JP2009229699A - Electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the power consumption of a shutter unit which switches information between a shielded state and an exposed state in electronic equipment including an information display unit displaying desired information and the shutter unit above it. <P>SOLUTION: A memory type panel is used for the shutter unit. For example, a ferroelectric liquid crystal panel is used. Memory type liquid crystal consumes electric power only when opened or closed, so the power consumption is reducible in whichever state between a normally shielded state and a normally exposed state the shutter is. Consequently, the power consumption of the electronic apparatus is greatly reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for switching between an information display state of an electronic device, such as a liquid crystal panel, and a display shut-out state by controlling opening / closing of a shutter, and more specifically, an electronic device in an information display state. The present invention relates to a technology for saving power consumption of the entire system in a device.

  For example, an open / close shutter device used for controlling an information display unit of a wristwatch, which is one of electronic devices, to either an information display state or a display shut-out state has been conventionally proposed. Most of the opening / closing shutter devices of this type use a mechanical mechanism. Even with electronic technology, a complicated link mechanism is driven by using a motor as a drive source, and the opening / closing shutter is opened and closed by a complicated switch mechanism that is an operation member for the opening / closing control.

  However, in the above open / close shutter device, a complicated link mechanism is driven using a motor as a drive source, and the open / close shutter is opened and closed by a complicated switch mechanism serving as an operation member for open / close control. It needed power consumption. In particular, when the opening / closing shutter device is applied to a wristwatch and mounted on the wrist, the opening / closing shutter device is disposed above the wristwatch body, so that it is not only thick but heavy and difficult to attach to the wrist. In such a small electronic device, only a small button battery can be mounted, and further consideration must be given to reducing power consumption.

Further, in the conventional shutter device, a technique using a liquid crystal has been proposed, and there is one in which the shutter device is downsized. In this case, the liquid crystal is a TN type liquid crystal panel, which is controlled to be in a transmissive state when a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal, that is, the liquid crystal shutter is opened, and is not transmissive when no voltage is applied to the liquid crystal. A so-called normally black liquid crystal panel that is controlled so as to be in a state has been adopted. Furthermore, when the liquid crystal shutter is closed, the clock of the information display unit and the digital display drive by the liquid crystal panel are stopped, and the power consumption in the information display unit is effective when the information display unit is shut out. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
WO99 / 17174 pamphlet (pages 4-8, Fig. 1)

  However, when a normally black TN liquid crystal panel is used as a shutter as shown in Patent Document 1, there are the following problems.

  In order to set the normally black TN liquid crystal to the transmissive state, that is, to open the shutter, it is necessary to continuously apply a voltage to the liquid crystal. Therefore, in the shutter open state, the power consumption of the liquid crystal shutter is added in addition to the power consumption in the information display unit, and the power consumption is increased as compared with a normal watch. In particular, when the liquid crystal shutter has a large area that covers the entire front surface of the watch, the power consumption of the liquid crystal shutter increases in proportion to the area to transmit, which is disadvantageous. Because of these circumstances, the liquid crystal shutter is normally closed, and only when the user confirms the time, the switch is pressed to open, and the shutter is automatically closed after a certain time to reduce power consumption. There was a need. For this reason, it has been impossible to give the user the option of always opening the liquid crystal shutter.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such problems and to provide an electronic device with a shutter that does not increase power consumption even if the liquid crystal shutter is always controlled to be opened.

  In order to solve the above problems, an electronic device according to the present invention is arranged on an information display unit that displays desired information and an upper portion of the information display unit, and switches the information display unit to a shielded state or an exposed state. And a control circuit for switching and controlling the state of the shutter unit, the shutter unit is a memory panel having two stable states, and one of the stable states is the information This is a state in which the display unit is shielded, and the other stable state is a state in which the information display unit is exposed.

  Further, the memory panel is a ferroelectric liquid crystal panel.

  In addition, it has a notification information generation unit that outputs a notification signal when notification information is generated, and the control circuit is configured to expose the information display unit based on a previous notification signal from the notification information generation unit. As described above, the shutter unit is controlled to be switched.

  The control circuit outputs a control signal to the shutter unit only when the information display unit is switched from the shielded state to the exposed state, and only when the information display unit is switched from the exposed state to the shielded state. Is.

  According to the above configuration, by configuring the liquid crystal shutter with a panel having a memory property, even when the shutter is in an open state, the power can be hardly consumed. Since the power consumption of the shutter can be limited to the driving power when the shutter is opened and closed, the power consumption can be suppressed lower than that of the conventional shutter.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of an electronic timepiece according to the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are plan views of the electronic timepiece, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the electronic timepiece.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 42 denotes a first information display unit, which displays time by a pointer 42a and a dial 42b. Reference numeral 46 denotes a second information display unit. In this embodiment, time and calendar information are digitally displayed on a TN type liquid crystal panel 46a.

  Reference numeral 43 denotes a memory type liquid crystal shutter composed of a ferroelectric liquid crystal panel having two stable states of an open state and a closed state. In FIG. The information display unit 42 and the second information display unit 46 are exposed.

  In FIG. 4, in the case of the electronic timepiece 10, a pointer 42a, a dial plate 42b, and a liquid crystal panel 46a as a second information display unit 46 constituting the first information display unit 42 are arranged. A memory liquid crystal shutter 43 is disposed above the first information display unit 42 and the second information display unit 46.

The memory-type liquid crystal shutter 43 has a first shutter part 43a and a second shutter part 43b. When the shutter is open, the first information display part is passed through the first shutter part 43a of the memory-type liquid crystal shutter 43. 42 can be visually recognized, and the second information display part 46 can be visually recognized through the second shutter part 43b.

  Next, system blocks of the electronic timepiece 10 will be described. In FIG. 1, the information generating means 34 includes a reference signal generating circuit 31 and a time information generating circuit 35, and the reference signal generating circuit 31 includes a time reference source 32 and a frequency dividing circuit 33. The time reference source 32 generates a time reference signal S1 (32768 Hz). The frequency dividing circuit 33 is composed of a plurality of stages of frequency dividers that receive the time reference signal from the time reference source 32, and outputs a predetermined reference signal group S2.

  Next, based on a predetermined reference signal from the reference signal generation circuit 31, the time information generation circuit 35 outputs a 1-minute step signal S3 (normal drive signal) that is a time signal. And the 1st display drive means 41 which is a motor drive circuit outputs 1 minute drive signal S4 based on 1 minute step signal S3. The first information display device 42 includes a pulse motor (not shown), a train wheel (not shown) interlocked with the pulse motor, and a pointer 42a (hour / minute hands) attached to the train wheel. The pointer 42a is driven based on the drive signal to display the time. On the other hand, the second display drive means 45, which is a liquid crystal driver, outputs a display drive signal based on the time information S5 from the time information generation circuit 35. The liquid crystal panel 46a constituting the second information display unit 46 digitally displays time and calendar information based on the display drive signal S6.

  Further, the electronic timepiece 10 has an alarm function, an arbitrary alarm time can be set by the switch means 37, and the set alarm time information is stored and held in the alarm setting circuit 36. The time information S5 generated by the time information generation circuit 35 and the alarm time information set in the alarm setting circuit 36 are compared by the comparator 48, and when both times coincide, the alarm circuit 47 is output from the comparator 48. An alarm sound is sounded by the alarm signal S7 to notify the user that the set time has come.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the memory-type liquid crystal shutter 43 is disposed so as to cover the first and second information display portions 42 and 46. The memory type liquid crystal shutter 43 is driven as a shutter by manually operating the switch means 37 as shown in FIG. The switching signal S8 output from the switch means 37 is input to the control circuit 38 in order to control the opening / closing of the shutter, and is configured to control the memory liquid crystal shutter 43 to open / close the shutter.

  A control signal S9 for opening / closing the shutter is output from the control circuit 38 to the shutter drive circuit 39, and the open / close state of the memory liquid crystal shutter 43 is controlled via the shutter drive circuit 39. Further, when the shutter 43 is closed, the control circuit 38 outputs a power saving control signal S10 for saving the entire system to the first display drive means 41 and the second display drive means 45.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, in the initial state, as shown in FIG. 2, the shutter is in a closed state, and the first shutter portion 43a and the second shutter portion 43b of the memory liquid crystal shutter 43 are both closed. The information display unit 42 and the second information display unit 46 are in a shielded state and remain invisible.

In this state, the power saving control signal S10 is output from the control circuit 38, and the first display drive means 41 stops the operation of outputting the drive signal S4 to the first information display unit 42 based on the power saving control signal S10, and is 1 minute. The time display based on the drive signal is stopped. Further, in this state, the second display drive means 45 stops the operation of outputting the display drive signal S6 by the power saving control signal S10, and stops the liquid crystal display operation based on the display drive signal. Thus, in the shielding state of the information display unit, the power consumption is reduced by stopping the first display drive unit 41 and the second display drive unit 45.

  Next, an operation for switching from the shielded state of FIG. 2 to the exposed state of FIG. 3 will be described. When the switch unit 37 is manually operated as shown in FIG. 1, the switching signal S8 output from the switch unit 37 is input to the control circuit 38 in order to control the opening and closing of the shutter. A control signal S9 is output from the control circuit 38 to the shutter drive circuit 39, and the shutter drive circuit 39 controls the memory liquid crystal shutter 43 to open.

  FIG. 6 shows a change in power consumption when the shutter is opened and closed when the shutter is a normal TN liquid crystal having no memory property. In the case of a shutter having no memory property, when the shutter is open, a driving voltage is always applied to the shutter from the shutter drive circuit 39, and power is always consumed in the shutter. FIG. 7 shows a change in power consumption when the shutter is opened and closed in the embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, since the shutter has a memory property, a voltage is applied from the shutter drive circuit 39 only when the shutter is opened or closed. Therefore, even if the shutter is continuously opened, the shutter is normally used depending on the application. Even when white is closed, the shutter is only consumed when the state is switched, so the power can be greatly reduced compared to the conventional case.

  Next, a case where an alarm is activated in the shielding state will be described. When the first information display unit 42 and the second information display unit 46 are in a shielded state, if the time information S5 issued by the time information generation circuit 35 and the alarm setting time set in the alarm setting circuit 36 coincide, the comparator 48 Outputs an alarm signal S7 to the alarm circuit 47. The alarm circuit 47 sounds an alarm in response to an alarm signal S7 from the comparator 48 to notify the user that the set time has come. Further, the alarm signal S7 is input as a shutter open signal to the control circuit 38, and the shutter drive circuit 39 applies a drive voltage to the memory liquid crystal shutter 43 to open the shutter. Further, the second display drive means 45, which is a liquid crystal drive driver, uses the alarm signal S7 of the comparator 48 to turn on the liquid crystal so that the alarm mark 16 is turned on to notify the user that an alarm has been sounded as shown in FIG. The drive signal S6 is output to the second information display unit which is a panel.

  After the alarm is sounded, the memory liquid crystal shutter 43 that has been opened must be manually closed by the switch means 37 to be closed again. For this reason, in the unlikely event that the alarm setting time is reached and the alarm is not heard when the alarm sounds, the shutter will remain open unless the user manually closes the shutter, and the time set for the alarm has been reached Can be communicated to the user with certainty.

  In contrast to the prior art, if the shutter is closed to reduce power consumption with the conventional shutter, it will not be possible to notify the user that the time has reached the alarm setting time. The shutter needs to be open until you notice it. That is, power consumption is so large that the user has not noticed that the alarm set time has been reached. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, since the shutter has a memory property, a voltage is applied from the shutter drive circuit 39 only when the shutter is opened and closed. Even if the shutter remains open without being noticed, no voltage is applied to the shutter, so that power consumption can be reduced.

1 is a system block diagram of an electronic timepiece according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a planar external view when the shutter of the electronic timepiece in the Example of this invention is closed. It is a plane external view in case the shutter of the electronic timepiece in the Example of this invention is open. It is sectional drawing of the electronic timepiece in the Example of this invention. It is an external appearance top view when the alarm of the electronic timepiece in the Example of this invention reaches set time. It is a transition diagram of the power consumption at the time of shutter opening and closing in the electronic timepiece using the conventional liquid crystal shutter. It is a transition diagram of the power consumption at the time of shutter opening / closing of the electronic timepiece in the Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electronic timepiece 11 Windshield 16 Alarm mark 31 Reference signal generating circuit 32 Time reference source 33 Frequency dividing circuit 34 Information generating means 35 Time information generating circuit 36 Alarm setting circuit 37 Switch means 38 Control circuit 39 Shutter drive circuit 41 First display Drive means 42 First information display section 42a Pointer 42b Dial plate 43 Memory liquid crystal shutters 43a and 43b Shutter section 45 Second display drive means 46 Second information display section 46a TN type liquid crystal panel 47 Alarm circuit 48 Comparator S1 Time reference signal S2 Reference signal S3 1 minute step signal S4 1 minute drive signal S5 Time information S6 Display drive signal S7 Alarm signal S8 Switching signal S9 Control signal S10 Power saving control signal

Claims (4)

An information display unit for displaying desired information, a shutter unit disposed on the information display unit for switching the information display unit to a shielded state or an exposed state, and for controlling the switching of the state of the shutter unit The shutter unit is a memory panel having two stable states, one stable state is a state shielding the information display unit, and the other stable state is the information display unit. An electronic device characterized in that the display portion is exposed. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the memory panel is a ferroelectric liquid crystal panel. A notification information generating unit that outputs a notification signal when notification information is generated, and the control circuit is configured so that the information display unit is exposed based on the notification signal from the notification information generating unit. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shutter unit is controlled. The control circuit outputs a control signal to the shutter unit only when the information display unit is switched from the shielded state to the exposed state and only when the information display unit is switched from the exposed state to the shielded state. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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