JP2017021536A - Electronic device and lighting control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce power consumption.SOLUTION: An electronic device includes a processor, a touch panel, and a display unit including a backlight and an LCD screen. The processor executes processing of detecting a touch on the touch panel, on receipt of an instruction to turn on the display unit in off state. Upon detection of a touch on the touch panel, the processor execute processing of executing predetermined processing, while keeping the display unit off. When no touch is detected on the touch panel, the processor executes processing of turning on the display unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device and a lighting control program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electronic device such as a smartphone including a display unit including a screen and a backlight and a touch panel has been widely used. When the electronic device receives a lighting operation of the display unit from the user with the display unit turned off, the electronic device turns on the display unit and displays a plurality of icons on the screen. When the position corresponding to the icon is tapped on the touch panel superimposed on the screen, the electronic device executes an application program (hereinafter sometimes referred to as an application or an application) corresponding to the icon.

  Further, since it is difficult to see the screen in bright places such as outdoors, a method of making it easy to see by turning on the backlight with high luminance is generally used. In recent years, a technique is known in which when a specific area of a touch panel is touched with the display unit turned off, the display unit is turned on to activate a target process.

JP 2001-350536 A

  However, the above technique consumes a large amount of power. For example, when a smartphone whose screen is turned off receives a lighting instruction, a touch operation, or the like, the display unit is turned on and an application or the like is executed. Also, in bright environments such as outdoors, the brightness of the backlight increases, and more power is consumed.

  An object of one aspect is to provide an electronic device and a lighting control program that can reduce power consumption.

  In the first proposal, the electronic device includes a processor, a touch panel, and a display unit. The processor executes processing for detecting contact with the touch panel when receiving an instruction to turn on the display unit in a state where the display unit is turned off. When contact with the touch panel is detected, the processor executes a process of executing a predetermined process while keeping the display unit off. A processor performs the process which lights the said display part, when the contact to the said touch panel is not detected.

  According to one embodiment, power consumption can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a transition image of the lighting / extinguishing state of the display unit by the smartphone according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the smartphone according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the smartphone according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the setting information DB. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the activation control process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the release process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating power consumption. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a transition image of the lighting / extinguishing state of the display unit by the smartphone according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the setting information DB according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the activation control process according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a transition image of the lighting / extinguishing state of the display unit by the smartphone according to the third embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the setting information DB according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the monitoring information DB according to the third embodiment. FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the activation control process according to the third embodiment. FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the activation control process according to the third embodiment. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a transition image of the lighting / extinguishing state of the display unit by the smartphone according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the smartphone according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the region information DB according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining a setting example of the area information DB according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the activation control process according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating the smartphone according to the fifth embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an electronic device and a lighting control program disclosed in the present application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. In addition, the embodiments can be appropriately combined within a consistent range.

[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a transition image of the lighting / extinguishing state of the display unit by the smartphone 10 according to the first embodiment. A smartphone 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is an example of an electronic device including a display unit having an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen that displays information and a backlight, and a touch panel that is an input unit that receives an operation.

  The smartphone 10 turns off the display unit when a variety of information is displayed on the LCD screen and no user operation is accepted for a certain period of time or when the power button is pressed. For example, the smartphone 10 suppresses screen output to the LCD screen or turns off the backlight. In the following description, suppressing the screen output to the LCD screen or turning off the backlight may be described as turning off the display unit.

  In such a state, when the smartphone 10 receives an instruction to turn on the display unit while the display unit is turned off, the smartphone 10 detects whether or not the touch panel is touched. When the touch to the touch panel is detected, the smartphone 10 performs a predetermined process while keeping the display unit off, and turns on the display unit when the touch to the touch panel is not detected.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the leftmost smartphone 10 represents a state in which the LCD screen and the backlight are turned off. In this state, when the smartphone 10 detects that the power button is pressed while the finger is not in contact with the touch panel (S1), the backlight is turned on as usual to display the home screen on the LCD screen (S2). ).

  On the other hand, the smartphone 10 detects pressing of the power button while the finger is in contact with the touch panel (S3 and S4). Then, the smartphone 10 outputs a sound indicating that the touch operation has been accepted with the LCD screen and the like turned off, and transmits the sound to a telephone number designated in advance (S5).

  Thereafter, when the smartphone 10 detects again that the power button is pressed, the LCD screen or the like is turned on (S6). Here, since the smartphone 10 keeps the light off and is executing the application as usual, when the light is turned on, the screen generated by the application at that time is displayed. In the following description, performing screen output to the LCD screen or turning on the backlight may be described as turning on the display unit.

  In this way, when the screen 10 is turned off, the smartphone 10 that turns off the screen turns on the screen if it does not detect the touch on the touch panel, but maintains the screen turned off if contact is detected. Run the app. Therefore, the smartphone 10 can suppress lighting and reduce power consumption.

[Hardware configuration]
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a hardware configuration example of the smartphone 10 according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the smartphone 10 includes a wireless unit 11, an audio processing unit 12, a power supply unit 13, a nonvolatile memory 14, a volatile memory 15, a touch panel 16 a, an LCD screen 16 b, and a backlight 16 c. The smartphone 10 includes a timer 17, a camera 18, a mobile light 19, an illuminance sensor 20, a geomagnetic sensor 21, an acceleration sensor 22, an angular velocity sensor 23, and a processor 30. Note that the hardware listed here is merely an example, and other hardware such as a hard disk or an external storage reading device may be included.

  The wireless unit 11 performs wireless communication with other devices using the antenna 11a. The sound processing unit 12 outputs sound from the speaker and executes various processes on the sound collected by the microphone. The power supply unit 13 charges power from an external power supply and supplies power to each hardware of the smartphone 10.

  The nonvolatile memory 14 is a storage device that stores various setting information set in advance, and is, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a flash memory. The volatile memory 15 is a storage device that stores information executed by the processor 30 for various processes, and is, for example, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory).

  The touch panel 16 a is an input unit that receives a user operation superimposed on the LCD screen 16 b and outputs the operated position (coordinates) to the processor 30. The LCD screen 16b is a display unit that displays various types of information. The backlight 16c is a light source disposed on the back surface of the LCD screen 16b and illuminates the LCD screen 16b from the back surface. In this embodiment, the LCD screen 16b and the backlight 16c may be collectively referred to as a display unit.

  The timer 17 is a circuit for measuring time. The camera 18 captures a still image or a moving image and outputs it to the processor 30. The mobile light 19 is a light that emits light in response to an instruction from the processor 30.

  The illuminance sensor 20 is a sensor that measures the illuminance (unit: lx) around the smartphone 10, and outputs a measurement result to the processor 30. The geomagnetic sensor 21 is a sensor that measures geomagnetism, and inputs the measured geomagnetism to the processor 30.

The acceleration sensor 22 is a sensor that measures the acceleration (unit: m / s ² , Gal, G, etc.) of the mobile terminal 1, and inputs the measured acceleration to the processor 30. For example, the acceleration sensor 22 is a triaxial sensor, and measures the acceleration of each axis of x, y, and z. The angular velocity sensor 23 is a gyro sensor that measures the angular velocity (unit: dps) of the mobile terminal 1, and inputs the measured angular velocity to the processor 30. For example, the angular velocity sensor 23 is a triaxial sensor, and measures the angular velocity of each axis of x, y, and z.

  The processor 30 is a processing unit that controls the entire process of the smartphone 10, and is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). For example, the processor 30 executes an OS (Operating System). In addition, the processor 30 operates as each functional unit to be described later by reading a program stored in the nonvolatile memory 14, developing the program in the volatile memory 15, and executing the program.

[Function configuration]
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the functional configuration of the smartphone 10 according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the smartphone 10 includes a setting information DB 14 a, a monitoring information DB 15 a, an activation determination unit 31, a touch panel control unit 36, a screen control unit 37, and a backlight control unit 38. The activation determination unit 31, the touch panel control unit 36, the screen control unit 37, and the backlight control unit 38 are examples of an electronic circuit included in the processor 30 and an example of a process included in the processor 30, for example.

  The setting information DB 14a is a database that stores setting information used when executing the corresponding process with the display unit turned off. This setting information DB 14 a is stored in the nonvolatile memory 14.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the setting information DB 14a. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the setting information DB 14 a stores “lighting instruction, release instruction, activated application information (application name, processing content, instruction content), application history” in association with each other. Among these, “lighting instruction, release instruction, activated application information (application name, processing content, instruction content)” is generated by an administrator or the like, and “application history” is updated by the processor 30 as needed.

  “Lighting instruction” is information for specifying an operation that is a lighting instruction for the display unit. “Release instruction” is information for specifying an operation for canceling the turn-off of the display unit after executing the process with the display unit turned off. “Startup application information (application name)” is a name of an application to be executed with the display unit turned off. “Activation application information (processing content)” is information for specifying the processing content of the application. “Starting application information (instruction content)” is information for specifying an argument to the application. “App history” is information of an application that was being executed when the display unit was turned off.

  In the example of FIG. 4, the application being executed when the display unit is turned off is “home application”, and “pressing the power key” is set as an instruction to turn on the display unit. In addition, a telephone application (phone.apk) is set as a process to be executed with the display unit turned off, and a process for calling “03-xxx-xxxx” is set. Further, it indicates that “pressing the power key” is set as an instruction to release the display unit from being turned off.

  The monitoring information DB 15a is a database that stores a screen turn-off flag indicating whether or not the corresponding process has been executed with the display unit turned off. This monitoring information DB 15 a is stored in the volatile memory 15 and updated as needed by the processor 30. For example, the monitoring information DB 15a stores “ON” when the screen is turned off, and stores “OFF” when the screen is turned on.

  The activation determination unit 31 includes an activation reception unit 32, a determination unit 33, an activation unit 34, and a suppression processing unit 35, and is a processing unit that determines whether to turn on or off the display unit.

  The startup reception unit 32 is a processing unit that detects reception of an OS startup request in a state where the display unit is turned off. Specifically, the activation reception unit 32 detects the presence / absence of the lighting instruction “pressing the power key” stored in the setting information DB 14a with the display unit turned off.

  For example, the activation accepting unit 32 activates the OS when detecting the lighting instruction “pressing the power key”. Then, the activation accepting unit 32 outputs an instruction to activate the touch panel 16 a to the touch panel control unit 36. As a result, the touch panel 16a becomes effective. In addition, the activation reception unit 32 instructs the determination unit 33 to start processing.

  The determination unit 33 is a processing unit that determines whether a finger or the like has touched the touch panel 16a while the display unit is turned off. For example, the determination unit 33 acquires the contact state from the touch panel control unit 36 when instructed to start processing from the activation reception unit 32. Then, when receiving the coordinate information from the touch panel control unit 36, the determination unit 33 determines that there is a finger touch or the like on the touch panel 16 a and instructs the suppression processing unit 35 to start processing. On the other hand, when the coordinate information cannot be received from the touch panel control unit 36, the determination unit 33 determines that there is no contact with the touch panel 16a and instructs the activation unit 34 to start processing.

  The activation unit 34 is a processing unit that turns on the display unit when the touch of the finger or the like on the touch panel 16a is not detected. For example, when the start unit 34 is instructed to start processing from the determination unit 33, the start unit 34 instructs the screen control unit 37 to start display and transmits a lighting instruction to the backlight control unit 38. At this time, the activation unit 34 can also refer to the application history in the setting information DB 14a and execute the application that was being executed immediately before the display unit was turned off.

  The suppression processing unit 35 includes a notification unit 35a, a suppression unit 35b, and a release unit 35c. When detecting a finger contact with the touch panel 16a, the suppression processing unit 35 performs a predetermined process while keeping the display unit off. It is.

  The notification unit 35a is a processing unit that notifies the user that an operation with a finger has been detected. Specifically, when the determination unit 33 gives an instruction to start processing, the notification unit 35a executes a user notification designated in advance. That is, the notification unit 35a notifies the user that the operation set by the user is started. For example, the notification unit 35a executes output of a designated sound, vibration, LED (Light Emitting Diode) disappearance, and the like, and when the notification is completed, instructs the suppression unit 35b to start processing.

  The suppressing unit 35b is a processing unit that executes a predetermined process while keeping the display unit off. Specifically, when the notification by the notification unit 35a is completed, the suppression unit 35b refers to the setting information DB 14a and reads the startup application information. Then, the suppressing unit 35b executes the corresponding application according to the read activation application information.

  At this time, the suppression unit 35b outputs a screen display suppression instruction to the screen control unit 37, and instructs the backlight control unit 38 to keep the backlight off. In addition, the suppression unit 35 b can also suppress output of screen information to the screen control unit 37 by the corresponding application. The suppression unit 35b only suppresses a screen display request output from the application, and the application executes processing as usual. That is, the application executes normal processing such as screen generation.

  In the example of FIG. 4, the suppression unit 35 b executes the call process for “03-xxx-xxxx” by executing the telephone application “phone.apk” with “03-xxx-xxxx” as an argument. Then, the phone application “phone.apk” makes a call to “03-xxx-xxxx”, generates a screen during a call, and outputs the screen to the screen control unit 37. However, the suppression unit 35b receives the screen control unit 37 from the OS. Hook screen output instructions to, and suppress screen output.

  The canceling unit 35c is a processing unit that cancels the extinction control of the display unit. Specifically, the release unit 35c detects the presence / absence of a release instruction stored in the setting information DB 14a in a state where screen display is suppressed by the suppression unit 35b. And if the cancellation | release part 35c detects a cancellation | release instruction | indication, a display part will be lighted and a screen display will be restarted.

  In the example of FIG. 4, when detecting the release instruction “pressing the power key”, the release unit 35 c instructs the suppression unit 35 b to release the suppression. As a result, the suppression unit 35b releases the suppression of screen output from the application to the screen control unit 37. Further, the release unit 35c instructs the screen control unit 37 to start screen output, and instructs the backlight control unit 38 to turn on the backlight.

  The touch panel control unit 36 is a processing unit that detects contact of a finger or the like with the touch panel 16a, and is, for example, a touch panel control driver. For example, when receiving the activation instruction from the activation accepting unit 32, the touch panel control unit 36 supplies power to the touch panel 16a and validates the touch panel 16a. Thereafter, when the touch panel control unit 36 detects contact with the touch panel 16a, the touch panel control unit 36 outputs coordinates or the like indicating the contact position to the suppression unit 35b, and when detecting no contact with the touch panel 16a, the touch panel control unit 36 suppresses information indicating no contact. To 35b.

  The screen control unit 37 is a processing unit that controls screen output to the LCD screen 16b, and is, for example, a screen control driver. For example, when receiving a suppression instruction from the suppression unit 35b, the screen control unit 37 suppresses output of the screen output from the application or the like to the LCD screen 16b. Further, when receiving the release instruction from the release unit 35c, the screen control unit 37 outputs the screen output from the application at that time to the LCD screen 16b.

  For example, the screen control unit 37 has a plurality of buffers for storing data to be displayed on the screen, and sequentially stores the display data notified from the upper application in the buffer. When the display on the LCD screen is not suppressed, the screen control unit 37 transfers the display data stored in the buffer to the LCD screen 16b for each vertical synchronization (VSync), and the display on the LCD screen is suppressed. If so, display data is not transferred for each vertical synchronization.

  The backlight control unit 38 is a processing unit that controls turning on and off of the backlight 16c, and is, for example, a backlight control driver. For example, the backlight control part 38 will suppress lighting of the backlight 16c, if the suppression instruction | indication is received from the suppression part 35b. In addition, when receiving the release instruction from the release unit 35c, the backlight control unit 38 releases the suppression of the lighting of the backlight 16c and turns on the backlight 16c.

[Process flow]
Then, the process which the smart phone 10 performs is demonstrated. Here, the activation control process and the release process will be described. It is assumed that the display unit of the smartphone 10 is turned off.

(Startup control processing)
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the activation control process according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 5, upon receiving a lighting instruction (S101: Yes), the activation reception unit 32 activates the OS (S102). Subsequently, the activation accepting unit 32 stores the screen turn-off flag “ON” in the monitoring information DB 15a (S103).

  And the determination part 33 acquires a contact state from the touch panel control part 36 (S104), and determines whether the contact state to the touch panel 16a has contact (S105). For example, the determination unit 33 determines whether coordinates indicating the contact position have been acquired.

  If it is determined that there is a touch on the touch panel 16a (S105: Yes), the notification unit 35a executes a designated user notification (S106). Thereafter, the suppressing unit 35b executes a predetermined application stored in the setting information DB 14a while keeping the LCD screen 16b and the backlight 16c off (S107).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no contact with the touch panel 16a (S105: No), the screen control unit 37 executes screen display on the LCD screen 16b according to an instruction from the activation unit 34 (S108). Further, the backlight control unit 38 turns on the backlight 16c in accordance with an instruction from the activation unit 34 (S109).

  Thereafter, the activation unit 34 stores the screen turn-off flag “OFF” in the monitoring information DB 15a (S110), and executes the home application (S111). The executed home application displays the home screen on the LCD screen 16b.

(Release processing)
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the release process according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 6, when the release unit 35c receives a lighting instruction (S201: Yes), the cancellation unit 35c determines whether the screen turn-off flag of the monitoring information DB 15a is “ON”. That is, it is determined whether or not the application is being executed with the display unit kept off (S202).

  Here, the cancellation | release part 35c complete | finishes a process, when a screen extinction flag is not "ON", ie, the display part is lighting (S202: No).

  On the other hand, when the canceling unit 35c determines that the application is being executed when the screen turn-off flag is “ON”, that is, with the display unit kept off (S202: Yes), the screen control unit 37 cancels the release. In response to an instruction from the unit 35c, screen display on the LCD screen 16b is executed (S203). Further, the backlight control unit 38 turns on the backlight 16c in accordance with an instruction from the release unit 35c (S204).

  Thereafter, the canceling unit 35c stores the screen turn-off flag “OFF” in the monitoring information DB 15a (S205).

[effect]
As described above, the smartphone 10 executes an app without lighting the LCD screen 16b or the backlight 16c for an app that can be executed without any problem even when the LCD screen 16b or the backlight 16c is turned off. For this reason, since the smart phone 10 can suppress screen lighting, it can suppress power consumption. In addition, the smartphone 10 can activate a target process by the user selecting whether or not the screen is lit when the OS is activated.

  Here, power consumption when the backlight 16c is turned on will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating power consumption. FIG. 7 shows a measurement result of power consumption of hardware or the like when a short message or mail is transmitted. Here, the maximum luminance that can be set by the smartphone 10 used for measurement is changed to 0%, 33%, 67%, and 100%, and the power consumption at each luminance is measured.

  (A) of FIG. 7 shows the measurement result of the power consumption at the time of transmitting the short message, and shows that the power consumption of the backlight 16c is larger as the luminance of the touch panel 16a of the smartphone 10 is larger. It can also be seen that the backlight 16c consumes more power than other hardware such as a CPU or LCD screen 16b.

  FIG. 7B shows the measurement result of power consumption at the time of mail transmission. When Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) is used, the measurement result of power consumption and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) are used. It is a measurement result of power consumption when. 7B also shows that the power consumption of the backlight 16c increases as the luminance of the LCD screen 16b of the smartphone 10 increases, as in FIG. 7A. It can also be seen that the backlight 16c consumes more power than other hardware such as a CPU or LCD screen 16b.

  FIG. 7C shows an example of a measurement result of the relationship between the luminance of the backlight 16c and power consumption. The backlight level represents a luminance range (1 to 255) that can be set by the smartphone 10 used for measurement, and it can be seen that the power consumption increases as the setting becomes higher.

  Thus, in the smart phone 10, the power consumption of the backlight 16c is very high, and the power consumption of the backlight 16c increases and the usable time is further shortened as the brightness is set higher. On the other hand, in the smartphone 10 according to the first embodiment, the lighting of the touch panel 16 can be suppressed as much as possible, so that the power consumption can be suppressed as compared with the conventional smartphone.

  Moreover, in the conventional smartphone, the backlight 16c and the like are turned on to display a plurality of icons, and a target icon is selected from among them. For this reason, in a situation where the LCD screen 16b is difficult to see or in an emergency, the operation until the target process is started is troublesome and takes time. On the other hand, since the smartphone 10 can execute a preset process even when the backlight 16c is turned off, troublesome operations and time can be reduced. As a result, user convenience is improved.

  A method of associating a physical key with a target process is also conceivable. However, since the number of hardware components increases, the size of a smartphone or the like increases. In this method, the number of processes that can be activated is limited by the number of physical keys. On the other hand, the smartphone 10 can execute a target process without using a physical key, so that the number of installed hardware can be reduced. As a result, an increase in size can be suppressed, and power consumption can be reduced.

  Although a method of detecting a shake operation pattern by the acceleration sensor 22 and starting a target process is also conceivable, there may be a variation in recognition accuracy depending on a user's operation acquisition level, which may cause a malfunction. On the other hand, since the smartphone 10 uses only a simple operation such as touching the touch panel 16a, the target process can be executed without depending on the user's degree of operation acquisition.

  In the first embodiment, the power button is pressed as an example of the lighting instruction. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the smartphone 10 can also determine that a lighting instruction has been received when a predetermined area of the touch panel 16a is touched. Therefore, in the second embodiment, an example in which contact with a predetermined area of the touch panel 16a is used as a lighting instruction will be described.

[overall structure]
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a transition image of the lighting / extinguishing state of the display unit by the smartphone 10 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 8, the lighting instruction area P is clearly shown for explanation, but is not displayed on the actual screen. In addition to the information described in the first embodiment, the setting information DB 14a of the smartphone 10 illustrated in FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the setting information DB 14a according to the second embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 9, the setting information DB 14 a according to the second embodiment stores “lighting instruction, release instruction, activated application information (application name, processing content, instruction content), application history, lighting instruction area” in association with each other. To do. Since the difference from the first embodiment is the “lighting instruction area”, the “lighting instruction area” will be described here, and the description of the rest will be omitted. The “lighting instruction area” is information for specifying an area on the touch panel 16a that is recognized as a lighting instruction, and is specified by coordinates.

  In the example of FIG. 9, the application being executed when the display unit is turned off is “home application”, and “touch a specific area” is set as an instruction to turn on the display unit. Further, it is set that the upper left of the coordinates specifying the specific area is (x, y) and the lower right is (xx, yy). For example, a square whose diagonal is a straight line between coordinates (x, y) and coordinates (xx, yy) is the lighting instruction area. In addition, a telephone application (phone.apk) is set as a process to be executed with the display unit turned off, and a process for calling “03-xxx-xxxx” is set. Further, it indicates that “pressing the power key” is set as an instruction to release the display unit from being turned off.

  In such a state, the smartphone 10 that has turned off the LCD screen 16b and the backlight 16c periodically activates the touch panel 16a and executes processing for detecting the presence or absence of contact with the touch panel 16a. As a method for detecting contact with the touch panel 16a while the LCD screen 16b and the backlight 16c are turned off, other known methods can be employed.

  And when such a smart phone 10 detects the contact to the lighting instruction | indication area | region P of the touch panel 16a (S10), it will light the backlight 16c as usual and will display a home screen on the LCD screen 16b (S11).

  On the other hand, when the smartphone 10 detects contact other than the lighting instruction area of the touch panel 16a (S12), the smartphone 10 outputs a sound indicating that the operation is accepted with the LCD screen 16b and the like turned off, and a telephone specified in advance. Call the number (S13). Thereafter, when the smartphone 10 detects again that the power button is pressed, the LCD screen 16b and the like are turned on (S14).

  Thus, even when the touch to the predetermined area | region of the touch panel 16a is used as a lighting instruction | indication, the smart phone 10 can perform a predetermined | prescribed application, with the screen light extinction maintained like Example 1. FIG.

[Process flow]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the activation control process according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, when the operation of the touch panel 16a is detected as a lighting instruction by the touch panel control unit 36 (S301: Yes), the activation accepting unit 32 activates the OS (S302). Subsequently, the activation accepting unit 32 stores the screen turn-off flag “ON” in the monitoring information DB 15a (S303).

  Thereafter, the determination unit 33 acquires the contact coordinates from the touch panel control unit 36 (S304), and refers to the lighting instruction area stored in the setting information DB 14a to determine whether or not the contact coordinates are outside the lighting instruction area ( S305).

  Here, when it is determined that the contact coordinates are outside the lighting instruction area (S305: Yes), S306 to S307 are executed. On the other hand, when the contact coordinates are determined to be the lighting instruction area (S305: No), S308 to S311 are executed. The processing from S306 to S307 is the same as that from S106 to S107, and the processing from S308 to S311 is the same as that from S108 to S111.

[effect]
As described above, the smartphone 10 can select whether the screen is turned on or the application is executed by a simple operation such as a touch operation on the touch panel 16a. Therefore, user convenience can be improved.

  In the second embodiment, an example is described in which a predetermined application is executed with the display unit turned off when an area other than the lighting instruction area is operated. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when detecting a swipe operation, the smartphone 10 can also execute the processing application with the display unit turned off. In the third embodiment, an example using a swipe operation will be described.

[overall structure]
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a transition image of the lighting / extinguishing state of the display unit by the smartphone 10 according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 11, the lighting instruction area P is clearly shown for explanation, but is not displayed on the actual screen. The setting information DB 14a of the smartphone 10 illustrated in FIG. 11 stores information used for determination of the swipe operation in addition to the information described in the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the setting information DB 14a according to the third embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 12, the setting information DB 14 a according to the third example includes “lighting instruction, release instruction, activated application information (application name, processing content, instruction content), application history, lighting instruction area, swipe operation monitoring time, “Swipe operation determination movement amount” is stored in association with each other. Since the difference from the second embodiment is “swipe operation monitoring time, swipe operation determination movement amount”, “swipe operation monitoring time, swipe operation determination movement amount” will be described here, and description of the rest will be omitted. .

  The “swipe operation monitoring time” stores the time for monitoring the swipe operation, and the “swipe operation determination movement amount” stores the movement amount (threshold) from the start of the finger operation determined to be the swipe operation to the end of the finger operation. Is done.

  In the example of FIG. 12, the application executed when the display unit is turned off is “home application”, and “specific area touch” is set as the display unit lighting instruction. Further, it is set that the upper left of the coordinates specifying the specific area is (x, y) and the lower right is (xx, yy). In addition, a telephone application (phone.apk) is set as a process to be executed with the display unit turned off, and a process for calling “03-xxx-xxxx” is set. Further, it indicates that “pressing the power key” is set as an instruction to release the display unit from being turned off. Further, after the touch operation is detected, the time for which the swipe operation is continuously monitored is set to Z seconds, and the movement amount threshold is set to Q (for example, pixel).

  In addition to the screen turn-off flag described in the first embodiment, the monitoring information DB 15a of the smartphone 10 illustrated in FIG. 11 stores information related to the swipe operation. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the monitoring information DB 15a according to the third embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 13, the monitoring information DB 15a according to the third embodiment stores “screen extinction flag, swipe operation start coordinates, swipe operation end coordinates, and swipe operation monitoring status” in association with each other. Here, “Swipe operation start coordinates, swipe operation end coordinates, and swipe operation monitoring status” which are different from the first embodiment will be described, and the description of the rest will be omitted.

  “Swipe operation start coordinates” stores contact coordinates at the start of the swipe operation, and “Swipe operation end coordinates” stores contact coordinates at the end of the swipe operation. The “swipe operation monitoring status” stores the monitoring status of the swipe operation, and stores whether monitoring is in progress or monitoring is completed.

  In the example of FIG. 13, the display unit such as the LCD screen 16b is turned off, and the swipe operation is being monitored. Further, the coordinates (p, q) are detected as the start position of the swipe operation, and the coordinates (a, b) are detected as the end position of the swipe operation.

  In such a state, the smartphone 10 with the LCD screen 16b and the backlight 16c turned off performs processing for periodically enabling the touch panel 16a and detecting the presence or absence of contact with the touch panel 16a, as in the second embodiment. To do.

  And the smart phone 10 will return to the process which detects the presence or absence of the contact to the touch panel 16a, if the contact outside the lighting instruction | indication area | region P of the touch panel 16a is detected (S20) (S21).

  On the other hand, when detecting the contact with the lighting instruction area of the touch panel 16a, the smartphone 10 registers the contact coordinates as the swipe operation start position (S22). Subsequently, when the smartphone 10 detects that the touch on the touch panel 16a is finished within the monitoring time (Z seconds) from the start of the swipe operation, the smartphone 10 registers the coordinates of the last touch as the swipe operation end position ( S23).

  After that, the smartphone 10 calculates the swipe-operated distance, and when the calculated distance is equal to or greater than the threshold “Q”, the smartphone 10 outputs a sound indicating that the operation is accepted with the LCD screen 16b turned off, A call is made to a telephone number designated in advance (S24). Thereafter, when the smartphone 10 detects pressing of the power button, the LCD screen 16b and the like are turned on (S25). When the calculated distance is less than the threshold “Q” or when the touch on the touch panel 16a is not completed within the monitoring time (Z seconds), the smartphone 10 turns on the backlight 16c as usual, A home screen is displayed on the LCD screen 16b (S26).

  As described above, the smartphone 10 can detect the presence / absence of the swipe operation, and when the swipe operation is detected, the smartphone 10 can execute the predetermined application while maintaining the screen off as in the first embodiment.

[Process flow]
FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 are flowcharts illustrating the flow of the activation control process according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 14, when the operation of the touch panel 16a is detected as a lighting instruction by the touch panel control unit 36 (S401: Yes), the activation accepting unit 32 activates the OS (S402). Subsequently, the activation accepting unit 32 stores the screen turn-off flag “ON” in the monitoring information DB 15a (S403).

  Thereafter, the determination unit 33 acquires contact coordinates from the touch panel control unit 36 (S404), and refers to the lighting instruction area stored in the setting information DB 14a to determine whether or not the contact coordinates are within the lighting instruction area ( S405).

  Then, when the contact coordinates are outside the lighting instruction area (S405: No), the determination unit 33 causes the OS to transition to the suspended state while continuing to turn off the display unit (S406).

  On the other hand, when the contact coordinates are within the lighting instruction area (S405: Yes), the determination unit 33 performs user notification such as LED blinking (S407), and uses the acquired contact coordinates as a swipe operation start coordinate and a swipe operation end coordinate. (S408). That is, the determination unit 33 initializes monitoring of the swipe operation.

  Subsequently, the determination unit 33 activates the timer 17 (S409) and starts monitoring the swipe operation (S410). Thereafter, the processing from S411 to S417 triggered by the end of the touch and the processing from S418 to S421 triggered by the expiration of the timer are executed in parallel.

  Specifically, the determination unit 33 waits for a notification of a touch end event and receives a touch operation end from the touch panel control unit 36 (S411). Whether or not monitoring completion is stored in the “swipe operation monitoring status”. Is determined (S412). When the monitoring completion is stored in the “swipe operation monitoring status” (S412: Yes), the determination unit 33 executes S422 and subsequent steps.

  On the other hand, when the monitoring completion is not stored in the “swipe operation monitoring status” (S412: No), the determination unit 33 stores the monitoring completion in the “swipe operation monitoring status” and completes the monitoring of the swipe operation ( S413).

  Subsequently, for example, the determination unit 33 releases the timer completion event notification waiting from the driver controlling the timer (S414), and stops the timer 17 via the driver or the like (S415). Thereafter, the determination unit 33 acquires the touch coordinates at the end of the touch from the touch panel control unit 36 (S416), and stores them in the monitoring information DB 15a (S417).

  In parallel with the above processing, the determination unit 33 waits for a timer completion event notification and receives a timer expiration notification from a driver or the like (S418). Is the monitoring completion stored in the “swipe operation monitoring status”? It is determined whether or not (S419). When the monitoring completion is stored in the “swipe operation monitoring status” (S419: Yes), the determination unit 33 executes S422 and subsequent steps.

  On the other hand, when the monitoring completion is not stored in the “swipe operation monitoring status” (S419: No), the determination unit 33 stores the monitoring completion in the “swipe operation monitoring status” and completes the monitoring of the swipe operation ( S420). Further, the determination unit 33 cancels the wait for the touch end event notification from the touch panel control unit 36 (S421).

  After the processing from S411 to S417 or S418 to S421, as shown in FIG. 15, the determination unit 33 calculates the amount of movement of the swipe operation using information stored in the monitoring information DB 15a (S422). Then, the determination unit 33 determines whether or not the calculated movement amount is equal to or greater than a threshold value (S423).

  Here, when it is determined that the movement amount is equal to or greater than the threshold (S423: Yes), that is, when a swipe operation is detected, S424 to S425 are executed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the movement amount is less than the threshold value (S423: No), that is, when the touch operation is terminated immediately without performing the swipe operation, S426 to S429 are performed. Note that the processing from S424 to S425 is the same as that from S106 to S107, and the processing from S426 to S429 is the same as that from S308 to S311.

[effect]
As described above, when the contact state is released without performing the swipe operation or when the swipe operation is not performed within a certain time, the smartphone 10 performs screen display and backlight lighting, and starts the home application. . On the other hand, when detecting a swipe operation, the smartphone 10 executes a predetermined application with the display unit turned off. In this way, the user can select whether the display unit is kept off or turned on by a simple operation.

  In the first embodiment, an example in which a preset telephone call is performed while the light is off is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the smartphone 10 can also divide the area of the touch panel 16a into a plurality of areas and assign a process to each divided area. Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, an example will be described in which processing corresponding to a touch-operated region is performed while the light is turned off.

[overall structure]
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a transition image of the lighting / extinguishing state of the display unit by the smartphone 10 according to the fourth embodiment. In FIG. 16, for the sake of explanation, the process name associated with each area is clearly shown, but is not displayed on the actual screen. The smartphone 10 at the left end shown in FIG. 16 turns off the LCD screen 16b and the backlight 16c. In this state, when the smartphone 10 detects that the power button is pressed in a state where the touch panel 16a is not operated (S30), the backlight 16c is turned on as usual and the home screen is displayed on the LCD screen 16b (S31). ).

  On the other hand, the smartphone 10 detects that the power button has been pressed (S33) while the touch panel 16a is being touched (S32). Then, the smartphone 10 identifies the touch-operated position, that is, the contact position, identifies the process “call home” associated with the contact position, and confirms that the operation has been accepted with the screen off. The indicated sound is output and sent to the home (S34). Thereafter, when the smartphone 10 detects again that the power button is pressed, the smartphone 10 performs screen lighting (S35).

  Thus, since the smart phone 10 can perform the process matched with the area | region where the touch panel 16a was touch-operated, and can also suppress lighting in that case, power consumption can also be reduced.

[Function configuration]
FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram of a functional configuration of the smartphone 10 according to the fourth embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 17, the smartphone 10 includes a setting information DB 14 a, a region information DB 14 b, a monitoring information DB 15 a, an activation determination unit 31, a touch panel control unit 36, a screen control unit 37, and a backlight control unit 38. The difference from the first embodiment is that the region information DB 14b is included, and other processing units and the like are the same as those of the first embodiment. Here, the region information DB 14b different from the first embodiment will be described.

  The area information DB 14 b is a database that stores information regarding each area obtained by dividing the touch panel 16 a and is stored in the nonvolatile memory 14. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the region information DB 14b according to the fourth embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 18, the region information DB 14 b stores “function valid condition, function valid illuminance, function valid time zone, touch activation information (region 1, region 2, region 3, region 4)” in association with each other.

  “Function valid condition” stores a condition for validating this function for executing an application with the display unit turned off. For example, the “function valid condition” includes “always” indicating that the function is always enabled, “more than the specified illuminance” indicating that the function is enabled when the illumination is over the specified illuminance, “Within specified time zone” is stored. “Function effective illuminance” stores a threshold of illuminance for enabling this function, and “Function effective time zone” stores a time zone for enabling this function.

  “Touch activation information” stores information corresponding to each area of the touch panel 16a. Here, an example in which the image is divided into four regions is shown. Each “area” is associated with “area start coordinates, area end coordinates, activated application name, activated option, display lighting”. “Area start coordinates” stores the start coordinates of the divided areas, and “Area end coordinates” stores the end coordinates of the divided areas. The “starting application name” is the name of an application executed at the time of this function. “Startup option” is information for specifying the processing content of the application, such as information for specifying an argument to the application. “Display lighting” is information indicating whether or not the LCD screen 16b and the backlight 16c are to be turned on. “ON” is stored when the LCD screen 16b and the backlight 16c are turned on, and “OFF” is stored when the display is turned off.

  In the example of FIG. 18, it is set that this function is enabled when the illuminance is equal to or greater than the specified illuminance and within the specified time period, the illuminance threshold is “AAA”, and the effective time period is “9: 00-17”. : 00 ”. The touch panel 16a is divided into four areas, and the area 1 is set to be a rectangular area from the coordinates (x0, y0) to the coordinates (x4, y4). When this area 1 is selected, the telephone application (phone.apk) is set with the display unit turned off, and the process of calling “03-xxx-xxxx” is set. Note that, as in the first embodiment, “pressing the power key” is set as an instruction to cancel turning off the display unit.

  And the determination part 33 acquires a contact coordinate from the touch panel control part 36, when the contact of the touch panel 16a is detected. Subsequently, the determination unit 33 refers to the region information DB 14b and identifies the contacted region from the contact coordinates. Thereafter, the suppressing unit 35b executes a predetermined application in accordance with the information on the identified area.

[Setting Example]
Next, an example of setting an application to a divided area and each area will be described. FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram illustrating a setting example of the area information DB 14b according to the fourth embodiment. For example, when receiving a setting instruction from the user, the activation determination unit 31 displays a screen as illustrated in FIG. 19 on the touch panel 16a and the like, receives various information settings, and stores the received information in the region information DB 14b. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 19, “function activation” designates the setting of “always, specified illuminance or more, specified time zone” from the drop-down list, and is set in “function valid condition” of the area information DB 14b. . A combination of these can also be specified.

  The “Illuminance setting” button is enabled when the function activation is “above specified illuminance”. When the button is selected, the illuminance setting screen is displayed and the illuminance threshold value for enabling this function is specified. To do. The specified information is stored in “function effective illuminance” in the area information DB 14b.

  The “Set time zone” button is enabled when the function activation is “within the specified time zone”. When the button is selected, the time zone setting screen is displayed and the time zone in which this function is enabled. Is specified. The specified information is stored in the “function effective time zone” of the area information DB 14b.

  “Number of screen divisions” can be selected from a drop-down list, and designates the number of divisions of the area of the touch panel 16a. Information sets for the designated number of divisions are stored in the area information DB 14b. “Activation function” can be selected from a drop-down list, and designates an application to be activated when the corresponding area is touched. The application name corresponding to the designated application is stored in the activated application name of the area information DB 14b.

  The “Detailed Settings” button is enabled when the detailed information of the application selected with the launch function can be set. When the button is selected, the launch detail setting screen is displayed and the detailed information for each application is specified. To do. The specified information is stored in the activation option of the area information DB 14b. The information that can be set on the startup details setting screen varies depending on the application selected by the startup function. For example, when mail creation is selected with the activation function, the mail destination, title, body, playlist to be played when music playback is selected, and the telephone number of the call destination can be specified when telephone call is selected. When mobile light is selected, there is no information that can be set on the startup details setting screen, so the details setting button is disabled.

  “Screen display” can be selected from a drop-down list, and designates whether or not to turn on a display unit such as the LCD screen 16b and the backlight 16c when the process is activated. The specified information is stored in the display lighting of the area information DB 14b.

[Process flow]
FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the activation control process according to the fourth embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 20, upon receiving a lighting instruction (S501: Yes), the activation reception unit 32 activates the OS (S502). Subsequently, the activation reception unit 32 stores the screen turn-off flag “ON” in the monitoring information DB 15a (S503).

  Subsequently, the determination unit 33 refers to the region information DB 14b, and measures the illuminance using the illuminance sensor 20 (S505) when the illuminance condition is set as the function effective condition (S504: Yes). If the measured illuminance is greater than or equal to the specified illuminance (threshold value) (S506: Yes), S511 and subsequent steps are executed.

  If the measured illuminance is less than the specified illuminance (threshold value) (S506: No), the screen control unit 37 executes screen display on the LCD screen 16b according to an instruction from the activation unit 34 (S507). Further, the backlight control unit 38 turns on the backlight 16c according to an instruction from the activation unit 34 (S508). Thereafter, the activation unit 34 stores the screen extinction flag “OFF” in the monitoring information DB 15a (S509), and activates the home application (S510).

  On the other hand, the determination unit 33 refers to the region information DB 14b and determines whether or not the time zone condition is set in the function valid condition when the illuminance condition is not set in the function valid condition (S504: No). (S511).

  If no time zone condition is set in the function valid condition (S511: No), S514 and subsequent steps are executed. On the other hand, when the time zone condition is set as the function valid condition (S511: Yes), the determination unit 33 acquires the current time (S512) and determines whether it is within the specified time zone (S513). . If the measured time zone is within the specified time (S513: Yes), S514 and the subsequent steps are executed. If the measured time zone is outside the specified time (S513: No), the steps after S507 are executed.

  Here, S514 and subsequent steps will be described. After S514, the determination unit 33 acquires the contact state from the touch panel control unit 36 (S514), and determines whether the contact state with the touch panel 16a is in contact (S515).

  And when it determines with there being no contact to the touch panel 16a (S515: No), S507 and after mentioned above are performed. On the other hand, when it determines with there being contact to the touch panel 16a (S515: Yes), the determination part 33 acquires a contact coordinate from the touch panel control part 36 (S516).

  Subsequently, the determination unit 33 refers to the area information DB 14b to determine whether or not the contact coordinates are registered (S517). Then, when the contact coordinates are not registered (S517: No), the above-described S507 and subsequent steps are executed.

  On the other hand, when the contact coordinates are registered (S517: Yes), the determination unit 33 specifies the process associated with the contact area and the contact area from the coordinates stored in each area information of the area information DB 14b (S518). ).

  Thereafter, the notification unit 35a executes a designated user notification (S519). Then, when ON is stored in the display lighting of the specified process (S520: Yes), the screen control unit 37 executes screen display on the LCD screen 16b according to an instruction from the activation unit 34 (S521). . Further, the backlight control unit 38 turns on the backlight 16c in accordance with an instruction from the activation unit 34 (S522). Thereafter, the activation unit 34 stores the screen extinction flag “OFF” in the monitoring information DB 15a (S523), and activates the home application (S524).

  On the other hand, when OFF is stored in the display lighting of the specified process (S520: No), the suppressing unit 35b executes the specified application while keeping the touch panel 16a off (S525).

  As described above, the smartphone 10 can divide the touch panel 16a into a plurality of areas and associate an application with each area. Therefore, an arbitrary application can be executed while suppressing power consumption, and user convenience is improved. Further, since the user can activate the function only for the set time period, the convenience for the user is also improved. In addition, since the function can be activated when the illuminance is bright, the screen can be turned off preferentially in bright situations such as outdoors, so that unnecessary screen lighting can be suppressed. Note that the determination of the illuminance and the determination of the time zone described in the above processing flow are in no particular order, and either may be executed first. In addition, either one of the illuminance condition and the time zone can be set, and both can be set using the AND condition.

  By the way, in addition to the touch operations described above, various touch operations can be associated with the application. Thus, in the fifth embodiment, a specific example of the touch operation associated with the application will be described. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating the smartphone 10 according to the fifth embodiment.

  As shown to (a) of FIG. 21, the smart phone 10 can also match | combine the number of touch fingers and the application to start. For example, the smartphone 10 activates the app (APL-B) when detecting two finger touch operations, and activates the app (APL-D) when detecting four finger touch operations.

  As shown in (b) of FIG. 21, the smartphone 10 can also associate the direction of the swipe operation with the application to be activated. For example, when the smartphone 10 detects a swipe operation in the upward direction of the smartphone 10, in other words, in the direction of the audio output unit of the smartphone 10, the smartphone 10 activates the application (APL-A). Moreover, the smart phone 10 starts an application (APL-B), when the downward direction of the smart phone 10, in other words, the swipe operation to the microphone direction of the smart phone 10 is detected.

  As shown in (c) of FIG. 21, the smartphone 10 can also associate the distance (interval) of the touch finger with the application to be activated. For example, if the interval between two fingers is within the range of 0 to 99 pixels, the smartphone 10 activates the application (APL-A), and the interval between the two fingers is within the range of 300 to 399 pixels. Then, the application (APL-D) is activated.

  As shown in (d) of FIG. 21, the smartphone 10 can also associate an area to be touched with two fingers and an activated application. For example, the smartphone 10 activates the application (APL-A) when the area 1 and the area 2 are touched, and activates the application (APL-F) when the area 3 and the area 4 are touched.

  As described above, the smartphone 10 can associate various touch operations with applications using the characteristics of the touch panel 16a and the area division of the touch panel 16a. Therefore, since each user can select an arbitrary method without depending on the smartphone 10, the spread of the smartphone 10 and the spread of this function can be promoted.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, the present invention may be implemented in various different forms other than the embodiments described above.

[Application example]
In the above-described embodiment, an example in which a telephone call is executed has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any processing can be adopted as long as there is no inconvenience even when the display unit is turned off. be able to.

  For example, a process of making a call to a preset telephone number, a process of sending a standard mail to a preset destination, a process of playing or stopping music in a preset playlist, or starting a timer 17 for a preset time A process of stopping or the like can be employed. Further, a process for turning on or off the mobile light 19 and a process for turning on or off the flight mode or the manner mode may be employed. Also, a process for turning Wi-Fi on and off, a process for turning Bluetooth (registered trademark) on and off, and a process for starting to read a new arrival notification may be employed.

[Example of lighting instructions]
In the above-described embodiment, an example in which pressing of the power button is used as the lighting instruction has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various lighting instructions used for mobile phones and the like can be adopted.

  For example, a contact with the touch panel 16a of the smartphone 10 can be used as a lighting instruction. Specifically, the smartphone 10 determines that the lighting instruction has been received when the touch panel 16a superimposed on the LCD screen 16b detects that the user has touched the touch panel 16a with a finger.

  Moreover, it can also be set as the lighting instruction | indication that the smart phone 10 was held. Specifically, the smartphone 10 determines that the lighting instruction has been received when it is detected that the user has been held using the attached touch sensor, the acceleration sensor 22, or the like.

[Example of release instruction]
In the above-described embodiment, an example in which pressing of the power button is used as the release instruction has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when a touch operation on the touch panel 16a is detected or when it is detected that the smartphone 10 is shaken by an acceleration sensor, it can be determined that a release instruction has been accepted.

[Example of notification]
In the above-described embodiment, an example in which a designated sound is output in order to notify that an operation has been received has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and user notification may be executed by vibrate activation or LED blinking. it can. In addition, the notification method can be changed for each application to be executed, and the notification method can be changed for each region.

[Turns off the display]
In the above embodiment, the display unit is turned off by suppressing the screen output to the LCD screen 16b or turning off the backlight 16c as an example. However, the method of turning off the display unit can be arbitrarily set. For example, both of these can be executed, or either one can be executed.

[Touch panel touch]
In the second embodiment, an example is described in which a predetermined application is executed with the display unit turned off when an area other than the lighting instruction area is operated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is combined with the first embodiment. You can also. For example, the smartphone 10 can execute this function when a touch operation is further performed on an area designated as a lighting instruction in a state where the touch panel 16a is touched. In addition, when the power button is pressed as a lighting instruction in a state where there is a touch on the touch panel 16a, the smartphone 10 can execute this function if the touch is outside the designated area. As described above, the embodiments can be appropriately combined within a consistent range.

[Judgment of swipe operation]
In the above embodiment, the example in which this function is executed when a swipe operation occurs has been described. In addition to the method described in the above embodiment, various known methods can be used to detect whether or not the swipe operation has occurred.

[system]
Further, each configuration of each apparatus shown in FIG. 3 or the like does not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated. That is, it can be configured to be distributed or integrated in arbitrary units. For example, the notification unit 35a and the suppression unit 35b can be integrated. Further, all or any part of each processing function performed in each device may be realized by a CPU and a program analyzed and executed by the CPU, or may be realized as hardware by wired logic.

  In addition, among the processes described in the present embodiment, all or a part of the processes described as being automatically performed can be manually performed. Alternatively, all or part of the processing described as being performed manually can be automatically performed by a known method. In addition, the processing procedure, control procedure, specific name, and information including various data and parameters shown in the above-described document and drawings can be arbitrarily changed unless otherwise specified.

  Further, the processor 30 of the smartphone 10 operates as an information processing apparatus that executes an application execution method by reading and executing a program stored in the nonvolatile memory 14. That is, the processor 30 of the smartphone 10 executes a program that executes the same functions as the activation determination unit 31, the touch panel control unit 36, the screen control unit 37, and the backlight control unit 38. As a result, the processor 30 of the smartphone 10 can operate as the activation determination unit 31, the touch panel control unit 36, the screen control unit 37, and the backlight control unit 38. Note that the program referred to in the other embodiments is not limited to being executed by the processor 30 of the smartphone 10. For example, the present invention can be similarly applied to a case where another computer or server executes the program or a case where these programs cooperate to execute the program.

  This program can be distributed via a network such as the Internet. The program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a hard disk, flexible disk (FD), CD-ROM, MO (Magneto-Optical disk), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), and the like. It can be executed by being read.

10 Smartphone 14 Non-volatile memory 14a Setting information DB
14b Area information DB
15 Volatile memory 15a Monitoring information DB
16a Touch panel 16b LCD screen 16c Backlight 30 Processor 31 Activation determination unit 32 Activation reception unit 33 Determination unit 34 Activation unit 35 Suppression processing unit 35a Notification unit 35b Suppression unit 35c Release unit

Claims (9)

A processor, a touch panel, and a display unit.
In a state where the display unit is turned off, when receiving an instruction to turn on the display unit, a process of detecting contact with the touch panel;
When contact with the touch panel is detected, a process of executing a predetermined process while keeping the display unit off,
An electronic device that performs a process of turning on the display unit when contact with the touch panel is not detected.   2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the process to be executed executes the predetermined process while turning off a backlight of the display unit or suppressing screen output to the display unit. 3. machine.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the detecting process detects a touch on the touch panel when an operating system activation instruction is received as the lighting instruction. A memory for storing information associating each divided area obtained by dividing the area of the touch panel with a process to be executed;
The process to be executed specifies the divided area according to the position where contact with the touch panel is detected, and the process to be executed associated with the specified divided area is maintained with the display unit turned off. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device is executed.   The process to be executed is to execute the predetermined process while keeping the display unit off when contact with the touch panel is detected and a swipe operation greater than a predetermined movement amount is detected. The electronic device according to claim 1.   2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein when the touch to the predetermined position of the touch panel is detected, the predetermined process is executed while the display unit is kept off. 3. machine. A processor, a touch panel, and a display unit.
When contact with a predetermined position of the touch panel is detected in a state where the display unit is turned off, a process for executing a predetermined process while the display unit is kept off, and the display unit is turned off. A process for lighting the display unit when contact with a position other than a predetermined position of the touch panel is detected.
An electronic device characterized by executing Electronic equipment
A processor, a touch panel, and a display unit;
In a state where the display unit is turned off, when receiving an instruction to turn on the display unit, a process of detecting contact with the touch panel;
When contact with the touch panel is detected, a process of executing a predetermined process while keeping the display unit off,
A lighting control program that executes a process of lighting the display unit when contact with the touch panel is not detected. Electronic equipment
A processor, a touch panel, and a display unit;
When contact with a predetermined position of the touch panel is detected in a state where the display unit is turned off, a process for executing a predetermined process while the display unit is kept off, and the display unit is turned off. A process for lighting the display unit when contact with a position other than a predetermined position of the touch panel is detected.
The lighting control program characterized by performing this.

Images