JPH0827691B2 - Information processing device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an input means, a processing means for inputting information such as characters and images,
The present invention relates to an information processing device including an output unit, and particularly to a thin information processing device.

[Prior art]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the field of large-sized information processing devices, there are some that can display and record simultaneously. Display device (eg CR
T) and a recording device (for example, a thermal printer) are connected by a signal line. However, due to the nature of the device, it became larger and the field of use was limited to large office machines.

Although there are calculators and language practice machines that use LCDs and are small and thin, they only have a calculation function or a language practice function, and have no other functions.

[Object of the Invention]

The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, and an object thereof is to provide a thin and compact information processing device.

[Structure of Invention]

The information processing device of the present invention includes a first electrode layer having a light-transmitting property, a photoconductive layer that detects optical input information and converts it into an electric signal, a charge storage layer that stores an electric signal from the photoconductive layer,
The charge storage layer has a structure in which a display layer for outputting an electric signal stored in the charge storage layer and performing display according to the light input information and a second electrode layer are sequentially stacked, and the charge storage layer is a DC bias layer. Carriers injected from the photoconductive layer are trapped by the application of voltage, and the carrier is discharged by the application of a direct current bias in the reverse direction. A long-chain saturated fatty acid or a monolayer cumulative film of an organic compound having a long-chain saturated fatty acid group is included. It is characterized by that.

〔Example〕

 Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a thin information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1-1 is an optical input sensor unit that detects optical input information and converts it into an electric signal, 1-2 is a signal processing unit that processes the electric signal from the optical input sensor unit 1-1, and 1-3 is a signal processing unit A display unit for receiving a signal of 1-2 and performing a display corresponding to the optical input information, 1-4 is a display unit 1
-3 is a recording unit for recording the displayed image by receiving the optical signal of -3, and 1-5 is an output of the display unit 1-3 to the signal processing unit 1-
2 is an external signal output unit (transmission unit) for transmitting the signal of the signal processing unit directly to another system via 2 as an electric signal. The display unit 1-3, the recording unit 1-4, or the external signal output unit 1-5 may be simply referred to as an output unit.

Next, the function of each part and the thin film forming each part will be described.

The function of the light input sensor section 1-1 is to detect light from a pen-shaped light input means that emits light when pressed, and convert it into an electric signal. Further, the light input sensor section is formed by a molecular layer having photoconductivity. As the molecular layer, a photoconductive dye, for example, a long-chain alkyl-substituted merocyanine dye, a long-chain alkyl-substituted triphenylmethane dye and pyrene is used. Chosen from among. The length of the alkyl group is preferably C = 10-18. In particular Is mentioned.

The function of the signal processing section 1-2 is the optical input sensor section 1-1.
The electrical signal from the device is stored, the signal is appropriately output to the display unit 1-3 to display the image information, and the output signal is transmitted to another system via the external signal output unit 1-5. This signal processing unit is formed by a molecular layer that polarizes in response to an electric signal from the optical input sensor unit 1-1. As a polarized molecular layer, charges can be accumulated in traps by injection of electrons and holes. It is preferable that C = 16 to 22 be selected as the length of the alkyl group in a long-chain saturated fatty acid or a compound having a long-chain saturated fatty acid group. Examples include arachidic acid, stearic acid, palmitic acid and the like. In the case of a compound having a long chain fatty acid group, a trap site may be present at a part other than the long chain fatty acid group.

The function of the display unit 1-3 is to output the electric signal accumulated in the signal processing unit 1-2 as an image and perform display corresponding to the optical input information. This display part is formed of a molecular layer that emits light by an electric field. As the molecular layer, for example, an anthracene having a functional portion between a hydrophobic group and a hydrophilic group is used. Selected from the derivatives of

The function of the recording unit 1-4 is to sense the light from the display unit 1-3 and record the optical image. This recording portion is formed of a layer that is colored by light. As the molecular layer, for example, long-chain alkylated spiropyran having a photochromic property is used alone or mixed with a long-chain saturated fatty acid. Specific examples of the long-chain alkylated spiropyran include the following compounds.

Spiropyran alone isomerizes and colors upon irradiation with light, but returns when light is blocked. However, by mixing long-chain saturated fatty acids with 10 to 90mo1% of the total amount, the colored state can be maintained even if the light is blocked. As the long-chain saturated fatty acid, those having C = 16 to 22 are used.

The function of the external signal output unit 1-5 is to detect the polarization state of the signal processing unit 1-2 and send it to an external shift register as an electric signal. The external signal output section is wired in a matrix so that the polarization state of the signal processing section can be detected, and the width of one of the external signal output sections is about 10 to 100 times that of the molecule.

The above-mentioned optical input sensor unit 1-1, signal processing unit 1-2, display unit 1-3, recording unit 1-4 may be, for example, the known Langmuir-Blodgett method (hereinafter referred to as the Langmuir-Blodgett method).
Abbreviated as LB method) (Experimental Chemistry, Vol. 18, pp. 489-507, Maruzen). Other than the LB method, for example, it may be formed by a vapor deposition method or a CVD method.

According to the LB method, since it is possible to form a uniform film having a thickness of one molecule, it is possible to easily achieve thinning. The film area can be almost unlimited depending on the size of the substrate, from a small area to a large area. Further, according to the LB method, since the molecular distribution in the film is uniform, high-definition display is possible. Further, according to the LB method, various kinds of molecules can be laminated. When molecules are further mixed, a film in which two or more kinds of molecules are mixed can be laminated.

In the present invention, at least one functional molecular layer, three types in most cases, are arranged in the direction perpendicular to the film, and signals are exchanged between the films. In this case, insulative molecules such as long-chain saturated fatty acids are mixed with the functional molecules in order to prevent signal leakage in the direction parallel to the film. In addition, the trap site of the long-chain saturated fatty acid, which is a polarized molecule of the signal processing section 1-2, can be easily and orderly arranged by the LB method.

In this way, the system including the input sensor unit, the signal processing unit, and the display unit can be stacked and integrated with the LB layer,
Compared to the conventional method of connecting those separated for each function by wiring such as metal, the process can be simplified and the film can be made thin and compact.
Further, since the recording unit can be formed in a sheet shape, if the display light is recorded in the vicinity of the display unit, it is possible to make the entire system thin and compact.

FIG. 2 is a detailed configuration diagram including a sectional structure of the thin information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The configuration and operation of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. 2-1 is a transparent substrate, and 2-2 is a transparent electrode formed on the entire surface of the substrate 2-1. 2-3 is a photosensor input molecular layer, 2-4 is a charge storage layer as a signal processing unit, 2-5 is a display molecular layer,
These are made by the LB method and laminated. 2-6
Is a stripe-shaped transparent electrode formed thereon.
Reference numeral 2-10 is an extraction electrode section (signal output section), which is connected to the display drive circuit section 2-12 via an extraction wiring group 2-11.

Further, 2-13 is an AC power supply, and 2-14 is a DC power supply. By switching the switch circuit 2-15, an AC signal superimposed on a positive DC bias voltage or an AC signal superimposed on a negative DC bias voltage is transparent electrode. It can be applied between 2-2 and the transparent electrode 2-6.

A drive circuit unit 2-12 controls switching of the switch circuit 2-15, detects a discharge current from the takeout wiring 2-11, and outputs it to an external memory via the wiring 2-24.

Reference numeral 2-7 is a recording molecular layer integrally formed on the sheet substrate 2-8 by the LB method, and 2-9 is a recording sheet driving unit.

Reference numeral 2-19 is a transparent substrate, and 2-18 is a transparent electrode formed in a stripe shape on the substrate 2-19. However, the direction is orthogonal to that of the transparent electrode 2-6. 2-17 is a light emitting layer and is formed by the LB method. 2-16 is a transparent electrode. These are integrally formed (hereinafter referred to as a panel). Reference numeral 2-20 is a lead-out electrode portion of the transparent electrode 2-18, and the panel control circuit portion 2 is provided through the lead-out wiring group 2-21.
It is connected to −23. The panel control circuit section 2-23 controls the AC power supply 2-22 to apply an AC voltage to the transparent electrodes 2-16 and 2-.
It is applied between 18 to make the light emitting layer 2-17 emit light. Further, the panel control circuit section 2-23 and the drive circuit section 2-12 are electrically connected to each other, and each stripe-shaped transparent electrode 2-18 on the panel side.
The voltage application scanning timing of 1 and the readout timing of each stripe transparent electrode 2-6 on the display side are properly matched.

Although the electroluminescent layer (EL layer) is used as the display unit in the embodiment, a liquid crystal layer or an electrochromic layer may be used.

Further, if a flexible, for example, plastic member is used for the substrates 2-1, 2-19, the thickness of each functional molecular layer is extremely thin, so that each functional portion has flexibility, and Further, the information processing apparatus as a whole can be made flexible.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described. First, both electrodes 2-
An AC voltage superimposed on a DC bias is applied to 2, 2-6 by a DC power supply 2-14 and an AC power supply 2-13. However, since the peak of the AC voltage is almost the same as the DC bias, no effective AC voltage is applied to the display molecular layer 2-5 in this state, and no light emission is observed. A reverse voltage is applied, but in that case, no current flows due to the rectifying means (not shown), so that no light emission is observed. Next, when incident light is irradiated from the substrate 2-1 side with, for example, an input pen, carriers are generated in the photosensor input molecular layer, which are moved by a DC electric field and injected into the charge storage layer to be trapped. The trap carriers (electrons) become space charges in the charge storage layer 2-4, while a space charge layer due to positive charges is formed at the electrode interface on the photosensor input molecular layer (photoconductive layer) 2-3 side. To be done. As described above, the same phenomenon as the voltage opposite to the applied external voltage (DC bias) is applied between the photosensor input molecular layer 2-3 and the charge storage layer 2-4. Is happening. Therefore, this reverse voltage works so as to cancel the applied DC bias. That is, the electrode 2
-2 and 2-6, if an AC voltage superposed on the DC bias is applied, when light is incident on the photosensor input molecular layer 2-3, the DC bias is effectively reduced, and The AC voltage component is effectively applied to the output display molecular layer (display layer) 2-5, and the output display molecular layer 2-5 emits light. The AC voltage component does not affect the space charge accumulation.

Erasing is performed by switching the switch 2-15 and applying a DC bias in the reverse direction so that carriers are ejected from the charge storage layer.

When molecules having different emission spectrum peaks are mixed in the output display molecular layer 2-5 with an AC voltage to form a cumulative film, the magnitude of the AC voltage is changed by light input, so that molecules having different emission spectrum peaks are formed. Color display is also possible by accumulating carriers or emitting light.

A more specific description will be given. Organic molecules and fluorescent compounds have discrete energy levels, and absorb or emit light according to the transition between these levels. Even if an energy equal to or less than the energy difference between the energy levels is applied to the organic molecule or the fluorescent substance, the organic molecule or the fluorescent substance cannot be excited. This is the basic and general principle of quantum mechanics or quantum chemistry. For example, wavelength 700n
m red light has an energy of 1.8 eV per photon,
Green light with a wavelength of 488 nm has an energy of 2.5 eV. When an effective voltage of 2 V is applied, molecules that emit red light can be excited (that is, red light can be generated), but molecules that emit green light cannot be excited (that is, green light can be emitted). Can not). That is, when a voltage is applied to the light emitting layer in which these two kinds of organic molecules or phosphors are mixed and this voltage is swept, red light emission is recognized on the low voltage side, and green components are gradually mixed on the high voltage side. As a result, it is possible to display in color.

When recording is performed next, the recording sheet having the recording molecular layer provided on the recording sheet substrate 2-8 is brought close to the lower part of the transparent electrode 2-6, and the above light is emitted by the output display molecular layer 2-5. Recording is performed by causing a photochromic change in the recording molecular layer. The recording sheet driving unit 2 is used for feeding and sending the recording sheet.
-9.

When the display information is transferred to the external memory, the panel is moved to bring the substrate 2-19 close to the substrate 2-1. Next, an AC voltage is sequentially applied from the end of the stripe-shaped transparent electrode 2-18 by the AC power source 2-22 to cause the light emitting layer 2-17 to emit light. By receiving this light, the resistance of the photosensor input molecular layer 2-3 is lowered, and the charges in the charge storage layer are discharged.
The drive circuit section 2-12 sequentially detects the flowing current through the stripe-shaped transparent electrode 2-6, and the signal information is detected by the connecting line 2
Transfer to external memory via -24.

The display is erased by the same operation, except that the signal information is not transferred to the memory.

3 (a) and 3 (b) are schematic views of a thin electronic device according to another embodiment in which the present invention is further embodied, and have a notebook shape. The size of the device main body 3-1 is 360 mm vertically ×
Horizontal 250 mm × thickness 15 mm, displayable area is vertical 250 mm × horizontal 170 mm, and paper storage capacity is 25 sheets. When the lid is opened, the display panel portion 3-3 is arranged on the front surface and the operation portion button switch 3-5 is arranged on the lower portion of the front surface. (FIG. 3 (a)).

First, the power is turned on by operating the power switch 3-4 connected to the flat battery incorporated inside. Next, when the switch of the display is pressed and a predetermined image is drawn on the display panel portion by the input pen 3-8, the image is displayed as drawn and the state is held (FIG. 3 (b)). When the print switch is pressed when a hard copy is desired, the written information is printed on the paper 3-9 by the paper discharge unit 3-6 and comes out. When the write information is to be stored in an external memory, it is connected to an arbitrary memory device (magnetic disk, semiconductor memory, magnetic tape, etc.) via line 3-10 and connector 3-7. Next, when the panel 3-2 is overlaid on the display panel 3-3 and the memory switch is operated, the striped light is sequentially scanned from the panel 3-2 and can be stored in the external memory device simultaneously with erasing.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, by laminating the photoconductive layer, the charge storage layer, and the display layer, the input unit, the signal processing unit, and the output unit as the information processing device are integrated into an extremely thin laminated body. Therefore, it is possible to make the multifunctional information processing apparatus for input, display, processing, recording, transfer, erasing, etc., significantly compact. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to an office-use or home-use information processing device that is required to be easy and portable, and the efficiency of learning and office work can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a thin information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a detailed configuration diagram including a sectional structure of a thin information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. , FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a thin information processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. 1-1 Optical input sensor section 1-2 Signal processing section 1-3 Display section 1-4 Recording section 1-5 External signal output section 2-1 Substrate 2-2 … Transparent electrode 2-3 …… Molecular layer for photosensor input 2-4 …… Charge storage layer 2-5 …… Molecular layer for output display 2-6 …… Transparent electrode 2-7 …… Molecular layer for recording 2- 8 ... Recording sheet substrate 2-9 ... Recording sheet drive section 2-10 ... Extraction electrode section 2-11 ... Extraction wiring group 2-12. Drive circuit section 2-13. AC power supply 2-14 ...... DC power supply 2-15 ...... Switch circuit 2-16 ...... Transparent electrode 2-17 ...... Light emitting layer 2-18 ...... Transparent electrode 2-19 ...... Substrate 2-20 ...... Ejection electrode section 2-21 ... … Ejection wiring group 2-22 …… AC power supply 2-23 …… Panel control circuit unit 2-24 …… Memory connection line 3-1 …… Device body 3-2 …… Panel with optical scanner 3-3 ...... Display panel 3-4 ...... Power switch 3-5 ...... Operation button switch 3-6 ...... Paper ejection section 3-7 ...... Signal output connector 3-8 ...... Light pen 3-9 …… Printed paper 3-10 …… Connection line to the memory device

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Seisei Nishimura 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Matsuda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Kya Non-Incorporated (72) Inventor Takashi Nakagiri 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (56) Reference JP-A-50-39094 (JP, A)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A first electrode layer having a light-transmitting property, a photoconductive layer for detecting light input information and converting it into an electric signal, a charge storage layer for storing an electric signal from the photoconductive layer, and the charge storage. The charge storage layer has a structure in which a display layer that outputs an electric signal stored in a layer and performs display according to the optical input information and a second electrode layer are sequentially stacked, and the charge storage layer is formed by applying a DC bias. Carriers injected from the photoconductive layer are trapped,
An information processing apparatus comprising: a monolayer cumulative film of a long-chain saturated fatty acid or an organic compound having a long-chain saturated fatty acid group, in which the carrier is discharged by application of a reverse DC bias. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the photoconductive layer and the display layer includes a monomolecular layer cumulative film of an organic compound. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display layer has optical characteristics that change according to an applied electric field. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an external signal output unit for outputting the electric signal stored in the charge storage layer to the outside.