EP0689705A1

EP0689705A1 - Portable communication device

Info

Publication number: EP0689705A1
Application number: EP94910341A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Reinhard Ender
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-03-16
Filing date: 1994-03-16
Publication date: 1996-01-03
Also published as: WO1994022127A1; DE4408951A1

Abstract

A portable communication device has a display unit (22) with a plurality of individually controllable pixels and a visit card to a DIN A4 page format; a programmable control unit (24) fixedly associated to said display unit (22); a voltage supply battery (25) for at least the control unit (24) and the display unit (22); an operating unit (30) for inputting control instructions to the control unit (24); and a housing (20) which accommodates at least the display unit and control unit (24) and bears a device for its fastening to a piece of clothing of a person.

Description

Name: Portable communication device

The invention relates to a communication device having a display unit and a ^¬ which drives this drive part. The display unit has an active luminous, made up of individual, separately controllable pixels together ^¬ volume set display area. Via the control unit, the control part obtains STEU ^¬ heritage missing, such as uni to turn off the display unit ^¬ appearing statement for retrieval of different statements etc.

Communication devices of this type are known, for example as light panels, which are typically used for information and advertising purposes. They are mostly large-format, typically the statement appears in the form of constantly changing pictures or moving text. Such communication facilities are not suitable for their own personally ^¬ official use, they can not be easy for example to transport the body.

Computers, in particular lap-tops, are generally suitable for the reproduction of any information. Lap tops with a liquid crystal matrix display unit do not achieve an actively illuminated display. In addition, even lap tops are not suitable for being worn on the body or attached to an object in order to convey a statement to third parties.

The invention thus aims at a personal communication device that can be worn on the body, for example attached to the back, so that it is clearly visible to third parties and they can recognize the statement that can be called up on the display unit. The statement can consist of letters, numbers, any characters, a drawing or any other pictorial representation.

It is therefore an object of the invention to connect a communication device admit that can be used and carried comfortably by a single person, for example, can be attached to the back of a garment for third parties, so that the display unit is clearly visible.

This object is achieved by a portable communication device with a display unit, which has a large number of individually controllable pixels and has the format of a business card up to a postcard, with a programmable control part permanently assigned to this display unit, with a battery for the voltage supply of at least that Control part and the display unit, with an operating part for entering control commands to the control part and with a housing which at least ^¬ accommodates the display unit and the control part and which has a fastening device.

This communication device is designed and intended for personal use. It allows each individual to present a message in the form of a statement that would convey the individual chose to arbitrary or out ^¬ third parties. The device can be worn, for example, in a discotheque, where it has a high level of attention and enables any information to be shared with third parties. However, the communication device can also be used in other places, for example by providers of a service (for example tourist guides) who want to draw attention to themselves, the disabled, for example silent people or people with speech disorders who want to communicate with others etc.

The housing of the communication device accommodates at least the active display unit and the control part controlling it. The housing is preferably only insignificantly larger than the display unit itself and is as flat as possible; the thickness is preferably less than 20, in particular less than 10 millimeters.

The housing is preferably held on a piece of clothing by means of the fastening device, for example on the back of a coat, jacket, blouse or shirt. The fastening device is designed so that it can be easily attached and detached again and practically does not damage the garment. For fastening to a piece of clothing, the fastening device is on the back of the housing, that is to say the surface facing away from the visible surface of the display unit, this is the preferred arrangement. However, the fastening ^¬ device may be arranged elsewhere on a side surface or the like.

In a preferred embodiment, the fastening device has pointed, short and thin pins which are designed similar to a pin. They protrude from the back of the case. They can be pierced through a fabric and are gripped by buttons that clamp on the pins. Similar types of attachment can be found with ear plugs or attachable buttons. The attachment can only be released by pressing the buttons, but not from the outside. As a result, it is not possible to remove the housing from the outside of an item of clothing without having released the buttons beforehand.

In another preferred embodiment, counterparts in the form of a plurality of smaller or a larger counterplate are provided and either the housing or the counterparts are permanently magnetic. The other part can then be magnetized or, if necessary, also permanently magnetic. In this way, the fabric can a garment Zvi ^¬ rule the housing and are clamped at least one counter plate, is attached so that the device to a garment.

Other types of fastening device are possible, for example by pinching fabric, by means of large surface fasteners, etc.

However, the use of the communication device according to the invention is not limited to being carried on the body, that is to say on clothing, rather the communication device can also be used in other ways, for example attached to a car, to indicate that this car is for sale, etc .

The display unit advantageously has a rectangular display field, but it can in principle have any shape, for example triangular, square, hexagonal, round, etc. According to the intended use, the display field is so large and the display on the display field is usually selected such that other people are at a distance of up to three meters from the display unit who can normally recognize or read the statement. The large ^¬ SSE the display unit is limited so that energy consumption from ^¬ is sufficiently low, thus the battery can, preferably with the Gehäu ^¬ se be accommodated. But it can also be separately from this, special to ^¬ be placed in the control section.

The communication device includes an operating unit which is equipped with control buttons and which allows the control unit and thus the display unit to be at least switched on and off. In a preferred embodiment the loading ^¬ is serving in part separately formed from the housing, but it may also be integrated into the housing. In the case of a separate design, the control unit is connected to the housing either wirelessly or via a pluggable line. The front panel may have its own power supply, as is already required for wire ^¬ loosely connected to the control part. In the case of a wired connection to the housing, the operating part can also receive the battery for the voltage supply of the control part and the display unit.

The control unit preferably has additional switching or pushbuttons for calling up different statements. The individual statements are stored in a memory of the control part and can be called up there. In order to be able to invite a new statement into the control part, this is programmed. For this purpose, a separate programming device is provided, which can be, for example, a small computer, for example a pocket calculator, or a PC (personal computer). In this way, any representations can be stored and displayed on the display unit via the control panel. The programmer preferably also takes over all the functions of the control panel and can take its place, but the control panel has the advantage that it is very small, for example the size of a matchbox, and can therefore be carried comfortably in a pocket.

Further advantages and features of the invention emerge from the remaining claims and the following description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, which are not to be understood as restrictive and which are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing. In this show: Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the invention

Communication device,

2 is a perspective front view of the communication device,

Fig. 3 is a side view of the communication device with fastening device and a portion of one

Garment,

4 shows a representation corresponding to FIG. 3, but with a magnetically designed fastening device,

Fig. 5 is a rear view of the upper body area of a

People who invented a

Communication device carries.

In a housing 20, which is indicated by dashed lines in Fig. 1, a ^¬ hand, a display unit 22 and on the other hand, which activates this control portion 24 are housed. The display unit 22 is designed, for example, as a backlit liquid crystal matrix display (LCD). For liquid crystal matrix display units, reference is generally made to the DE article "Display elements with liquid crystals", authors K. Fahrenschon and H. Schiekel in feinwerktechnik + mikronik 77/1973. The display unit 22 has a multiplicity of pixels which can be addressed individually via the control part 24. All pixels are the same size. The display unit has, for example, 20 rows of pixels, each with 40 individual pixels. In this manner, any information may be displayed on the display unit again be given ^¬ standing from one or more rows of characters be¬, may consist of a map, etc. In the housing 20 also houses a battery 25 for the power supply of the display unit 22 and the Control section 24.

Via a plug connection 26 in the housing 20, a line 28 can be plugged in, which leads to an operating part 30 in the form of a hand-held device. In practice, it is designed to be relatively small, for example, has the size of a match box ^¬ wood. It has at least one control switch, the switch here as a ^¬ is executed 32 and the turning on and off the display unit 22 is used. In addition, in the specific exemplary embodiment, it also has a second pushbutton 32 with which different statements can be called up on the display unit 22. The communication device according to the invention also works without a control panel. Possible operating states are, for example, continuous playback of a statement, flashing display of a statement, playback of a statement and pauses at a specified time interval, switch-off status, etc.

A memory 33 is provided in the control part 24, in which a plurality of operating states, which can be called up individually via the operating part 30, are stored. These operating states are also called programs. In order to be able to enter or change them, a programming device 34 is provided. In the embodiment shown, it is inserted into the plug connection 26 instead of the operating part 30. The programming device is preferably a personal computer. Programming is carried out using a selected program language, the program elements which belong to a complete program are compiled in the programming device 34, the complete program is then loaded into the memory 33 of the control part 24.

To simplify use, a user has a diskette on which various programs are already recorded. The user can call up the individual programs and modify his liking, individual, for example by exchanging letters, by modifying ei¬ ner imaging etc .. In this way, he can use the ^"* each desired statement create a program in the form and in the memory of the control part 24. Later, by selecting a desired program using the control panel 30, he can call up the respective program and run it for the period of time that he specifies or that he desires.

FIG. 2 shows a practical embodiment of the housing 20, which houses the display unit 22, control part 24, plug connection 26 and a battery 25. A control unit 30 with two rocker switches 32 is connected via a line 28. These make it possible to feel their respective switching position without looking. A user can therefore recognize the operating state of the display unit from the positions of the rocker switches 32 22 is located without having to look at the display unit 22. Typically, the housing 20 is carried on the back, as shown in FIG. 5, so that a user himself cannot recognize the respective message which he is sending to third parties via the display unit 22. The housing 22 is made of an unbreakable plastic material and is essentially frame-shaped. The largest part of the front is occupied by a transparent plastic or glass pane, which closes the display unit 22 to the front. From the front, the housing 20 therefore has similarities ^¬ friendliness with a front view of a monitor, but the Ab¬ are measurements smaller than a normal monitor. The dimensions of the display unit 22 are typically between 4 x 7 and 12 x 20 cm. The display unit preferably has a size of approximately 9 × 13 cm. The display unit 22 is relatively flat, which means that the housing 20 is also flat, for example, its thickness is only 15 millimeters. The control part 24, which is composed of electronic components, is located behind the display unit 22.

A connector 26 is provided on the side of the housing, in another embodiment also on the rear wall of the housing 20. A connection to the control unit 30 takes place via a line 28.

The type of fastening of the housing 20, which is preferably carried out on a piece of clothing, can be seen from FIGS. 3 and 4. As shown in FIG. 3, several, for example four, short thin needles or pins 36, which are arranged in the vicinity of the housing corners, protrude from the rear of the housing 20 and can be inserted through a piece of clothing 38. They are assigned buttons 40 which essentially grip the needles and envelop their free end area. Clamping buttons of this type are known, for example, in the case of ear plugs, pieces of jewelry or buttons, so-called buttons, so that they need not be discussed in more detail here.

In Fig. 4, the rear wall of the housing 20 is formed by a magnetizable sheet which is made relatively thin. The fastening device also includes a number of smaller counter plates 42 made of permanent magnetic material. They act together with the magnetizable sheet metal and thereby clamp a partial area of a piece of clothing 38, as is shown in FIG. 4.

Both types of fastening devices have the advantage that they can be closed and released relatively quickly. In this way The housing 20 can be attached to different items of clothing. For a good hold of the housing 20 on a garment, it has proven to be advantageous to make the surfaces facing the garment 38 rough or velvety, and optionally also to provide them with an adhesive coating. In the embodiment according to FIG. 3, a thin counter plate 42 made of plastic can be provided, which is correspondingly coated on its inside in order to enlarge the effective contact surface of the buttons 40.

Fig. 5 shows how the communication device is used in practice. A user wearing a sweater has the housing 20 fastened on the back of his sweater, the fastening device corresponds, for example, to the design according to FIG. 3. In the embodiment shown, the connection between the housing 20 and the control part 30 is wireless . For this purpose, a receiver is assigned to the control part 24, a corresponding transmitter is provided in the control part 30. Corresponding transmitter / receiver arrangements can be found in locking systems of motor vehicles.

The control panel 30 is carried in a pocket, handbag or the like. It in turn has rocker switches, each time a switch is actuated, a transmission pulse is output. If it is picked up by the receiver of the display unit 22, the corresponding instruction is carried out, the representation of the display unit 22 changes accordingly.

In contrast to the design discussed, if the connection between housing 20 and control unit 30 is wire-bound, as shown in FIG. 1, line 28 can be hidden, for example under the pullover.

The arrangement of the communication device on the back of a sweater is only one embodiment

Communication devices can also be attached to the front, the lapel of a suit, etc.

Claims

1. A portable communication device having a display unit (22) having a plurality of individual addressable pixels and the size of a business card to a DIN A4 page has associated firmly with one of these Ad ^¬ geeinheit (22), the programmable control part (24) with a ^¬ he battery (25) to supply power to at least the control part (24) and the display unit (22), with one control unit (30) for the input of control commands to the control part (24) and having a housing (20), which at least ^¬ receives the display unit (22) and the control part (24) and which has a fastening device for fastening to a piece of clothing of a person.

2. Communication device according to claim 1, characterized labeled in ^¬ characterized in that the separately formed operating member (30) is connected via a plug-in cable to the housing (20).

3. Communication device according to claim 1, characterized gekenn¬ characterized in that the separately designed control panel (30) via a wireless connection, in particular a radio link, is connected to the control part (24) in the housing (20).

4. Communication device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the fastening device is located on the back of the housing (20).

5. Communication device according to claim 4, characterized labeled in ^¬ characterized in that the fastening device comprises several pin-like, of the rear of the housing protruding, short pins (36) and interacting with them, clamping on the pins (36) and enclosing buttons (40).

6. The communication device according to claim 4 or 5, characterized ge ^¬ indicates that the fastening device has at least one counter-plate 42) menwirkt the ^¬ non-positively to the housing (20) or form-fitting together and that preferably between the counter plate (42) and housing (20 ) a material, for example a portion of a piece of clothing (38), can be determined.

7. Communication device according to claim 6, characterized gekenn¬ characterized in that at least one counter plate (42) is provided and that the at least one counter plate (42) either has holes for the pins (36) on ^¬ or magnetically cooperates with the housing (20) .

8. Communication device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized ge indicates that the housing (20) and / or the counter plate (42) on its mutually facing surface has an adhesive coating or a Be ^¬ coating with a high coefficient of friction against textile materials.

9. Communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that the display unit (22) has grid-shaped light-emitting diodes or is equipped with a rear-illuminated liquid crystal matrix display unit.