JPS6259495B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly to an electronic device suitable for use as an audio device for use in a vehicle, etc., which requires a small space.

In the case of a cassette tape deck, etc., such as a so-called car stereo device, which is mounted near the driver's seat of an automobile, the area allowed for its operating surface or display surface is extremely limited. 18×5 as an example
It is common to provide not only a hole for attaching and detaching the cassette half, but also an operation control circuit, a display circuit, etc. for the cassette tape deck body within a small area of about 1.2 cm.

The only place that is convenient for the driver to operate is a very limited space such as a part of the dash board or console, and therefore, in addition to the above-mentioned circuit, the operation control and display of the radio tuner function can be performed within the small area mentioned above. It is also required to add a circuit. As a solution for efficiently accommodating these various circuit sections in such a small area, there is a structure proposed by the applicant of the present application. That is, the lid covering the cassette half insertion hole is provided with an operation control circuit, a display circuit, etc., and the lid is opened when the cassette half is attached or removed. By doing this, other electronic circuits, operation switches, display elements, and other circuit components can be placed in the area where the cassette half insertion hole should be provided, and a small area can be used extremely efficiently. become.

Such a device, that is, a door-like panel that can be opened and closed, is equipped with LEDs (light emitting diodes) and FL.
In devices equipped with a display section using a fluorescent display tube (fluorescent display tube) or an LCD (liquid crystal display), the display drive control signal is transmitted directly from the decoder circuit or driver circuit provided on the main body using a flexible wiring board or lead wire. The signal is then transmitted to the panel side.

Therefore, as the number of display modes increases, the number of electrical connections between the main body and the panel side increases proportionally, which causes problems in opening and closing the panel and causes a decrease in the reliability of the device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device in which the number of electrical wiring between the main body and the panel is reduced, the panel can be opened and closed smoothly, and the reliability of the device is improved.

An electronic device according to the present invention includes: a panel provided on the front surface of the electronic device main body that can be opened and closed; a display means attached to the panel; a transmitting means provided on the main body side for transmitting a serial data signal string for display; The present invention is characterized in that it has a receiving means attached to the panel to receive the serial data signal string from the transmitting means, and the display means is controlled to display based on the signal received by the receiving means.

The present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 are perspective views of the device structure explaining one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the main body including the front panel, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view when the panel is opened. It is. On both sides, 1 is the main body of the cassette tape deck, which also has a tuner function. Reference numeral 2 denotes a panel that is provided on the front surface of the main body 1 and can be opened and closed.As shown in FIG. . Various operating switches 3a, 3b, etc. for controlling the operating state of the main body are attached to the front surface of the panel 2, and a display section 4 for displaying the operating state of the equipment is also provided.

A system controller integrated circuit chip 5 for controlling the equipment system is attached to the main body 1, and an encoder circuit is further built into the chip 5. This encoder circuit generates and sends out a serial data signal string for display control of the display section 4, and this signal string is transmitted in series via one signal line 7. This serial signal string is transmitted to the circuit board 8 on the back of the panel.
is introduced into the input of an integrated circuit chip 6 with decoder and driver functions mounted on the circuit. In this chip 6, the serial data signal string is decoded and converted into a plurality of display control signals, which drive the display section 4 via a display driver. Note that lines other than the serial data signal line 7 that are necessary for the operation of the chip 6, such as a power supply line, are wired. By doing so, the number of lines for transmitting and receiving display data signals can be reduced to just one, making it possible to significantly reduce the number of signal lines.

It is obvious that the wire for transmitting and receiving signals between the main body 1 and the panel 2 may be constructed using a flexible wiring board.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention, and is a view when the panel 2 is in an open state, similar to FIG. 2. In FIG. 3, parts equivalent to those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals, and their explanation will be omitted. In this example, the serial data signal string for display control is transmitted optically, thereby making it possible to further reduce the number of wiring lines. For this purpose, the encoder output (serial data output) of chip 5 is used as input.
A light emitting section 9 such as an LED is provided on the main body side, and a light receiving section 10 such as a phototransistor is mounted on the panel side so as to face the light emitting section 9 when the panel is closed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a circuit block of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, with the upper half of the figure showing the parts built into the main body, and the lower half showing the parts built into the panel. On the main body side, a system controller 51 receives input from each operation key 20 and collectively controls the deck, tuner, and audio system control circuits 11, 12, and 13 in response to each input.
Although these key switches 20 are illustrated as being disposed on the main body side, all or a portion thereof may be disposed on the panel side. Note that 14, 15, and 16 indicate a tape deck mechanism, a tuner circuit, and an audio circuit, respectively.

This system controller 51 includes each control circuit 1
1 to 13, and outputs display data corresponding to each state in a plurality of output formats and inputs it to the encoder 52. The encoder 52 converts these plurality of display signals into a serial data signal string consisting of codes corresponding to each signal, and outputs the serial data signal string to the display data line 7. The serial data output from the main body side is transmitted to the decoder 61 on the panel side via this single data line 7. Decoder 61
At this point, the serial data is again applied as a plurality of display outputs to the driver 62 to control the display of the display unit 4.

In the optical transmission system as shown in FIG. 3, the encoder output is sent to the light emitting section 9, and the resulting optically modulated output is introduced to the light receiving section 10 on the panel side and converted into a serial data signal.

As described above, according to the present invention, display data is sent from the main unit to the panel side in serial format, making it possible to significantly reduce the number of electrical connections between the main unit side and the panel side. , it is possible to improve the ease of connection and the reliability. This is particularly effective when there are a wide variety of display contents.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to audio equipment including a cassette tape deck has been described, but it is also applicable to other general electronic equipment. Furthermore, each integrated circuit chip may be a microprocessor such as a so-called microcomputer.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the main body including the panel of one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the panel of Fig. 1 when opened, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the panel of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4, which is a perspective view when opened, is a diagram showing an electrical block diagram of the embodiment device of FIGS. 1 and 2. Explanation of symbols of main parts: 1...Body, 2...Panel, 4...Display section, 5...Transmitting integrated circuit chip, 6...Receiving integrated circuit chip, 7...Connection line.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A panel provided on the front surface of an electronic device main body that can be opened and closed, a display means attached to the panel, and a transmitter provided on the main body side for transmitting a serial data signal string for display. and a receiving means attached to the panel to receive the serial data signal string from the transmitting means, and display control of the display means based on the signal received by the receiving means. Featured electronic equipment. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the serial data signal sequence is transmitted and received between the transmitting means and the receiving means using a flexible connection line. 3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the serial data signal sequence is transmitted and received between the transmitting means and the receiving means optically. 4. The electronic device according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the electronic device is an in-vehicle audio device.