JP2002111801A - Mobile telephone device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To set an optimal operation environment very unconsciously by a user both in a case of using a normal telephone and in a case of using a camera. SOLUTION: A distance sensor measures a distance of a device body and a user of the device body, and measures an input speech level by a mike, so as to judge whether or not the device body is at a normal call position (close to the user's ears) (A1 to A6). If the device body is at the normal call position, a camera part, a display part and a lighting part are turned off, and a speaker volume and a mike sensitivity are decreased (A7 to A9). If the device body is not at the normal call position, it is judged that the camera is used, and the camera, the display and the lighting part are turned on, and the speaker volume and the mike sensitivity are increased (A10 to A12). Thus, the user can set an optimal operation environment very unconsciously, and a troublesome adjustment work is made unnecessary, thereby enhancing operativity, and a useless consumption power is suppressed, thereby extending a battery lifetime.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a portable telephone device having a camera function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of portable telephone devices, various types of portable telephone devices having additional functions in addition to their original functions have been developed. One of them is a mobile phone device having a camera function. In this method, a small camera is installed near the upper portion of the apparatus main body, and image data captured by the camera is transferred via a communication line.

[0003] In a portable telephone device having such a camera function, for example, the face of the user is photographed and sent to the other party, and if the other device also has the same type of camera function, the other person's face is displayed. It is convenient because it can be used like a videophone with the other party by receiving the captured image.

[0004]

By the way, in a portable telephone device having a camera function, an operation of turning off the camera function when using it as a normal telephone and turning it on when using the camera function is performed. There is a need to do. Conventionally, it is necessary for a user to consciously perform such an ON / OFF switching operation of the camera function. For example, there is a problem that the user forgets to turn off the camera function and wastes battery power. there were.

[0005] When used as a normal telephone, not only a camera function is not required, but also a display unit and a lighting unit are not required. ON of such display unit and lighting unit
Conventionally, the user has to operate the switching of / OFF. It is also desirable to adjust the speaker volume and microphone sensitivity when using the device as a normal telephone and when using the camera function, but these adjustments also need to be performed by the user himself. Was.

Further, even when adjusting the display brightness of the display screen in accordance with the surrounding brightness, the user himself has to adjust the brightness by operating buttons, which is very troublesome.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable telephone device which can set an optimum operating environment between a case where a normal telephone is used and a case where a camera is used, without the user being particularly conscious. With the goal.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a portable telephone device having a camera function and a display function, which detects a device body provided with a speaker and a microphone and a distance between the device body and a user. Distance detecting means, and determining means for determining whether or not the apparatus main body is at a normal call position based on the distance detected by the distance detecting means,
Control means for controlling the operation of the camera function and the display function according to the result of the judgment by the judgment means and for adjusting the volume of the speaker and the sensitivity of the microphone.

According to such a configuration, the distance between the apparatus main body and the user is detected, and it is determined based on the distance whether the apparatus main body is at the normal call position. The normal call position is, for example, around the user's ear. When the apparatus main body is at such a position, the camera function and the display function are unnecessary, and these functions are controlled to be OFF. You. Further, since the speakers and microphones provided in the apparatus main body are near the user, they are adjusted to small levels. In this way, an optimal operating environment is set without the user being particularly conscious.

[0010] It should be noted that it may not be possible to accurately judge whether or not the apparatus main body is located at a normal call position, that is, around the user's ear, only by the distance between the apparatus main body and the user.
Therefore, in the above configuration, a sound level detecting means for detecting a level of a sound signal input from the microphone is added, and the distance detected by the distance detecting means is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, and the sound level detecting means When the level of the detected audio signal is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, it is preferable to determine that the apparatus main body is at a normal call position.

According to the present invention, there is provided a portable telephone device having a camera function and a display function, in which a speaker and a microphone are installed and an illuminated operation unit is installed. Distance detecting means for detecting a distance between the two, and a judging means for judging whether or not the apparatus main body is in a normal call position based on the distance detected by the distance detecting means. First control means for controlling the operation of the camera function and the display function in accordance with the result, and adjusting the volume of the speaker and the sensitivity of the microphone; a light detection means for detecting ambient brightness; Controlling the operation of the illumination of the operation unit in accordance with the degree of ambient brightness detected by the light detection means, and adjusting the display brightness of the display function;
And control means.

According to such a configuration, the distance between the apparatus main body and the user is detected, and it is determined based on the distance whether or not the apparatus main body is at the normal call position. The normal call position is, for example, around the user's ear. When the apparatus main body is at such a position, the camera function and the display function are unnecessary, and these functions are controlled to be OFF. You. Further, since the speakers and microphones provided in the apparatus main body are near the user, they are adjusted to small levels.

Further, ambient brightness is detected, and illumination control and display brightness adjustment are performed in accordance with the degree of the brightness. That is, for example, when the surroundings are bright, the illumination of the operation unit is unnecessary, so that the OFF control is performed. Also, if the surroundings are bright, the display screen may be difficult to see.
Adjustments are made to increase the display brightness. In this way, the optimal operation environment including the lighting and the display luminance is set.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external configuration of a portable telephone device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes an apparatus main body, which is small and lightweight so that a user can carry it.

The main body 10 is provided with components such as an operation unit 11, a display unit 12, a microphone 13, a speaker 14, and an antenna 15 as a normal mobile phone.

The operation section 11 is for issuing various operation instructions. The operation unit 11 is provided with various buttons such as a power button, an incoming call button, a dial button, and a function button. The display unit 12 is an LCD (Li
quid Crystal Display), which displays phone numbers and menu screens. The display unit 12 also displays an image captured by a camera unit 17 described later, an image sent from a communication partner, and the like.

The microphone 13 inputs the voice of the user as a transmitter, and the speaker 14 outputs the voice of the other party as a receiver. In this case, when the user
So that the microphone 13 is near the mouth of the user and the speaker 14 is near the ear of the user when making a call.
The microphone 13 is provided above the apparatus main body 10, and the speaker 14 is provided below the apparatus main body 10. The antenna 15 is provided at the tip of the apparatus main body 10 and transmits and receives radio waves.

Here, the present apparatus further includes an audio mode switch 16, a camera unit 17, and a distance sensor 18 in addition to the above components.

The voice mode switch 16 is a switch for instructing that only a call is made. Camera unit 17
Is installed near the upper part of the apparatus main body 10. The distance sensor 18 is for measuring the distance between the apparatus main body 10 and the user, and is installed near the speaker 14. Specifically, the distance sensor 18 emits infrared light, and measures the time until the infrared light hits the user and rebounds, thereby detecting the distance between the two.

In the portable telephone device having such a configuration, there are two cases, that is, a case where it is used as a normal telephone as shown in FIG. 2 and a case where a camera unit 17 is used as shown in FIG.
There are two forms of use. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, when the device main body 10 is brought to a normal call position, that is, around the user's ear in order to use it as a normal telephone, an operation environment for the call is set, which will be described later. Camera section 17
Is off, display unit 12 (including backlight) is off
Further, the volume of the speaker 14 is low and the sensitivity of the microphone 13 is low.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, when the apparatus main body 10 is separated from the ear and brought to a position facing the user in order to use the camera section 17, the operating environment for the camera is set. , As described later, the camera unit 17 is turned on,
The display unit 12 (including the backlight) is turned on, the volume of the speaker 14 is increased, and the sensitivity of the microphone 13 is increased.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the portable telephone device of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, this apparatus includes a CPU 2
1, a ROM 22, and a RAM 23 are provided. CPU
Reference numeral 21 controls the entire apparatus. A control program and the like are stored in the ROM 22 in advance. The RAM 23 stores various data necessary for the processing operation of the present apparatus.

The operation unit 11 and the display unit 1
2, a communication control unit 24, an audio signal processing unit 25, an image signal processing unit 26, a camera unit 17, a distance sensor 18, an A / D converter 27, and the like are provided, and these are connected to the CPU 21.

The operation unit 11 is for issuing various operation instructions, and the display unit 12 is for displaying various data. The operation unit 11 and the display unit 12 are provided with an operation illumination unit 11a for illuminating them from the back and a display illumination unit 12a.

The communication control unit 24 is a part for realizing a function as a telephone, and performs communication processing according to a predetermined communication protocol. The audio signal processing unit 25 encodes the audio signal input from the microphone 13 and supplies the encoded audio signal to the communication control unit 24, or decodes the audio signal of the other party obtained from the communication control unit 24 and outputs the decoded audio signal to the speaker 14. , And performs processing related to the audio signal.

The image signal processing section 26 performs processing relating to the image signal obtained from the camera section 17. A / D converter 2
7 converts the detection signal of the distance sensor 18 into a digital signal. When the distance sensor 18 is configured to output a digital signal, the A / D converter 27 is unnecessary.

Further, in the present apparatus, an optical sensor 19 is provided as a second sensor separately from the distance sensor 18. This optical sensor 19 is used in a second embodiment described later, and its function will be described later.

Although not particularly shown, the present apparatus uses a battery (secondary battery) as a drive source, and includes a power supply circuit for converting the battery voltage into necessary voltage levels for each section and supplying the converted voltage. I have.

The operation of the present apparatus will be described below.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of the first embodiment of the present apparatus.

It is now assumed that a line with a communication partner has been established and is in a communication state (step A1). In this state,
It is determined whether or not the audio mode switch 16 is turned on (step A2). This voice mode switch 16
Is a switch for explicitly instructing the user to make only a call. This audio mode switch 16 is ON
If so (Yes in step A2), the operating environment for the call is set irrespective of the distance sensor 18 (steps A7 to A9).

That is, under the control of the CPU 21, the camera unit 17 is turned off, and the display unit 12 is turned off.
The display illumination unit 12a and the operation illumination unit 11a are turned off (step A7). The state where the camera unit 17 is OFF means that the camera unit 17 is in a non-operating state. In this state, power is not supplied to the camera unit 17. The same applies to the display unit 12, the display illumination unit 12a, and the operation illumination unit 11a. The OFF state is a non-operating state and a state in which power is not supplied. That is, the display screen is turned off, and the backlight for the display screen and the backlight for the operation buttons are also turned off.

The volume of the speaker 14 and the sensitivity of the microphone 13 are adjusted to a low level through the audio signal processor 25 (steps A8 and A9). This is because when the apparatus main body 10 is near the user's ear as shown in FIG. Note that a low level means that the level is low as compared with an operation environment for a camera described later.

On the other hand, if the voice mode switch 16 is OFF in step A2, the distance sensor 18
The distance between the apparatus main body 10 and the user is measured (step A3), and it is determined whether the measured distance is equal to or less than a predetermined distance (for example, 1 cm) (step A).
4). As a result, if the measured distance obtained by the distance sensor 18 is less than or equal to the predetermined distance (Y in step A4)
es) Further, the input voice level by the microphone 13 is measured (step A5), and it is determined whether the measured level is equal to or higher than a predetermined level (step A6).

The measurement of the input voice level by the microphone 13 is based on the result of the measurement by the distance sensor 18 only that the apparatus body 10 and the user are close to each other, and as shown in FIG. This is because it is not possible to specify whether or not it is near the ear of the user.

Here, if the distance measured by the distance sensor 18 is equal to or less than a predetermined distance and the input sound level of the microphone 13 is equal to or more than a predetermined level (Y in step A6).
es) The CPU 21 determines that the apparatus main body 10 is located at the normal call position, that is, near the user's ear as shown in FIG. 2, and sets the above-described call operation environment (steps A7 to A9). That is, the camera unit 17, the display unit 12, the display illumination unit 12a, and the operation illumination unit 11a
Is turned off (step A7), and the speaker 14
Of the microphone 13 and the sensitivity of the microphone 13 are reduced (steps A8 and A9).

The predetermined distance in step A and the predetermined level in step A6 may be fixed values or may be set arbitrarily by the user. These values are stored, for example, in the RAM 23 of FIG.
21. That is, the CPU 21 obtains the detection signal of the distance sensor 18 and compares the measured distance indicated by the detection signal with the value (predetermined distance) stored in the RAM 23 to make the determination in step A4. Also, C
The PU 21 acquires the input audio signal of the microphone 13 through the audio signal processing unit 25, and determines the level of the input audio signal and the RA.
The determination in step A6 is performed by comparing the value (predetermined level) stored in M23.

In step A4, if the distance between the apparatus body 10 and the user measured by the distance sensor 18 is larger than a predetermined distance, or in step A6, the input voice level of the microphone 13 is higher than the predetermined distance. If the level is lower than the level, the CPU 21 determines that the apparatus main body 10 is not at the normal call position. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, it is determined that the apparatus main body 10 is separated from the ear of the user and is located at a position facing the user.

In such a case, the operating environment for the camera is set by the CPU 21 (steps A10 to A1).
2).

That is, the camera unit 17 is turned on, the display unit 12 is turned on, and the display lighting unit 12a and the operation lighting unit 11a are turned on (step A10). In addition,
The ON state of the camera unit 17 means that the camera unit 17 is in an operating state. In this state, power is supplied to the camera unit 17 and photographing can be performed at any time. The same applies to the display unit 12, the display illumination unit 12a, and the operation illumination unit 11a. The ON state is an operation state, and power is supplied to each of them.
That is, the display screen is displayed, and the backlight for the display screen and the backlight for the operation buttons are also turned on.

The volume of the speaker 14 and the sensitivity of the microphone 13 are adjusted to a large level by the control of the audio signal processing unit 25 (steps A11 and A12). This is because when the camera unit 17 is used, the level of the speaker 14 and the microphone 13 needs to be increased because the apparatus main body 10 is at a position away from the user as shown in FIG. Note that a higher level means that the level is higher than the operating environment for the call.

Thereafter, in the same manner, the processing from step A1 is repeated until the conversation with the other party ends (that is, until the line with the other party is disconnected) (step A13). .

Thus, even if the user is not particularly conscious,
When used as a normal telephone as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, an optimal operation environment is automatically set when the camera unit 17 is used. Thereby, operability can be improved. Further, in the state shown in FIG. 2, the camera unit 17, the display unit 12, the display illumination unit 12a, and the operation illumination unit 11a are automatically turned off, so that wasteful power consumption is suppressed and the battery life is extended. be able to.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The second embodiment is characterized in that the surrounding brightness is detected by using an optical sensor, and the illumination and display brightness are controlled in accordance with the degree of the surrounding brightness.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an external configuration of a portable telephone device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As in the first embodiment, the operation unit 11 and the display unit 1
2, components such as a microphone 13, a speaker 14, and an antenna 15 as a normal mobile phone are provided, and an audio mode switch 16, a camera unit 17, and a distance sensor 18 are provided.

In the second embodiment, an optical sensor 19 is provided in addition to the above components. The optical sensor 19 is for detecting ambient brightness (amount of received light), and is installed near the speaker 14 as shown in FIG.

The circuit configuration of this device is shown in FIG.
Since the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment except that an optical sensor 19 is added as shown in FIG.

The operation of the present apparatus will be described below.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the present apparatus as a second embodiment.

It is now assumed that the line with the other party has been established and is in a talking state (step B1). In this state,
It is determined whether or not the audio mode switch 16 is turned on (step B2). This voice mode switch 16
Is ON (Yes in step B2),
Regardless of the distance sensor 18, an operation environment for a call is set (steps B3 to B5).

That is, under the control of the CPU 21, the camera unit 17 is turned off and the display unit 12 is turned off.
The display illumination unit 12a and the operation illumination unit 11a are turned off (step B3). Further, the volume of the speaker 14 and the sensitivity of the microphone 13 are adjusted to a low level through the audio signal processing unit 25 (steps B4 and B5).

On the other hand, if the sound mode switch 16 is OFF in step B2, the distance sensor 18
The distance between the apparatus body 10 and the user is measured (step B6), and it is determined whether the measured distance is equal to or less than a predetermined distance (for example, 1 cm) (step B).
7). As a result, if the measured distance obtained by the distance sensor 18 is less than or equal to the predetermined distance (Y in step B7)
es) The CPU 21 determines that the apparatus main body 10 is located in the normal call position, that is, near the user's ear as shown in FIG. 2, and sets the above-described call operation environment (steps B3 to B5).

As described in the first embodiment, the measurement result of the distance sensor 18 alone indicates that the apparatus main body 10 is close to the user, and the apparatus main body 10 is used as shown in FIG. It is not possible to specify whether or not it is near the ear of the person. Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment,
It is preferable to measure the input audio level by the microphone 13 together.

In step B7, the apparatus main body 10
If the distance between the user and the user is greater than the predetermined distance,
The CPU 21 determines that the apparatus main body 10 is not at the normal call position. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, it is determined that the apparatus main body 10 is separated from the ear of the user and is located at a position facing the user.

In such a case, as the operating environment for the camera, first, the camera section 17 is turned on and the display section 12 is turned on (step B8).

Here, in the second embodiment, the optical sensor 1
9, the surrounding brightness is measured (step B9), and the following lighting control and display brightness adjustment are performed according to the degree of surrounding brightness (steps B10 to B1).
4).

That is, when the surroundings are bright (Yes in step B10), the various operation buttons of the operation unit 11 can be visually recognized without the need for the backlight.
1 turns off the operation illumination unit 11a (step B11) and adjusts the display illumination unit 12a so as to slightly increase the display luminance of the display unit 12 (step B11).
12). On the other hand, when the surroundings are dark (No in step B10), it is difficult to visually recognize various operation buttons of the operation unit 11 without the backlight.
1a is turned on (step B13), and at this time, the display illumination unit 12 is set so that the display luminance of the display unit 12 is reduced.
a is adjusted (step B14).

As a visual phenomenon of a person related to the backlight of the liquid crystal, there is a phenomenon that, when the surroundings are dark, the display screen can be seen well even if the backlight is darkened.
For this reason, in step B14, an adjustment is made to make the display luminance dark. Also, if the surroundings become brighter with this display luminance, the display screen may feel darker. Therefore, in step B12, an adjustment is made to increase the display luminance.

Further, as the operating environment for the camera, the volume of the speaker 14 and the sensitivity of the microphone 13 are adjusted to a large level under the control of the audio signal processing unit 25 as in the first embodiment (step B15, B16).

In the same manner, the processing from step B1 is repeated until the conversation with the other party ends (that is, until the line with the other party is disconnected) (step B17). .

As described above, even if the user is not particularly conscious,
When used as a normal telephone as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, an optimal operation environment is automatically set according to the position of the apparatus main body 10 when the camera unit 17 is used. In particular, in the second embodiment, since the lighting control and the display brightness adjustment are automatically performed according to the degree of the surrounding brightness, the lighting control and the display brightness by the user are unnecessary, and the operability is further improved. Can be planned. In addition, wasteful power consumption can be suppressed by efficient control of lighting and display brightness, so that the battery life can be further extended.

[0065]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the present invention is optimal when the present apparatus is used as a normal telephone and when the camera function of the present apparatus is used, without the user being particularly conscious. Operating environment can be set. As a result, the operability can be improved by eliminating the need for the user to perform an operation adjustment of the operating environment, and unnecessary power consumption can be suppressed, and the battery life can be extended.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exemplary view showing an external configuration of a mobile phone device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a positional relationship between a device main body and a user when the portable telephone device is used as a normal telephone.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a positional relationship between a device main body and a user when a camera provided in the mobile phone device is used.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the mobile phone device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing operation as the first embodiment of the mobile phone device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an external configuration of a mobile phone device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of the mobile phone device as a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Device main body 11 ... Operation part 12 ... Display part 13 ... Microphone 14 ... Speaker 15 ... Antenna 16 ... Voice mode switch 17 ... Camera part 18 ... Distance sensor 19 ... Optical sensor 21 ... CPU 22 ... ROM 23 ... RAM 24 ... Communication Control unit 25 ... Audio signal processing unit 26 ... Image signal processing unit 27 ... A / D converter

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5C022 AB67 AC03 AC42 AC62 AC69 AC73 5K027 AA11 BB02 DD16 HH03 HH29 HH30 MM04 MM17 5K067 AA34 AA43 AA44 BB04 DD54 EE37 FF03 FF23 FF24 FF31 FF32 FF34 HH22

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A mobile phone device having a camera function and a display function, comprising: a device main body in which a speaker and a microphone are installed; distance detecting means for detecting a distance between the device main body and a user; Determining means for determining whether or not the apparatus main body is at a normal call position based on the distance detected by the detecting means; and controlling operations of the camera function and the display function according to the determination result by the determining means. And a control means for adjusting the volume of the speaker and the sensitivity of the microphone. 2. A sound level detecting means for detecting a level of a sound signal inputted from the microphone, wherein the determining means is such that a distance detected by the distance detecting means is a predetermined distance or less, and 2. The mobile phone device according to claim 1, wherein when the level of the audio signal detected by the audio level detection means is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, the apparatus main body is determined to be in a normal call position. 3. A portable telephone device having a camera function and a display function, wherein a speaker and a microphone are installed, and an operating unit with an illumination is installed. Distance detecting means for detecting a distance; determining means for determining whether or not the apparatus main body is in a normal call position based on the distance detected by the distance detecting means; First control means for controlling the operation of the camera function and the display function, and adjusting the volume of the speaker and the sensitivity of the microphone; light detection means for detecting ambient brightness; and the light detection means Controlling the operation of the lighting of the operation unit according to the degree of the detected surrounding brightness,
And a second control means for adjusting display brightness of the display function.