JPH0519741B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field) The present invention relates to electronic equipment, and in particular, to an electronic desk calculator on a card, a so-called card calculator, etc., in which information stored inside the card is exchanged with an external device. This relates to electronic equipment that enables

(Prior Art) In recent years, electronic desktop calculators have become ultra-thin and easy to carry, and they are also increasing their added value by adding functions such as a clock function. In addition, their thickness gradually became thinner, and it became possible to manufacture them to the order of 0.5 mm to 2 mm, so it became possible to carry them around as a so-called card calculator with each bar and paper. On the other hand, so-called cashless transactions, in which shopping and payments can be made without using actual currency, are becoming increasingly common, and many thin plastic cards such as cash cards and credit cards are also being issued. .

Here, the storage medium of cash cards and credit cards generally uses a magnetic stripe attached to the surface of such thin plastic cards. This type of card requires only a code number for card identification and a registration number as the stored information, so its storage capacity can be very small.

In addition, with cash cards, etc., information stored on the magnetic stripe can only be read and written by an external device, and it is impossible to read the stored information or write new information while carrying it. Ta.

Therefore, in such a conventional example, in order to exchange information with an external device, devices such as mechanical coupling parts such as connectors that are not required except when transmitting information are prepared. It is conceivable to make it possible to exchange information between a card calculator, cash card, etc. and an external device. However, in this case, the device is not easy to use, and additional devices that are not always used must be provided.

(Objective) Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device having a solar battery part and a liquid crystal display part, which solves the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and which utilizes them to connect mechanically and electrically to an external device and a connector. The object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device that can transmit and receive data without having to make any connections.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a card calculator as an electronic device system of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, CD is a card calculator body that is approximately the same size and thickness as a credit card. KB is a keyboard placed on the card calculator main body CD, and has a numeric keypad for numerical key input,
Function keys that control operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, memory keys that control memory, and instruction keys that instruct predetermined operations related to the present invention, such as key TK that instructs sending data to an external device and data from the external device. Key RK that instructs to read
are arranged respectively. Depending on your needs, you can also place English letters or katakana keys.

LC is a display device, such as a liquid crystal display, with polarizing plates placed above and below it, and by changing the twist state of the liquid crystal depending on the voltage applied to the liquid crystal, it can display numerical values entered from the keyboard KB, calculation results, etc. Display.

LCP is a data sending section provided in a part of this liquid crystal display LC. This data sending unit LCP is
Depending on the data in the internal memory of the card calculator body CD, the light can be made transparent or blocked. A light emitting section LED and a light receiving section PD facing the light emitting section LED are arranged as external devices for receiving data, sandwiching this data sending section LCP.
This data sending unit LCP transmits the information in the internal memory to the light receiving unit PD of the external device in the form of light by transmitting or blocking the light L1 from the light emitting unit LED according to the information from the internal memory described above. tell.

In addition, the data sending section in the liquid crystal display section LC
The LCP can be placed at a predetermined location on the display LC or over the entire surface of the display LC depending on its use.

The above-mentioned light emitting unit LED and light receiving unit PD are included in a reading device as an external device that reads information from the card calculator body CD.

Here, as the light emitting unit LED, it is preferable to use a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode or a laser diode.

As the light receiving section PD, it is preferable to use a light receiving element such as a photodiode or a phototransistor.

The light-emitting part LED and the light-receiving part PD form a pair of photocouplers, and when it is detected that the card calculator body CD is inserted into the reading device, the light-emitting part LED
As described above, the light L1 from the card calculator body CD is transmitted or blocked depending on the information in the internal memory of the card calculator body CD, and is received by the light receiving portion PD. This light receiving part PD
converts the received light L1 into an electrical signal and reads information.

On the card calculator body CD, SB is a solar cell that absorbs light energy and generates electricity.
It supplies power to the built-in digital circuit made of semiconductors.

LEX is an external information supply unit included in an external device,
For example, a light source, which transmits external information in the form of light onto the solar cell SB.

Part of the solar battery SB is the external information supply department LEX.
A data light receiving section SBP is provided to receive light L2 from the external device, that is, light L2 representing information from an external device. That is, the data light receiving section SBP converts light corresponding to information from an external device generated by the external information supplying section LEX into an electrical signal. This electrical signal is subjected to prescribed processing and the card calculator itself is
Stored in internal storage within the CD. Note that the data light receiving section SBP of the solar cell SB can be arranged at a predetermined location or over the entire surface of the solar cell SB depending on its use.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the electric circuit portion of the card calculator shown in FIG.

In Figure 2, keyboard KB, liquid crystal display
Since the LC and its data transmitter LCP and the solar cell SB and its data receiver SBP have already been described, detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

Here, the CPU is a control unit such as a microprocessor, and this control unit CPU is
For example, it may be a sequential control circuit composed of a clock pulse generation circuit, a delay circuit, a gate circuit, or other logic circuits.

ROM is a read-only storage device, and when the control unit CPU described above supplies control signals to each component described later, the control unit
A group of microinstructions that are the control procedure for the CPU are memorized in advance.

The DCU is a display control unit, and generates a signal for controlling the display of the liquid crystal display LC, based on a control signal from the control unit CPU described above.

MEM is a storage device that stores the status of each component, or stores input numerical values and calculation results. Furthermore, this storage device MEM stores in advance output information to be read by the reading device in time sequence through the data transmission unit LCP of the liquid crystal display LC, and also stores output information in advance that is read out in time order by the reading device through the data transmission unit LCP of the liquid crystal display LC. Stores information entered in the .

As the storage device MEM, a volatile memory such as a random access memory or a non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM (Electric Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) can be used.

The SOC is a serial output control circuit that converts the external output information SO created under the control of the control unit CPU into serial data, and applies a drive voltage to the data sending unit LCP of the liquid crystal display LC according to the serial data. supply SIC is a series input control circuit, which receives data from the solar cell SB from an external device.
Voltage and timing corrections are applied to the input information obtained via SBP, and the output data
Get SI.

The PSC is a power supply circuit that supplies electrical energy generated in the solar cell SB to each component consisting of a semiconductor circuit. Note that when a volatile memory such as a random access memory is employed as the storage device MEM, it is necessary to constantly supply power to back up information stored in the random access memory in the event of a power outage. For this reason, it is preferable to constantly supply power to the random access memory using a power source other than the solar battery SB, such as a lithium battery.

Now, we will explain the case where the card calculator body CD is used as a means for outputting internal data.

In this case, since the data sending part LCP of the liquid crystal display LC, which is the display part of the card calculator main body CD, is used as the information output source, the card calculator main body CD is placed between the light emitting part LED and the light receiving part PD of the reading device. Insert it so that the data sending unit LCP described above is in a predetermined position. Next, according to instructions from the sending instruction key TK on the keyboard KB, the storage device MEM
The information stored in the serial output control circuit SOC
According to the serial data, the data sending section LCP of the liquid crystal display LC is set to transmit or block the light L1. Depending on the state of this data sending unit LCP, the light L1 from the light emitting unit LED of the reading device is transmitted or blocked.
When the light L1 passes through the data sending section LCP, the light L1 is received by the light receiving section PD. That is, the information in the storage device MEM in the card calculator can be easily read out by the reading device using the light L1 as a medium. Therefore, it is possible to transmit information with a sufficient storage capacity compared to the case of conventional magnetic stripes.

In addition, the information stored in the storage device MEM in the card calculator body CD can be specifically displayed on the liquid crystal display LC by operating the memory/read keys RM/CM on the keyboard KB. Therefore, the stored information can be easily read out at any time without using a reading device.

Next, the case where this card calculator body CD is used as an input means for external data will be explained.

In this case, part or all of the solar battery SB, which is the power source of the card calculator, is used as the information input source for inputting external information, so the data receiving unit of the solar battery SB is placed directly below the external information supply unit LEX of the external device. Department
Place the card calculator body CD so that SBP is located. Next, in response to an instruction from the data reading instruction key RK on the keyboard KB, external information sent from the external information supply unit LEX of the external device using light L2 as a medium is sent to the data receiving unit SBP of the solar cell SB.
It receives light. After photoelectrically converting this information, the serial input control circuit SIC corrects the waveform and converts it into a predetermined storage format, and then stores it in the storage device MEM in the card calculator body CD. That is, in the present invention, not only can data be input using the keyboard KB, but also external information can be input in the form of optical coupling without mechanically or electrically connecting to an external device.

In addition, the data sending section of the liquid crystal display LC mentioned above
By using LCP in conjunction with internal information output means, it is not only possible to input and output information, but also to
Information can be exchanged between the card calculator and an external device while maintaining synchronization.

As explained above, according to this example, even if the structure of an existing card calculator is used, it is possible to output information using the liquid crystal display LC and input information using the solar battery SB. There is no need to interpose special equipment such as a connector between the calculator and the external device. In addition, when outputting information using the liquid crystal display LC, if the solar cell SB is used as an input source of information from an external device, the liquid crystal display can receive busy signals, error signals, and parity check signals generated by the external device. Information can be output using LC.

Furthermore, even when inputting information via the solar cell SB, the card calculator CD uses the liquid crystal display LC as an output source to output busy signals, error signals, and parity check signals. Since external information can be input, highly reliable information exchange is possible.

In this example, a card calculator has been described as an example of application of an electronic device, but it is of course applicable not only to this card calculator but also to, for example, a regular calculator or a calculator with a printout.

As described above, according to the present invention, even an electronic device system in the form of a thin card, such as a card calculator, can receive data in the form of light with an external device. Therefore, when receiving such data, there is no mechanical or electrical connection with an external device using a connector or the like, making it easy to use and allowing data to be exchanged with simple operations.

Moreover, according to the present invention, data is stored in a memory such as a random access memory, compared to the case where data is stored in the form of a magnetic stripe on a thin card, so that the data read from an external device and stored is There is also the advantage of being able to increase the quantity.

(Effects) As explained above, according to the present invention, it is an electronic device that has a solar battery section and a liquid crystal display section, and uses them to mechanically and electrically connect an external device with a connector or the like. It is possible to provide an electronic device that can send and receive data without having to do anything.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of a card calculator to which the electronic device of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the structure of the electric circuit system of the card calculator shown in FIG. CD...Card calculator body, KB...Keyboard, LC
...Liquid crystal display, LCP...data sending section, LED...light emitting section, LD...light receiving section, SB...solar cell, SBP...data receiving section, LEX...external information supply section, CPU...control unit, ROM...read-only storage device , DCU…
Display control unit, MEM...storage device, SOC...serial output control circuit, SIC...serial input control circuit, PSC
...Power circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an electronic device having a liquid crystal display section that displays a pattern and a solar battery section, the light source is provided with the liquid crystal display section interposed between a light source and a light receiving section that receives the light. an optical transmitting means for transmitting data represented by an optical signal to the light receiving section by controlling a part of the liquid crystal display section to transmit or block light from the liquid crystal display section; An electronic device comprising: data receiving means provided in a part of the solar battery section to receive transferred data and convert it into an electrical signal.