Portable information apparatus

• US 20020094846A1
• Filed: 11/02/2001
• Published: 07/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Mizukata, Katsuya, Katoh, Kenichi, Tsuda, Kazuhiko, Kishimoto, Satoru
• Granted Patent: US 7,016,703 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/566
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0214 Foldable telephones, i.e. with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position combined with translation movement H04M1/0235
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0245 using open/close detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/027 including magnifying means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/16 including more than one display unit

Abstract

Disclosed is a portable information apparatus, which is provided with a display section capable of displaying a color display and a dynamic display in a high image quality, and which consumes less electricity. When the portable information apparatus of a folder type is in a folded state, a display screen 100 is composed of an image display region and a non-image region, so that at least a part of the image display region can be seen via a transparent section 102.

Claims

1. A portable information apparatus, which is of a folder type, comprising:

a display section for displaying information on one of surfaces that face each other when the portable information apparatus is folded,

wherein said display section is composed of an image display region and a non-image region, where at least a part of said image display region can be seen when the portable information apparatus is folded.

2. The portable information apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein at least one of a position and a size of said image display region is changed in accordance with the information displayed on said display section.

3. The portable information apparatus as set forth in claim 1, comprising:

a driving section for driving said display section; and

a control section for controlling said driving section so as to display the information, when the portable information apparatus i s folded, on a region of said display section, which can be seen when the portable information apparatus is in a folded state,

said driving section, including;

a scanning signal line driving section for outputting to each scanning signal line a scanning signal for display, which is based on information to be displayed on said display section;

a data signal line driving section for outputting to each data signal line a data signal for display, which is based on information to be displayed on said display section; and

a setting section for setting in said display section said image display region, in which the information is displayed, and said non-image region, which is in a single color,

wherein said control section controls said scanning signal line driving section so as to scan the scanning signals for display at a same time with respect to a plurality of scanning signal lines that correspond to non-image region set by said setting section.

4. The portable information apparatus as set forth in claim 1, comprising:

a transparent section in a part of the portable information apparatus, which faces said display section when the portable information apparatus is folded, said transparent section including a lens for magnifying and displaying information displayed on said display section.

5. The portable information apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein radio wave receiving condition and/or battery lasting information is displayed on the region of said image display region, which can be seen when the portable information apparatus is folded.

6. The portable information apparatus as set forth in claim 1, comprising:

a transparent section in a part of the portable information apparatus, which faces to said display section when the portable information apparatus is folded, said transparent section including a transparent touch panel so as to operate the portable information apparatus by pushing a predetermined region of said touch panel.

7. A portable information apparatus as set forth in claim 3, further comprising:

a detector for detecting whether or not the portable information apparatus in a folded state,

wherein said setting section sets said image display region for displaying the information, and said non-image region in said single color, in accordance with a detection result given by said detector.

8. The portable information apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein said display section is composed of a plurality of divisional regions, and said setting section decides which of said divisional regions is to be said image display region and which of said divisional regions is to be said non-image region, in accordance with contents of the information to be displayed on said display section.

9. The portable information apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein said scanning signal line driving section includes a plurality of shift resistors for respectively outputting, in order, scanning signals for display to said respective scanning signal lines.

10. The portable information apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein said data signal line driving section further includes first stopping means for stopping said data signal line driving section from operating for a period between (a) a time when said setting section scans at the same time a plurality of the scanning signals for display with respect to each scanning signal line that corresponds to said non-image region and (b) a time for carrying out a next sequential output.

11. The portable information apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein said scanning signal line driving section further includes second stopping means for stopping said scanning signal line driving section from operating for a period between (a) a time when said setting section scans at the same time a plurality of the scanning signals for display with respect to each scanning signal line that corresponds to said non-image region and (b) a time for carrying out a next sequential output.

12. The portable information apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein a first clock signal for a display on said image display region has a frequency different from that of a second clock signal for a display on said non-image display region.