JP2020067610A - Electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic device capable of reducing the brightness of a display at an appropriate timing. An electronic device 1 having a display 26 whose brightness can be changed, a sensor 25 that detects the ambient brightness and outputs information on the ambient brightness, and a display time of the display 26 are specified. A specific unit 32 and a control unit 33 that controls the brightness of the display 26 are provided, and the control unit 33 includes the brightness of the display 26 based on the relationship between the ambient brightness and the brightness of the display 26 and the display time. Perform control to reduce. [Selection diagram] Fig. 5

Description

  The present invention relates to electronic devices.

  Conventionally, electronic devices having a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and the like have been widely used. When the electronic device is used in a dark environment with the display brightness increased, the user's eyes may be fatigued.

  Therefore, there is a technique for automatically adjusting the brightness of the display according to the surrounding brightness. For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a technique for darkening a display when the surroundings of an electronic device are dark.

JP, 2004-096593, A

  Among users, there is a user who wants to use an electronic device with a bright display even in a dark environment when the eyes are not fatigued and who wants to use an electronic device with a dark display when the eyes are tired. To do. However, with the technique described in Patent Document 1 or the like, in which the brightness of the display is automatically dimmed when the surroundings become dark, it is not possible to perform appropriate brightness adjustment according to the degree of fatigue of the user's eyes. .

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device that can reduce the brightness of the display at an appropriate timing.

  An electronic device according to one embodiment of the present invention is an electronic device having a display whose brightness can be changed, including a sensor that detects ambient brightness and outputs information about the ambient brightness, and a display time of the display. And a control unit that controls the brightness of the display, and the control unit reduces the brightness of the display based on the relationship between the ambient brightness and the brightness of the display and the display time. Execute control.

  According to this aspect, the control unit controls the brightness of the display based on the display time of the display as well as the relationship between the brightness of the surroundings of the electronic device and the brightness of the display. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the brightness of the display at an appropriate timing.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic device capable of reducing the brightness of a display at an appropriate timing.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the electronic device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of an electronic device. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the functional block of an electronic device. It is a figure which shows an example of a fatigue table. It is a flow chart which shows an example of the 1st processing by electronic equipment. It is a flow chart which shows an example of the 2nd processing by electronic equipment. It is a figure which shows an example of the alerting | reporting screen displayed on the display of an electronic device. It is a flow chart which shows an example of the 3rd processing by electronic equipment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in each of the drawings, those denoted by the same reference numerals have the same or similar configurations.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external appearance of an electronic device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present specification, a case where the present invention is applied to a notebook personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “notebook personal computer”) will be described as an example. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied not only to a laptop computer but also to various electronic devices including a display such as a desktop personal computer, a tablet, and a smartphone.

  The electronic device 1 includes a lid body 10, a housing 17, and a hinge portion 12. The hinge 12 is attached to the long sides of the lid 10 and the housing 17, and rotatably connects the lid 10 and the housing 17. That is, the lid 10 can be opened and closed with respect to the housing 17. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the lid 10 is opened with respect to the housing 17.

  The lid 10 houses the display 26. The display 26 displays characters and images. The display 26 is provided at a position facing the housing 17 with the lid 10 closed. The display 26 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

  The display 26 can change the brightness level. For example, when the brightness of the display 26 can be set in three levels of “dark”, “medium”, and “bright”, when the setting is changed from “bright” to “medium”, the brightness of the display 26 is set to It will be changed to be smaller than when it was "Bright". When the display 26 is a liquid crystal display, the brightness of the display 26 may be changed by changing the brightness of the backlight. The brightness may be changed by providing the display 26 with a light-shielding layer that blocks light output from a light source such as a backlight.

  Further, the display 26 may be capable of changing the color temperature. For example, the display 26 may reduce the color temperature by reducing the blue light output. When the blue light is reduced and the color temperature is lowered, the display on the display 26 becomes yellowish or reddish as compared with that before the color temperature is lowered. A control circuit for controlling the brightness and color temperature of the display 26 may be housed inside the lid 10.

  The housing 17 includes a top cover 15 and a bottom cover 16. The housing 17 is assembled by stacking the top cover 15 and the bottom cover 16 in the vertical direction and joining the peripheries. A board, a CPU, a memory, an HDD, an SSD, a battery, and the like are housed inside the housing 17. The keyboard 17 is provided in the housing 17 so that the key tops protrude from the top cover 15 side. A touch pad 14 is provided so as to be adjacent to the keyboard 13. The user can operate the electronic device 1 via an input device such as the keyboard 13 or the touch pad 14.

  The electronic device 1 includes a sensor 25 that detects ambient brightness. The sensor 25 may include a detection circuit that detects brightness using a phototransistor or a photodiode. In addition, in the present embodiment, the sensor 25 is provided near the hinge portion 12 of the housing 17, but the position of the sensor 25 in the electronic device 1 is not limited, and the brightness around the electronic device 1 is not limited. It may be any position that can be detected.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the electronic device 1. The electronic device 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 20, a storage device 21, a communication IF (Interface) 22, an input device 23, an output device 24, a sensor 25, and a display 26. These respective configurations are connected to each other so that data can be transmitted and received.

  The CPU 101 is a control unit that controls the execution of programs stored in the storage device 21, calculates data, and processes the data. The CPU 20 receives data from the communication IF 22, outputs the calculation result of the data to the output device 24, and stores the result in the storage device 21, thereby realizing various functions of the control unit 33 described later.

  The storage device 21 is a device that stores various types of information. The storage device 21 is a volatile storage medium capable of rewriting data or a non-volatile storage medium capable of only reading data.

  The communication IF 22 is a device that connects the electronic device 1 to a communication network. The communication IF 22 may be provided outside the electronic device 1. In that case, the communication IF 22 is connected to the electronic device 1 via an interface such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus).

  The input device 23 is a device for receiving the input of information from the user. In the present embodiment, the input device 23 includes the keyboard 13 and the touch pad 14. The input device 23 is not limited to the above-described example, and may include, for example, a touch panel, a button, a mouse, a microphone, and the like.

  The output device 24 is a device for outputting information. The output device 24 may include a speaker, a lamp, or the like.

  The sensor 25 is a device for detecting the ambient brightness of the electronic device 1 as described with reference to FIG. The sensor 25 outputs information on the detected ambient brightness as an output signal to the detection unit 30 described later.

  The display 26 is a device that displays characters, images, and the like as described with reference to FIG. The display 26 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of functional blocks of the electronic device 1. The electronic device 1 includes a detection unit 30, an acquisition unit 31, an identification unit 32, and a control unit 33. The detection unit 30, the acquisition unit 31, the identification unit 32, and the control unit 33 can be realized by the CPU 20 of the electronic device 1 executing a program stored in the storage device 21. The program may be a program (application) that can be downloaded from the server and installed in the electronic device 1. Further, the program can be stored in a storage medium. The storage medium storing the program may be a computer-readable non-transitory computer readable medium. The non-transitory storage medium is not particularly limited, but may be a storage medium such as a USB memory or a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory).

  The detection unit 30 detects the brightness around the electronic device 1 using the output signal of the sensor 25. The information on the brightness around the electronic device 1 detected by the detection unit 30 is transmitted to the control unit 33.

  The acquisition unit 31 acquires information on the brightness of the display 26 included in the electronic device 1. For example, the acquisition unit 31 acquires information about the brightness setting of the display 26. The acquisition unit 31 may acquire this information from the control circuit of the display 26 or the like. The information on the brightness of the display 26 acquired by the acquisition unit 31 is transmitted to the control unit 33. The control unit 33 records the ambient brightness information and the brightness information of the display 26 in the storage device 21 over time in association with the display time information of the display 26 specified by the specifying unit 32 described below. .

  The identifying unit 32 identifies the display time of the display 26. The specifying unit 32 may measure the elapsed time from the time when the user logs in the electronic device 1 and specify it as the display time. At this time, the identifying unit 32 may reset the elapsed time and re-measure when the user logs off. The specifying unit 32 may measure the elapsed time from the time when the power of the display 26 is turned on and specify it as the display time. At this time, the identifying unit 32 may reset the elapsed time and re-measure when the power of the display 26 is turned off.

  The control unit 33 executes control for reducing the brightness of the display 26 based on the relationship between the brightness around the electronic device 1 and the brightness of the display and the display time of the display 26.

  The control executed by the control unit 33 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the fatigue level table 21 a stored in the storage device 21. The fatigue level table 21a is a table for determining the fatigue level of the user's eyes per unit time from the relationship between the brightness around the electronic device 1 and the brightness setting of the display 26. Here, the “fatigue degree” is a numerical representation of the degree of eye fatigue of the user.

  The fatigue level table 21a includes columns of "ambient brightness", "display brightness", and "fatigue level per unit time". In the “Ambient brightness” column, the ambient brightness of the electronic device 1 is divided into “0 to 200 (lux)”, “201 to 400 (lux)”, and “401 to 600 (lux)” in stages. There is. Although the upper limit of the brightness around the electronic device 1 shown in the fatigue table 21a is 600 lux, the upper limit is not limited to this. Further, the brightness of the surroundings of the electronic device 1 may be divided into stages with a smaller width (for example, every 100 lux).

  The column of “brightness of display” includes information on the setting of the brightness of the display 26. The fatigue level table 21a shown in FIG. 4 includes information on three types of settings of "dark", "medium", and "bright". When the setting is changed, the brightness level of the display 26 changes. The brightness of the display 26 increases in the order of "dark", "medium", and "bright".

  In the column of "fatigue degree per unit time", per unit time (in the present embodiment, one minute) associated with the combination of the ambient brightness of the electronic device 1 and the brightness setting of the display 26. The fatigue level of is included. When the bright display 26 is visually recognized in a dark environment, the degree of fatigue is higher than when the dark display 26 is visually recognized. By utilizing this phenomenon, in the fatigue table 21a shown in FIG. 4, when the brightness of the surroundings is the same, when the brightness setting of the display 26 is “bright”, it is compared with when it is “dark”. The fatigue level per unit time is set large.

  The control unit 33 refers to the record corresponding to the combination of the ambient brightness of the electronic device 1 detected by the detection unit 30 and the brightness setting of the display 26 acquired by the acquisition unit 31 to determine the fatigue per unit time. Determine the degree.

  For example, when the ambient brightness of the electronic device 1 detected by the detection unit 30 is “50 (lux)” and the brightness setting of the display 26 acquired by the acquisition unit 31 is “bright”, the control unit 33 determines that The fatigue level "20 (/ min)" per unit time is determined by referring to the record in which the ambient brightness is "0 to 200 (lux)" and the display brightness setting is "bright".

  Further, the control unit 33 performs a calculation of multiplying the specified degree of fatigue per unit time by the display time of the display 26 specified by the specifying unit 32, and sets the calculated value as the degree of fatigue. For example, in the above-mentioned example, when the display time specified by the specifying unit 32 is “30 (minutes)”, the control unit 33 sets the display time “30 ( Fatigue degree "600" is calculated by multiplying by "min"). The control unit 33 constantly or at predetermined time intervals calculates the fatigue level and controls the brightness of the display 26 to be reduced when the fatigue level is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. For example, control is performed to change the brightness setting of the display 26 from “bright” to “medium”. The control unit 33 may set a value obtained by multiplying a numerical value obtained by multiplying the fatigue degree per unit time by the display time by a predetermined coefficient as the fatigue degree.

  The control unit 33 may also calculate the fatigue level using the color temperature coefficient. Here, the “color temperature coefficient” is a coefficient corresponding to the color temperature of the display 26. For example, the control unit 33 may calculate the fatigue level by multiplying the fatigue level per unit time by the display time and the color temperature coefficient. Here, the color temperature coefficient when the color temperature of the display 26 is high (the ratio of blue light is high) is calculated so that the degree of fatigue is calculated to be larger than that when the color temperature is low (the ratio of blue light is low). Is set to.

  The control unit 33 may execute control for changing the color temperature of the display 26. For example, the control unit 33 may reduce the color temperature of the display 26 by reducing the blue light output from the display 26 when the calculated fatigue level is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. Note that the control unit 33 may execute only one of the control for decreasing the brightness of the display 26 and the control for decreasing the color temperature, or both of them.

  An example of a process (first process) of reducing the brightness of the display 26 by the electronic device 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the detection unit 30 detects the brightness around the electronic device 1 (step S100). For example, the sensor 25 shown in FIG. 1 sends an output signal according to the ambient brightness, and the detection unit 30 detects the ambient brightness of the electronic device 1 based on this signal. Information on the detected brightness is stored in the storage device 21.

  Next, the acquisition unit 31 acquires information about the brightness setting of the display 26 set by the user (step S101). Information about the acquired brightness setting is stored in the storage device 21.

  The order in which the detection unit 30 detects the brightness and the acquisition unit 31 acquires the information regarding the brightness setting is not limited.

  Next, the identifying unit 32 identifies the display time of the display 26 (step S102). The identified display time is associated with the information about the brightness of the surroundings of the electronic device 1 and the information about the setting of the brightness of the display 26, and is stored in the storage device 21.

  The control unit 33 determines the degree of fatigue per unit time (step S103). Even if the control unit 33 refers to the fatigue level table 21a illustrated in FIG. 4 and determines the fatigue level per unit time based on the combination of the ambient brightness of the electronic device 1 and the brightness setting of the display 26. Good. The degree of fatigue per unit time is stored in the storage device 21.

  The control unit 33 calculates the fatigue level by multiplying the fatigue level per unit time by the display time specified by the specifying unit 32 (step S104). The calculated fatigue level is stored in the storage device 21.

  The control unit 33 controls the brightness of the display 26 when the fatigue level is equal to or higher than a predetermined value (for example, the predetermined level is “500” and the calculated fatigue level is “600”). Lower. For example, the control unit 33 changes the setting to “medium” when the brightness of the display 26 is set to “bright”. The control unit 33 may reduce the color temperature of the display 26 by reducing the brightness of the display 26 and reducing the blue light output from the display 26. With that, the first process ends.

  The degree of fatigue of the user's eyes increases according to the viewing time of the display 26. According to the electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment, based on the relationship between the brightness around the electronic device and the brightness of the display 26, and the display time of the display 26, at an appropriate timing according to how tired the eyes of the user are. It is possible to reduce the brightness of the display 26.

  Further, among visible light, blue light having high energy reaches the retina without being absorbed by the cornea or the crystalline lens of the eye, and thus may have an adverse effect such as eye fatigue or eye pain. According to the electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment, the blue light output is reduced by lowering the color temperature of the display 26, so that it is possible to prevent the user's eye fatigue and eye pain.

  An example of a process (second process) in which the control unit 33 gradually reduces the brightness of the display 26 according to the display time of the display 26 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6. The second process shown in FIG. 6 is a process of the electronic device 1 when the ambient brightness of the electronic device 1 and the brightness of the display 26 are constant.

  First, the control unit 33 determines whether the display time of the display 26 specified by the specifying unit 32 exceeds the first predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) (step S110). When it exceeds the first predetermined time (step S110: Yes), the control unit 33 executes a process of reducing the brightness of the display 26 (step S111). For example, when the brightness of the display 26 is set to “bright”, the control unit 33 executes a process of changing the brightness setting of the display 26 to “medium”. When it does not exceed the first predetermined time (step S110: No), the control unit 33 repeats the determination process (step S110).

  The control unit 33 of the electronic device 1 may notify when the display time of the display 26 exceeds the first predetermined time. For example, the control unit 33 may display on the display 26 that the user is using the electronic device 1 for a long time. In addition, when the electronic device 1 includes a speaker, the control unit 33 may notify by audio output.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 33 displays on the display 26 an option as to whether or not to execute the process of reducing the brightness of the display 26, and controls the brightness of the display 26 based on the user's selection. You may control.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the notification screen 26 a displayed on the display 26 of the electronic device 1. In the present embodiment, when the first predetermined time is exceeded, the notification screen 26a as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed. On the notification screen 26a, a sentence is displayed to inform the user that the electronic device 1 is used for a long time, such as "I have been using the terminal for a long time. Is my eyes tired?" There is.

  In addition, the notification screen 26a displays a sentence "Do you want to dim the display?" And an option as to whether or not to dim the display 26. The user can instruct whether to reduce the brightness of the display 26 by selecting one of the displayed options.

  According to the electronic device 1 of the present embodiment, the notification is given when the display time of the display 26 exceeds the predetermined time. Therefore, the user can grasp the usage time of the electronic device 1. In addition, the electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment reduces the brightness of the display 26 after receiving a selection from the user to reduce the brightness of the display 26. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the brightness of the display 26 from being lowered against the user's intention.

  Returning to FIG. 6, the description of the second processing will be continued. After executing the process of reducing the brightness of the display 26, the control unit 33 determines whether the display time exceeds the second predetermined time (for example, 60 minutes) (step S112).

  When it exceeds the second predetermined time (step S112: Yes), the control unit 33 executes a process of further reducing the brightness of the display 26 (step S113). For example, when the brightness of the display 26 is set to “medium”, the control unit 33 executes a process of changing the brightness setting of the display 26 to “dark”. Further, the control unit 33 may execute control not only to reduce the brightness of the display 26 but also to reduce the color temperature of the display 26.

  When it does not exceed the second predetermined time (step S112: No), the control unit 33 repeats the determination process (step S112). Thus, the second process by the electronic device 1 ends.

  According to the electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment, the brightness of the display 26 gradually decreases every predetermined time. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the brightness of the display 26 from rapidly decreasing.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, the process of reducing the brightness of the display 26 is executed when the display time exceeds the first predetermined time and when the display time exceeds the second predetermined time. The number of times the process is executed is not limited.

  A process in which the control unit 33 selectively executes the first mode in which the brightness of the display 26 is reduced and the second mode in which the brightness of the display 26 is not reduced with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 8 (third process). An example will be described.

  The first mode is a mode selected when the electronic device 1 is not executing a specific application, and is a mode in which the control unit 33 executes a process of reducing the brightness of the display 26. On the other hand, the second mode is a mode selected when the electronic device 1 is executing a specific application, and is a mode in which the control unit 33 does not execute the process of reducing the brightness of the display 26.

  Here, the specific application may include an application that is preferably used while the brightness of the display 26 is maintained (for example, a video viewing application). The specific application may be arbitrarily selectable by the user.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 33 first determines whether the electronic device 1 is executing a specific application (step S120). When the electronic device 1 is not executing the specific application (step S120: No), the control unit 33 executes the first mode in which the brightness of the display 26 is reduced. Since the processing content of the first mode is the same as the first processing (step S200) described with reference to FIG. 5, description thereof will be omitted.

  When the electronic device 1 is executing the specific application (step S120: Yes), the control unit 33 does not execute the process of reducing the brightness of the display 26. With the above, the third process by the electronic device 1 is completed.

  According to the electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment, when the specific application is being executed, the process of reducing the brightness of the display 26 is not performed, and the screen brightness is reduced during the use of the specific application. It is possible to prevent the user from being stressed.

  The embodiments described above are for facilitating the understanding of the present invention and are not for limiting the interpretation of the present invention. Each element included in the embodiment and its arrangement, material, condition, shape, size and the like are not limited to the exemplified ones and can be appropriately changed. Further, the configurations shown in different embodiments can be partially replaced or combined.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic device, 25 ... Sensor, 26 ... Display, 26a ... Notification screen, 32 ... Specification part, 33 ... Control part

Claims (8)

An electronic device having a display whose brightness can be changed,
A sensor that detects the brightness of the surroundings and outputs information on the brightness of the surroundings,
A specifying unit for specifying the display time of the display,
A control unit for controlling the brightness of the display,
The said control part is an electronic device which performs control which reduces the brightness of the said display based on the relationship between the brightness of the said surroundings and the brightness of the said display, and the said display time.   The said control part performs control which reduces the brightness of the said display based on the fatigue degree calculated using the value which multiplied the display time to the value matched with the said relationship. Electronics. The value associated with the relationship is a value determined based on a combination of the ambient brightness level and the display brightness level,
The control unit identifies a stage of the ambient brightness acquired based on the information of the ambient brightness and a stage of brightness of the display that is being controlled, and based on a combination of the identified stages. Determining a value associated with the relationship,
The electronic device according to claim 2.   The said control part is an electronic device of Claim 2 or 3 which performs control which reduces the brightness of the said display, when the said fatigue degree is more than a predetermined value. The control unit executes control for gradually reducing the brightness of the display according to the display time,
The electronic device according to claim 1. The control unit executes a control for giving notification when the display time is a predetermined time or more,
The electronic device according to claim 1. The control unit executes control for changing the color temperature of the display based on the relationship and the display time,
The electronic device according to claim 1. The control unit includes a first mode in which the brightness of the display is reduced based on the relationship and the display time, and a second mode in which the brightness of the display is not reduced based on the relationship and the display time. , Is selectively executable, and the first mode is executed when a specific application is not executed, and the second mode is executed when the specific application is executed. Do,
The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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