JP5524685B2 - Display device and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device in which a display unit and an operation unit are connected to each other so as to be movable.

In recent years, a display device in which a first housing having a display unit and a second housing having an operation unit are connected via a connecting member so as to be able to rotate, slide, and the like has become widespread. Yes. Such a display device is used, for example, as a digital camera or digital video camera provided with a mobile phone terminal, a game machine, a PDA, a notebook computer, and a vari-angle liquid crystal panel that can be folded and slid. As such a display device, Patent Document 1 proposes a mobile phone terminal in which a casing can be opened vertically or horizontally by two rotating shafts. Further, in Patent Document 2, the display unit provided in the upper unit is set to an angle that allows easy viewing, and the portable terminal can be placed on a desk or the like using the lower unit provided with the operation unit as a pedestal. It has been proposed.
Depending on the configuration of the casing of such a display device, the display unit and the operation unit may be difficult to view at the same time or may be arranged in a positional relationship where they cannot be viewed. In order to make it easy to perform an operation while confirming the display on a display device, a display indicating the position and state of the operation unit may be displayed on the display unit (Patent Document 3). Alternatively, when the function assignment of the operation unit changes depending on the state of the device, the display unit may indicate which function is assigned to the operation unit from time to time together with the position and state of the operation unit.

JP 2005-286425 A JP 2007-113686 A JP 2008-70817 A

  However, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 3, no device is assumed in which the mutual positional relationship can be changed so that the operation unit is movable with respect to the display unit via the connecting unit. In such an apparatus, if the display of information indicating the position and state of the operation unit is not appropriately changed according to the change in the positional relationship between the display unit and the operation unit, the operation of the operation unit is confirmed while checking the display on the display unit. There is a problem that it is difficult to perform the above.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a display device includes a first casing including a display unit, a second casing including an operation unit, a first casing, and a second casing. , A connecting portion capable of making the first casing and the second casing have a plurality of different positional relationships, a detecting means for detecting the positional relation, and a first detected by the detecting means Based on the positional relationship between the casing and the second casing, a display item indicating the function and position of the operation means in the detected positional relationship is displayed at a position corresponding to the position of the operation means in the display means. Display control means for controlling the display means in response to the fact that the detection means detects that the second casing is folded into the first casing with the operating means exposed. Shows the display form of the display item indicating the function and position of the operating means when the second housing is folded. Changed to be the first display form.

  According to the display device of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately change the display of information representing the position and state of the operation unit in accordance with the change in the positional relationship between the display unit and the operation unit. Accordingly, in the apparatus including the display unit and the operation unit that is movable with respect to the display unit via the connecting unit, it is easy to operate the operation unit while confirming the display on the display unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an outline and display contents of a digital video camera including the display device according to the first embodiment. 1 is a block diagram of a digital video camera having a display device according to a first embodiment. The figure which shows the flowchart of control operation | movement of the digital video camera which has a display apparatus which concerns on a 1st Example. The figure which shows the external shape and display content of a mobile telephone which has a display apparatus which concerns on a 2nd Example. The block diagram of the mobile telephone which has a display apparatus concerning a 2nd Example. The figure which shows the flowchart of control operation | movement of the mobile telephone which has a display apparatus which concerns on a 2nd Example.

First Embodiment In this embodiment, a configuration of a digital video camera as an example of a display device according to the present invention and a display operation in the camera mode of the digital video camera will be described. Referring to FIG. 1, the positional relationship between a first housing (a display unit having an EVF as a display unit) and a second housing (an operating unit having a touch panel as an operation unit) in the digital video camera, and the positional relationship thereof An example of display contents of the display means (EVF) in FIG. As is apparent from the figure, the digital video camera according to the present embodiment has a configuration including a main body 101 of the camera and an operation unit 105 rotatably connected thereto. In accordance with the positional relationship, the EVF 102 and the LCD panel 107 (including the touch panel 108) are displayed as shown in FIG.

First, each element shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
A main body 101 is a main body of the digital video camera. The main body 101 is a housing (display unit) provided with an EVF 102 (first display means) that performs display related to the operation unit 105.
The EVF 102 is an electronic viewfinder (hereinafter referred to as “EVF”) as display means disposed in the main body 101 and can be configured by a small LCD panel and a backlight. The EVF panel 102 is used by looking through the eyepiece.
The EVF button 103 is a button for switching on / off of the EVF 102.
The recording button 104 is a button for instructing the start and end of shooting with the digital video camera.
The operation unit 105 is a housing in which an LCD panel including a touch panel 108 (touch sensor) is arranged, and is attached to the main body unit via a hinge unit 106 so as to be rotatable. In the present embodiment, since various operations from the user on the touch panel 105 can be accepted, the operation unit 105 is referred to as the main body unit 101 (display unit).
The hinge unit 106 is a connecting unit that allows the operation unit 105 to move about two axes, and includes a switch (not shown) that detects the rotation state of the operation unit 105. By this switch, the relative position of the operation unit 105, which is a housing, with respect to the main body unit 101 is detected.
The LCD panel 107 is an LCD panel (second display means) disposed on the operation unit 105. The touch panel 108 is a touch panel superimposed (integrated) on the LCD panel 107. By touch input (touch operation) to the touch panel 108, a user interface can be provided as if the user is directly operating the display item displayed on the LCD panel 107.
Button icons 109b to 112b are button icons displayed on the LCD panel 107, respectively. By touching a position on the touch panel 108 where each button icon is displayed, a function represented by each button icon can be executed. The button icon 109b is a button for opening a setting menu, the button icon 110b is a button for opening a focus adjustment screen, the button icon 111b is a button for opening an exposure adjustment screen, and the button icon 112b is shifted to a playback mode. The buttons for each are shown.
The display items 109a to 112a are display items for guiding the positions where the button icons 109b to 112b are displayed on the touch panel 108. Accordingly, even when the user is looking into the EVF 102, the user can roughly grasp which position on the touch panel 108 can be touched by simply looking at the EVF 102.
A pointer 113 is a display item indicating a position where an input to the touch panel 108 is detected. When the touch panel is touched, the EVF 102 is displayed with a pointer 113 indicating the currently touched position, so that the user can grasp which position on the touch panel 108 is touched even when looking at the EVF 102.
The three-dimensional guidance 114 is a display item that schematically represents the entire touch panel 108 and the arrangement of the button icons therein with a three-dimensional perspective image in view of the relative positions of the main body unit 101 and the operation unit 105. The three-dimensional guidance 114 is actually a display item that is displayed in two dimensions, but is a perspective view that uses perspective to show the positional relationship of the button icons in the depth direction. The perspective is changed so that the perspective changes according to the positional relationship.

  Next, the four states of the digital video camera shown in FIG. 1, the display contents in each, and the change of the display form will be described. FIGS. 1A to 1D are examples of four states determined by switches (not shown) of the hinge unit 106, respectively. The video camera can be used in any of the states shown in FIGS. 1A to 1D, but the touch panel 108 cannot be operated in FIG. 1A. The EVF 102 can be switched on or off independently by the EVF button 103 regardless of the four states in FIGS.

  FIG. 1A shows a state in which the operation unit 105 is folded so that the touch panel 108 is on the inner side. The EVF display screen 121 shows the display content of the EVF 102 in FIG. At this time, since the touch panel 108 is sandwiched between the operation unit 105 and the main unit 101 and cannot be operated, the EVF display screen 121 does not display a guide indicating the button position. In the figure, reference numerals are not given, but as other display elements, an icon indicating the remaining battery level, a minute notation, and a time code indicating the shooting time are displayed. However, the display elements are not limited to these, and other display elements may be displayed.

  FIG. 1B shows a state where the operation unit 105 is opened 90 degrees from the state shown in FIG. 1A, and the display surfaces of the EVF 102 and the LCD panel 107 (touch panel 108) are oriented in the same direction. The EVF display screen 131 shows the display contents of the EVF 102 in FIG. 1B, and the LCD display screen 132 shows the display contents of the LCD panel 107 in FIG. 1B. As shown on the LCD display screen 132, button icons 109b to 112b are displayed on the LCD panel 107, and touching any one of the button icons 109b to 112b activates the assigned function. At this time, as shown on the EVF display screen 131, the EVF 102 displays the display items 109a to 112a indicating the positions of the button icons 109b to 112b displayed on the LCD panel 107, the battery remaining amount, and the time code. In the positional relationship of FIG. 1B, since the display surfaces of the touch panel 108 and the EVF 102 face the same direction, the button icons 109b to 112b displayed on the touch panel 108 (LCD 107) and the display items displayed on the EVF 102 are displayed. The arrangement order and the arrangement positional relationship with 109a to 112a are the same. Further, the arrangement position is set so that the relative position in the touch panel 108 and the relative position in the EVF 102 are the same. Accordingly, the user can perform a touch operation on the touch panel 108 even when the user looks into the EVF 102 and is not viewing the touch panel 108.

  FIG. 1C shows a state in which the operation unit 105 is rotated 180 degrees around the hinge unit 106 from the state of FIG. 1B, and the display surfaces of the EVF 102 and the LCD panel 107 (touch panel 108) are opposite to each other. It is suitable. The EVF display screen 141 shows the display content of the EVF 102 in FIG. 1 (c), and the LCD display screen 142 shows the display content of the LCD panel 107 in FIG. 1 (c). In the EVF display screen 141 and the LCD display screen 142, the display positions of the button icons 109b to 112b viewed from the display surface side of the LCD panel 107 and the display items 109a to 112a corresponding to the button icons respectively are displayed on the display surface of the EVF 102. The display position viewed from the side is displayed so as to be symmetrical. That is, there is a relationship (arrangement order and relative position in the screen) between the arrangement positions of the button icons 109b to 112b viewed from the back of the touch panel 108 (LCD 107) and the display items 109a to 112a viewed from the front of the EVF 102. They are displayed to be the same. Therefore, even when the touch panel 108 is operated while looking into the EVF 102, the relationship between the arrangement positions of the button icons on the touch panel 108 facing the opposite side and the display items displayed on the EVF 102 is the same. Therefore, the user can operate the touch panel 108 while looking into the EVF 102. When the touch panel 108 detects contact of a finger, a stylus, or the like, an icon 113 representing the contact position is displayed on the EVF 102 as in the EVF display screen 143. Although the touch panel 108 is not directly visible to an operator looking into the EVF 102, the position operated by the icon 113 can be shown in an easy-to-understand manner. That is, it is possible to reduce a sense of groping due to the operator not seeing the touch panel. Further, as in FIGS. 1 (a) and 4 (b), the remaining battery level and time code are also displayed as other display elements.

  FIG. 1D shows a state in which the operation unit 105 is folded 90 degrees from the state of FIG. 1C, and the display surface of the LCD panel 107 provided in the folded operation unit 105 faces outward. The EVF display screen 151 shows the display content of the EVF 102 in FIG. The display surface of the EVF 102 and the display surface of the touch panel 108 (LCD panel 107) are in a vertical positional relationship. For this reason, the stereoscopic guidance 114 is displayed on the EVF display screen 151, and the entire touch panel 108 and the arrangement of the button icons therein are represented by a three-dimensional image. For this reason, even if the user is looking into the EVF 102, the position of the button on the touch panel is easy to imagine. Since the touch panel 108 is located on the left side when viewed from the EVF 102, the three-dimensional guidance 114 as the guidance display is also located on the left side in the EVF 102 screen. On the other hand, the button icon displayed on the LCD panel 107 is in a state in which the function is not activated immediately after being touched, and is in a grayed out display state as shown on the LCD display screen 152. By doing in this way, the operation by the careless touch resulting from the direction which the display surface of EVF102 and the display surface of the touch panel 108 face in different directions is prevented. When contact with the touch panel 108 such as a finger or a stylus is detected in this state, the display content of the EVF 102 changes to the EVF display screen 153, and the display content of the LCD panel 107 changes to the LCD display screen 154. And the touch panel 108 will be in the state which receives operation with respect to the button icons 109b-112b. That is, each button icon grayed out on the LCD display screen 152 is displayed on the LCD display screen 154 without being grayed out. In addition, the position of the button icon is three-dimensionally indicated by the three-dimensional guidance 114 on the EVF display screen 151. However, the EVF display screen 153 has the same display content as that shown in FIG. . The icon 113 represents the position at which the touch panel 108 detects contact at this time, and the display position is updated each time the operation is continued. When a predetermined time elapses without being operated, the display content of the EVF 102 returns from the EVF display screen 153 to the EVF display screen 151, and the display content of the LCD panel 107 returns from the LCD display screen 154 to the LCD display screen 152. In any of the screens, the remaining battery level and time code are displayed as other display elements as in FIGS. 1 (a), (b), and (c).

  By the way, in the case of FIG. 1D, as long as the touch panel 108 functions, the backlight of the LCD panel 107 does not necessarily have to be lit. If not lit, the LCD panel 107 may be turned on immediately and the LCD display screen 154 displayed when the EVF button 103 is pressed and the EVF 102 is turned off.

Next, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the components of the digital video camera in this embodiment. In addition, the same number is attached | subjected to the same component as the component shown by FIG. 1, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.
The lens 201 is a lens, and the image sensor 202 is an image sensor that converts light collected by the lens into an electrical video signal.
The video processing unit 203 is a video processing unit that optimally processes the video signal from the imaging sensor 202.
The CPU 204 is a CPU that controls the operation of the entire video camera. In particular, the pressing of the EVF button 103 and the state of the LCD position detection switch in the hinge unit 106 are performed by control by the CPU 204. Control by the CPU 204 also obtains input from the touch panel, switches between turning on / off the EVF 102 and the LCD panel 107 according to the obtained information, and giving a screen display instruction such as buttons to a display control unit described later.
The encoder / decoder unit 205 is an encoder / decoder unit for encoding the video signal output from the video processing unit 203 and decoding the encoded video data.
The moving image storage unit 206 is a storage medium for storing encoded video data. In addition to moving images, still images are also stored.
The temporary storage unit 207 is a temporary storage unit used as a work area for the video processing unit 203, the CPU 204, and a display control unit 209 described later.
The program / data storage unit 208 is a program / data storage unit in which programs and data used by the CPU are stored.
The display control unit 209 is a display control unit for generating video signals to be displayed on the EVF 102 and the LCD panel 107, respectively.

  In FIG. 2, the main unit 101 includes the components 201 to 209 described above, the EVF 102, the EVF button 103, and the recording button 104. The LCD panel 107 and the touch panel 108 are included in the operation unit 105, and a hinge unit 106 exists between the main body unit 101 and the operation unit 105. However, the components other than the EVF 102, the hinge unit 106, the LCD panel 107, and the touch panel 108 may exist in either the main body unit 101 or the operation unit 105. For example, the recording button 104 may be attached to the operation unit 105 instead of the main body unit 102. Alternatively, there may be a configuration in which there are two display control units 209, one of which controls the EVF 102 within the main body unit 101 and the other of which controls the LCD panel 107 within the operation unit 105.

  Next, FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation in which the CPU 204 controls each component in this embodiment. The CPU 204 reads out the program and data represented by this flow from the program / data storage unit 208, expands them in the temporary storage unit 207, and executes them. In addition, any display command included in this flow is established through the following process. The CPU 204 writes data representing a screen element such as a button in the display frame memory area defined in the temporary storage unit 207, and the display control unit 209 reads the data. Next, it is a process of outputting appropriate video signals to the EVF 102 and the LCD panel 107 based on the read data.

S300 is an initialization process. The initial value 0 is assigned to the variable counter.
In S301, it determines whether EVF button 103 is pressed (lighting detection means). If the EVF button 103 is pressed, the process proceeds to S302, and if the EVF button 103 is not pressed, the process proceeds to S305.
In S302, it is determined whether or not the EVF 102 is being lit. If it is determined not to be lit lit EVF 102 proceeds to S303, if it is determined that lit. at S302 the process proceeds to S304, turns off the EVF 102.
In S305, S307, and S310, it is determined what the positional relationship between the operation unit 105 and the main body unit 101 is.
In S305, it is determined whether or not the operation unit 105 is in the state of FIG. 1A. If it is in the state of FIG. 1A, the process proceeds to S306, and the EVF display screen 121 of FIG. Display the display contents.
In S307, the operation unit 105 determines whether or not the state of FIG. 1 (b), the EVF display screen 131 shown in FIG. 1 (b) to EVF102 proceeds to S308 if the state shown in FIG. 1 (b) The display contents are displayed, and further, the display contents of the LCD display screen 132 of FIG. 1B are displayed on the LCD panel 107 in S309.

In S310, it is determined whether or not the operation unit 105 is in the state of FIG. 1C. If the operation unit 105 is in the state of FIG. 1C, the process proceeds to S311. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S315.
In S <b> 311, it is determined whether or not a touch input such as a finger or a stylus on the touch panel 108 has been received. If a contact input is received, the process proceeds to S313, and the display content of the EVF display screen 143 of FIG. 1C is displayed on the EVF 102. If no contact input is received, the process proceeds to S312 and the EVF display of FIG. The display content of the screen 141 is displayed on the EVF 102. In either case, the display content of the LCD display screen 142 of FIG. 1 is displayed on the LCD panel 107 in the subsequent S314.

  When the branch determination result in S310 is “no”, the operation unit 105 can determine that the state is as shown in FIG. In that case, it is first determined in S315 whether or not the EVF 102 is lit. If not, the display content of the LCD display screen 154 of FIG. 1D is displayed on the LCD panel 107 in S316.

  If it is determined in step S315 that the EVF 102 is being lit, it is determined in step S317 whether or not the touch panel 108 has received an input by contact with a finger, stylus, or the like. If it is determined that there is a touch input, the value x for a predetermined time is substituted into the variable counter in S318. The value x is a value that is appropriately set as a counter value for determining the display switching period of the EVF 102 and the LCD panel 107. As will be described later, the value x is decremented in S322, and measurement of a period without acceptance of input to the touch panel is performed. Realize.

In S319, it is determined whether or not the value of the variable counter is zero. If it is determined that the value is not 0, the process proceeds to S320, and if it is determined that the value is 0, the process proceeds to S323.
In S320, the display content of the EVF display screen 153 of FIG. 1D is displayed on the EVF 102, and further, the display content of the LCD display screen 154 of FIG. 1D is displayed on the LCD panel 107 in S321. Thereafter, the variable counter is decremented in S322.
In S323, the display content of the EVF display screen 151 of FIG. 1 (d) is displayed on the EVF 102, and further, the display content of the LCD display screen 152 of FIG. 1 (d) is displayed on the LCD panel 107 in S324.

  Through the above processing, the position of the button icon arranged on the touch panel 108 can be grasped by looking at the display of the EVF 102 regardless of the positional relationship between the operation unit and the main unit of the digital video camera. Even if the EVF 102 is turned off, the display can be confirmed if the LCD panel 107 is exposed, so that the operation unit can be operated easily.

Second Embodiment In this embodiment, an example in which the display device according to the present invention is applied to a mobile phone will be described. In particular, the operation when creating an email will be described. Note that the mobile phone of this embodiment has a configuration in which the LCD panel portion is provided with a hinge portion that opens in two directions with respect to the main body portion.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the external shape when the LCD panel portion of the mobile phone is open and the display contents in each state.
First, each element shown in FIG. 4 will be described. A display unit 401 is a first housing including an LCD panel 402 as a first display unit, and corresponds to the main body unit 101 of the first embodiment. An operation unit 403 is a second housing having various operation buttons, and corresponds to the operation unit 105 of the first embodiment. The display unit 401 and the operation unit 403 are rotatably connected by a hinge unit 404. The hinge unit 404 connects the display unit 401 and the operation unit 403 so as to be rotatable about two axes. As a result, the display unit 401 and the operation unit 403 can have the positional relationship shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, but include a position detection switch that detects which positional relationship is established. It is possible to detect which positional relationship is established. Symbols A and B indicate fixed points on the LCD panel 402. The position of the symbol A in FIG. 4A and the position of the symbol A in FIG. 4B are the same position on the LCD panel 402. Similarly, the position of the symbol B in FIG. 4A and the position of the symbol B in FIG. 4B are the same position on the LCD panel 402.
Buttons 405 to 407 are operation members provided in the operation unit 403. The button 405 has a function of switching the character type of input, the button 406 has a function of confirming input, and the button 407 has a function of opening a submenu. Assigned.
The display items 408 to 410 are display items displayed on the LCD panel 402, and are guide displays showing the functions and positions of the buttons 405 to 407, respectively.

  Next, the two states of the mobile phone shown in FIG. 4, the display contents of each, and the change of the display form will be described.

  FIG. 4A shows a state where the display unit 401 and the operation unit 403 are opened so that the short sides are in contact with each other. The display screen 4a shows the display content of the LCD panel 402 in the state of FIG. Here, since the guide display indicating the position of the button is auxiliary information for the button operation, it is desirable that the guide display be displayed as close to the button as possible. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the display items 408 to 410 on the LCD panel 402 are displayed at positions closest to the buttons 405 to 407 on the display surface of the LCD panel 402, and indicate the respective functions and arrangement positional relationships. . In other words, the display item 408 indicating the function of the button 405 is positioned closest to the button 405, the display item 409 indicating the function of the button 406 is positioned closest to the button 406, and the function of the button 407 is positioned closest to the button 407. A display item 410 to be displayed is displayed. Therefore, in the direction from the position of the symbol A to the position of the symbol B, the display items 408, 409, and 410 are arranged in this order. Although no reference number is given in the figure, as other elements of the display content, a title character string indicating the content of the screen, a mail document being edited, and a cursor indicating the editing position are displayed. However, the present invention is not limited to these, and other display elements can be displayed.

  FIG. 4B shows a state where the display unit 401 and the operation unit 403 are opened so that the long sides are in contact with each other. The display screen 4b shows the display content of the LCD panel 402 in FIG. The display items 408 to 410 on the LCD panel 402 indicate the functions and positions of the buttons 405 to 407, respectively, as in the state of FIG. 4A, and the display items 408 to 410 are at positions close to the buttons 405 to 407. It is displayed. Further, the arrangement order corresponds to the arrangement order of the buttons 405 to 407, and the display items 410, 409, and 408 are arranged and displayed in the order from the position A to the position B. That is, the arrangement order is different from that in FIG. As other elements of the display content, a title character string, a mail document, and a cursor are displayed as in FIG. In this case, the display elements are not limited to these display elements, and other display elements can be displayed.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the components of the mobile phone in the present embodiment. The same components as those shown in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
An antenna 501 is an antenna for wireless communication (including telephone communication).
The wireless control unit 502 is a wireless control unit that converts analog waves transmitted and received by the antenna 501 into digital data.
A CPU 503 is a CPU that controls the operation of the entire mobile phone. In particular, pressing of a button group including buttons 405 to 407 and the state of a position detection switch in the hinge unit 404 are detected, and a screen display instruction such as the button guide described above as the display items 408 to 410 is displayed on a display control unit 509 described later. Are given by the control of the CPU 503.
The temporary storage unit 504 is a temporary storage unit used as a work area for the wireless control unit 502, the CPU 503, a voice control unit 506, and a display control unit 509 described later.
The program / data storage unit 505 is a program / data storage unit in which programs and data used by the CPU 503 are stored.
The voice control unit 506 is a voice control unit for mutually converting voice data and a voice waveform in a function such as a voice call and a ring tone, and a microphone 507 and a speaker 508 are connected to the voice control unit 506.
A display control unit 509 is a display control unit for generating video signals to be displayed on the LCD panel 402.

  In FIG. 5, the components 501 to 509 and buttons 405 to 407 described above are included in the operation unit 403, the LCD panel 402 is included in the display unit 401, and a hinge is provided between the operation unit 403 and the display unit 401. A portion 404 is interposed. However, the components other than the LCD panel 402, the hinge unit 404, and the buttons 405 to 407 in the button group may exist in either the operation unit 403 or the display unit 401. For example, the antenna 501 and the radio control unit 502 may be attached not in the operation unit 403 but in the display unit 401. Alternatively, the display control unit 509 may be included in the display unit 401.

  Next, FIG. 6 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the CPU 503 for controlling each component shown in FIG. 5 in this embodiment. The CPU 503 reads the program and data representing this flow from the program / data storage unit 505, loads the program and data to the temporary storage unit 504, and executes them. In addition, any display command included in this flow is established by the following process. The CPU 503 writes data representing a display content element such as a button guide in the display frame memory area defined in the temporary storage unit 504, and the display control unit 509 reads the data. Then, an appropriate video signal is output to the LCD panel 402 based on the read data.

In both S601 and S603, the positional relationship between the display unit 401 and the operation unit 403 is determined based on a signal from a position detection switch included in the hinge unit 404.
In S601, it is determined whether or not the positional relationship between the display unit 401 and the operation unit 403 is in the state of FIG. 4A. If in the state of FIG. 4A, the display of FIG. 4 is displayed on the LCD panel 402 in S602. The display content of the screen 4a is displayed.
In step S603, it is determined whether the positional relationship between the display unit 401 and the operation unit 403 is in the state shown in FIG. 4B. If in the state shown in FIG. 4B, the display screen 4b shown in FIG. Display the display contents. That is, the display position of the display item to be displayed as a guide for the operation unit is determined based on the positional relationship between the display surface of the display unit and the surface of the casing detected by the position detection unit.
When it is determined in S603 that the state is not the state of FIG. 4B, it is considered that the display surface of the display unit 401 is folded (not shown) so as to face and overlap the operation surface of the operation unit 403. . In such a state, the LCD panel 402 is not exposed to the outside, so display control is not performed.

  Through the processing described above, the display items 408 to 410 which are guide displays of the buttons 405 to 407 are displayed on the buttons of the LCD panel 402 regardless of the positional relationship between the display unit 401 and the operation unit 403 in FIG. It is displayed at a position close to 405 to 407. Further, the arrangement order of the display items is an order corresponding to the arrangement order of the buttons. Therefore, the user can recognize the functions assigned to the buttons 405 to 407 and the positions of the buttons more easily and more reliably by checking the display items 408 to 410.

  Although the present invention has been described in detail based on preferred embodiments thereof, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various forms within the scope of the present invention are also included in the present invention. included. A part of the above-described embodiments may be appropriately combined. In particular, the control of the entire apparatus by the CPU may be performed by a single piece of hardware, or may be performed by a plurality of pieces of hardware sharing the processing.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a digital video camera and a mobile phone has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples. That is, the present invention is applicable to any display device that is connected to each other so that the display unit and the operation unit are movable. For example, the present invention can be applied to display devices such as a digital still camera having a vari-angle monitor, a portable image viewer, a game machine, and a digital photo frame. The manner of connection is not limited to that which is pivotably connected as described in each of the above-described embodiments, and may be other ways of connection. For example, it may be a detachable unit that once removes the operation unit and the display unit and then connects them by changing the positional relationship.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, a software program that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied from a recording medium directly to a system or apparatus having a display device that can execute the program using wired / wireless communication, and the program is executed. Cases are also included in the present invention. Accordingly, in order to realize the functional processing of the present invention in the apparatus, the program code itself supplied and installed in the apparatus also implements the present invention. That is, the computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention is also included in the present invention.
In this case, the program may be in any form as long as it has a program function, such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to the OS.
As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, a magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk or a magnetic tape, an optical / magneto-optical storage medium, or a nonvolatile semiconductor memory may be used.
As a program supply method, a computer program that forms the present invention may be stored in a server on a computer network, and a connected device may download and program the computer program.

Claims (11)

A first housing comprising display means;
A second housing comprising operating means;
A connecting portion that connects the first housing and the second housing, and is capable of bringing the first housing and the second housing into a plurality of different positional relationships;
Detecting means for detecting the positional relationship;
Based on the positional relationship between the first casing and the second casing detected by the detecting means, a display item indicating the function and position of the operating means in the positional relationship is selected from the display means. have a display control means for controlling so as to display a position corresponding to the position of the operating means,
In response to the detection means detecting that the second casing is folded into the first casing in a state where the operation means is exposed, the display control means has a function of the operation means. A display device, wherein a display form of a display item indicating a position is changed to a first display form showing a folded state of the second casing . The state in which the second casing is folded into the first casing with the operating means exposed is a positional relationship in which the surface on which the operating means is disposed and the display surface of the display means are not parallel , and the first display form, a display device according to claim 1, characterized in that a perspective view with a perspective based on the positional relationship in the depth direction of the operating means. When the detecting means detects that the second casing is folded into the first casing in a state where the operation means faces the first casing, the display control means The display device according to claim 2 , wherein display is not performed in the display form. In response to the operation means being operated when the display control means is displaying the display item on the display means in the first display form, the display control means is the first display form. Is changed to a second display form different from the display form before changing to the first display form based on the positional relationship between the first casing and the second casing detected by the detecting means. display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that. When a touch on a touch panel on which a touch-operable button icon is arranged as the operation unit is detected, the display control unit detects information indicating that the touch panel is touched, and the touch is detected. characterized in that to be displayed on the position on the display means corresponding to the position, the display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The first housing includes an imaging unit and a finder that can visually recognize the display unit via an eyepiece.
The said 2nd housing | casing has a 2nd display means different from the said display means which can display the image imaged by the said imaging means, The any one of Claim 1 thru | or 5 characterized by the above-mentioned. Display device. When the display on the display unit is not performed, the display control unit displays the display item indicating the function and position of the operation unit on the second display unit, and the display on the display unit is performed. If you are cracking, in different display forms a display form of the display means, the display item indicating the function and position of the operating means to claim 6, characterized in that to be displayed on the second display means The display device described. The display control is performed in response to the operation unit being operated when the second display unit displays the display item indicating the function and position of the operation unit in a display form different from the display unit. The display device according to claim 7 , wherein the display unit displays the display item indicating the function and position of the operation unit in the same display form on the display unit and the second display unit. A first casing provided with a display means, a second casing provided with an operating means, the first casing and the second casing are connected, and the first casing and the second casing are connected. A display device control method comprising: a connecting portion capable of having a plurality of different positional relationships with the housing of the first housing; and a detecting means for detecting the positional relationship.
Based on the positional relationship between the first casing and the second casing detected by the detecting means, a display item indicating the function and position of the operating means in the positional relationship is selected from the display means. the have a display control step of controlling to display at the position corresponding to the position of the operating means, said detecting means, said operating means and the second state in which the exposed housing the first to the housing In response to detecting the folding, the display control step changes the display form of the display item indicating the function and position of the operation means to the first display form indicating the folded state of the second casing. control method of a display device and changing the. The program for functioning a computer as each means of the display apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 8 . A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the display device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 .

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