JPH10171382A - Display device and electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow plural people to watch display screens at the same time and to make the display screens easy to see by connecting them with each other freely bendable so that they form a chevron shape facing each of the plural picture display screens outside. SOLUTION: A display device 4 comprises two display units 11a, 11b, and a side of each display unit is mechanically and electrically connected with each other with hinges 15, 15 such as flexible harnesses which are freely bendable and signal-transmissive. Moreover, when the display units 11a, 11b connected by the hinges 15, 15 are opened so as to be in a same plane, detection switches 14, 14 are formed on the connection faces. And, when a liquid crystal display screen A of the display unit 11a and a liquid crystal display screen B of the display unit 11b are bent to be chevron with each screen faced outside, the display units are supplied with vertically reversed picture signals from a display control part in a main body housing, and same pictures are displayed on the liquid crystal display screens A, B of the display units 11a, 11b when they are watched from both sides.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a display device provided in an electronic device, and more particularly, to a display device suitable for a portable electronic device having a built-in computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 is an external view of a conventional portable electronic device having a built-in computer. A conventional portable electronic device (hereinafter, referred to as a “portable computer device”) 100 shown in FIG. 1 has a main body 101 provided with an operation unit 102 such as a keyboard and a floppy disk drive (FDD) 103. In addition, although not shown, an arithmetic processing unit (CPU) and a memory are provided therein. The lid 104 is provided with a display device 105 for displaying an image, such as a liquid crystal display. In such a portable computer device 100, since the main body 101 and the display device 105 such as a liquid crystal display are integrally formed, compared to a stationary computer device in which the main body and the display device are separately provided. Therefore, there is an advantage that it is excellent in portability.

[0003]

In recent years, the demand for the portable computer device 100 as described above has been increasing more and more along with the maintenance and expansion of the Internet and the like. The purposes are wide and diverse. For example, in business activities, meetings, and the like, it is frequently used to display an image on a display screen of the display device 105 and explain information to a plurality of people.

[0004] However, the display screen of the display device 105 is arranged so as to face a person who operates the operation unit 102 provided in the main body unit 101, so that a plurality of persons can simultaneously view the image of the display screen. This is difficult, and there is a problem that the form of use is limited.

The speed of the CPU provided in the main body 101 of the portable computer device 100 and the increase in the capacity of the memory have greatly increased the amount of image information that can be displayed on the display screen of the display device 105. in spite of,
Since the screen size of the display screen is small, there is a disadvantage that the number of images that can be displayed at one time is limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and various portable electronic devices capable of simultaneously displaying a display screen to a plurality of persons or providing a display screen which is easy to view. An object of the present invention is to provide a display device for a device.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a display device according to the present invention comprises at least first and second display means provided with an image display surface. Connecting means are provided so that the image display surfaces of the means are respectively located outside and connected so as to form a mountain shape. When the first and second display means are formed into a mountain shape, display control is performed so that the same image is displayed on the image display surfaces of the first and second display means. I did it.

The connecting means includes a hinge means for connecting one of the first and second display means to bend freely, and a fixing means for fixing an opening angle of the first and second display means. Means. Still further, the hinge means electrically connects the first and second display means, and the fixing means includes a connector receiving portion provided on each of the first and second display means, A cable connected to one side for supplying an image signal, and a locking member capable of locking the cable are provided, and the first or second display means forms a desired angle so as to form a desired angle. The position is locked and fixed by the locking member at the other connector receiving portion to which the cable is not connected.

Further, the display device of the present invention has a first and a second display means provided with at least an image display surface, and the image display surface is turned outward from a state in which the first and second display means are folded. Connecting means that can be expanded until they are on the same plane, and detecting means for detecting the expanded state of the first and second display means, and the first and second display means are in a flat state by the detecting means. Is detected, the display is controlled to display an enlarged image on the image display surfaces of the first and second display means, and the first and second display means are detected by the detection means. When it is detected that is not in the planar state, the display is controlled so that the same image is displayed on the image display surfaces of the first and second display means. The detecting means is a switch for detecting whether or not the first and second display means are deployed so as to be in a planar state.

The electronic apparatus according to the present invention has at least first and second display means provided with at least an image display surface, and an image display surface outside when the first and second display means are folded. A display device including a connection unit that can be expanded to the same plane, a detection unit that detects an expanded state of the first and second display units, and a control unit that performs at least display control of the display device; And a main unit having a user interface, and the control unit controls display of the first and second display units according to the detection result of the detection unit.

Further, the first and second display means are each provided with a signal transmission line on the back side of the image display surface, and the first and second display means are connected via the signal transmission line. Image information can be mutually transmitted. Furthermore, a housing for accommodating the main body is provided, and a lid is formed. The lid has a storage for storing the first and second display means in a folded state. One of the first and second display means is connected, and the first
When the second display means has a mountain shape, the shape is held by the concave portion of the storage portion. Note that the electronic device is portable.

According to the display device of the present invention, the first and the second are provided.
The display means controls the display so that the same image is displayed on each of the image display surfaces when the image display surface is on the outside and has a chevron shape. Can be shown. Further, when the first and second display means are developed so as to be in a planar state, display control is performed so as to display one enlarged image on the image display surface. Can be.

Furthermore, the display device can be stored in the main body of the device by folding and reducing the size of the display device, so that the display device is excellent in portability. Therefore, electronic devices equipped with this display device are also excellent in screen use,
In addition, the electronic device is convenient for portability.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of an electronic apparatus to which the display device of the present invention is applied will be described below. FIG. 1 shows an external view of an example of an electronic apparatus of the present invention including a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device shown in FIG. 1 is a portable electronic device 1 such as a portable computer device, for example.
And a display device 4.

An operation unit 3 such as a keyboard and a floppy disk drive (FDD) 5 are provided in the main body housing 2, and an arithmetic processing unit (CPU), a memory, and the like are provided in the inside (not shown). Is provided. Further, a connector receiving portion 8 to which the connector 21 of the cable 20 is connected is provided. Note that the other end of the cable 20 is connected to the display device 4 as described later. Further, the lid 7 is formed with a concave storage portion 6 which can store the display device 4 formed separately.

The display device 4 includes a display unit 11a and a display unit 11b having the same shape, and is stored in the storage unit 6 in a state where the display units 11a and 11b are folded as shown in FIG. A display screen is formed by expanding the display units 11a and 11b.

Next, the detailed configuration of the display device 4 is shown in FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an example in which the display units 11a and 11b of the display device 4 are expanded so as to form a mountain shape, and FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating the display units 11a and 11b of the display device 4. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where the image is developed so that 11b becomes a plane.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the display device 4 is constituted by, for example, two display units 11a and 11b, one side of which is mechanically and electrically connected by hinges 15 and 15. It is connected to the. Hinge 15
Is constituted by, for example, a flexible harness or the like which is bendable and can transmit signals. Further, when the display units 11a and 11b connected by the hinges 15 and 15 are developed until they become the same plane as shown in FIG.
Detection switches 14 and 14 are formed. The configuration of the detection switch 14 will be described later.

The detection switches 14, 14 are expanded so that the display units 11a, 11b are formed in a mountain shape as shown in FIG. 1A, or are formed as flat surfaces as shown in FIG. Detecting whether it is expanded. Further, connector receiving portions 12a and 12b to which the connector 21 of the cable 20 can be connected are provided on the side surfaces of the display units 11a and 11b, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the display units 11a and 11b of the display device 4 having the above-described structure are arranged such that the liquid crystal display surface A of the display unit 11a and the liquid crystal display surface B of the display unit 11b are connected to each other. When the cable 20 is connected to the connector receiving portion 12a of the display unit 11a, one of which is connected to the connector receiving portion 8 of the main body housing 2 shown in FIG. By connecting the other connector 21, a display signal from a display control unit in the main body housing 2 is transmitted to the display unit 11 a, 1.
1b, and the display of the display device 4 is controlled.

The display unit 11b of the display device 4
Is connected to the display unit 1 by the hinge 15 as described above.
Since it is electrically connected to the display unit 1a, the display control unit in the main unit housing 2 can also perform display control of the display unit 11b via the display unit 11a. That is, if the display control unit in the main unit housing 2 and the connector receiving unit 12a of the display unit 11a are connected by the cable 20, the display control unit in the main unit housing 2 allows the display units 11a and 11b to be connected. Display control of the entire display device 4 can be performed. Thus, when the display controller in the main body housing 2 supplies an image signal whose up-down direction is reversed to the display unit, both sides of the liquid crystal display surfaces A and B of the respective display units 11a and 11b are provided. , The same image is displayed.

On the other hand, a cable stopper 13 is attached to the connector receiving portion 12b of the display unit 11b so as to lock the cable 20, which will be described later. Therefore, if the length of the cable 20 between the connector receiving portions 12a and 12b is adjusted to be a predetermined length and the cable 20 is locked by the cable stopper 13, the hinge 1
Display units 11a, 11 connected by
b can be maintained at a desired angle. That is, when the display units 11a and 11b are formed in the shape of a mountain, the shapes are adjusted and held by the cable 20.

The display units 11a, 11a,
11b, the liquid crystal display surfaces A and B as shown in FIG.
If it is deployed so that it is a flat surface with
By connecting the connector 21 of the cable 20 to the connector receiving portion 12a or 12b, display control of the display device 4 is performed by the display control section in the main body housing 2, and The enlarged image can be displayed on the liquid crystal display surfaces A and B of the display units 11a and 11b in accordance with the image signal from the display control unit.

Next, FIG. 3 shows the display units 11a and 11
3 shows an example of the configuration of the detection switches 14 provided on the joint surface b. As shown in FIG.
Detection switch 1 provided on the joint surface of 1a, 11b
A spring terminal 16 is formed at the right end of the joint surface of the display unit 11a, for example, as one terminal of the detection switch 14.
A terminal plate 17 serving as the other terminal is formed on the joint surface of the display unit 11b corresponding to the above.

Further, for example, a spring terminal 16 is formed at the left end of the joint surface of the display unit 11b, and the display unit 1 corresponding to the spring terminal 16 is formed.
A terminal plate 17 serving as the other terminal is formed on the joint surface 1a.

The spring terminal 16 is formed of a conductive metal having elasticity, such as a leaf spring, and the terminal plate 17 is formed of, for example, a flat conductive metal. Note that the terminal plate 17 is not necessarily formed of a conductive metal, but may be formed of the same material when, for example, the display unit is formed by a low-resistance mold or the like.

As described above, one of the detection switches 14 is formed by the spring terminal 16 having elasticity.
When the other is formed by a flat terminal plate 17, when the display units 11a and 11b are developed so as to be flat, the spring terminals 16 and the terminal plate 17 come into contact with each other, and the display units 11a and 11b are connected. When the terminal is unfolded in a mountain shape, the spring terminal 16 and the terminal plate 17 are in a non-contact state. Thus, the detection switch 14 can detect the deployment status of the display units 11a and 11b.

The detection switch 14 can be formed at, for example, only one of the ends of the joining surfaces of the display units 11a and 11b without being provided at both ends of the joining surfaces. When the display units 11a and 11b are unfolded so as to be flat, the spring terminals 16 and the terminal plate 17 can be reliably brought into contact with each other, so that the reliability is improved and Since the shapes of the display units 11a and 11b can be made the same, the cost can be reduced by the mass production effect.

Next, FIG. 4 shows the display units 11a and 11b.
1 shows a structure of a signal transmission line formed in FIG. In addition,
This figure shows only the display unit 11b of the display device 4. In the display unit 11b shown in this figure, one surface (not shown) is a liquid crystal display surface B, and a signal transmission line 18 as shown by oblique lines is formed on the back surface.

The signal transmission line 18 is a signal line for transmitting an image signal transmitted from the display unit 11a via a hinge (not shown) to the display unit 11b, and a signal line for transmitting a detection result of the detection switch 14. Therefore, it is formed so as to be connected to the terminal plate 17, the connector receiving portion 12b, the spring terminal 16 and the like of the display unit 11b. Further, the signal transmission line 18 transmits the input image signal to the display unit 11b.
Is supplied to a built-in drive circuit in order to project an image on the liquid crystal display surface.

As described above, the connector receiving portion 12b is
Cable stopper 13 to lock cable 20
Are attached to hold the cable 20. In addition, as shown in FIG.
When b is provided on both side surfaces of the display unit 11b, it is possible to improve the convenience of the installation location and the use state of the display device 4.

Next, FIG. 5 shows an example in which the display device 4 is assembled and set in the storage section 6 formed in the lid section 7 of the portable electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment. The display unit 11a and the lid 7 of the display device 4 shown in this figure are mechanically connected in the storage unit 6 (not shown), and the display unit 11a is electrically connected to the main body casing 2. ing.

In this case, the display unit 11 of the display device 4
When the display units 11a and 11b are developed so as to be flat, there is a restriction. However, as shown in the drawing, the display units 11a and 11b are held by using the concave portions of the storage unit 6 so as to have a mountain shape. Can be. Therefore, the cable 20 for connecting the display control unit in the main body housing 2 to the display device 4 is provided.
And the detection switches 14 of the display units 11a and 11b,
The connector receiving portions 12a and 12b are not required, so that the cost can be significantly reduced and the convenience of handling can be improved.

Next, a driving method for displaying an image on the display device 4 will be described. FIG. 6 shows a control signal system diagram for displaying an image provided in the main body housing 2 of the portable electronic device 1, and includes a first image control unit 40 and a second image control unit 40 enclosed by broken lines. Image control unit 41, microcomputer control unit 45, panel switch (SW) selector 46
It is constituted by.

The first image control unit 40 enclosed by a broken line
And a screen scan converter 43. The 分割 dividing circuit 42 has a memory for storing the image signal supplied from the main body housing 2 and a function of dividing the supplied image signal into two before and after the operation line. Is controlled by a control signal from the microcomputer control unit 45.

Although not shown, the screen scan converter 43 has an image memory having a capacity of at least one frame or more, and the image signal is divided into two by a 1/2 dividing circuit 42, and each is divided. The number of scanning lines of the image is increased so that the image can be displayed. That is, 1/2
Since the number of scanning lines of the image that has been subjected to the half-split processing by the dividing circuit 42 is halved, if displayed as it is, only half of the screen is displayed. Therefore, the number of scanning lines of this image is doubled. After the increase, the image is enlarged and displayed on one screen of liquid crystal display surfaces A and B including the display units 11a and 11b.

The second image control section 41 is constituted by a normal scan circuit 44. The normal scan circuit 44 includes at least one normal scan circuit (not shown).
The display unit 11 has an image memory having a capacity equal to or more than a frame, and an image corresponding to the supplied image signal.
The image signals whose up and down directions are reversed are simultaneously output to the display units 11a and 11b so as to be displayed on the liquid crystal display surfaces A and B of a and 11b, respectively.
Thereby, the same image can be observed when the liquid crystal display surfaces A and B of the display units 11a and 11b are opposed to each other.

The detection switch 14 is a detection switch provided on the joint surface between the display units 11a and 11b of the display device 4. The detection switch 14 is expanded so that the display units 11a and 11b are flat or has a chevron shape. It is detected whether or not it has been developed to have a shape, and the detection result is output to the microcomputer control unit 45.

The microcomputer control section 45 controls each section based on the operation of the operation section 3, and
Switching of the panel SW selector 46 is controlled according to a detection signal from the detection switch 14. The panel SW selector 46 outputs the supplied image signal to the first image control unit 40 or the second image control unit 41 based on the control signal of the microcomputer control unit 45. In addition,
Such switching control of the panel SW selector 46 includes:
Of course, the operation can be performed by the operation unit 3.

That is, in the control signal system configured as described above, the display units 11a and 11
To display an image on the display unit 11a, first, the display units 11a,
The deployment state of the display units 11a and 11b of the display device 4 is detected by a detection switch 14 provided on the display device 11b.

Then, the microcomputer control unit 45
Are connected to the display units 11a. If it is determined that the image 11b is developed, for example, as a plane, the panel SW selector 46 is controlled so that an image signal is supplied to the first image control unit 40, and the first image Control unit 40
Is supplied with an image signal. Then, the first image controller 40 performs scanning control such that the horizontal scanning line of the image signal is doubled. Therefore, in this case, the liquid crystal display surfaces A,
The image enlarged twice in the horizontal direction is displayed on B.

On the other hand, the microcomputer control section 45 detects the display units 11a. If it is determined that the image signal 11b is expanded, for example, into a mountain shape, the panel S is controlled so that an image signal is supplied to the second image control unit 41.
The control of the W selector 46 is performed so that an image signal is supplied to the second image control unit 41. Then, the second image control unit 41 simultaneously outputs the inverted image signal to the display units 11a and 11b. Therefore,
In this case, when viewing the liquid crystal display surfaces A and B of the display units 11a and 11b, the same image is displayed.

[0043]

As described above, in the display device according to the present invention, when the image display surfaces of the first and second display means are formed to be outside the image display surfaces, the respective image display is performed. Since display control is performed so that the same image is displayed on the surface, a plurality of persons can simultaneously view the screen. Further, when the first and second display means are developed so as to be in a planar state, display control is performed so as to display one enlarged image on the image display surface.
It is possible to make the screen easy to see.

Furthermore, the electronic device of the present invention is suitable for carrying because the storage portion for storing the display unit in the folded state is provided in the lid portion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an expanded state of the display device of the portable electronic device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a detection switch provided in the display device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a wiring example of a signal transmission line of the display device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration in a case where an electronic device and a display device according to the present embodiment are integrally configured.

FIG. 6 is a display mode signal control system diagram for controlling the display device of the electronic apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an external view of a conventional portable computer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 portable electronic device, 2 main body casing, 3 operation section, 4 display device, 5 FDD, 6 storage section, 7 lid section, 8 12
a 12b connector receiving part, 9 main body part, 11a, 11
b Display unit, 5 floppy storage unit, 6 display storage unit, 7 lid unit, 8 connection connector unit, 13 cable stopper, 14 detection switch, 15 hinge, 16 spring terminal, 17 terminal plate, 18 signal transmission line, 20 cable, 21 22 connector,
40 first image control unit, 41 second image control unit, 42
1/2 split circuit, 43 screen scan converter, 44 normal scan circuit, 45 microcomputer control unit, 46 panel switch selector

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An image display apparatus comprising: at least first and second display means having an image display surface, wherein the first and second display means have a chevron shape with the image display surfaces of the first and second display means being on the outside, respectively. A display device comprising a connecting means for connecting the first and second display means to bend freely. 2. When the first and second display means have a mountain shape, the same image is displayed on an image display surface of each of the first and second display means. The display device according to claim 1, wherein display control is performed on the display device. 3. The hinge according to claim 1, wherein the connecting means is configured to connect one of the first and second display means to bend freely, and the opening angle of the first and second display means is fixed. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display device comprises: 4. The display device according to claim 3, wherein said hinge means electrically connects said first and second display means. 5. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the fixing unit includes: a connector receiving unit provided on each of the first and second display units; a cable connected to one of the connector receiving units for supplying an image signal; A locking member capable of locking the cable, wherein a desired position of the cable is set by the locking member so that the first or second display means forms a desired angle.
4. The display device according to claim 3, wherein the cable is locked and fixed by the other connector receiving portion to which the cable is not connected. 6. At least a first and a second display means having an image display surface, and the image display surface being outward from the folded state of the first and the second display means, and are on the same plane. And a detecting means for detecting an expanded state of the first and second display means, wherein the first and second display means are in a planar state by the detecting means. Is detected, the display is controlled so as to display an enlarged image on the image display surfaces of the first and second display means, and the first and second displays are performed by the detection means. If it is detected that the means is not in the planar state, the first and second
A display device characterized in that display control is performed such that the same image is displayed on the image display surface of the display means. 7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said detection means is a switch for detecting whether said first and second display means are expanded so as to be in a planar state. Display device. 8. A signal transmission line is wired to each of the first and second display means on the back surface of an image display surface, and the first and second display means are connected via the signal transmission line. 7. The display device according to claim 6, wherein image information can be mutually transmitted. 9. At least a first and a second display means provided with an image display surface, and the image display surface is outward from the folded state of the first and the second display means, so that they are flush with each other. Connection means that can be deployed to the first
A display device comprising: a detection unit that detects an expanded state of the second display unit; and a control unit that performs display control of at least the display device;
An electronic device, comprising: a main unit having a user interface; and wherein the control unit controls display of the first and second display units according to a detection result of the detection unit. 10. A housing for accommodating the main body, and a lid, wherein the lid is formed with a storage for accommodating the first and second display means in a folded state. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein: 11. The storage section, wherein one of the first and second display means is connected to the storage section, and the first and second display means have a mountain shape. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the shape is held by the concave portion. 12. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the electronic device is portable.