JP4431520B2 - Electronics - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device such as a mobile communication terminal.

In recent years, the non-powered image display means such as electronic paper does not consume power while the image display state is maintained, so that a general display means that consumes power while the image display state is maintained. Compared with, the energy saving effect is high and attracts attention. For this reason, various methods of utilizing the non-powered image display means have been proposed in order to effectively use such energy saving effects.
In Patent Document 1, an image representing information such as newspaper article information received from an information management server connected to a communication line in a state that can be perceived by a user is displayed on electronic paper (non-powered image display means). An information terminal as a device is disclosed. According to this information terminal, power is not consumed while the user is viewing the image displayed on the electronic paper, so that energy saving can be achieved as compared with the above general display means.
Patent Document 2 discloses an electronic device in which electronic paper is provided on the outer surface of a housing, and a design image displayed on the electronic paper can be changed. According to this electronic device, the housing design can be easily changed according to the user's preference. The housing design is generally desired to maintain the display state for a long period of time. However, if the electric power is continuously consumed for such a long period of time, it becomes impractical. Since the electronic device disclosed in Patent Document 2 uses electronic paper as means for displaying a housing design, it can continue to display the housing design for a long time without consuming power, and is highly practical. It can be said.

JP 2002-163257 A JP 2004-64612 A

  In recent years, the non-powered image display means can be bent by using a flexible substrate, and can be provided on a wide outer wall surface including a curved surface portion of an electronic device. Thus, if the non-powered image display means can be provided on the curved surface portion of the outer wall surface of the electronic device, the housing design can be configured with a higher degree of freedom compared to the case where it is provided only on the flat surface portion. On the other hand, it is conceivable to use the non-powered image display means as a display means for displaying an image of character information, a photographic image of a person or the like as well as a means for configuring a housing design. However, when an image of character information, a photographic image, or the like is displayed on the non-powered image display means provided on the outer wall surface including the curved surface portion, the image portion displayed on the curved surface portion is distorted and the original image is displayed. There is a problem that there is a possibility that it may look different from the intention of different users.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and the object of the present invention is to improve the design by the display image of the non-powered image display means, and for the image of character information, the photographic image, etc. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic device that can display the image in the same way as the original image without distortion.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is capable of maintaining normal power supply image display means that consumes power while the image display state is maintained, and maintaining the image display state even in the non-power supply state. A non-powered image display means, and an electronic device having a curved surface portion and a flat surface portion on the back side of the housing surface where the normal power-feed image display means is not provided. It has a plurality of display areas that can display images independently, and a part of the plurality of display areas is located on the flat part on the back side, and the other display area is on the curved part on the back side. The display mode of the non-powered image display means is configured to be positioned as a whole display mode in which an image is displayed over the entire display area of the plane portion and the display area of the curved portion, and the display area of the plane portion Partial display mode in which images are displayed only on And a de, a drawing processing means for rendering processing by supplying a drawing drive signal to the wireless power feeding image display means so as to display an image to the wireless power feeding image display means, be displayed to the wireless power feeding image display means After the image to be designated is specified, an appearance preview image on the back side of the electronic device when the designated image is displayed in the whole display mode on the normal power supply image display means, and the designated When the image is displayed in the partial display mode, the appearance preview image on the back side of the electronic device is displayed by switching according to the selection operation of the user, and is selected on the normal power supply image display means And a control means for controlling the drawing processing means so as to display the designated image on the non-powered image display means in a display mode corresponding to an appearance preview image. .
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device of the first aspect, the drawing processing means performs a drawing process so as to rewrite a display image independently of each other of the display area of the curved surface portion and the display area of the flat surface portion. the row Migihitsuji and is characterized that you are controlled by said control means.

The “image” displayed on the display means is not limited to a specific type of image, and includes various types of images. Examples of the “image” include a photograph image, a map image, an illustration image, an icon image, and a character information image.
In addition to the mobile communication terminal, the “electronic device” includes any electronic device provided with information storage means, such as a portable information terminal (PDA: Personal Digital Assistance). Further, as the “mobile communication terminal”, mobile phones such as PDC (Personal Digital Cellular) system, GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) system, TIA (Telecommunications Industry Association) system, IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications) -2000, etc. Mobile phone standardized by TD-SCDMA (MC: Multi Carrier), which is one of TD-SCDMA (Time Division Asynchronous Code Division Multiple Access) methods, PHS (Personal Handyphone System), and the like.
The processing and control in the electronic device can also be realized by executing a predetermined program on a computer provided in the electronic device. Delivery of the program used in the computer may be performed using a recording medium such as an FD or a CD-ROM in which the program is recorded as digital information, or may be performed using a communication network such as a computer network.

According to the present invention, the non-powered image display means capable of maintaining the image display state even in the non-powered state has a plurality of display areas capable of displaying images independently of each other, and displays a part of the plurality of display areas. The region is located on the flat surface portion of the housing surface, and the other display region is located on the curved surface portion of the housing surface. Since there is a display area on the curved surface as well as on the flat surface of the housing surface in this way, the display area is wider than when there is a display area only on the flat surface, and the housing design can be configured with a higher degree of freedom. it can. Therefore, it is possible to improve the design by the display image of the non-powered image display means.
In addition, an image that is not distorted, such as an image of character information or a photographic image, can be displayed only in the display area of the plane portion among the plurality of display areas. Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to display the character information image, the photographic image, and the like with the same appearance as the original image without distortion.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1A is a front view showing an example of the appearance of the mobile phone 20, and FIG. 1B is a rear view of the mobile phone 20. This mobile phone 20 is a clamshell (folding) type mobile phone having a lid portion 29 and a main body portion 30 that can swing relative to each other about a hinge portion. The lid 29 has an open state (the state shown in FIG. 1) in which the keys 21 to 25 of the key operation unit provided in the main body unit 30 can be operated, and a closed state that covers the keys 21 to 25 of the key operation unit. To get. The casing constituting the outer wall portion of the lid 29 in the open state has a liquid crystal display (LCD) 27 that is a general power supply image display means that consumes power while the image display state is maintained, a speaker 28 etc. are provided. The casing constituting the outer wall portion of the main body 30 is provided with keys 21 to 25 constituting the key operation portion, a microphone 26, and the like. The key operation unit including these keys 21 to 25 and the normal liquid crystal display (LCD) 27 as the power feeding image display means (second display means) are in the casing in the open state that can be operated by the user. Are provided on the outer wall portion on the side facing the user. Accordingly, the user can operate the keys 21 to 25 of the key operation unit while looking at the screen of the liquid crystal display 27.

Also, the externally exposed portion of the upper casing on the lid 29 side that is exposed to the outside in the closed state, that is, the outer wall portion (front portion) on the LCD 27 side of the two opposing surface portions of the upper casing. As shown in FIG. 1B, a display panel 31 that functions as a non-powered image display means (first display means) is provided on the opposite outer wall (back face). The display panel 31 is located at a position where the user can easily see when the display panel 31 is in the closed state, and is located at a position where the user is difficult to see when the user operates the key operation unit in the open state.
The display panel 31 can change the display image by receiving a drawing drive signal for switching the display image, and can maintain the display state of the image even in a non-powered state.
The display panel 31 includes a plurality of display areas 31A, 31B, and 31C that can display images independently of each other.

  FIG. 2 is a view of the AA cross section of the lid portion 29 of the mobile phone 10 in FIG. Of the plurality of display areas 31A, 31B, and 31C of the display panel 31, the center display area 31A is provided on a flat portion of the outer wall surface that is an externally exposed portion of the upper casing on the lid 29 side, and is displayed at the end. 31B and 31C are provided in the curved surface part of the outer wall surface.

  FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of the display panel 31 in the mobile phone 20 of the present embodiment. The display panel 31 is formed using cholesteric liquid crystal and is provided on the casing 290 of the lid portion 29. The display panel 31 has a three-layer structure including a transparent lower base material layer 311, a cholesteric liquid crystal layer 312, and a transparent upper base material layer 313. As the transparent lower base material layer 311 and the transparent upper base material layer 313, for example, a glass thin plate can be used. A row electrode 314 as a lower lattice electrode is provided on the upper side of the transparent lower base material layer 311, that is, on the outer side of the mobile phone 20, and on the lower side of the transparent upper base material layer 313, that is, on the inner side of the mobile phone 20 A column electrode 315 is provided as an upper grid electrode. The column electrode 314 is composed of a large number of line-shaped electrodes having a predetermined pitch extending in parallel with the horizontal direction of the mobile phone 20 (the horizontal direction in FIG. 1), and the end portions of these line-shaped electrodes are drawn as described later. The output terminal of the unit 200 is connected. The column electrode 315 is composed of a large number of line-shaped electrodes with a predetermined pitch extending in parallel to the vertical direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1) of the mobile phone 20, and the ends of these line-shaped electrodes are similarly drawn. It is connected to the output terminal of the processing unit 200. The row electrodes 314 and the column electrodes 315 are arranged so that the extending directions of the electrodes are orthogonal to each other over the entire display areas 31A and 31B of the display panel 31. Then, a drawing drive signal (electrical signal) is input to the row electrode 314 and the column electrode 315 at an appropriate ON / OFF timing from the drawing processing unit 200 described later, thereby row electrodes at arbitrary points in the display areas 31A and 31B. The potential difference between 314 and the column electrode 315 can be controlled.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the cholesteric liquid crystal 312 enables full color expression by selectively reflecting light having a wavelength determined according to the helical period L of the molecular arrangement in the incident light. Yes. Since the helical period L of the molecular arrangement generally becomes smaller as the temperature rises, a desired color can be expressed by temperature control. Also, the cholesteric liquid crystal 312 can fix the helical period L of the molecular arrangement by rapidly cooling. Therefore, after fixing the helical period L, the color can be fixed. Due to such characteristics, the display panel 31 using the cholesteric liquid crystal 312 consumes power to supply a drawing drive signal for temperature control when performing a drawing process for switching the display image, but once the image is displayed. After being done, it is possible to continue displaying images without power.

  The display panel that can maintain the display state of the image even in a non-powered state is not limited to the cholesteric liquid crystal, and may be, for example, a ferroelectric liquid crystal.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a display panel 31 according to another configuration example. The display panel 31 is provided on the casing 290 of the lid 29 and has a four-layer structure including a transparent lower base material layer 316, an image recording layer 317, a transparent upper base material layer 318, and a protective layer 319. A row electrode 314 as a lower grid electrode is provided above the transparent lower base material layer 316, that is, outside the mobile phone 20, and below the transparent upper base material layer 318, that is, inside the mobile phone 20, A column electrode 315 is provided as an upper grid electrode. The row electrode 314 is composed of a large number of line-shaped electrodes having a predetermined pitch extending in parallel with the horizontal direction of the mobile phone 20 (the horizontal direction in FIG. 1). Is connected to the output terminal. The column electrode 315 is composed of a large number of electric wires having a predetermined pitch extending in parallel with the vertical direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1) of the mobile phone 20, and the end portions of these line electrodes are similarly drawn in the drawing processing unit. It is connected to 200 output terminals. The row electrodes 314 and the column electrodes 315 are arranged so that the extending directions of the electrodes are orthogonal to each other over the entire display areas 31A and 31B of the display panel 31. A potential difference between the row electrode 314 and the column electrode 315 at an arbitrary point in the display regions 31A and 31B is input by inputting a drawing drive signal (electrical signal) with appropriate ON / OFF timing from the drawing processing unit 200. Can be controlled.

  The image recording layer 35 can control the visible state of the point by the potential difference applied between the row electrode 38 and the column electrode 39, and no electric signal is input from the drawing processing unit 200. However, what maintains the visible state can be used. For example, a large number of white particles and black particles are encapsulated in a transparent microcapsule and arranged at all points (pixel points) at which the electric wires of the row electrode 314 and the column electrode 315 intersect each other. The recording layer 317 can be used. In this case, the white particles and the black particles in each microcapsule are charged with opposite polarities. For example, a negatively charged substance is used as white particles, and a positively charged substance is used as black particles. When an electric signal is input from the drawing processing unit 200 and the potential of the row electrode 314 at a certain pixel point is negative and the potential of the column electrode 315 is positive, black particles are aligned in the microcapsules at that pixel point. Electrophoresis is performed on the electrode 315 side, and white particles are electrophoresed on the row electrode 314 side. As a result, when this pixel point is viewed from the outside of the mobile phone 20, the pixel point appears black. Conversely, pixel points when the potential of the row electrode 314 is positive and the potential of the column electrode 315 is negative appear white. By performing such drawing control over the entire display areas 31A and 31B, a desired monochrome image can be displayed in the display areas 31A and 31B. In addition, the arrangement of the black particles and the white particles in each microcapsule is maintained even when the electric signal is not input from the drawing processing unit 200. Therefore, the display panel 31 can maintain the once displayed image as it is even in the non-powered state. In addition, a multi-tone monochrome image can be displayed in accordance with an electric signal input from the drawing processing unit 200.

  Although a monochrome image has been described here, a color image can also be displayed. As a specific example for displaying a color image, a color filter layer is provided between the transparent upper substrate layer 318 and the protective layer 319. When three color filters of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) are used as the color filter layer, three adjacent to each other among the points where the row electrode 314 and the column electrode 315 intersect each other. A point is treated as one pixel. Then, a color filter layer is provided so that the R, G, and B filter portions face each other at these three points. Thus, for example, when a certain pixel is red, white particles migrate to the column electrode 315 side for the microcapsules facing the R filter portion, and for the microcapsules facing the G filter portion and the B filter portion. A drawing drive signal (electric signal) is inputted so that the black particles are electrophoresed to the column electrode 315 side.

  The display panel 31 that can be used in the present invention can be used as long as the display image can be switched and the display state of the display image can be maintained even in a non-powered state. For example, other known electronic paper that can change the display image by receiving a drawing drive signal (electrical signal) for switching the display image and can maintain the display state of the image even in a non-powered state is used. Can do.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a drawing processing unit 200 as a drawing processing unit that performs drawing processing so as to display a desired image on the display panel 31 using the cholesteric liquid crystal or the like. The drawing processing unit 200 can perform drawing processing by supplying drawing drive signals (drive voltages) to the three display areas 31A, 31B, and 31C of the display panel 31 independently of each other. The drawing processing unit 200 includes a drive control signal generation unit 201, a column electrode drive unit 202, and a row electrode drive unit 203. Based on the image data sent from the main control unit 210 or the drawing data of each pixel of the entire screen of the display panel, the drive control signal generation unit 201 sends data from the column electrode drive unit 202 and the row electrode drive unit 203 to the display panel 31. A drive control signal for controlling the drawing drive signal to be output is generated. The column electrode driver 202 supplies a drawing drive signal to a predetermined column electrode 315 based on the column electrode drive control signal received from the drive control signal generator 201. Further, the row electrode driving unit 203 supplies a drawing drive signal to a predetermined row electrode 314 based on the row electrode drive control signal received from the drive control signal generation unit 201.

The column electrode driver 202 includes a first column electrode driver 202A corresponding to the first display region 31A, which is a part of the display panel 31, and a second column electrode driver corresponding to the second display region 31B. 202B and a third column electrode driver 202C corresponding to the third display region 31C.
Here, when switching the display image of the first display region 31A in the central plane portion, the drawing drive signal is supplied from only the column electrode corresponding to the display region 31A from the first column electrode driver 202A. The On the other hand, when switching the display images of the second display region 31B and the third display region 31C on the curved surfaces at both ends, the display region is switched from the second column electrode driving unit 202B and the third column electrode driving unit 202C. The drawing drive signal is supplied only to the column electrodes corresponding to 31B and 31C. By supplying the drawing drive signal only to the display area portion to be switched in this way, the display image switching processing time can be shortened compared to the case where the drawing drive signal is supplied to the entire display area for rewriting. Thus, it is possible to reduce the power consumption required for switching the display image.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of the mobile phone 20 according to the present embodiment.
The mobile phone 20 includes a main control unit 210 as a control unit, an internal memory 211 as storage means, and a wireless communication unit 212 and the antenna 213 as a communication means for performing communication via a mobile phone communication network ing. Furthermore, the cellular phone 20 includes the drawing processing unit 200, the sound signal processing unit 214, the display control unit 215, a key operation unit 216 as an operation unit, and a clock unit 217 as a time measuring unit. .

  The main control unit 210 is composed of, for example, a CPU, a cache memory, a ROM, a system bus, and the like. By executing a predetermined control program, the main control unit 210 is connected to the internal memory 211, the wireless communication unit 212, the clock unit 216, and the like. To send and receive data and control each part. The main control unit 210 is connected to a microphone 26 as a sound input unit and a speaker 28 as a sound output unit via a sound signal processing unit 214, and a general power supply image display unit via a display control unit 215. A certain liquid crystal display 27 is connected. In addition, the display panel 31 is connected to the main control unit 210 via the drawing processing unit 200 described above. Furthermore, a key operation unit 216 and a clock unit 217 are connected to the main control unit 210.

  The main control unit 210 controls the wireless communication unit 212, the internal memory 211, and the like so as to execute a predetermined communication process when making a call or sending / receiving mail with another mobile phone or the like. To do. The main control unit 210 performs data communication with a cellular phone communication network or a server on the Internet, and executes predetermined communication processing when downloading data of various contents or receiving distribution information. Thus, the wireless communication unit 212, the internal memory 211, and the like are controlled.

The internal memory 211 is composed of a semiconductor memory such as a RAM or a ROM, for example, and stores a control program executed by the main control unit 210 and various data. The internal memory 211 is also used as content data storage means for storing content data such as images, music, and programs downloaded from information providing sites. Further, the internal memory 211 is also used as sound data storage means for storing sound data output from the speaker 109.
The internal memory 211 also stores image data storage means for storing display target image data to be displayed on the display panel 31 and the liquid crystal display 27, and drawing corresponding to all pixels on the screen of the display panel 31 and the liquid crystal display 27. It is also used as drawing data storage means for storing data.
As these storage means, instead of the internal memory 211, a storage medium such as a memory card or an IC card that can be attached to and detached from the mobile phone body may be used.

  The wireless communication unit 212 includes, for example, a modem, a synthesizer, a frequency converter, a high frequency amplifier, and the like, and communicates with various devices and servers or communicates with other mobile phones via a mobile phone communication network. Perform the process.

  The display control unit 215 controls to display an image on the display 27 based on the image data and drawing data sent from the main control unit 120.

  The speaker 28 receives an analog signal converted from a digital signal by the sound signal processing unit 214, and outputs a voice during a call, or outputs a mail ringing tone, a telephone ringing tone, music, or the like. The speaker 28 may be configured by separately providing a receiver speaker (receiver) for listening to voice during a call and an external output speaker for outputting a ring tone, music, or the like. You may comprise by one speaker so that the speaker for receivers and the speaker for external outputs may be combined.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, the key operation unit 216 includes a data input key (ten key, * key, # key) 21, a call start key 22, an end call key 23, a scroll key 24, a multi-function key 25, and the like. Consists of multiple keys. The key operation unit 216 is used when the user gives an instruction to start or end a call, menu selection, screen switching, etc. or inputs information, and the user designates an image to be displayed on the display panel 31. It is also used as display image designating means for doing this.

  The clock unit 217 counts accurate date and time and generates time information for update processing and the like. The microphone 26 converts the user's voice into an electrical signal (analog signal). An audio electrical signal (analog signal) output from the microphone 26 is input to the sound signal processing unit 214 and converted into a digital signal. The microphone 26 can be used to input voice used for normal telephone calls and videophone calls.

7 and 8 are external views of a mobile phone showing a display example of an image displayed on the display panel 31 in a closed state in which the lid portion 29 and the main body portion 30 are folded.
In the display example of FIG. 7, an image is displayed across the display area 31 </ b> A in the central plane portion of the display panel 31 and the two display areas 31 </ b> B and 31 </ b> C in the curved surface portion at the end. The display image of FIG. 7 mainly constitutes the housing design of the mobile phone. Even if the curved surface portion bends and looks slightly different from the original image, the display design of FIG. There is not much problem.

  In the display example of FIG. 8, an image is displayed only in the display area 31 </ b> A in the center plane portion of the display panel 31. The display image of FIG. 8 is a map image displayed mainly for the purpose of providing information to the user. If this type of image is displayed on the curved surface, it will be distorted and look different from the original image, and the user will not be able to convey accurate information. There is a fear. Therefore, in the case of an image in which distortion is a problem when displayed on the curved surface portion, it is preferable to display the image only in the display area 31A in the flat portion as in the example of FIG.

  The display areas 31 </ b> A to 31 </ b> C of the display panel 31 can be used as user display areas for displaying an image specified by the user using the key operation unit 216. For example, in the user display area, various images acquired by the user from the outside via a memory card, cable connection, or the like, or various images downloaded from a site on the network can be displayed. The image in the display area for the user is read out from the internal memory 211 once saved by the download or the like and displayed, and the display state is maintained even after the mobile phone 20 is turned off. It can be used as an image or an electronic ticket image.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of screen transition of the liquid crystal display 27 when setting a display image to be displayed on the display panel 31 (hereinafter referred to as “dressing panel image setting”). The dress-up panel image setting is performed on the liquid crystal display 27 as a power feeding image display unit that can display an image only when the power of the mobile phone 20 is turned on and has excellent image display responsiveness. By performing the dress panel image setting on the liquid crystal display 27, the screen display switching speed when switching the image displayed on the display panel 31 or changing the display area of the display panel 31 does not decrease, which is good. Operability is obtained.
The drawing data used for image display on the liquid crystal display 27 is stored in an LCD temporary storage area set in the internal memory 211 or the like as image data storage means. The display on the liquid crystal display 27 is controlled based on the drawing data stored in the temporary storage area for LCD. The liquid crystal display 27 can display an appearance preview screen including an appearance image of the back surface of the mobile phone body in which an image designated by the user is embedded in the display panel as will be described later. The drawing data for the appearance image of the back part of the mobile phone body is generated by combining the image data of the appearance image of the back part of the mobile phone body (actual machine) and the image data of the image specified by the user, It is stored in the LCD temporary storage area. For the generation of the drawing data, when the image designated by the user is small, the image data of the display panel wallpaper is read and used as necessary. The image data used to generate the drawing data is set in the internal memory 211 or the like as the image data storage means as part of the pre-installed data or as part of the user acquisition data acquired by downloading by the user. The image data storage area is stored in advance.
After the setting of the dressing panel image is completed, the image data for the display panel 31 finally determined or the drawing data of the display panel portion extracted from the LCD temporary storage area is sent from the main control unit 210 to the drawing processing unit 200. Is sent to the drive control signal generator 201. Here, when the drawing data of the display panel part is sent from the main control unit 210 to the drive control signal generation unit 201, the drive control signal generation unit 201 does not need to generate drawing data from the image data.

  In FIG. 9, first, when the user operates the mobile phone 20, an image selection screen 401 that can list a plurality of images that can be displayed on the display panel 31 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 27. On the image selection screen 401, a plurality of images that can be displayed on the display panel 31 are displayed in a thumbnail format. FIG. 9 shows a state where the upper left yacht image 401a is selected by the user. The image selection screen 401 also displays a “display OFF” icon 401 b that does not display an image on the display panel 31.

  Next, when the user presses the soft key “Preview” at the bottom of the screen in a state where the image 401a at the upper left of the image list in FIG. 9 is selected, the image designated by the user is displayed on the display panel portion. A preview screen 402 including the embedded mobile phone image 402a is displayed. In the initial setting, the display mode of the display panel 31 is “entire display mode” in which an image is displayed in the entire three display areas of the display panel portion of the mobile phone image 402a. Therefore, on the preview screen 402, the image designated by the user is displayed in large size on the entire display panel portion of the mobile phone image 402a. Thus, the image display state on the display panel 31 in the “entire display mode” can be confirmed.

  When the user presses the “register” soft key on the preview screen 402, the main control unit 210 reads the image data of the image specified by the user from the internal memory 211, and from the image data or the image data The generated drawing data for the display panel is sent to the drawing processing unit 200. The drawing processing unit 200 generates a drive control signal for selecting a drawing drive signal to be supplied to the display panel 31 based on the image data or drawing data received from the main control unit 210. The drawing processing unit 200 supplies drawing driving signals to the display panel 31 from the entire column electrode driving unit 202 and the row electrode driving unit 203 based on the generated drive control signal. As a result, the image displayed on the entire display panel 31 of the mobile phone 20 is switched to the yacht image designated by the user, and the setting completion screen 402 indicating that the dressing panel image setting is completed is displayed on the liquid crystal display. It is displayed on the display 27. The yacht image can continue to be displayed even after the mobile phone 20 is turned off.

  On the other hand, when the user presses the soft key “menu” on the preview screen 402, an image display setting menu screen 404 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 27. When the user selects “Display only planar area” on the setting menu screen 404, a preview screen 405 including a mobile phone image in which an image designated by the user is embedded in the display panel portion is displayed. On the preview screen 315, the landscape image designated by the user is displayed in the central portion 405a corresponding to the display area 31a in the flat portion of the display panel 31 in the mobile phone image. In the mobile phone image, no image is displayed on the end portions 405 b and 405 c corresponding to the display areas 31 b and 31 c on the curved surface portion of the display panel 31. Thus, the image display state on the display panel 31 when the mode is switched to the “partial display mode” can be confirmed.

  Next, when the user presses the “register” soft key on the preview screen 405 in the “partial display mode”, the main control unit 210 reads the image data of the image specified by the user from the internal memory 211 and draws it. The data is sent to the processing unit 200. The drawing processing unit 200 generates a drive control signal for selecting a drawing drive signal to be supplied to the display panel 31 based on the image data received from the main control unit 210. Then, the drawing processing unit 200 transmits a part of the column electrode driving unit 202 (the column electrode driving unit 202A for the display region 31A) and the row electrode driving unit 203 to the display panel 31 based on the generated driving control signal. A drawing drive signal is supplied. As a result, the landscape image designated by the user is displayed in the display area 31A on the flat surface of the display panel 31 of the mobile phone 20, and the image is not displayed on the display areas 31B and 31C in the curved surface. The display image on the display panel 31 is switched. Then, as described above, the setting completion screen 407 indicating that the dressing panel image setting has been completed is displayed on the liquid crystal display 27. The landscape image in the display area 31a can continue to be displayed even after the cellular phone 20 is turned off.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the display panel 31 as the non-powered image display unit that can maintain the image display state even in the non-powered state has the plurality of display areas 31A, 31B, and 31C capable of displaying images independently of each other. The display area 31A is located on the flat surface portion of the housing surface, and the other display areas 31B and 31C are located on the curved surface portion of the housing surface. As described above, since the display area is provided not only on the flat surface portion of the housing but also on the curved surface portion, the housing design can be configured with a higher degree of freedom than when the display area is provided only on the flat surface portion. Therefore, the design by the display image of the display panel can be improved.
In addition, an image that is not distorted, such as an image of character information or a photographic image, can be displayed only in the display area 31A of the plane portion among the plurality of display areas. Therefore, an image of character information, a photographic image, or the like can be displayed with the same appearance as the original image without distortion.

  In the above embodiment, the display image of each display area 31A, 31B, 31C of the display panel 31 may be switched and changed based on a command from an application program executed on the mobile phone 20. .

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the mobile phone 20 that can execute an application program and can change the images in the display areas 31A and 31B of the display panel 31 based on a display control command from the application program. . FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a software structure in the mobile phone 20. The application program execution management unit 219 includes the above-described system bus, a part of the CPU and RAM, and the like. The application program execution management unit 219 corresponds to the central “application execution environment” in the software structure of FIG. 11, and includes a class library, an execution environment management library, and an application program developed by object-oriented programming. Software such as application management is provided to manage the execution environment of application programs. This application execution environment is appropriately selected according to the application program to be executed. For example, if the application program to be executed is written in JAVA (registered trademark), the JAVA (registered trademark) application execution environment is selected. If the application program to be executed is written in C language that operates in the BREW (registered trademark) execution environment, the BREW (registered trademark) application execution environment is selected. If the application program to be executed is written in JAVA (registered trademark), by constructing an JAVA (registered trademark) application execution environment on the BREW (registered trademark) application execution environment, This can be done.
Here, the application program can be used by calling a class library such as a function in the application execution environment via a class library API (application interface). The call history of class libraries such as functions is stored in the application storage area in the RAM 202 until the virtual execution environment (virtual machine: VM) of the application program is terminated. The application execution environment also saves various data used when executing the application program in the application storage area. And when using these various data, it reads or writes from this application memory area. In addition, the execution environment management library in the application execution environment can be used by calling a telephone platform library in a telephone platform described later via the telephone platform API.

  The main control unit 210 of the mobile phone 20 exchanges control commands and various data with the application program execution management unit 219, and performs control in cooperation with these. This main control unit corresponds to the lowermost “telephone platform” in the software structure of FIG. 11, and executes a control program and user interface for controlling the telephone communication unit and the like, Or provide. The telephone platform executes various processes in an application program by sending an event to an execution environment management library in the application execution environment, or performs application management software in the application execution environment via an application management API. Can be called and used. When the application execution environment calls and uses the telephone platform library via the telephone platform API, the telephone platform executes processing according to the telephone platform library. For example, the telephone platform reads data stored in the platform storage area managed by the telephone platform in the internal memory based on an instruction from the application execution environment using the telephone platform library, and stores the data in the application storage area. Can be migrated.

  Further, when switching the image displayed on the display panel 31 to another image according to the contents of the application program, the following operation is performed. First, the user downloads and acquires an application program capable of controlling an image displayed on the display panel 31 from a download server, and registers it. Specifically, the user operates a key to access the download server. As a result, a download selection screen for selecting a downloadable application program is displayed on the liquid crystal display 27. In the download selection screen, when an application program to be executed is selected using the scroll key 24 and the multi-function key 25 is pressed, the main control unit 210 controls the communication device 212 to download the application program. Download from the server. The application program downloaded in this way is stored in the internal memory 211 by the main control unit 210. When executing the application program downloaded in this manner, the user operates a key of the key operation unit 216 to select an application program to be executed, and performs an execution instruction operation. Then, an application program execution instruction is input to the telephone platform shown in FIG. Thereby, the main control unit 210 reads a predetermined application program and starts it. When a display control command is sent from this application program to the application execution environment shown in FIG. 11, the application program execution management unit 219 sends the display control command to the main control unit 210 of the telephone platform. Receiving this, the main control unit 210 reads image data related to the display control command from the internal memory 211. Thereafter, the main control unit 210 outputs a display control command based on the image data to the drawing processing unit 200. As a result, the image displayed on the display panel 31 is switched to another image according to the contents of the application program. Since the image displayed on the display panel 31 can be switched according to the contents of the application program in this way, the appearance design of the mobile phone can be related to the contents of the application program during execution of the application program.

  Further, the display area (display position) of the display panel 31 in the above embodiment may be switched based on a command from an application program executed on the mobile phone 20.

In the above embodiment, the case where the display panel 31 has the three display areas 31A, 31B, and 31C has been described. However, the number of display areas is not limited to three. For example, the present invention can be applied to a case where there are two display areas and four or more display areas.
In the above embodiment, the cellular phone 20 has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to other mobile communication terminals and electronic devices such as portable devices.

(A) is a front view which shows an example of the external appearance of the mobile telephone which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (B) is a rear view of the mobile phone. Explanatory drawing which looked at the AA cross section of the cover part of the mobile telephone in FIG.1 (b) from the arrow direction. (A) is sectional drawing which shows one structural example of the display panel in the mobile telephone of this embodiment. (B) is explanatory drawing which shows the operation principle of the display panel. Sectional drawing of the casing which shows the structure of the display panel which concerns on another structural example. The block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of a drawing process part. The block diagram which shows the main structures of the mobile telephone which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 6 is an external view of a mobile phone showing an example of a display image on a display panel. FIG. 14 is an external view of a mobile phone showing another example of a display image on the display panel. Explanatory drawing which shows the mode of the screen transition of a liquid crystal display when performing a dress-up panel image setting. The block diagram of the mobile telephone which can execute an application program. Explanatory drawing of the software structure in the mobile phone.

Explanation of symbols

20 Cellular Phone 29 Lid 30 Main Body 31 Display Panel (Power-Free Image Display Means)
31A 1st display area (plane part)
31B Second display area (curved surface)
31C Third display area (curved surface)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 200 Drawing process part 201 Drive signal generation part 202 Column electrode drive part 203 Row electrode drive part 210 Main control part 290 Casing 311 Transparent lower base material layer 312 Cholesteric liquid crystal layer 313 Transparent upper base material layer 314 Column electrode 315 Row electrode

Claims (2)

A normal power supply image display means that consumes power while the image display state is maintained, and a non-power supply image display means that can maintain the image display state even in a non-power supply state, An electronic device having a curved surface portion and a flat surface portion on the back side where no power supply image display means is provided,
The non-powered image display means has a plurality of display areas capable of displaying an image independently of each other, and a part of the plurality of display areas is located on the plane portion on the back side, and other display areas The region is configured to be positioned on the curved surface portion on the back side,
As a display mode of the non-powered image display means, an entire display mode in which an image is displayed over the entire display area of the planar portion and the display area of the curved surface portion, and an image is displayed only in the display area of the planar portion. A partial display mode,
A drawing processing means for supplying a drawing drive signal to the non-powered image display means so as to display an image on the non-powered image display means;
After the image to be displayed on the non-powered image display means is specified, the back side of the electronic device when the specified image is displayed in the whole display mode on the normal power supply image display means. An external appearance preview image and an external appearance preview image on the back side of the electronic device when the designated image is displayed in the partial display mode are switched according to a user's selection operation and displayed. Control means for controlling the drawing processing means so as to display the designated image on the non-powered image display means in a display mode corresponding to the appearance preview image selected on the power supply image display means. An electronic device characterized by that . The electronic device according to claim 1 .
The drawing processing means, a drawing process in the row Migihitsuji to rewrite the display image independently for each display area of the display area and the planar portion of the curved surface portion, and characterized that you are controlled by said control means Electronic equipment.