JP2011061316A - Cellular phone - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cellular phone capable of preventing false input from a touch panel even when a user brings the cellular phone with a touch panel close to an ear or the like faster than normal. <P>SOLUTION: The cellular phone includes: a touch panel for allowing information input by contact; an approximate sensor for detecting approximation to the human body of the touch panel while calling; an acceleration sensor for detecting the acceleration; and a control unit for prohibiting the information input from the touch panel when an approximation sensor detects approximation to the human body, and controlling the sensitivity of the approximation sensor in accordance with measurement of detection acceleration outputted by the acceleration sensor. The control unit sets the sensitivity to higher sensitivity than the normal sensitivity that is preset, when the detected acceleration is over a prescribed threshold. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile phone, and more particularly, to a mobile phone equipped with a touch panel.

  Recently, a technology has been developed in which various sensors are mounted on a mobile phone to improve the convenience of the mobile phone and to save power. For example, in Patent Document 1, an acceleration sensor or an infrared sensor is mounted on a mobile phone to detect the posture of the mobile phone or the approach of a human body, and by estimating the user's behavior performed to view the screen of the display unit A technology for switching between the normal power mode and the power saving mode is disclosed.

  On the other hand, instead of conventional key input, or in order to complement key input, mobile phones with a touch panel mounted on a display panel (hereinafter referred to as mobile phones with a touch panel) have rapidly spread. I am doing.

  In a mobile phone with a touch panel, when the information is input from the touch panel, the touch panel is naturally in an on state (a state in which input from the touch panel is possible). On the other hand, when making a call using a mobile phone with a touch panel, many controls are performed so that the touch panel is in an off state (a state in which input from the touch panel is impossible) so that the touch panel does not malfunction by touching an ear or the like.

  The touch panel on / off control is performed based on, for example, a detection signal of a proximity sensor disposed in the vicinity of the touch panel. When the mobile phone with a touch panel is brought close to the ear or the like, the proximity sensor is turned on, and the touch panel is turned off by this on signal, thereby eliminating an unintended erroneous input from the touch panel. On the other hand, when the mobile phone with a touch panel is moved away from the ear or the like, the proximity sensor is turned off, and the touch panel is turned on by this off signal to enable information input from the touch panel.

JP 2007-80219 A

  However, when a person tries to make a call, the speed at which the mobile phone with a touch panel is brought close to the ear or the like varies depending on the person. In addition, even when the person is the same, the speed at which the touch-sensitive mobile phone is brought close to the ear or the like varies depending on the situation and mood at that time.

  When the approach speed is faster than usual, the touch panel may touch the ear or the like before the proximity sensor detects the approach to the ear or the like and turns on, and erroneous input may occur. Even if the proximity sensor is turned on, an erroneous input may occur due to the touch panel touching an ear or the like before the touch panel is turned off in response to the detection signal.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and even when the user brings the touch panel-equipped mobile phone closer to the ear or the like at a faster speed than usual, the mobile phone can prevent erroneous input from the touch panel. The purpose is to provide a telephone.

  In order to solve the above problems, a mobile phone according to the present invention includes a touch panel capable of inputting information by contact, a proximity sensor that detects the approach of the touch panel to a human body during a call, an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration, A control unit that controls the sensitivity of the proximity sensor according to the magnitude of the detected acceleration output from the acceleration sensor while prohibiting the information input from the touch panel when the proximity sensor detects an approach to the human body And when the detected acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold, the control unit sets the sensitivity to a sensitivity higher than a preset normal sensitivity.

  According to the mobile phone according to the present invention, erroneous input from the touch panel can be prevented even when the user brings the touch-panel mobile phone close to the ear or the like at a faster speed than usual.

The perspective view which shows the example of an external appearance of the mobile telephone which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which shows the process example of ON / OFF control of a touch panel. The flowchart which shows the process example of the sensitivity control of a proximity sensor. The figure which shows an example of the operation | movement concept of the sensitivity control of the proximity sensor of an infrared pulse system.

  An embodiment of a cellular phone according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(1) Configuration and General Operation of Mobile Phone FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance example of a mobile phone with a sliding touch panel as a typical example of the mobile phone 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The mobile phone 1 includes a lower housing 11 and an upper housing 10, and the lower housing 11 and the upper housing 10 are coupled to be slidable in the direction of arrow X in FIG. 1.

  FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing a state in which the upper housing 10 is opened (open state), and FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing a state in which the upper housing 10 is closed (closed state). is there.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, when the upper housing 10 is opened, an operation surface of the lower housing 11 appears, and a keyboard 15 is provided on the operation surface. The lower housing 11 accommodates a printed circuit board on which various electronic components are mounted, and an acceleration sensor 42 described later is also mounted on the printed circuit board.

  On the other hand, a display panel 12 composed of a liquid crystal panel, an organic EL panel, or the like is provided on the surface of the upper housing 10, and a touch panel 16 is provided so as to cover the display panel 12.

  A call receiver 13 is provided above the touch panel 16 (upper left in FIG. 1A), and a call microphone 14 is also provided below the touch panel 16 (lower right in FIG. 1A). It has been. A proximity sensor 41 described later is provided next to the receiver 13.

  When character information or the like is input by e-mail or when a document creation application is used, it is possible to input information efficiently by using the keyboard 15 with the upper housing 10 opened.

  On the other hand, when the mobile phone 1 is simply carried or placed on a desk or the like, the upper housing 10 is normally closed. When the upper casing 10 is slid and closed, as shown in FIG. 1B, the keyboard 15 is hidden under the upper casing 10, and the touch panel 16 (and the display panel 12), the receiver 13, the microphone 14, and the proximity The sensor 41 is exposed to the front side.

  When the state is changed from the open state to the closed state, the display panel 12 is turned off to save power after a preset time has elapsed (the display panel 12 is turned off), and the input from the touch panel 16 is not possible (the touch panel 16 is in an off state). )

  When an incoming call is received in this state, both the display panel 12 and the touch panel 16 are turned on, and an “incoming” key is displayed on a part of the display panel 12. The user presses the touch panel 16 from above the “incoming” key to make a call possible state, while lifting the mobile phone 1 close to the ear and starts a call.

  When the user is making a call with “mobile phone 1” close to his / her ear, touch panel 16 may come into contact with a human body such as an ear, and operation information that is not intended may be erroneously input from touch panel 16. The display panel 12 also displays an “end call” key for ending the call. When the touch panel 16 is pressed from the “end call” key, the communication is cut off. If the user accidentally touches the touch panel 16 above the “end call” key during a call, the call is suddenly stopped.

  In order to avoid such a situation, the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with a proximity sensor 41 to detect that the mobile phone 1 has approached a human body or the like. When the distance between the mobile phone 1 and the human body is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, a proximity detection signal is output from the proximity sensor 41 and the touch panel 16 is turned off. As a result, even if the touch panel 16 touches an ear or the like during a call, an erroneous operation is prevented.

  However, when the user suddenly brings the mobile phone 1 close to the ear or the like, the touch panel 16 is placed on the ear or the like before the proximity sensor 16 operates or before the touch panel 16 is turned off after the proximity sensor 16 operates. There is also a possibility of malfunctioning by touching the human body. In the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment, the touch panel 16 can be reliably turned off even when the mobile phone 1 is suddenly brought close to the ear or the like. Specific processing contents will be described later.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment. The mobile phone 1 includes an RF unit 20, a baseband unit 30, a control unit 40, a keyboard 15, a display panel 12, a touch panel 16, a proximity sensor 41, an acceleration sensor 42, and the like.

  The RF unit 20 includes an antenna 21, a selector 22, a receiving unit 23, a local oscillating unit 24, a transmitting unit 25, and the like. In the transmission unit 25, the signal output from the baseband unit 30 is frequency-converted by the local signal generated by the local oscillation unit 24, further amplified, and then output to the base station via the selector 22 and the antenna 21. On the other hand, a signal from the base station is input to the receiving unit 23 via the antenna 21 and the selector 22 and converted into a baseband signal by a local signal.

  The baseband unit 30 includes a CDMA signal processing unit 31, a compression / decompression processing unit 32, a PCM modulation / decoding unit 33, a receiver 13, a microphone 14, and the like.

  The sound input from the microphone 14 is digitized by the PCM modulation / decoding unit 33 and then compressed by the compression / decompression processing unit 32. Thereafter, the signal is modulated by the CDMA signal processing unit 31 based on a predetermined CDMA system and output to the RF unit 20. The reverse processing is performed on the baseband signal input from the RF unit 20. The demodulating process is performed by the CDMA signal processing unit 31, the data is decompressed by the compression / decompression processing unit 32, and then converted into an analog audio signal by the PCM modulation / decoding unit 33. The analog audio signal is output to the receiver 13.

  The control unit 40 performs overall control of the mobile phone 1 including control of the keyboard 15 and the display panel 12 in addition to control of the RF unit 20 and the baseband unit 21. In particular, as characteristic control of the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment, on / off control of the touch panel 16 is performed by a proximity detection signal output from the proximity sensor 41, or proximity detection is performed from the detected acceleration output from the acceleration sensor 42. The sensitivity of the sensor 41 is also controlled.

  As described above, the proximity sensor 41 is disposed in the vicinity of the receiver 13 of the upper housing 10 and outputs a proximity detection signal when the distance between the mobile phone 1 and the human body is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. . Although the specific kind of the proximity sensor 41 is not specifically limited, For example, it is an infrared proximity sensor. The infrared proximity sensor 41 includes a transmission unit that emits infrared rays and a reception detection unit that receives and detects infrared rays reflected by a human body or the like. The transmitter radiates infrared pulses at a predetermined repetition period.

  The acceleration sensor 42 detects the acceleration applied to the mobile phone 1 in, for example, three axis directions. Depending on the magnitude (absolute value) of the detected acceleration output from the acceleration sensor 42, the mobile phone 1 is placed on a desk or the like and stopped (the acceleration other than gravity is almost zero), while a person is moving It is possible to identify a possessed state (a state in which acceleration is relatively small), a state in which the mobile phone 1 is suddenly brought close to an ear or the like to start a call (a state in which a large acceleration can occur), and the like. The acceleration sensor 42 can also detect the orientation and orientation of the mobile phone 1 from the magnitude of the triaxial component of gravitational acceleration.

(2) On / Off Control of Touch Panel Next, on / off control of the touch panel 16 characteristic of the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing related to on / off control of the touch panel 16 during a call of the mobile phone 1. Each process shown in FIG. 3 is a process mainly performed by the control unit 40.

  Step ST10 is a state in which the mobile phone 1 is on and waiting for an incoming call. When an incoming call is received, the display panel 12, the touch panel 16, and the proximity sensor 41 are set to an ON state (step ST11).

  Next, sensitivity control of the proximity sensor 41 is performed (step ST12). Detailed operation of the sensitivity control will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In step ST13, the approach of a human body or the like is detected according to the sensitivity of the proximity sensor 41 controlled in step ST12. When the approach of a human body or the like is detected, the touch panel 16 is turned off (step ST14) to prevent a malfunction due to an inadvertent contact with the touch panel 16 during a call. When the call ends (YES in step ST15), the process returns to step ST10 and waits for the next incoming call.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the sensitivity control process of the proximity sensor 41 that uses the detected acceleration.

  In step ST20 of FIG. 4, it is determined whether or not the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 42 is equal to or greater than a second threshold value. This determination is to determine whether the mobile phone 1 is in a state of movement, or on the contrary, is placed on a desk or the like and is in a state of no movement at all, and the second threshold is close to zero. Small values are used.

  When the detected acceleration is less than the second threshold, it is determined that the mobile phone 1 does not have a physical movement, and in this state, the possibility that the mobile phone 1 approaches a human body such as an ear for a call is extremely low. Therefore, the power supplied to the proximity sensor 41 is turned off to stop the operation of the proximity sensor 41 (step ST21). This stop process can save unnecessary power consumption of the proximity sensor 41.

  Further, when the proximity sensor 41 is turned off, the touch panel 16 once turned on is maintained in that state. For example, when there is an incoming call to the mobile phone 1 placed on the desk, the touch panel 16 remains on even if a hand or the like approaches the proximity sensor 41. For this reason, it is possible to reliably press the “incoming” key quickly without worrying about the position of the proximity sensor 41 in a state where the mobile phone 1 is placed on the desk, which improves usability.

  On the other hand, when the detected acceleration is equal to or higher than the second threshold, it is determined that the mobile phone 1 has some physical movement. In this case, the determination using the first threshold (predetermined threshold) larger than the second threshold is further performed (step ST22). The first threshold is whether the acceleration applied to the mobile phone 1 is within a relatively small range of acceleration that can occur with movement by walking, train, or the like, or the user responds to an incoming call and the mobile phone This is a threshold value for determining whether the acceleration is a large acceleration caused by quickly approaching the ear or the like.

  When the detected acceleration is smaller than the first threshold (NO in step ST22), the sensitivity of the proximity sensor 41 is set to the normal sensitivity (step ST23). On the other hand, when the detected acceleration is larger than the first threshold (YES in step ST22), the sensitivity of the proximity sensor 41 is set to a sensitivity higher than the normal sensitivity (step ST24).

  The “sensitivity” of the proximity sensor 41 used here is used in a broad sense, and is used corresponding to an index such as a detection distance or response time of the proximity sensor 41. That is, “setting the sensitivity of the proximity sensor 41 to a higher sensitivity than the normal sensitivity” means “setting the detection distance of the proximity sensor 41 to a detection distance larger than the normal detection distance” This is almost synonymous with setting the response time to a response time shorter than the normal response time.

  The method of setting the sensitivity of the proximity sensor 41 is not particularly limited, and various methods can be taken depending on the method of the proximity sensor 41.

  When the proximity sensor 41 is a sensor that emits a predetermined amount of infrared rays and detects the approach to the human body or the like based on the presence or absence of reflection of infrared rays from the human body or the like, the normal amount of infrared radiation is set in advance. By setting the radiation amount stronger than the radiation amount, it is possible to set the detection distance larger than the normal detection distance. That is, the proximity sensor 41 can be set to a sensitivity higher than the normal sensitivity.

  Further, when the proximity sensor 41 is a sensor of a type that emits infrared rays in a pulse shape at a predetermined repetition period and detects the approach to the human body or the like by the presence or absence of reflection of infrared rays from the human body or the like, the infrared pulse repetition period Can be set to a response time shorter than the normal response time by setting a repetition cycle shorter than the normal repetition cycle set in advance. That is, the proximity sensor can be set to a high sensitivity from a normal sensitivity.

  FIG. 5 is an operation conceptual diagram showing that the sensitivity of the proximity sensor 41 can be increased by setting the repetition cycle of the infrared pulse to a cycle shorter than the normal repetition cycle.

  FIG. 5A shows a conventional method that does not use the output of the acceleration sensor. In the conventional method, infrared pulses are always transmitted at a predetermined normal repetition period. In the figure, it is assumed that an incoming call is received at the timing <A>, and an operation (rapid moving operation) in which the user brings the mobile phone 1 closer to the ear is started at the timing <B>. Further, it is assumed that the touch panel 16 comes into contact with a human body such as an ear at the timing of <C>.

  In this case, the touch panel 16 and the proximity sensor 41 are turned on at timing <A>. When infrared pulse <1> immediately after timing <B> is emitted, touch panel 16 remains on because mobile phone 1 is not yet within the detectable range. On the other hand, when the infrared pulse <2> is emitted after the infrared pulse <1>, the mobile phone 1 is already in contact with a human body such as an ear while the touch panel 16 is on. As a result, an unexpected malfunction may occur.

  On the other hand, FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a method according to the present embodiment using the output of the acceleration sensor 42. It is assumed that the incoming call timing <A> of the mobile phone 1 and the position and movement timings <B> and <C> are the same as those in FIG.

  In the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment, when the user starts the operation of bringing the mobile phone 1 close to the ear at timing <B>, the acceleration sensor 42 detects an acceleration that is greater than the first threshold. In response to this detection, the proximity sensor 41 sets the repetition period of the infrared pulse to a repetition period shorter than the normal repetition period. When the infrared pulse <1> is emitted, the touch panel 16 remains on because the mobile phone 1 is not yet in the detectable range as in FIG. However, since the repetition period of the infrared pulse is shortened, the infrared pulse <3> next to the infrared pulse <1> is emitted before the touch panel 16 contacts the human body such as the ear. At the timing of the infrared pulse <3>, the mobile phone 1 is within the detectable range of the proximity sensor 41, and the proximity sensor 41 detects the approach of a human body or the like and turns off the touch panel 16. As a result, at the timing <C> at which the touch panel 16 comes into contact with a human body or the like, the touch panel 16 is already in an off state, and malfunction due to contact can be avoided.

  There is no need to maintain the high sensitivity of the proximity sensor 41 after the user turns the touch panel 16 off once by bringing the mobile phone 1 close to the ear or the like. For this reason, in step ST25 of FIG. 4, after the proximity sensor 41 is set to high sensitivity, the passage of the specified time is waited, and when the specified time has passed, the sensitivity of the proximity sensor 41 is returned to the normal sensitivity.

  As described above, according to the mobile phone 1 according to the present embodiment, even when the user brings the mobile phone with a touch panel close to the ear or the like at a faster speed than usual, the erroneous input from the touch panel is prevented. can do.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, the constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cellular phone 12 Display panel 16 Touch panel 40 Control part 41 Proximity sensor 42 Acceleration sensor

Claims (5)

A touch panel that allows input of information by contact;
A proximity sensor that detects the proximity of the touch panel to the human body during a call;
An acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration;
A control unit that controls the sensitivity of the proximity sensor according to the magnitude of the detected acceleration output from the acceleration sensor while prohibiting the information input from the touch panel when the proximity sensor detects an approach to the human body And comprising
When the detected acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold, the control unit sets the sensitivity to a sensitivity higher than a preset normal sensitivity.
A mobile phone characterized by that. The proximity sensor is a sensor that radiates a predetermined amount of infrared rays and detects the approach to the human body by the presence or absence of reflection of the infrared rays from the human body,
When the detected acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold, the control unit sets the proximity sensor to the normal radiation amount by setting the infrared radiation amount to a radiation amount stronger than a normal radiation amount set in advance. From the sensitivity of the above to the high sensitivity,
The mobile phone according to claim 1. The proximity sensor is a sensor that emits infrared rays in a pulse shape at a predetermined repetition period, and detects the approach to the human body by the presence or absence of reflection of the infrared rays from the human body,
When the detected acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold, the controller sets the proximity sensor to the normal sensitivity by setting the repetition period to a repetition period shorter than a normal repetition period set in advance. To set the high sensitivity to
The mobile phone according to claim 1. The control unit turns off the power of the proximity sensor when the detected acceleration is smaller than a second threshold that is lower than the predetermined threshold.
The mobile phone according to claim 1. The control unit sets the proximity sensor from the normal sensitivity to the high sensitivity, and then returns from the high sensitivity to the normal sensitivity when a specified time elapses.
The mobile phone according to claim 1.

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