WO2006077686A1 - Portable electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable electronic device, by which a user can be provided with various user interfaces and functions, and characters and marks displayed on an operating element can be changed at low cost. A user interface unit is provided with a case mounted on an information processing unit, and a push button attached to the case, and the push button is provided with an image showing area. The information processing unit is provided with a touch panel for detecting operation of the push button, a display part and an information processing part. The information processing part permits a display area of the display part facing the image showing area of the push button to display images such as marks.

Description

 Specification

 Portable electronic devices

 Technical field

 The present invention relates to a portable electronic device such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and a portable audio playback device.

 Background art

 [0002] Components of portable electronic devices such as PDAs are broadly classified into a housing provided with a user interface such as an operator, a display unit, and a touch panel, and a circuit board provided inside the housing. be able to. Here, for example, in the case of a PDA, the components mounted on the circuit board are a processor, RAM, firmware, a display IC for controlling the touch panel, etc., and there is no great difference in the type of any PDA. Therefore, by changing only the firmware mounted on the common circuit board, for example, a circuit board for PDA of specification A, a circuit board for PDA of specification B, etc. It is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost as a whole. However, a housing with a user interface is a difficult part to share. For example, even if it is limited to PDAs, various products are provided that have different arrangements of controls and display units such as a push button that matches the user's various preferences. In this way, if the user interface configuration differs between products, at least the manufacturing process for mounting the user interface on the chassis must be different for each product. Also, for circuit boards, it is necessary to change the wiring for connecting to the user interface between products, so it is difficult to share the manufacturing process between products. Patent Document 1 is a document relating to a technique for solving such a problem. Patent Document 1 discloses an information processing apparatus that detects an operation of an operation element on an operation panel by a touch panel arranged on an image display panel and performs processing according to the operation of the operation element. According to the information processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, even when various types of operation panels are replaced, the operation of the operation panel can be detected by the touch panel and processing corresponding to the operation can be performed.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-273080 Disclosure of the invention

 Problems to be solved by the invention

 [0003] By the way, many users of portable electronic devices want to find out where a desired operator is located, react to it in a reflective manner, and operate it. For this reason, characters and marks that identify the operation elements are printed on the operation elements such as push buttons of many portable electronic devices. Therefore, even when the technique of Patent Document 1 is implemented, it is desirable to print characters and marks that specify the operation element on the operation element of the operation panel. Here, after installing various controls on the panel surface, it is difficult to print characters and marks on each control. Usually, controls with various characters and marks printed on are manufactured in advance. These control elements are attached to the positions on the panel surface where they are to be placed to constitute the control panel. However, there is a problem that the manufacturing process of such an operation panel is complicated and the manufacturing cost increases. In consideration of various user preferences, there are cases in which a plurality of types of operation panels having the same structure but different characters and mark shapes and colors are displayed. In such a case, it is uneconomical to manufacture all of the operation panels individually.

 [0004] The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, can provide a user with various user interfaces and functions, and change characters and marks displayed on an operator. It is an object to provide a portable electronic device that can realize a low cost.

 Means for solving the problem

In order to achieve the above object, the present application has the following configuration.

 (1) Portable electronic devices

 A user interface;

 An information processing unit,

 The user interface unit is

 A housing,

 An operator disposed on one surface of the housing and having an image presentation area;

The information processing unit includes: A sensor for detecting an operation of the operation element;

 In a state in which the user interface unit is mounted, a display unit provided on the back side of the one surface of the housing;

 An image is displayed in the area of the display unit corresponding to the image presentation area so that it can be visually recognized from the outside of the housing via the image presentation area through processing according to the operation of the operator detected by the sensor. An information processing unit for performing processing to be displayed;

 And have.

 (2) The portable electronic device according to (1), wherein the image presentation area is realized by a transparent area, a semitransparent area, or a perforated area provided in the operation element.

 (3) The portable electronic device according to (1), wherein the casing is provided with a plurality of the operating elements.

 (4) The user interface unit includes an information recording unit that records identification information of the user interface unit.

 The information processing unit has reading means for reading identification information recorded in the information recording unit,

 The portable electronic device according to (1), wherein the information processing unit switches information processing to be executed based on the identification information read by the reading unit.

 (5) The user interface unit has an information recording unit storing a control program unique to the user interface unit,

 The information processing unit has reading means for reading a control program recorded in the information recording unit,

 The portable electronic device according to (1), wherein the information processing unit executes the information processing according to a control program read by the reading unit.

 (6) The user interface unit includes an information recording unit that records identification information of the user interface unit.

 The information processing unit has reading means for reading identification information recorded in the information recording unit,

The information processing unit includes communication means, and the communication means and the reading means. The portable electronic device according to (1), wherein a control program associated with the read identification information is acquired, and the information processing is executed according to the control program.

(7) The information processing executed by the information processing unit is a display mode of the image in the area of the display unit corresponding to the image presentation area in accordance with the operation of the operator detected by the sensor. The portable electronic device according to (1), characterized in that it includes a process for changing

(8) The portable electronic device according to (1), wherein the sensor is a transparent touch panel that the operator can contact, and is disposed between one surface of the housing and the display unit. Machine

(9) The portable electronic device according to (1), wherein the operation element is any one of a push button, a slider, and a rotary knob.

 [0006] According to such an invention, by replacing the user interface unit attached to the information processing unit, a portable electronic device having various user interfaces and functions is realized. At that time, an image is displayed in a transparent area of the operation element, so the user can quickly determine the role of each operation element from this image and select the operation element to be operated. . However, since this image is displayed on the display unit, there is no need for the complicated process of printing a mark or the like on the operation unit and attaching it to the housing when manufacturing the user interface unit. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a slider in the same embodiment.

 FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a rotary knob in the same embodiment.

 FIG. 4 (a) and (b) are diagrams showing a configuration example of a touch panel in the same embodiment.

 FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example for switching functions as a portable electronic device in accordance with the user interface unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example for switching functions as a portable electronic device in accordance with the user interface unit in the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example for switching functions as a portable electronic device in accordance with the user interface unit in the embodiment.

 [FIG. 8] (a) to (d) are diagrams showing the operation of the embodiment.

 FIG. 9 shows a display example of the display unit in the same embodiment.

 BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a portable electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This portable electronic device includes a flat rectangular parallelepiped information processing unit 10 and a user interface unit 20. The user interface unit 20 includes a casing 21 and various operators attached to the casing 21. Here, the casing 21 is a casing configured like a lid having a rectangular ceiling and four surrounding side walls. And the housing | casing 21 is mounted | worn with the information processing unit 10 in the aspect which covers a lid | cover. A stopper 21a is raised at a position near the ceiling inside the four side walls of the casing 21. When the casing 21 is mounted, the stopper 21 a is placed on the peripheral edge of the upper surface of the information processing unit 10. For this reason, the ceiling of the casing 21 is kept separated from the upper surface of the information processing unit 10 by a predetermined distance. The operation element is arranged on the ceiling of the casing 21. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of push buttons 22 a are arranged on the casing 21 as this operation element. These push buttons 22a have an image presentation area in the pressing portion that is touched by the user's finger, and the user can view the upper surface of the information processing unit 10 through the image presentation area. The image presentation area is realized by making it a transparent area, a translucent area, or a perforated area.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing unit 10 includes a transparent touch panel 11 formed so as to cover the entire upper surface thereof, a display unit 12 having a display surface facing the back side of the touch panel 11, And an information processing unit 13. The touch panel 11 functions as a sensor for detecting the operation of the operation element provided in the housing 21 of the user interface unit 20. In the example shown in FIG. 1, when any one of the push buttons 22a is pressed, the lower part of the push button 22a protruding to the back side of the casing 21 comes into contact with the touch panel 11, and a signal indicating the contact position is output from the touch panel 11. Is output. Based on the output signal of the touch panel 11, the information processing unit 13 detects that the push button has been pressed and presses the pressed push button. Judge Tan.

 The information processing unit 13 is a device that detects the operation of the operator provided in the user interface unit 20 based on the output signal of the touch panel 11 and performs various information processing in response thereto. . The information processing unit 13 includes a processor and a nonvolatile memory. In this embodiment, a plurality of types of user interface units 20 for preparing a plurality of types of portable electronic devices having various functions are prepared, and these are all used by being mounted on the information processing unit 10. be able to. When the user interface unit 20 corresponding to a certain portable electronic device is attached to the information processing unit 10, the information processing unit 13 transfers the entire device including the user interface unit 20 and the information processing unit 10 to the portable electronic device. Information processing for functioning as

 In the present embodiment, a user interface unit 20 having various operators such as a slider and a rotary knob in addition to a push button can be attached to the information processing unit 10. In the present embodiment, the touch panel 11 detects operations of these various operators. In order to make this possible, in this embodiment, the configuration of the slider and the rotary knob provided in the user interface unit 20 is improved.

 FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of the slider 22b in the present embodiment. In this example, the slider 22b is attached to a slide groove formed in the ceiling surface of the casing 21, and is slid in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. The portion of the slider 22b that protrudes to the inside of the casing 21 is a bearing 22b-1, and the roller 22b-2 is supported in a freely rotating manner in contact with the surface of the touch panel 11. With this configuration, when the slider 22b is slid in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface, the roller 22b_2 moves while rotating. In this way, the contact position of the roller 22b_2 as the movable part on the touch panel 11 changes in conjunction with the slide operation of the slider 22b, so the information processing unit 13 determines the current position of the slider 22b based on the output signal of the touch panel 11. Detecting power S

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of the rotary knob 22c in the present embodiment. The rotary motion of the rotary shaft 22c_l of the rotary knob 22c is converted into a translational motion by a rack and pinion mechanism in which a gear 22c_2 and a spur gear 22c_3 are combined. Spur gear 22c _ A roller 22c-4 is rotatably supported at the lower part of 3 while being in contact with the touch panel 11. In such a configuration, the contact position of the roller 22c-4 as the movable portion on the touch panel 11 changes in conjunction with the rotation operation of the rotary knob 22c. Therefore, the information processing unit 13 is based on the output signal of the touch panel 11, Detecting the rotation angle of the rotary knob 22c S

 [0015] A touch panel using a normal pressure sensor has a single contact position that can be detected simultaneously. A push button is an operator that is generally pressed one by one. In the present embodiment, the lower part of the push button 22a comes into contact with the touch panel 11 only when the push button 22a is pressed. Therefore, the information processing unit 13 can perform the pressing operation based on the output signal from the touch panel 11 if the position of each push button 22a is known even when the push button 22a is provided in the user interface unit 20. The pushed button 22a can be detected appropriately. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the slider and the rotary knob are operated in a state where the movable parts are always in contact with the touch panel. Therefore, when the user interface unit 20 is provided with only one slider or rotary knob, the information processing unit 13 detects the operation state of the slider or rotary knob based on the output signal from the touch panel 11. In addition to the slider or rotary knob, if other controls are provided in the user interface unit 20, the operating status of each control can no longer be detected.

[0016] In order to deal with this problem, in a preferred embodiment, the touch panel 11 in the information processing unit 10 is configured by a plurality of touch panels capable of detecting the contact position independently. According to this aspect, a required number of touch panels among a plurality of touch panels can be used as sensors for detecting an operation state such as a slider or a rotary knob. Here, the user interface unit 20 can be provided with various configurations with different types, numbers and layouts of the controls. Many of these types of user interface units also have sliders and rotary knobs. Depending on how many are there, it can be classified into several types. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, the touch panel having a different configuration is used in accordance with the types of the user interface units 20 of several types. A plurality of types of information processing units 10 having a node 11 are provided. When a user obtains an information processing unit 10, the user must select and obtain one corresponding to the desired function from a plurality of types of user interface units 20 compatible with the information processing unit 10. Is possible.

 FIG. 4A shows a configuration of the touch panel 11 of the information processing unit 10 corresponding to a certain type of user interface unit 20, and FIG. 4B shows information corresponding to another type of user interface unit 20. The structure of the touch panel 11 of the processing unit 10 is shown. The touch panel 11 shown in FIG. 4A includes three touch panels 11a, l ib and 11c arranged in the horizontal direction. In the example shown in FIG. 4B, the touch panel 11 is composed of a substantially square touch panel l id and four elongate touch panels l le, l lf, l lg and l lh arranged horizontally in the lower side. RU In these examples, each touch panel 11a˜: l lh can detect the contact position independently. In the example shown in FIG. 4A, the area of the touch panel 11a is the largest, and in the example shown in FIG. 4B, the area of the touch panel id is the largest. These touch panels are assumed to be used to detect the operation of multiple push buttons. In the present embodiment, the slider and the movable part of the rotary knob move on a straight track. Therefore, it is desirable that the touch panel for detecting the operation of the movable part of the slider or the rotary knob has a stripe shape that can include the linear track of the movable part. Touch panels l ib and l lc in Fig. 4A and touch panels l ie ~ in Fig. 4B: l lh each have a stripe shape and can be used to detect slider and rotary knob operations. Assumed.

 In FIG. 1, the display unit 12 includes a liquid crystal display panel. The display unit 12 and the touch panel 11 described above have a size facing almost the entire region on the back side of the upper surface of the casing 21. Therefore, the display unit 12 can display an image through the display window regardless of where the display window is provided on the upper surface of the casing 21.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the information processing unit 13 is configured so that the user interface unit 20 and the user interface unit 20 and the user interface unit 20 corresponding to a certain portable electronic device are connected to the information processing unit 10. Information processing is performed so that the entire device including the information processing unit 10 functions as a portable electronic device. User wearing in this way In this embodiment, in order to switch the function as a portable electronic device in accordance with the interface unit 20, in this embodiment, the initialization that determines the control program to be executed by the information processing unit 13 when the user interface unit 20 is mounted. Processing is executed.

 FIGS. 5 to 7 show configuration examples of the present embodiment for enabling execution of such an initialization process. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 5, an information recording unit 26 is provided on the ceiling surface of the casing 21 of the user interface unit 20, and an ID for identifying the user interface unit 20 is recorded in the information recording unit 26. Has been. The information recording unit 26 may be, for example, a bar code magnetized pattern indicating an ID formed on the ceiling surface of the casing 21, or a recording medium such as a non-contact IC tag storing the ID. Also good. The information processing unit 10 has a reading unit 14 that reads an ID from the information recording unit 26 when the user interface unit 20 is mounted. The information processing unit 13 in the information processing unit 10 includes a nonvolatile memory 131 and an execution control unit 132 configured by a processor or the like. Here, the nonvolatile memory 131 stores control programs corresponding to various user interface units (that is, control programs corresponding to various portable electronic devices). The execution control unit 132 executes initialization processing when the conditions for initialization are satisfied. In a preferred embodiment, the condition for initialization is that the user interface unit 20 is attached to the information processing unit 10 and that the information processing unit 10 is powered on. In this aspect, in order to detect that the user interface unit 20 is attached to the information processing unit 10, for example, a sensor for detecting contact with the stopper 21a may be provided on the peripheral edge of the upper surface of the information processing unit 10. Yo! In the initialization process, the execution control unit 132 reads the ID from the information recording unit 26 by the reading unit 14, and corresponds to the user interface unit specified by this ID among the control programs stored in the nonvolatile memory 131. Is selected as a target for subsequent execution.

 In the configuration example shown in FIG. 6, the information recording unit in the user interface unit 20

26 is constituted by a nonvolatile memory such as a ROM having a relatively large capacity, and stores a control program corresponding to the user interface unit 20. information Similar to the configuration example shown in FIG. 5, the execution control unit 132 in the processing unit 10 reads the control program from the information recording unit 26 by the reading unit 14 when the conditions for initialization are satisfied, and the subsequent execution target Is stored in the nonvolatile memory 131.

In the configuration example shown in FIG. 7, an ID for identifying the user interface unit 20 is recorded in the information recording unit 26 in the user interface unit 20. On the other hand, the information processing unit 13 in the information processing unit 10 is provided with a communication unit that has a wireless communication function and communicates with a server in a network such as the Internet. As in the configuration example shown in FIG. 5, the execution control unit 132 in the information processing unit 10 reads the ID from the information recording unit 26 by the reading unit 14 when the conditions for initialization are satisfied. Then, the execution control unit 132 accesses a predetermined server in the network by the communication unit 133 and stores it in the user interface unit specified by the read ID from various control programs stored and stored by the server. The corresponding control program is searched, the control program obtained by this search is downloaded, and stored in the nonvolatile memory 131 as a subsequent execution target.

By the way, in the configuration examples shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, when the user interface unit 20 is replaced with another one, the power required to execute the initialization process is the same user interface unit 20 as the information processing unit 10. If the power is removed and then attached to the information processing unit 10 again, it is not necessary to perform the initialization process. Therefore, the following may be performed in order to avoid unnecessary initialization processing. For example, in the configuration example shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 7, the ID of the user interface unit 20 corresponding to the control program currently being executed is stored in the nonvolatile memory 131. Then, when the user interface unit 20 is attached to the information processing unit 10 and the ID recorded in the information recording unit 26 is read by the reading unit 14, the execution control unit 132 stores the ID and the nonvolatile memory 131 in the ID. The stored ID is compared and the initialization process is executed only if they do not match. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 6, when the user interface unit 20 is attached to the information processing unit 10, the execution control unit 132 stores the control program recorded in the information recording unit 26 and the nonvolatile memory 131. The control program recorded in the information recording unit 26 is compared only when the two control programs are inconsistent. It may be configured to store the gram in the nonvolatile memory 131. With the configuration described above, useless initialization processing is avoided.

In the present embodiment, the occupied position of the display window provided in the housing 21, the number of operators, the type, arrangement, and role of each operator differ for each user interface unit. Therefore, in this embodiment, the control program corresponding to each user interface unit is configured as follows.

 <a. Configuration for performing processing according to the operation of the control>

 The control program corresponding to one user interface unit is related to the type of the operator such as push button / slider Z rotary knob and the contact position of the operator on the touch panel 11 for each operator provided in the user interface unit. Information (in the case of a push button, the contact position of the back side of the push button on the touch panel 11, in the case of a slider, the track of the contact position of the roller 22b_2 as a movable part, in the case of a rotary knob, the roller 22c as a movable part) — 4 touch position trajectory), and a table that defines the use of detection results for the state of the controls (eg routines that should deliver detection results). In this control program, by referring to this table, the output signal of the touch panel is converted into a signal indicating the operation state of a specific operator, and processing according to the conversion result is performed.

 <b. Configuration for display control>

 First, the control program corresponding to one user interface unit includes definition information regarding the occupied position of the display window 24 in the user interface unit 20, and various kinds of information are displayed in the display area of the display unit 12 determined by this definition information. Information required by the user such as guidance information is displayed. In addition, the control program corresponding to one user interface unit 20 has a fixed position in the user interface unit 20 such as a push button and has an image presentation area in the operated portion. In the display unit 12, a routine for displaying an image prepared in advance for the operator in the display area facing the image presentation area is included. In a preferred embodiment, this image intuitively shows, for example, the role of the operator.

Hereinafter, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with a specific example. In this operation example, the information processing unit 10 having the touch panel 11 having the configuration shown in FIG. 4B is used. First, A user who wants to configure and use the portable electronic device according to the present embodiment obtains the information processing unit 10 shown in FIG. 8A and the user interface unit 20 corresponding to the desired portable electronic device. . A user interface unit 20 shown in FIG. 8B is a user interface unit that allows a portable electronic device to work as a portable music player. A display window 24 is opened in the casing 21, and four control elements are used as operators. A push button 22a, two sliders 22b, and a rotary knob 22c are provided. In the present embodiment, the display window 24 forms a perforated area of the image presentation area, and the push button 22a forms a translucent area of the image presentation area by being formed of a translucent member, and rotates with the slider 22b. The expression knob 22c is formed of a transparent member to constitute a transparent area of the image presentation area. All types of user interface units 20 provided to the user in this embodiment do not include any active elements and do not require power supply. In addition, it is inexpensive because it is a combination of a housing and an operator. Therefore, even if the operator wears out and the user interface unit needs to be replaced, the economic burden on the user is small. Then, the user attaches the obtained user interface unit 20 to the information processing unit 10. In this way, the portable electronic device according to this embodiment is completed.

 [0026] FIG. 8C illustrates the appearance of the portable electronic device at this stage. In this example, the lower portions of the four push buttons 22a face the touch panel l id in FIG. 4B. In addition, the movable parts of the two sliders 22b are in contact with the touch panels l ie and l lh in FIG. 4B, and the movable part of the rotary knob 22c is in contact with the touch panel 1 If in FIG. 4B. The position moves up and down in conjunction with the operation of the slider or rotary knob. At the stage shown in FIG. 8C, since the information processing unit 10 is powered off, the display window 24 is not displayed on the exposed display unit 12. Also, nothing is displayed on the pressing part of the four push buttons 22a.

When the user turns on the power of the information processing unit 10, the information processing unit 13 in the information processing unit 10 executes the initialization process described above, and is installed in the information processing unit 10. The control program corresponding to 20 is targeted for execution and its execution is started. As a result, the user interface unit 20 and the information processing unit The appearance of the portable electronic device consisting of 10 is as shown in FIG. 8D. In this example, since the control program executed by the information processing unit 13 includes a routine for displaying a guidance screen for the user through the display window 24, the guidance screen is displayed according to the routine. In this example, the control program includes a routine for displaying an image showing the role of each push button over the pressing portions of the four push buttons 22a. As a result of the execution of this routine, as shown in FIG. 8D, the pressing force of the leftmost push button 22a has a mark force indicating fast return. The pressing portion of the second push button 22a from the left is a mark indicating regeneration. However, a mark indicating pause is displayed on the pressing portion of the third push button 22a from the left, and a mark indicating fast-forwarding is displayed on the pressing portion of the rightmost push button 22a. Thereafter, the information processing unit 13 executes the following process according to the control program. <<Processing corresponding to push button operations>>

 This process is executed when a touch operation on the touch panel l id is detected. In this process, when a signal indicating the contact position is obtained from the touch panel 11a, information on the layout of the four push buttons 22a defined in the table is referred to, and the push button arranged at the contact position is specified. Then, the routine corresponding to the pressing operation of the push button is activated. For example, when the push button specified based on the output signal of the touch panel 11a is the leftmost push button 22a in FIG. 8D, the information processing unit 13 starts a routine for performing a fast reverse process.

<<Processing corresponding to slider and rotary knob operation>>

In the example shown in FIG. 8D, the information processing unit 13 performs a process corresponding to the operation of the left slider 22b, a process corresponding to the operation of the right slider 22b, and a process corresponding to the operation of the rotary knob 22c. Run repeatedly at regular time intervals. For example, in the processing corresponding to the operation of the slider 22b on the left side, the slider 22b is based on the information on the track of the roller 22b_2 as the movable part of the slider 22b and the signal indicating the contact position of the roller 22b_2 obtained from the touch panel 1 le. Generates information indicating the relative position of the trajectory and passes it to a routine that uses this information. The processing corresponding to the operation of the other slider 22b and the rotary knob 22c is the same. In this example, the information processing unit obtains information indicating the relative position of the slider on the trajectory and controls the image presentation area of the slider. Do. Specifically, a different display mode is used above and below the slider position (see Fig. 9). For example, different display modes can be realized by using different hatching, changing colors, and changing light and dark. This makes it possible to easily check where the slider is located. Note that the same display control can be performed in the rotary knob.

 [0029] The display window 24 is a perforated area, and the area of the touch panel corresponding to this area is exposed, so that the user can directly operate the touch panel.

 [0030] According to the embodiment described above, the information processing unit 13 in the information processing unit 10 performs information processing according to the state of the operator of the user interface unit 20 detected by the touch panel 11, so that the information processing unit By replacing the user interface unit 20 attached to the information processing unit 10, various types of information processing can be performed by the information processing unit 10. At that time, at least a part of the operation element has an image presentation area in the operated part, and a mark indicating the role of each operation element is displayed there, so that the user reacts to the display. The operator to be operated can be quickly determined. Moreover, the marks indicating the roles of the respective operators are displayed on the display unit 12 of the information processing unit 10 when the user interface unit 20 is mounted on the information processing unit 10 and used. . Therefore, when the user interface unit 20 is manufactured, a complicated process of printing a mark or the like on each operator and attaching it to the housing is unnecessary, and the user interface unit 20 can be manufactured at low cost.

 [0031] While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, other embodiments are possible for the present invention. For example:

) In consideration of various user preferences, a plurality of types of user interface units 20 that have the same structure but differ only in the shape and color of marks and the like displayed on the operation element may be provided. For example, when the function as a portable electronic device is switched in accordance with the user interface unit 20 with the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the following modes can be considered. First, even if each user interface unit 20 has the same structure and constitutes a portable electronic device having the same function, different IDs are recorded in the respective information recording units 26. In addition, as a control program corresponding to each user interface unit 20, a plurality of types with different mark display modes are used. Stored in the volatile memory 131. According to this aspect, the user can select a display having a display form such as a mark that suits his / her preference from among a plurality of types of user interface units 20 capable of configuring a portable electronic device having the same function. Just install it in unit 10. As a result, a control program corresponding to the user interface unit 20 is set as an execution target, and a mark or the like is displayed in a manner suitable for the user's preference.

(2) The mark displayed on the pressing portion of each push button 22a provided on the user interface unit 20 may be configured so that the user can set it according to his / her preference. For example, in the control program given to the information processing unit 13, a plurality of types of mark image data that can be assigned to the push button 22a are defined for each push button. In addition, the control program changes the state where a certain push button 22a is pressed from a state where the push button 22a is not pressed, and when the pressed state exceeds a certain time, a mark is placed on the pressed part of the push button 22a. The information processing unit 13 is caused to execute processing for switching the image data used for display from the current image data to another image data. In this mode, when the user does not like the mark displayed on a certain push button 22a, the user presses the push button 22a for a certain period of time and then releases the finger to check the newly displayed mark. If you do not like the mark, press the push button 22a again for a certain period of time, release your finger, check the newly displayed mark, and so on. Repeat pressing the push button 22a until it is displayed.

 (3) The mark displayed on the pressing portion of each push button 22a provided on the user interface unit 20 may be changed according to the user's operation. For example, when the user operates anything, the blue mark is displayed on each push button 22a, but the user presses a certain push button 22a (for example, the fast-forward button) and presses it. While the process according to the button operation (for example, fast-forward process) is being performed, the mark displayed on the push button 22a may be colored red.

(4) In the above embodiment, the touch panel 11 detects the operation of each operator in the user interface unit 20. However, the operation of each operator may be detected by a non-contact type sensor that is not a contact type sensor. For example, the smell in Figure 1 Instead of the touch panel, a plurality of image sensors are arranged at any one of the four corners of the upper surface of the information processing unit 10, and the back surface of the casing 21 is photographed obliquely from below with these image sensors. The operation state of each operator provided in the user interface unit 20 may be detected from the captured image. In addition, a permanent magnet is attached to the movable part of the operation element provided in the user interface unit 20, and the information processing unit 10 is provided with a plurality of magnetic sensors, and each of the magnetic sensors detects each magnetic sensor based on the magnetic field strength detected by each magnetic sensor. The position of the movable part of the operation element may be obtained and the operation state of each operation element may be detected.

Claims

The scope of the claims  [1] Portable electronic devices  A user interface;  An information processing unit,  The user interface unit is  A housing,  An operator disposed on one surface of the housing and having an image presentation area, and the information processing unit includes:  A sensor for detecting an operation of the operation element;  In a state in which the user interface unit is mounted, a display unit provided on the back side of the one surface of the housing;  An image is displayed in the area of the display unit corresponding to the image presentation area so that it can be visually recognized from the outside of the housing via the image presentation area through processing according to the operation of the operator detected by the sensor. An information processing unit for performing processing to be displayed;  And have.  2. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the image presentation area is realized by a transparent area, a semi-transparent area, or a perforated area provided in the operation element.  3. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the casing is provided with a plurality of the operating elements.  [4] The user interface unit includes an information recording unit that records identification information of the user interface unit.  The information processing unit has reading means for reading identification information recorded in the information recording unit,  2. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the information processing unit switches information processing to be executed based on the identification information read by the reading unit.  [5] The user interface unit includes an information recording unit that stores a control program unique to the user interface unit. The information processing unit reads a control program recorded in the information recording unit Having reading means;  2. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the information processing unit executes the information processing according to a control program read by the reading unit. [6] The user interface unit includes an information recording unit that records identification information of the user interface unit.  The information processing unit has reading means for reading identification information recorded in the information recording unit,  The information processing unit includes a communication unit, acquires a control program associated with the identification information read by the reading unit by the communication unit, and executes the information processing according to the control program. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, [7] The information processing executed by the information processing unit changes the display mode of the image to the region of the display unit corresponding to the image presentation region in accordance with the operation of the operator detected by the sensor. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising:  8. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a transparent touch panel that can be contacted by the operation element, and is disposed between one surface of the casing and the display unit. machine.  9. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the operation element is any one of a push button, a slider, and a rotary knob.