JPH0476596A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To not only maintain decoration effect, but also improve it more by switching the display state of visual information by a display switching means according to the attitude of a housing which is detected by an attitude detecting means. CONSTITUTION:An alarm clock consists of a timer circuit 11 which clocks the time according to information which is set and inputted from an operation part 4, a temperature detecting means 12 which incorporates a thermistor, the attitude detecting means 6, the display switching means 13, a driving circuit 14 for liquid crystal, and a liquid crystal control circuit as a display element 2. The switching means 13 switches the display state to a state where the top and bottom of the housing 1 are in the same direction according to the attitude detection of the housing 1 by the detecting means 6 and also switches its display contents. The display state of characters, second hand, minute hand, etc., are switched according to the up-down attitude of the housing 1 at this time and one of four kinds of alarm is selected and displayed corresponding to a rubber switch 6a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a display device having a display means for displaying visual information, such as a clock or a message board.

[Conventional technology]

Some display devices of this type have an aesthetic appearance that can withstand use as a decorative item and specifications that are rich in functionality.

All of these display devices are vertically distinguished, and the top and bottom of the display means are uniquely determined according to the top and bottom of the casing.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the display device according to the prior art described above, when the casing is installed, the casing may be turned upside down or tilted in order to take advantage of its characteristics as an ornament.

Furthermore, some are designed to be installed at any angle.

In this case, the display means built into the casing is naturally flipped upside down or tilted, which has the disadvantage of making it very difficult to see the content displayed by the display means.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve this object, the first characteristic configuration of the display device according to the present invention includes an attitude detection means for detecting the attitude of the casing;
a display means that is incorporated into the housing and displays visual information;
The display switching means is configured to switch the display state of the visual information displayed by the display means based on the attitude of the casing detected by the attitude detection means.

A second characteristic configuration includes a posture detection means for detecting the vertical posture of the housing, a display means built into the housing and displaying visual information, and a display means for detecting the vertical posture of the housing detected by the posture detecting means. Correspondingly, the display switching means is configured to switch between an upper and lower display state of the visual information displayed by the display means.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the visual information displayed by the display means is a time.

[For production]

Based on the posture of the casing detected by the posture detection means,
The display switching means or the display state of the visual information displayed by the display means is switched.

For example, if the casing is flipped upside down, the display is also flipped upside down, and if the casing is tilted 45 degrees to the right, the display is tilted 45 degrees to the left to make it easier to see.

Furthermore, for example, if visual information or information other than text has a high decorative effect, displaying it at an arbitrary angle can not only maintain the decorative effect but also enhance it. .

〔Effect of the invention〕

Therefore, even if the display device according to the present invention has an aesthetic appearance that can withstand use as a decorative item and specifications that are rich in functionality, it may impair its original effect as a display function. It has become possible to use it without any hassle, and the degree of freedom in installation can be improved.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

As shown in Figure 2 (A) and (B), a cube (10c
mx 10cmX 10cm) on the - side of the casing (1),
A liquid crystal display element (2) is arranged inside a circular frame (3) to form a display surface, and on the back side there are six circular operation sections (4).
An operating means (5) consisting of the following is provided to constitute an alarm clock as a display device.

On the four peripheral surfaces surrounding the display element (2) of the housing (1), a pressure-sensitive rubber switch (
6a) is provided.

The installation portions (6b) are provided in order of two, three, five, and four in the circumferential direction so that the total number of opposing surfaces of the four circumferential surfaces is seven.

The circular frame (3) on the display surface and the operation section (4) on the back side.
), the installation portions (6b) on the four circumferential surfaces constitute a dice-shaped alarm clock.

The operation section (4) includes a lid for attaching and removing batteries (4a), a switch for setting time and alarm (4b), and an alarm selection switch (4c) for selecting a specific - alarm from four types of alarms for alarm setting. ), a melody selection switch (4d) to select the type of melody as an alarm.
), display changeover switch (4e) to change the display contents
It is composed of etc.

As shown in FIG. 1, the alarm clock includes a timer circuit (11) that measures time based on information set and input from the operation section (4), and a temperature detection means (12) containing a thermistor. A control circuit is constituted by the attitude detecting means (6), the display switching means (13), a liquid crystal drive circuit (14), and a liquid crystal display element (2).

The timer circuit (11) includes an alarm means (15) for individually operating four types of alarms, namely, alarm functions according to usage such as weekday, weekend, and one-time use.

Display means for displaying a plurality of visual information, such as the time, which is the output of the display element (2) and the drive circuit (j4), or the timer circuit (11), and the temperature, which is the output of the temperature detection means (12). (7) is configured.

The display switching means (J3) includes the attitude detection means (6).
Based on the detected orientation of the casing (1) by ), the display state is switched to a state in which the top and bottom of the casing (1) are the same, and the display contents are also switched.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3D, pressure-sensitive rubber switches (6
Among a), the rubber switch (
6a) is detected to be the surface with the above-mentioned casing (1) or the lower surface, and the characters, long hand,
The display state of the hour hand, etc. is switched, and - of the four types of alarms is selectively displayed in accordance with the rubber switch (6a).

Here, the triangular shape displayed on the liquid crystal corresponds to the long hand, the round shape corresponds to the short hand, and the square shape divided into four parts in the center corresponds to the - of the alarm.

Furthermore, by operating the display changeover switch of the operating means (5), as shown in FIGS. 4(A) to (D), the Japan Standard Time and the temperature detecting means (12 ), the display contents are switched and displayed, such as the temperature output, New York time, London time, and Paris time.

The display switching means (13) or the alarm means (15)
It serves as a selection means for selecting -.

[Another example]

Another embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

1. In the previous embodiment, in order to ensure that the switch is installed reliably, pressure-sensitive rubber switches as posture detection means are placed on all installation parts, or one of the installation parts, that is, on the four circumferential surfaces. You may place one on each side. This reduces costs.

2. In the previous embodiment, a pressure-sensitive rubber switch is used as the attitude detection means, but the attitude detection means is not limited to this and may be any arbitrary one. For example, as shown in Fig. 5, a rotatable magnetic ball (17) is provided inside the housing along a circular guide groove (16), and a reed switch (18) is placed on each surface of the outer periphery of the trajectory. The installation orientation may be detected by providing a. Alternatively, a tilt angle from a predetermined position may be detected using a potentiometer.

3. In the previous embodiment, the installation posture of the housing was the number of circumferential surfaces, that is, four, and the shape of the housing is not limited to this, but can be any shape such as polygon, circular, etc. when viewed from the display surface. may be taken. In this case, the housing may be of a floor-standing type or a wall-mounted type.

4. In the previous embodiment, liquid crystal is used as the display element, or the display element is not limited to this, but may be an LED.
Panels, plasma displays, mechanical displays, etc. can be used as desired.

5. In the above embodiments, liquid crystals may be provided as display elements on a single display surface, or display elements may be provided on all six surfaces. In this case, any of the four surfaces can be used as the installation surface, and the degree of freedom in installation is increased by displaying only the four surfaces that stand upright to the installation surface, or only a specific surface among them.

6. The time and characters displayed on the liquid crystal are not limited to the above embodiments, and can be designed as desired. A second hand symbol may be added to the liquid crystal display, or a digital display may be used instead of an analog display.

7. In the previous embodiment, the display state is adjusted to the top and bottom of the casing, but the display state is not limited to this and can be changed arbitrarily.

8. In the previous embodiment, the display contents are the times and temperatures of various parts of the world, but the display contents are not limited to these, and may be any arbitrary function such as a timer function that issues an alarm after a predetermined period of time has elapsed. For example, an hourglass function that starts a timer by flipping upside down may be included.

9. In the above embodiments, the melody used for the alarm may be switched by the melody selection switch of the operation section, or may be linked to the posture detection means.

10. In the previous embodiment, the case where a clock is configured as the display device is explained, but the display device is not limited to this, and it is also possible to use a message board on which any message can be displayed. good.

], Note that reference numerals are written in the claims for convenience of comparison with the drawings, and the present invention is not limited to the structure shown in the accompanying drawings.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of a display device according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control circuit, and FIG. 2 (A). (B) is an external view of the display device, Figures 3 (A), (B),
(C). (D) is an explanatory diagram of the display state of the liquid crystal, Fig. 4 (A), (B
). (C) and (D) are explanatory diagrams of the display contents of the liquid crystal, and the fifth
The figure shows another embodiment and is a configuration diagram of the posture detection means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Attitude detection means (6) for detecting the attitude of the housing (1); display means (7) incorporated in the housing (1) for displaying visual information; and the attitude detection means (7) for displaying visual information. the display means (7) based on the orientation of the housing (1) detected by the means (6);
A display device comprising display switching means (13) for switching the display state of visual information displayed by. 2. Attitude detection means (6) for detecting the vertical attitude of the housing (1)
), a display means (7) that is incorporated into the housing (1) and displays visual information, and a display that corresponds to the vertical orientation of the housing (1) detected by the orientation detection means (6). A display device comprising display switching means for switching between an upper and lower display state of visual information displayed by means (7). 3. The display device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the visual information displayed by the display means (7) is a time.