JP2003092619A - Compact foldable mobile telephone - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact foldable mobile telephone capable of being utilized as a cosmetic mirror while having a display function usually in use. SOLUTION: A display part for displaying information of the mobile telephone is divided into a normally displayed part and a selected display part. The normally displayed part displays information for using the mobile telephone at all times, and a user selects a changeover button to use the switched displayed part for displaying a telephone and mail function or for using a mirror.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a compact mobile phone. More specifically, the present invention relates to a mobile phone in the form of a compact makeup tool in which a part of the display portion for displaying information can be used as a mirror.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, mobile phones have been remarkably widespread, and accordingly, manufacturers have been developing various kinds of original mobile phones. In particular, recently, since the number of users who easily use the mail function or the Internet is increasing compared to the case where the original telephone function is used, it is possible to increase the size of the display portion for displaying the information about the mail or the Internet as much as possible. Is required. For this reason, manufacturers are trying to secure a larger display portion than a straight type (non-foldable) mobile phone by adopting a folding mobile phone. In addition, the foldable mobile phone will be smaller than conventional straight type mobile phones, so even when a woman carries it, she can easily put it in the back or fit it in the pocket of a woman's blouse or skirt. Is able to.
In general, since such a foldable mobile phone is a compact shape of a makeup tool used by women, the foldable mobile phone seems to be overwhelmingly supported by women. Among such foldable mobile phones, there is a mobile phone having a mirror function so that it can be easily used as a mirror while pretending to be a mobile phone in public.

One example of such a mobile phone is Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-2.
No. 99719. This mobile phone is formed of a lid body on which the operation keys of the foldable phone are arranged and a main body of a display display unit, and the display display unit is
A predetermined display content is emitted through the half mirror. As a result, the half mirror provided on the display unit with the lid opened can be used as an actual makeup mirror.

Another example of a mobile phone is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-136253. In this mobile phone, a user turns on / off a signal changeover switch, so that a display section made of specular reflection type liquid crystal has a normal display function or can be used for a mirror application. That is, the folding type mobile phone of this patent application uses the specular reflection type liquid crystal as a liquid crystal screen, and when the mobile phone function is not used, the specular reflection type liquid crystal can be used as a mirror.

However, all of them have the drawback that when the display portion of the mobile phone is used as a mirror, information regarding the telephone function or mail function cannot be displayed.

Another example of such a foldable mobile phone is a mobile phone with a mirror disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-32102. In this mobile phone, a mirror body is attached to the inside of a cover for covering button operation keys or the like or the back side of a battery back with an adhesive material such as a double-sided adhesive tape. This mobile phone avoids the drawbacks of the above-mentioned two known techniques, that is, the phone function and the like cannot be displayed while the mobile phone is used as a mirror.
Since the mirror body is separately attached to the mobile phone, the weight of the mobile phone is increased. Further, since the mirror body is fixed by the adhesive, the mirror body may be easily disengaged from the main body of the telephone or may be damaged by an impact such as dropping the mobile telephone, which is dangerous.

[0007]

As described above, the present invention has been made to avoid the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art.

The object of the present invention is to be able to display general mail and telephone function information while always displaying the information required for a mobile phone, and when not used as a makeup mirror or as a mirror. Another object is to provide a compact mobile phone. The mobile phone of the present invention is small and lightweight, and is a compact shape of a makeup tool.

Another object of the present invention is to have a display portion at all times even when the foldable mobile phone is open,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact mobile phone capable of saving the power consumption by the backlight because it is not necessary to use the switchable display portion as a display if it is unnecessary.

[0010]

A compact folding mobile phone of the present invention includes a display-side main body including a display portion for displaying information and a frame portion thereof, and an operation for a user to perform an operation including a character input and the like. It is composed of an operation-side main body composed of a key and its frame portion, and the display-side main body and the operation-side main body are mutually foldable via a hinge portion. The display part is divided into a first display part and a second display part. The first display unit is a constant display unit configured to display time, at least one of a radio wave reception state and a battery remaining amount. The second display section displays a function related to a telephone function, an e-mail function, or any other function built into the telephone according to the user's selection, and can be used as a makeup mirror in other cases. It is a switchable display unit. The selection of the switching type display section is made by the display / non-display switching button arranged on the operation section.

A screen plate is fitted in the display portion, and half mirror paint is attached to the back side of the screen plate except the above-mentioned constant display portion. Thus, when the user selects the display / non-display button to be hidden, the switchable display unit can be used as a makeup mirror.

The screen plates other than the constant display portion and the switchable display portion are shielded from light, and a coating having low transparency is applied to the side of the half mirror which faces the screen plate corresponding to the shielded area to transmit the light of the backlight. You should be able to prevent.

Further, the screen plates other than the constant display portion and the switching display portion are shielded from light, and a light shielding film is attached to the back side of the screen plate corresponding to the light shielded area so as to prevent the transmission of the backlight. It may be.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The foldable mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a display that can be used as a mirror when it is not necessary to display a telephone function, a mail function, etc., and a display for always displaying the minimum required information. And has extremely improved practicality.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of the mobile phone of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 1 is an external view of a mobile phone according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a screen plate fitted in a display portion of a display side body of the mobile phone, and FIG. 3 is used for a mobile phone 10 of the present invention. 3 is a perspective view of a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention. The mobile phone 10 of the present invention, as shown in FIG.
And a display side main body 16 including a switching display type display 14 and an operation side main body 20 having a plurality of operation keys 22 used by a user. The operation keys include a display display switching button 18. Display side body
The operation body 16 and the operation body 16 have substantially the same size and can be folded with each other via a hinge portion 24. When the mobile phone 10 is folded, it preferably has a shape similar to that of a general makeup tool. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the mobile phone 10 is of course provided with a general antenna, an incoming lamp, a speaker, a microphone, etc., but for the sake of simplicity, the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the display side main body 16 will be concretely described with reference to FIGS. Display side body 16
On the back side of the screen plate 28, which is the surface of the display portion, the paint of the half mirror is attached to the entire surface except the area of the constant display display 12 so that the light transmittance becomes 30-80%, for example. . Then, on the portion of the screen plate 28 excluding the constant display portion 12 and the switching display portion 14, that is, on the side facing the screen plate of the half mirror corresponding to the shaded area 26 shown by the shaded portion in FIG. Is coated with reflective paint, which has low light transmission. As a result, even when the backlight, which will be described later, is turned on, it is possible to prevent the transmission of light in the light shielding area 26. That is, the light shielding area 26
Will always act as a mirror, unaffected by the backlight. Alternatively, instead of applying the low-transmittance coating material, a light-shielding film in the shape of the light-shielding region 26 may be attached to the lower side of the screen plate in order to prevent light transmission of the backlight of the light-shielding region 26.

Here, the size of the constant display 12 may be such that it can display the information that is required for the mobile phone and is always displayed. It suffices for the switching display 14 to be arranged on the display body side 16 with a slight gap from the constant display display 12 so that the size of the display 14 can be maximized on the display body side 16. It is preferable that the size is large.

A liquid crystal display (LCD) 30 shown in FIG. 3 is fitted under the screen plate 28. Further, a backlight such as a light emitting diode (LED) is arranged on the back surface of the LCD 30. Light from the backlight enters the liquid crystal, and the operation of the liquid crystal causes the constant display 12 and the switchable display 14 to display various colors, characters, and the like.

As mentioned above, the display / non-display switching button 18 is arranged on the operation side body of the mobile phone 10. When the button 18 is selected to "display", the backlight is turned on. The switch display 14 will display a variety of information on the display, such as information regarding telephone or mail functions. In this case, the constant display 12 is also in the state of displaying information. Further, when the button 18 is selected as "non-display", the backlight does not light up, and the switching display type display 14 functions as a mirror. That is, as mentioned above,
Since a half mirror is attached to a portion of the screen plate 28 excluding the area corresponding to the constant display 12, the switching display type display 14 and the light shielding area 26 function as a mirror. On the other hand, in this case, the screen plate corresponding to the constant display 12 is
It does not function as a mirror because the BURFF mirror paint is not attached, and it always displays necessary display functions such as time, radio wave reception status, and battery level.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the mobile phone according to the embodiment of the present invention. Mobile phone 10 of the present invention
4, as shown in FIG. 4, control means 32, transmission means 34, reception means 36, operation key means 38, folding detection means 40, changeover switch means 42, memory means 44, power supply means 46, constant display means 48, And a switching display means 50.

Each section will be specifically described below. Transmission method
Reference numeral 34 is for modulating the input signal and transmitting it through the antenna, and receiving means 36 is for demodulating the signal received through the antenna. The operation key means 38 sends an input signal to the control means 32 when the user operates the key when using each function. The power supply means 46 supplies power to each part of the mobile phone 10 in accordance with a signal from the control means 32. The memory means 44 records necessary data and a program from the control unit. The changeover switch means 42 detects the ON / OFF state of the display changeover button 18. The fold detection means 40 determines whether or not the mobile phone 10 is folded, and sends a detection signal regarding this to the control means 32. When the folding detection means 40 is notified that the mobile phone 10 is in the open state,
The control means 32 causes the power supply means 46 to supply power, and when notified that the telephone 10 is in the closed state, causes the power supply means 46 to supply power only to necessary portions. When the folding detection means 40 detects that the telephone 10 is in the open state and receives the signal from the changeover switch means 42 that the changeover button 18 is in the ON state, the control means 25 causes the power supply means.
Send signal to 40. By this signal, the power supply means 40
Causes the switching display display 14 to display information such as characters through the switching display means 50 by turning on the backlight. When the folding detection means 40 detects that the mobile phone 10 is in the open state, and the changeover switch means 42 detects that the changeover button 18 is in the OFF state, the folding detection means transfers to the control means 32. The signal is blocked. That is, even if the mobile phone 10 is actually opened, the control means 32 recognizes that the phone 10 is not opened. Therefore, the backlight is not turned on, and the display switching display type functions as a mirror. On the other hand, the folding detection means 40 to the mobile phone 10
When the control means 32 is notified that the power supply is closed, the control means 32 sends a signal to the power supply means 46 so that power is supplied only to necessary portions. In this way, the power supply means 46 supplies power to necessary parts of the mobile phone 10 according to the instruction from the control means 32 regardless of whether the mobile phone 10 is closed or opened. As a result, power consumption can be saved. That is, most of the power consumption of a liquid crystal display is generally due to the backlight, and by using the backlight only when necessary, the power consumption can be significantly reduced. The constant display means 42 is
Information that is always used, such as time, radio wave reception status, and battery level, is displayed on the constant display display 12 depending on whether the main power supply is ON or OFF and the telephone 10 is open or closed. Upon receiving an instruction from the control means 32, the switching display means 44 displays either the information used for the normal telephone and mail functions or the like on the switching display display 14 or functions as a mirror as described above. I am supposed to do it.

In such a mobile phone configuration, when the mobile phone is opened while the power supply of the mobile phone is ON, the constant display 12 normally displays the use information required by the normal mobile phone, that is, the time. , The electric wave reception state, the remaining battery level, etc. are displayed, and the other screen plates 28 and the switching display 14 function as mirrors. When information such as telephone and mail functions is required, by pressing the display / non-display switching button 18, the backlight is turned on, and the display can be changed from a mirror to a normal information display. The operation key of the display / non-display switching button 18 is arranged at the end of the operation side main body 20 in FIG. 1, but its position may be any position as long as it is a position that is easy for the user to use.

By configuring like the mobile phone of the present invention, for example, when a woman or a man checks his grooming while riding on a train, the mobile phone is opened without the need to take out the mirror. By doing so, you can use it as a mirror and check your appearance in a natural state. In addition, since a mirror is not added separately to the mobile phone, it remains as lightweight as a conventional mobile phone, and even in the unlikely event that it drops, like a normal mirror. There is no fear of damage.
In addition, even while the display part of the mobile phone is being used as a mirror, the display of the usage status of the mobile phone can be seen, so that both the function as a mobile phone and the function as a mirror can be used at the same time. Become.

Further, the mobile phone of the present invention usually has a backlight, which consumes most of the power consumed by the liquid crystal display, but has a great advantage that the power consumption can be greatly reduced because the backlight can be used only when necessary. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall external view of a folding mobile phone according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a screen plate fitted in a display unit of the folding mobile phone shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a liquid crystal display (LCD) used in the mobile phone of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a configuration according to a mobile phone of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 folding mobile phones 12 Continuous display 14 Switching display 16 Display side body 18 Display / non-display switching button 20 Operation side body 22 Operation keys 24 hinges 26 Shading range 28 screen plate 30 crystal display

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 5K023 AA07 BB11 DD08 HH06 MM00                 5K067 AA34 AA43 BB04 DD44 FF23                       FF31 KK00 KK05 KK17

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A display-side main body including a display portion for displaying information and a frame portion thereof, and an operation-side main body including a dial key for a user to perform an operation including character input and the frame portion thereof. A compact folding mobile phone comprising a cosmetic-shaped compact casing in which the display-side main body and the operation-side main body are folded with each other via a hinge portion. It is divided into a display section and a second display section, and the first display section is a constant display section configured to display at least one of the time, the radio wave reception state, and the remaining battery level, The second display unit displays the function when the user uses the function built in the telephone according to the user's selection, and can be used as a makeup mirror in other cases. A compact foldable mobile phone characterized in that it is a switchable display unit. 2. The compact foldable mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the selection of the switching type display unit is made by a display / non-display switching button arranged on the operation side main body. 3. The display plate has the screen plate fitted therein, and a half mirror paint is attached to a portion other than the constant display portion on the back side of the screen plate. The area of the screen plate excluding the portion corresponding to the constant display portion can be used as a makeup mirror when the selection button is selected to be invisible. Compact type folding mobile phone. 4. The area of the screen plate other than the constant display section and the switchable display section is shielded from light, and a transparent area is provided on the side of the half mirror facing the screen plate corresponding to the shielded area. The compact folding mobile phone according to claim 1 or 3, wherein a low paint is applied to prevent transmission of a backlight. 5. The area other than the constant display portion and the switchable display portion of the screen plate is shielded from light, and a light shielding film is attached to a side of the half mirror corresponding to the light shielding area, the side facing the screen plate. The compact mobile phone according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that the backlight is prevented from penetrating.