JP7553875B1 - Notebook computer, control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To easily enable a screen rotation function.
[Solution] The notebook computer 10 has a first housing 10a, a second housing 10b, a processing unit 14, and a connection unit 15. The first housing 10a has a display 11. The second housing 10b has a keyboard 13. The connection unit 15 connects the first housing 10a and the second housing 10b, and has a rotation axis for rotating the first housing 10a. The processing unit 14 obtains a first angle, which is the angle of rotation of the first housing 10a around the rotation axis of the connection unit 15, when input to the keyboard 13 is valid. The processing unit 14 rotates the screen displayed on the display 11 based on the first angle.
[Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a notebook computer, a control method, and a program.

Notebook computers equipped with a display and a keyboard are in use. Notebook computers are also called notebook PCs (Personal Computers) or laptop PCs. Some notebook computers are of the so-called 2-in-1 type, which can be transformed into a tablet. Some notebook computers also have a detachable keyboard.

Here, the screen on the display connected to the computer can be rotated in response to user input operations. For example, there has been a proposal for an information processing device that displays a second display area, in which additional information can be input, within a first display area on the screen, tilted at a predetermined angle with respect to the first display area.

JP 2022-65477 A

Forcing users to manually configure screen rotation can cause users to have difficulty rotating the screen if they do not know how to configure it or are not familiar with the operation.

In one aspect, the present invention aims to make it easy to use the screen rotation function.

In one aspect, a notebook computer is provided. The notebook computer has a first housing, a second housing, a connection unit, and a processing unit. The first housing includes a display. The second housing includes a keyboard. The connection unit connects the first housing and the second housing and has a rotation axis for rotating the first housing. The processing unit, in a state in which input to the keyboard is valid, acquires a first angle that is an angle of rotation of the first housing about the rotation axis and a second angle that is an angle of rotation of the second housing about the rotation axis , calculates an opening angle of the first housing with respect to the second housing based on a difference between the first angle and the second angle , determines whether the opening angle falls within a predetermined angle range, and rotates a screen displayed on the display when the opening angle falls within the predetermined angle range .

In one aspect, a control method executed by a computer is provided.In one aspect, a program executed by a computer is provided.

On one hand, screen rotation functionality can be easily enabled.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a notebook computer according to a first embodiment. FIG. 13 illustrates an example of hardware of a notebook PC according to a second embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of how to use a notebook PC. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functions of a notebook PC. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating examples of opening angles of a notebook PC. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating examples of rotation axes for screen rotation. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example when the screen rotation angle is 0°. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating examples of screen rotation patterns. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating an example of cursor movement direction correction. 11 is a flowchart showing a first display control example. 10 is a flowchart showing a second display control example. 13 is a flowchart showing a third display control example.

The present embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First embodiment]
A first embodiment will be described.

Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating a notebook computer according to the first embodiment.

The notebook computer 10 has a first housing 10a and a second housing 10b. The first housing 10a has a display 11 and a sensor 12. The second housing 10b has a keyboard 13. The notebook computer 10 further has a processing unit 14. The processing unit 14 may be included in the first housing 10a or the second housing 10b. The notebook computer 10 also has a connection unit 15 that connects the first housing 10a and the second housing 10b. The connection unit 15 is, for example, a hinge. The first housing 10a and the second housing 10b can be rotated around the rotation axis of the connection unit 15, and can be folded and unfolded.

The display 11 is a display device that displays images. The display 11 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (OEL: Organic Electro-Luminescence) display.

The sensor 12 detects, for example, the angle of inclination of the display 11. The sensor 12 is, for example, an acceleration sensor. The horizontal direction is defined as 0°, and the sensor 12 detects the angle of inclination of the display 11 with respect to the horizontal direction. More specifically, the rotation axis of the connection portion 15 is defined as α. The horizontal axis perpendicular to the rotation axis α is defined as β. Furthermore, the axis of the display 11 perpendicular to the rotation axis α is defined as γ. In this case, the angle of inclination of the display 11 corresponds to the angle θ of the axis γ around the rotation axis α with respect to the axis β.

In FIG. 1, the direction in which the notebook computer 10 is viewed is represented by the axis x parallel to the rotation axis α, the horizontal axis y parallel to the axis β, and the vertical axis z.

The keyboard 13 is an input device that accepts user input operations. In addition to the keyboard 13, the second housing 10b may also include a pointing device such as a touchpad. A pointing device such as a mouse may also be connected to the notebook computer 10.

The processing unit 14 is, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). However, the processing unit 14 may also include electronic circuits for specific applications such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The processor executes programs stored in the storage unit. A collection of multiple processors is sometimes called a "multiprocessor" or simply a "processor." Although not shown, the notebook computer 10 has the above-mentioned storage unit that stores data used in the processing of the processing unit 14. The storage unit may be a volatile semiconductor memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), or a non-volatile storage such as an SSD (Solid State Drive), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or a flash memory.

Here, the notebook computer 10 is a so-called 2-in-1 type computer. That is, the notebook computer 10 can be used as a tablet when the rear face of the first housing 10a (the side opposite the display 11) and the rear face of the second housing 10b (the side opposite the keyboard 13) are joined together. The state in which the notebook computer 10 is transformed into a tablet is called tablet mode. For example, the processing unit 14 may obtain the relative angle between the first housing 10a and the second housing 10b, and detect the tablet mode based on the relative angle. The processing unit 14 enables input to the keyboard 13 in cases other than the tablet mode. The processing unit 14 disables input to the keyboard 13 in the tablet mode.

The processing unit 14 also controls the display of the screen on the display 11. Specifically, when input to the keyboard 13 is enabled, the processing unit 14 obtains the angle θ of rotation of the first housing 10a around the rotation axis α (i.e., the angle θ of tilt), and rotates the screen displayed on the display 11 based on the angle θ. Here, the screen is the image displayed on the display 11.

For example, the sensor 12 continuously detects the angle θ, and in response to an event in which the user rotates the first housing 10a by a relatively large amount, notifies the processing unit 14 of the angle θ after the rotation. In response to the notification from the sensor 12, the processing unit 14 determines whether or not to rotate the screen.

The angle range R for rotating the screen with respect to the angle θ acquired by the processing unit 14 is determined in advance. For example, information indicating the angle range R is stored in advance in the memory unit of the notebook computer 10. The angle range R is determined to be, for example, around 180°. As an example, the angle range R is set to be approximately 160° to approximately 200°.

Figure 1 shows examples of screen displays when θ = θ1 and when θ = θ2.

θ1 is an angle smaller than the minimum angle of the angle range R. In this case, the processing unit 14 does not rotate the screen. In other words, the screen rotation angle is 0°. Note that if θ does not belong to the angle range R and the device is not in tablet mode, the processing unit 14 can rotate the screen according to the user's settings.

θ2 is an angle that belongs to the angle range R. For example, θ2 = 180°. In this case, the processing unit 14 automatically rotates the screen displayed on the display 11 by 180°. The rotation axis of the screen is an axis that passes through the center of the screen and is perpendicular to the screen. As a result, the screen displayed on the display 11 is inverted vertically and horizontally compared to when the screen is not rotated.

In this way, with the notebook computer 10, when input to the keyboard 13 is active, the angle θ of rotation of the first housing 10a around the rotation axis α at the connection part 15 is acquired, and the screen displayed on the display 11 is rotated based on this angle θ.

This allows the notebook computer 10 to easily enable the screen rotation function for the user. For example, a user may place the notebook computer 10 on a table or the like and rotate the first housing 10a by approximately θ=180° to show the screen to the other user facing the user, while explaining the contents of the screen of the display 11 to the other user. In this case, if the screen orientation is reversed, it is difficult for the other user to see the screen contents. Therefore, the notebook computer 10 automatically rotates the screen displayed on the display 11 based on the rotation angle θ of the first housing 10a, making it easy to enable the screen rotation function without forcing the user to perform operations to rotate the screen.

In the above description, the reference for angle θ is the horizontal axis β (or axis y). On the other hand, axis β may be considered to be an axis perpendicular to axis α and fixed to second housing 10b. In this case, for example, second housing 10b may be provided with a sensor (e.g., an acceleration sensor) that detects angle φ between axis β and axis y fixed in the horizontal direction. Then, processing unit 14 may rotate the screen displayed on display 11 based on angle θ (first angle) and angle φ (second angle). In this case, processing unit 14 may automatically rotate the screen displayed on display 11 by 180° when, for example, the difference between angle θ and angle φ falls within a predetermined angle range R.

[Second embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described.

Figure 2 shows an example of the hardware of a notebook PC according to the second embodiment.

The notebook PC 100 has a processor 101, a RAM 102, an SSD 103, a media reader 104, a communication interface 105, a GPU 106, sensors 107 and 109, an input interface 108, an LCD 110, a keyboard 120, and a touchpad 130. The processor 101 corresponds to the processing unit 14 in the first embodiment.

The processor 101 is an arithmetic device that executes program instructions. The processor 101 is, for example, a CPU. The processor 101 loads at least a portion of the programs and data stored in the SSD 103 into the RAM 102 and executes the programs. The processor 101 may include multiple processor cores. The notebook PC 100 may also have multiple processors. The processes described below may be executed in parallel using multiple processors or processor cores. A set of multiple processors may also be called a "multiprocessor" or simply a "processor." A processor may also be called a "processor circuitry."

RAM 102 is a volatile semiconductor memory that temporarily stores programs executed by processor 101 and data used by processor 101 for calculations. Note that notebook PC 100 may be provided with a type of memory other than RAM, or may be provided with multiple memories.

SSD103 is a non-volatile storage device that stores software programs such as an OS (Operating System), middleware, and application software, as well as data. Notebook PC100 may also include other types of storage devices, such as an HDD, and may also include multiple non-volatile storage devices.

The medium reader 104 is a reading device that reads programs and data recorded on the recording medium 20. For example, a semiconductor memory can be used as the recording medium 20. The recording medium 20 may be a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk (MO: Magneto-Optical disk), etc. Magnetic disks include flexible disks (FD: Flexible Disks) and HDDs. Optical disks include CDs (Compact Discs) and DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs).

The media reader 104 copies, for example, the program or data read from the recording medium 20 to another recording medium such as the RAM 102 or the SSD 103. The read program is executed, for example, by the processor 101. Note that the recording medium 20 may be a portable recording medium, and may be used to distribute programs and data. Also, the recording medium 20 and the SSD 103 may be referred to as computer-readable recording media.

The communication interface 105 is connected to the network 30 and communicates with other information processing devices via the network 30. The communication interface 105 may be a wired communication interface connected to a wired communication device such as a switch or a router, or a wireless communication interface connected to a wireless communication device such as a base station or an access point.

The GPU 106 outputs an image to the LCD 110 according to instructions from the processor 101. The LCD 110 is a display device that displays an image. The LCD 110 may be another type of display, such as an OEL display.

Sensor 107 is an acceleration sensor provided in the first housing including LCD 110, and detects the angle of inclination of the first housing or LCD 110.

The input interface 108 is connected to the keyboard 120 and the touchpad 130. The keyboard 120 and the touchpad 130 are input devices that accept user operation input. The input interface 108 acquires input signals from the keyboard 120 and the touchpad 130 and outputs them to the processor 101. The notebook PC 100 may also be equipped with a pointing device other than the touchpad 130, such as a touch panel or a trackball. The input interface 108 may also be connected to a mouse, a digitizer, or the like, and may acquire input signals from the mouse, the digitizer, or the like.

Sensor 109 is an acceleration sensor provided in a second housing having a keyboard 120, and detects the angle of inclination of the second housing or the keyboard 120.

The processor 101, RAM 102, SSD 103, media reader 104, communication interface 105, GPU 106, and input interface 108 may each be provided in the first housing or in the second housing.

Figure 3 shows an example of how to use a notebook PC.

The notebook PC 100 has a first housing 100a, a second housing 100b, and a hinge 140. The first housing 100a has a sensor 107 and an LCD 110. The second housing 100b has a sensor 109 and a keyboard 120. The hinge 140 is a connection part that connects the first housing 100a and the second housing 100b. The first housing 100a and the second housing 100b can rotate around the rotation axis of the hinge 140. The angle of inclination of the first housing 100a and the second housing 100b corresponds to the rotation angle around the rotation axis.

The first housing 100a and the second housing 100b may be detachable via a hinge 140. The notebook PC 100 is a so-called 2-in-1 type computer, and can also be used as a tablet. Furthermore, the notebook PC 100 may be provided with a detection mechanism other than the sensors 107 and 109 that detects the rotation angle of the first housing 100a and the second housing 100b around the rotation axis of the hinge 140.

The user can place the notebook PC 100 on a table or the like and open the first housing 100a so that the screen of the LCD 110 of the notebook PC 100 is flush with the key surface of the keyboard 120, thereby showing the screen displayed on the LCD 110 to the person facing him/her. The notebook PC 100 provides a function that detects such a usage state of the notebook PC 100 and automatically rotates the screen displayed on the LCD 110 so that it is easy for the other person to see.

Figure 4 shows an example of the functions of a notebook PC.

The notebook PC 100 has a memory unit 150, an angle acquisition unit 160, and a display control unit 170. The memory unit 150 uses the storage area of the RAM 102 or the SSD 103. The angle acquisition unit 160 and the display control unit 170 are realized by the processor 101 executing a program stored in the RAM 102.

The memory unit 150 stores various data used for processing by the angle acquisition unit 160 and the display control unit 170.

The angle acquisition unit 160 acquires the angles detected by the sensors 107 and 109 and stores them in the storage unit 150. For example, the sensors 107 and 109 detect an event in which the tilt angle of the first housing 100a or the second housing 100b has changed relatively significantly, and notify the angle acquisition unit 160 of the changed angle as an interrupt. For example, the sensors 107 and 109 continuously detect the tilt angles of the first housing 100a and the second housing 100b, respectively, and can detect that the tilt angle has changed significantly when an angle change of a threshold value or more has occurred within a certain period of time. The angle acquisition unit 160 acquires the notified angle, calculates the opening angle of the notebook PC 100 based on the angle, and supplies it to the display control unit 170. For example, the angle acquisition unit 160 can obtain the difference between the angle acquired from the sensor 107 and the angle acquired from the sensor 109 as the opening angle of the notebook PC 100.

The display control unit 170 controls the display of images by the LCD 110. The display control unit 170 has a screen rotation unit 171 and a cursor correction unit 172.

The screen rotation unit 171 automatically rotates the screen displayed on the LCD 110 based on the opening angle provided by the angle acquisition unit 160.

The cursor correction unit 172 corrects the movement direction of the cursor operated by the touch pad 130 or the mouse in response to the rotation of the screen by the screen rotation unit 171. The cursor is also called a mouse cursor.

Figure 5 shows examples of the opening angle of a notebook PC.

Table 200 shows the relationship between the attitudes of the first housing 100a and the second housing 100b, the angles (directional angles) detected by the sensors 107 and 109, respectively, and the opening angle of the notebook PC 100.

Figure 5 shows the x, y, and z axes. The x axis is an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of the hinge 140. The y axis is a horizontal axis perpendicular to the x axis. The z axis is a vertical axis perpendicular to the x and y axes.

The arrow on the first housing 100a indicates a direction perpendicular to the screen (LCD surface) of the LCD 110. The arrow on the second housing 100b indicates a direction perpendicular to the rear surface of the keyboard 120 (KB (Keyboard) rear surface).

The rotation angle of the LCD surface (the direction angle of the LCD surface) around the x-axis (the rotation axis of the hinge 140) relative to the horizontal direction corresponds to the tilt angle θ of the first housing 100a. Furthermore, the rotation angle of the back surface of the KB around the y-axis relative to the horizontal direction (the direction angle of the back surface of the KB) corresponds to the tilt angle φ of the second housing 100b. For example, when the LCD surface and the back surface of the KB are facing toward the ground (vertically downward), the sensors 107 and 109 each detect 0°.

For example, when the orientation angle of the LCD surface is 0° and the orientation angle of the back surface of the KB is 0°, that is, when the open angle of the notebook PC 100 is 0°-0°=0°, this corresponds to the notebook PC 100 being in a closed state.

For example, when the orientation angle of the LCD surface is approximately 120° and the orientation angle of the back surface of the KB is 0°, that is, when the open angle of the notebook PC 100 is 120°-0°=120°, this corresponds to the first open state of the notebook PC 100. The first open state is the standard usage state of the notebook PC 100, and is called the clamshell mode. Information indicating the range of open angles corresponding to the first open state is stored in advance in the memory unit 150.

For example, when the orientation angle of the LCD surface is 180° and the orientation angle of the back surface of the KB is 0°, i.e., when the open angle of the notebook PC 100 is 180°-0°=180°, this corresponds to the second open state of the notebook PC 100. The second open state is a usage state in which the user opens the notebook PC 100 fully to show the screen of the LCD 110 to the person facing them, and is called the upside-down screen mode. Information indicating the range of open angles corresponding to the second open state is stored in advance in the memory unit 150.

Furthermore, when the orientation angle of the LCD surface is approximately 120° and the orientation angle of the back surface of the KB is approximately 120°, the back surface of the first housing 100a and the back surface of the second housing 100b are aligned. In this case, the second housing 100b rotates in the opposite direction to the first housing 100a, and when the tilt angle of the first housing 100a is +120°, the tilt angle of the second housing 100b is -240°. When the opening angle of the notebook PC 100 based on these angles is 120°-(-240°)=360°, this corresponds to the third open state of the notebook PC 100. The third open state is a usage state in which the user uses the notebook PC 100 as a tablet, and is called the tablet mode.

In the third open state (tablet mode), the processor 101 disables user input operations to the keyboard 120. In the first open state (clamshell mode) and the second open state (screen upside-down mode), the processor 101 enables user input operations to the keyboard 120.

When the screen rotation unit 171 detects that the notebook PC 100 is in the second open state (upside-down screen mode) based on the opening angle, it rotates the screen displayed on the LCD 110.

Figure 6 shows an example of a rotation axis for screen rotation.

The rotation axis H of the screen rotation unit 171 is an axis that passes through the center M1 of the LCD 110 screen and is perpendicular to the screen.

Figure 7 shows an example of the display when the screen rotation angle is 0°.

For example, in the first open state (clamshell mode), the screen is displayed without screen rotation, i.e., at a screen rotation angle of 0°, so that the vertically upward direction corresponds to the upward direction of the screen and the vertically downward direction corresponds to the downward direction of the screen, so that the user operating the notebook PC 100 can easily view the screen.

Figure 8 shows an example of a screen rotation pattern.

Table 210 shows the pattern of screen rotation control by the screen rotation unit 171 according to the opening angle.

For example, an opening angle of 0° to approximately 160° corresponds to the clamshell mode (first open state) described above. In clamshell mode, the screen rotation is 0° or in a direction that depends on the user's manual setting.

For example, an opening angle of around 180°, i.e., an opening angle of approximately 160° to approximately 200°, corresponds to the above-mentioned screen upside-down mode (second open state). In the screen upside-down mode, the screen is automatically rotated 180°. Automatically rotating the screen 180° is sometimes referred to as "upside-down".

For example, an opening angle of 200° to 360° corresponds to the aforementioned tablet mode (third open state). In tablet mode, screen rotation is performed by a sensor 107 (i.e., an LCD angle sensor) built into the first housing 100a. For example, in tablet mode, the screen rotation unit 171 rotates the screen displayed on the LCD 110 based on the angles (angles around the x, y, and z axes) detected by the sensor 107 built into the first housing 100a.

Figure 9 shows an example of cursor movement direction correction.

Fig. 9 (A) shows an example of a case where the movement direction of cursor C1 is corrected in the up-down screen inversion mode. In the up-down screen inversion mode, cursor correction unit 172 accepts a user operation input in the direction of arrow A1 on touch pad 130 for cursor C1 displayed on the screen of LCD 110. Then, cursor correction unit 172 moves cursor C1 in the direction of arrow B1 indicating the same direction as arrow A1.

Figure 9 (B) shows an example of a case where the movement direction of cursor C1 is not corrected in the up-down screen inversion mode. When the movement direction of cursor C1 is not corrected, in response to a user's operation input in the direction of arrow A1 on touch pad 130, cursor C1 is moved in the direction of arrow B2, which is opposite to arrow A1.

In this way, the cursor correction unit 172 corrects the direction of cursor movement using the touchpad 130, a mouse, etc., thereby helping the user to operate the cursor C1 without feeling uncomfortable even when the screen is rotated 180 degrees in the upside-down screen mode.

Next, the processing procedure of the notebook PC 100 will be explained.

Figure 10 is a flowchart showing a first display control example.

(S10) The sensor 107 detects an event of an angle change of the direction angle of the LCD surface exceeding a threshold value, and notifies the angle acquisition unit 160 of the direction angle θ after the change in the event. The sensor 109 also detects an event of an angle change of the direction angle of the back surface of the KB exceeding a threshold value, and notifies the angle acquisition unit 160 of the direction angle φ after the change in the event. The angle acquisition unit 160 acquires the direction angle θ notified from the sensor 107. The angle acquisition unit 160 also acquires the direction angle φ notified from the sensor 109. Note that in step S10, either the sensor 107 or the sensor 109 may detect the angle change, or both may detect the angle change. The angle acquisition unit 160 calculates the difference between the latest direction angle θ and the latest direction angle φ, i.e., the opening angle of the notebook PC 100, and outputs it to the screen rotation unit 171.

(S11) The screen rotation unit 171 determines whether the difference between the direction angle θ and the direction angle φ calculated in step S10, i.e., the opening angle of the notebook PC 100, is within the angle range of the up-down inversion mode (up-down screen inversion mode). If the opening angle is within the angle range of the up-down inversion mode, the process proceeds to step S12. If the opening angle is not included in the angle range of the up-down inversion mode, the process proceeds to step S13.

(S12) The screen rotation unit 171 rotates the screen displayed on the LCD 110 by 180° around the rotation axis H. The cursor correction unit 172 also starts correcting the cursor movement direction. Then, the process proceeds to step S10. When the process proceeds to step S10, the angle acquisition unit 160 waits for notification of the changed angle in response to the angle change event from the sensors 107 and 109.

(S13) The screen rotation unit 171 performs screen rotation control according to the mode corresponding to the opening angle, i.e., clamshell mode and tablet mode. Specifically, the screen rotation unit 171 performs screen rotation control in clamshell mode and tablet mode according to the screen rotation pattern shown in table 210. Then, the process proceeds to step S10. When the process proceeds to step S10, the angle acquisition unit 160 waits for notification of the angle after the change in response to the angle change event from the sensors 107 and 109.

The notebook PC 100 may control the display of the LCD 110 screen using the following procedure.

Figure 11 is a flowchart showing a second display control example.

The second display control example differs from the first display control example in that, among the above-mentioned steps S10 to S13, steps S10a and S11a are executed instead of steps S10 and S11. Therefore, the following mainly describes steps S10a and S11a, and the description of steps S12 and S13 is omitted. Steps S12 and S13 are followed by step S10a.

(S10a) The sensor 107 detects an event of an angle change of the direction angle of the LCD surface exceeding a threshold value, and notifies the angle acquisition unit 160 of the direction angle θ after the change in the event. The angle acquisition unit 160 acquires the direction angle θ notified by the sensor 107. The angle acquisition unit 160 outputs the direction angle θ to the screen rotation unit 171.

(S11a) The screen rotation unit 171 determines whether the direction angle θ of the LCD surface is within the angle range of the vertically upward direction. If the direction angle θ is within the angle range of the vertically upward direction, the process proceeds to step S12. If the direction angle θ does not belong to the angle range of the vertically upward direction, the process proceeds to step S13.

The angle range in the vertically upward direction is predetermined, for example, 80° to 100°, and information indicating this angle range is stored in advance in the storage unit 150. In this case, in step S13, the screen rotation unit 171 may detect the screen up-down inversion mode in the screen rotation pattern of FIG. 8, or may control the screen rotation by regarding the angle range corresponding to the screen up-down inversion mode as the clamshell mode.

In this way, the screen rotation unit 171 may perform the screen rotation in step S12 based only on the direction angle θ of the LCD surface, i.e., the angle θ of inclination of the first housing 100a, without using the direction angle φ of the back surface of the KB, depending on whether the angle θ corresponds to a vertically upward direction.

Furthermore, the notebook PC 100 may control the display of the LCD 110 screen by the following procedure.

Figure 12 is a flowchart showing a third display control example.

The third display control example differs from the first display control example in that, instead of steps S10 and S11 of steps S10 to S13 in the first display control example, steps S10b and S11b are executed. Therefore, in the following, steps S10b and S11b will be mainly explained, and an explanation of steps S12 and S13 will be omitted. Steps S12 and S13 are followed by step S10b.

(S10b) The sensor 107 detects an event of an angle change of the direction angle of the LCD surface exceeding a threshold value, and notifies the angle acquisition unit 160 of the direction angle θ after the change in the event. The sensor 109 also detects an event of an angle change of the direction angle of the back surface of the KB exceeding a threshold value, and notifies the angle acquisition unit 160 of the direction angle φ after the change in the event. The angle acquisition unit 160 acquires the direction angle θ notified from the sensor 107. The angle acquisition unit 160 also acquires the direction angle φ notified from the sensor 109. Note that in step S10b, either the sensor 107 or the sensor 109 may detect an angle change, or both may detect an angle change. The angle acquisition unit 160 calculates the difference between the latest direction angle θ and the latest direction angle φ, i.e., the opening angle of the notebook PC 100, and outputs it to the screen rotation unit 171. The angle acquisition unit 160 also outputs the direction angle θ notified by the sensor 107 to the screen rotation unit 171.

(S11b) The screen rotation unit 171 determines whether the direction angle θ of the LCD surface is within the angle range of the vertically upward direction and whether the difference between the direction angle θ and the direction angle φ, i.e., the open angle of the notebook PC 100, is within the angle range of the upside-down mode. If the direction angle θ of the LCD surface is within the angle range of the vertically upward direction and the difference between the direction angle θ and the direction angle φ, i.e., the open angle of the notebook PC 100, is within the angle range of the upside-down mode, the process proceeds to step S12. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S13.

In this way, the screen rotation unit 171 can use a combination of the conditions of step S11 in the first display control example and the conditions of step S11a in the second display control example. This allows the notebook PC 100 to suppress automatic screen rotation and control so as not to perform unnecessary screen rotation when, for example, the user opens the notebook PC fully and leans it against a wall to operate it using an external keyboard.

As described above, the notebook PC 100 has a first housing 100a, a second housing 100b, a hinge 140, and a processor 101. The first housing 100a has an LCD 110. The second housing 100b has a keyboard 120. The hinge 140 connects the first housing 100a and the second housing 100b, and has a rotation axis that rotates the first housing 100a. When input to the keyboard 120 is active, the processor 101 obtains a first angle (θ) that is the angle of rotation of the first housing 100a around the rotation axis of the hinge 140, and rotates the screen displayed on the LCD 110 based on the first angle.

This allows the notebook PC 100 to easily enable the screen rotation function by the user. For example, the user may place the notebook PC 100 on a table or the like and rotate the first housing 100a by about θ=180° to show the screen of the LCD 110 to the other user facing the user, while explaining the contents of the screen to the other user. In this case, if the screen orientation is reversed, it is difficult for the other user to see the contents of the screen. Therefore, the notebook PC 100 can easily enable the screen rotation function without forcing the user to perform operations for screen rotation by automatically rotating the screen displayed on the LCD 110 based on the rotation angle θ of the first housing 100a. Note that the hinge 140 is an example of the connection unit 15 of the first embodiment.

For example, as described in the second display control example of FIG. 11, the processor 101 may determine whether the first angle (θ) falls within a first angle range indicating that the display surface of the LCD 110 faces vertically upward, and may rotate the screen if the first angle falls within the first angle range.

This allows the notebook PC 100 to easily enable the user to use the screen rotation function. The angle range used for the determination in step S11a in the second display control example of FIG. 11 is an example of the first angle range.

As described in the first display control example of FIG. 10, the processor 101 may further acquire a second angle of rotation of the second housing 100b around the rotation axis of the hinge 140. The processor 101 may calculate the opening angle of the first housing 100a relative to the second housing 100b based on the difference between the first angle and the second angle. The processor 101 may then determine whether the opening angle falls within a predetermined second angle range that includes 180°, and rotate the screen if the opening angle falls within the second angle range.

This allows the notebook PC 100 to properly detect when the first housing 100a is fully open, allowing the user to easily use the screen rotation function. The range of opening angles corresponding to the screen upside-down inversion mode in FIG. 8 is an example of the second angle range. The angle φ detected by the sensor 109 corresponds to the second angle.

Also, as described in the third display control example of FIG. 12, the processor 101 may determine whether the first angle belongs to a first angle range indicating that the display surface of the LCD 110 faces vertically upward, and whether the opening angle belongs to a second angle range. The processor 101 may rotate the screen when the first angle belongs to the first angle range, and the opening angle belongs to the second angle range.

This allows the notebook PC 100 to suppress unnecessary screen rotation and allows the user to easily use the screen rotation function.

In addition, when rotating the screen based on the first angle, the processor 101 rotates the screen 180° around an axis (rotation axis H in FIG. 6) that passes through the center of the screen and is perpendicular to the screen.

This allows the notebook PC 100 to display the screen in a way that is easy for the person facing the user to see.

Furthermore, when processor 101 receives a user operation input via a pointing device for a cursor displayed on the screen, it corrects the movement direction of the cursor due to the operation input in accordance with the rotation of the screen. For example, when the screen is rotated 180 degrees, the movement direction of the cursor without correction will be a direction rotated 180 degrees from the operation direction on the screen display. Therefore, processor 101 sets the movement direction of the cursor after correction to a direction rotated 180 degrees from the direction rotated 180 degrees from the operation direction. In this way, as illustrated in FIG. 9, processor 101 can correct the movement direction of the cursor so that it matches the movement direction actually input by the user after the screen is rotated.

As a result, when the screen is rotated, the notebook PC 100 can suppress the feeling of discomfort caused by the direction of cursor movement in response to the user's cursor movement operation, and can assist the user in intuitively operating the cursor.

The information processing of the first embodiment can be realized by having the processing unit 14 execute a program. The information processing of the second embodiment can be realized by having the processor 101 execute a program. The program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium 20.

For example, the program can be distributed by distributing the recording medium 20 on which the program is recorded. The program may also be stored in another computer and distributed via a network. For example, the computer may store (install) the program recorded on the recording medium 20 or a program received from another computer in a storage device such as RAM 102 or SSD 103, and read and execute the program from the storage device.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Notebook computer 10a First housing 10b Second housing 11 Display 12 Sensor 13 Keyboard 14 Processing unit 15 Connection unit

Claims (7)

A first housing having a display;
a second housing having a keyboard;
a connection portion that connects the first housing and the second housing and has a rotation shaft that rotates the first housing;
a processing unit that, when an input to the keyboard is enabled, acquires a first angle that is a rotation angle of the first housing about the rotation axis and a second angle that is a rotation angle of the second housing about the rotation axis , calculates an opening angle of the first housing with respect to the second housing based on a difference between the first angle and the second angle , determines whether or not the opening angle falls within a predetermined angle range, and rotates a screen displayed on the display when the opening angle falls within the predetermined angle range ;
A notebook computer having: The predetermined angle range includes 180 ° .
2. The notebook computer of claim 1. the processing unit determines whether or not the first angle belongs to another angle range indicating that a display surface of the display is oriented vertically upward and whether or not the opening angle belongs to the predetermined angle range, and rotates the screen when the first angle belongs to the other angle range and the opening angle belongs to the predetermined angle range.
3. The notebook computer according to claim 2 . In rotating the screen, the processing unit rotates the screen 180° around an axis that passes through a center of the screen and is perpendicular to the screen.
2. The notebook computer of claim 1. when the processing unit receives an operation input by a user using a pointing device with respect to a cursor displayed on the screen, the processing unit corrects a moving direction of the cursor caused by the operation input in accordance with a rotation of the screen;
2. The notebook computer of claim 1. The computer
a connection section that connects a first housing having a display and a second housing having the keyboard in a state where input to the keyboard is enabled, the connection section having a rotation axis for rotating the first housing, the connection section acquiring a first angle that is an angle of rotation of the first housing about the rotation axis, and a second angle that is an angle of rotation of the second housing about the rotation axis ;
calculating an opening angle of the first housing with respect to the second housing based on a difference between the first angle and the second angle ;
determining whether the opening angle is within a predetermined angle range, and rotating a screen displayed on the display when the opening angle is within the predetermined angle range ;
Control methods. On the computer,
a connection section that connects a first housing having a display and a second housing having the keyboard in a state where input to the keyboard is enabled, the connection section having a rotation axis for rotating the first housing, the connection section acquiring a first angle that is an angle of rotation of the first housing about the rotation axis, and a second angle that is an angle of rotation of the second housing about the rotation axis ;
calculating an opening angle of the first housing with respect to the second housing based on a difference between the first angle and the second angle ;
determining whether the opening angle is within a predetermined angle range, and rotating a screen displayed on the display when the opening angle is within the predetermined angle range ;
A program that executes a process.

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