JP2000115852A - Mobile communication terminal with infrared-ray port - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To continue a communication state and to prevent ineffective communication in a disconnection state by switching the mode to a previously set operation mode, when an infrared-ray interface is disconnected when the voice and data of an external terminal are communicated through an air interface. SOLUTION: When the interception of infrared rays is detected on an infrared-ray link, an alarm sound is sounded from the receiver/loudspeaker of a mobile communication terminal 100 and an alarm message is displayed on an LCD 41. At this time, a VOX procedure from the mobile communication terminal 100 to a network side is started automatically, the voice transfer to an air interface is switched to a VOX ON mode and voice transmission to a communication channel is set to a predetermined soundless pattern. When the infrared-ray link recovers from the interception, the transfer is automatically switched to a VOX OFF mode. Therefore, while the air interface side maintains communication and suppresses transmission power of the air interface which is large in power consumption, even during the period when the infrared-ray link is disconnected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal capable of performing outgoing / incoming call control and voice or data communication from an external terminal via an infrared port.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, PDCs (Personal Digital Cellu
LAR) mobile phone and PHS (Personal Handyph)
It is well known that simple type mobile phones using the "one system" method are rapidly spreading.

[0003] Incidentally, these mobile communication terminals include FIG.
As shown in FIG. 0, a cable-type external port including an RS-232C-equivalent serial signal line corresponding to RS-232C and a communication CH signal line for transferring voice or data over a communication channel is provided as an external port at a lower portion of the main body 20 or the like. An interface connector 21 is provided to enable voice and data communication from an external terminal such as a personal computer 23.

For example, if a vehicle-mounted device 22 having a built-in external antenna and a booster amplifier is connected to a mobile communication terminal via the external interface connector 21, a voice call utilizing the hands-free function of the vehicle-mounted device 22 becomes possible. ing.

[0005] If a personal computer 23 as an external terminal is connected to the mobile communication terminal via the external interface connector 21, data communication by the personal computer 23 can be performed.

[0006] Data communication using such mobile communication terminals is expanding its application field as a so-called "mopile contributing". It is becoming a limit at a communication speed of about several Kbps using a wired cable.

[0007] In the case of a wired external interface, it is necessary to carry a connection cable between the mobile communication terminal and the external terminal, which causes inconvenience such as poor usability. Further, while the connector for the external interface is ultra-small and thin, there is a problem that the contact surface is damaged due to the removal and insertion of the cable.

[0008] From the above-mentioned circumstances, from the viewpoint of improving communication speed, reducing cable, improving user's convenience, etc., infrared communication is introduced as an interface between a mobile communication terminal and an external terminal such as a personal computer to make it wireless. Examination is underway.

[0009] Infrared communication uses IrDA (Infrared Data).
Association; infrared data communication association) is being standardized, and there is a high possibility that infrared rays will be introduced into the external interface of the mobile communication terminal.

As shown in FIG. 9, a mobile communication terminal 10 equipped with an infrared port has an infrared transmission / reception window 11, and an in-vehicle device 13 also equipped with an infrared port 12 and an infrared port 15 of a personal computer 14 face each other. This allows communication between the mobile communication terminal 10 and the external terminal to be 115K.
It can be performed by high-speed infrared communication at bps or more.

[0011]

The infrared interface has already been provided as a standard external communication port for personal computers and PDAs.
It is expected that the standardization of the procedure for sending and receiving calls to and from the mobile communication terminal and the procedure for transferring voice / data will proceed.

The infrared interface is based on the premise that both the mobile communication terminal and the external terminal are within a predetermined line-of-sight distance. This is because the distance of infrared communication varies depending on the transmission power and radiation width of both infrared transmission units, the light receiving characteristics and transmission speed of the infrared reception unit, and the like. in this case,
Increasing the transmission power or the light receiving sensitivity increases the communication distance, but is not desirable for a battery operated mobile communication terminal.

Therefore, during infrared communication, care must be taken in fixing both terminals so that their installation positions and directions do not shift. If the position and direction of both terminals deviate more than the allowable value during communication, communication between the mobile communication terminal and the network side via the air interface will not be affected,
The voice and data on the communication channel will be disconnected, and the voice of the partner terminal will be silent or noisy, causing discomfort to the other party, and frequent errors in data communication. There is a problem that doing so may occur.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problem, and the infrared interface is cut off when the mobile communication terminal having the infrared port is communicating with the external terminal by infrared communication when voice and data of the external terminal are in communication with the air interface. In such a case, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile communication terminal with an infrared port that can maintain a communication state by switching to a preset operation mode and that can prevent invalid communication in a cutoff state. I do.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 comprises an infrared link control means for establishing and monitoring a communication link with an external terminal via an infrared port, and a call control signal on the infrared link. First transfer control means for controlling transfer of voice or data, second transfer control means for controlling air interface call control and voice or data transfer from the first transfer control means, and the infrared link A mode switching means for displaying an alarm when the control means detects a failure in the infrared link and for switching the transfer of voice or data to the air interface to a preset operation mode is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, when the mode switching means detects the interruption of the infrared ray on the infrared link by the infrared link control means, the mode switching means transmits the signal from the mobile communication terminal to the network. It is characterized by having means for starting the VOX procedure and switching the voice transfer to the air interface to the VOX mode, and means for power saving while the infrared rays are cut off.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the mode switching means, when the infrared link control means detects the interruption of the infrared ray on the infrared link, transmits the voice to the air interface. It is characterized by having a means for switching to a microphone / receiver built in the mobile communication terminal.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the mode switching means holds the mobile communication terminal when the infrared link control means detects the cutoff of the infrared ray on the infrared link. It is characterized by having a means for initiating a call holding procedure to the network side and automatically releasing the call holding when the infrared link is restored to normal.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the mode switching unit includes a recording unit built in the mobile communication terminal when the infrared link control unit detects the interruption of infrared rays on the infrared link. It is characterized by having means for operating the function.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, when the mode switching means detects the interruption of the infrared rays on the infrared link by the infrared link control means, the mode switching means transmits the data from the mobile communication terminal to the network. And means for automatically starting the reconnection procedure when the infrared link is restored to normal.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, when the mode switching means detects the interruption of infrared rays on the infrared link by the infrared link control means, the mode switching means transmits a signal from the mobile communication terminal to the network side. It is characterized by having means for activating a call transfer procedure to the answering machine.

In the mobile communication terminal with the infrared port according to the present invention, while the external terminal is performing voice or data communication via the air interface of the mobile communication terminal on the infrared link, the infrared link is blocked. When detected,
A warning is issued by a warning sound or the like or an LCD display or the like using a speaker built into the mobile communication terminal, and transmission / reception of voice or data through a communication channel on the air interface is switched to a preset operation mode. As a result, even if the infrared link is temporarily cut off,
Cascade in the operation mode in which communication with the partner terminal is switched.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a mobile communication terminal with an infrared port according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a mobile communication terminal with an infrared port according to the present invention. The mobile communication terminal 100 to which the present invention is applied includes a microcomputer (CP
U) 30 as a core, a read-only memory (ROM) and a readable / writable memory (RA) storing a program for controlling the entire system on a control bus of the CPU 30.
M) 31, a baseband unit 32 for controlling incoming / outgoing control from the CPU 30, multiplexing / demultiplexing of voice codes, and speed / signal conversion,
A radio section 33 for transmitting and receiving radio signals to and from a network (base station) through a predetermined air interface, and a man-machine interface (MMI) 3 having an LCD 41 and dial keys 42
4. An audio codec 35 for performing A / D conversion of an analog audio signal with a microphone / speaker for transmission / reception, and an infrared controller 36 for transmitting / receiving an infrared signal to / from an external terminal.

The CPU 30 performs a first transfer control process for controlling the transfer of a call control signal and voice or data over the infrared link, and a call control and voice or data transfer to the air interface from the first transfer control process. And an alarm message is displayed on the LCD 41 or the like when the infrared controller 36 detects a failure in the infrared link, and the transfer of voice or data to the air interface is set to a preset operation mode. A mode switching process for switching is provided.

In the above configuration, an infrared communication procedure with an external terminal such as a personal computer will be described with reference to FIGS. Although the details of the procedure of the infrared communication conform to the standards such as IrDA, an outline thereof will be described here.

Generally, in the infrared communication, when the same wavelength band is used, transmission and reception cannot be performed simultaneously. Therefore, one of the two stations becomes a primary station and the other becomes a secondary station. In this manner, control signals and voice / data information are transmitted and received alternately.

A control signal between an external terminal such as a personal computer and the mobile communication terminal 100 of the present invention comprises an infrared reception signal 37 at a light receiving element of an infrared controller 36 and an infrared transmission signal 38 at a light emitting element. It is transmitted and received as shown in the time chart of FIG.

1) Infrared link establishment When the external terminal which is the primary station repeatedly transmits a connection request signal for a predetermined time, and the mobile communication terminal of the secondary station receives this signal,
The mobile communication terminal 100 transmits a connection confirmation and establishes an infrared communication link.

2) Infrared link monitoring After the infrared link is established, an inquiry is sent from the primary station to the secondary station at a predetermined period and an acknowledgment signal is received during an idle period in which neither control signal nor communication information exists. by doing,
Both observe that the infrared link is normal.

3) Transmission control signal When the external terminal transmits a transmission request (off-hook) and a dial signal in the procedure shown in FIG.
Transmits / receives a call control signal to / from a base station (network side) via a control channel of an air interface, and has a communication channel allocated.

A voice or data communication signal between the external terminal and the main unit is transmitted and received as shown in the time chart of FIG. 3 by an infrared receiving signal 37 at the light receiving element of the infrared controller 36 and an infrared transmitting signal 38 at the light emitting element. Is done.

1) Uplink audio signals (# U0, # U1,...) From the external terminal to the mobile communication terminal 100 are digitized by the external terminal using a predetermined audio coding method, and transmitted over the air interface communication channel. It is received outside the mobile communication terminal 100 in a unit that matches the information amount per cycle (for example, 20 ms).

2) The reception signal from the communication channel of the air interface is matched with the reception cycle (for example, 20 ms), and is output as a downlink audio signal (#DO, # Dl ‥) from the mobile communication terminal 100 to the external terminal. Send to terminal.

3) When the digital audio coding method transmitted / received via the air interface between the external terminal and the mobile communication terminal 100 is different, the code conversion is performed by the voice codec 35 built in the mobile communication terminal 100.

The time chart of the communication channel on the air interface shown in FIG. 3 is described in the case of PDC three-slot multiplexing. (3 slots per 20 ms period) The audio codec 35 is composed of a DSP, and by switching its signal processing program, when operating alone, the analog audio from the transmitter is encoded by an air interface encoding method (for example, VSELP method). When operating with an external terminal, for example, the voice code of the ADPCM system is
Convert to SELP method.

FIG. 4 shows an infrared communication procedure between the external terminal and the mobile communication terminal 100 shown in FIG. 2, a transmission procedure sequence on the air interface control channel from the external terminal via the mobile communication terminal 100, and FIG. 3 shows a sequence of voice communication on the air interface communication channel from the external terminal shown in FIG. 3 via the mobile communication terminal 100.

In FIG. 4, when the external terminal as the primary station repeatedly transmits a connection request signal for a predetermined time, the mobile communication terminal 100 of the secondary station receives this, and the mobile communication terminal 100 transmits a connection confirmation, An infrared communication link is established.

After the infrared link is established, during the idle period in which neither the control signal nor the communication information is present, an inquiry is transmitted from the primary station to the secondary station at a predetermined period, and the confirmation signal is received. Monitors that the infrared link is normal.

When the external terminal sends an outgoing call request (off-hook) and sends out a dial signal, the mobile communication terminal 100 transmits an acknowledgment signal to the signal and transmits the acknowledgment signal to the base station (network) via the air interface control channel. Side) and a call control signal such as a call setting signal and a response signal between the base station and the base station, and have the base station allocate a communication channel. Thereafter, the mobile communication terminal 10 is connected between the external terminal and the base station.
The communication state is established via the communication line 0, and transmission or reception of voice or data is performed.

The external terminal that performs voice transfer includes:
Not only the in-vehicle device as shown in FIG. 9 but also voice communication with a microphone / speaker built into the personal computer using voice application software of a personal computer, and voice mail and voice recognition / synthesis using the application software A device capable of performing the above is also applicable.

Next, a description will be given of the operation in the case where the direction or position of the external terminal or the mobile communication terminal 100 is shifted during communication or the like, and both infrared signals cannot be transmitted and received from the infrared transmitting / receiving port.

If infrared transmission / reception is disabled, the primary station cannot receive a response to polling from the partner. On the other hand, the secondary station cannot receive polling from the primary station for a predetermined time or longer. If this continues for a certain period of time, it is called shut-off. For example, in the case of a transmission error, it is recovered by the next polling.
The state will continue until the cause disappears.

In the case of communication, the external terminal, the mobile communication terminal 1
00 cannot transmit / receive the sound by infrared rays, and the mobile communication terminal 100 is in a state of continuously transmitting a silent signal generally on the air interface communication channel on the uplink / downlink.

According to the first embodiment of the present invention, when the interruption of the infrared ray is detected on the infrared ray link, a warning sound is sounded from the receiver / speaker of the mobile communication terminal 100 if necessary, and a warning message is displayed on the LCD 41. Is displayed. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the VOX procedure from the mobile communication terminal 100 to the network side is automatically activated, and the voice transfer to the air interface is switched to the VOX ON mode. At this time, the voice transmission to the communication channel is set to a predetermined silent pattern. When the interruption of the infrared link is restored, a procedure for automatically switching to the VOX OFF mode is started.

As a result, the air interface side maintains the communication even during the period in which the infrared link is cut off, suppresses the transmission power of the air interface that consumes a large amount of power, and performs battery saving. If the call before the infrared link is interrupted is in the VOX ON state, the state is maintained, and the VOX ON / OFF procedure is not activated.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, when the interruption of infrared rays is detected on the infrared link, a warning sound is emitted from the receiver / speaker of the mobile communication terminal 100 if necessary, and the LCD 41 is alerted. Display a message. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the voice communication path from the external terminal is automatically switched to the transmitter built in the mobile communication terminal 100 to transmit and receive voice to and from the communication channel of the air interface and to communicate with the other party. To continue. When the interruption of the infrared link is restored, the communication path of the mobile communication terminal 100 is automatically returned to the voice communication state with the external terminal. This operation is also effective as a function of switching from a call on the in-vehicle device to a call to the mobile communication terminal 100 by interrupting the infrared link and performing no key operation.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, when detecting the blocking of infrared rays on the infrared link, the mobile communication terminal 100 is automatically set to a hold state as shown in FIG.
Until the infrared link is restored, the mobile communication terminal 10
From 0, a hold tone is transmitted to the uplink communication channel of the air interface, and the other party listens, thereby continuing the call. In this case, not only the hold operation of the main unit but also a hold service of a supplementary service of the network may be activated. In FIG. 7, the holding request and the cancellation of holding are indicated by broken lines with respect to the network.

Thus, when the infrared link is cut off, a call holding procedure is started, the communication channel is automatically set to a hold state, and when the infrared link is restored, the hold is automatically released, and a call with an external terminal is made. Can be resumed. In addition, after the interruption time / holding time of the infrared link has elapsed for a predetermined time or more, the mobile terminal terminal body may automatically disconnect / release the communication channel from the holding state.

In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, when the interruption of the infrared ray is detected on the infrared link, the answering function built in the main body is automatically operated instead of the hold operation of the mobile communication terminal 100 in FIG. Then, while the call with the external terminal is not possible, the voice of the call partner is recorded. If the other party disconnects after the answering machine, you can listen to the message.If the infrared link is recovered during the answering service, you can cancel the answering machine and resume voice communication with the external terminal. Will be possible.

In the fifth embodiment of the present invention, when the interruption of the infrared ray is detected on the infrared ray link, as shown in FIG. 8, the mobile communication terminal 100 automatically activates the call disconnection procedure to the network side, The communication channel on the air interface is once disconnected / released. Thereafter, when the infrared link returns to normal within a predetermined period, the call is automatically restarted by activating an automatic reconnection procedure to the other party of the cut-off call. At the start of the automatic reconnection, the user is warned of the start of the reconnection by an alarm sound, a display, or the like, and can be started when there is no prohibited operation, or vice versa.

According to the sixth embodiment of the present invention, when the blocking of infrared rays on the infrared link is detected, instead of the hold request from the mobile communication terminal 100 to the network shown in FIG. The call transfer procedure is activated, and the communication partner terminal continues the call with the answering machine of the network. In this case, the call may be automatically transferred not only to the answering machine of the network but also to a third party set in advance.

By the way, in the above embodiment, the operation mode when the infrared link is cut off is described one by one. However, a plurality of the operation modes may be combined and selected by the user. It can also be set according to the functions and network services it has.

In the above embodiment, the case of voice communication has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to voice communication and can be applied to non-communication communication such as data communication and facsimile communication. In the case of non-telephone communication, recording to the reminder function, etc. is not possible. It is possible to set a hold such as transmission, and it is also effective to automatically disconnect and reconnect by shutting down.

Further, in the above embodiment, after detecting the cutoff state of the infrared link, and after the mobile communication terminal 100 enters the operation mode set in advance, the operation mode is continued while the cutoff of the infrared link is continued. However, if the shutdown period lasts longer than a certain time,
Display a warning sound or a warning message, and
The OX ON state or the hold state can be continued, or the disconnection / release procedure can be automatically started.

Further, in the above embodiment, when the infrared link is cut off, the mobile communication main unit is set to a preset operation mode. However, the present invention is not limited to the cutoff. For example, even if the infrared link is not cut off, When an error occurs frequently in infrared communication with an external terminal and communication of voice or data is almost impossible, it is possible to enter a preset operation mode until the error state is recovered. . That is, a state in which errors frequently occur can be treated as an infrared link cutoff state.

[0057]

As described above, according to the present invention, I
In the mobile communication terminal 100 having an external port for infrared communication such as the rDA standard, when the infrared link is interrupted for some reason, the mobile communication terminal 100 is automatically switched to a preset operation mode at the time of shutdown. . Therefore,
Even if the infrared link is temporarily cut off, the call state with the communication partner can be cascaded in the switched operation mode, and the call channel can be prevented from being wastefully occupied in the cut-off state.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a mobile communication terminal with an infrared port according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a general infrared communication procedure between an external terminal and a mobile communication terminal.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a procedure of voice and data communication between an external terminal and a mobile communication terminal.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an infrared communication procedure between an external terminal and a mobile communication terminal, a transmission procedure on the air interface control channel from the external terminal via the mobile communication terminal, and a sequence of voice communication on the air interface communication channel. .

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a procedure of an operation mode for switching when the infrared link is cut off according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a procedure of an operation mode for switching when an infrared link is cut off according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a procedure of an operation mode for switching when an infrared link is cut off according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a procedure of an operation mode for switching when an infrared link is cut off according to a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a system using a mobile communication terminal with an infrared port.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a system using a mobile communication terminal with an external priority interface.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 mobile communication terminal 30 CPU 32 baseband unit 33 wireless unit 36 infrared controller

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hamami Ikura 3-1-1 Asahigaoka, Hino-shi, Tokyo F-term in the Toshiba Hino Plant (reference) 5K002 AA05 DA03 DA04 EA03 FA03 GA05 5K067 AA11 AA33 BB01 BB21 CC04 CC21 DD26 EE03 EE10 EE37 FF18 FF23 FF27 FF36 FF38 GG02 GG07 GG12

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A mobile communication terminal capable of controlling voice or data communication from an external terminal via an infrared port, comprising: an infrared link control means for establishing and monitoring a communication link with the external terminal via the infrared port; First transfer control means for controlling transfer of a call control signal and voice or data on a link; and second transfer for controlling call control and voice or data transfer from the first transfer control means to the air interface. Control means; and mode switching means for displaying an alarm when the infrared link control means detects a failure in the infrared link, and for switching voice or data transfer to the air interface to a preset operation mode. A mobile communication terminal with an infrared port. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said mode switching means detects a cutoff of an infrared ray on an infrared link by said infrared link control means, and transmits the V signal from the mobile communication terminal to the network.
2. The mobile communication terminal with an infrared port according to claim 1, further comprising: means for starting an OX procedure to switch a voice transfer to an air interface to a VOX mode; and means for saving power during a period in which infrared rays are cut off. . 3. The mode switching means includes means for switching a voice transfer to an air interface to a microphone / receiver built in a mobile communication terminal when the infrared link control means detects interruption of infrared rays on an infrared link. The mobile communication terminal with an infrared port according to claim 1, further comprising: 4. The mode switching means, when the infrared link control means detects blocking of infrared light on the infrared link, activates a mobile communication terminal to perform a hold operation or a procedure for holding a call to a network side, and the infrared link is activated. 2. The mobile communication terminal with an infrared port according to claim 1, further comprising means for automatically releasing the call hold when the communication is restored to normal. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said mode switching means includes means for operating a recording function built in the mobile communication terminal when the infrared link control means detects blocking of infrared rays on the infrared link. 2. The mobile communication terminal with an infrared port according to 1. 6. The mode switching means, when the infrared link control means detects infrared cutoff on the infrared link, activates a call disconnection procedure from the mobile communication terminal to the network side, and the infrared link returns to normal. When you do
The mobile communication terminal with an infrared port according to claim 1, further comprising means for automatically starting a reconnection procedure. 7. The mode switching means may include means for activating a call transfer procedure from a mobile communication terminal to an answering machine on a network side when the infrared link control means detects interruption of infrared rays on an infrared link. The mobile communication terminal with an infrared port according to claim 1, wherein: