JP2003087863A - Mobile terminal with browser function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile terminal that never interrupts home page browsing and downloading due to a battery residual capacity and a reception electric field level of the terminal. SOLUTION: This invention provides the mobile terminal with a function of making wireless communication with a base station connected to a network and transmitting/receiving data to/from a server connected to the network via the base station. The mobile terminal detects a residual capacity of a battery and a reception electric field level (strength) of itself when receiving a download request of data and performs no downloading when the battery residual capacity does not exceed a prescribed residual capacity or when the reception electric field level does not exceed a prescribed level.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile terminal having a browsing function (browser function) for browsing homepage data on a network, and in particular, browsing a homepage and downloading data due to a low battery level of the terminal. The present invention relates to a mobile terminal that prevents interruptions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, portable terminals which are connected to a network such as the Internet and have a function of browsing home page data (browser function) have become widespread. In addition, the number of homepages where image data (including moving image data), voice data (incoming melody data, etc.) and programs (including data for programs) can be downloaded is increasing. The amount of data sent and received during browsing is increasing rapidly.

[0003]

However, when the home page is browsed using the browser function of the conventional mobile terminal, the browsing may be interrupted suddenly.
This is because the battery remaining amount detecting means issues a low voltage alarm because it has detected that the remaining capacity (remaining battery capacity) of the battery of the mobile terminal has decreased. That is, it becomes impossible to secure sufficient electric power (voltage) to execute the browser function, so this function is stopped. This process will be described with reference to FIG.

The browser function issues a data download request to the server holding the data (step S301), and thereafter, if the voltage warning is not issued from the battery remaining amount detecting means (step S302 / NO), Download is executed (step S303). On the other hand, when the low battery warning is issued from the battery remaining amount detecting means (step S302 / YES), the function is stopped without downloading the data (step S304). Also, the radio wave condition is poor (received electric field strength (level) is low)
When the home page is browsed at a place, the data must be retransmitted frequently, so the battery consumption is extremely fast.

When the browser function is stopped in this way,
Not only the data being acquired at the time of suspension but also the data saved in the volatile memory area will be erased. To retrieve the erased data again, charge the battery,
You need to follow the link again to open the desired home page and download the data from the page again. When there are a plurality of erased data, the above work must be performed for each data. As described above, when a low voltage alarm is issued while browsing a website, the operability of the terminal is significantly reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal in which browsing or downloading of a website is not interrupted due to the remaining battery level and the received electric field level of the terminal. .

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of a first portable terminal is to perform wireless communication with a base station connected to a network and to establish a network via the base station. A mobile terminal having a function of exchanging data with a server to be connected, and when a data download request is made, the battery level of the terminal and the received electric field level (strength) are detected, and the battery level becomes It is characterized in that the download is not performed when the remaining amount is not more than a predetermined level or the received electric field level is not more than the predetermined level. In other words, if the browser function is used when the remaining battery level is less than or equal to the predetermined level, the above-described problem may occur, so that data acquisition is not performed. By notifying the user of this, it becomes possible to protect the data stored in the volatile memory area, for example. If the browser function is used when the radio wave condition from the base station is poor (received electric field strength is low), the battery consumption becomes extremely fast and the data download is stopped.

The invention of a second mobile terminal is a mobile terminal having a function of performing wireless communication with a base station connected to a network and exchanging data with a server connected to the network via the base station. When there is a data download request, the remaining battery level of the terminal and the received electric field level are detected.
Or, if the received electric field level is not higher than a predetermined level, notify the user that the data download may not be completed, let the user select whether to download the data, and request the download from the user. If the download request is made, the data is downloaded from the server, and if there is no download request, the download is not executed. That is, in the first invention, it is determined that the mobile terminal does not execute the download, but in the second invention, the user has the final right to decide whether or not to execute the download.

A third mobile terminal invention is a mobile terminal having a function of performing wireless communication with a base station connected to a network and exchanging data with a server connected to the network via the base station. When there is a data download request, the remaining battery level of the terminal and the received electric field level are detected.
Alternatively, when the received electric field level is not higher than a predetermined level, the server is inquired about the size of the data, and when the size of the data is higher than the predetermined size, the data is not downloaded. That is, it does not mean that data is not downloaded uniformly when the remaining battery level or the received electric field level is in a predetermined state as in the first aspect of the invention, and whether or not the data is downloaded depending on the size of the data. It becomes possible to control. As a method for checking the size of the data to be downloaded, any known method can be adopted.
The size of the data can be known by acquiring the header information of the data from the server and analyzing the header information. Alternatively, an element other than the mobile terminal, such as a server or a base station, may be made to check the size of the data, and the result may be input to the terminal.

A fourth portable terminal invention is a portable terminal having a function of performing wireless communication with a base station connected to a network and exchanging data with a server connected to the network via the base station. When there is a data download request, the remaining battery level of the terminal and the received electric field level are detected.
Or, if the received electric field level is not higher than a predetermined level, contact the server that stores the size of the data, and if the size of the data is higher than the predetermined size, the data download may not be completed. Characterized by notifying the user and letting the user select whether or not to download the data. When the user makes a download request, the data is downloaded from the server, and when there is no download request, the download is not performed. And That is, in the third aspect of the invention, the user is given the final right to decide whether or not to download.

The predetermined size in the invention of the third or fourth portable terminal may be determined by the terminal based on the remaining battery level and the received electric field level. That is, instead of the predetermined size, the predetermined size may be determined according to the state at each time. Any method can be adopted as the method of determining the size. For example, an expression for calculating a predetermined size and a table that associates the calculation result of the expression with a predetermined size may be prepared, and the calculation result of the above expression may be applied to the table to determine the predetermined size. It is also possible to prepare a table in which the correspondence relationship between the remaining battery level and the received electric field level and the predetermined size is prepared, and the predetermined size can be determined using the table.

A fifth portable terminal invention has a function of wirelessly communicating with a base station connected to a network and transmitting / receiving data to / from a server connected to the network via the base station. When there is a data download request, the remaining battery level of the terminal and the received electric field level are detected.
Alternatively, when the received electric field level is not higher than or equal to a predetermined level, only a predetermined type of data is downloaded. That is, when the battery level is low or the received electric field strength is low, only specific types of data are downloaded. By setting the data to be downloaded as text data in this way, the text data can be browsed even in the above-mentioned state.

In the case of the above state, it is possible to inquire which type of data to download and download the type of data selected by the user. Further, the configuration information of the homepage data to be downloaded may be acquired from the server, and the user may be allowed to select which of the data constituting the homepage data to download. For example, HTM
It is composed of an L body and data (image data, sound data, moving image data, etc.) pasted to the HTML (a link is set and set to be presented to the user at the same time as the HTML body). Take homepage data as an example. When the mobile terminal is in the above-described state, the mobile terminal obtains information (header information or the like) of the data for which the user has given a download instruction from the server. Based on this data, information on the type and number of data (text data (HTML), image data, sound data, moving image data, etc.) included in the homepage data is acquired and presented to the user. Then, only the data instructed by the user is downloaded from the server.

The invention of a sixth terminal is a portable terminal having a function of performing wireless communication with a base station connected to a network and exchanging data with a server connected to the network via the base station. If there is a data download request, the remaining battery level and the received electric field level of the terminal are detected, and if the remaining battery level is less than the specified level, or if the received electric field level is not above the specified level, ,
The feature is that the download of the predetermined type of data is executed when an instruction is received from the user.

When the battery level is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, data download may be executed. That is, when the remaining battery level is sufficient, it may not be taken into consideration whether or not the received electric field level is downloaded. Further, the reception electric field level may be determined by the mobile terminal as described above, but an element other than the terminal such as the base station determines the electric field level of the radio wave received from the terminal and transmits the determination result to the terminal. Thus, the terminal may adopt this determination result as the reception electric field level. That is, the received electric field level (strength) in the present invention may be the electric field level of the radio wave transmitted from the base station in the terminal, or the electric field level of the radio wave transmitted from the terminal in the base station. May be.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, a portable terminal according to the present invention will be described.
A detailed description will be given with reference to an embodiment. The browser function of this mobile terminal acquires the remaining battery capacity information and electric field level information of the terminal, and the remaining battery capacity is below a predetermined value (terminal battery voltage is below a predetermined value) or the electric field level is below a predetermined level. In the case of, the data acquisition process is not performed. That is, when the remaining battery capacity of the terminal is less than or equal to a predetermined value (or less than or equal to a predetermined level) or the radio wave condition is poor, the browser function does not download even if the user receives a data download instruction. In other words, the request signal is transmitted when the remaining battery capacity of the terminal is sufficient and the radio wave condition is good. Even when the remaining battery capacity of the terminal is below a predetermined value or the electric field level is below a predetermined level, the size of the data requested to be downloaded by the user is acquired, and the size of this data is the predetermined size. You may download it if it exists. Further, when the remaining capacity of the battery of the terminal is less than or equal to a predetermined value or the electric field level is less than or equal to a predetermined level, only predetermined data of the homepage data may be downloaded.

When the download is not performed, it is preferable to notify the user of this fact. For example, a message such as "Do not download because a low voltage alarm may be issued" is displayed. This allows
The user can understand why the requested data is not downloaded and can take necessary measures (such as connecting the terminal to the charger). The details will be described below.

(Communication Environment) FIG. 2 shows an example of an environment in which this portable terminal is placed. As shown in FIG.
Wirelessly connects to the base station 202. The base station 202 is connected to a network such as the Internet (hereinafter described as an internetwork). Therefore, the mobile terminal 201 can access the Web server 203 connected to the Internet network. The base station 202 and the Internet network may be connected by a known method.
That is, the base station 202 may be directly connected to the Internet network or indirectly connected via an Internet service provider or the like.

(Structure of Mobile Terminal) FIG. 1 shows a mobile terminal 20.
1 shows an example of the internal configuration. As shown in FIG. 1, this mobile terminal includes a wireless transmission unit 101, a wireless data control unit 102, a display unit 103, a main control unit 104, and a program ROM 10.
5, an operation input unit 106, a browser function unit 107, and a battery remaining amount detection unit 108. The wireless transceiver 101 is
The wireless signal to be transmitted / received is modulated / demodulated, and the transmission / reception operation is performed according to the wireless signal from the base station 202. Also, the electric field level (electric field strength of the radio wave emitted from the base station, received electric field level) is detected to create electric field level information. The wireless data control unit 102 controls the wireless transmission / reception unit 101 to perform wireless communication with the base station 202 according to its own wireless information registered in advance. A request signal input from the browser function unit 107 via the main control unit 104 is transmitted to the wireless transmission / reception unit 101 to the base station 202. Base station 2
The response signal input from 02 to the wireless transmission / reception unit 101 is input to the main control unit 104. The display unit 103 displays an image of data designated by the main control unit 104, the browser function unit 107, and the like. The operation input unit 106 receives an operator's instruction (input information) input from an input interface such as a numeric keypad according to the content of the instruction, and the main control unit 104.
Or to a predetermined component such as the browser function unit 107.
The browser function unit 107 manages and controls a series of operations related to data acquisition according to the program described in the program ROM 105. The remaining battery capacity detection unit 110 is
Detects the battery level (battery level, battery voltage) of the terminal.
The detection result (battery level information) is notified to predetermined components such as the main control unit 104.

The internal structure of the portable terminal 201 is shown in FIG.
It is not limited to the configuration shown in. That is, it suffices to have at least a wireless communication function, a browser function, a battery remaining amount detection function, and an electric field level detection function. The wireless communication function is based on the base station 2
A server (W that connects to a network such as the Internet via the base station 202 through wireless communication with the server (W
eb server) 203 is a function for exchanging information with the server. In the configuration of FIG. 1, the wireless transmission / reception unit 101 and the wireless data control unit 102 are mainly responsible. The browser function is a function of transmitting a data acquisition request (request) to the Web server 203 via the wireless communication function and presenting the data (response) input from the Web server 203 to the user using the display unit 103 or the like. . In the configuration of FIG. 1, the browser function unit 107 is mainly responsible. The battery remaining amount detection function is a function of detecting the remaining capacity of the power supply (battery) of the terminal. In the configuration of FIG. 1, the remaining battery capacity detection unit 110 is responsible. The electric field level detecting function is a radio wave state between the mobile terminal 201 and the base station 202,
That is, it is a function of detecting the strength (level) of the electric field of the radio wave transmitted from the base station 202. In the configuration of FIG. 1, the wireless transmission / reception unit 101 is mainly responsible. Next, an example of a processing flow when the browser function of the mobile terminal 201 is executed will be described in detail. The mobile terminal 201 may perform any one or a plurality of processing flows shown below.

(First Processing Flow) In the first processing flow, the browser function uses the remaining battery level detection function and the electric field level detection function to acquire the battery status of the terminal before acquiring data from the Web server 203. (Battery level) and radio wave status (electric field level) are acquired. When the remaining battery level is less than the predetermined level, or when the electric field level (strength) is less than the predetermined level, the browser function is stopped.

The browser function acquires the information on the remaining battery level from the remaining battery level detection function at all times or at predetermined intervals during startup. In addition, the information of the electric field level of the terminal is acquired from the electric field level detection function constantly or at every predetermined period. When the battery level is higher than a predetermined value (the battery level is sufficient) and the electric field level is higher than the predetermined value (the electric field level is sufficient), a request signal for homepage data is transmitted.
When a response signal is received from the web server 203,
The received signal is analyzed, the analysis result is presented to the user, and the storage unit (volatile memory, non-volatile memory,
Data is stored in a storage unit (such as a storage medium) connected to the HDD and / or the terminal. Known methods can be used for the request signal transmission processing and the response signal analysis processing.

(Second Processing Flow) The second processing flow is the same as the above-mentioned first processing flow when the remaining battery level is below a predetermined level or when the electric field level (strength) is below a predetermined level. In case of level, notify the user that the voltage may not be sufficient to execute the browser function during data download (the low voltage alarm is issued by the battery level detection function) and the download may not be completed. . Even if this notification is issued, if the user requests the download, the data download may be executed.

Note that the above notification may be performed using any means. For example, the display unit 103 may be used to display characters or images indicating the above. A sound (voice) indicating the above or this effect may be reproduced. The notification may be made by providing a dedicated display lamp indicating the above and illuminating the lamp.

(Third Processing Flow) The third processing flow is the same as the above-described first processing flow when the remaining battery level is less than a predetermined level or the electric field level (strength) is less than the predetermined level. In the case of the level, the size of the data requested to be downloaded is acquired from the WEB server 203. If the size of this data is less than the specified size,
Execute the download. If the size of the data exceeds the predetermined size, the download is not performed. The size of the data can be determined by transmitting a transmission request (request) for the header information of the data to the WEB server 203 and analyzing the obtained response (header information).

The data size for downloading (the predetermined size) may be calculated at any time (every time the process is performed) based on the remaining battery level and the electric field level. That is, the data size at which the low voltage warning is not issued by the battery remaining amount detection function during the download may be calculated from the battery remaining amount and the electric field level, and the data having the size or less may be downloaded. A known method can be adopted as the method of calculating the data size. Further, a table in which the correspondence between the remaining battery level and electric field level and the downloadable data size is described may be prepared. That is, the browser function may acquire the downloadable data size by using this table, the information of the battery remaining amount, and the information of the electric field level, and may download the data of the size or less.

(Fourth Process Flow) The fourth process flow is a combination of the above first to third process flows as appropriate. An example of the combination flow will be described with reference to FIG. The browser function acquires information on the remaining battery level from the remaining battery level detection function at all times or at predetermined intervals during startup (step S401). In addition, information on the electric field level of the terminal is acquired from the electric field level detection function constantly or every predetermined period (step S402). When the battery level is higher than the predetermined value (step S401 / YES) and the electric field level is higher than the predetermined value (step S402 / YES), normal browser processing is executed (step S40).
3, 404). That is, a request signal is transmitted to the WEB server 203 by using the wireless communication function, a response signal from the server 203 is analyzed, and processing (image display processing, character display processing, data storage processing, voice reproduction processing) based on the analysis result is performed. , Video playback processing, etc.).

When the remaining battery level of the terminal is below a predetermined value (step S401 / NO), or when the electric field level is below a predetermined level (step S402 / NO)
To instruct the WEB server 203 to transmit the header information of the data related to the download request using the wireless communication function (header information request transmission; step S405). That is, the WEB server 203 is requested to send the size information of the data to be downloaded.
When a response to the above request is received (step S406), this response is analyzed (step S407). As a result of the response analysis, when the size of the download target data is equal to or smaller than the predetermined size (step S407 / YES), the process proceeds to step S403 and the data download process is performed. The above processing corresponds to the third processing flow. Therefore, various modifications and replacements as described above are possible.

If the size of the data to be downloaded exceeds the predetermined size, the browser function asks the user whether or not to acquire the data (step S40).
8). When the user instructs not to acquire the data (step S409 / NO), the process ends.
When the user instructs to acquire the data (step S409 / YES), the request signal is transmitted to the WEB.
It is transmitted to the server 203 (step S410). In addition,
When the low voltage alarm is issued by the battery remaining amount detecting function during the data download (step S411), the process is ended. The above process corresponds to the second process flow. Therefore, various modifications and replacements as described above are possible.

In this processing flow, the browsing of the homepage is interrupted by acquiring three pieces of information, that is, the remaining battery capacity, the electric field level, and the data size, before the browser transmits the request signal and predicting the occurrence of the low voltage alarm. Since it is possible to notify the user before the operation, the operability of the terminal is improved.

(Fifth Processing Flow) In the fifth processing flow, in the first processing flow, when the remaining battery level is less than a predetermined level, or when the electric field level (strength) is a predetermined level or less. In the case of, whether to download the data is determined according to the type of the data to be downloaded. For example, based on the information on the remaining battery capacity and the electric field level, by not acquiring data that has value-added elements of the homepage such as images and melodies, it is possible to use text as a base even when the remaining battery capacity is low. It is possible to continue browsing the homepage that has been created.

The above-mentioned second to fourth processing flows can be combined as appropriate with the fifth processing flow. For example, the mobile terminal can be combined with the third processing flow. The type of data to be downloaded is set when the remaining battery level is below a predetermined level or when the electric field level (strength) is below a predetermined level. However, before downloading the data, information about the size of the data is acquired from the Web server 203, and if the size is equal to or larger than a predetermined size, the download is not performed. Note that, similarly to the above, the predetermined size can be arbitrarily set, and may be set at any time according to the remaining battery level and the electric field level. In addition, when it is expected that the download of this data cannot be completed (that is, in the case of the same situation as the second processing flow), the user is inquired whether to download the data, and the user gives a download instruction. You may make it download when it is issued. Further, the flow may be as shown in FIG. In this flow, the browser function downloads text data (HTML data, etc.) regardless of the battery state and electric field state of the terminal, and determines whether to download other types of data depending on the battery state and electric field state. I shall.

The browser function analyzes the response signal (step S502) obtained by transmitting a web page download request (request signal) to the web server 203 (step S501) (step S5).
03). If the Web page is composed of only text data (step S504 / YES), the process ends. When the Web page includes data other than text data (image data, sound data, moving image data, etc.) (step S504 / NO), the battery level and the electric field level are checked (steps S505, S50).
6). If the terminal has a battery level equal to or higher than a predetermined value and the electric field level is equal to or higher than the predetermined level (step S5)
05 / YES, step S506 / YES), the Web server 2 sends a request for data other than the text data.
03 (step S507). Web server 2
03 when a response signal is received (step S50
8) Then, the signal is analyzed, and predetermined processing (processing according to data such as image reproduction, sound reproduction, moving image reproduction) is performed, and the processing ends.

When the terminal has a battery level less than a predetermined value (step S505 / NO), or when the electric field level is only a predetermined level (step S506 / N).
O), and notifies the user that the download may not be completed (step S509). If there is no download request from the user (step S510
/ NO), the process ends. If there is a download request from the user (step S510 / YES), W
A download request for data other than the text data is transmitted to the eb server 203 (step S510), and the same processing as described above is performed on the response signal. When the low voltage alarm is issued by the battery remaining amount detecting function during the download (step S512), the power is turned off and the process ends. In this processing flow, even when the remaining battery capacity is small, only the predetermined data is acquired. By setting the predetermined data as text data, the text-based homepage can be continuously browsed even when a low-voltage alarm is issued.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the above-mentioned embodiments are merely examples for explaining the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is limited to these embodiments only. Absent. A person skilled in the art can implement the present invention in various other modes in which various variations, improvements, modifications, simplifications, etc. are added to the above embodiments without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above description, the browser function acquires the battery remaining amount information and the electric field level information in the battery remaining amount detecting function and the electric field level detecting function. Alternatively, the detection result (battery remaining amount information, electric field level information) may be input to the browser function constantly or at predetermined intervals.

[0036]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the browser function determines whether or not to download data while taking into consideration the remaining battery level and electric field level of the terminal. It is possible to avoid interruption of browsing the homepage data.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration example of a mobile terminal according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an environment in which the mobile terminal of FIG. 1 is placed.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a data reception flow of a conventional mobile terminal.

FIG. 4 shows a first example of a data reception flow of the mobile terminal of FIG.

5 shows a second example of a data reception flow of the mobile terminal of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 antenna 101 wireless transmitter 102 wireless data control unit 103 display 104 Main control unit 105 program ROM 106 Operation input section 107 Browser Function Section 108 Battery Level Detector

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A mobile terminal having a function of performing wireless communication with a base station connected to a network and exchanging data with a server connected to the network via the base station. When there is a download request, the remaining battery level of the terminal and the received electric field level are detected, and if the remaining battery level is below the specified level, or if the received electric field level is below the specified level, the download is not performed. A mobile terminal characterized by the above. 2. A mobile terminal having a function of performing wireless communication with a base station connected to a network and exchanging data with a server connected to the network via the base station. If there is a download request for, the battery level and the reception electric field level of the terminal are detected, and if the battery level is less than or equal to the predetermined level, or if the reception electric field level is not at or above the predetermined level, Notify the user that the download may not be completed, let the user select whether or not to download the data, and execute the download of the data from the server when the user makes a download request, A mobile terminal characterized by not performing download when no download request is made. 3. A mobile terminal having a function of performing wireless communication with a base station connected to a network and exchanging data with a server connected to the network via the base station. If there is a download request for, the battery level and the reception electric field level of the terminal are detected, and if the battery level is less than or equal to the predetermined level, or if the reception electric field level is not greater than or equal to the predetermined level, A mobile terminal characterized in that the size is inquired to the server, and if the size of the data is equal to or larger than a predetermined size, the data is not downloaded. 4. A mobile terminal having a function of performing wireless communication with a base station connected to a network and exchanging data with a server connected to the network via the base station. If there is a download request for, the battery level and the reception electric field level of the terminal are detected, and if the battery level is less than or equal to the predetermined level, or if the reception electric field level is not greater than or equal to the predetermined level, The server that stores the data is inquired about the size, and if the size of the data is equal to or larger than a predetermined size, the user is notified that the download of the data may not be completed, and the user downloads the data. Select whether or not to download the data from the server when the user makes a download request. Portable terminal, characterized in that it does not perform the download if required was not. 5. The mobile terminal according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the predetermined size is determined based on the remaining battery level and the received electric field level of the terminal. 6. A mobile terminal having a function of performing wireless communication with a base station connected to a network and exchanging data with a server connected to the network via the base station. When there is a download request for the device, the remaining battery level and the received electric field level of the terminal are detected, and if the remaining battery level is less than the specified level, or if the received electric field level is not above the specified level, the specified type A mobile terminal characterized in that it only downloads the above data. 7. A mobile terminal having a function of performing wireless communication with a base station connected to a network and exchanging data with a server connected to the network via the base station. When there is a download request for the device, the remaining battery level and the received electric field level of the terminal are detected, and if the remaining battery level is less than the specified level, or if the received electric field level is not above the specified level, the specified type The mobile terminal is characterized in that the data is downloaded when an instruction is received from the user.