JP2010169928A - Electronic paper display - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic paper display having two display units and displaying data on the two display units, respectively, so that the user views a synthetic image composed of the two data. <P>SOLUTION: The electronic paper display includes: a transmission type electronic paper 111 for displaying the first data by switching the state of pixels between a light-transmissive state to transmit the incident light and a light-absorptive state to absorb the incident light; and a reflection type electronic paper 112 laminated on the transmission type electronic paper in a position away from the surface where the incident light is received, for displaying the second data by switching between a light-reflective state to reflect the incident light transmitted through the transmission type electronic paper and a light-absorptive state to absorb the incident light transmitted through the transmission type electronic paper. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic paper display device.

  In recent years, research on electronic paper, which is a display medium thin and portable like paper, has been advanced. Electronic paper displays an image by applying an electric field between two substrates. Once an image is displayed, the same image can be displayed for a long time without applying voltage to each pixel. Is a display medium capable of

  Electronic paper can be displayed semi-permanently without power for the same image, and uses only a small amount of power only when rewriting the displayed image. ing.

  On the other hand, when memorizing learning is conventionally performed, it is possible to switch between a state in which a part to be remembered is blinded and partially readable and a state in which it can be read, and used for learning.

  For example, conventionally, using a red marker and a green underlay for the blindfold portion, and overlaying the green underlay on the portion painted with the red marker, a state where the characters in the marking portion cannot be read has been created.

  However, as described above, the method using the marker and the underlay has a disadvantage that it cannot be used for a document that cannot be marked because it must be written on the document.

In view of this, an apparatus has been proposed in which a part of a written character string can be hidden using electronic paper.

  For example, Patent Document 1 displays a document read by a scanner and mask information stored in a storage device and / or mask information specified by a touch panel, thereby blinding the read document. An electronic mask device and an electronic mask device system are disclosed.

  Further, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses an electronic textbook in which a learning support function is added to a portable electronic book using electronic paper.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-349771 JP 2007-34047 A

  However, in the apparatuses and systems disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, mask information and written information are displayed on one display unit. Therefore, if you want to erase the mask information and display the document information again, you must erase the display of the masked part once, acquire the data of the part from the original document data, and redraw it. It was.

  For example, when used for memorization learning, an operation is frequently performed in which the mask is released in order to confirm whether the memorized information is correct and the document information of the masked portion is viewed. However, the apparatus as described above has a problem that it is necessary to acquire and redraw the document information of the mask portion each time.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to display and hide the other data without rewriting one data using two display units. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved electronic paper display device capable of switching between

  In order to solve the above problem, according to an aspect of the present invention, transmission of displaying first data by switching a pixel state between a transmission state in which incident light is transmitted and an absorption state in which the incident light is absorbed is performed. And a reflection state in which the incident light transmitted through the transmission type electronic paper is reflected and transmitted through the transmission type electronic paper. Thus, an electronic paper display device having a reflective electronic paper for displaying second data by switching between the absorption state for absorbing the incident light is provided.

  According to such a configuration, since two display units are provided, two data can be displayed on different display units, so switching between display and non-display of one data and a hand for the other data is required. It becomes possible to switch without adding.

  Since electronic paper does not require power for display unless the contents to be displayed are rewritten, even if one data is switched between display and non-display, only the power for displaying that portion is needed. Since the display of data does not require power, the power is saved.

  The first data may be document information, and the second data may be a mask for hiding at least a part of the document information.

  In this case, the user can see the data with the document information masked, and can switch between displaying and hiding the mask without rewriting the document information.

  The display control unit further includes a display control unit that controls contents displayed on the transmission type electronic paper and the reflection type electronic paper, respectively, and the display control unit displays and hides the second data of the reflection type electronic paper. It may control switching of display.

  The display device further includes a memory unit that stores the mask position information, and the display control unit sets a pixel at a predetermined position of the reflective electronic paper in an absorption state according to the mask position information stored in the memory unit. The mask may be displayed accordingly.

  With such a configuration, the display control unit can extract the position information of the mask stored in the memory unit and display it on the reflective electronic paper. Here, the mask position information may be information read and stored by a user-specified position, or information stored in advance in document information to be displayed may be read into a memory unit.

  The touch panel may further include a touch panel stacked in close contact with the transmissive electronic paper on a surface on which incident light of the transmissive electronic paper is incident.

  With this configuration, a user instruction can be read via the touch panel and taken into the electronic paper display device.

  Further, the image forming apparatus may further include a scanner that is stacked in close contact with the reflective electronic paper on the back surface of the reflective electronic paper that is in contact with the transmissive electronic paper.

  With this configuration, the data to be displayed on the display unit can be read and captured by itself, for example, a communication unit for communicating with an external server or PC, or an I / F for capturing data from an external storage medium. The configuration can be further simplified.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to switch between display and non-display of the other data without rewriting one data using the two display units.

1 is a functional configuration diagram of an electronic paper display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the laminated structure of the electronic paper display apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a display method of the electronic paper display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a table | surface which shows the state of the display part of the electronic paper display apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, and the relationship of a display. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of the electronic paper display apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the mask erase | elimination process operation | movement of the electronic paper display apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a mask operation menu of the electronic paper display apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the holding method of the mask information of the electronic paper display apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of the 1st modification of the electronic paper display apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the laminated structure of the 1st modification of the electronic paper display apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of the 2nd modification of the electronic paper display apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display using the conventional electronic paper display apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the mask erase | elimination process operation | movement of the conventional electronic paper display apparatus.

  Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

  In the electronic paper display device according to an embodiment of the present invention described below, the display unit is formed in a two-layer structure, and one data is displayed by displaying two data on separate display units. When switching between display and non-display, it is possible to switch without changing the other data.

In order to facilitate understanding of the electronic paper display device, the following will be described in the following order.
1. 1. Configuration of electronic paper display device 2. Display method of electronic paper display device Example of mask operation
4). 4. Example of mask data holding method 5. Example of effect of electronic paper display device 6. Configuration of first modification of electronic paper display device 7. Example of effect of first modification of electronic paper display device Configuration of second modification of electronic paper display device

<1. Configuration of electronic paper display device>
First, the configuration of the electronic paper display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a functional configuration diagram of an electronic paper display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a laminated structure of the electronic paper display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The electronic paper display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention can be shown to a user in a state in which a mask for hiding a part of document information including, for example, characters, graphs, images, and the like is applied.

Conventionally, since it has only one display section, one piece of data in which the document information is partially masked is created and displayed. For this reason, it is necessary to read part or all of the document information and rewrite the data to be displayed each time the mask is switched between display and non-display.

  Therefore, the electronic paper display device according to an embodiment of the present invention has two display units and displays the document information and the mask on different display units, so that the document information is not rewritten and the mask information is rewritten. It is possible to switch between display and non-display.

The electronic paper display device according to the present embodiment mainly includes a display unit 11, a display control unit 12, a memory unit 13, a touch panel 14, and a communication unit 15.

(Display section)
The display unit 11 is a display that displays information to the user. In the present embodiment, the document information and the mask are displayed on separate display parts by having a two-layer structure of transmissive electronic paper 111 and reflective electronic paper 112 (both see FIG. 2). With this structure, a part of the document information can be displayed or hidden by switching between displaying and hiding the mask without rewriting the document information itself.

  Once the electronic paper displays an image, it can continue to display without applying voltage to each pixel. Therefore, as long as the same image is displayed, power is not required for display.

  The transmissive electronic paper 111 is a first display unit that displays data. Data is displayed by switching between a transmission state that transmits incident light and an absorption state that absorbs incident light.For example, in a direction parallel to the surface of an electronic paper of a guest-host liquid crystal or an electrophoretic type A type that applies voltage can be applied.

  The transmissive electronic paper 111 is stacked on the touch panel 14 at a position far from the surface on which incident light is incident, and displays document information.

  The reflective electronic paper 112 is a second display unit that displays data. It has a function of displaying data by switching between a reflection state in which incident light is reflected and an absorption state in which incident light is absorbed.

  In this embodiment, the reflective electronic paper 112 is stacked on the transmissive electronic paper 111 at a position far from the surface on which incident light is incident, and the light transmitted through the transmissive electronic paper 111 is displayed on the transmissive electronic paper 111 as incident light. A mask for hiding a part of the document information is displayed.

  As described above, by using the transmissive electronic paper 111 and the reflective electronic paper 112 in a stacked manner, the user applies the mask displayed on the reflective electronic paper 112 to the document information displayed on the transmissive electronic paper 111. You can see the data in the specified state.

(Display control unit)
The display control unit 12 is a functional unit that displays various types of information on the display unit 11. It has a function of controlling the contents displayed on the transmissive electronic paper 111 and the reflective electronic paper 112, respectively. For example, the file data acquired from the communication unit 15 is displayed on the transmissive electronic paper 111 of the display unit 11. For example, the display control unit 12 masks the reflective electronic paper according to the mask position information stored in the memory unit. Is displayed.

  Further, the display control unit 12 performs a mask registration process for storing the mask position information input from the touch panel 14 in the memory unit 13. Further, the display control unit 12 has a function of calling a part or all of the mask position information stored in the memory and displaying it on the reflective electronic paper 112 or erasing a part or all of the displayed mask. Have

  Note that each function of the display control unit 12 described above is actually a ROM, a RAM, or the like that stores a program in which a CPU (not shown) in the electronic paper display device records processing procedures for realizing these functions. This is realized by reading a program from a storage medium (none of which is shown), interpreting and executing the program. For example, the CPU may operate using the RAM as a work area based on a program stored in the ROM.

(Memory part)
The memory unit 13 is a storage device for storing data, programs, and the like. In the present embodiment, the memory unit 13 stores mask position information. The mask position information may be a form in which information stored in advance linked to document information displayed on the transmissive electronic paper 111 is read, or information input from a touch panel is read and stored. May be.

(Touch panel)
The touch panel 14 is a device that inputs an operation by touching the screen with a finger or a dedicated pen. The touch panel 14 detects the touched position, specifies a position on the screen, and gives an instruction to the electronic paper display device 100.

  In the present embodiment, the touch panel 14 is stacked on the transmissive electronic paper 111 at a position closest to the incident light of the electronic paper display device 100.

  The touch panel 14 is realized using, for example, a contact sensor or a pressure sensor. Examples of the contact sensor include a touch sensor, a touch panel, a touch screen, and a touch pad having a matrix switch, a resistance film type switch, a surface acoustic wave type switch, and the like. Examples of the pressure sensor include a pressure sensor using a piezoelectric element, a pressure-electric resistance conversion element, a pressure sensing resistor element (FSR: Force Sensing Resistor), and a solid state relay (SSR).

(Communication Department)
The communication unit 15 is a network interface for connecting the electronic paper display device 100 to, for example, a server 200, a PC (Personal Computer) 300, another electronic paper 400, and the like via a network.

  The network used here is not limited to wired radio, but is a public line network such as a telephone line network, a satellite communication network, and the Internet, various LANs including Ethernet (registered trademark), and WAN (Wide Area Network). A dedicated line network such as an IP-VPN (Internet Protocol-Virtual Private Network) may be included.

  For example, document information to be displayed on the transmissive electronic paper 111 can be acquired from the server 200, the PC 300, or another electronic paper 400 connected by the communication unit 15. In the present embodiment, the mask position information is stored in the memory unit 13, but the mask position information may also be acquired via the communication unit 15.

  The configuration and function of the electronic paper display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention have been described above. Next, a display method that can be realized by the configuration of the display unit 11 having the two-layer structure described above will be described in detail.

<2. Display method of electronic paper display device>
[Display principle]
First, a display method of the display unit 11 of the electronic paper display device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display method of the electronic paper display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a table showing the relationship between the state of the display unit and the display of the electronic paper display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  A user screen 30, which is an example of a screen display viewed from the user of the electronic paper display device 100 according to the present embodiment, includes document information 31 displayed on the transmissive electronic paper 111 and mask data displayed on the reflective electronic paper 112. 32 is realized.

  First, the transmissive electronic paper 111 displays data by switching between a transmission state that transmits incident light and an absorption state that absorbs incident light as described above. For example, the document information 31 is displayed using reflected light by setting the pixel 314 in the character portion of the document information 31 to be displayed to the absorption state and the pixel 312 in the background portion to the transmission state.

  For example, a case where a guest-host liquid crystal is specifically used for the transmissive electronic paper 111 is considered. The guest-host liquid crystal is a smectic liquid crystal as a host and a black pigment as a guest and dispersed in droplets. In the case of homeotropic alignment, the pigment is also aligned vertically, so that it transmits almost no light. On the other hand, in the case of focal conic orientation, incident light is absorbed by the black pigment.

  The document information 31 can be displayed by using such a transmission state and an absorption state. In this case, the document information is displayed using reflected light by setting the pixel 314 in the character portion of the document information 31 in the focal conic orientation and the pixel 312 in the background portion in the homeotropic orientation.

  Here, the reflected light is realized by the action of reflecting the incident light of the reflective electronic paper 112.

  Next, the reflective electronic paper 112 displays data by switching between a reflection state in which incident light is reflected and an absorption state in which incident light is absorbed. The reflective electronic paper 112 is normally in a reflective state and reflects all incident light. Therefore, when used for mask display, the pixel 324 in the mask portion is set in an absorption state to absorb incident light.

  Incident light of the reflective electronic paper 112 is incident light that has been transmitted through the transmissive electronic paper 111. Of the light transmitted through the transmissive electronic paper 111 and incident on the reflective electronic paper 112, the light incident on the absorbing portion (mask portion) is absorbed, and the light incident on the reflecting portion (background portion) is reflect.

  The electronic paper display device 100 according to this embodiment in which two electronic papers are combined as described above transmits a portion in which light is absorbed in the transmissive electronic paper 111 and the transmissive electronic paper 111, and reflects the reflective electronic paper. The document information masked when viewed from the user is virtually displayed by using the light reflected by the light 112 and the portion where the light is transmitted by the transmissive electronic paper 111 and absorbed by the reflective electronic paper 112. It is a thing.

  In other words, there is no masked document information data as in the prior art, and a part of the document information is virtually masked by a combination of light reflection and absorption.

  There are four patterns A to D shown in FIG. 4 for combinations of the transmission state and absorption state of the transmission type electronic paper 111 and the reflection state and absorption state of the reflection type electronic paper 112. FIG. 4 shows a display state of the user screen 30 by a combination of the state of the transmissive electronic paper 111 and the state of the reflective electronic paper 112. The display state of the user screen 30 is shown using an example of a monochrome display for the sake of simplicity.

  The user screen 30 has a background portion 302, a mask portion 304, and a character portion 306. The background portion 302 is a portion where a portion where the transmissive electronic paper 111 is in a transmissive state and a portion where the reflective electronic paper 112 is in a reflective state are combined like the pattern A. The character portion 306 is a portion where the transmissive electronic paper 111 is in an absorption state like patterns C and D. When the transmissive electronic paper 111 is in the absorbing state, no light is incident on the reflective electronic paper 112 at that location, and thus the user screen 30 regardless of whether the reflective electronic paper 112 is in the reflecting state or the absorbing state. Is displayed in black.

  Next, the mask part 304 of the user screen is a part where the pattern B or D is visible. In other words, the incident light is transmitted to the mask portion 304 through the transmissive state of the transmissive electronic paper 111 and absorbed at the absorption state of the reflective electronic paper 112 (where the mask is displayed). And a portion D in which incident light is absorbed in a portion where the transmissive electronic paper 111 is in an absorption state (character portion) and becomes black.

  In order to use such a display method, it is important that the transmission type electronic paper 111 and the reflection type electronic paper 112 are laminated in this order as viewed from the incident light side.

[Display example]
(Example of this embodiment)
Next, an example of display on the electronic paper display device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a display example of the electronic paper display device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 5, only a selected part of the displayed masks is displayed through the state 50 b in which the mask information is masked from the state 50 a in which only the document information is displayed. Let us consider the case of 50c for erasing.

  50a, 50b, and 50c all indicate the state of the display unit 11 as viewed by the user. For example, 51a shows the actual display state of the transmissive electronic paper in the state of 50a, and 52a shows the actual display state of the reflective electronic paper in the state of 50a. . In other words, when the display of 51a is superimposed on the display of 52a, it looks like 50a to the user.

  As shown in FIG. 5, even if the display state as viewed from the user changes to 50a, 50b, 50c, the display of the transmissive electronic paper 111 does not change to 51a, 51b, 51c. Once the electronic paper displays an image, it can continue to display without applying voltage to each pixel. Accordingly, during this time, the transmissive electronic paper 111 does not require power for display.

On the other hand, the reflection type electronic paper 112 is entirely reflected when displaying only document information (52a). When a mask display operation is performed, position information of a predetermined mask is taken out, and a portion where the mask is displayed is set in an absorption state (52b).

  When the displayed mask is erased, the pixels in the mask portion are changed to the reflection state (52c).

(Example of conventional electronic paper display device)
In order to facilitate understanding of the characteristics of the electronic paper display device according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, a conventional example will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example using a conventional electronic paper display device.

  Consider the case of 90d in which only the selected part of the displayed mask is erased after the operation of displaying the mask from the state 90a in which only the document information is displayed, through the state 90b in which the document information is masked. . In the case of the conventional example, since there is only one display unit, the displayed data matches the display of the screen viewed by the user.

  First, when the user performs a mask display operation from the state 90a in which the document information is displayed, the mask information is read and data in which the document information and the mask information are superimposed is created. The state in which the data at that time is displayed is 90b. It is assumed that an operation for deleting only one of the masks is performed from this state.

  At this time, the pixel of the selected mask portion is once changed to the reflection state (90c). Then, the document information of the corresponding part is read (90d).

[Mask display / non-display switching]
(Example of this embodiment)
In the above, the method of individually selecting and erasing the mask has been described. The electronic paper display device according to an embodiment of the present application can also erase all the displayed masks in addition to such individual erasure. These mask erasing operations will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the mask erasing process of the electronic paper display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the user selects whether to erase all the displayed masks or to select individual masks to be erased (S100). When erasing individually, the user next selects a mask to be erased (S102). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a mask is selected using a touch panel. However, the mask selection method is not limited to this, and may be realized by providing an input unit such as a cross key and a selection button.

  Next, in the selected mask portion, the pixels of the reflection type electronic paper are changed to the reflection state (S104). In the case of erasing all masks, there is no step of selecting a mask, and only the pixels of all mask portions displayed on the reflective electronic paper are changed to the reflection state (S106).

(Voltage applied when switching display)
In addition, when the image displayed on the display unit 11 is changed, the image is actually controlled by applying a voltage to each pixel. When switching between display and non-display of the mask of the reflective electronic paper 112, a voltage may be applied to all the pixels of the reflective electronic paper 112, or a voltage is applied only to the pixels of the corresponding mask portion. You can also apply.

In a commonly used electronic paper, when an image to be displayed is changed, the same voltage is applied to all the pixels, and the display is often changed after aligning the display once. Even when only a part of the displayed image is changed, the display may be aligned once in order to improve the image quality of the displayed image.

  In particular, in a passive matrix electronic paper, when a current to flow increases, it may affect neighboring pixels. In order to prevent this, for example, all the pixels may be initialized and then displayed again, or a voltage may be applied to all the pixels.

  On the other hand, in active matrix electronic paper, individual pixels are controlled by active elements. Therefore, when only a part of the displayed image is changed, it is easy to apply a voltage only to the changed pixel.

  In the electronic paper display device 100 according to the present embodiment, document information and a mask are displayed on separate display units. When the document information and the mask are displayed on the same display portion, if a voltage is applied to a pixel adjacent to a portion to which a voltage is applied as described above, the image quality is greatly affected.

  However, in the electronic paper display device 100 according to the present embodiment, the mask is displayed on the reflective electronic paper 112 separately from the document information. The mask often has a simple shape, and it is considered that the influence of image quality deterioration at the boundary as described above is relatively low. Therefore, whether active matrix liquid crystal or passive matrix liquid crystal is used, voltage may be applied only to the mask portion to switch between display and non-display.

  By switching the display and non-display of the mask by applying a voltage only to the mask portion, a more power-saving electronic paper display device can be realized.

(Conventional example)
Next, a mask erasing process when a conventional electronic paper display device is used will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a mask erasing process operation of a conventional electronic paper display device.

  First, the user selects whether to erase all displayed masks or to select and erase individual masks (S200). When erasing individually, the user next selects a mask to be erased (S202). Next, the pixel of the selected mask portion is initialized (S204). Next, the document information of the selected mask portion is read again (S206), and the document information is redisplayed with the pixels of the mask portion (S208).

When erasing all masks, there is no step of selecting a mask, all pixels are initialized (S210), all document information is reread (S212), and the read document information is redisplayed (S214).

(Comparison between the conventional example and the present invention)
As described above, in the electronic paper display device according to one embodiment of the present invention and the electronic paper display device in the conventional example, when switching between mask display and non-display, the electronic paper display device according to the present embodiment Can be realized by simple means.

  In particular, when the mask is erased, in the conventional example, the operation of initializing the corresponding portion once, rereading and displaying the document information of the corresponding portion is required, whereas the electronic paper display according to one embodiment of the present invention is required. In the apparatus, this is a simple method in which only the state of the pixel in the corresponding part is changed.

  At this time, since the document information remains displayed on the transmissive electronic paper 111 in the electronic paper display device according to the embodiment of the present application, it is not necessary to store it separately.

  <3. Example of mask operation>

  Next, an example of a mask operation method of the electronic paper display device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a mask operation menu of the electronic paper display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The electronic paper display device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes, for example, mask registration 71, mask registration completion 72, mask call all 73, mask call individual 74, mask erase all 75, and mask erase individual 76 when performing a mask operation. A menu can be provided.

  These menus may be displayed on a display unit of the electronic paper display device 100 and operated via the touch panel 14, or may be provided as buttons on the electronic paper display device 100. The embodiment is not limited.

[Register mask]
When the menu of the mask registration 71 is selected, the subsequent operation on the touch panel 14 is recognized as the designation of the mask area. The mask area is specified by touching, for example, the upper left point and the lower right point of the rectangular area. When the mask area extends over two lines, the specification of the upper left point and the lower right point is repeated a plurality of times. Data is stored in the memory unit 13 via the display control unit 12.

  When the mask registration completion 72 menu is selected after the registration operation is completed, the registration operation is completed.

[Mask call]
When the menu for all mask calls 73 is selected, all the mask data stored in the memory unit is called and the mask is displayed.

  When the menu for mask call individual 74 is selected, the mask can be individually called and displayed. For example, the mask data stored in the memory unit may be recalled and displayed one by one each time the mask recall individual 74 menu is selected.

  In addition, the operation when the menu of the mask call individual 74 is selected is not limited to the above, and only the mask data candidates that can be displayed, for example, selected via the touch panel 14 may be displayed.

[Mask Erase]
When the menu of all 75 mask erases is selected, all the displayed masks are erased. That is, all the displays on the reflective electronic paper 112 are brought into a reflective state.

  Further, when the menu for mask erase individual 76 is selected, the displayed mask can be individually erased. For example, the displayed masks may be erased one by one each time the mask erase individual 76 menu is selected.

  Further, when the mask erase individual 76 menu is selected, a mask designated through the touch panel 14 among the displayed masks may be erased.

<4. Example of mask data holding method>
Next, an example of a mask data holding method will be described. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a mask information holding method of the electronic paper display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The mask area 1-1 shown in FIG. 8 can be specified by touching the uppermost left point (x1, y1) 81 and the lowermost right point (x2, y2) 82. The mask information is stored in the form of a table shown in FIG. Each mask is numbered according to the order of registration. Further, when one mask extends over two or more lines, a plurality of sets of mask data are obtained. For example, when extending over two lines, one mask data is assigned by numbering (1-1, 1-2). You may make it show that it is.

<5. Examples of effects of electronic paper display device>
As described above, the electronic paper display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention displays document information and mask information on different electronic papers. Therefore, it is possible to switch between displaying and hiding mask information without rewriting document information.

  The document information displayed on the transmissive electronic paper is not rewritten until an operation such as displaying another document is performed. Therefore, as long as the same document is displayed, power is not applied to the display.

Further, switching between display and non-display of the mask can be realized by a simple means of simply switching between black display and white display of the reflective electronic paper.

  In the case of electronic paper that has only one display unit, the document information needs to be read each time the mask is switched between display and non-display. It is.

  Further, since the document information displayed on the transmissive electronic paper does not need to be rewritten, it is not necessary to store the document information in, for example, another memory or a storage unit.

<6. Configuration of First Modification of Electronic Paper Display Device>
Next, a configuration of a first modification of the electronic paper display device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is a functional configuration diagram of a first modification of the electronic paper display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a first configuration of the electronic paper display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the laminated structure of this modification.

  The first modification is different in that it has a scanner 16 as means for acquiring document information. Since other components are the same as those in FIG. 1, the description thereof is omitted here.

  The scanner 16 is a data acquisition unit for taking in document data into the electronic paper display device 100 according to the present embodiment. The scanner 16 is stacked on the reflective electronic paper 112 at a position farthest from the surface on which incident light is incident.

  The scanner 16 has a function of taking data such as paper and books into the electronic paper display device 100. This makes it possible to capture document information by itself without communicating with an external device.

<7. Example of effect of first modification of electronic paper display device>
As described above, by providing the scanner 16 in the electronic paper display device 100, a document having only a book or paper can be displayed on the electronic paper display device 100, and a mask can be applied to the displayed document. .

  Further, since it is not necessary to rewrite the original document information when applying the mask, it is not necessary to hold the document information once the scanned document information is displayed.

  Further, since the document information can be acquired using the scanner 16, it is not necessary to have the communication unit 15, and the configuration can be further simplified and the weight can be reduced. Of course, the communication unit 15 may be included in addition to the scanner 16.

<8. Configuration of Second Modification of Electronic Paper Display Device>
Next, a configuration of a second modification of the electronic paper display device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a functional configuration diagram of a second modification of the electronic paper display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The second modified example is different in that it has a data acquisition I / F (InterFace) 17 as means for acquiring document information. Since other components are the same as those in FIG. 1, the description thereof is omitted here.

  The data acquisition I / F 17 is an I / F that can be connected to the external storage medium 500. With this configuration, the document information stored in the external storage medium 500 can be taken into the electronic paper display device 100.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described in detail, referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to this example. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it is understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the configuration including the communication unit 15, the configuration including the scanner 16, and the configuration including the data acquisition I / F 17 are described as means for acquiring document information, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. . For example, the structure which has these acquisition parts in the same electronic paper display apparatus may be sufficient.

  In this specification, the steps described in the flowcharts are executed in parallel or individually even if they are not necessarily processed in time series, as well as processes performed in time series in the described order. Including processing to be performed. Further, it goes without saying that the order can be appropriately changed even in the steps processed in time series.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Display part 12 Display control part 13 Memory part 14 Touch panel 111 Transparent electronic paper 112 Reflective electronic paper

Claims (6)

A transmissive electronic paper that displays first data by switching a pixel state between a transmissive state that transmits incident light and an absorption state that absorbs the incident light;
A reflection state in which the incident light transmitted through the transmissive electronic paper is reflected and the incident light transmitted through the transmissive electronic paper are stacked on the transmissive electronic paper at a position far from the surface on which the incident light is incident. Reflective electronic paper that displays the second data by switching between absorbing states to be absorbed;
An electronic paper display device comprising:   The electronic paper display device according to claim 1, wherein the first data is document information, and the second data is a mask for hiding at least a part of the document information. A display control unit for controlling the content displayed on each of the transmissive electronic paper and the reflective electronic paper;
The electronic paper display device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit controls switching between display and non-display of the second data of the reflective electronic paper. A memory unit for storing position information of the mask;
4. The display control unit according to claim 3, wherein the display control unit displays the mask by causing a pixel at a predetermined position of the reflective electronic paper to be in an absorption state according to position information of the mask stored in the memory unit. 5. Electronic paper display device.   5. The electronic paper display device according to claim 1, further comprising a touch panel stacked in close contact with the transmissive electronic paper on a surface on which incident light of the transmissive electronic paper is incident.   6. The electronic paper display device according to claim 1, further comprising a scanner that is stacked in close contact with the reflective electronic paper on a back surface of the reflective electronic paper that is in contact with the transmissive electronic paper.

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