JPH11327719A - Portable information processor and control method therefore - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable to display information for confirmation of a current position of a user by having a portable information processor display a huge amount of position information (a map, the current position, a text or the like) and to make a horizontally long display screen or vertically long display screen in a state where the processor is fitted on a body of the user and in accordance with contents of the information to be displayed. SOLUTION: In this device 10, it is possible to switch between a vertically long display screen and a horizontally long display screen only by rotating an information processing body 12 and to surely perform display in accordance with display information even in a state where gloves or the like are put on. Moreover, only by confirming whether the screen is horizontally or vertically long, intuitive grasp of a display mode is enabled so that operability is improved. If the displaying of information quantity is needed or the information itself is vertically long, the vertically long display is performed; if the quanty of information is a few but display of a piece of information is necessary or the information itself is horizontally long, the information is viewed at a sight by performing the horizontally long display, and missing of the information is prevented, and efficiency of data reading is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable information processing apparatus and a control method therefor, and more particularly to a portable information processing apparatus such as a wristwatch type which can be carried on a user's body and its control. Method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional wristwatch-type portable information processing apparatus, there is known a digital multifunction wristwatch that displays alphanumeric characters in a seven-segment system representing various data on a horizontally long screen. In addition, a wristwatch-type liquid crystal television to which a television tuner is connected and capable of television display is also known.

[0003]

By the way, an enormous amount of position information (map,
In the case of displaying the current position, text, etc.) and confirming information on the current position of the user, the configuration of the digital wristwatch has a problem that the amount of information is too small to be practical. That is, in the digital multifunction wristwatch, information of at most about four digits is stored in three.
This is because only lines are displayed.

The above-mentioned conventional wristwatch type liquid crystal television is
It is assumed that a horizontally long screen (aspect ratio 3: 4) is displayed. For example, when a vertically long screen is more suitable as a display form, such as when a map is displayed in a traveling direction while moving. Even so, there is a problem that such a display cannot be performed, that is, a landscape screen or a portrait screen cannot be formed depending on display contents.

Here, the display screen is 2 inches or less, 1
When a portable information processing apparatus capable of displaying a dot matrix of about / 4 VGA (aspect ratio 3: 4, 120 × 160 dots) and VGA (aspect ratio 3: 4, 480 × 640 dots) is assumed, the following problem occurs. A point occurs.

(A) Problems in the case of a landscape screen display For example, it is assumed that a user wears a wristwatch-type portable information processing device on his wrist and checks map information in the traveling direction while moving on foot. In this case, the user raises his / her arm in front of the face and looks at the display screen in the same manner as the wristwatch. However, the current position of the user is displayed on the 6 o'clock side (front side) of the wristwatch, and the 12 o'clock side (back side) is displayed. If a method of displaying a map on a display screen so that the traveling direction comes to () (a well-known display method in a car navigation system) is adopted, there is little information on the traveling direction that one originally wants to know. A lot of insignificant left and right information will be displayed.

Therefore, in order to know more information about the traveling direction, the desired information is displayed by scrolling the screen. That is, there is a problem that the number of times of scrolling to display the information desired to be known increases, and the usability is not very good. In this case, a method of displaying the map with a reduced scale for the traveling direction is also conceivable. However, there is a problem that the amount of information as the map is reduced, and the display screen is difficult to see due to its small size. .

(B) Problems in Displaying a Vertical Screen Similar to the case of displaying a landscape screen, when the user needs information in the left-right direction, desired information is displayed by scrolling the screen. As a result, the number of times of scrolling increases, and the usability is not very good. Further, when the map is displayed with a reduced scale in the left-right direction, the amount of information as a map is reduced, and the display screen is so small that it is hard to see.

[0009] In addition, the screen display may be changed to 9 as required by the user.
Although a configuration in which the information terminal device is rotated by 0 degrees is conceivable, in the case of a wristwatch-type information terminal device, since it is used while being fixed to the wrist, it is ergonomically impossible to rotate the information terminal device in accordance with the display direction. This poses a problem that it is not practical. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to display an enormous amount of position information (map, current position, text, etc.) on a portable information processing apparatus and to confirm information on a user's current position, It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable information processing apparatus capable of displaying a screen, in a state of being worn on a user's body, and having a horizontally long screen or a vertically long screen according to the content of information to be displayed. .

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus comprising: a fixed member; a movable member formed to be rotatable by a predetermined angle relative to the fixed member; A rotation state detection unit that detects a rotation state of the movable member with respect to the fixed member, a display unit that has a rectangular display screen, is provided on the movable member, and performs various information displays, Display mode changing means for changing the display mode of the display means based on the rotating state of the movable member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the portable information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the predetermined angle is substantially 90 degrees, and the rotation state detecting means determines that the rotation angle of the rotation member is equal to or smaller than 90 degrees. Detecting that a rotation end which is 0 degrees or substantially 90 degrees is reached, and the display mode detection means changes the display mode based on a state of the display means at the rotation end. I have.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the fixing member is
It is characterized by having a band portion that can be wound around the wrist of the user and attached.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a movable member having a fixed member and a rectangular display screen provided on a movable member formed to be rotatable by a predetermined angle relative to the fixed member. A display device for displaying information, the method for controlling a portable information processing device, comprising: a rotation state detection step of detecting a rotation state of the movable member with respect to the fixed member; and a detected rotation state of the movable member. And a display mode changing step of changing a display mode on the display device based on the above.

[0014]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. [1] External Appearance of Portable Information Terminal Device FIGS. 1A and 1B are external perspective views of the portable information terminal device. The portable information terminal device 10 roughly includes a belt portion 11 functioning as a fixing member for attaching and fixing the portable information terminal device 10 to a user's arm, and an information processing device main body 12. It is configured. The information processing device main body 12 includes a display device 14 having a rectangular display screen 13 configured by a liquid crystal display or the like for displaying various information, and input buttons B1 to input, confirm, and cancel various data. B3.

In this case, the information processing apparatus main body 12
Is attached to the belt portion 11 so as to be rotatable by approximately 90 [゜], and by rotating, when the rotation angle is 0 [゜], as shown in FIG. Display is possible, and when the rotation angle is about 90 [゜], a portrait screen can be displayed as shown in FIG.

[2] Schematic Configuration of Portable Information Processing Device FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration block diagram of the portable information processing device 10. The portable information processing device 10 holds a CPU 21 for controlling the entire portable information processing device 10, a RAM 22 that functions as an execution memory when executing various processes, and information that may be updated in a nonvolatile state. ROM 23 that stores information that is unlikely to be updated, such as display font information and basic map information.
An OM 24, a display device 14, an input device 25 provided with input buttons B1 to B3, an infrared interface,
A communication unit for communicating with a personal computer via a serial interface or the like and for communicating with an external computer or the like wirelessly via a PHS;
6. GPS unit 27 that receives GPS radio waves from GPS satellites and calculates the current position of portable information processing device 10
And is provided.

[3] Outline Operation of Portable Information Processing Apparatus Next, an outline operation of the portable information processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows a main processing flowchart. When the power of the portable information processing device is turned on, a startup process is performed (step S1), and the display screen 13 of the display device 14 displays "Starting ..." as shown in FIG. Is displayed. When the start-up process is completed, the process shifts to a normal process (step S2), and a process selection screen is displayed on the display screen 13 as shown in FIG.

Thus, the user can move the selection cursor CUR displayed on the display screen 13 to a position corresponding to the processing content desired to be selected by the selection button B2 (for upward movement) and the cancel button B1 (for downward movement). Move and press the confirmation button B3 (for data confirmation) to select. Thus, when the clock process is selected in the process selection as shown in FIG. 5A, the date and the current time are displayed on the display screen 13 as shown in FIG. 5B. .

As shown in FIG. 5A, when the address book process is selected in the process selection, the name, telephone number, address, etc. are displayed on the display screen 1 as shown in FIG. 5C.
3 will be displayed. Further, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the memo pad process is selected in the process selection,
As shown in FIG. 5D, the date, the schedule contents, and the like are displayed on the display screen 13. Furthermore, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5A, when a navigation process is selected in the process selection, an initial screen of the navigation process is displayed as shown in FIG.

[4] Specific Operation of Portable Information Processing Device [4.1] Navigation Processing Operation Next, as an example of a specific operation, an operation when the navigation processing is selected will be described. FIG. 6 shows a processing flowchart of the navigation processing and a processing flowchart of the corresponding server computer. When the navigation process is selected, the portable information processing device 10
The PU 21 controls the display device 14 to display an initial screen of the navigation processing, and also displays the GPS unit 27.
To collect position information (step S11).

Then, the CPU 21 determines the current position of the portable information processing device 10 based on the collected position information (step S12), and reads the ROM 24 or the flash RO.
Based on the stored contents of M23, it is determined whether or not the current position is on the map (step S13). More specifically, RO
Check the data in M24.
The OM 23 data will be checked. If it is determined in step S13 that map information of the current position exists, the process proceeds to step S15.

If it is determined in step S13 that there is no map information of the current position (step S13; N
o), a map information collection process is performed (step S14). More specifically, it connects to the server computer via a wireless line via the communication unit 26, and transmits the current position information (step S16). Thereby, the server computer receives the position information (step S21), selects the map information from its own database (step S22),
The map information is transmitted via the wireless line (step S2
3).

As a result, the CPU 21 receives the map information via the communication unit 26 (step S17), and stores the map information in the flash ROM 23.
Alternatively, data communication is performed between a server computer and a personal computer at home. There is also a method of reading the result from a personal computer into the information processing apparatus of the present embodiment. And the CPU 21
Is the map basic information in the ROM 24 and the flash RO
Based on the map information stored in M, a map including the current position information is displayed on the display screen 13 of the display device 14 (step S15).

[4.1.1] Map Display Operation Here, the map display operation will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the map display operation process in the navigation process. First, when the user selects a display mode (step S31), the CPU 21
Determines whether the selected display mode is the search mode (step S32).

[4.1.1.1] Operation in search mode If it is determined in step S32 that the display mode is the search mode (step S32; Yes), the CPU
21 checks the current position (= current position coordinates) (step S33), and cuts out necessary information (map) from the map information so that the current position is the center of the screen (step S3).
4). Then, as shown in FIG. 8A, a map is displayed centering on the current position of the portable information processing device 10 (step S35), and the current position is displayed (step S3).
6).

In this case, as shown in FIG. 1A, when the information processing apparatus main body 12 is set in the landscape display state, as shown in FIG. A map is displayed in a landscape state centering on the current position PNOW. Also, as shown in FIG. 1B, when the information processing apparatus 12 is set in the portrait display state, FIG.
As shown in (a-2), a map is displayed in a vertically long state with its current position PNOW as the center.

The detection of the horizontally long display state and the vertically long display state is performed, for example, by rotating the information processing apparatus main body 12 and reaching the rotation end (= rotation angle 0 [゜] and approximately 90 [゜]). What is necessary is just to detect using a micro switch or an optical switch. As compared with the case of a display screen having one side of the same length as the long side of the display screen by switching between the landscape display and the portrait display, the area that cannot be displayed is a shaded area in FIG. However, from the viewpoint of miniaturization, weight reduction, and cost reduction of the portable information processing apparatus, the present embodiment is considered to be more preferable.

[4.1.1.2] Operation in Move Mode In the determination in step S32, if the display mode is not the search mode, that is, if the display mode is the move mode (step S32; No), the CPU 21 Is a GPS
It is determined whether or not the user is moving based on a change in the current position based on the position information from the unit 27 (step S3).
7). If it is determined in step S37 that the user has not moved (step S37; No), the process proceeds to step S37.
33, and a map is displayed with the current position as the center of the screen as in the case of the search mode (steps S33 to S3).
6).

If it is determined in step S37 that the vehicle is moving (step S37; Yes), the moving direction and the moving speed are calculated based on the change in the current position information from the GPS unit 27 (step S38). Then, necessary information (map) is cut out from the map information so that the current position is located at the lower center of the screen (step S39). Then, as shown in FIG. 9A, a map is displayed with the current position of the portable information processing device 10 set at the lower center of the screen (step S35), and the current position is displayed (step S36).

In this case, as shown in FIG. 1A, when the information processing apparatus main body 12 is set to the landscape display state, as shown in FIG. A map is displayed in a horizontally long state with the current position PNOW at the center of the bottom of the screen. Also, as shown in FIG. 1B, when the information processing device 12 is set to the portrait display state,
As shown in FIG. 9 (a-2), a map is displayed in a vertically long state with the current position PNOW of the user at the center of the lower part of the screen. The detection of the landscape display state and the portrait display state is performed, for example, by rotating the information processing apparatus main body 12 and detecting that the rotation end (= rotation angle 0 [゜] and approximately 90 [゜]) has been reached by a micro switch or What is necessary is just to detect using an optical switch etc.

The area that cannot be displayed as compared with the case of the display screen having the same side length as the long side of the display screen by switching between the landscape display and the portrait display is indicated by oblique lines in FIG. 9B. It is an area, but there is no problem in practical use,
This embodiment is considered to be more preferable from the viewpoint of miniaturization, weight reduction, and cost reduction of the portable information processing device.

[4.2] Address Book Processing Next, the operation in the address book processing will be described.
The address book process collectively manages information such as acquaintances of information such as names, addresses, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, face photographs, and remarks. FIG. 10 shows a display screen transition diagram in the address book processing. When "Address Book" is selected on the processing selection screen shown in FIG.
An address book start screen F1 is displayed, and after a lapse of a predetermined time, an address book selection screen F2 is displayed.

Here, it is assumed that a certain item is extracted from these management items and a continuous display is performed. On the address book selection screen F2, extraction conditions are displayed. In the case of the above example, "extract by name", "extract by address", "extract by e-mail address", "extract by telephone number", An extraction condition selection screen such as “extract with face photo” is displayed. When an extraction condition is selected by operating the buttons B1 to B3 on the address book selection screen F2, an information display screen F3 is displayed according to the selected extraction condition.

More specifically, when "extract by name" is selected, when the information processing apparatus main body 12 is set to the landscape display state as shown in FIG. The landscape name extraction display screen F31H is displayed. According to the horizontally-long name extraction display screen F31H, the entire name is displayed, so that even when there are many acquaintances with the same last name, it is possible to reliably determine. Further, the information processing apparatus main body 12
Is set to the portrait display state as shown in FIG. 1B, the portrait name extraction display screen F31V is displayed. According to the portrait name extraction display screen F31V,
Since more names can be displayed as compared to the landscape name extraction display screen F31H, the number of scrolls can be reduced, particularly in the search mode, so that the usability at the time of search can be improved.

When "extract by address" is selected, when the information processing apparatus main body 12 is set to the landscape display state as shown in FIG. The screen F32H is displayed. According to the landscape address extraction display screen F32H, the entire address (or most of the address) is displayed, so that even when there are many acquaintances in the same area, it is possible to reliably determine. Also,
When the information processing apparatus main body 12 is set to the portrait display state as shown in FIG. 1B, the portrait address extraction display screen F32V is displayed.

According to the portrait name extraction display screen F32V, more addresses can be displayed as compared with the landscape address extraction display screen F32H.
The search can be performed more quickly, the number of scrolls can be reduced, and the usability at the time of search can be improved. Further, when "extract by e-mail address" is selected, when the information processing apparatus main body 12 is set to the landscape display state as shown in FIG. The screen F33H is displayed. According to the landscape e-mail address extraction display screen F33H, the entire e-mail address (or most of the e-mail address) is displayed, so that even if there are many acquaintances in the same area, it is possible to make a reliable determination. Becomes

Further, the information processing apparatus main body 12 is similar to that shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, when the portrait display mode is set, the portrait e-mail address extraction display screen F33V is displayed. According to the portrait name extraction display screen F33V, more e-mail addresses can be displayed as compared with the landscape e-mail address extraction display screen F33H. Therefore, particularly in the search mode, the search can be performed more quickly and the number of scrolling can be reduced. It is possible to improve the usability at the time of the search by reducing the number. Also, when “extract by face photo” is selected, if a general portrait photo is used as the face photo, the face is not cut off when displaying one face photo at a time on one screen. That is, the screen display is preferably vertically long so that no information is lost. Therefore, in such a case, the face photograph extraction display screen F34
Is always displayed in a portrait mode, the information processing apparatus main body is rotated as shown in FIG. 1B so that the portrait display is performed. In particular, this method is effective in a case where the ratio must always be the same as in a passport photograph.

[4.3] Calendar Process Next, the operation in the calendar process will be described.
The calendar processing includes, for example, displaying a January calendar, managing and displaying appointments for a month, displaying a calendar for a week, managing and displaying appointments for a week, and managing appointments for a day. And display and display. FIG. 11 shows a display screen transition diagram in the calendar process. On the processing selection screen shown in FIG.
When "Calendar" is selected, a calendar start screen F11 is displayed, and after a lapse of a predetermined time, a calendar selection screen F12 is displayed.

On the calendar selection screen F12, display mode selection screens such as "month display", "week display", and "day display" are displayed. When the display mode is selected by operating the buttons B1 to B3 on the calendar selection screen F12, the information display screen F4 is displayed according to the selected display mode. More specifically, when "month display" is selected, the screen display is preferably horizontally long so that information is not lost. Therefore, in such a case, since the month display screen F41 is always in the landscape display, the information processing apparatus main body 12 is rotated to perform the landscape display as shown in FIG. I do.

When "week display" is selected and the information processing apparatus main body 12 is set to the landscape display state as shown in FIG. 1A, the landscape week calendar display is performed. The screen F42H is displayed. According to the landscape weekly calendar display screen F42H, the entire schedule per day is displayed, so that even when there are many schedules, it is possible to surely confirm the schedule. However, it is necessary to scroll the screen in order to see all of them, because not all of them are displayed for one week. Further, when the information processing apparatus main body 12 is set to the portrait display state as shown in FIG. 1B, the portrait week calendar display screen F42V is displayed. According to the portrait weekly calendar display screen F42V, the entire week can be displayed. Therefore, in the search mode for searching for a schedule, scrolling is not required and operability can be further improved.

When "date display" is selected and the information processing apparatus main body 12 is set to the landscape display state as shown in FIG. 1A, the landscape day calendar display is performed. The screen F43H is displayed. According to the landscape day calendar display screen F42H, the entire schedule per day is displayed, so that even when there are many schedules, it is possible to surely confirm the schedule. However, since not all of the day is displayed, it is necessary to scroll the screen to see all of them. Also, the information processing device main body 12 is
As shown in (b), when the portrait display mode is set, the portrait day calendar display screen F43V is displayed. According to the portrait day calendar display screen F43V, most of the day can be displayed. Therefore, in the search mode for searching for a schedule, the number of scrolls can be reduced and the operability can be further improved.

[5] Modification of Embodiment In the above description, the information processing apparatus main body 12 is substantially 90
[゜] The rotation is performed. However, the rotation may be performed by approximately 180 degrees. In the case of navigation processing or the like, a circular area may be displayed according to the rotation angle. . In this case, a rotation position detection device such as an optical encoder may be used to detect the rotation angle. In the above description, the wristwatch type is described. However, the present invention can be applied to a case where the wristwatch is worn on another part such as the waist.

[6] Effects of the Embodiment As described above, according to the present embodiment, the portrait display screen and the landscape display screen can be switched by simply rotating the information processing apparatus main body 12. Even when the degree of freedom of the fingertip is small, such as when wearing gloves,
The display according to the display information can be reliably performed by a simple operation. Furthermore, the display mode can be intuitively grasped only by checking the horizontal / vertical length of the screen, and the operability is improved. In this case, even if the display amount of each piece of information is small, if the number of pieces of information is necessary (for example, in the search mode) or if the information itself is vertically long (for example, in the case of a vertically long portrait photograph), the information FIG. 1A shows the processing apparatus main body 12.
In addition to the state shown in (1), by performing portrait display, scrolling of the screen can be reduced, or missing of information can be prevented.

When the information display amount is necessary even if the number of information is small, or when the information itself is horizontally long (for example, landscape landscape photograph), the information processing apparatus main body 12 is moved to the state shown in FIG.
By making the state shown in (b) and performing the landscape display, the information can be listed or the information can be prevented from being lost. In addition, data browsing efficiency is improved.
Furthermore, since only the screen can be rotated with the arm or the like fixed, ergonomically reasonable operation can be performed.

[0045]

According to the present invention, it is possible to switch between the portrait display screen and the landscape display screen only by rotating the movable member integrally with the display means. Even if the degree of freedom is small,
The display according to the display information can be reliably performed by a simple operation. Furthermore, the display mode can be intuitively grasped only by checking the horizontal / vertical length of the screen, and the operability is improved. Since it is possible to easily switch between the portrait display screen and the landscape display screen, it is easy to select a form of information to be displayed and a display form according to a user's request. Therefore, data can be browsed efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a portable information processing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a portable information processing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a main processing flowchart of the portable information processing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen of the portable information processing device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a process selection of the portable information processing device.

FIG. 6 is a processing flowchart of a navigation processing.

FIG. 7 is a processing flowchart of a display mode selection process in the navigation process.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a display state in a search mode of the navigation processing.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a display state in a movement mode of the navigation processing.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen transition of the address book processing.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of transition of a display screen in calendar processing.

[Description of Signs] 10: Portable information processing device 11: Belt section 12: Information processing device main body 13: Display screen 14: Display device 21: CPU 22, RAM 23, Flash ROM 24, ROM 25, Input device 26, Communication Unit 27… GPS unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] A fixed member; a movable member formed to be rotatable relative to the fixed member by a predetermined angle; and a rotation state detecting means for detecting a rotation state of the movable member with respect to the fixed member. A display unit having a rectangular display screen, provided on the movable member and displaying various information; and changing a display mode of the display unit based on the detected rotation state of the movable member. A portable information processing apparatus comprising: a display mode changing unit. 2. The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined angle is substantially 90 degrees, and the rotation state detection unit determines that the rotation angle of the rotation member is zero.
A rotation end that is approximately 90 degrees or approximately 90 degrees, and the display mode detection unit changes the display mode based on a state of the display unit at the rotation end. Portable information processing device. 3. The portable information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the fixing member has a band portion that can be wound around a user's wrist and attached thereto. 4. A display device having a fixed member and a rectangular display screen and displaying various information provided on a movable member formed to be rotatable by a predetermined angle with respect to the fixed member. A rotation state detection step of detecting a rotation state of the movable member with respect to the fixed member; and displaying the display based on the detected rotation state of the movable member. And a display mode changing step of changing a display mode in the apparatus.