Abstract:
A displaying device includes an input unit, a region defining unit, a content allocating unit, an obtaining unit, a display controlling unit and a display unit. The region defining unit defines regions by incorporating one or more unit regions in each of the regions according to users&#39; selections and generates region defining information. The content allocating unit allocates contents for the regions according to the users&#39; selections and generates content allocating information. The obtaining unit obtains the region defining information, the content allocating information, and contents according to the content allocating information, and then transmits the information and contents to the display controlling unit. The display controlling unit splits a display area of the display unit into the regions defined by the region defining unit and displays the contents in the regions correspondingly according to the content allocating information. Related methods are also provided.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to displaying devices and methods thereof, and particularly to a displaying device with user-defined display regions and method for displaying contents in the user-defined display regions. 
     2. General Background 
     Many electronic devices, such as mobile phones, digital photo frames, and so on, generally have unchangeable layouts of components on their display interfaces. For instance, the images, textual memos of the images, and real calendar/time information that are displayed on digital photo frames are fixed at their respective positions on the display interface. Users cannot change the positions and display areas of the components to meet their personalized requirements. 
     What is needed, therefore, is a displaying device and method which can solve the problem mentioned above. 
     SUMMARY 
     A displaying device with user-defined regions is provided. The displaying device includes an input unit, a display unit, and a central controller. The display unit includes a display area constituted by a plurality of unit regions arranged along one or two dimensions of the display area. The central controller includes a region defining unit and a content allocating unit. The region defining unit is configured for defining regions on the display area by incorporating one or more unit regions in each region in accordance with confirm signals from the input unit, and accordingly generating region defining information. The content allocating unit is configured for allocating contents for the regions in accordance with the confirm signals from the input unit, and accordingly generating content allocating information. The central controller further includes an obtaining unit and a display controlling unit. The obtaining unit is configured for obtaining the region defining information and the content allocating information, parsing this information, and obtaining contents according to the content allocating information. The display controlling unit is configured for receiving the parsed region defining information, the parsed content allocating information, and the contents from the obtaining unit, splitting the display area into regions according to the parsed region defining information and displaying the contents in the regions correspondingly according to the parsed content allocating information. 
     A method for defining regions on a display area of a display unit based on confirm signals from an input unit and displaying contents on the regions is also provided. The method includes the steps of: displaying unit regions constituting the display area; receiving the confirm signals from the input unit; defining two or more regions by incorporating one or more of the unit regions in each of the regions according to the confirm signals, generating and storing the region defining information in a storage; allocating contents for the regions according to the confirm signals, generating and storing the content allocating information in the storage; obtaining the region defining information and the content allocating information from a storage; parsing the region defining information and the content allocating information; splitting the display area into the regions defined by the region defining information; and obtaining contents and displaying the contents on the regions correspondingly according to the content allocating information. 
     Other advantages and novel features will be drawn from the following detailed description with reference to the attached drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The components of the drawings are not necessarily drawn to measuring scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the displaying device with user-defined display regions and method thereof. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing hardware structure of an exemplary embodiment of a displaying device with user-defined regions. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view showing a display area of a display unit of the displaying device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart showing an exemplary embodiment of a region defining procedure reflected on the display area of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is schematic view showing a region defining result of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view showing an exemplary embodiment of a content allocating procedure for regions of  FIG. 4   
         FIG. 6  shows a table stored in a storage of the displaying device of  FIG. 1 , the table contains region defining information generated in the region defining procedure of  FIG. 3  and content allocating information generated in the content allocating procedure of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  is a flowchart of a method for defining regions and displaying contents in the regions. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the functional structure of a displaying device  1  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown. A digital photo frame is taken as an example for the displaying device  1  in the embodiment. The displaying device  1  includes a display unit  2 , a central controller  3 , a storage  4  and an input unit  5 . The storage  4  stores various information, such as image data files and additional information files. The additional information files may include textual memo information corresponding to the image data files. The central controller  3  reads the image data files and the additional information files from the storage  4 , and then controls the images and additional information recorded in those files displayed by the display unit  2  according to input signals from the input unit  5 . 
     The central controller  3  includes a display controlling unit  31 , an obtaining unit  32 , a region defining unit  33 , and a content allocating unit  34 . The region defining unit  33  is configured for receiving the input signals from the input unit  5 , defining regions in the display area of the display unit  2  according to the input signals and generating region defining information. The region defining information is then stored in the storage  4 . The content allocating unit  34  is configured for receiving the input signals from the input unit  5 , allocating contents (e.g., the images, the additional information and so on) for the regions according to the input signals and generating content allocating information. The content allocating information is also stored in the storage  4 . The obtaining module  32  is configured for obtaining the image data files, the additional information files as well as the region defining information and the content allocating information from the storage  4 , thereby transmitting the files and the information to the display controlling unit  31 . Typically, after receiving the files and the information, the display controlling unit  31  first splits the display area of the display unit  2  into two or more regions defined by the region defining information and then displays the images and the additional information in the regions correspondingly according to the content allocating information. The obtaining unit  32  may further be configured for obtaining additional information from other information sources. For example, the obtaining unit  32  may be configured for obtaining real calendar/time information from a calendar/timer  6 . The real calendar/time information is displayed on a corresponding region of the display unit  2  under the control of the display controlling unit  31  based on the content allocating information. 
     Referring also to  FIG. 2 , the display area of the display unit  2  is constituted by a plurality of equal unit regions that are arranged in order along one or two dimensions of the display area. The unit regions are visible and distinguishable after a display setting key of the input unit  5  is pressed and transmits a display setting signal to the central controller  3 . The visible unit regions allow users to define the regions of the display area by using the Up/Down keys, an Ok key and a Cancel key of the input unit  5 .  FIG. 2  shows an exemplary example that the display area is constituted by nine equal unit regions aa, ab, ac, ba, bb, bc, ca, cb, and cc. 
       FIG. 3  gives an exemplary embodiment of a region defining procedure reflected on the display area of  FIG. 2 . First, a cursor on the display area is rested on the aa unit region, which is confirmed when a confirm signal from the Ok key is received by the region defining unit  33 . The cursor is moved to the bc unit region, which is confirmed when a confirm signal from the Ok key is received by the region defining unit  33 , whereupon a first region is determined by the aa and bc unit regions and includes the contiguous unit regions aa, ab, ac, ba, bb and bc. The cursor is further moved to the ca unit region, which confines a second region when the ca unit region is double confirmed by receiving two confirm signals from the Ok key at the region defining unit  33 . In this exemplary embodiment, the cursor is further moved to define a third region determined by the contiguous unit regions cb and cc, the same process by which the first region is determined is executed and therefore a description is omitted. In other available embodiments, the remaining unit regions cb and cc are automatically determined by the region defining unit  33  as the third region, requiring no manual confirms from the users as  FIG. 3  shows. The region defining unit  33  simultaneously generates the region defining information as part of the region defining procedure and finally stores the region defining information in the storage  4 . 
       FIG. 4  shows a region definition result of  FIG. 3 . The display area has been split into three regions, the first of which is labeled as A, the second labeled as B and the third labeled as C. A, B and C are recorded as names of the regions by the region defining unit  33  in the region defining information. 
       FIG. 5  shows an exemplary embodiment of a content allocating procedure for the regions A, B and C. The content allocating procedure begins after the region defining procedure is completed. A content list  21  which lists a plurality of content icons is displayed at the left portion of the display area and a sample  22  of the display area with the regions A, B and C is displayed at the right portion of the display area. Basically, the content icons each represent a resident software program executable by the displaying device  1 . By way of example, the content icon labeled “Image” represents an image displaying program which is executed by the central controller  3  to display the images on the display unit  2 , the content icon labeled “Textual memo” represents a textual memo displaying program which is executed by the central controller  3  to display the textual memos of the images on the display unit  2 , and the content icon labeled “Calendar/time information” represents a real calendar/time displaying program which is executed by the central controller  3  to display the real calendar/time information on the display unit  2 . 
     The content icons are selectable by operating the Up/Down keys, the Ok key and the Cancel key. After a particular content icon is selected, the regions A, B and C become configurable to allow the user to select a region to display content relating to the particular content icon. The content icons and the regions are configurable, alternately, to allow the user to firstly select a content icon and secondly select a region correspondingly during the content allocating procedure. The content allocating procedure is either terminated when all of the regions A, B and C have been allocated with content or when the user manually terminates the procedure, for example, by pressing the Cancel key. The content allocating unit  34  simultaneously generates the content allocating information as a part of the content allocating procedure and finally stores the content allocating information in the storage  4 . 
       FIG. 6  shows the region defining information and the content allocating information stored in the storage  4  based on the exemplary embodiment given in  FIGS. 2 through 5 . The region defining information associates region A to the unit regions aa, ab, ac, ba, bb and bc, region B to the unit regions ca, and region C to the unit regions cb and cc. The content allocating information designates region A for displaying images, region B for displaying textual memos of the images, and region C for displaying the real calendar/time. 
       FIG. 7  shows a flowchart of a method for defining a plurality of regions on the display unit  2  and displaying images and additional information in the regions. The method begins with step S 701  where the region defining unit  33  displays the unit regions of the display area of the display unit  2 . In step S 702 , the region defining unit  33  receives confirm signals from the input unit  5  to confirm one or more of the unit regions to be included in a region and simultaneously generates the region defining information. Step S 702  repeats when two or more regions are defined. The procedure proceeds to step S 703  when a required number of regions are defined. In step S 703 , the region defining unit  33  stores the region defining information in the storage  4 . 
     In step S 704 , the content allocating unit  34  simultaneously displays the content list  21  and the sample  22  of the display area with the defined regions on the display area. The content list  21  lists a plurality of content icons, each of which represents a resident software program. The resident software program is typically used to display content such as images, textual memo of the images, and real calendar/time information on the display area. In step S 705 , the content allocating unit  34  receives a content icon confirm signal and a region confirm signal representing a selected content icon and a selected region correspondingly and generates the content allocating information. Step S 705  repeats until all of the regions have been allocated with content or when the user manually terminates the content allocating procedure. In step S 706 , the content allocating unit  34  stores the content allocating information in the storage  4 . 
     In step S 707 , the obtaining unit  32  obtains the region defining information and the content allocating information from the storage  4 , parses the region defining information and the content allocating information, and transmits the parsed region defining information and the parsed content allocating information to the display controlling unit  31 . In step S 708 , the displaying controlling unit  31  splits the display area of the display unit  2  into two or more regions according to the parsed region defining information. In step S 709 , the obtaining unit  32  obtains contents according to the parsed content allocating information from the storage  4  and/or other information sources, such as the calendar/timer  6 , and transmits the contents to the display controlling unit  31 . In step S 710 , the display controlling unit  31  controls the contents displayed on the regions correspondingly according to the parsed content allocating information. Generally, the display controlling unit  31  includes a plurality of software programs configured for displaying particular content types on the corresponding regions. For example, the display controlling  31  includes the image displaying program, the textual memo displaying program, and the real calendar/time information displaying program for respectively displaying the images, the textual memos, and the real calendar/time information correspondingly on particular regions. 
     Although the present invention has been specifically described on the basis of exemplary embodiments thereof, the invention is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various changes or modifications may be made to the embodiment without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.