Electronic device

Abstract

To provide an electronic apparatus improved in users' convenience.SOLUTION: An electronic apparatus 1 includes: a display part 10; and a control part 20 for controlling the display part 10. The control part 20 detects a state of the electronic apparatus 1, and changes a screen of a part that does not interfere with operation of a user in the screen displayed on the display part 10 on the basis of the detected state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electronic device.

Background Art

[0002] The information processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 compares the usage environment or usage history of a hard disk drive with a predetermined condition, and when the predetermined condition is satisfied, outputs the comparison result to a display unit.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the information processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, there is room for improvement in terms of improving user convenience.

[0005] The present disclosure provides an electronic device with improved user convenience.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] An electronic device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is an electronic device, a display unit, a control unit that controls the display unit, and includes the control unit detects the state of the electronic device, and changes a screen portion that does not interfere with user operations among the screens displayed on the display unit based on the detected state.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, an electronic device with improved user convenience can be provided.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4A

Figure 4B

Figure 4C

Figure 5

Figure 6A

Figure 6B

Figure 7A

Figure 7B

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] (Background Leading to the Present Disclosure) There are known electronic devices that monitor the state of a device such as the usage environment or usage situation and display information on a display unit based on the state. For example, the information processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 compares the history of the usage environment or usage situation of a hard disk drive with a predetermined condition, and when the predetermined condition is satisfied, outputs the comparison result to the display unit.

[0010] In the case of the information processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, a notification screen is displayed on the display unit. When the notification screen is displayed on the display unit, it will interfere with the user's work and reduce the user's convenience.

[0011] In addition, there is also known an electronic device that temporarily notifies a notification screen of the state of the device by means of a pop-up notification or the like. In this case, there is a problem that the user may miss the notification and the user cannot recognize the performance degradation of the electronic device.

[0012] Therefore, the inventors have studied an electronic device capable of notifying the state without interfering with the user's work, and have arrived at the following invention.

[0013] The electronic device according to the first aspect of the present disclosure is an electronic device, including a display unit, and a control unit that controls the display unit, and is provided with wherein the control unit detects the state of the electronic device, and changes a part of the screen displayed on the display unit that does not interfere with the user's operation based on the detected state.

[0014] According to such a configuration, the user's convenience can be improved.

[0015] In the electronic device according to the second aspect of the present disclosure, the state may indicate at least any one of the continuous operation time of the electronic device, the deterioration state of the recording medium of the electronic device, the remaining capacity of the recording medium, the deterioration state of the battery of the electronic device, the deterioration state of the cooling fan of the electronic device, the radio wave state of wireless communication, the temperature of the processor, or the number of unread mails.

[0016] According to such a configuration, by detecting the state of the electronic device that affects the performance of the electronic device and notifying the user in advance, the user's convenience can be improved.

[0017] In the electronic device according to the third aspect of the present disclosure, the change of the screen by the control unit may be performed in a part of the screen displayed on the display unit other than the part operable by the GUI.

[0018] According to such a configuration, the state can be notified without disturbing the user's work.

[0019] In the electronic device according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, the change of the screen by the control unit may include changing the background color of the file list screen according to the state.

[0020] According to such a configuration, the user can visually recognize the remaining capacity or the deterioration state of a recording medium such as an SSD.

[0021] In the electronic device according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure, the change of the screen by the control unit includes displaying a semi-transparent image at the corner of the screen displayed on the display unit, and the control unit may change the size of the semi-transparent image according to the state.

[0022] With such a configuration, for example, it is possible to notify that the continuous operation time is long and restart is necessary for improving the performance of the electronic device without disturbing the user's work.

[0023] In the electronic device according to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure, the change of the screen by the control unit may include changing the background image displayed on the display unit according to the state.

[0024] With such a configuration, the state of the electronic device can be notified without disturbing the user's work.

[0025] In the electronic device according to the seventh aspect of the present disclosure, The control unit may determine a level based on the detected state and change the screen according to the level of the state.

[0026] With such a configuration, it is possible to notify how much the state of the electronic device has deteriorated or improved without disturbing the user's work.

[0027] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0028] (Embodiment 1) [Overall Configuration] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an electronic device 1 according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the electronic device 1 in FIG. 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the electronic device 1 includes a display unit 10 that displays an image and a control unit 20 that controls the display unit 10. Further, in the present embodiment, the electronic device 1 is a so-called laptop computer as shown in FIG. 1, and has a configuration in which the display unit 10 is rotatably attached to the main body 40.

[0029] The display unit 10 is a device capable of displaying an image such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, for example.

[0030] The control unit 20 can be configured by, for example, a CPU, MPU, DSP, FPGA, ASIC, etc. The control unit 20 may be configured only by hardware, or may be realized by combining hardware and software. The control unit 20 realizes a predetermined function by reading data and programs stored in a storage area (not shown) in the control unit 20 and performing various arithmetic processes.

[0031] In the present embodiment, the control unit 20 has, as a functional configuration, a state detection unit 21, a level determination unit 22, and a display update unit 23. Note that since the level determination unit 22 is not an essential configuration, the control unit 20 may not have the level determination unit 22.

[0032] The state detection unit 21 detects the state of the electronic device 1. The state of the electronic device 1 includes, for example, the continuous operation time of the electronic device 1, the deterioration state of a recording medium such as an SSD mounted on the electronic device 1, the remaining capacity of the recording medium, the deterioration state of the battery mounted on the electronic device 1, or the deterioration state of the cooling fan mounted on the electronic device 1, etc.

[0033] Based on the state of the electronic device 1 detected by the state detection unit 21, the level determination unit 22 determines the level of the state of the electronic device 1.

[0034] The display update unit 23 changes the screen displayed on the display unit 10 based on the level of the state determined by the level determination unit 22. The display update unit 23 changes the screen of a portion that does not interfere with the user's operation among the screens displayed on the display unit 10. The portion that does not interfere with the user's operation is, for example, a portion other than the application window that the user is operating among the screens displayed on the display unit 10, or a portion other than the portion where operations can be performed by a GUI (Graphical User Interface) among the screens displayed on the display unit 10. The portion other than the portion where operations can be performed by a GUI among the screens displayed on the display unit 10 includes, for example, the background color of the file list screen, the corners of the screen displayed on the display unit 10, or the background image, etc. The file list screen refers to, for example, a screen that can display a list of files in a folder. The display update unit 23 can, for example, change the background color of the file list screen, display a semi-transparent image at the corners of the display unit 10, or change the background image, etc., based on the state level.

[0035] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a change in the screen of the electronic device 1. FIGS. 4A to 4C are schematic diagrams showing examples of the background color of the file list screen.

[0036] For example, according to the state of the electronic device 1 detected by the state detection unit 21, the level determination unit 22 determines the state level of the electronic device 1. The state level can be set step by step corresponding to the state of the electronic device 1. For example, in the present embodiment, when the remaining capacity of the recording medium is 30% or more, it is "Level 0 (normal range)", when the remaining capacity of the recording medium is 5% or more and less than 30%, it is "Level 1 (needs to be dealt with)", and when the remaining capacity of the recording medium is less than 5%, it is "Level 2 (needs to be dealt with immediately)", etc. The state level is not limited to three levels from "Level 0" to "Level 2", and may be set to two levels or four levels or more.

[0037] The display update unit 23 updates the screen displayed on the display unit 10 based on the determination of the state level by the level determination unit 22. In the present embodiment, the display update unit 23 changes the background color of the file list screen 31 according to the remaining capacity of the recording medium detected by the state detection unit 21. For example, when the level determination unit 22 determines "Level 0", the display update unit 23 makes the background color of the file list screen 31 white as shown in FIG. 4A. Also, when the level determination unit 22 determines and the state level is "Level 1", the display update unit 23 changes the background color of the file list screen 31 to a color other than white (for example, yellow) as shown in FIG. 4B. Further, when the level determination unit 22 determines and the state level is "Level 2", the display update unit 23 changes the background color of the file list screen 31 to yet another color (for example, red) as shown in FIG. 4C. In this way, by changing the color of the file list screen 31 according to the state level, the user can be made to recognize the state of the electronic device 1.

[0038] Alternatively, the display update unit 23 may gradually change the background color of the file list screen according to the state level. For example, the display update unit 23 may gradually change from white to a dark color (for example, red) as the remaining capacity of the recording medium decreases.

[0039] For example, when data stored on a recording medium is deleted by a user and the remaining capacity of the recording medium increases, the level determination unit 22 lowers the state level, and the display update unit 23 can change the background color of the file list screen based on the new state level. Therefore, based on whether the state of the electronic device 1 has deteriorated or improved, the display update unit 23 may change the screen.

[0040] By changing the background color according to the state level, the user can correctly recognize the state of the electronic device 1 (here, the remaining capacity of the recording medium). Also, by changing the screen of the part visible to the user, the user can grasp the state of the electronic device 1 without actively accessing the information.

[0041] By changing the screen of the part that does not interfere with the user's operation by the display update unit 23, it is possible to notify the user that an abnormality (such as a decrease in the remaining capacity) has occurred in the recording medium without disturbing the user's work. For example, for an abnormality related to the recording medium, by changing the background color of the file list screen that displays the contents of the recording medium and notifying, the user can easily recognize that an abnormality has occurred in the recording medium. Since the user can recognize the abnormality of the recording medium while continuing to work, the user can take measures at an appropriate timing.

[0042] [Operation] With reference to FIG. 5, the operation of changing the screen displayed on the display unit 10 based on the state of the electronic device 1 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation by the control unit 20. Here, as the state of the electronic device 1, the remaining capacity of the recording medium described above will be described as an example.

[0043] When the electronic device 1 is activated, the state detection unit 21 detects the state of the electronic device 1 (step S11). In the present embodiment, the electronic device 1 monitors the remaining capacity of the recording medium. The state detection unit 21 may detect the state of the electronic device 1 at predetermined intervals while the electronic device 1 is activated. Alternatively, the state detection unit 21 may constantly detect the state of the electronic device 1 while the electronic device 1 is activated.

[0044] The level determination unit 22 determines the state level of the electronic device 1 based on the state of the electronic device 1 detected by the state detection unit 21. In the present embodiment, the level determination unit 22 determines which of the three levels from "level 0" to "level 2" the electronic device 1 corresponds to according to the remaining capacity of the recording medium.

[0045] The display update unit 23 changes the screen displayed on the display unit 10 based on the determination result of the level determination unit 22. When the determination result of the level determination unit 22 is "level 0", the display update unit 23 sets the background color of the file list screen to white. When the determination result of the level determination unit 22 is "level 1", the display update unit 23 sets the background color of the file list screen to yellow. When the determination result of the level determination unit 22 is "level 2", the display update unit 23 sets the background color of the file list screen to red.

[0046] [Effect] According to the above-described embodiment, since the state can be notified without disturbing the user's work, the convenience of the user can be improved.

[0047] The user can recognize the state of the electronic device 1 (for example, the remaining capacity of the recording medium) without disturbing the user's work. Therefore, when the state of the electronic device 1 deteriorates, measures for improving the state can be implemented at an appropriate timing. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the user's work efficiency due to a sudden failure or performance degradation of the electronic device 1.

[0048] In the above-described embodiments, an example in which the control unit 20 includes the level determination unit 22 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The control unit 20 may not include the level determination unit 22. In this case, the display update unit 23 may change the screen displayed on the display unit 10 based on the state detected by the state detection unit 21.

[0049] Also, in the above-described embodiments, the remaining capacity of the recording medium has been described as an example of the state of the electronic device 1, but the state of the electronic device 1 is not limited thereto. For example, the state of the electronic device 1 may be the deterioration state of the recording medium.

[0050] The state detection unit 21 can detect the deterioration state of the recording medium, for example, by acquiring S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) information, which is a self-diagnosis system mounted on the recording medium. The S.M.A.R.T. information is a numerical value representing the state of the recording medium calculated based on inspection items such as the usage time, the number of power-on times, and the read / write error rate. Based on the detected S.M.A.R.T. information, the level determination unit 22 may determine the state level of the electronic device 1. That is, the level determination unit 22 may determine the level of the deterioration state of the recording medium based on the S.M.A.R.T. information. Further, the display update unit 23 may change the background color of the file list screen 31 according to the level of the deterioration state of the recording medium (Figs. 4A to 4C).

[0051] In addition, as the state of the electronic device 1, in addition to the remaining capacity or deterioration state of the recording medium, the continuous operation time of the electronic device 1, the deterioration state of the battery of the electronic device 1, the deterioration state of the cooling fan mounted on the electronic device 1, the radio wave state of wireless communication, the temperature of the processor of the electronic device 1, or the number of unread emails, etc. may be detected. In other words, as the state of the electronic device 1, at least any one of the continuous operation time of the electronic device 1, the deterioration state of the recording medium of the electronic device 1, the remaining capacity of the recording medium, the deterioration state of the battery of the electronic device 1, the deterioration state of the cooling fan of the electronic device 1, the radio wave state of wireless communication, the temperature of the processor of the electronic device 1, or the number of unread emails can be used.

[0052] For example, when using the continuous operation time of the electronic device 1 as the state of the electronic device 1, the state detection unit 21 may detect the elapsed time since the electronic device 1 was last started, and the level determination unit 22 may determine the state level according to the continuous operation time. When the continuous operation time of the electronic device 1 becomes long, the operation of the electronic device 1 may become slow due to memory leakage or the like. Therefore, by setting the state level by the level determination unit 22 based on the continuous operation time, the user can be prompted to take appropriate measures (for example, restart).

[0053] In addition, when using the deterioration state of the battery of the electronic device 1 as the state of the electronic device 1, for example, the state detection unit 21 may detect the current value, voltage value, or temperature of the battery, and the level determination unit 22 may determine the level of the deterioration state of the battery.

[0054] In addition, when using the deterioration state of the cooling fan of the electronic device 1 as the state of the electronic device 1, the state detection unit 21 may detect the air volume or noise of the cooling fan, and the level determination unit 22 may determine the level of the deterioration state of the cooling fan.

[0055] In addition, when using the radio wave state of wireless communication as the state of the electronic device 1, for example, the intensity of the radio wave used for wireless WAN or wireless LAN, etc. may be detected, and the level determination unit 22 may determine the level of the radio wave state of wireless communication.

[0056] Also, as the state of the electronic device 1, when using the temperature of the processor of the electronic device 1, for example, the temperature of the CPU or GPU etc. may be detected, and the level of the state of the processor may be determined by the level determination unit 22.

[0057] Also, as the state of the electronic device 1, when using the number of unread mails, among the mails received by the electronic device 1, the number of mails that have not been read yet may be detected, and the level determination unit 22 may determine how much unread mails are accumulated as the state level.

[0058] Also, in addition to changing the background color of the file list screen based on these states of the electronic device 1, the display update unit 23 may change the screen displayed on the display unit 10 in various ways.

[0059] For example, the display update unit 23 may display a semi-transparent image at the corner of the screen displayed on the display unit 10.

[0060] FIGs. 6A to 6B are schematic diagrams showing examples of semi-transparent images displayed at the corners of the display unit 10. As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6B, the display update unit 23 may display semi-transparent images 32 at the lower left corner and the upper right corner of the screen displayed on the display unit 10. Note that the display of the semi-transparent image 32 is not limited to the lower left corner and the upper right corner of the screen displayed on the display unit 10, and it may be displayed at any one or more of the four corners of the screen displayed on the display unit 10. As long as it is at the corner of the screen displayed on the display unit 10, it is less likely to interfere with the user's work, but the user can always recognize the display of the image. Therefore, the state of the electronic device 1 can be recognized by the user without interfering with the user's work.

[0061] The semi-transparent image 32 is an image that penetrates the background image, application window, etc. displayed on the display unit 10, that is, an image having transparency. The semi-transparent image 32 is, for example, an image composed of a gray dot pattern or the like.

[0062] In addition, the display update unit 23 may change the size of the semi-transparent image 32 according to the state level of the electronic device 1 set by the level determination unit 22. For example, when the level determination unit 22 determines that the state level of the electronic device 1 is "level 0", the display update unit 23 does not display the semi-transparent image 32. When the level determination unit 22 determines that the state level of the electronic device 1 is "level 1", the display update unit 23 displays a semi-transparent image 32a as shown in FIG. 5A. Further, when the level determination unit 22 determines that the state level of the electronic device 1 is "level 2", the display update unit 23 displays a semi-transparent image 32b larger than the semi-transparent image 32a as shown in FIG. 5B.

[0063] In this way, the change of the screen by the display update unit 23 may be to display the semi-transparent image 32 at the corner of the screen displayed on the display unit 10. By displaying an image at the corner of the screen displayed on the display unit 10, the user can recognize the state of the electronic device 1 without disturbing the user's work.

[0064] In addition, the display update unit 23 may change the background image of the display unit 10 according to the state of the electronic device 1 detected by the state detection unit 21.

[0065] FIGS. 7A to 7B are schematic diagrams showing examples of changing the background image of the display unit 10. FIG. 7A is an example in which a background image 33a showing a morning view is displayed, and FIG. 7B is an example in which a background image 33b showing a night view is displayed.

[0066] The background image is an image displayed on the background of the display unit 10, and is generally an image called a desktop wallpaper or a desktop picture.

[0067] For example, the display update unit 23 may display the background image 33a when the state of the electronic device 1 is good (normal and no need for countermeasures), and display the background image 33b when the state of the electronic device 1 is bad (there may be an abnormality and countermeasures are needed).

[0068] The background image may be, for example, an image that can be changed in association with the state level of the electronic device 1, such as from morning to night, from an urban landscape to a rural landscape, or from a shallows to the deep sea. Further, the user may set an arbitrary image in association with the state of the electronic device 1.

[0069] The background image of the display unit 10 can be changed without disturbing the user's work, and since it is easy for the user to visually recognize, the state of the electronic device 1 can be recognized without disturbing the user's work.

Industrial Applicability

[0070] The present disclosure can be applied to electronic devices such as laptop-type PCs, tablet-type PCs, or smartphones.

Explanation of Signs

[0071] 1 Electronic device 10 Display unit 20 Control unit 21 State detection unit 22 Level determination unit 23 Display update unit 31 File list screen 32 Translucent image 32a Translucent image 32b Translucent image 33a Background image 33b Background image

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising a display unit, and a control unit for controlling the display unit, wherein the control unit detects the state of the electronic device, changes a part of the screen displayed on the display unit that does not interfere with user operations based on the detected state, and the change of the screen by the control unit includes displaying a semi - transparent image at the corners of the screen displayed on the display unit, and the control unit changes the size of the semi - transparent image according to the state. An electronic device.

2. The state indicates at least any one of the continuous operation time of the electronic device, the deterioration state of the recording medium of the electronic device, the remaining capacity of the recording medium, the deterioration state of the battery of the electronic device, the deterioration state of the cooling fan of the electronic device, the radio wave state of wireless communication, the temperature of the processor, or the number of unread mails. The electronic device according to claim 1.

3. The change of the screen by the control unit is performed in a part of the screen displayed on the display unit other than the part where operations by GUI are possible. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The change of the screen by the control unit includes changing the background color of the file list screen according to the state. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The change of the screen by the control unit includes changing the background image displayed on the display unit according to the state. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The control unit determines a level based on the detected state and changes the screen according to the level of the state. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

Images