KR100642453B1 - Method and device for controlling the display brightness of mobile communication terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for controlling brightness of a screen in a mobile communication terminal are provided to reduce unnecessary power consumption of a display of the mobile communication terminal when a call is received during DMB watching, thereby minimizing the power consumption of battery of the mobile communication terminal and increasing a DMB watching time. In a method for controlling brightness of a screen of a mobile communication terminal display during a DMB(Digital Multimedia Broadcast) watching mode, the method comprises the following steps of: adjusting the brightness of the screen to the first brightness, which is set for the DMB watching, when a call is not received during the DMB watching(S2); adjusting the brightness of the screen to the second brightness darker than the first brightness when the call is received during the DMB watching(S7); and returning the brightness of the screen to the first brightness when the received call is disconnected(S8,S9).

Description

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING THE DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS OF MOBILE COMMUNICATION TERMINAL}

1 is a view showing a brightness control unit of a mobile communication terminal of an embodiment according to the present invention.

2 is a diagram illustrating a brightness control method of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10 power supply

20 current supply

30, 40, 50 LED terminal

60 enable terminals

70 Current amount setting terminal

80 control unit

81, 82 Universal I / O Port

90 Display

91, 92, 93 LED

100 brightness control

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for controlling the brightness of a mobile communication terminal, and more particularly, a mobile communication having a method for reducing power consumption when watching a DMB and a device for reducing unnecessary power consumption due to viewing a DMB. It relates to a terminal.

Recently, with the spread of mobile communication terminals such as mobile phones and PDAs that support DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcast) viewing, it is possible to watch high-quality multi-channel broadcasting on the go.

However, there is a limitation in the capacity of the battery mounted in a mobile phone or PDA, there is a problem that can not watch DMB for a long time due to the limited capacity of such a battery.

In particular, in the case of a mobile phone that supports the DMB viewing mode, in order to receive broadcast signals of satellite DMB or terrestrial DMB, power consumption is larger than that of the previous model, which leads to an increase in the size and production cost of the battery in the mobile phone. have. In other words, when watching DMB on a mobile phone, the LCD of the mobile phone continues to operate until the end of DMB viewing, and for this purpose, the LED unit constituting the backlight light source (corresponding to the display unit of the mobile communication terminal) is continuously on. Current is constantly being consumed. Normally, to support clear DMB viewing, the brightness of the LCD in the DMB viewing mode is set to the highest brightness and consumes approximately 400 mA of current. If the total current consumed by the terminal during DMB viewing is 400mA, about 100mA is the current consumed for the operation of the display unit. In addition, when a call is received while watching the DMB, even if the audio output of the DMB is turned off for the call, the display unit continues to operate, consuming a total of about 700 mA of current. Therefore, when a call is received while watching the DMB, battery consumption is suddenly generated, which acts as a factor preventing continuous DMB viewing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for extending the life of a battery by reducing unnecessary power consumed in a mobile communication terminal supporting a DMB viewing mode.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication terminal having a device that can reduce unnecessary power consumption during a call even while watching DMB.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for adjusting the screen brightness of the display unit of the mobile communication terminal in the DMB viewing mode, wherein the screen brightness is set for viewing the DMB when a call is not received during the DMB viewing. A first step of setting to 1 brightness; A second step of setting the screen brightness to a second brightness that is darker than the first brightness when a call is received while watching DMB; And a third step of returning screen brightness to the first brightness when the received call is disconnected.

According to this, when a call is received while watching the DMB, excessive power consumption for the display of the DMB can be reduced, so that the battery life of the mobile communication terminal can be extended.

The first step may further include turning on the DMB audio output of the mobile communication terminal, and the second step may further include turning off the DMB audio output, and the third step may include It is preferable to further include turning on the DMB audio output, so that when the call is received, the DMB audio output can be turned off to further contribute to power saving, and at the same time, the DMB audio output does not interfere with the call. .

In addition, the present invention provides a method for adjusting the screen brightness of the mobile communication terminal display unit in the DMB viewing mode, the method comprising: setting the mobile communication terminal to one of a power saving mode and a normal mode; When the power saving mode is set in the first step, when the call is not received while watching the DMB, the screen brightness is set to the first brightness set for viewing the DMB, and when the call is received while watching the DMB, A second step of setting a screen brightness to a second brightness that is darker than the first brightness, and returning the screen brightness to the first brightness when the received call is disconnected; And a third step of maintaining the first brightness during DMB viewing regardless of whether a call is received when the normal mode is set in the first step. Thus, it is possible to select a power saving mode and a normal mode according to the user's setting.

The second and third steps may include turning off the DMB audio output of the mobile communication terminal when a call is received while watching a DMB, and turning on the DMB audio output when the received call is disconnected. It is preferable. This is to prevent the DMB audio output from interfering with the call, regardless of whether it is in power saving mode or normal mode.

On the other hand, the present invention, the control unit for generating a brightness control signal; A display unit; And a brightness controller which is connected to the controller to receive the brightness control signal and controls the screen brightness of the display unit according to the brightness control signal, wherein the controller is configured to display the screen brightness of the display unit as the first brightness during DMB viewing. And generating a control signal for setting the screen brightness to a second brightness that is darker than the first brightness when a call is received during DMB viewing, and generating the control signal when the received call is disconnected. It provides a mobile communication terminal, characterized in that for generating a control signal of one brightness.

The display apparatus may further include a user interface configured to transmit a user input signal to the brightness controller, wherein the brightness controller is further configured to adjust the screen brightness even when a call is received while viewing the DMB according to the user input signal. It is desirable to be able to maintain 1 brightness. This allows the user to view the DMB at the desired brightness even during a call.

The brightness control signal is preferably a PWM signal because the amount of current applied to the display unit of the mobile communication terminal can be easily adjusted by controlling the duty cycle of the PWM signal.

Hereinafter, a brightness control device and a brightness control method mounted on a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, what is described below is only one embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the invention is limited only by the claims. For example, in the following description, only three LEDs and only a case where the brightness control signal is a PWM signal are described, but the number of LEDs and the type of the brightness control signal are not limited thereto.

1 is a diagram illustrating a brightness controller of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the brightness controller 100 may include a power supply unit 10 receiving power and a current supply unit 20 supplying a current to the LEDs 91 and 92 93 (which constitutes the display unit 90). And an enable terminal 60 connected to the controller 80 through the general-purpose input / output ports 81 and 82 to receive the on / off control signal of the brightness controller 100 and the LED from the current supply unit 20. LED terminals 30, 40, and 50 to which current supplied to (91, 92, 93) enters.

In addition, the current amount setting terminal 70 provided in the brightness adjusting unit 100 is configured to control the amount of current supplied to the LEDs 91, 92, and 93. Current amount control is performed in proportion to the duty cycle. The current amount setting terminal 70 is also connected to the control unit 80 of the mobile communication terminal via the general-purpose input / output ports 81 and 82.

The controller 80 embedded in the mobile communication terminal is configured to control the overall operation of the terminal. In relation to the operation of the brightness adjusting unit 100, the enable terminal 60 is turned on / off of the current amount setting terminal 70. It controls the screen brightness of the display unit 90 by applying a control signal and generating a PWM signal.

In a mobile communication terminal including a brightness controller 100, a controller 80 that acts as a controller, and a display unit 90, as shown in FIG. 1, the controller 80 consumes, for example, a current of 100 mA during DMB viewing. While controlling to drive the unit 90, when the telephone is received while watching the DMB, the duty cycle of the PWM signal is adjusted to consume only 20 mA of current, for example. After that, when the received call is disconnected, the display unit 90 is driven by consuming 100 mA of current again. In this case, when making a call while watching DMB, 80mA of current consumption can be reduced.This means that about 11% (80mA / 700mA) of the total current consumed by the mobile terminal when DMB and call mode are operated simultaneously. It brings a saving effect. As a result, it is possible to extend the battery life of the mobile communication terminal supporting the DMB viewing mode.

On the other hand, although not shown in Figure 1, the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention may further include a user interface (not shown) for transmitting a user input signal to the brightness control unit 100, in this case, brightness control unit 100 ) Adjusts the screen brightness of the display unit 90 according to the user input signal. For example, if the user wants to watch the DMB at 100% screen brightness even during a call, and sets the normal mode instead of the power saving mode by operating a button operation, the display unit 90 may be operated as in the prior art even if the user makes a call during DMB viewing. You can keep the screen brightness unchanged.

2 is a diagram illustrating a brightness control method of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, in step S1, it is determined whether the mobile communication terminal is set to a power saving mode that saves battery according to the present invention, or whether the output screen brightness of the DMB is maintained even during a call. However, without going through step S1, the power saving mode may be applied as the default mode of the mobile communication terminal.

Next, when the mobile communication terminal enters the DMB viewing mode in step S2, while driving the display unit 90 at the brightness set by the user for viewing the DMB, it is checked whether a call is received while viewing the DMB (S3). If the call is not received (NO in S3), the screen brightness of the display unit 90 is kept at the brightness set by the user for DMB viewing (return to S2). In this case, if the brightness set by the user for viewing the DMB does not exist, the display unit 90 will generally be maintained at the maximum brightness for a clearer screen output of the DMB. If a call is received while watching the DMB (YES in S3), once the audio output of the DMB is turned off so as not to disturb the call (S4), the process proceeds to step S5 and the operation according to the mode defined in step S1 is started. . That is, if the normal mode is set in step S1, it is determined as "no" in step S5, and it is checked whether or not the call is terminated in step S6. Keep it for viewing. If it is determined in step S6 that the call has not ended, the call may be continued with the audio output off (return to S4).

However, if it is determined as "Yes" in step S5, until the call is terminated, for example, the screen brightness is controlled to be 20% of the brightness compared to the brightness for viewing DMB (S7). After the call is terminated (YES in S8), the control returns to the brightness for viewing DMB (S9), and then returns to the DMB viewing mode (S10).

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce unnecessary power consumption in the mobile communication terminal display unit when a call is received during DMB viewing, thereby minimizing battery consumption of the mobile communication terminal and increasing DMB viewing time.

Claims (7)

In the method of adjusting the screen brightness of the mobile terminal display unit in the DMB viewing mode, A first step of setting the screen brightness to the first brightness set for the DMB viewing when the call is not received while watching the DMB; A second step of setting the screen brightness to a second brightness that is darker than the first brightness when a call is received while watching DMB; And And if the received call is disconnected, returning screen brightness to the first brightness. The method of claim 1, The first step further includes the step of turning on the DMB audio output of the mobile communication terminal, The second step further includes turning off the DMB audio output, And said third step further comprises turning on said DMB audio output. In the method of adjusting the screen brightness of the mobile terminal display unit in the DMB viewing mode, A first step of setting the mobile communication terminal to one of a power saving mode and a normal mode; When the power saving mode is set in the first step, when the call is not received while watching the DMB, the screen brightness is set to the first brightness set for viewing the DMB, and when the call is received while watching the DMB, Making a screen brightness a second brightness that is darker than the first brightness and returning the screen brightness to the first brightness when the received call is disconnected; And And setting the normal mode in the first step to maintain the first brightness while watching DMB regardless of whether a call is received or not. The method of claim 3, wherein The second and third steps may include turning off the DMB audio output of the mobile communication terminal when a call is received while watching a DMB, and turning on the DMB audio output when the received call is disconnected. How to. A controller generating a brightness control signal; A display unit; And A brightness control unit connected to the control unit to receive the brightness control signal and control screen brightness of the display unit according to the brightness control signal, The control unit generates a control signal for setting the screen brightness of the display unit as the first brightness while watching the DMB, and when the telephone is received while watching the DMB, the control signal for setting the screen brightness to a second brightness that is darker than the first brightness. And generating a control signal for setting the screen brightness to the first brightness when the received call is disconnected. The method of claim 5, A user interface for transmitting a user input signal to the brightness controller; The brightness control unit, according to the user input signal, characterized in that the mobile terminal can maintain the screen brightness to the first brightness even when a call is received while viewing the DMB. The method according to claim 5 or 6, The brightness control signal is a mobile communication terminal, characterized in that the PWM signal.

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