JP2003174504A - Portable terminal with talking function, controller for the same and back light control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable terminal with a talking function by which a display screen can be vividly watched without performing redundant key operations during speech. <P>SOLUTION: The portable terminal with a talking function is provided with an operation means 9 for performing input operations, a display means 6 for displaying operation results by the operation means, back lights 7, 8 with which at least the screen of the display means 6 is irradiated, an image pickup means 1 and a feature judging means 2. The feature judging means 2 extracts an image part of the mouth as at least one specific area in an image of a user's body from image data by the image pickup means 1, performs variation measurement processing about area of the specific area and timewise variation of the area and judges that the user is talking based on the results of the measurement processing. A back light control means controls lighting of the back lights in response to the judgment results by the feature judging means and operations of the operation means 9. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to mobile phones and PDs.
The present invention relates to a backlight control technique in a mobile terminal device with a call function such as A.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a mobile phone, its display portion is composed of a combination of a liquid crystal display device and a backlight. Since the display unit is configured in this manner, it is possible to make the displayed screen easier to see by turning on the backlight even in a dark place.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a part of the configuration of a conventional portable terminal device with a call function represented by such a portable telephone. In the figure, key input monitoring means 103
Is a means for monitoring the input from the keyboard 102,
The clock means 101 is a means for measuring the elapsed time since the last key input from the keyboard 102. The backlight turn-on / off means 104 is means for turning on / off the backlight of the display device 105 with a backlight.

FIG. 13 is a timing chart showing an example of control until the backlight is automatically turned off when a key input operation is performed from the keyboard 102 in the portable terminal device. The backlight control operation in the conventional portable terminal device with a call function will be described below with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13.

First, it is assumed that the portable terminal device is currently powered on and the backlight is off. As described above, when the user presses one of the operation keys of the keyboard 102 with the backlight of the display device with a backlight 105 turned off, the keyboard 102 outputs an operation signal corresponding to the operation key to the key input monitoring means. To 103. When the key input monitoring means 103 detects the operation signal, it instantly sends a timer start signal shown in FIG. 13 (A) to the time measuring means 101. Upon receiving the timer start signal, the time measuring means 103 sends a signal having a pulse waveform having a predetermined time width t1 shown in FIG. 13B to the backlight lighting / extinguishing means 104 as a backlight driving signal. The backlight turn-on / off means 104 is operated in accordance with the backlight drive signal from the timing means 101, as shown in FIG.
A backlight drive current is supplied to the display device with a backlight 105 only for a predetermined time t1 as shown in FIG. As a result, the backlight of the display device 105 with a backlight has a luminance corresponding to a predetermined current value of the backlight drive current and is turned off after being turned on for a predetermined time t1 as shown in FIG. .

Here, the display device with a backlight 1
When the user presses any of the operation keys while the backlight of 05 is lit, an operation signal is newly sent from the keyboard 102 to the key input monitoring means 103 in the same manner as described above. Also, the key input monitoring means 10
Reference numeral 3 again detects an operation signal from the keyboard 102 and sends a timer drive signal again to the time measuring means 101. Upon receiving the timer driving signal again, the time measuring means 101 sends again the backlight driving signal having the time width t1 shown in FIG.

The backlight turn-on / off means 104 again sets the predetermined time t1 in accordance with the backlight drive signal.
The backlight drive current is supplied to the display device with a backlight 105 only during the period. As a result, the backlight of the display device with a backlight 105 is turned on at a brightness corresponding to a predetermined current value of the backlight drive current for a predetermined time t1 and then turned off. That is, when the user presses an operation key on the keyboard 102 and then continuously presses any operation key again within a predetermined time t1, the backlight of the display device with a backlight 105 continues to light up due to the above-described operation. If one of the operation keys is not pressed again within a predetermined time t1 after pressing a certain operation key, the backlight of the display device with a backlight 105 is turned off.

[0008]

As described above, in the conventional portable terminal device with a call function, in order to prevent the battery from being consumed by continuing to light the backlight, the backlight is turned on for a certain period of time from the input with the operation key. Since the lighting control is performed so that the backlight is turned off thereafter, the backlight is turned off after a certain period of time elapses after the input operation by the operation keys is stopped.
In addition, since the user does not see the display screen during the call, the backlight may be forcibly turned off during the call so as to perform lighting control. Therefore, in the case of a portable videophone, which is an example of a portable terminal device with a call function, if the backlight is turned off while the face of the other party or the face of the user, which is the user, is being displayed, the visibility of the displayed content is improved. Decrease sharply.

Therefore, in the conventional portable terminal device with a call function, in order to avoid such a problem, an operation key which should not normally be pressed is pushed to relight the backlight, or the backlight is turned on in advance. It was necessary to set the lighting time long. However, when the backlight is turned on again by pressing an operation key that does not need to be pressed in operation, there is a possibility that the call may be erroneously cut. Also, even if you set the backlight on time in advance, if you talk over the set time, you must press the operation key that does not need to be pressed again to turn on the backlight again. I won't.

According to the present invention, in a portable terminal device having a call function, it is possible to reduce battery consumption due to unnecessary lighting of the backlight and to clearly see the display screen during a call without extra key operation. The purpose is to provide technology.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal device with a telephone call function, an operating means for performing an input operation, and a display means for displaying contents in accordance with an operation by the operating means. A mobile terminal with a communication function, which includes at least a backlight for illuminating the screen of the display means, a backlight control means for controlling the lighting of the backlight, and an imaging means capable of photographing a user and outputting image data. In the device, at least one specific area in the image of the body of the user is extracted from the image data obtained by the imaging means, a measurement process is performed on the specific area, and the user is measured based on the result of the measurement processing. Is further provided with a feature amount determination means for determining that the
The backlight control means may perform lighting control of the backlight in response to a determination result of the feature amount determination means and an operation of the operation means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the portable terminal device according to the first aspect, the measuring process for the specific area by the feature amount determining means is to measure an area of the specific area. It is characterized in that the quantity determining means determines that a call is in progress based on the area.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the portable terminal device according to the first aspect, the measuring process for the specific region by the feature amount determining means is performed by calculating a change amount of the area of the specific region with time. The feature amount determination means determines that a call is in progress based on the change amount.

The invention of claim 4 is from claim 1 to claim 3.
In the mobile terminal device according to any one of 1 to 3, the specific region is a mouth of the user's face.

The invention of claim 5 is from claim 1 to claim 4.
In the portable terminal device according to any one of items 1 to 5, the backlight control unit responds to a first signal output from the feature amount determination unit when the user is in a call and an operation of the operation unit. For any of the second signals,
The backlight is turned on continuously for a predetermined time after the generation of the signal, and the backlight is turned on if any of the first and second signals is newly generated during the elapse of the predetermined time. Characterized by extending the time.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control device for a portable terminal device having a call function, which comprises operating means for performing an input operation, display means capable of displaying an image, and at least a screen of the display means. A control device for a mobile terminal device with a communication function, comprising: a backlight for capturing; and an image capturing unit capable of capturing image data of a user and outputting the image data; At least one specific area in the image of the body is extracted, measurement processing is performed on the specific area, and it is determined that the user is talking on the basis of the result of the measurement processing. Characteristic amount determining means for generating a determination result signal in response to the determination result signal, means for inputting an operation signal indicating that the operating means has been operated, Characterized in that to and a backlight control means for generating a lighting instruction of the backlight.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a backlight lighting control method for a mobile terminal device having a call function, wherein image data of a body of a user of the mobile terminal is input from an image pickup means included in the mobile terminal device. And extracting at least one specific region in the image of the body of the user, performing a measurement process on the specific region, and based on the result of the measurement process, the user is in a call. And a step of turning on a backlight of a display unit included in the mobile terminal device when it is determined that the user is talking.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
A specific description will be given with reference to the drawings.

<Embodiment 1>> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a partial configuration of a mobile terminal device with a call function according to a first embodiment of the present invention. This mobile terminal device has an image pickup means 1, a characteristic amount determination means 2, a control means 3, a timing means 4, a backlight control means 5, a display means 6, and first and second backlights in addition to a call function unit (not shown). Light 7,
8, operation means 9, etc. are provided.

Among these, the characteristic amount determination means 2, the control means 3, the timing means 4 and the backlight control means 5 are elements of the control device CT1 of the portable terminal device.

The image pickup means 1 is constituted by using a digital image pickup device capable of picking up an image toward the user side of a mobile phone, and is a means capable of photographing at least a part of the body of the user and outputting image data. . When the mobile phone is used as a videophone, the image pickup unit 1 repeatedly picks up an image of a subject at a predetermined time cycle. The feature amount determination means 2 is means for detecting at least one specific area (the mouth in this Embodiment 1) from the image data captured by the image capturing means 1 and calculating the area of the detected specific area. Yes, based on the calculation result, it is determined that a call is in progress. The control means 3 is responsible for controlling the entire apparatus, and is composed of a microcomputer or the like.

The timing means 4 is composed of a timer,
It is a means for measuring the lighting time of the backlights 7, 8 and notifying the time-up. The backlight control means 5 is means for performing control for supplying a drive current to the backlights 7, 8. The display means 6 is the operation means 9
Is a means for making a display according to the operation result by the user, and allowing the user to visually recognize the display, and is composed of a liquid crystal display device. First
The backlight 7 illuminates the screen of the display means 6, and the second backlight 8 illuminates the operation means 9. The operation means 9 is composed of a keyboard having a plurality of operation keys, etc., and the portable terminal device is operated by key input of the operation keys. Each key has a transparent or semi-transparent key body on which the keys are displayed, and the second backlight 8 illuminates the key from the back side.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed structure of the characteristic amount determination means 2. As described above, in the first embodiment, the specific area detected by the feature amount determination means 2 is the mouth portion of the user's face, and the feature amount determination means 2 includes the mouth area detection unit 20 and the mouth area area. The calculation unit 21, the mouth opening degree determination unit 22, the opening state data table 23, the busy state determination unit 24, and the like are included.

The mouth area detection means 20 detects the area of the mouth from the image data of the face of the user photographed by the image pickup means 1 from the shape, the color difference from the surroundings, and the luminance information. In addition, the mouth area area calculation unit 21 calculates the area of the detected mouth area. This area expands and contracts when the user is talking.

The mouth opening degree determining unit 22 determines from the area data calculated by the mouth area area calculating unit 21 whether the mouth is open or closed. The opening degree data table 23 stores correspondence data (determination reference data) between the area data and the opening degree in order to determine the opening degree of the mouth from the area data. The busy determination means 24 uses the correspondence data stored in the opening degree data table 23 to output the result that the user's mouth is open, that is, busy as data.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the open data table 23. As the correspondence data, for example, for the mouth area area, the average value of the mouth area of people (for example, Japanese in the case of Japanese specifications) of the sales planned area of the mobile phone is stored, and the subsequent processing is performed. Then, in consideration of individual differences, etc., it is treated as a wide value rather than a strict value.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the timer starting unit 15 in the control means 3. The timer starting unit 15 is a functional unit that generates a signal for requesting the timer unit 4 to start a timer, and includes a first timer starting request generating unit 16 and a second timer starting request generating unit 1.
7 and a synthesizing unit 18. The first timer start request generation unit 16 receives the result data, which is sent from the feature amount determination unit 2, indicating that the user is busy, and receives the timer start signal a.
It is a means for generating 1. The second timer activation request generation unit 17 is a means for detecting an operation signal from the operation means 8 and generating a timer activation signal a2. The synthesizing unit 18 is means for synthesizing the respective timer activation signals a1 and a2 sent from the first and second timer activation request generation units 16 and 17 as a logical sum. The timer activation signal b output from the synthesizing unit 18 is input to the time measuring means 4.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing an example of lighting control of the backlights 7 and 8 in this portable terminal device.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of image data of the user photographed by the image pickup means 1 of the mobile terminal device. In FIG.
In the image data 110, the mouth estimation region 111 is a mouth region roughly estimated from the eye position, and the mouth region 120
a is a mouth area when the mouth is wide open in the mouth estimation area 11. The mouth area 120b is a mouth area when the mouth is small opened in the mouth estimation area 11.

The backlight lighting control operation of the portable terminal device according to the first embodiment will be described below.

First, a mouth area is detected from the image data of the face of the user photographed by the image pickup means 1 by the mouth area detection section 20 of the feature amount judgment means 2 based on the shape, color difference and luminance information. It As a specific example of the method of detecting the mouth area in this case, for example, the eye position is first detected based on the shape, color difference, and luminance information, and then, as shown in FIG.
The mouth estimation region 111 is detected based on the eye position information. This is, for example, a region between two straight lines L1 and L2 extending vertically from the center of each eye in the lower range (height h) of the range obtained by dividing the screen in half in the vertical direction. Can be specified, and the predetermined shape region (for example, a rectangular region) set therein can be used as the mouth estimation region 111.

Then, based on the image information inside the mouth estimation region 111 thus detected, the shape,
The mouth area 120a or the mouth area 120b is detected from the color difference and the luminance information.

Next, based on the detection result of the mouth area detection unit 20, the mouth area area calculation unit 21 calculates, for example, the area of the black area in the mouth area 120a in FIG. 6, that is, the mouth area area.

Next, the mouth opening degree determining section 22 receives the signal indicating the mouth area area output from the mouth area area calculating section 21, and determines the opening degree based on the opening degree data table 23. Opening degree data table 23 shown in FIG.
According to the above example, the opening degree is determined based on a predetermined threshold value. For example, it is determined that the mouth is closed if the mouth area area is less than the threshold Th1, and it is determined that the mouth is open if the mouth area area is equal to or larger than the threshold Th1.

In a mobile terminal device such as a mobile phone, the distance between the user's face and the image pickup means 1 is limited to a certain range, and the user's face is photographed in an extremely large image or an extremely small image. There is almost no such thing. Therefore, even if the threshold values Th1 and Th2 are fixed, there is considerable versatility.

Next, based on the determination result output from the mouth opening degree determination unit 22, the busy determination unit 24 determines whether or not the user is currently busy. In the case of the first embodiment, the busy determination unit 24 basically determines that the mouth is open, and outputs the determination result to the control unit 3 of FIG. 1 as busy result data.

The busy result data output from the characteristic amount determining means 2 is input to the timer starting section 15 in the control means 3 shown in FIG. In the timer activation unit 15 to which the busy result data is input, the first timer activation request generation unit 16 receives the input data and immediately generates the timer activation signal a1 shown in FIG. 5 (A). Here, in the timer starting unit 15, in response to the key input signal from the operating means 9, the second timer starting request generating unit 17 also responds to the backlight lighting caused by the key operation. The timer start signal a2 shown in FIG. 5 (B) is generated. The synthesizing unit 18 synthesizes the timer activation signals a1 and a2 generated in this way to generate a timer activation signal b (a logical sum signal of the timer activation signals a1 and a2) shown in FIG. 5C. That is, the timer start signal b
Is generated by reflecting not only the busy result data but also the key input from the operating means 9. This timer start signal b
Is input to the time measuring means 4, which activates the time measuring means 4.

The control means 3 backlights a signal having a pulse waveform having a predetermined time width t1 as shown in FIG. 5D, based on the notification information of the backlight lighting time transmitted from the activated time counting means 4. It is sent to the backlight control means 5 of FIG. 1 as a drive signal c. The backlight control means 5 supplies a backlight drive current to the first and second backlights 7 and 8 for a predetermined time t1 according to the transmitted backlight drive signal c. Both of the backlights 7 and 8 have a brightness d corresponding to a predetermined current value of the backlight drive current and are turned on and off for a predetermined time t1 as shown in FIG. 5 (E).

Here, when the user presses the operation key of the operation means 9 or opens his mouth to talk while the backlights 7 and 8 are lit, the same as in the case described above. By this operation, the control means 3 receives again the operation signal from the operation means 9 or the busy result data from the feature amount determination means 2, and sends the timer start signal b again to the clock means 4. The pulse PS1 in FIG.
The pulse PS2 in (B) corresponds to this. The combined signal at this time is shown in FIG. Then, by restarting the clocking means 4 in this way, the control means 3 receiving the notification information from the clocking means 4 drives the backlight with the pulse signal having the predetermined time width t1 shown in FIG. 7D. Signal c
Is sent again to the backlight control means 5. The backlight control means 5 again supplies the backlight drive current to the backlights 7 and 8 for the predetermined time t1 in accordance with the backlight drive signal c (FIG. 7 (D)). As a result, the backlights 7 and 8 have the brightness d corresponding to the predetermined current value of the backlight drive current, and continue to be turned on for a predetermined time t1 and then turned off (FIG. 7).
(E)).

That is, after the user starts pressing the operation key of the operation means 9 or opens the mouth and starts talking, the backlights 7 and 8 are turned on and then used again within a predetermined time t1. When a person presses any operation key or opens his mouth to continue talking, the backlight does not turn off even if a predetermined time t1 has elapsed from the start of lighting the backlight, and the backlight lighting state continues, Predetermined time t1
Is restarted and the lighting time is updated.

Further, a predetermined time t1 has elapsed since the backlights 7 and 8 started to be lit by the user pressing any operation key of the operation means 9 or opening the mouth to start talking.
Within a period of time, the user does not press any operation key again or open his mouth to continue talking, or the backlights 7 and 8 are extinguished at the time when a predetermined time t1 has elapsed from the start of lighting the first backlight. Will be done.

Since the portable terminal device with a call function according to the first embodiment is configured as described above, it is possible to reduce the consumption of the battery due to the unnecessary lighting of the backlights 7 and 8, and the user operates the keys. Of course, the backlights 7 and 8 remain lit while the mouth is open to talk, even when the keys are not operated, and the display means 6 is displayed.
You can clearly see, for example, the face of the other party on the screen displayed on the screen. In particular, in the first embodiment, since the specific region is the mouth of the user's face,
It can be easily determined that the user is busy.

<Second Embodiment > FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a partial configuration of a mobile terminal device with a call function according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this portable terminal device, a characteristic change amount determination means 10 having the following configuration is provided in the control device CT2 in place of the characteristic amount determination means 2 in the first embodiment. Other configurations are almost the same as those in the first embodiment. That is, in addition to the function of the feature amount determination means 2 in the first embodiment (the function of measuring the area of the mouth), the feature change amount determination means 10 in this case has a difference in the area of the mouth region over time (change amount). ) Is provided with a function of measuring (detecting).

The characteristic amount discriminating means 2 is, specifically, based on the image data of the body of the user inputted from the image pickup means 1.
First, at least one specific area (or mouth in the case of the second embodiment) is detected, and the area of the detected specific area is measured and temporarily stored. Then, after a lapse of a predetermined time, the same specific area in the previous image is detected, and the area of the specific area is measured. Then, the amount of change that is the difference between the area detected from the stored previous image and the area detected from the image data after a lapse of time is calculated, and based on the calculation result (change amount) Output the result data.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the detailed structure of the feature change amount determination means 10 in FIG. The feature change amount determination means 10 includes a mouth region detection unit 20, a mouth region area calculation unit 21, a difference calculation unit 30, a previous data storage unit 31, a mouth movement state determination unit 32, a movement state data table 33,
The busy determination unit 34 and the like are included. The mouth area detection unit 20 and the mouth area area calculation unit 21 are the same as those in the case of the feature amount determination unit 2 in the first embodiment.

The difference calculation unit 30 includes the mouth area area calculation unit 21.
This is a means for calculating the difference between the previous area data (area of the specific region) input from and the current area data. The difference calculation unit 30 stores the current area data input from the mouth region area calculation unit 21 in the previous data storage unit 31 and reads the previous area data previously stored in the previous data storage unit 31. The difference (change over time) from the current area data is calculated, and the calculation result is output as the measurement result. The mouth movement determination unit 32 is means for determining that the mouth is moving. Busy determination unit 34
Is a unit that determines that the user is busy based on the output result of the mouth movement determination unit 23.

FIG. 10 shows the movement condition data table 3
3 shows an example, and is composed of a predetermined threshold value and result data corresponding thereto.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the timer starting unit 15 in the control means 3. The timer starting unit 15 is a functional unit that generates a signal for requesting the timer unit 4 to start the timer, and similarly to the case of the first embodiment, the first timer start request generating unit 16 and the second timer start request generating unit 16. The timer activation request generation unit 17 and the synthesis unit 18 are provided. Result data indicating that the user is busy is transmitted from the feature change amount determination unit 10 to the first timer start request generation unit 16. An operation signal from the operation unit 8 is transmitted to the second timer activation request generation unit 17. Synthesis part 1
The timer starting signal b output from 8 is input to the time measuring means 4 as in the case of the first embodiment.

The backlight lighting control operation of the portable terminal device according to the second embodiment will be described below.

In the feature change amount determining means 10, as in the case of the first embodiment, first, the mouth area detecting section 20 detects the mouth area from the face image data, and the mouth area calculating section 21 detects the mouth area. Calculate the area of the mouth area. The calculation result is input to the difference calculation unit 30.

In the difference calculation unit 30, the area data input this time is stored in the previous data storage unit 31 and the previous area data stored in the previous data storage unit 31 is read out, and the difference from the current area data ( The change amount) is calculated and output to the mouth movement determination unit 32.

The movement condition data table 33 stores in advance a data table of the correspondence relationship (determination criterion) between the difference value (change amount) of the area data and the mouth movement condition. The mouth movement degree determination unit 32 determines the difference value from the difference calculation unit 30 based on the data table stored in the mouth movement degree data table 33, and outputs the mouth movement degree result data. For example, assuming that the previous area data stored in the previous data storage unit 31 is S1 and the area data input this time is S2, the absolute value of the difference (S2-S1) is greater than or equal to the threshold value Ts1 of the data table 33. In the case of, it is determined that the mouth is moving. When the absolute value of the difference (S2-S1) is less than the threshold value Ts2, it is determined that the mouth is not moving.

The busy determination means 34 determines whether or not the user is currently busy based on the result of the mouth movement output from the mouth movement determination section 32. In the case of the second embodiment, the busy determination unit 34 basically determines that the state in which the mouth is moving is busy and outputs the determination result as busy result data to the control unit 3 in FIG. .

The busy result data output from the feature change amount determining means 10 is the timer starting part 15 in the control means 3.
Is input to. In the timer activation unit 15 to which the busy result data is input, the first timer activation request generation unit 16
Receives the data and immediately generates the timer start signal a1 similar to the case of FIG. 5 (A). As in the case of the first embodiment, the timer activation unit 15 handles the backlight lighting caused by the key operation.
In response to the key input signal from the operating means 8, the second timer activation request generation unit 17 also generates the timer activation signal a2 similar to that in the case of FIG. 5B. Synthesis unit 18
Are both timer start signals a1 and a generated in this way.
2 is synthesized to generate the timer start signal b similar to the case of FIG.

The combined timer starting signal b is input to the time measuring means 4 and the time measuring means 4 is started.
The control means 3, based on the notification information of the backlight lighting time transmitted from the activated timing means 4, outputs a pulse waveform signal having a predetermined time width t1 as the backlight drive signal as in the case of FIG. 5D. Backlight control means 5 as c
Send to. The backlight control means 5 supplies a backlight drive current to the first and second backlights 7 and 8 for a predetermined time t1 according to the transmitted backlight drive signal c. Both of the backlights 7 and 8 have the brightness d corresponding to the predetermined current value of the backlight drive current, and the predetermined time t as in the case of FIG.
Turns on and off for 1 only.

Here, when the user presses the operation key of the operation means 9 or moves his mouth to talk while the backlights 7 and 8 are lit, the same as the case described above. By this operation, the control means 3 receives again the operation signal from the operation means 9 or the busy result data from the feature change amount determination means 10, and sends the timer start signal b again to the clock means 4.

By restarting the clocking means 4 in this way, the control means 3 receiving the notification information from the clocking means 4 backlights the pulse signal having the predetermined time width t1 as in the case of FIG. The driving signal c is sent again to the backlight control means 5. The backlight control means 5 is
According to the backlight drive signal c, the backlight drive current is supplied again for the predetermined time t1.
Supply to 8. As a result, the lighting time is extended, and the backlights 7 and 8 are continuously lit for a predetermined time t1 at the brightness d corresponding to the predetermined current value of the backlight drive current and then turned off.

That is, the user presses any operation key of the operation means 9 or opens the mouth and starts talking, so that the backlights 7 and 8 are turned on again and are used again within a predetermined time t1. When a person presses any operation key or opens his mouth to continue talking, the backlight continues to light up even after a lapse of a predetermined time t1 from the start of lighting the first backlight, and the timing of the predetermined time t1 is restarted. Then, the lighting state is updated.

A predetermined time t1 has elapsed since the backlights 7 and 8 started to be lit by the user pressing any operation key of the operation means 9 or opening the mouth to start talking.
If the user does not press any operation key again or open his mouth and continue talking, the backlights 7 and 9 are extinguished at the time when a predetermined time t1 has elapsed from the start of lighting the backlight for the first time. Will be done.

Since the portable terminal device with a call function according to the second embodiment is configured as described above, it is possible to reduce the consumption of the battery due to the unnecessary lighting of the backlights 7 and 8, and the user operates the keys. Of course, the backlights 7 and 8 continue to be lit while moving the mouth and talking, even when the key operation is not performed, for example, when the conversation partner is displayed on the screen of the display unit 6. You can see the face clearly. Particularly, in the case of the second embodiment, it is possible to reduce the error caused by the individual difference of the user, which occurs in the extraction of the specific region.

In each of the first and second embodiments, as a backlight, a portable terminal device with a communication function having a backlight 7 for illuminating the screen of the display means 6 and a backlight 8 for illuminating the operating means 1 is used. Was explained as an example,
Not limited to this, the present invention is applied to a mobile terminal device with a communication function having only a backlight 7 that illuminates the screen of the display unit 6,
It is also possible to have a similar function.

Further, it is also possible to determine the busy state by measuring the movement of the lower jaw with respect to the upper half of the face by using the lower jaw instead of the mouth of the user as the specific region. In this case, two image portions of the user's body are referred to, and thus a plurality of image portions may be set as the specific areas.

[0062]

As described above, in the inventions of claims 1 to 7, at least one specific area in the image of the body of the user is extracted from the image data by the image pickup means, and the specific area is extracted. Is performed, it is determined that the user is talking on the basis of the result of the measurement process, and the lighting control is performed in response to the determination result and the operation of the operating means. It is possible to reduce the consumption of the battery due to useless lighting, and it is possible to clearly see the image displayed on the display means during the call without performing any extra key operation.

Particularly, in the portable terminal device with a call function of the invention of claim 2, in the invention of claim 1, the area of the specific region is used as an index to judge that the user is talking. , It is easy to judge during a call.

Particularly, in the portable terminal device with a call function of the invention of claim 3, in the invention of claim 1, the user is in a call by using the amount of change in which the area of the specific region changes with the passage of time as an index. Since the determination is made, the determination during the call becomes more accurate.

According to the portable terminal device with a call function of the invention of claim 4, in the invention of any one of claims 1 to 3, the specific area is the mouth of the user's face, so that the user is busy. It can be determined particularly easily and accurately.

In particular, in the portable terminal device with a call function of the invention of claim 5, in the invention of any one of claims 1 to 4, a signal corresponding to a new lighting command is generated within the lighting duration time of the backlight. Since the lighting state is extended when the user does, the backlight does not go out during the conversation when the user is talking for a long time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a partial configuration of a mobile terminal device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a feature amount determination means in the mobile terminal device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an opening degree data table in the feature amount determination means.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a timer starting unit in the control means of the mobile terminal device.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing an example of backlight lighting control in the mobile terminal device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a sample of image data in the mobile terminal device.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing an example of updating a backlight lighting state in the mobile terminal device.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a partial configuration of a mobile terminal device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a feature change amount determination means in the mobile terminal device.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an opening degree data table in the feature change amount determination means.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a timer starting unit in the control means of the mobile terminal device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a partial configuration of a conventional mobile terminal device.

FIG. 13 is a timing chart showing an example of backlight lighting control in the mobile terminal device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 image pickup means, 2 feature amount determination means, 5 backlight control means, 6 display means, 7, 8 backlight, 9
Operation means, 10 Feature change amount determination means.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ identification code FI theme code (reference) H04Q 7/38 H04B 7/26 109T (72) Inventor Satoru Tokuyama 2-3-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Sanryo Electric Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5B057 BA02 CA12 CA16 DA12 DB02 DC04 DC36 5K027 AA11 BB17 FF22 HH26 MM17 5K067 AA34 AA43 BB04 BB21 DD52 EE02 EE10 FF24 FF31 HH01 HH21 HH22 HH23 5L096 BA02

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An operating means for performing an input operation, and a display means for displaying contents in accordance with an operation by the operating means,
A mobile terminal with a communication function, which includes at least a backlight for illuminating the screen of the display means, a backlight control means for controlling the lighting of the backlight, and an imaging means capable of photographing a user and outputting image data. In the device, at least one specific region in the image of the body of the user is extracted from the image data by the image pickup means,
Further comprising a feature amount determination unit that performs a measurement process for the specific region and determines that the user is in a call based on the result of the measurement process, wherein the backlight control unit is the feature amount determination unit. A portable terminal device with a call function, characterized in that lighting control of the backlight is performed in response to a determination result of the means and an operation of the operation means. 2. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the measuring process for the specific region by the feature amount determining means measures an area of the specific region, and the feature amount determining means includes: A mobile terminal device with a call function, wherein it is determined that a call is in progress based on the area. 3. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the measurement processing for the specific area by the feature amount determination means measures an amount of change in which the area of the specific area changes over time. The mobile terminal device with a call function, wherein the feature amount determination means determines that a call is in progress based on the amount of change. 4. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the specific region is a mouth of the user's face. 5. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the backlight control unit is output from the feature amount determination unit when the user is in a call. For both the 1 signal and the second signal in response to the operation of the operation means, the backlight is turned on continuously for a predetermined time from the generation of the signal, and the second signal is output during the predetermined time. A mobile terminal device with a communication function, wherein the lighting time of the backlight is extended when either the first signal or the second signal is newly generated. 6. An operation unit for performing an input operation, a display unit capable of displaying an image, a backlight for illuminating at least the screen of the display unit, and an image pickup capable of photographing a user and outputting image data. A control device for a mobile terminal device with a call function, comprising: means for inputting image data from the imaging means, extracting at least one specific region in an image of the body of the user, and determining the specific region. And a feature amount determination unit that generates a determination result signal according to the determination result while determining that the user is talking on the basis of the result of the measurement process. Means for inputting an operation signal indicating that the backlight has been operated, and a backlight control hand for generating a lighting command of the backlight in response to the determination result signal and the operation signal. A control device for a mobile terminal device with a call function, comprising: a step. 7. A backlight lighting control method for a mobile terminal device having a call function, comprising: inputting image data of a body of a user of the mobile terminal from an image capturing means included in the mobile terminal device; A step of extracting at least one specific region in the image of the body of the user, performing a measurement process on the specific region, and determining that the user is in a call based on the result of the measurement process; And a step of turning on a backlight of a display unit included in the mobile terminal device when it is determined that the user is in a call, the backlight lighting control method.