JPH11353081A - Portable electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to selectively set function information to be displayed on a screen and not to be displayed in the case of presenting this information concerning plural functions for the user while displaying it on the screen. SOLUTION: Concerning the portable electronic equipment for displaying the function information (function name or mark) for specifying any function on a screen 15 for the user in order to selectively activate any function, the setting of whether or not the function information is to be displayed on the screen is accepted from the user by an operation part 19, this set display setting information is stored in a storage part 14 corresponding to the function information, and in the case of displaying the function information, according to the stored display setting information, only the function information set to be displayed is displayed on the screen of a display part 15 by a display control part 20. Besides, this equipment has a display setting function for changing the display setting information stored in the storage part 14 according to the setting of the user, and the user can arbitrarily change the display setting information later so as to display the information of the display setting function in a function selection picture at any time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable electronic device having a plurality of functions and presenting information of these functions to a user on a screen, and more particularly to a portable electronic apparatus for displaying a screen among a plurality of functions. The present invention relates to a portable electronic device in which a user can select and set which is not.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, mobile radio communication terminals, such as mobile phones and radio selective call receivers (pagers), have been remarkably becoming more sophisticated. It has a noise canceller function to clarify voices, a voice memo function to record the voice of the other party during a call, a telephone directory function to register names and telephone numbers, and the like. Function to protect important messages from being deleted from memory, message protection release function to release the protection function, alarm function to output alarm at specified time, phonebook function to register name and phone number, etc. And a wide variety of functions are being incorporated.

[0003] Here, such portable telephones and radio selective calling receivers have been miniaturized in order to enhance portability and commercial value, but the display screen is considered in view of the user's visibility. It is necessary to make the operation switch as large as possible, and also to make the operation switch a certain size in consideration of the operability of the user. Since the display screen and the operation switches must be arranged in a considerably limited space due to the miniaturization in this way, not many operation switches can be provided, and various functions provided in the portable wireless communication terminal device are not provided. Even when each function information is displayed on the screen for activation and a function is selected by a user's switch operation, the function information is generally displayed on a screen one by one so that the function can be selected with a few switch operations. The user is made to select one of them by a switch operation, or a plurality of pieces of function information are displayed on a screen in a menu format, and the user is made to select the function information by a switch operation.

However, since the portable radio communication terminal device has many (for example, 20 types) functions as described above, even when the function information is displayed on the screen one by one, Even if the function information is displayed on the screen in the form of a menu, in order to find out the desired function information from among the function information and activate the desired function, it is necessary to force the user to perform many complicated switch operations. It had become inconvenient to use.

Here, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 6-152497 discloses a radio selective call receiver that automatically changes the display order according to the frequency at which a user selects a function and displays function information on a screen. Have been. In this radio selective calling receiver, information of frequently used functions is displayed at the beginning of the function selection screen, and information of functions that are not frequently used is displayed at the end. However, in view of the actual situation, among the functions provided in the portable wireless communication terminal device, there are functions that are hardly used after setting once, and functions that are not used once by some users, Since the function information that does not need to be displayed on the screen is still displayed on the screen, the complexity of the display screen cannot be denied.

The above situation is not limited to portable radio communication terminals, but is widely applied to portable electronic devices having a function selection screen such as an electronic notebook, a portable information processing device having a document creation and schedule management function, and the like. I can say that.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has as its object to provide a portable electronic device which allows a user to select function information to be displayed on a screen. Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable wireless communication terminal device in which a user can select function information to be displayed on a screen in a preferred embodiment. The further specific purpose of the present invention will be described below.

[0008]

A portable electronic device according to the present invention has a plurality of functions. In order to selectively activate these functions, function information (functions) for specifying a function to a user is provided. Name, mark, etc.) are displayed on the display unit. Then, a setting as to whether or not to display the function information on the screen is received from the user by the operation unit, and the set display setting information is stored in the storage unit in association with the function information. Only the function information set to be displayed by the display control unit according to the stored display setting information is displayed on the display unit on the screen. Therefore, since only the function information set as the display target by the user is displayed on the function selection screen, the function information which the user does not need is omitted, and the user is presented with an uncomplicated screen display. hand,
The user can easily find a desired function display and quickly activate the function.

The portable electronic device according to the present invention has a display setting function for changing the display setting information stored in the storage unit according to the user setting received from the operation unit. The information is always displayed on the function information display screen (function selection screen for selecting a function) so that the user can arbitrarily change the display setting information once set later.

Specifically, display setting information is set to be displayed on the screen for the display setting function, and the change of the display setting information is prohibited, or the display setting function is controlled by the display setting information. In the display setting function, the display control unit displays the function information for all the functions provided regardless of the display setting information. On the screen. Therefore, information of the display setting function is always displayed on the function information display screen, and when this display setting function is activated, information of all functions provided in the portable electronic device is displayed on the screen,
The user can arbitrarily change the display setting information of each function while watching the screen display.

Further, the portable electronic device according to the present invention includes a liquid crystal panel as a display unit and a switch as an operation unit on the surface of a small portable casing, and a random access memory as a storage unit inside the casing. It is preferable that the present invention is implemented as a portable wireless communication terminal device including a processor that executes various function programs as a display control unit. Generally, in a portable communication terminal device such as a pager or a mobile phone, the size of the display screen is limited and the number of operation switches is limited due to the layout space. By operating the switch, only truly necessary function information is displayed from among a large number of functions, and the user can selectively activate a desired function without forcing a complicated operation.

Further, the portable electronic device according to the present invention is embodied as a portable wireless message receiver such as a pager for storing a wirelessly received message in a random access memory and displaying the message on a screen on a display unit. Is preferred. The function information and the display setting information are stored in the random access memory in association with each other as a table separately from the area for storing the message. As a result, in a portable wireless message receiver which is frequently accessed by reading and writing of a message, and which needs to secure a sufficient capacity for storing a message and maintain an easily accessible area structure, Function information and display setting information are stored in a structure that does not affect,
Further, access for displaying the function information on the screen is speeded up by tabulation.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail with reference to a radio selective call receiver (a pager with a display function or a radio message receiver with a display function) as an example of a portable electronic device. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a radio selective calling receiver according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure,
11 is a radio unit for receiving and demodulating a radio signal via the antenna 10, 12 is a memory (ID-ROM) for storing a self-assigned call number assigned in advance, 13 is a unit for controlling each function means and various functions. A ROM 14 stores various programs for realizing the program. A random access memory (R) stores received messages and tables described later.
AM), 15 is a display unit having a display screen such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) for displaying a function selection screen or a message, etc., 16 is an LED for notifying that there is a call by light, and 17 is that there is a call Is a sounding unit such as a speaker for notifying by a sound, 18 is a vibrating unit such as a vibrator for notifying that there is a call by vibration, and 19 is a user for selecting a function, reading a message, stopping a calling operation, and the like. Operation unit provided with a switch for the operation.

The radio selective calling receiver has a CPU.
A control unit 20 including a processor such as an MPU or an MPU is provided, and the control unit 20 executes a program stored in the ROM 13 to execute the above-described functional units 11 to 19.
The overall control. The control unit 20 executes a program stored in the ROM 13 to provide an ID comparison function, a function of reading and writing various data to and from the RAM 14, a function of controlling display on the display unit 15, and the like. Functions that can be selected and activated by the user to make the radio selective calling receiver more convenient, such as a telephone directory function, a time setting function, an alarm setting function, a sound pattern setting function, etc. To achieve.

For example, the control unit 20 compares the call number of the received signal with its own call number stored in the ID-ROM 12, and when both match, the control unit 20 receives the call number following the call number. The message is stored in the message storage area 21 of the RAM 14. Further, as will be described later, the control unit 20 displays on the display unit 15 function information such as a mark and a character string that specify a telephone directory function, a time setting function, and the like, and receives the operation information from the operation unit 19. Activate and execute the selected function according to the user operation.

In the RAM 14, in addition to the message storage area 21 for storing the received message, function information for specifying and displaying each function selected by the user and a display for controlling whether or not to display the function information. Function ON / OFF setting storage area 22 for storing setting information in association with setting information
Is provided. In this example, the function information and the display setting information are stored in the function ON / OFF setting storage area 22 as a rewritable table as shown in FIG. FIG. 2A shows an initial state, and FIG.
Indicates a state where ON / OFF of the display setting information has been changed by the user.

In this example, nine functions (functions A to J) are registered in this table as functions selectively activated in response to a user operation. The function name is stored in the “function” column, and ON / OFF display setting information indicating whether to display the function name on the screen is stored in association with the “display setting” column. In this example, function A is a telephone directory function, function B is a time setting function, function C is an alarm setting function, function D is a timer setting function, function E is a sound pattern setting function, function F is a volume setting function, and function G. Is a vibrator setting function, function H is a fixed message display function, function I is a self-made message display function, and function J is a display setting function. In this example, the function information specifying each function is a function name displayed in characters, but a mark representing each function may be used as the function information.

Here, the display setting function (function J) is a function for switching ON / OFF and rewriting each display setting information stored in the table in accordance with the setting by the user received from the operation unit 19. Is activated, the function information of all the functions A to J is displayed on the screen of the display unit 15 by the processing of the control unit 20 regardless of the display setting information. The user can change the display setting information by an operation from 19. In particular, this display setting function (function J) is different from the other functions A to H, and in this example, the display setting information is always set to ON to be displayed on the screen, and rewriting is prohibited. By selecting the function setting information displayed on the screen, the display setting function is activated, and whether or not the other functions A to H are displayed on the screen can be changed at any time.

In this embodiment, the display setting information is prohibited from being rewritten by setting a non-rewriteable flag at a certain address in the memory 14 as described above. The display setting function is excluded from the table for controlling whether the display setting function (function J) is not provided with the display setting information and the control unit 20 is always displayed on the function selection screen of the display unit 15. You may do so.

FIG. 3 shows the appearance of the radio selective calling receiver of this embodiment. This radio selective calling receiver is provided with a liquid crystal panel 1 constituting a display unit 15 on a surface of a portable small (eg, 50 mm × 100 mm) casing 25.
5a, a set switch 19a, a mode switch 19b, and a select dial switch 19c constituting the operation unit 19
Is provided with three switches,
5, a RAM 14, a control unit 20, and the like are provided.
As described above, the liquid crystal display screen 15a provided in the radio selective calling receiver of this example is not so large, and the operation switch 1
Although the number of 9a to 19c is not so large, in the present invention, the number of function information to be displayed on the screen and selected by a switch operation is reduced by the user. Can easily find the target function information and activate the corresponding function.

Next, an example of the function information display processing and the display setting function (function J) by the above-mentioned radio selective calling receiver will be described. The display processing procedure illustrated in FIG. 4 sequentially displays function information one by one on a function selection screen, and the processing procedure of the display setting function illustrated in FIG. 5 includes one function information when changing the display setting information. Are displayed one by one. First, when the user operates the mode switch 19b of the operation unit 19 to activate the function display process in a state where the radio selective calling receiver is powered on and waiting for reception, the control unit 20 stores the function ON / OFF setting. The first function information (function A) is read from the table of the area 22 (step S1), and the display setting information for this function information is ON.
Is determined (step S2). If the display setting information is OFF, the display processing for the next function information in the table (step S
Perform 6).

On the other hand, if the display setting information is ON, the control section 20 causes the display section 15 to display the function information on the screen (step S3). Then, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the set switch 19a has been pressed with respect to the displayed function information (step S4).
If 9c is operated (step S5), the function information to be displayed is switched according to the operation rotation direction of the select dial switch 19c. That is, when the select dial switch 19c is rotated to the right, the control unit 20 determines whether the next function information is present in the table (step S6). (Function B) is read out (step S7), and if not, the display processing ends. On the other hand, when the select dial switch 19c is rotated leftward, the control unit 20 determines whether there is function information preceding the table (step S8). The information is read out (step S9), and if there is no information, the display processing ends.

The display setting information is similarly confirmed for the next function information and the previous function information (step S2), and the display setting information is turned on in accordance with the switch operation by the user and the display setting information. Are sequentially displayed on the screen of the display unit 15 one by one. Therefore, the above series of processing (steps S2 to S
By repeating step 9), only the function information for which the display setting information is set to ON by the user is displayed on the screen, and the user can easily and quickly find the desired function information. The function information displayed on the screen in this manner is displayed by the user using the set switch 19.
If the corresponding function is activated by pressing “a” (step S4), the corresponding functions such as the telephone directory function, the time setting function, the display setting function, and the like described above are controlled by the control unit 20.
And executed (step S10).

When the set switch 19a is depressed, the control unit 20 specifies the function selected by depressing the switch (step S21), and activates and executes the corresponding function (step S22). In this case, when the set switch 19a is pressed while the function J is displayed on the screen, the control unit 20 activates the display setting function, which is a unique function according to the present invention, and sets the function ON / OFF. Top function information from the table in the storage area 22 (function A)
Is read and displayed on the display unit 15 on the screen (step S
23). In addition, this display setting function, as follows,
The control unit 20 does not judge the display setting information for each function information, and sequentially displays all the function information stored in the table one by one regardless of whether the display setting information is ON or OFF. I do.

The control unit 20 determines whether the user has changed the display setting information of the function information displayed on the screen by operating the set switch 19a (step S24).
If it has been changed, the control unit 20 rewrites the display setting information for the function information stored in the table in accordance with the user input (step S25). Then, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the user has operated the mode switch 19b to give an end instruction (step S26). If the process is continued, the control unit 20 sets the function O
It is determined from the table in the N / OFF setting storage area 22 whether or not there is next function information (step S27). If there is next function information (function B), the next function information is read and displayed. The screen is displayed on the unit 15 (step S2
8) Repeat the above series of processing (steps S24 to S28). When there is a termination instruction (step S26) or when there is no more function information in the table (step S27), the process is terminated.

As described above, when the display setting information is changed, all the function information stored in the table is displayed on the screen regardless of whether the display setting information is ON or OFF. The user can change the setting of whether or not to display the information of all the functions provided in the radio selective calling receiver while checking the information on the screen. By the above series of processing, for example, the table in the state shown in FIG. 2A is changed and rewritten as shown in FIG. 2B, and thereafter, the display processing shown in FIG. Is executed, the function information displayed on the screen is changed based on the rewritten table contents. For example, although the function B is initially set to ON and displayed on the screen, it is changed to OFF by this change processing, so that the screen is not displayed, and function information that is unnecessary for the user is not displayed on the screen. The screen becomes clear and easy to see.

Next, another example of the display processing of the function information and the processing in the display setting function (function J) will be described. The display processing procedure illustrated in FIG. 6 lists a plurality of function information as a menu on a function selection screen, and the processing procedure of the display setting function illustrated in FIG. 7 displays a plurality of function information even when the display setting information is changed. It is displayed as a menu in a list. First, when the user operates the mode switch 19b to start the function display process in a state where the radio selective calling receiver is powered on and waiting for reception, the control unit 20 causes the table in the function ON / OFF setting storage area 22 to be activated. From the first function information (function A) (step S31),
It is determined whether or not the display setting information for this function information is ON (step S32). Then, when the display setting information is ON, the control unit 20 holds the function information in the display buffer for menu display described later (step S33).

On the other hand, if the display setting information is OFF or the display processing (step S33) is performed, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the next function information exists in the table (step S34). In some cases, the next function information is read out (step S35), and the series of processes is repeated for the next function information (steps S32 to S32).
S35). Then, when the next function information disappears (step S34) and the above-described series of processing is completed for all the function information stored in the table, the control unit 2
0 displays a list of the function information held in the display buffer (step S33) on the screen of the display unit 15 in a menu format (step S36). That is, if the display setting information is O
A plurality of function information set to N (or all the function information set to ON) are displayed in a list on one screen, and the user can easily and quickly find the target function information. .

Then, the control unit 20 determines whether the set switch 19a has been pressed for any of the displayed function information (step S37).
Indicates that the display is maintained when the set switch 19a is not pressed, while the corresponding function such as a telephone directory function or a display setting function is performed when the user activates the corresponding function by pressing the set switch 19a. The function is activated and executed (step S38).

When the set switch 19a is pressed as described above, the control unit 20 specifies the function selected by pressing the switch (step S41), activates and executes the corresponding function (step S42). In this case, when the set switch 19a is pressed for the function J displayed on the screen, the control unit 20 activates the display setting function and is stored in the table of the function ON / OFF setting storage area 22. All function information is read out (step S4
3) A list of these function information is displayed on the screen of the display unit 15 in a menu format (step S44). That is, the display setting information is not determined for each function information, and all the function information stored in the table is displayed on the screen regardless of whether the display setting information is ON or OFF.

Then, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the user has changed the display setting information of the function information displayed on the screen by operating the set switch 19a (step S46).
With respect to the changed information, the control unit 20 rewrites the display setting information for the function information stored in the table in accordance with the user input (step S47). The control unit 20 determines whether the user has operated the mode switch 19b to give an end instruction (step S4).
5), when there is a termination instruction, the processing is terminated.

As described above, when the display setting information is changed, all the function information stored in the table is displayed on the screen regardless of whether the display setting information is ON or OFF. The user can change the setting of whether or not to display them while checking the information of all functions provided in the radio selective calling receiver in a list display. Then, when the display processing shown in FIG. 6 is executed, the function information displayed on the screen is changed based on the rewritten table contents, and the function information less necessary for the user is not displayed on the screen. Therefore, the function selection screen becomes clear and easy to see.

In the present invention, various methods other than those exemplified above can be used for the display processing of the function information based on the display setting information and the processing of changing the display setting information. The display processing shown in FIG. 4 and the change processing shown in FIG. 7 may be used in combination, or the display processing shown in FIG. 6 and the change processing shown in FIG. 5 may be used in combination. Further, in the above-described example, the table in which the function information and the display setting information are associated with each other is used. However, in the present invention, the information may be stored in the memory in association with each other without forming such a table. Furthermore, for example, without directly associating the function information with the display setting information, the function information is stored in association with the function, the function information is manually stored in association with the function of the display setting information, and the function information is stored through the function. Indirect association such as association with display setting information may be used. Further, in the above example, the description has been given using the radio selective calling receiver which is an example of the mobile radio communication terminal device. However, the present invention can be applied to a mobile phone, a radio mobile terminal device which transmits and receives messages in two directions, and the like. Needless to say, the present invention can be implemented by various portable electronic devices such as a PDA and an electronic organizer having a plurality of functions.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since only the information on the function set by the user among the plurality of functions is displayed on the screen, the user displays only the function information required by the user on the screen, and based on these displays, the user can easily and quickly perform the operation. Can activate a desired function. Further, according to the present invention, in order to change the display setting information, the display setting function always displays the function information on the screen, and in the display setting function, all the function information is displayed on the screen regardless of the display setting information. Since the information is displayed, the user can change the display setting information as needed and change the function information displayed on the screen as needed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a radio selective calling receiver according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing storage contents of a table according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an appearance of a radio selective calling receiver according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a function display processing procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a selection function processing procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another example of a function display processing procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the selection function processing procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

14 RAM, 15 display unit (liquid crystal panel), 19 operating unit, 19a to 19c switch, 20 control unit, 21 message storage area, 22・ Function ON / OFF setting storage area (table),

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A portable electronic device having a plurality of functions, a display unit for displaying function information for specifying a function on a screen, and an operation unit for receiving a setting as to whether or not to display the function information on a screen from a user. A storage unit for storing display setting information set by a user in association with function information, and a display control for displaying on the display unit only function information set to be displayed according to the stored display setting information. A portable electronic device comprising: a unit; 2. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a display setting function for changing display setting information stored in a storage unit according to a user setting received from an operation unit. Indicates that the display setting information is set to be displayed on the screen, and the change of the display setting information is prohibited. In addition, in the display setting function, the display control unit performs all functions provided regardless of the display setting information. A portable electronic device characterized in that its function information is displayed on a display unit as a target. 3. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a display setting function for changing display setting information stored in a storage unit in accordance with a user setting received from an operation unit. Is excluded from the display control by the display setting information and is displayed on the display unit by the control display unit.In addition, in the display setting function, the display control unit targets all the functions provided regardless of the display setting information. A portable electronic device wherein the function information is displayed on a display unit on a screen. 4. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a liquid crystal panel as a display unit and a switch as an operation unit on a surface of a small portable casing, wherein the casing is provided with a switch. A portable electronic device comprising a random access memory as a storage unit and a processor for executing various function programs as a display control unit. 5. The portable electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the portable wireless communication terminal device stores the wirelessly received message in a random access memory and displays the message on a display unit on a screen. A portable electronic device in which, apart from an area for storing a message, each function information and display setting information are stored in a random access memory in association with each other as a table.