JP2004056326A - Portable terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable terminal in which usability can be improved while suppressing power consumption. <P>SOLUTION: An operating frequency is changed in accordance with a residual amount of a battery or elapsed time from finish time of an application in the portable terminal. Also, when the startup of the application is requested, whether the application is executed or not is controlled in accordance with the power consumption to be required for the execution of the application and the residual amount of the battery. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal capable of improving usability while suppressing power consumption.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, mobile terminals have been equipped with various applications in addition to telephone functions. In such a mobile terminal, there is a problem that a battery is consumed by application processing, and a call that is a main function cannot be performed. In order to solve this problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-333161 is provided with a battery remaining amount detecting means, and a sound is generated when the detected remaining amount of the battery becomes equal to or less than a predetermined amount for securing a predetermined communication amount. A portable terminal that restricts reproduction of sound data by a data reproducing unit is described.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Conventional mobile terminals mainly have a telephone function, and use a CPU having a relatively low operating frequency in consideration of low power consumption in order to extend the use period as much as possible. However, when various applications are installed as described above, the processing load of the applications increases, and a mobile terminal requires a high-performance CPU with a high operating frequency.
[0004]
Generally, a CPU with a high operating frequency consumes a large amount of power per fixed time even in a standby state in which an application is not being processed. However, there is a problem that even if the call is stopped and only the call function is used, the talkable time and the standby time are reduced.
[0005]
In addition, as the mobile terminal becomes multifunctional, the user may place importance on a function other than the call function. In such a case, usability is rather deteriorated by forcibly restricting the functions other than the call function.
[0006]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a portable terminal capable of improving usability while suppressing power consumption.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the portable terminal according to the present invention changes the operating frequency according to the remaining battery power or the elapsed time from the end of the application. Further, when the application is requested to be started, it controls whether or not to execute the application according to power consumption and remaining battery power required for executing the application.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An example in which the present invention is applied to a mobile phone will be described below.
[0009]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention. The mobile phone 1 includes a storage unit 101 that stores data, an input unit 102 such as a keypad, a display unit 103 such as an LCD, a battery remaining amount detection unit 104 that detects the remaining amount of the battery 105, a storage unit 101 and a display unit 103. A control unit 106 for controlling the operation, a sound processing unit 107 for processing a sound, a microphone 108, a speaker 109, an operating frequency determining unit 110 for determining an operating frequency, an operating frequency changing unit 111 for changing an operating frequency, and an operating clock. An operation clock generator 112 for generating the operation clock is provided.
[0010]
In the present embodiment, when the user instructs the change using the input unit 102, the operating frequency changing unit 111 changes the operating frequency to three stages of low speed, standard, and high speed. For example, the operating frequency can be increased arbitrarily according to the usage pattern of the user, such as increasing the operating frequency when playing a game, and decreasing the operating frequency when using only the call function. Also, when the operating frequency determining unit 110 determines the operating frequency based on the remaining battery level detected by the remaining battery level detecting unit 104, the operating frequency changing unit 111 changes the operating frequency. This changing method will be described in detail below.
[0011]
A state in which a mobile phone job (application) has not been started is referred to as an idle state, and a state in which a user has requested a job is referred to as a job start request state. The two states will be described separately.
[0012]
First, the idle state will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation in the idle state. Generally, the mobile phone is in an idle state when not performing a call or an application (S201 in FIG. 2). The battery level detection unit 104 periodically checks the battery level (S202 in FIG. 2). If the checked remaining battery level is equal to or less than the predetermined value, the operating frequency determination unit 110 is notified. The operating frequency determination unit 110 determines whether the set operating frequency is high speed or standard (S203), and if it is set to high speed or the like, determines a change to low speed (S204). When the change of the operating frequency is determined, the operating frequency determining unit 110 notifies the operating frequency changing unit 111, and the operating frequency changing unit 111 changes the operating frequency.
[0013]
When the operating frequency is set to a high speed or a standard, power consumption is larger than when the operating frequency is set to a low speed despite the idle state in which no application processing is performed. In the present embodiment, when the remaining battery power becomes equal to or less than the predetermined value, the operating frequency is changed to a low speed, whereby the power consumption can be suppressed, and the talkable time and the standby time can be lengthened.
[0014]
In this embodiment, the operating frequency is controlled so as to be changed to a high speed or a low speed in a standard case. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the threshold of the battery remaining amount is provided in two stages, and when the battery remaining amount becomes equal to or less than the first threshold value, the operating frequency is changed from the high speed to the standard. In such a case, the operating frequency may be changed from the standard to a low speed.
[0015]
In addition, even if the user sets the operating frequency to high speed, etc., if the user changes it to standard or low speed without knowing it, it is not convenient for the user. It is desirable to notify by display, sound, or vibration. In addition, before changing the operating frequency, a message “Change operating frequency from high speed to low speed?” Is displayed on the screen or by voice, and the operating frequency is changed when the user allows the input unit 102 to change the operating frequency. May be. As described above, by changing the operating frequency according to the user's request, the change can be controlled according to the function that the user emphasizes.
[0016]
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the operating frequency is changed according to the remaining battery power, but the operating frequency may be changed according to the elapsed time from the end of the job as shown in FIG. If the user increases the operating frequency when playing the game, the user rarely changes the operating frequency after finishing the game. If the operating frequency is set to a high speed, power consumption increases even though application processing is not performed. In the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed from the end of the application (S302), and control is performed so that the operating frequency is changed to a high speed or a low speed when the operating frequency is standard (S303, S304). For example, the change may be made forcibly after 5 minutes have passed since the end, or the change may be notified to the user every time and changed only when consent is obtained. Further, only when the energy saving mode is set, the change may be forcibly performed. In addition, the user can use the input unit 102 to freely change the setting of the time from the end to the change, thereby improving the usability of the user.
[0017]
Next, the job start request state will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation in the job start request state. When the user requests a certain job (application), a job start request state is set (S401 in FIG. 4). Here, when the requested job is executed at the set operating frequency, the power consumption required until the job is completed is calculated. The calculation result is compared with the remaining battery value detected by the remaining battery detection unit 104 (S402 in FIG. 4). If the remaining battery value is larger than the power consumption of the requested job, the job is executed (S403 in FIG. 4). If the remaining battery value is smaller than the power consumption of the requested job, a warning (notification) is output to the user (S404 in FIG. 4). For example, the display unit 103 may display "The battery may run out during the execution of this application. Do you want to run it?" Or the speaker 109 may display "The battery may run out during the execution of this application." Do you want to run it? " In response to the request input by the user, it is determined whether to execute the job (S405 in FIG. 4), and the job is executed (S403) or the execution of the job is stopped (S406 in FIG. 4).
[0018]
According to the present embodiment, since the power consumption required for executing a job and the remaining battery power are compared in advance and the result is notified to the user, it is possible to prevent the processing from suddenly stopping unexpectedly. In addition, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the calling function cannot be used when necessary.
[0019]
Further, when a job activation request is made, the set operation frequency may be compared with the operation frequency required for the requested job, and the operation frequency may be controlled to be changed to the lowest possible operation frequency. Note that it is desirable to notify the user of the change in the operating frequency, and to control the change only when the change permission is input from the user.
[0020]
Further, the user may be requested to change the operating frequency not only at the time of the job start request but also when the remaining battery power becomes low during the job start. For example, in the case of an application such as an electronic book that does not require the screen to change quickly, the application can be executed even if the operating frequency is lowered. Therefore, power consumption can be suppressed by lowering the operating frequency.
[0021]
It is desirable that the user can set the prohibition of the operation frequency changing function. There are cases where the user does not want to change the operating frequency regardless of the power consumption. By setting the change prohibition, it is possible to prevent the change of the operating frequency even if the user does not input that the change is not permitted.
[0022]
In the above embodiment, the case where the operating frequency is changed to three stages has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention may be applied to a case where the operating frequency can be changed to two or four or more stages. good. Moreover, you may implement combining the above-mentioned embodiment.
[0023]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a mobile terminal capable of improving usability while suppressing power consumption.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the mobile phone according to the embodiment in an idle state.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the mobile phone according to the embodiment in an idle state.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the mobile phone according to the embodiment in a job activated state.
[Explanation of symbols]
101 storage unit 102 input unit 103 display unit 104 remaining battery level detection unit 105 battery 106 control unit 107 sound processing unit 108 microphone 109 speaker 110 operation frequency determination unit 111 operation frequency change unit 112 operation clock generation unit

Claims (7)

Operating frequency generating means capable of generating a plurality of operating frequencies,
Battery remaining amount detecting means for detecting a remaining battery amount;
Operating frequency determining means for determining an operating frequency according to the remaining battery power detected by the remaining battery power detecting means,
Control means for controlling the operating frequency generating means, so as to change to the operating frequency determined by the operating frequency determining means,
A mobile terminal comprising: 2. The portable terminal according to claim 1, further comprising: a notifying unit for notifying that the operating frequency is to be changed, wherein the control unit controls to change the operating frequency after notifying by the notifying unit. Terminal. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, further comprising an input unit for inputting whether or not the user permits the change of the operating frequency, wherein the control unit operates when the information indicating the permission is input by the input unit. A portable terminal characterized by controlling to change a frequency. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, further comprising: a unit that notifies a change in the operating frequency by a screen display, sound, or vibration. A mobile device capable of running the application,
Operating frequency generating means capable of generating a plurality of operating frequencies,
Operating frequency determining means for determining an operating frequency according to the time since the execution of the application has been completed,
Control means for controlling to change to the operating frequency determined by the operating frequency determining means,
A mobile terminal comprising: A mobile device capable of running the application,
Battery remaining amount detecting means for detecting a remaining battery amount;
When the execution of the application is requested, a comparison unit that compares the power consumption required for the execution of the application with the remaining battery level detected by the remaining battery level detection unit,
Control means for controlling execution of the application in accordance with a comparison result by the comparing means;
It is characterized by having. When the power consumption is greater than the remaining battery power, a notifying means for notifying the execution of the application by a screen display, sound or vibration, and an input means for inputting whether or not to stop the application. 7. The portable terminal according to claim 6, wherein the control unit controls the execution of the application to be stopped when information indicating permission is input by the input unit.

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