JP2014241470A - Mobile communication terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile communication terminal capable of effectively restraining power consumption by automatically reducing communication means in working condition.SOLUTION: A mobile communication terminal comprises: a conversion table 202 for holding power consumption conversion information indicating correspondence relation between a reception level and power consumption per communication means; reception level measuring means for measuring a current reception level per communication means; a communication state determination unit 203 for obtaining power consumption corresponding to the measured reception level on the basis of the conversion table 202; a non-operation selection unit 207 for selecting communication means to be stopped as non-operation communication means from communication means on the basis of the power consumption obtained by the communication state determination unit 203; and a power supply control unit 209 for blocking power supply to the non-operation communication means.

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable communication terminal, and more particularly, to an improvement of a portable communication terminal provided with two or more communication units having different communication methods.

  When using a mobile phone outside the office, it is not always possible to charge the built-in battery using a commercial power supply. Therefore, it is important to keep the built-in battery lasting while reducing power consumption as much as possible. On the other hand, there is a mobile phone provided with two or more communication means having different communication methods. For example, communication means of a high power wireless communication system such as W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) system and communication means of a low power wireless communication system such as PHS (Personal Handyphone System) are provided. Mobile phones are known. The high-power wireless communication system has a wider communication area and faster communication speed than the low-power wireless communication system, but it is often outside the communication area in the underground shopping street. There is also known a mobile phone provided with communication means of a high power wireless communication system and communication means for connecting to a wireless LAN such as a WiFi (Wireless Fidelity, registered trademark) network.

  If a plurality of communication means are operated at the same time, the power consumption increases and the consumption of the built-in battery becomes severe. In view of this, a mobile communication terminal has been proposed in which power supply can be cut off and stopped for some or all communication means by user operation. However, in this type of mobile communication terminal, it is necessary to appropriately specify which communication means is to be deactivated, and there is a problem that the setting work is extremely complicated. For example, if all communication means are designated as non-operating communication means, the communication service cannot be used at all. Further, communication means other than the communication means designated as the non-operating communication means are not necessarily in the communication range. Furthermore, if the communication means designated as the non-operating communication means is forgotten to switch to the operating state, there is a problem that the unusable state continues for a long time.

  A technique for automatically switching a communication unit connected to a WiFi network to a non-operating state at a timing when the CPU is switched to a sleep mode or the display screen is switched to a light-off state is conventionally known. However, this technique does not automatically switch these communication means between an operating state and a non-operating state when a plurality of communication means having different communication methods are provided.

  In general, a wireless communication device has an operation characteristic that power consumption increases as the reception level of radio waves is lower. Thus, it is conceivable to suppress power consumption by automatically stopping communication means having a relatively low radio wave reception level among active communication means. However, since the actual power consumption differs depending on the communication method and communication means, there is a problem that the power consumption is not necessarily higher than that of other communication means because the reception level is relatively low.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication terminal that can automatically narrow down operating communication means and effectively suppress power consumption. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile communication terminal capable of effectively suppressing power consumption by selecting a communication means that is inoperative according to power consumption corresponding to the current reception level.

  A mobile communication terminal according to the present invention is a mobile communication terminal provided with two or more communication means having different communication methods, and holds power consumption conversion information indicating a correspondence relationship between a reception level and power consumption for each of the communication means. Power consumption conversion information storage means, reception level measurement means for measuring the current reception level for each communication means, and communication state for obtaining power consumption corresponding to the measured reception level based on the power consumption conversion information Based on the power consumption obtained by the determination means, the communication state determination means, a non-operation selection means for selecting a communication means to be stopped from the communication means as a non-operation communication means, and the non-operation communication means Power supply control means for cutting off the power supply.

  According to such a configuration, the power consumption corresponding to the current reception level can be obtained for each communication unit by collating the measured reception level with the power consumption conversion information. Further, the communication means to be stopped from the communication means is selected as the non-operating communication means, and the power supply to the non-operating communication means is cut off. This non-operating communication means is selected based on the power consumption corresponding to the current reception level. In other words, the power consumption can be effectively suppressed by selecting the communication means that is deactivated according to the power consumption corresponding to the current reception level.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the mobile communication terminal which can narrow down the communication means in operation automatically and can suppress power consumption effectively can be provided. In particular, it is possible to provide a mobile communication terminal capable of effectively suppressing power consumption by selecting a communication unit that is deactivated according to power consumption corresponding to the current reception level.

It is the perspective view which showed one structural example of the mobile communication terminal by Embodiment 1 of this invention, and the mobile telephone 1 is shown as an example of a mobile communication terminal. It is explanatory drawing which showed typically an example of the operation characteristic of the radio | wireless communication apparatus from which power consumption changes according to a reception level for every communication system. It is the figure which showed an example of operation | movement of the mobile telephone 1 of FIG. 1, and the state table holding various operation states of a communication means is shown. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration in the mobile phone 1 of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main control unit 20 in FIG. 4. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation at the time of power control in the mobile phone 1 of FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation at the time of power control in the mobile phone 1 of FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of the operation of the mobile phone 1 in FIG. 1, and shows an example of the state table 204. It is the figure which showed an example of the operation | movement of the mobile telephone 1 by Embodiment 2 of this invention, and the state table in the case of providing four communication means AD with a different communication system is shown.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
<Mobile phone 1>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a mobile communication terminal according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As an example of a mobile communication terminal, a mobile phone 1 having three communication units having different communication methods is shown. It is shown. The mobile phone 1 is a communication terminal including a communication means for connecting to a W-CDMA telephone network, a communication means for connecting to a PHS telephone network, and a communication means for connecting to a WiFi network. Can be used.

  The W-CDMA telephone network is a mobile telephone network for interconnecting two or more mobile phones, and adopts a high power wireless communication system called 3G (third generation mobile communication system). The PHS telephone network is a mobile telephone network for interconnecting two or more PHS terminals, and adopts a low-power wireless communication system. The communication area of the PHS base station is narrower than the communication area of the W-CDMA base station. For example, a W-CDMA base station covers a region called a macro cell with a radius of about several kilometers as a communication area, whereas a PHS base station uses a region called a micro cell with a radius of about several hundreds m as a communication area. Cover. A WiFi network is a wireless LAN for interconnecting two or more WiFi terminals.

  The telephone service is a communication service for making a call by occupying one communication line and transmitting / receiving voice data, and a communication terminal is specified by a telephone number. On the other hand, the packet transmission service is a communication service for transmitting communication data in packets, and a communication terminal is specified by an IP (Internet Protocol) address. Communication data to be packetized includes e-mail, captured images, content data, and the like. The content data is data held by the server device, and includes various formats such as electronic books, photos, movies, broadcast programs, and music.

  The cellular phone 1 includes a thin case 10, a speaker 11 for receiving a sound, a display device 12, a microphone 13 for transmitting, and operation keys 14a to 14c. The thin housing 10 has a thin rectangular parallelepiped shape. The speaker 11, the display device 12, the microphone 13, and the operation keys 14 a to 14 c are provided on the front surface of the thin casing 10 that is in a vertically long state during a call. The speaker 11 is disposed at one end in the longitudinal direction of the thin casing 10, and the microphone 13 and the operation keys 14 a to 14 c are disposed at the other end.

  The display device 12 is a touch panel that displays character information and the like on the display screen and detects a touch operation on the display screen. The speaker 11 is a sound output device for outputting a received sound. The microphone 13 is a voice input device for inputting a transmission sound.

  Each of the operation keys 14a to 14c is a contact type switch that detects a user's pressing operation, and is assigned various functions. For example, the operation key 14a is a return key for returning to the previous screen. The operation key 14b is a home key for displaying a home screen. The operation key 14c is a menu key for displaying a menu screen. For example, the operation key 14c is a power key, and the main power can be switched between an on state and an off state by a long press operation.

<Operating characteristics of wireless communication device>
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating an example of operation characteristics of a wireless communication device in which power consumption changes according to a reception level for each communication method. In the figure, (a) shows the case of the W-CDMA system, (b) shows the case of the PHS system, and (c) shows the case of the WiFi system. In this figure, the characteristic curve is shown with the horizontal axis as the reception level and the vertical axis as the power consumption.

  In general, a receiver of a wireless communication apparatus performs an operation of adjusting an amplification factor of an amplifier according to a reception level of radio waves and stabilizing an input level to a demodulator. For example, when the reception level is lowered, gain adjustment for increasing the amplification factor is performed. For this reason, the lower the reception level, the higher the power consumption of the receiver.

  In the transmitter of the wireless communication apparatus, an operation for adjusting the transmission output is performed according to the reception level of the receiver. For example, in the W-CDMA telephone network, the spread spectrum method is adopted as a modulation method, and the base station cannot receive a signal from a terminal having a small transmission output near a terminal having a large transmission output. For this reason, when the reception level of the receiver increases, output adjustment is performed to reduce the transmission output of the transmitter. That is, the higher the reception level, the lower the transmission output and the power consumption of the transmitter. Due to such circumstances, the characteristic curve indicating the operating characteristics of the wireless communication device is a downwardly convex curve that decreases monotonously as the reception level increases.

For the W-CDMA system, the power consumption P is the upper limit value P ₁₂ in the receiving level = 0, and decreases rapidly in accordance with the reception level increases, and approaches the lower limit value P _11. For PHS system, the power consumption P is the upper limit value P ₂₂ in the receiving level = 0, and gradually decreases in accordance with the reception level increases, and approaches the lower limit value P _21. Upper limit value _{P 22 is} less than _{P 12,} The lower limit _{P 21 is} the same degree as _{P 11.} That is, the PHS wireless communication apparatus has operating characteristics that consume less power than the W-CDMA apparatus over all reception levels.

On the other hand, in the WiFi system, the power consumption P is the upper limit value P ₃₂ when the reception level = 0, decreases as the reception level increases, and gradually approaches the lower limit value P ₃₁ . Upper limit value _{P 32 is P 22 <P 32 <P 12} , the lower limit value _{P 31 is P 31>} P _11. That is, the WiFi wireless communication apparatus has an operation characteristic that consumes less power than the W-CDMA apparatus at the low reception level but consumes more power than the W-CDMA apparatus at the medium and high reception levels.

  In the mobile phone 1, a characteristic curve that differs for each communication method is held as a power consumption conversion table, and the current reception level is measured for each communication means by measuring the current reception level and collating it with the conversion table. The power consumption corresponding to is required.

<Status table>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the mobile phone 1 of FIG. 1, and shows a state table holding various operation states of the communication means. The status table is referred to when narrowing down the active communication means to reduce power consumption, and the out-of-service flag indicating the reception state, the current power consumption, the communication service, and the non-operation flag are held in association with the communication means. Yes.

  The out-of-service flag is a status flag indicating whether or not the communication service is out of service area, and is validated when the reception level is less than the communication service area determination threshold. If the reception level is equal to or greater than the communication range determination threshold, the out-of-service flag is in an invalid state, indicating that it is in the communication range. The current power consumption is the power consumption obtained by comparing the current reception level with the power consumption conversion table. Here, the power consumption is shown using an integer value of 0 or more and 10 or less.

  The communication service is an available communication function, and includes a telephone service and a packet transmission service. For example, an available communication service is designated in advance by a contract with a communication carrier. The non-operating flag is a state flag indicating whether or not the non-operating communication unit is used, and is validated when selected as the communication unit to be stopped. For communication means other than the communication means selected as the non-operation communication means, the non-operation flag is in an invalid state and indicates that it is in operation.

  In this state table, the out-of-service flag is in an invalid state (communication service area) for all communication means. The current power consumption is 5 for W-CDMA, 2 for PHS, and 7 for WiFi. As for communication services, W-CDMA and PHS can use both telephone service and packet transmission service, whereas WiFi can use only packet transmission service. The non-operation flag indicates that W-CDMA and WiFi are valid (stopped), and PHS is invalid (active).

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration in the mobile phone 1 of FIG. The mobile phone 1 includes a speaker 11, a display device 12, a microphone 13, a main control unit 20, a W-CDMA communication unit 21, a PHS communication unit 22, a WiFi communication unit 23, an operation unit 24, a display control unit 25, and an audio processing unit. 26, a memory 27, a DC power supply 30, and power supplies SW (switches) 31 to 33.

  The main control unit 20 performs main control such as call control. The W-CDMA communication unit 21 is a high-power wireless communication unit that is connected to a W-CDMA telephone network and communicates with a counterpart terminal via a W-CDMA base station. The PHS communication unit 22 is a low-power wireless communication unit that connects to a PHS telephone network and communicates with a counterpart terminal via a PHS base station. The WiFi communication unit 23 is a wireless LAN communication unit that is connected to the WiFi network and communicates with the server device via a wireless access point.

  The W-CDMA communication unit 31, the PHS communication unit 32, and the WiFi communication unit 33 are each provided with reception level measurement means for measuring the reception level of radio waves and outputting the measurement result to the main control unit 20. For example, the reception level is composed of a bit error rate (BER) indicating a rate of errors in communication data.

  The operation unit 24 generates an operation signal based on the touch operation of the display device 12 or the pressing operation of the operation keys 14 a to 14 c and outputs the operation signal to the main control unit 20. The audio processing unit 26 amplifies the audio signal collected by the microphone 13, converts it into digital data and outputs it to the main control unit 20, while converting the audio data output from the main control unit 20 into an analog signal. Drive signal is generated and output to the speaker 11.

  The display control unit 25 performs display control of the display device 12. For example, the display control unit 25 switches the backlight of the display device 12 between a lighting state and a light-off state. The memory 27 holds a control program of the main control unit 20 and the like.

  The DC power supply 30 is a power supply device that supplies DC power to each device such as the main control unit 20, the display device 12, and the audio processing unit 26, and includes a built-in battery (not shown) that can be repeatedly charged and discharged. If the main power supply is in an on state, power is supplied to each device, and if it is in an off state, power supply to each device is cut off. The power supply SW31 is a circuit breaker that cuts off the power supply to the W-CDMA communication unit 21 when the main power supply is in an on state. The on state of the power supply SW31 is a conduction state connecting the DC power supply 30 and the W-CDMA communication unit 21, and the off state is a non-conduction state.

  The power supply SW32 is a circuit breaker that cuts off power supply to the PHS communication unit 22 when the main power supply is in an on state. The power supply SW33 is a circuit breaker that cuts off power supply to the WiFi communication unit 23 when the main power supply is on. The power supplies SW32 and 33 have the same configuration as the power supply SW31. These power supplies SW31 to 33 are controlled by the main control unit 20 and are switched to the off state, thereby narrowing down the operating communication means.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the main control unit 20 of FIG. The main control unit 20 includes a power consumption conversion information storage unit 201, a communication state determination unit 203, a state table 204, a communication variation generation unit 205, a power sum calculation unit 206, a non-working communication selection unit 207, a mode switching unit 208, and a power source. The control unit 209 is configured. The power consumption conversion information storage unit 201 holds power consumption conversion information indicating the correspondence between the reception level and the power consumption for each communication unit.

  In the power consumption conversion information storage unit 201, a conversion table 202 created in advance for each communication unit is stored as the power consumption conversion information. The conversion table 202 is created based on the operating characteristics of the wireless communication apparatus as shown in FIG. 2, and includes power consumption for each reception level.

  The communication state determination unit 203 compares the reception level measured for each communication unit with the conversion table 202, obtains power consumption corresponding to the current reception level, and updates the state table 204. Specifically, if the current reception level is input from the W-CDMA communication unit 31, the PHS communication unit 32, or the WiFi communication unit 33, the reception level is checked against the conversion table 202 to obtain the current power consumption. The state table 204 is updated. In the status table 204, an out-of-service flag indicating a reception status, current power consumption, an available communication service, and a non-operation flag are held in association with communication means.

  The communication variation generation unit 205 generates one or two or more communication variations that can use two or more communication services designated in advance based on the state table 204. This communication variation is generated by combining one or two or more communication means each having a current reception level equal to or higher than a communication range determination threshold among three or more communication means each capable of using one or two or more communication services. Is done. Here, by combining communication means within the communication area from among the W-CDMA communication unit 31, the PHS communication unit 32, and the WiFi communication unit 33, communication variations that can use both the telephone service and the packet transmission service are created. .

  The power sum calculator 206 calculates the sum of power consumption for each communication variation created by the communication variation generator 205. That is, the current power consumption is added to the communication means constituting the communication variation. Based on the determination result of the communication state determination unit 203, the non-operation communication selection unit 207 selects a communication unit to be stopped as a non-operation communication unit, and updates the state table 204. Specifically, communication means other than the communication means included in the communication variation with the smallest sum of power consumption among the communication variations are selected as non-operating communication means, and the non-operating flag is updated.

  The mode switching unit 208 switches the operation mode between the normal mode and the power saving mode. The power saving mode is an operation mode in which power consumption is reduced as compared with the normal mode. For example, display control is performed in which the backlight of the display device 12 is turned on in the normal mode, and the backlight is turned off in the power saving mode. The mode switching unit 208 switches the operation mode to the power saving mode when a certain time has elapsed since the last user operation, and switches the operation mode to the normal mode if a user operation is performed during the power saving mode.

  Based on the state table 204, the power supply control unit 209 controls the power supplies SW31 to 33 in order to cut off the power supply to the non-operation communication unit selected by the non-operation selection unit 207. Specifically, in the power saving mode, power supply to the non-operating communication means is cut off based on the non-operating flag, while power is supplied to communication means other than the non-operating communication means. On the other hand, in the normal mode, power is supplied to all communication means.

  The power supply control unit 209 repeats temporary power supply to the non-operating communication means during the power saving mode. For example, power supply to the non-operating communication means is resumed for a short period of time. Further, such temporary power supply is periodically repeated at regular time intervals. The communication state determination unit 203 obtains power consumption by acquiring the current reception level from each communication unit every time power is temporarily supplied to the non-operating communication unit during the power saving mode.

  When the power control unit 209 temporarily supplies power to the non-operating communication unit, the reception level measurement unit can measure the current reception level for all communication units. The non-operation selection unit 207 obtains the current reception level from the reception level measurement unit and obtains the power consumption if temporary power supply to the non-operation communication unit is performed. The non-operating communication means can be selected. Here, whenever the communication variation generation unit 205, the power sum calculation unit 206, and the non-operation selection unit 207 perform temporary power supply to the non-operation communication unit during the power saving mode, the communication variation and the power consumption Assume that the sum and non-operation flags are updated respectively. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce power consumption following changes in the reception level.

  In the case of the state table shown in FIG. 3, six communications including W-CDMA, PHS, W-CDMA and PHS, W-CDMA and WiFi, PHS and WiFi, and W-CDMA, PHS, and WiFi. A variation is created. If the sum of power consumption is obtained for each of these communication variations, it can be seen that the communication variation with the smallest sum of power consumption is a combination of only PHS. In this case, a communication means other than the PHS is selected as the non-operating communication means. Therefore, in the non-operation flag, PHS is invalid and W-CDMA and WiFi are valid.

  In the state table of FIG. 3, when the PHS is out of service area, two communication variations consisting of W-CDMA, W-CDMA, and WiFi are created, and the communication variation with the smallest sum of power consumption is W -CDMA only combination.

  In the state table of FIG. 3, when the power consumption of W-CDMA changes from 5 to 3 and the power consumption of PHS changes from 2 to 4, W-CDMA, PHS, W-CDMA and Six communication variations consisting of PHS, W-CDMA and WiFi, PHS and WiFi, and W-CDMA, PHS and WiFi are created, and the communication variation with the smallest sum of power consumption is a combination of only W-CDMA It is. By periodically restarting the power supply to the non-operating communication means and updating the non-operating communication means, the power consumption can be reduced following the fluctuations in the reception level as described above.

  For communication means other than the non-operating communication means, when the reception level decreases and shifts to the outside of the communication range, the power supply to the non-operating communication means is temporarily triggered by such a state transition to the outside of the communication range. The configuration may be such that the non-operating communication means is updated again.

  Steps S101 to S117 in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are flowcharts showing an example of the operation at the time of power control in the mobile phone 1 in FIG. This figure shows the processing procedure after the main power is turned on by operating the power key. First, when the main power source is switched to the on state, the main control unit 20 switches all the power sources SW31 to 33 to the on state and operates all the communication means (step S101).

  Next, the main control unit 20 switches the operation mode to the power saving mode when a predetermined time has elapsed since the last user operation. The display control unit 25 turns off the backlight of the display device 12 in conjunction with the switching of the operation mode to the power saving mode, and switches the display screen to the off state (step S102).

  Next, the main control unit 20 selects a communication unit, acquires a reception level measurement result from the communication unit, and updates the out-of-service flag in the state table 204 (steps S103 to S105). If the selected communication means is within the communication range, the main control unit 20 obtains the power consumption corresponding to the current reception level and updates the current power consumption in the state table 204 (steps S106 and S107). The processing procedure from step S103 to step S107 is repeated until there is no unselected communication means (step S108).

  The main control unit 20 updates the out-of-service flag and the current power consumption for all communication means, and then combines the communication means within the communication area to create communication variations that can use two or more pre-specified communication services. Create (step S109). If there is a communication variation (step S110), the main control unit 20 calculates the sum of the power consumption for each communication variation and operates the communication means included in the communication variation with the smallest power consumption. Is selected as the non-operating communication means, the corresponding power supplies SW31 to 33 are switched to the off state, and the power supply to the non-operating communication means is interrupted (steps S111 to S113).

  On the other hand, when there is no communication variation (step S110), the main control unit 20 switches off the power supplies SW31 to 33 and shuts off the power supply to all communication means (step S117). The processing procedure from step S101 to steps S113 and S117 is the same as when the operation mode is switched to the normal mode and the display screen is switched to the lighting state (step S114). It repeats with the case where it did (step S115). If the main power supply is switched off, this process ends (step S116).

  According to the present embodiment, a state in which two or more communication services designated in advance can be used by selecting a communication means that is inoperative according to the power consumption corresponding to the current reception level. While maintaining, non-operating communication means can be stopped to reduce power consumption. In particular, power consumption in the power saving mode can be effectively reduced. In addition, if the operation mode is switched to the power saving mode, the non-operating communication means can be automatically stopped.

  Furthermore, if the operation mode is switched to the normal mode, the power supply to the non-operating communication means is automatically resumed, so that it is possible to prevent a state where incoming calls cannot be continued for a long time. In addition, by periodically restarting the power supply to the non-operating communication means and updating the non-operating flag, it is possible to reduce power consumption following changes in the reception level.

  In this embodiment, an example has been described in which both W-CDMA and PHS can use both the telephone service and the packet transmission service. However, W-CDMA or PHS is a telephone service or a packet transmission service. The present invention can also be applied when only one of the above can be used.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another operation example of the mobile phone 1 of FIG. 1, and shows an example of the state table 204. This status table 204 differs from the status table of FIG. 3 in that W-CDMA can use both telephone service and packet transmission service, whereas PHS can use only telephone service. .

  In the case of the state table 204 shown in FIG. 8, there are five communication variations including W-CDMA, W-CDMA and PHS, W-CDMA and WiFi, PHS and WiFi, and W-CDMA, PHS and WiFi. Created. If the sum of power consumption is obtained for each of these communication variations, it can be seen that the communication variation having the smallest power consumption is a combination of PHS and WiFi. In this case, W-CDMA is selected as the non-operating communication means. Therefore, in the non-operation flag, PHS and WiFi are invalid, and W-CDMA is valid.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the first embodiment, the example of the mobile phone 1 including three communication units having different communication methods has been described. In contrast, in the present embodiment, a case will be described in which four communication units having different communication methods are provided and three communication services can be used.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the mobile phone 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and three communication services P to R can be used by four communication means A to D having different communication methods. A state table is shown for. For example, the communication services P, Q, and R are a telephone service, a packet transmission service, and an SMS (short message service), respectively. SMS is a communication service that transmits and receives document data composed of character codes, and a communication terminal is specified by a telephone number.

  In this state table, the out-of-service flag is in an invalid state (communication service area) for all the communication means A to D. The current power consumption is 3 for communication means A, 7 for communication means B, 4 for communication means C, and 1 for communication means D. The communication means A can use the communication services P and Q, the communication means B and C can use only the communication service R, and the communication means D can use only the communication service Q.

  Two or more communication services are designated in advance from the three communication services P to R. For example, two or more communication services are arbitrarily designated by the user. Here, three communication services P to R are designated, and communication variations in which all these communication services can be used are created. Specifically, the communication means A and B, the communication means A and C, the communication means A, B and C, the communication means A, B and D, the communication means A, C and D, and the communication means A, Six communication variations consisting of B, C, and D are created.

  If the sum of power consumption is obtained for each of these communication variations, it can be seen that the communication variation with the smallest sum of power consumption is a combination of communication means A and C. In this case, the communication means B and D are selected as non-operating communication means. Therefore, the non-operating flag indicates that the communication means A and C are in an invalid state and the communication means B and D are in an effective state. Even with such a configuration, it is possible to automatically narrow down the operating communication means and effectively suppress power consumption.

  In Embodiments 1 and 2, an example in which communication variations that can use two or more communication services specified in advance are created by combining communication means within a communication area has been described. The communication variation creation method is not limited to this. For example, a communication variation is created by combining three or more communication means regardless of whether or not they are within a communication range, and the sum of power consumption is obtained for these communication variations. And it is the structure which extracts the communication variation with which the sum of power consumption is the smallest from the communication variations which are comprised by the communication means in a communication area and can use two or more communication services designated beforehand. Also good.

  In Embodiments 1 and 2, the example in which the conversion table 202 is held as the power consumption conversion information indicating the correspondence between the reception level and the power consumption has been described. However, the present invention uses the power consumption conversion information as an example. It is not limited. For example, a configuration may be used in which a function corresponding to a characteristic curve indicating conversion characteristics is held as power consumption conversion information, and power consumption corresponding to the current reception level is obtained using the function.

  In the first embodiment, the example of the cellular phone 1 including the communication unit connected to the W-CDMA telephone network, the communication unit connected to the PHS telephone network, and the communication unit connected to the WiFi network has been described. The present invention does not limit the communication means to this. For example, as long as the operation state can be automatically switched between the operation state and the non-operation state, a configuration including communication means other than the communication means may be used. Moreover, the structure which equips the communication means which is always working, and the communication means which is always stopped separately from the said communication means may be sufficient.

The configuration of the mobile phone 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention and the corresponding operational effects are organized and summarized below.
A mobile phone 1 according to the first aspect of the present invention is a mobile communication terminal including two or more communication means having different communication methods, and includes power consumption conversion information indicating a correspondence relationship between a reception level and power consumption for each communication means. A conversion table 202 to be held; a reception level measurement unit that measures a current reception level for each communication unit; a communication state determination unit 203 that obtains power consumption corresponding to the measured reception level based on the conversion table 202; Based on the power consumption obtained by the communication state determination unit 203, the non-operation selection unit 207 that selects a communication unit to be stopped as a non-operation communication unit from the communication unit, and the power supply to the non-operation communication unit is cut off. And a power supply control unit 209.

  According to such a configuration, the power consumption corresponding to the current reception level can be obtained for each communication unit by comparing the measured reception level with the conversion table 202. Further, the communication means to be stopped from the communication means is selected as the non-operating communication means, and the power supply to the non-operating communication means is cut off. This non-operating communication means is selected based on the power consumption corresponding to the current reception level. In other words, the power consumption can be effectively suppressed by selecting the communication means that is deactivated according to the power consumption corresponding to the current reception level.

  In addition to the above configuration, the mobile phone 1 according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a mode switching unit 208 that switches an operation mode between a normal mode and a power saving mode in which power consumption is reduced as compared with the normal mode. In the power saving mode, the power supply to the non-operating communication means is cut off, while the power is supplied to the communication means other than the non-operating communication means, and the power is supplied to all the communication means in the normal mode. Composed.

  According to such a configuration, the power consumption in the power saving mode can be effectively reduced by cutting off the power supply to the non-operating communication means. In addition, if the operation mode is switched to the power saving mode, the non-operating communication means can be automatically stopped. Furthermore, if the operation mode is switched to the normal mode, the power supply to the non-operating communication means is automatically resumed, so that the unusable state can be prevented from continuing for a long time.

  In the mobile phone 1 according to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the power control unit 209 repeatedly supplies temporary power to the non-operating communication means during the power saving mode, and the communication state determining unit 203 is non-operating. Each time a temporary power supply to the communication means is performed, the current reception level is acquired to determine the power consumption.

  According to such a configuration, the power supply control unit 209 temporarily supplies power to the non-operating communication unit, so that the reception level measurement unit can measure the current reception level for all communication units. it can. The non-operation selection unit 207 obtains the current reception level from the reception level measurement unit and obtains the power consumption if temporary power supply to the non-operation communication unit is performed. The non-operating communication means can be selected.

  In addition to the above-described configuration, the mobile phone 1 according to the fourth aspect of the present invention switches the operation mode to the power saving mode when the predetermined time has elapsed since the last user operation, and the user switches during the power saving mode. If an operation is performed, the operation mode is switched to the normal mode. According to such a configuration, power consumption in a no-operation state where no user operation is performed can be effectively suppressed.

  In addition to the above configuration, the cellular phone 1 according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is one in which the current reception level is equal to or greater than the communication range determination threshold value from among three or more communication means each capable of using one or two or more communication services. Alternatively, by combining two or more communication means, a communication variation generation unit 205 that generates one or two or more communication variations that can use two or more communication services specified in advance, and a sum of power consumption for each communication variation. A non-operating selection unit 207 to select a communication means other than the communication means included in the communication variation having the smallest power consumption among the communication variations as the non-operating communication means. Composed.

  According to such a configuration, a communication variation is generated by combining communication means within a communication area. This communication variation can use two or more communication services designated in advance, and communication means other than the communication means included in the communication variation with the smallest sum of power consumption among such communication variations are non-operating communication. Selected as a means. For this reason, it is possible to suppress power consumption by stopping the non-operating communication means while maintaining a state where any two or more communication services designated in advance can be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cellular phone 10 Thin housing | casing 11 Speaker for reception 12 Display apparatus 13 Microphone 14a-14c for transmission Operation key 20 Main control part 201 Power consumption conversion information storage part 202 Conversion table 203 Communication state determination part 204 State table 205 Communication Variation generation unit 206 Power sum calculation unit 207 Non-operation communication selection unit 208 Mode switching unit 209 Power control unit 21 W-CDMA communication unit 22 PHS communication unit 23 WiFi communication unit 24 Operation unit 25 Display control unit 26 Audio processing unit 27 Memory 30 DC power supply 31 to 33 Power supply SW

Claims (5)

In a mobile communication terminal provided with two or more communication means having different communication methods,
Power consumption conversion information storage means for holding power consumption conversion information indicating the correspondence between reception level and power consumption for each communication means;
A reception level measuring means for measuring the current reception level for each communication means;
Based on the power consumption conversion information, communication state determination means for obtaining power consumption corresponding to the measured reception level;
Non-operation selection means for selecting, as non-operation communication means, communication means to be stopped from the communication means based on the power consumption obtained by the communication state determination means;
A portable communication terminal comprising: power control means for cutting off power supply to the non-operating communication means. Comprising mode switching means for switching the operation mode between the normal mode and the power saving mode in which the power consumption is reduced as compared with the normal mode;
The power supply control means cuts off power supply to the non-operating communication means in the power saving mode, while supplying power to communication means other than the non-operating communication means. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein power is supplied to the communication means. The power control means repeats temporary power supply to the non-operating communication means during the power saving mode,
3. The portable communication according to claim 2, wherein the communication state determination unit obtains power consumption by acquiring a current reception level each time temporary power is supplied to the non-operating communication unit. Terminal.   The mode switching means switches the operation mode to the power saving mode when a certain time has elapsed since the last user operation, and switches the operation mode to the normal mode if a user operation is performed during the power saving mode. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 2, wherein the mobile communication terminal is a mobile communication terminal. Each of the three or more communication means that can use one or two or more communication services can be designated in advance by combining one or two or more communication means having a current reception level equal to or greater than the communication range determination threshold. Communication variation generation means for generating one or more communication variations that can use two or more communication services;
Power sum calculation means for obtaining the sum of the power consumption for each communication variation,
The non-operation selection unit selects a communication unit other than the communication unit included in the communication variation with the smallest sum of power consumption among the communication variations as the non-operation communication unit. 4. The mobile communication terminal according to any one of 4.

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