CN100418144C - Electronic device with placement angle sensing function and method for selecting operation mode - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides an electronic device with a placing angle sensing function, which comprises an electronic component, a light sensor for sensing light, a light source for emitting the light to the light source sensor, a light blocker for blocking the light emitted to the light sensor by the light source when the electronic component inclines to an angle within a preset range, and a control circuit which is connected to the light sensor and is used for controlling the electronic component to select one of a plurality of operation modes to execute according to the intensity of the light sensed by the light sensor.

Description

Electronic device with placement angle sensing function and method for selecting operation mode

technical field

The present invention relates to an electronic device, in particular to an electronic device with a placement angle sensing function.

Background technique

In recent years, due to the rapid development of digital technology, various analog data such as images and sounds can be converted into digital data for subsequent storage or transmission processing. With the increasing demand for storage space for digital data, the past data storage media, such as tapes or magnetic disks, have long been insufficient, replaced by optical discs, and optical drives are used to access an optical disc. An electronic device that stores digital data.

Generally speaking, the optical drive needs to be in a horizontal state to correctly read the data stored in the optical disc. In other words, if the optical drive is already in a non-horizontal state, such as upside down, but continues to read the optical disc without knowing it, At this time, the data read by the optical drive may be wrong. Not only that, but an upside-down optical drive can also cause the disc to jam, which in turn can cause damage to the expensive optical pickup inside the drive.

Contents of the invention

Therefore, the main purpose of the present invention is to provide an electronic device with a placement angle sensing function to solve the problems in the prior art.

The present invention provides: an electronic device with a placement angle sensing function, characterized in that it includes: an optical drive; a light sensor, used to sense light; a light source, used to direct a light toward the light sensor direction emission; and a light blocker, used to block the light emitted by the light source toward the light sensor when the optical drive is tilted between a horizontally placed state and a specific angle, the specific angle is greater than 0 degrees and less than It is equal to 180 degrees; and a control circuit is electrically connected to the light sensor, and controls the optical drive to select one of the enabled operation mode and the closed operation mode according to the intensity of the light sensed by the light sensor. The present invention also provides: an electronic device with a placement angle sensing function, which is characterized in that it includes: a vertical/horizontal liquid crystal display panel; a light sensor for sensing light; a light source for emitting a light toward the direction of the light sensor; and a light blocker, which is used to block the light from the light source when the vertical/horizontal liquid crystal display panel is tilted between a horizontally placed state and a specific angle. For the light emitted toward the light sensor, the specific angle is greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 90 degrees; and a control circuit, electrically connected to the light sensor, controls the vertical/horizontal two according to the intensity of the light sensed by the light sensor. The liquid crystal display panel used is selected from a vertical image display operation mode and a horizontal image display operation mode for execution.

The invention provides: a method for selecting an operation mode in an electronic device according to its placement angle, which is characterized in that it includes the following steps: using a light source to emit a light to a light sensor; using a light blocker, when the optical drive is tilted When it is placed between a horizontal state and a specific angle, the light blocker rotates to the position of blocking the light emitted by the light source to the light sensor; according to whether the light sensor can sense light, it is in the enabling operation mode or off Choose one of the operation modes as the operation mode of the optical drive, and the specific angle is greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 90 degrees. The present invention also provides: a method for selecting an operation mode in an electronic device according to its placement angle, which is characterized in that , comprising the following steps: using a light source to emit a light to a light sensor; using a light blocker, when the vertical/horizontal liquid crystal display panel is tilted between a horizontal placement state and a specific angle, the light blocker To block the light emitted by the light source to the light sensor, the light blocker rotates to the position of blocking the light emitted by the light source to the light sensor; according to whether the light sensor can sense the light, the direct image display operation mode and Choose one of the horizontal image display operation modes as the operation mode of the vertical/horizontal liquid crystal display panel, and the specific angle is greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 180 degrees.

The present invention also provides: a method for selecting an operation mode in an electronic device according to its placement angle, which is characterized in that it includes the following steps: using a light source to emit a light to a light sensor; using a light blocker, when always When the dual-purpose liquid crystal display panel is tilted between a horizontal position and a specific angle, the light blocker blocks the light emitted from the light source to the light sensor, and the light blocker rotates to block the light source from the light source The position of the light emitted by the sensor; according to whether the light sensor can sense the light, one of the vertical image display operation mode and the horizontal image display operation mode is selected as the operation mode of the vertical/horizontal liquid crystal display panel, The specific angle is greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 180 degrees.

Since the electronic device of the present invention has a placement angle sensing function, when the electronic components in the electronic device are tilted to an angle exceeding the predetermined range, the control circuit will change the operation mode of the electronic components accordingly For example, when the electronic component is an optical drive, select whether to close and protect the optical drive; or when the electronic component is a liquid crystal display panel, change the image display mode of the liquid crystal display panel.

Description of drawings

1 is a perspective view of a horizontally placed electronic device in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 1 in an inverted state.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an electronic device placed horizontally in a second embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a perspective view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 3 after a liquid crystal display panel is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise.

Fig. 5 is a side view of another embodiment of the light blocker in the second embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a perspective view of an electronic device placed horizontally in a third embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a cross-sectional view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 6 along the tangent line LL'.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a control circuit according to the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a block diagram illustrating another embodiment of the control circuit according to the present invention.

Symbol Description

10, 30, 60 Electronic Devices 12 Optical Drive

14, 64 Light sensor 16, 66 Light source

18, 38, 68 Housing 20, 40, 70 Light blocker

22, 72 Control circuit 32 Liquid crystal display panel

44, 74 The first side 46, 76 The second side

48, 78, 96 Rotation shaft 50, 80, 90 Light blocking body

98 virtual first side 100 virtual second side

92 Rod Body 94 Bottom

802 Microcontroller 804 Host

806 Memory 808 Dynamic Random Access Memory

810 RF Signal Amplifier 812 Actuator and Motor

820 Comparator 822 Light Sensor

824 Reference Voltage 830 Digital-to-Analog Converter

Detailed ways

Please refer to FIG. 1 . FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a horizontally placed electronic device 10 in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device 10 has a placement angle sensing function. The electronic device 10 includes an optical drive 12, a light sensor 14 for sensing light, a light source 16 for emitting light toward the light sensor 14, a housing 18, a rotatable fixed to the housing 18 and Used to rotate with the inclination of the optical drive 12 and block the light emitted by the light source 16 toward the light sensor 14 when the optical drive 12 is tilted to an angle within a predetermined range, and a light blocker 20 electrically connected to the light sensor 14 and the control circuit 22 used to control the operation of the optical drive 12 according to whether the light sensor 14 receives the light emitted by the light source 16, wherein the light blocker 20 can cause different angles when the optical drive 12 is tilted to different angles due to gravity. Degree of light shading blocking effect.

The operation process of the electronic device 10 shown in FIG. 1 is briefly described as follows: Since the optical drive 12 is placed horizontally, the light blocker 20 will lean against the housing 18 as the optical drive 12 is placed horizontally. 20 is not located in a blocking position that can prevent the light sensor 14 from sensing the light emitted by the light source 16, as shown in dotted lines; at the same time, the light sensor 14 can sense the light emitted by the light source 16, and the control circuit 22 The operation of the optical drive 12 is controlled according to the light sensor 14 sensing the light emitted by the light source 16 . For example, if the optical drive 12 is reading the data of an optical disc, the control circuit 22 will control the operation mode of the optical drive 12 to be the consistent operation mode, so as to continuously read the data of the optical disc.

Please refer to FIG. 2 , which is a perspective view of the electronic device 10 in an upside-down state. As shown in Figure 2, the light blocker 20 will be located at the blocking position along with the inversion of the optical drive 12, and at the same time, the light sensor 14 will not be able to detect any light emitted by the light source 16, and the control circuit 22 will be based on the light sensor. 14 does not sense any light emitted by the light source 16 to control the operation of the optical drive 12 . For example, if the optical drive 12 is reading the data of an optical disc, the control circuit 22 will control the operation mode of the optical drive 12 to be a closed operation mode at this time, for example, the optical drive 12 can send a sound signal or a light signal as a warning, stop Read the data of the optical disc, or simply close the optical drive 12.

Please refer to FIG. 3 . FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a horizontally placed electronic device 30 in a second embodiment of the present invention. Similarly, the electronic device 30 also has a placement angle sensing function. The electronic device 30 includes a vertical/horizontal liquid crystal display panel 32, a light sensor 14, a light source 16, a casing 38, a light blocker 40 and a control circuit 22. The light blocker 40 includes a fixed on the casing 38 and is set The rotating shaft 48 outside the blocking position, and a light blocking body 50 fixed on the rotating shaft 48 and capable of rotating around the rotating shaft 48 as the liquid crystal display panel 32 rotates. The included angle between the first side 44 and the second side 46 of the light blocking body 50 is 90 degrees, wherein the light blocking device 40 can cause different degrees of light shielding when the liquid crystal display panel 32 is tilted to different angles due to the effect of gravity blocking effect.

The operation process of the electronic device 30 shown in FIG. 3 is briefly described as follows: since the liquid crystal display panel 32 is placed horizontally, and because the light blocking body 50 of the light blocking device 40 will remain downward due to gravity, the light The blocking body 50 will not be in the blocking position; at the same time, the light sensor 14 will sense the light emitted by the light source 16, and the control circuit 22 will control the liquid crystal according to the light sensor 14 sensing the light emitted by the light source 16. The operation of the display panel 32, for example, the control circuit 22 will control the operation mode of the liquid crystal display panel 32 to be a straight image display operation mode at this time, such as actively displaying images in a vertical manner, or notifying the host to indicate that it should be changed at present. Display the image vertically.

When the liquid crystal display panel 32 in FIG. 3 gradually rotates counterclockwise, the light blocking body 50 will rotate around the rotation axis 48 along with the rotation of the liquid crystal display panel 32, and then gradually approach the blocking position. When the display panel 32 rotates forty-five degrees in the counterclockwise direction, the first side 44 of the light blocking body 50 will just be located at the blocking position. Any light emitted by the light source 16 is not sensed.

Please refer to FIG. 4 , which is a perspective view of the electronic device 30 after the liquid crystal display panel 32 shown in FIG. 3 is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise. In the electronic device 30 shown in FIG. 4 , the light blocking body 50 is located at the blocking position. In other words, the light sensor 14 cannot detect any light emitted by the light source 16, and the control circuit 22 relies on the fact that the light sensor 14 does not sense any light emitted by the light source 16. Any light emitted by the light source 16 will change the operation of the liquid crystal display panel 32. For example, the control circuit 22 will control the operation mode of the liquid crystal display panel 32 at this time to be a horizontal image display operation mode, such as actively displaying images in a horizontal manner Displays an image, or informs the host that the image should now be displayed horizontally instead.

When the liquid crystal display panel 32 shown in FIG. 4 rotates counterclockwise over forty-five degrees to ninety degrees, the light blocking body 50 will move away from the blocking position, in other words, the light sensor 14 can be turned on again The light emitted by the light source 16 is sensed, and the control circuit 22 controls the operation mode of the liquid crystal display panel 32 to be the direct image display operation mode according to the light sensor 14 sensing the light emitted by the light source 16 .

In the second embodiment of the present invention, the included angle between the first side 44 and the second side 46 of the light-blocking body 50 is 90 degrees. Of course, the included angle can also be moderately modified according to actual needs. Please refer to As shown in Fig. 5, the light blocking device can also be modified in various forms as required. For example, the light blocking body 50 in the second embodiment can be replaced by the light blocking body 90 as shown in FIG. 5, and the light blocking body 90 further includes a rod body 92. And a bottom edge 94, which works together with a rotating shaft 96, constitutes a virtual first edge 98 and an imaginary second edge 100. Using the principle similar to that described in the second embodiment, the second embodiment can also achieve In addition, the bottom edge 94 can be changed in appearance as required, and more than one hole can be opened on the bottom edge 94 as required, so that the bottom edge 94 forms a structure similar to a grating, so that the light can The electronic component is penetrated at certain angles and blocked at other angles.

Please refer to Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, Fig. 6 is the perspective view of an electronic device 60 in the third embodiment of the present invention, similarly, electronic device 60 also has placement angle sensing function, and Fig. 7 is that shown in Fig. 6 A cross-sectional view of electronic device 60 along tangent line LL' is shown. The electronic device 60 includes an optical drive 12 , a light sensor 64 , a light source 66 , a housing 68 , a light blocker 70 and a control circuit 72 . The light blocking device 70 includes a rotating shaft 78 fixed on the casing 68, and a light blocking body 80 fixed on the rotating shaft 48 and rotatable around the rotating shaft 78 with the rotation of the optical drive 12. The light blocking body 80 The included angle between the first side 74 and the second side 76 is 60 degrees.

The operation mode of the electronic device 60 is similar to the operation mode of the electronic device 10. The operation process of the electronic device 60 is briefly described as follows: when the optical drive 12 in the electronic device 60 is placed horizontally, as shown in FIG. The blocking body 80 is located at a blocking position P ₂ which can block the light sensor 64 from sensing the light emitted by the light source 66. At the same time, the light sensor 64 will not sense any light emitted by the light source 16, and the control circuit 72 will The light sensor 64 does not sense any light emitted by the light source 66 and controls the operation mode of the optical drive 12 to be a consistent operation mode, so as to continuously read the data of the optical disc; when the optical drive 12 in the electronic device 60 is gradually tilted, The light blocking body 80 of the light blocking device 70 will rotate around the rotation axis 78 with the inclination of the optical drive 12, and gradually move away from the blocking position _P2 . When the inclination angle of the optical drive 12 reaches thirty degrees, the light blocking body 80 will The first side 74 or the second side 76 (depending on the counterclockwise rotation or clockwise rotation of the optical drive 12) will just be located at the blocking position _P2 , and at the same time, the light sensor 64 will never sense any light emitted by the light source 66. The light is transformed into the light emitted by the sensed light source 66; finally, when the optical drive 12 in the electronic device 60 continues to tilt, the light blocking body 80 will move away from the blocking position _P2 , and at the same time, the light sensor 64 will sense The light emitted by the light source 66, and the control circuit 72 controls the operation mode of the optical drive 12 to be a closed operation mode according to the light sensor 64 sensing the light emitted by the light source 66. For example, the optical drive 12 can send out a sound signal or a light signal as Warn, stop reading the data of the optical disc, or simply close the optical drive 12.

In addition, the present invention further proposes a method for selecting an operating mode in an electronic device according to its placement angle, which is based on a light sensor sensing a light intensity emitted by a light source toward the light sensor, from a plurality of operating modes Choose one as the operation mode of an electronic component. This method uses a light blocker to block the light according to the tilt angle of the electronic component when the electronic component is tilted. The light blocker is tilted at the electronic component due to gravity. At different angles, different degrees of light shielding and blocking effects can be caused, wherein the electronic device further includes a casing, and the light blocking device is fixed on the casing in a rotatable manner. In one embodiment, when the electronic component When the placement angle is within the predetermined range, the light blocker rotates to a position where the light sensor can be blocked from sensing the light. For example, when the electronic component is an optical drive, the light sensor can sense The detected light intensity can be used to select the enabled operation mode or the closed operation mode; when the electronic component is a vertical/horizontal liquid crystal display panel (LCD), the vertical image display operation can be selected according to the light intensity sensed by the light sensor mode or horizontal image display operation mode.

Compared with the prior art, the electronic device of the present invention has a placement angle sensing function, which includes an electronic component, a control circuit, a light source, a light sensor and a light blocker. The control circuit can be used in the light sensor When any light emitted by the light source is not sensed due to the blocking of the light blocker, the operation mode of the electronic component is changed to protect the electronic component from damage. In addition, the control circuit can also be further based on The intensity of the light sensed by the light sensor controls the electronic component to choose one of a plurality of operating modes. Taking the optical drive as an example, the light blocker may cause different degrees of damage when the electronic component is tilted at different angles due to gravity. The control circuit can know the current tilt angle of the optical drive according to the intensity of the light sensed by the light sensor, and then select a different automatic balance mode of the optical drive or the above-mentioned closed operation mode.

Please refer to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a block diagram for illustrating an embodiment of the control circuit according to the present invention. For the sake of simplicity of description, an optical drive is taken as an example here, and some circuits are omitted in the figure, but the omitted Some of them are well known to those skilled in the art: a microcontroller 802 in the optical drive is responsible for handling most of the control and calculation work, and communicates with the host 804 to receive or transmit instructions and data. Generally speaking, the microcontroller 802 executes the program code stored in a flash memory 806, and interacts with a dynamic random access memory 808 to complete various pre-designed calculations. In addition, a radio frequency signal amplifier 810 amplifies the laser signal reflected by the disk and sends it to the micro The controller 802 is used for the microcontroller 802 to perform servo control and data decoding, and the microcontroller 802 outputs servo control signals to the actuators and motors 812 in the optical drive according to the calculation results. These actions are actions in common CD-ROM drives, and are well known to users of the prior art.

In Fig. 8, a light sensor 822, a reference voltage 824 and a comparator 820 are additionally included. The light source and the light blocker are omitted in the figure. When the light sensor is blocked by the light blocker, the sensed light If the intensity changes, the comparator 820 and the reference voltage 824 can be used at this time. For example, when the output voltage of the light sensor 822 is lower than the reference voltage 824, the comparator outputs a logic signal to the microcontroller 802. The controller 802 can determine whether to change the operation mode of the optical drive, for example, select a different automatic balance mode of the optical drive or close the operation mode as described above.

Please refer to FIG. 9 again. FIG. 9 is also a block diagram illustrating another embodiment of the control circuit according to the present invention. Compared with FIG. 8, the output of the light sensor 822 is provided to a digital-to-analog converter 830, and the digital-to-analog converter 830 converts the output of the light sensor 822 into digital data and sends it to the microcontroller 802. The controller 802 can determine whether to change the operation mode of the optical drive. For example, the intensity of the light sensed by the light sensor 822 is different, and the current tilt angle of the optical drive can be calculated, and then a different automatic balance mode of the optical drive can be selected or the same as before. Said shutdown mode of operation.

The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the patent of the present invention.

Claims (11)

1. one kind has the electronic installation of putting the angle sensing function, it is characterized in that, comprises:

One CD-ROM drive;

One light sensor is used for light sensing;

One light source is used for the direction emission of a light towards this light sensor; And

One light blocks device, is used for when this CD-ROM drive tilts between a horizontal positioned state and a special angle, block by this light source towards the light of this light sensor emission, this special angle is greater than 0 degree and smaller or equal to 180 degree; And

One control circuit is electrically connected on this light sensor, according to the intensity of this light sensor institute this light of sensing, controls this CD-ROM drive and selects an execution from the activation operating mode in the operating mode with closing.

2. electronic installation as claimed in claim 1, it is characterized in that, also comprise a housing, this light blocks device and is fixed on this housing in the mode of rotating, the storing angle of this CD-ROM drive is between horizontal positioned state and special angle the time, and this light blocks device and turns to one and can block the position that this light sensor senses the light that this light source sends.

3. electronic installation as claimed in claim 2 is characterized in that, described activation operating mode is for reading the data of discs constantly; And close operating mode for this CD-ROM drive sound signal or light signal as caution, stop to read the data of discs or close CD-ROM drive.

4. one kind has the electronic installation of putting the angle sensing function, it is characterized in that, comprises:

Always/horizontal dual-purpose display panels;

One light sensor is used for light sensing;

One light source is used for the direction emission of a light towards this light sensor; And

One light blocks device, be used in this is straight/when horizontal dual-purpose display panels tilts between a horizontal positioned state and a special angle, block by this light source towards the light of this light sensor emission, this special angle be to spend greater than 0 degree and smaller or equal to 90; And

One control circuit is electrically connected on this light sensor, according to the intensity of this light sensor institute this light of sensing, controls this straight/horizontal dual-purpose display panels and shows from straight formula image that operating mode and horizontal type image show in the operating mode and select an execution.

5. electronic installation as claimed in claim 4, it is characterized in that, also comprise a housing, this light blocks device and is fixed on this housing in the mode of rotating, should be straight/the storing angle of horizontal dual-purpose display panels is between horizontal positioned state and special angle the time, and this light blocks device and turns to one and can block the position that this light sensor senses the light that this light source sends.

One kind in electronic installation according to its method of putting the angle Selection operator scheme, it is characterized in that, may further comprise the steps:

Utilize a light source to launch a light to a light sensor;

Utilize a light to block device, when CD-ROM drive tilted between a horizontal positioned state and the special angle, this light blocked device and turns to and block the position of this light source to the light of this light sensor emission;

Whether can sense light according to this light sensor, in the activation operating mode or close the operating mode that chooses one as CD-ROM drive in the operating mode, this special angle is greater than 0 degree and smaller or equal to 90 degree.

7. be set forth in the electronic installation method of putting the angle Selection operator scheme according to it as claim 6, it is characterized in that, the activation operating mode is for reading the data of discs constantly; And

Close operating mode for this CD-ROM drive sound signal or light signal as caution, stop to read the data of discs or close CD-ROM drive.

8. be set forth in the method for putting the angle Selection operator scheme in the electronic installation according to it as claim 7, it is characterized in that, this electronic installation more comprises a housing, this light blocks device and is fixed on this housing in rotating mode, and when the storing angle of this CD-ROM drive when the horizontal positioned state is between this special angle, this light blocks device and turns to one and can block the position that this light sensor senses this light.

One kind in electronic installation according to its method of putting the angle Selection operator scheme, it is characterized in that, may further comprise the steps:

Utilize a light source to launch a light to a light sensor;

Utilize a light to block device, when always/when horizontal dual-purpose display panels tilts between a horizontal positioned state and the special angle, this light blocks device and blocks by the light of this light source to the emission of this light sensor, and this light blocks device and turns to and block the position of this light source to the light of this light sensor emission;

Whether can sense light according to this light sensor, show that at straight formula image operating mode and horizontal type image show the operating mode that chooses one as the dual-purpose display panels of this straight/horizontal stroke in the operating mode, this special angle is greater than 0 degree and smaller or equal to 180 degree.

10. be set forth in the electronic installation method of putting the angle Selection operator scheme as claim 9, it is characterized in that wherein a plurality of operating modes comprise according to it:

Straight formula image shows operating mode; And the horizontal type image shows operating mode.

11. be set forth in the method for putting the angle Selection operator scheme in the electronic installation according to it as claim 9, it is characterized in that, this electronic installation more comprises a housing, this light blocks device and is fixed on this housing in rotating mode, and when this is straight/when the storing angle of horizontal dual-purpose display panels was positioned at this preset range, this light blocked device and turns to one and can block the position that this light sensor senses this light.

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