JP2008182564A - Mobile communication terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile communication terminal which can realize detection of leaving behind with high accuracy by the terminal alone. <P>SOLUTION: A mobile communication terminal has a communication means 15; an operation means 16; a GPS 17; sensors 18 and 19 for detecting a state of the mobile communication terminal; a clock means 20 for clocking the elapsed time of a state where the sensors maintain a predetermined output; a storing means 14 for storing preset specific area information and accumulation information of a present location acquired by a present location acquiring means; a leaving behind determining means 21 for detecting that the occurrence of leaving behind, when there is no input from the operation means, that the latest present location information is not within the specific area information, and it is also determined that the output of the clock means exceeds a predetermined time; an informing means 13; and a control means 11 executing an output of the informing means 13, when mislaying is detected by the mislaying determining means 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal, and more particularly to a mobile communication terminal capable of detecting misplacement of a terminal with high accuracy and informing a user.

  While mobile communication terminals such as mobile phones and PDAs have become easier to carry with the recent miniaturization, they are often left behind. Therefore, many techniques for detecting such misplacement and notifying the user of such misplacement have been proposed and introduced in patent literature (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).

  A cellular phone misplacement detection apparatus and method disclosed in Patent Document 1 below includes a cellular phone having Bluetooth as a wireless communication function and a misplacement detection apparatus having a wireless communication function (Bluetooth). A device that detects a misplacement of a mobile phone by establishing a link between the wireless communication functions of the misplacement detection device and monitoring the link establishment state or the like is disclosed. It is also disclosed that the misplacement detection device is used in a car stereo of a vehicle and the misplacement determination is performed by linking with an accessory switch of an engine key of the vehicle. When a misplacement is detected, the user is notified of the misplaced location of the mobile phone by transmitting at least one of the unique information for identifying the user and the current location information to a preset notification destination. .

JP 2003-348659 A

  In the misplacement detection device disclosed in Patent Literature 1, it is possible to detect the misplacement of the mobile phone with high accuracy as described above by interlocking with the operation of the engine key of the vehicle.

  However, in the misplacement detection device of Patent Document 1 described above, it is determined whether or not misplacement has occurred by looking at the state of wireless communication between the mobile phone and the misplacement detection device. In addition, it is necessary to provide both of the misplacement detection device and the mobile phone with Bluetooth as a wireless communication function. Further, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, if a misplacement detection device is mounted on a vehicle, it is possible for a user who uses the vehicle to detect misplacement with high accuracy. It is difficult for a user who does not use the device to use this misplacement detection device.

  In view of the above problems, the present inventors have studied various methods for detecting misplacement of a mobile communication terminal with high accuracy without using a device other than the mobile communication terminal such as a misplacement detection device. As a result, GPS (Global Positioning System) The present inventors have found that the above problem can be solved if it can be determined whether or not misplacement has occurred based on the current position information of the mobile communication terminal using the above.

  That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication terminal capable of realizing high-accuracy misplacement detection with a single mobile communication terminal.

In order to achieve the above object, a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention includes a communication unit that performs communication via a network line, an operation unit that performs various operations, and a current position acquisition unit that acquires a current position of the mobile communication terminal. A portable device comprising: a sensor; a timing means; a storage means for storing various data; a misplacement judging means for judging whether or not misplaced; a notification means; and a control means for controlling each of the components. A communication terminal,
The sensor detects the state of the mobile communication terminal,
The time measuring means measures an elapsed time in a state where the sensor maintains a predetermined output,
The storage means includes preset specific area information and accumulated information of the current position acquired by the current position acquisition means,
The misplacement determination means has no input from the operation means, and compares the specific area information in the storage means with the latest current position information among the accumulated information of the current position, so that the latest current position information is obtained. When it is determined that the output of the timing means is not within the range of the specific area information and exceeds a predetermined time, the occurrence of misplacement is detected,
The control means is configured to execute the output of the notification means when it is detected that the misplacement is determined by the misplacement determination means.

In the present invention, the notification means includes
A first process for performing a predetermined operation notification using the operation notification means;
A second process of transmitting information including current position information acquired by the current position acquisition means via the communication means to a predetermined notification destination;
A security mode for restricting access to various data is stored in the storage means, and a third process for executing the security mode by the control means;
It is characterized in that at least one process selected from the above is executed.

  In the present invention, the notifying unit executes any one or more of the first to third processes in a stepwise manner.

  In the present invention, the operation notifying unit includes at least one of a speaker, a vibrator, and a light emitting unit.

  In the present invention, the security mode is a mode in which all functions of the mobile communication terminal are stopped or a mode in which access to predetermined information stored in the storage unit is restricted.

  In the present invention, the sensor includes an operation detection sensor that detects whether or not the mobile communication terminal is in a stationary state, and an optical sensor that detects ambient light of the mobile communication terminal. To do.

  In the present invention, the specific area information stored in the storage means is set by an input from the operation means or a calculation output from accumulated information of the current position acquired by the current position acquisition means, and the storage means It is memorized in.

  By providing the above configuration, the present invention can achieve the following excellent effects. That is, according to the mobile communication terminal of the present invention, the specific area information is registered in advance in the storage means as means for determining misplacement, and the current position acquired by the current position acquisition means (for example, GPS) is registered. It is determined whether or not a misplacement has occurred by determining whether or not it is within a specific area and monitoring the outputs of various sensors and operation means together. Therefore, as shown in the related art, misplacement can be detected without using a device other than the mobile communication terminal (mobile phone). In addition, since the notification means notifies when a state where misplacement may occur is detected, a warning can be given to the user before misplacement occurs, and misplacement can be prevented in advance.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, as the notification means, a first process for notifying the user by the operation notification means, a second process for notifying the occurrence of misplacement at a predetermined notification destination, and a mobile phone By performing any one or a combination of the processes including the third process for shifting the operation mode to the security mode, it is possible to reliably perform misplacement notification. In particular, by executing a combination of the first to third processes, it is possible to realize security after the occurrence of misplacement in addition to direct notification to the user. It becomes possible to prevent.

  Further, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, by performing one or more of the first to third processes described above in a stepwise manner, a warning to the user can be effectively performed, and it is left misplaced. Occurrence can be effectively prevented.

  Moreover, according to the preferable aspect of this invention, it becomes possible to change a direct alerting | reporting to a user in steps by using a speaker, a vibrator, and a light emission means (LED) as an operation alerting | reporting means, and effective alerting | reporting is carried out. Will be able to do.

  Also, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, when a mode for stopping all functions of the mobile communication terminal is selected as the security mode, misuse by others can be prevented. In addition, if access to specific information in the storage means, especially personal information, is restricted, the risk of browsing personal information can be eliminated and the basic functions of mobile communication terminals can be realized. For example, if the position information of the mobile communication terminal after misplacement is acquired, the subsequent position of the mobile phone can be known.

  Further, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, misplacement is detected with higher accuracy by detecting the state of the mobile communication terminal using an optical sensor and an operation detection sensor (for example, a three-axis sensor or a yaw rate sensor) as sensors. Will be able to.

  Further, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, when setting specific area information, either or both of a method of setting by directly inputting from the operation means and a method of automatically setting by the position information acquisition means are performed. By performing in combination, the specific area information can be set more easily.

  Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment shown below exemplifies a portable communication terminal for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and is not intended to specify the present invention. Other embodiments included in are equally applicable. In the following embodiment, a case where a mobile phone is used as a mobile communication terminal will be described. However, it is obvious that the present invention can be applied to other mobile communication terminals such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). I will.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a communication system including a mobile phone and a server according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a management table storing specific area information, and FIG. 3 is a specific area. It is the figure which showed the state in which the information was set on the map. A mobile phone 10 as a mobile communication terminal according to the present embodiment is connected to a server 30 via a network NW, and forms a communication system S as a whole.

  The mobile phone 10 constituting the communication system S includes a control unit 11, a display unit 12, a notification unit 13, a storage unit 14, a communication unit 15, an operation unit 16, a GPS 17, an optical sensor 18, 3 The shaft sensor 19, the time measuring means 20, and the misplacement determining means 21 are configured.

  The control means 11 comprehensively controls various functions such as a telephone call function, a network communication function, or a camera function in the mobile phone 10 and is constituted by a microcomputer including a CPU and a RAM. The display means 12 is composed of an LCD, an organic EL element, etc. attached to the main body of the mobile phone 10 and displays various information of the mobile phone 10. The notification means 13 is for notifying the user of an incoming call or the like, and includes a speaker 13a, a vibrator 13b including a vibrator, and one or more LEDs 13c provided on the mobile phone 10 as light emitting means. ing.

  The storage means 14 is composed of an HDD or a semiconductor memory, and has a specific area information storage means 14a inside. The specific area information storage unit 14a registers and stores specific area information. As shown in FIG. 2, the specific area information storage unit 14a stores one or more pieces of area information including latitude and longitude information of registered positions. It consists of the registered management table T. In addition, the area information selected here shall set the position where a user's stay frequency is high, such as a user's home and work place. The storage means 14 is configured to store and store current position information measured by the GPS 17.

  The communication means 15 is provided for executing a call function and a network communication function. The operation means 16 is composed of various keys provided on the mobile phone 10. The GPS 17 is a current position acquisition unit that detects the current position of the mobile phone 10 by receiving a signal from a communication satellite. The acquisition of the current position by the GPS 17 is set to be always performed at a predetermined time interval. The current position detected by the GPS 17 is stored and stored in the storage means 14.

  The sensor composed of the optical sensor 18 and the three-axis sensor 19 is provided for detecting the state of the mobile phone 10, and the optical sensor 18 detects ambient light of the mobile phone 10. The sensor 19 detects the direction of the mobile phone 10 and detects the state thereof, and is used when performing misplacement determination. The optical sensor 18 is also used for the camera function when the mobile phone 10 has a camera function, and the triaxial sensor 19 is also used for executing a navigation function by the mobile phone 10, for example. Further, here, the mobile phone 10 is described as including the three-axis sensor 19, but instead of the three-axis sensor 19, an operation of the mobile phone 10 such as a yaw rate sensor (vibration type gyroscope) or a vibration detection sensor can be detected. Various changes can be made as long as they are (operation detection sensors).

  The timekeeping means 20 is a timer that operates based on the outputs of the operation means 16, GPS 17, and various sensors 18, 19, and starts timekeeping when there is a predetermined output. Specifically, when the outputs of the operating means 16, GPS 17 and various sensors 18, 19 are likely to be misplaced, the time for maintaining the state is counted. The misplacement determining means 21 includes a determination table for determining whether or not the mobile phone 10 has been misplaced, and determines whether misplacement has occurred by referring to the states of various configurations.

Next, the server 30 constituting the communication system S will be described.
The server 30 is provided to realize various applications executed on the mobile phone 10, and as shown in FIG. 1, a control unit 31, a communication unit 32, a notification unit 33, and various DBs. (Database) 34.

  The control means 31 executes various controls performed by the server 30. The communication means 32 is connected to the mobile phone 10 via the network NW and transmits / receives desired data. The notification means 33 stores data such as position information transmitted from the mobile phone 10 when a misplacement described later is detected, and notifies the occurrence of misplacement at a request from a user or a preset notification destination. Is. The various DBs 34 are composed of, for example, a road network DB and a map DB for performing route guidance and the like, and data for creating information requested from the mobile phone 10 is stored in the server 30.

  A configuration for detecting misplacement in the mobile phone 10 of the communication system S having the above-described configuration will be described below.

-Specific area selection process First, in order to detect the misplacement of the mobile phone 10, it is possible to easily find out the location information specific to the user of the mobile phone 10, for example, at home or work, even if the mobile phone 10 is misplaced. A position that can be left unattended for a long time is registered as a specific area. A plurality of specific area information can be registered as shown in the management table T of FIG. As a registration method, a method in which the user performs registration by directly operating the operation means 16 and a method in which the registration is automatically performed from the total of the current positions acquired by the GPS 17 accumulated in the storage means 14 are included. There is one.

  There are several possible methods for performing direct input using the operation means 16 described above as the first method for registering specific area information. For example, if you know the address of the location you want to register, enter the address, determine the specific area information by calculating the latitude and longitude of the input address, so that you can register, or A map data request is transmitted from the mobile phone 10 to the server 30 via the communication means 15, the map data is received from the map DB in the various DBs 34 of the server 30, the received map data is displayed on the display means 12, and the operating means In step 16, the specific area information is determined by selecting a point to be registered, and the specific area information is registered so that the registration is performed.

  The method of automatically registering from the total of the current positions acquired by the GPS 17 accumulated in the storage means 14 described above as the second method of registering the specific area information is, for example, the storage means 14. Among the accumulated position information accumulated in the site, the point that is detected as the current position a predetermined number of times per unit time is a point that the user regularly visits, so that this point is registered as a specific area, etc. Is. Note that the two methods for registering the specific area information described here are not limited to those described above, and may be based on other known methods.

  Note that the specific area information registered by the above-described method includes specific latitude / longitude information as shown in FIG. 2, and this specific area information is an area having a predetermined area. That is, the specific area information registered here is information that forms an area having a predetermined width, unlike strict point information. This range is preferably specified to the extent that it can be identified on a building-by-building basis, for example, in a 5 m square area centered on the selected point. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the effective value of latitude / longitude is set to 4 digits after the decimal point, and the fifth digit after the decimal point is rounded off for comparison with a specific area. The specific area information is information indicating a predetermined range. The specific area information registered in this way is a specific area, specifically the user's home and work place, as clearly shown as a point “P” in FIG.

-Misplaced notification process Next, the process of performing misplacement notification in the mobile phone 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the misplacement notification process of the present invention. Note that whether or not the following misplacement has occurred is determined by the misplacement determining means 21. In addition, a first time t1 to a fourth time t4 (t1 <t2 <t3 <t4), which are notification timings for notifying the user of misplacement, are set in advance in the storage means 14 and timed by the timekeeping means 20. A predetermined notification operation is performed every time the elapsed time t reaches the first to fourth times t1 to t4.

  First, in step S01, the latest current position information among the current position information acquired at a predetermined time interval by the GPS 17 is compared with the specific area information of the registration table T registered in the specific area selection step. In this case, it is preferable that the current position information is acquired by the GPS 17 and compared with the specific area information if positioning by the GPS 17 is possible. However, if positioning by the GPS 17 is impossible (for example, in the basement), Comparison is performed by regarding the current position information as the current position. In step S02, it is determined whether or not the current position is within the specific area. At this time, if the current position is within the specific area, it is not necessary to perform misplacement determination. Therefore, the process returns to step S01 and repeats these processes until the current position is outside the specific area. In step S02, the current position is determined. If it is determined that it is outside the specific area, it is determined in step S03 whether or not any operation is performed on the operation means 16. At this time, if there is any operation on the operation means 16, the process proceeds to step S17. If the operation means 16 is not operated, the process proceeds to step S04, and the output state of the triaxial sensor 19 is detected in step S04. . At this time, if a predetermined displacement has occurred in the output of the triaxial sensor 19, it means that the mobile phone 10 is performing some kind of operation such as moving, so that the process proceeds to step S 17 and the output of the triaxial sensor 19 is performed. If there is no displacement, that is, if the cellular phone 10 is not operating, the process proceeds to step S05, and the output state of the optical sensor 18 is detected in step S05. At this time, since there is no output from the optical sensor 18, that is, when the ambient light cannot be detected, the user may be sleeping, so the process proceeds to step S17 in order not to notify the user. If there is any output in the optical sensor 18, the process proceeds to step S06.

  As described above, when there is no mobile phone 10 in the specific area and the outputs of the operation means 16 and the various sensors 18 and 19 may be misplaced, whether or not the flag F is “1” in step S06. No, that is, whether or not the time measuring means 20 is measuring time, and if the flag F is “1”, the process proceeds to step S07 to set the flag F to “1”, and then to step S08. Then, the timing of the timing means 20 is started.

  Thus, when the time measurement in the time measuring means 20 is started, the time measurement is continued until the elapsed time t reaches a predetermined time. In addition, when the time is being measured and the outputs of the operation means 16 and the various sensors 18 and 19 shown in steps S02 to S05 are detected, the process proceeds to step S17. In step S17, it is determined whether or not the flag F is “1”. If the flag F is “1”, the flag F is set to “0” in step S18 and the elapsed time t is reset, and then the step is performed. Return to S01.

  After the time measurement by the time measuring means 20 is started, if it is detected in step S12 that the elapsed time t has exceeded the preset first time t1, the first notification operation is executed in step S13. The Since the first notification operation is a notification for the first time after a state where there is a possibility of misplacement is maintained, it is preferable that the first notification operation is limited to a relatively small notification such as only the operation of the vibration 13b.

  If any operation by the user (such as operation of the operation means 16 or movement of the mobile phone 10) is detected after the first notification operation is performed, the flag F and the elapsed time t are reset through steps S17 and S18. The Conversely, when it is detected in step S11 that the elapsed time t has exceeded the second time t2 (> t1) in a state where no operation is performed, the second notification operation is executed in step S14. Since the second notification operation should be performed on a larger scale than the first notification operation, for example, the LED 13c is caused to emit light in addition to the operation of the vibration 13b which is the first notification operation.

  If any operation by the user (such as operation of the operation means 16 or movement of the mobile phone 10) is detected after the second notification operation is performed, the flag F and the elapsed time t are reset through steps S17 and S18. The Conversely, when it is detected in step S10 that the elapsed time t has exceeded the third time t3 (> t2) in a state where no operation is performed, the third notification operation is executed in step S15. Since the third notification operation should be performed on a larger scale than the second notification operation, for example, in addition to the operation of the vibration 13b and the light emission of the LED 13c as the third notification operation, a predetermined sound from the speaker 13a is used. Notification is performed by output.

  If any operation by the user (such as operation of the operation means 16 or movement of the mobile phone 10) is detected after the third notification operation is performed, the flag F and the elapsed time t are reset through steps S17 and S18. The On the other hand, if it is detected in step S09 that the elapsed time t has exceeded the fourth time t4 (> t3) in a state where no operation is performed, the misplacement determining means 21 determines that misplacement has occurred, and the step In S16, the operation mode of the mobile phone 10 is shifted. The change of the operation mode is a change from the normal mode to the security mode so that no one other than the user operates the mobile phone 10. As this security mode, for example, all the functions of the mobile phone 10 are set. It will stop.

  In the misplacement notification process described above, notification is performed when each time from the first time to the fourth time t1 to t4 is exceeded, but the number of times and the notification means are not limited thereto, and various It is obvious that it can be realized by a combination of

  Further, the misplacement notification process is not limited to the one described above. For example, in the mode transition shown in step S16, only certain functions are executed, such as a calling function that restricts only access to personal information stored in the mobile phone 10 as a security mode and performs a call by directly dialing. You may make it change into the mode which cannot be performed. Further, the latest current position information in the storage unit 14 is transmitted to the server 30 so that the user who has the current location of the mobile phone 10 can know the mobile phone 10 at the time of this mode transition, and the notification unit 33 of the server 30 May be transmitted to a predetermined notification destination, for example, to a user's e-mail address set in advance, or when the server 30 holds the current position information of the mobile phone 10 and a user makes an inquiry The current position or the like may be notified. Furthermore, even if the mode is changed, the positioning of the current position by the GPS 17 of the mobile phone 10 is continued and transmitted to the server 30 sequentially, so that the mobile phone 10 after misplacement can be tracked. It is.

  Further, the registration of the specific area information is not specified to be registered as an area centered on a specific point (“P”) as shown in FIG. 3, but for example as shown in FIG. The normal action range of the user may be calculated from the position information measured by the GPS 17 and stored in the storage means 14, and the entire range may be registered as specific area information ("P '").

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a communication system comprising a mobile phone and a server according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a management table storing specific area information. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state where specific area information is set on a map. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the misplacement notification process of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which specific area information as another embodiment is set on a map.

Explanation of symbols

10 mobile phone 11 control means 12 display means 13 notification means 13a speaker 13b vibrator 13c LED
14 storage means 14a specific area information storage means 15 communication means 16 operation means 17 GPS
18 Optical sensor 19 Three-axis sensor 20 Timing unit 21 Misplaced determination unit 30 Server S Communication system T Management table

Claims (7)

Communication means for performing communication via a network line, operation means for performing various operations, current position acquisition means for acquiring the current position of the mobile communication terminal, sensor, timing means, and storage means for storing various data And a mobile communication terminal comprising a misplacement determining means for determining whether it is misplaced, a notification means, and a control means for controlling each of the components,
The sensor detects the state of the mobile communication terminal,
The time measuring means measures an elapsed time in a state where the sensor maintains a predetermined output,
The storage means includes preset specific area information and accumulated information of the current position acquired by the current position acquisition means,
The misplacement determination means has no input from the operation means, and compares the specific area information in the storage means with the latest current position information among the accumulated information of the current position, so that the latest current position information is obtained. When it is determined that the output of the timing means is not within the range of the specific area information and exceeds a predetermined time, the occurrence of misplacement is detected,
The portable communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein when the misplacement determination unit detects that the control unit is misplaced, the control unit executes the output of the notification unit. The notification means includes
A first process for performing a predetermined operation notification using the operation notification means;
A second process of transmitting information including current position information acquired by the current position acquisition means via the communication means to a predetermined notification destination;
A security mode for restricting access to various data is stored in the storage means, and a third process for executing the security mode by the control means;
The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein at least one process selected from the above is executed.   The mobile communication terminal according to claim 2, wherein the notification unit executes one or more of the first to third processes in a stepwise manner.   The mobile communication terminal according to claim 2, wherein the operation notification unit includes at least one of a speaker, a vibrator, and a light emitting unit.   3. The mobile phone according to claim 2, wherein the security mode is a mode in which all functions of the mobile communication terminal are stopped or a mode in which access to predetermined information stored in the storage unit is restricted. Communication terminal.   2. The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the sensor includes an operation detection sensor that detects whether or not the mobile communication terminal is in a stationary state, and an optical sensor that detects ambient light of the mobile communication terminal. Mobile communication terminals.   The specific area information stored in the storage means is set by an input from the operation means or a calculation output from the accumulated information of the current position acquired by the current position acquisition means, and is stored in the storage means. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that:

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