Viewing-angle control device, display apparatus, method for controlling viewing-angle control device, viewing-angle control program, and storage medium storing the program

• US 8,094,103 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2005
• Issued: 01/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2004
• 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: Imai, Akira, Takatani, Tomoo, Yabuta, Koji, Fukushima, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): Xavier, Antonio
• Application Number:
  US11/574,375
• Publication Number:
  US 20070291024A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,325 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 345/87
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0606 Manual adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0613 The adjustment depending on the type of the information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/068 for control of viewing angle adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3611 Control of matrices with row and column drivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations

Abstract

A control section of a portable phone controls a viewing-angle changing section that changes a viewing angle of an image display section-and controls the viewing angle of the image display section on the basis of a status of use of various devices. The control section includes: a device-in-use detecting section to detect use of the devices; a storage section to store a device/viewing-angle matching table containing a correspondence relationship between a device to be used and a viewing angle; a viewing-angle retrieving section to retrieve, from the table, a viewing angle for the device detected being in use by the device-in-use detecting section; and a viewing-angle control section to control the viewing-angle changing section on the basis of the viewing angle retrieved by the viewing-angle retrieving section. The foregoing allows the viewing angle to be controlled automatically on the basis of the status of use, with a few settings.

Claims

1. A control device arranged to control a viewing angle of a display device, said control device comprising:

a storing section arranged to store in advance a correspondence relationship between a plurality of devices capable of being used and the viewing angle;

a device-in-use detecting section arranged to detect use of each of the plurality of devices that are actually being used;

a viewing-angle retrieving section arranged to retrieve a viewing angle corresponding to the plurality of devices that are actually being used as detected by the device-in-use detecting section from the correspondence relationship stored in the storing section; and

a viewing-angle controlling section arranged to control the viewing angle of the display device on a basis of the viewing angle retrieved by the viewing-angle retrieving section;

wherein

the correspondence relationship includes priority information for each of the plurality of devices capable of being used, such that when the device-in-use detecting section detects the use of the plurality of devices that are actually being used, the viewing-angle controlling section is arranged to control the viewing angle of the display device to be a viewing angle corresponding to one of the plurality of devices that are actually being used that has a highest priority among the plurality of devices that are actually being used as detected by the device-in-use detection section.

2. The control device according to claim 1, further arranged to control the display device to display information on the viewing angle.

3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein

the correspondence relationship associates (i) an input device with which a user inputs information and (ii) a narrow viewing-angle;

and

the device-in-use detecting section is arranged to detect use of the input device by detecting whether or not the input device is operated by a user for at least a predetermined plural number of times within a predetermined period of time to control the viewing angle of the display device to be a narrow viewing angle in a case where the input device is operated for the at least a predetermined plural number of times within the predetermined period of time.

4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the correspondence relationship associates an audio non-contact transmitting device that transmits audio information to a user without being in contact with the user with a wide viewing angle, and sets the audio non-contact transmitting device as having a high priority, such that the viewing angle of the display device will be controlled to be the wide viewing angle when the audio non-contact transmitting device is detected by the device-in-use detecting section.

5. A display apparatus, comprising:

a display device with a viewing angle that is variable; and

the control device of claim 1 arranged to control the viewing angle of the display device.

6. The display apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the display apparatus is portable.

7. A tangible computer-readable storage medium storing a viewing-angle control program for causing a viewing angle of a display apparatus defined in claim 5 to be controlled,

the viewing-angle control program causing a computer to function as the control device.

8. The display apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the correspondence relationship stored in the storing section relates a narrow viewing angle with a determination of use of a power supply inside of the display apparatus and relates a wide viewing angle with a determination of a use of a power source circuit for a power supply outside of the display apparatus.

9. The display apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

an audio contact transmitting device arranged to transmit audio information to a user while being substantially in contact with the user; and

an audio non-contact transmitting device arranged to transmit audio information to the user without being in contact with the user;

wherein

the correspondence relationship stored in the storing section relates a narrow viewing angle with the audio contact transmitting device and relates a wide viewing angle with the audio non-contact transmitting device.

10. The display apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

an operating device arranged to accept an operation performed by a user, wherein

the control device further comprises a viewing-angle instruction obtaining section arranged to obtain an instruction for a viewing angle from the operating device; and

the viewing-angle controlling section controls the viewing angle of the display device on the basis of the viewing angle obtained by the viewing-angle instruction obtaining section.

11. The display apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

the viewing-angle controlling section notifies the user when the viewing angle retrieved by the viewing-angle retrieving section is different from the viewing angle obtained by the viewing-angle instruction obtaining section.

12. A method for controlling a viewing angle of a display device, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting a use of a plurality of devices that are actually being used;

retrieving a viewing angle corresponding to the plurality of devices that are actually being used as detected in the detecting step, from a correspondence relationship between each of the plurality of devices that are actually being used and a viewing angle, the correspondence relationship being stored in a storing section in advance; and

controlling the viewing angle of the display device based on the viewing angle retrieved in the retrieving step;

wherein

the correspondence relationship includes priority information for each of the plurality of devices that are actually being used as detected in the detecting step such that when the use of the plurality of devices that are actually being used is detected in the detecting step, the controlling step controls the viewing angle of the display device to be a viewing angle corresponding to one of the plurality of devices that are actually being used having a highest priority among the plurality of devices that are actually being used as detected in the detecting step.

13. The method for controlling a viewing angle of a display device according to claim 12, wherein

the correspondence relationship associates (i) an input device with which a user inputs information and (ii) a narrow viewing-angle;

and

the detecting step detects the use of the input device by detecting whether or not the input device is operated by a user for at least a predetermined plural number of times within a predetermined period of time to control the viewing angle of the display device to be a narrow viewing angle when the input device is operated for the at least a predetermined plural number of times within the predetermined period of time.