JP2010191168A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display device capable of reducing power consumption when a content received from a server device is reproduced. <P>SOLUTION: A liquid crystal television 100 includes a liquid crystal panel 17, a backlight 13 for illuminating the liquid crystal panel 17 with light, a control unit 22 for adjusting the luminance of the backlight 13, and a communication section 21 for communicating with a PC 152 stored contents via a home LAN 153. The control unit 22 lowers the luminance of the backlight 13 from the first luminance to second luminance lower than the first luminance 1 when the content received by the communication section 21 is a voice file. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device including a display panel and a light source.

  Conventionally, a liquid crystal television including a liquid crystal panel and a backlight for irradiating the liquid crystal panel with light is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such a liquid crystal television, the power consumption in the backlight accounts for most of the power consumption. Therefore, in the liquid crystal television of Patent Document 1 described above, when no video signal is input from the external input terminal, OSD (On-Screen Display) display such as “No Signal” is displayed and the luminance of the backlight is reduced. Let As a result, it is possible to reduce power consumption while suppressing a decrease in user convenience.

  Conventionally, a television receiver including a communication unit that communicates with a server device in which content is stored via a network is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 2). With this television receiver, it is possible to reproduce the content received from the server device.

JP 2008-275978 A JP 2008-16930 A

  However, the above Patent Document 1 does not disclose or suggest the operation when reproducing the content received from the server device.

  Further, the above Patent Document 2 neither discloses nor suggests a configuration for reducing power consumption.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a display device capable of reducing power consumption when reproducing content received from a server device. It is.

  A display device according to the present invention is a display device including a display panel, a light source that emits light to the display panel, and a control unit for adjusting the luminance of the light source. And a controller that reduces the luminance of the light source from the first luminance to a second luminance that is lower than the first luminance when the content received by the communication unit is an audio file. Let

  With this configuration, when the content received from the server device is an audio file that does not matter the screen brightness, the brightness of the light source is reduced from the first brightness to the second brightness. When played back, power consumption can be reduced.

  In the display device, the control unit may hold the luminance of the light source at the first luminance when the content received by the communication unit is a moving image file or an image file.

  With this configuration, when the content received from the server device is a moving image file or an image file, the luminance of the light source does not decrease, so that the moving image or image file is difficult to see when the moving image file or image file is played back. Can be prevented.

  In the display device, the communication unit receives the audio file after the communication unit receives the audio file and the audio file is reproduced with the luminance of the light source lowered to the second luminance. In this case, the luminance of the light source may be maintained as the second luminance.

  According to this configuration, when the audio file is received after the audio file is reproduced, the luminance of the light source is maintained at a low luminance, so that power consumption can be reduced.

  In the display device, the communication unit receives the audio file, and after the audio file is reproduced in a state where the luminance of the light source is reduced to the second luminance, the communication unit receives the audio file and then the communication unit performs the moving image file or the image file. May be returned from the second luminance to the first luminance.

  With this configuration, when the moving image file or the image file is received after the audio file is played back, the luminance of the light source is returned to a high luminance, so that it is possible to prevent the moving image or the image from becoming difficult to see. .

  The display device further includes an operation unit that receives an operation command from a user, and the control unit receives the audio file by the communication unit, so that the audio file is reduced in the state where the luminance of the light source is reduced to the second luminance. When the operation unit accepts an operation command while is being reproduced, the luminance of the light source may be returned from the second luminance to the first luminance.

  With this configuration, it is possible to prevent an image displayed on the display panel from becoming difficult to see when the user operates the operation unit during the reproduction of the audio file. It can suppress that it falls.

  In the display device, the control unit may determine whether the content received by the communication unit is an audio file based on the extension of the file.

  If comprised in this way, it can be judged easily whether a content is an audio | voice file.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when reproducing | regenerating the content received from the server apparatus, the display apparatus which can aim at reduction of power consumption can be provided.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a liquid crystal television according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of the liquid crystal television according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, a case where the present invention is applied to a liquid crystal television receiver (hereinafter referred to as “liquid crystal television”) which is an example of a display device will be described.

  First, the configuration of a liquid crystal television 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal television 100 according to the present embodiment includes a television main body 1 that receives and displays a television broadcast, and a remote controller 2 that remotely operates the television main body 1. The remote controller 2 is an example of the “operation unit” in the present invention.

  The television main body 1 includes a power supply circuit 11, an inverter circuit 12, a backlight 13, a tuner 14, a signal processing unit 15, a drive circuit 16, a liquid crystal panel 17, an amplifier 18, a speaker 19, and a receiving unit. 20, a communication unit 21, and a control unit 22. The tuner 14, the signal processing unit 15, the drive circuit 16, the amplifier 18, the receiving unit 20, the communication unit 21, and the control unit 22 are connected via the bus 1a. The backlight 13 is an example of the “light source” in the present invention, and the liquid crystal panel 17 is an example of the “display panel” in the present invention.

  The power supply circuit 11 includes a bridge rectifier circuit and the like, converts power supplied from a power supply (not shown) from alternating current to direct current, and outputs it to the inverter circuit 12. Although omitted in FIG. 1, the power supply circuit 11 also supplies power to the control unit 22 and the like.

  The inverter circuit 12 converts the DC voltage supplied from the power supply circuit 11 into a high-voltage AC voltage and supplies it to the backlight 13. The backlight 13 is provided for irradiating light from the back surface of the liquid crystal panel 17. The backlight 13 includes a cold cathode tube and the like, and is configured such that the cold cathode tube is lit by a voltage supplied from the inverter circuit 12.

  An antenna 151 is connected to the tuner 14, and the tuner 14 receives a television broadcast such as a terrestrial digital broadcast. Then, the tuner 14 outputs the received broadcast signal to the signal processing unit 15. The signal processing unit 15 includes a decoder circuit, an OSD (On-Screen Display) circuit, and the like, and performs predetermined processing on the broadcast signal input from the tuner 14. Then, the signal processing unit 15 outputs the video signal to the drive circuit 16 and outputs the audio signal to the amplifier 18.

  The drive circuit 16 generates a drive signal that controls the aperture ratio of each dot of the liquid crystal panel 17 based on the video signal input from the signal processing unit 15. The liquid crystal panel 17 displays an image by transmitting light emitted from the backlight 13 according to a drive signal.

  The amplifier 18 amplifies the audio signal input from the signal processing unit 15 and outputs the amplified audio signal to the speaker 19. The speaker 19 reproduces sound based on the sound signal input from the amplifier 18.

  The receiving unit 20 includes a photodiode and receives a remote control signal output from the remote controller 2. The communication unit 21 communicates with a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) 152 in which content is stored via a home LAN (home network) 153. The PC 152 functions as a DLNA (registered trademark) (Digital Living Network Alliance) server.

  Here, DLNA is an industry group that formulates, as a guideline, a function for automatically connecting a device existing in a home LAN and sharing content. When the DLNA client is connected to the home LAN, the DLNA client searches for a DLNA server existing in the home LAN and acquires a list of usable contents. The PC 152 is an example of the “server device” in the present invention, and the home LAN 153 is an example of the “network” in the present invention.

  The control unit 22 adjusts the luminance of the backlight 13 by controlling the inverter circuit 12. The control unit 22 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a counter, and the like. The CPU controls the operation of the television main body 1. The ROM is a rewritable nonvolatile memory, for example, a flash memory. The ROM stores a program for controlling the operation of the television main unit 1, setting values of various setting items, and the like. The RAM is, for example, a DRAM, and temporarily stores data when the program is executed. The counter will be described later.

  The remote controller 2 includes an operation button that receives an operation command from a user, a transmission unit that transmits a remote control signal in response to the operation command, and the like.

  The liquid crystal television 100 functions as a DLNA client. Therefore, when the liquid crystal television 100 is switched to the DLNA client mode, it is possible to acquire a list of contents accumulated in the PC 152 and use contents selected from the acquired list.

  Next, the operation of the liquid crystal television 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description of the operation, the case where the liquid crystal television 100 (see FIG. 1) operates as a DLNA client will be described. Further, in the liquid crystal television 100, the luminance of the backlight 13 (see FIG. 1) is set to the first luminance (normal luminance when displaying an image) before the DLNA client mode is started. Each step of this flowchart is executed by the control unit 22 (see FIG. 1).

  First, in the liquid crystal television 100, it is determined whether or not the DLNA client mode is started in step S1 of FIG. Whether or not the DLNA client mode is started is determined by whether or not the receiving unit 20 (see FIG. 1) has received a remote control signal indicating that the DLNA client mode output from the remote controller 2 (see FIG. 1) is started. It is judged by. If it is determined that the DLNA client mode has not been started, step S1 is repeated. That is, the liquid crystal television 100 stands by until the DLNA client mode is started. If it is determined that the DLNA client mode is started, the process proceeds to step S2.

  Next, in step S2, the communication unit 21 (see FIG. 1) is used to search for a DLNA server existing in the home LAN 153 and obtain a list of usable contents. Thereby, in the present embodiment, a list of contents accumulated in the PC 152 is acquired.

  Next, in step S3, it is determined whether content has been selected from the acquired list. If it is determined that the content has been selected, the process proceeds to step S4. When the content is selected, the user selects content using the remote controller 2 from the content list displayed on the liquid crystal panel 17 (see FIG. 1), or the user uses the remote controller 2. This includes a case where the control unit 22 sequentially selects contents by selecting a playlist (predetermined content group). On the other hand, if it is determined that no content is selected, the process proceeds to step S19.

  Next, in step S4, it is determined whether or not the selected content is an audio file. This type of content is determined based on, for example, the extension of the file. Therefore, when the extension of the selected content is “mp3”, “wma”, or the like, it is determined that the content is an audio file, and the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, if the extension of the selected content is “mpg” or “jpg”, it is determined that the content is not an audio file but a moving image file or an image file, and the process proceeds to step S16.

  Next, in step S5, the luminance of the backlight 13 is lowered from the first luminance to the second luminance by the inverter circuit 12 (see FIG. 1). Note that when the luminance of the backlight 13 is the second luminance, the luminance of the backlight 13 is maintained as the second luminance. In step S6, reproduction of the audio file is started. Specifically, the audio file received by the communication unit 21 is reproduced by the signal processing unit 15 (see FIG. 1). At this time, sound is reproduced by the speaker 19 (see FIG. 1), and information such as the title name of the reproduced audio file is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 17. The second luminance is lower than the first luminance and is a luminance with which the user can visually recognize information such as a title name displayed on the liquid crystal panel 17.

  Next, in step S7, it is determined whether or not the remote controller 2 has been operated by the user. Whether or not the remote controller 2 has been operated is determined based on whether or not the receiving unit 20 has received a remote control signal output from the remote controller 2. If it is determined that the remote controller 2 has not been operated, the process proceeds to step S8. On the other hand, if it is determined that the remote controller 2 has been operated, the process proceeds to step S9.

  In step S8, it is determined whether or not the reproduction of the audio file has been completed. If it is determined that the reproduction of the audio file has been completed, the process proceeds to step S19. On the other hand, if it is determined that the reproduction of the audio file has not ended, the process returns to step S7.

  In step S9, the luminance of the backlight 13 is returned from the second luminance to the first luminance by the inverter circuit 12. In step S10, the counter of the control unit 22 starts counting.

  Next, in step S11, based on the count value of the counter, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the remote controller 2 was operated. If it is determined that a predetermined time has elapsed, the luminance of the backlight 13 is reduced from the first luminance to the second luminance by the inverter circuit 12 in step S12, and the process proceeds to step S8. On the other hand, if it is determined that the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process proceeds to step S13.

  Next, in step S13, it is determined whether or not the reproduction of the audio file has been completed. If it is determined that the reproduction of the audio file has been completed, the process proceeds to step S19. On the other hand, if it is determined that the reproduction of the audio file has not ended, the process proceeds to step S14.

  Next, in step S14, it is determined whether or not the remote controller 2 has been operated by the user. If it is determined that the remote controller 2 has not been operated, the process returns to step S11. On the other hand, if it is determined that the remote controller 2 has been operated, the count value of the counter is reset in step S15, and the process returns to step S11.

  If the selected content is a moving image file or an image file, the luminance of the backlight 13 is maintained at the first luminance by the inverter circuit 12 in step S16. When the brightness of the backlight 13 is the second brightness, the brightness of the backlight 13 is returned from the second brightness to the first brightness. In step S17, the reproduction of the moving image file or the image file is started. Specifically, the moving image file or the image file received by the communication unit 21 is reproduced by the signal processing unit 15.

  Next, in step S18, it is determined whether or not the reproduction of the moving image file or the image file has been completed. When it is determined that the reproduction of the moving image file or the image file has been completed, the process proceeds to step S19. On the other hand, if it is determined that the reproduction of the moving image file or the image file has not ended, step S18 is repeated.

  Next, in step S19, it is determined whether or not the DLNA client mode is terminated. Whether or not the DLNA client mode is ended is determined by whether or not the receiving unit 20 has received a remote control signal indicating that the DLNA client mode output from the remote controller 2 is ended. If it is determined that the DLNA client mode has not ended, the process returns to step S3. On the other hand, if it is determined that the DLNA client mode has ended, the luminance of the backlight 13 is returned from the second luminance to the first luminance by the inverter circuit 12 in step S20, and the DLNA client mode ends. . In step S20, when the luminance of the backlight 13 is the first luminance, the luminance of the backlight 13 is maintained as the first luminance.

  In this embodiment, as described above, when the content received from the PC 152 is an audio file (step S4: Yes), the inverter circuit 12 reduces the luminance of the backlight 13 from the first luminance to the second luminance. By doing so (step S5), it is possible to reduce the power consumption when the audio file is reproduced. In this case, even if the screen of the liquid crystal panel 17 becomes dark, there is no problem if the music is played back.

  In the present embodiment, when the content received from the PC 152 is a moving image file or an image file (step S4: No), the luminance of the backlight 13 is maintained at the first luminance (step S16). When the moving image file or the image file is reproduced, it can be prevented that the screen of the liquid crystal panel 17 becomes dark and the moving image or the image becomes difficult to see.

  In the present embodiment, when the audio file is received from the PC 152 after the audio file is reproduced with the luminance of the backlight 13 lowered to the second luminance (step S4: Yes), the backlight 13 Is maintained at the second luminance (step S5), power consumption can be reduced.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when a video file or an image file is received from the PC 152 after the audio file is reproduced with the luminance of the backlight 13 lowered to the second luminance (Step S4: No), By returning the luminance of the backlight 13 from the second luminance to the first luminance (step S16), it is possible to prevent the moving image or the image from becoming difficult to see.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the remote controller 2 is operated while the audio file is being reproduced with the luminance of the backlight 13 lowered to the second luminance (step S7: Yes), the backlight By returning the luminance of 13 from the second luminance to the first luminance (step S9), it is difficult to see the image displayed on the liquid crystal panel 17 when the user operates the remote controller 2 during reproduction of the audio file. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the convenience of the user from being lowered.

  In the present embodiment, the luminance of the backlight 13 is changed to the first luminance when a predetermined time has elapsed after the luminance of the backlight 13 is returned from the second luminance to the first luminance (step S11: Yes). By reducing the luminance to the second luminance (step S12), it is possible to reduce power consumption while suppressing a decrease in user convenience.

  In the present embodiment, the type of received content can be easily determined by determining the type of received content based on the extension of the file.

  The present invention can employ various embodiments other than those described above. For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to the liquid crystal television 100 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention may be applied to other display devices such as a liquid crystal display.

  In the above embodiment, the PC 152 is shown as an example of the server device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a DLNA compatible NAS (Network Attached Storage) may be used as the server device.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the second luminance is a luminance that allows the user to visually recognize information such as a title name displayed on the liquid crystal panel 17. The luminance of 2 may be a luminance at which the user cannot visually recognize information such as a title name displayed on the liquid crystal panel 17. That is, although the example which reduces the brightness | luminance of the backlight 13 in step S5 and S12 was shown, you may make it turn off the backlight 13 not only in this. In this case, power consumption can be further reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the type of content is determined based on the extension of the file (step S4). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the type of content is determined based on the header information of the file. You may do it.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which the liquid crystal television 100 has the DLNA client function is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the liquid crystal television 100 only needs to have a client function that can use the content stored in the PC 152. .

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the television main body 1 showed the example containing the speaker 19, it is not restricted to this, The television main body 1 does not need to contain the speaker. That is, the speaker may be provided separately from the television main body.

2 Remote control (operation unit)
13 Backlight (light source)
17 Liquid crystal panel (display panel)
21 communication unit 22 control unit 100 liquid crystal television (display device)
152 PC (server device)
153 Home LAN (network)

Claims (6)

A display panel;
A light source for irradiating the display panel with light;
In a display device comprising a control unit for adjusting the luminance of the light source,
A communication unit that communicates via a network with a server device in which content is stored;
When the content received by the communication unit is an audio file, the control unit reduces the luminance of the light source from the first luminance to a second luminance lower than the first luminance. Display device. The display device according to claim 1,
The control device, wherein the content received by the communication unit is a moving image file or an image file, the luminance of the light source is maintained as the first luminance. The display device according to claim 1,
The control unit receives the audio file after the audio file is reproduced with the communication unit receiving the audio file and the luminance of the light source is reduced to the second luminance. In this case, the display device is characterized in that the luminance of the light source is maintained as the second luminance. The display device according to claim 1,
When the communication unit receives the audio file, the control unit reproduces the audio file in a state in which the luminance of the light source is reduced to the second luminance. A display device, wherein when a file is received, the luminance of the light source is returned from the second luminance to the first luminance. The display device according to claim 1,
It further includes an operation unit that receives an operation command from the user,
When the communication unit receives the audio file and the audio file is being reproduced while the luminance of the light source is reduced to the second luminance, the operation unit receives an operation command. The display device is configured to return the luminance of the light source from the second luminance to the first luminance when the light is received. The display device according to claim 1,
The control unit determines whether the content received by the communication unit is an audio file based on an extension of the file.

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