone 1, in particular, the control unit 11 may be configured by hardware logic, or may be realized by software using a CPU as follows.

  That is, the mobile phone 1 includes a storage device (recording device) such as a CPU that executes instructions of a control program for realizing each function, a ROM that stores the program, a RAM that expands the program, a memory that stores the program and various data, and the like. Medium). An object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium on which a program code (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of a control program for the mobile phone 1 which is software for realizing the above-described functions is recorded so as to be readable by a computer. This can also be achieved by supplying the mobile phone 1 and reading and executing the program code recorded on the recording medium by the computer (or CPU or MPU).

  Examples of the recording medium include a tape system such as a magnetic tape and a cassette tape, a disk system including a magnetic disk such as a flexible disk / hard disk and an optical disk such as a CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R, and an IC card. A card system such as an optical card (including a memory card) or a semiconductor memory system such as a mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM can be used.

  The mobile phone 1 may be configured to be connectable to a communication network, and the program code may be supplied via the communication network. The communication network is not particularly limited. For example, the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication. A net or the like is available. Also, the transmission medium constituting the communication network is not particularly limited. For example, even in the case of wired such as IEEE 1394, USB, power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL line, etc., infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth ( (Registered trademark), 802.11 wireless, HDR, mobile phone network, satellite line, terrestrial digital network, and the like can also be used. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a carrier wave or a data signal sequence in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

[Embodiment 2]
Subsequently, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The mobile phone 101 according to the present embodiment automatically switches the viewing angle mode based on the received web content, similar to the mobile phone 1 described above. The encrypted web content is determined to be highly confidential content, and the mode is automatically changed to the narrow viewing angle mode.

  FIG. 8 shows the details of the configuration related to the operation of controlling the viewing angle based on the content among the configurations in the mobile phone 101 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 8 also shows an example of a communication system according to the present invention that includes the mobile phone 1 and the provider server 61 (transmission means). In the mobile phone 101, the same functional blocks as those of the mobile phone 1 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the mobile phone 101 includes a control unit 11, a main display unit 12, a storage unit 15, and an external information receiving unit 18 (receiving unit) as a configuration related to the operation for controlling the viewing angle.

  The cellular phone 101 is different from the cellular phone 1 in that an encryption information identification unit 54 is provided in the viewing angle control unit 23 instead of the viewing angle control signal extraction unit 24. The encryption information identification unit 54 determines whether the transmitted content such as web content is encrypted information such as SSL (secure sockets layer), IPsec (Security Architecture for Internet Protocol), or PGP (Pretty Good Privacy). Identify. Then, this identification result is transmitted to the viewing angle control identification signal generator 25. Based on the identification result, the viewing angle control identification signal creating unit 25 changes the viewing angle of the main display unit 12 to a narrow viewing angle or a wide viewing angle when the corresponding web content is displayed. Create data. Based on the viewing angle control data, the viewing angle changing unit 32 changes the viewing angle of the display image. Specifically, when an identification result indicating that the content is encrypted is obtained, viewing angle control data is generated so that the narrow viewing angle mode is set when the corresponding content is displayed. On the other hand, when an identification result indicating that the content is not encrypted is obtained, viewing angle control data is created so that the wide viewing angle mode is set when the corresponding image information is displayed.

  Usually, for example, Internet banking pages; online securities pages (especially stock trading screens); credit card number entry pages for electronic payments; personal information (address, phone number) entry pages for gifts or sample applications When high information is distributed over the Internet, the web content is often encrypted by SSL, IPsec, PGP or the like. Therefore, as in the present embodiment, for these encrypted web contents, the viewing angle control data that creates a narrow viewing angle is created in the viewing angle control identification signal creating unit 25, so that the user himself Can be automatically set to a narrow viewing angle without setting a narrow viewing angle. As a result, for web content that needs to be kept confidential, it is possible to prevent information leakage by displaying an image in the narrow viewing angle mode.

  Note that IPsec is a standard for performing encrypted communication over the Internet, and can transmit and receive encrypted IP packets. It can be used as an option in IPv4 currently used on the Internet, and is implemented as a standard in next-generation IPv6.

  PGP is one of encryption programs, and can encrypt files on a computer so that they cannot be read by others. According to PGP, in order to prevent data tampering by others, “electronic signature” can be performed on designated data (file, mail, etc.).

  In the present invention, the PGP can be used to control to switch to the narrow viewing angle mode when opening a file with an “electronic signature”. That is, when the encryption information identification unit 54 identifies data for which an “electronic signature” has been made using PGP, the viewing angle control identification signal creation unit 25 determines that the corresponding data is based on the identification result. What is necessary is just to produce the viewing angle control data for changing the viewing angle of the main display part 12 to a narrow viewing angle when it is displayed.

  Next, a processing operation in the mobile phone 101 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 shows a processing operation that the control unit 11 controls to change the viewing angle in accordance with the presence / absence of encryption of the received web content.

  As shown in FIG. 9, first, it is confirmed whether or not the image-related information acquisition unit 21 has received web content in the external information reception unit 18 (S20). If no web content is received (NO in S20), the process returns to step S20 and the above operation is repeated.

  On the other hand, when web content is received (YES in S20), the image related information acquisition unit 21 acquires the web content and transmits it to the image display control unit 22 and the encryption information identification unit 54. The encryption information identification unit 54 identifies whether the transmitted web content is encrypted by SSL or the like, and transmits the identification result to the viewing angle control identification signal creation unit 25 (S21).

  The viewing angle control identification signal creation unit 25 changes viewing angle control data for changing the viewing angle of the main display unit 12 to a narrow viewing angle or a wide viewing angle when the corresponding web content is displayed based on the identification result. Is created (S22 or S23). Specifically, when an identification result indicating that the content is encrypted is obtained (YES in S21), viewing angle control data (viewing field) that is set to a narrow viewing angle mode when the corresponding content is displayed. An angle control identification signal) is created (S22). On the other hand, when an identification result indicating that the content is not encrypted is obtained (NO in S21), viewing angle control data (viewing angle control signal that is set to the wide viewing angle mode when the corresponding content is displayed). Alternatively, a viewing angle control identification signal) is created (S23).

  Thereafter, the viewing angle changing unit 32 changes the viewing angle of the display image based on the viewing angle control data (S24).

  In S20, the received web content can be temporarily stored in the storage unit 15. In this case, when the web content stored in the storage unit is taken out, the processing operations after step S21 are executed.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the information regarding whether or not the web content is encrypted is the viewing angle determination information. Based on this viewing angle determination information, the viewing angle control identification signal creation unit 25 narrows the viewing angle when the web content is encrypted as compared to when the web content is not encrypted.

  In the first embodiment described above, it is necessary to add a viewing angle control signal for setting the viewing angle of the display unit on the provider side that transmits the web content. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the mobile phone 101 may determine that the received web content is encrypted content with high confidentiality and automatically change to the narrow viewing angle mode. it can.

  Similarly to the mobile phone 1, each block (particularly the control unit 11) of the mobile phone 101 may be configured by hardware logic, or may be realized by software using a CPU as described above.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope shown in the claims. That is, technical means appropriately modified within the scope indicated in the claims, or embodiments obtained by combining technical means described in other embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[Embodiment 3]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The mobile phone 201 according to the present embodiment automatically switches the viewing angle mode based on the content of the image, similar to the mobile phone 1 described above, but the difference from the mobile phone 1 is displayed. The viewing angle is automatically changed based on information about which application software is used to display the image to be displayed. Although not shown in FIG. 10, the mobile phone 201 also has the external information receiving unit 18 as with the mobile phone 1 described above, and automatically switches the viewing angle mode based on the received web content. It can also be done. The viewing angle control performed by the configuration illustrated in FIG. 10 is performed on content created in the mobile phone 201, for example.

  That is, for example, the mobile phone 201 according to the present embodiment automatically changes the viewing angle for image information received from the outside based on the content described in the first embodiment, With respect to the image information created in step 1, the viewing angle can be automatically changed for each application to be used.

  FIG. 10 shows the details of the configuration related to the operation of controlling the viewing angle based on the application software used to display the content, in the configuration of the mobile phone 201 according to the present embodiment. In the mobile phone 201, the same functional blocks as those of the mobile phone 1 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the mobile phone 201 includes a control unit 11, a main display unit 12, and a storage unit 15 as a configuration related to an operation for controlling the viewing angle.

  In the mobile phone 201, an application execution unit 81 is provided instead of the image-related information acquisition unit 21, a startup software determination unit 84 is provided instead of the viewing angle control signal extraction unit 24, and It differs from the mobile phone 1 in that a startup software / viewing angle correspondence table 85 is provided in the storage unit 15.

  The activation software / viewing angle correspondence table 85 shows the correspondence between the activated application software and the viewing angle state (second viewing angle determination information) to be set in that case. FIG. 11 shows an example of the startup software / viewing angle correspondence table 85 in a table format. In the illustrated example, the wide viewing angle mode setting is associated when the activation software is “WORD”, and the narrow viewing angle mode setting is associated with the activation software other than the above.

  The application execution unit 81 executes various applications based on various application software stored in the application software storage unit 16 (see FIG. 5). Then, the content generated by executing the application software is transmitted to the image display control unit 22 and the activated software determination unit 84.

  The activated software determination unit 84 determines which application software the transmitted content is based on. Based on the determination result, the viewing angle corresponding to the activation software is searched from the activation software / viewing angle correspondence table 85 in the storage unit 15. The searched viewing angle is transmitted to the viewing angle control identification signal creation unit 25. The viewing angle control identification signal creating unit 25 creates viewing angle control data for changing the viewing angle of the main display unit 12 to the searched viewing angle.

  Next, a processing operation in the mobile phone 201 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 shows a processing operation that the control unit 11 controls to change the viewing angle of the display image according to the activated application.

  As shown in FIG. 12, first, it is confirmed whether application software is started in the application execution unit 81 (S30). If the application software is not activated (NO in S30), the process returns to step S30 and the above operation is repeated.

  On the other hand, when the application software is activated (YES in S30), application execution unit 81 transmits the content generated by executing the application software to image display control unit 22 and activated software determination unit 84. . The activation software determination unit 84 determines which application software the transmitted content is based on. Based on the determination result, the viewing angle corresponding to the activation software is searched from the activation software / viewing angle correspondence table 85 in the storage unit 15 (S31).

  This search result is transmitted to the viewing angle control identification signal generator 25. The viewing angle control identification signal creation unit 25 creates viewing angle control data (viewing angle control signal or viewing angle control identification signal) for setting the viewing angle of the image displayed on the image display unit 31 to the searched viewing angle. (S32). Based on the viewing angle control data, the viewing angle changing unit 32 changes the viewing angle so that the content displayed on the image display unit 31 has a corresponding viewing angle (S33).

  According to the mobile phone 201 according to the present embodiment, the viewing angle can be automatically changed based on the viewing angle determination information added to the received web content, and the number determined for each application software can be changed. The viewing angle can be automatically changed based on the two viewing angle determination information.

  Each block (particularly, the control unit 11) of the mobile phone 201 may be configured by hardware logic as in the mobile phone 1, or may be realized by software using a CPU as described above.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A various change is possible in the range shown to the claim. That is, technical means appropriately modified within the scope indicated in the claims, or embodiments obtained by combining technical means described in other embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  As described above, the present invention changes the viewing angle based on the viewing angle determination information associated with the content, and therefore can be applied to various display devices that display content. In particular, the present invention can be suitably used when displayed content includes highly confidential information.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of the mobile telephone which is the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 1 also shows an embodiment of the communication system of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the external appearance in the state which opened the said mobile telephone, The figure (a) is a front view, The figure (b) is a rear view. It is a figure which shows the display screen visually recognized from the front or diagonal direction of the said mobile telephone, when a viewing angle is set to the wide viewing angle mode. It is a figure which shows the display screen visually recognized from the front or diagonal direction of the said mobile telephone, when a viewing angle is set to the narrow viewing angle mode. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the said form telephone. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the control process of the viewing angle performed in the control part of the said mobile telephone. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of the other example of the mobile telephone which is the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of the mobile telephone which is the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 8 also shows an embodiment of the communication system of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the control process of the viewing angle performed in the control part of the mobile telephone shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of the mobile telephone which is the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the correspondence table memorize | stored in the memory | storage part of the mobile telephone shown in FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a flow of viewing angle control processing executed by a control unit of the mobile phone shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Mobile phone (display device)
1 'Mobile phone (display device)
101 Mobile phone (display device)
201 Mobile phone (display device)
11 Control unit (display controller, control circuit)
12 Main display (display means)
18 External information receiver (reception means)
22 Image display control unit 23 Viewing angle control unit (viewing angle control means)
25 Viewing angle control identification signal generator (viewing angle control means)
31 Image display section (display means)
32 Viewing angle changing unit (viewing angle control means)
61 Provider server (transmission means)
62 Video distribution server (transmission means)

Claims (13)

A display device with variable viewing angle for displaying content,
Display means for displaying content associated with viewing angle determination information;
And a viewing angle control means for controlling the viewing angle of the display means when the content is displayed based on the viewing angle determination information.   The display device according to claim 1, further comprising receiving means for receiving the content and viewing angle determination information associated with the content. The above content is web content,
The display device according to claim 1, wherein the viewing angle determination information is information that is added to a text file of the web content and determines a viewing angle when the web content is displayed. The above content is web content,
The viewing angle determination information is information indicating whether the web content is encrypted,
The viewing angle control means narrows the viewing angle of the display means when the web content is encrypted based on the viewing angle determination information as compared with a case where the web content is not encrypted. The display device according to claim 1. The above content is video content,
The display device according to claim 1, wherein the viewing angle determination information is information that is added to the moving image content and determines a viewing angle when the moving image content is displayed.   The viewing angle control means further controls the viewing angle of the display means based on second viewing angle determination information determined for each application software used for displaying the content. The display device according to claim 1. Transmitting means for transmitting the content and viewing angle determination information associated with the content;
A communication system comprising the display device according to claim 2. A viewing angle control method in a display means for displaying content, provided in a variable viewing angle display device,
Creating a viewing angle control signal defining a viewing angle of the display means when the content is displayed based on viewing angle determination information associated with the content;
And a step of controlling the viewing angle of the display means when the content is displayed based on the viewing angle control signal. A viewing angle control program for display means provided in the display device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A viewing angle control program for causing a computer to function as the viewing angle control means.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the viewing angle control program according to claim 9 is recorded. A display controller for controlling display in a variable viewing angle display device,
An image display control unit that controls display of content associated with viewing angle determination information;
A display controller, comprising: a viewing angle control unit that controls a viewing angle of a display image when the content is displayed based on the viewing angle determination information.   A control circuit comprising the display controller according to claim 11.   A display device comprising the display controller according to claim 11 or the control circuit according to claim 12.

Images