JP4607298B2 - Electronic device having display unit - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to an electronic device having a display portion, and more particularly to an electronic device capable of forming a thin display portion.
[0002]
[Background Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention]
Among electronic devices, there are foldable electronic devices that provide advantages such as being small in size and being convenient to carry.
[0003]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a closed state and an open state of a mobile phone 100 which is a conventional folding electronic device. The cellular phone 100 includes a first member 110 and a second member 120, and the first and second members are coupled to each other via a hinge 130 so as to be rotatable. The display part 140 is provided in the 1st member 110, The content which this display part 140 displays is controlled by the control part (not shown) in the 2nd member 120. FIG. The second member 120 is provided with a plurality of keys 150 for inputting desired information.
[0004]
When the cellular phone 100 is not used or carried, the first member 110 is folded to be closed (right side in FIG. 1). When the mobile phone 100 is used, the first member 110 is opened and opened (left side in FIG. 1), and a desired function is executed by looking through the display screen 140 or performing a predetermined key operation. When the desired process or operation is completed, the first member 110 is folded again to the closed state.
[0005]
Therefore, when the first member 110 is closed, the display screen 140 cannot be seen. In order to look into the display screen 140, the first member 110 must always be opened.
[0006]
In this regard, the foldable mobile phone 100 has a problem that it is inconvenient compared to a non-foldable phone. In addition, for example, if it is necessary to grasp the contents of incoming calls to the mobile phone 100, complicated key operations are unnecessary, and it is sufficient to mainly look at the display screen 140. However, even in such a case, in order to look into the display screen 140, it is necessary to open the first member 110 one by one, which is inconvenient.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The above problem is solved by the foldable electronic device described in the claims.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described taking a mobile phone as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone, and can be widely applied to electronic devices in general including electronic notebooks and personal computers. However, as will be described below, the present invention is particularly advantageous for applications that require excellent portability and frequently need to view the display screen.
[0009]
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a closed state and an open state of a mobile phone 200 that is a folding electronic apparatus according to the present invention. The cellular phone 200 includes a first member 210 and a second member 220, and the first and second members are coupled to each other via a hinge 230 so as to be rotatable. The first member 210 is provided with a display unit 240, and the content displayed by the display unit 240 is controlled by a control unit (not shown) in the second member 220. The second member 220 is provided with a plurality of keys 250 for inputting desired information. Furthermore, the mobile phone 200 includes a detector 260 that is coupled to the control unit and detects whether the first member 210 is in an open state or a closed state. This detector includes a magnet switch mechanism in which contacts are separated or combined depending on the distance of the first member, a mechanism using a photo sensor for monitoring the incident state of light into the hinge 230, and a cam of the hinge 230 And mechanical mechanisms and other mechanisms that use protrusions (not shown). Unlike the prior art, the user can look into the display unit 240 in either the open state or the closed state.
[0010]
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA, which is a partial cross-sectional view of the first member 210. As shown in the figure, the first member 210 includes a liquid crystal display panel 310 coupled to a control unit (not shown) in the second member 220, and one side of the liquid crystal display panel 310. The first light guide plate 320 provided on the liquid crystal display plate 310 and the second light guide plate 330 provided on the other surface side of the liquid crystal display plate 310 are provided. The first and second light guide plates 320 and 330 guide incident light uniformly toward the liquid crystal display plate 310 side, and serve as a backlight for the display screen. The first member 210 includes a first lens 340 provided on the first light guide plate 320 and a second lens 350 provided on the second light guide plate 330, and the first and second lenses 340 are provided. , 350 together with the housing 360 form the outer surface of the first member 210. The first and second lenses 340 and 350 can be made of a highly transparent plastic such as acrylic or polycarbonate plastic that is resistant to scratches. Furthermore, the first member 210 includes light sources 372, 374, 376, and 378 for illuminating the first and second light guide plates 320 and 330, and a light shielding unit that is provided adjacent to these light sources and prevents light leakage. 382, 384, 386, and 388. These light sources can be composed of, for example, white LEDs, but can be colored as required as well as a single color. Furthermore, the number of light sources that illuminate the light guide plate is not limited to four, and the number can be changed as necessary. In the liquid crystal display panel 310 used in the present invention, an inverted image can be seen when a properly displayed image is viewed from the second lens side when viewed from the first lens side. It has a property that an inverted image can be seen when an image displayed appropriately from the lens side is viewed from the first lens side.
[0011]
With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, an operation performed by a control unit (not shown) in the second member 220 will be described. In FIG. 5, the first lens 340 is hatched to clarify the positional relationship between the first and second lenses when the first member 210 of the mobile phone 200 is opened and closed. For simplicity, the first and second light guide plates 320 and 330 are also omitted. In step 410 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, it is checked whether the first member 210 is in an open state or a closed state by using a detection signal from the detector 260. If it is in the open state, normal display is performed in step 412. In this case, the user looks at the display screen from the second lens 350 side with the hinge 230 below the display unit. For this reason, the control unit causes display to be performed with the side close to the hinge 230 of the liquid crystal display panel 310 as the lower side of the display screen. Further, in step 414, the light sources 372 and 374 on the first light guide plate 320 side are turned on and the light sources 376 and 378 on the second light guide plate 330 side are turned off to make the display screen easier to see.
[0012]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step 410 that the first member 210 is in the closed state, the image is inverted and displayed in step 422. In this case, the user views the display screen from the first lens 340 side with the hinge 230 above the display unit. At this time, assuming that the “normal display” performed in step 412 has been performed, the user will see an image that is upside down (see FIG. 5). This is due to the property that an inverted image can be seen when an image displayed appropriately from one side of the liquid crystal display panel 310 is viewed from the other side. For this reason, the control unit provides an appropriate image to the user by performing display by inverting the display content so that the side close to the hinge 230 of the liquid crystal display panel 310 is the upper side of the display screen. In step 424, the light sources 376 and 378 on the second light guide plate 330 side are turned on and the light sources 372 and 374 on the first light guide plate 320 side are turned off to make the display screen easier to see. Furthermore, in this embodiment, in step 430, by selectively operating the contrast button 510 (FIG. 5) provided on the second member 220, the contrast between the character, figure or symbol portion and the background (black and white) is selected. , Coloring and transparent opacity, etc.) can be reversed. As a result, the user can appropriately select an easy-to-see contrast state.
[0013]
According to the present embodiment, the image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 310 is displayed upside down in accordance with the opening / closing operation of the first member 210. This is because the hinge shaft that rotates the first member 210 is horizontal with respect to the user, but the present invention is not limited to such a direction. For example, if the hinge axis that rotates the first member 210 is perpendicular to the user, the right and left sides of the image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 310 can be reversed to provide an appropriate image to the user. Is possible. In short, according to the open / close state of the first member 210, the control unit may display the image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 310 by reversing the positional relationship between the side closer to the hinge axis and the side farther from the image.
[0014]
In the present embodiment, the first and second light guide plates (320, 330) and the first and second lenses (340, 350) have been described as separate material plates. It may be a light plate.
[0015]
FIG. 6 shows a partial cross-sectional view of the first member 210 when such a lens light guide plate is used. Elements similar to those described in FIG. 3 are given the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the first member 210 includes a first lens light guide plate 610 provided on one side of the liquid crystal display panel and a second lens light guide plate 620 provided on the other side. These lens light guide plates uniformly guide the introduced light in the direction of the liquid crystal display plate and form a display window in the first member 210. By adopting such a configuration, there is no need to provide a gap between the light guide plate and the lens (between the lens 340 and the light guide plate 320 and between the lens 350 and the light guide plate 330 in FIG. 3). It is possible to reduce the thickness of the display unit and the first member 210 as a whole. For example, when the thickness of the liquid crystal display panel 310 is about 2 mm in the configuration shown in FIG. 3 and the first member 210 has a total thickness of about 7 mm, the configuration shown in FIG. It would be possible to make it about 5 mm in total. According to this embodiment, since the number of parts is reduced, it will be advantageous in terms of cost. However, when there is a concern about strength deterioration against scratches or the like, it is preferable to coat the outer surface with a transparent protective thin film.
[0016]
According to these embodiments, it is possible to improve the convenience of the folding mobile phone by providing the user with a display screen regardless of whether the first member is in the open state or the closed state. Therefore, if it is an operation that does not require a complicated key operation such as just grasping the state of the mobile phone such as an incoming call state, the operation can be completed by viewing the display screen with the first member closed. This is advantageous from the viewpoint of durability of the hinge and battery saving because the number of times the first member is opened and closed is smaller than that of the conventional member. Furthermore, for tasks that require simple key operations but are not complicated key operations (for example, redialing or calling from a phone book), for example, a button for that is added on the external surface of the mobile phone 200 If it does so, it will be able to finish work with the 1st member closed. Alternatively, if a touch panel function is added to the lens forming the display window, the above operation can be performed without increasing the number of buttons. In addition, the present invention uses one liquid crystal display panel to form a display unit by utilizing the property that an image viewed from one side of the liquid crystal display panel can be seen when viewed from the other side. Therefore, the thickness of the display portion will be the same as or less than that of the conventional one. And according to the opening / closing operation of the first member, the user can always view an appropriate elephant by displaying the image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel upside down or horizontally reversed.
[0017]
In the above embodiment, the portable telephone which is a foldable electronic device has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to such a foldable electronic device. For example, there may be an application in which a display screen is provided on the front and the back of a portable electronic device without having a mechanism for folding. In this case as well, by configuring the display unit with a single LCD as shown in FIG. 3, the user of the portable electronic device can, as necessary, from the front side of the portable electronic device (of the first lens). It is possible to look into the display section from the side) or from the back side (from the second lens side). Then, in response to a user input by operating a push button or a touch panel, the image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel is displayed upside down or left and right, thereby displaying from either side of the first or second lens. It is possible to provide an appropriate screen to the user even if he / she peeks. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a detection mechanism that can grasp the positional relationship between the user and the display unit regardless of user input, and to invert the image by this detection mechanism or sensor. According to the present embodiment, not only the front side but also the back side of the electronic device can be used, so that the degree of freedom of design including the key arrangement is increased, and the multi-functionality of the electronic device is expanded. It would be possible to improve convenience.
[0018]
As described above, according to each embodiment of the present application, it is possible to improve the convenience of display and to make the display portion thin by effectively utilizing both sides of one LCD. The present invention is not limited to a mobile phone, and can be widely applied to general electronic devices including electronic notebooks and personal computers.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an open state and a closed state of a conventional mobile phone.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an open state and a closed state of a mobile phone according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the mobile phone according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an open state and a closed state of a mobile phone according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a mobile phone according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (8)

A foldable electronic device (200) comprising a first member (210) and a second member (220),
The first member (210) is coupled to the second member (220) through a hinge (230) so as to be openable and closable, and includes one liquid crystal display panel (310) and one of the liquid crystal display panels (310). A first light guide plate (320) that is provided on the surface side of the liquid crystal and guides light to the liquid crystal display plate (310), and a liquid crystal display plate (310) that is provided on the other surface side of the liquid crystal display plate (310). A second light guide plate (330) for guiding light to
The first member (210) includes a first lens (340) provided on the first light guide plate (320), and a second lens (350) provided on the second light guide plate (330). ,
A first light source (372, 374) that irradiates the first light guide plate (320) and a second light source (376, 378) that irradiates the second light guide plate (330);
A light shielding portion (382, 384, 386, 388) provided adjacent to the first and second light sources (372, 374, 376, 378) and preventing light leakage;
The first and second lenses (340, 350) form an outer surface of the first member (210) together with the housing (360),
The second member (220) includes a control unit that controls contents displayed on the liquid crystal display panel (310), and the control unit is configured to open and close the liquid crystal display panel according to opening and closing of the first member (210). Displaying an image obtained by inverting the positional relationship between the side near and far from the hinge (230) of the image displayed on (310),
When the first member (210) is opened, the first light source (372, 374) irradiates the first light guide plate (320), and when the first member (210) is closed. The electronic device, wherein the second light source (376, 378) irradiates the second light guide plate (330) .   The control unit causes the image displayed on the liquid crystal display panel (310) to be displayed upside down or horizontally in accordance with an opening / closing operation of the first member (210). The electronic device described.   When the first member (210) is closed, the control unit performs display with the side close to the hinge (230) of the liquid crystal display panel (310) as the upper side of the display screen, 2. The display according to claim 1, wherein when one member (210) is opened, display is performed with the side close to the hinge (230) of the liquid crystal display panel (310) as the lower side of the display screen. Electronic equipment.   When the first member (210) is closed, the control unit displays the side closer to the hinge (230) of the liquid crystal display panel (310) as the right side of the display screen, and performs the display. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when one member (210) is opened, display is performed with a side close to the hinge of the liquid crystal display panel (310) as a left side of a display screen. The first light guide plate (320) and the first lens (340) are configured as a single first lens light guide plate (610), and the second light guide plate (330) and the second lens (350) are also a single sheet. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic apparatus is configured as a second lens light guide plate (620). 6. The electronic apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein at least one of the first and second lens light guide plates (610, 620) is at least partially covered with a transparent protective thin film.   A detector (260) for detecting the open / closed state of the first member (210) is further provided, and in response to a detection signal from the detector (260), the control unit displays the liquid crystal display panel (310). The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device is inverted. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a mobile phone.

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