JP2004297601A - Mobile terminal apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable terminal apparatus capable of further reducing electric power consumption. <P>SOLUTION: The portable terminal apparatus comprises a first casing 14 having a main operation part 28, a second casing 12 moving from a first position where at least a part of the main operation part 28 is concealed to a second position where the main operation part 28 is exposed, and an illumination part 40 for illuminating the main operation part 28 of the first casing 14. When the second casing 12 moves, the illumination part 40 is controlled stepwise based upon the position of the second casing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal device including a first housing and a second housing movably provided with respect to the first housing.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In mobile terminal devices such as mobile phones, various power saving controls are performed to reduce battery consumption. For example, in the case of a mobile phone with a backlight on the liquid crystal display, power consumption by the backlight is reduced by only turning on the backlight for a certain period of time when an incoming call or operation by the user is performed. are doing.
[0003]
Further, some portable terminals are configured to cover the operation unit with a door that rotates about a side on which the operation unit is provided as a rotation axis, and when the operation unit is exposed, the entire operation unit is illuminated, and the operation is performed. In some cases, the illumination of the operation unit is turned off while the unit is covered.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-300270
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional mobile terminal, there is only one state of turning on or off all the lights. For example, even if the operation unit can be operated if a part thereof is turned on, the operation can be performed. Since the entire part is illuminated, the power consumption is not sufficiently reduced.
[0006]
SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide a portable terminal device capable of further reducing power consumption.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention for solving the problems of the above conventional example is a portable terminal device, wherein a first housing having an operation unit and the operation unit are exposed from a first position which hides at least a part of the operation unit. A second housing that moves to a second position to be illuminated, an illumination unit that illuminates the operation unit of the first housing, and the illumination unit that is based on the position when the second housing is moving. And a control unit that performs stepwise control.
[0008]
In addition, a plurality of the lighting units are arranged in a moving direction of the second housing, and the control unit is configured to control the lighting corresponding to a portion of the operation unit that is exposed as the second housing moves. The lighting of the unit may be controlled.
[0009]
Furthermore, an information display unit and a second illumination unit that illuminates the information display unit are included, and the control unit controls lighting of the second illumination unit at least while the second housing is moving. It may be good.
[0010]
Further, the present invention for solving the problems of the above-described conventional example includes a first housing having an operation unit, and a first position at which at least a part of the operation unit is hidden from a second position at which the operation unit is exposed. A method of controlling a lighting unit of a portable terminal device including a moving second housing and a lighting unit that illuminates an operation unit of the first housing, wherein the second housing moves. The position is detected, and a step of controlling the illumination unit stepwise based on the detected position is provided.
[0011]
Further, a program according to an aspect of the present invention includes a first housing having an operation unit, and a second housing moving from a first position at which at least a part of the operation unit is hidden to a second position at which the operation unit is exposed. A step of detecting a position of the second housing when the second housing is moving to a computer built in a portable terminal device including a body and an illuminating unit for illuminating an operation unit of the first housing; And controlling the lighting unit in a stepwise manner based on the detected position.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A mobile terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a linear slide type mobile terminal as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. Specifically, FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing a stored state of the linear slide type mobile terminal. FIG. 2 is a front perspective view showing the extended state, and FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view showing the extended state.
[0013]
In the present embodiment, the linear slide type mobile terminal 10 shown in these figures has a mobile phone function and various data processing functions, and includes a first housing 14 and a second housing 12. The second housing 12 is slidable linearly with respect to the first housing 14.
[0014]
That is, as shown in FIG. 3, a pair of parallel guide grooves 30 are formed on the back surface of the second housing 12, while the first housing 14 is provided with the operation surface 16 side. A pair of hook-shaped projections (not shown) that engage with these guide grooves 30 are formed. Further, the back surface of the second housing 12 and the front surface of the first housing, that is, the operation surface 16 are both flat, and the guide grooves 30 are formed linearly. For this reason, the second housing 12 slides linearly with respect to the first housing 14 while maintaining the state in which the two guide grooves 30 are engaged with the hook-shaped protrusions. Thus, the second housing 12 slides between the storage position where the operation surface 16 of the first housing 14 is covered by the back surface and the extended position where the operation surface 16 of the first housing 14 is exposed. ing. Hereinafter, the state in which the second housing 12 is in the storage position is referred to as a storage state, and the state in which the second housing 12 is in an extended state is referred to as an extended state.
[0015]
A linear electrode (not shown) is provided at the bottom of each guide groove 30, while an electrode (not shown) is also provided at the top of the hook-like projection provided on the first housing 14. In the linear slide type mobile terminal 10, the power and data are reliably transmitted and received between the first housing 14 and the second housing 12 irrespective of the slide position by maintaining the contact of these electrodes. It has become to be.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 1, the second housing 12 is provided with a receiving speaker 20, a display unit 22, and a sub-operation unit 24 on the surface thereof, and an incoming call LED 18 on an edge of the surface. As shown in FIG. 2, the first housing 14 is provided with a plurality of sensors 17 and a main operation unit 28 on an operation surface 16, and a microphone unit 26 on a side surface.
[0017]
The plurality of sensors 17 are arranged in the moving direction of the second housing 12, and are specifically an optical sensor or a push-type switch that is turned on when pressed and turned off when not pressed. In the case of an optical sensor, the position of the second housing 12 is detected by eliminating incident light when the light is obscured by the second housing 12, and in the case of a push-type switch, the position of the second housing 12 is covered. By being pressed when being hidden, which part of the operation surface 16 is covered by the second housing 12, that is, the position of the second housing 12 is detected.
[0018]
The main operation unit 28 includes a plurality of operation members for the user to input a telephone number and other various data and to perform various operation instructions. That is, the main operation unit 28 includes at least various keys and operation keys such as a ten key, an incoming call button, and a function selection key (function key) necessary for inputting a telephone number and text.
[0019]
The sub operation unit 24 mainly includes various operation members required in the housed state. For example, if it is desired to receive an incoming call even in the housed state, the incoming call button may be assigned to an operation member included in the sub-operation unit 24. This assignment may be fixed or may be arbitrarily assigned by the user.
[0020]
The display unit 22 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and displays a telephone number, a menu screen, and the like. The display unit 22 includes a backlight as a second illumination unit. The incoming call LED 18 informs the user of the incoming call by lighting / flashing when there is an incoming call. The incoming call LED 18 is provided at the surface edge so that the user can be surely aware of the incoming call. The microphone unit 26 picks up the utterance of the user during a call, and the receiving speaker 20 outputs the utterance of the other party during the call. The receiving speaker 20 may be used for outputting other sounds, such as outputting an alarm.
[0021]
In addition, the linear slide type mobile terminal 10 may be used as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) in the stored state, and may be used as a mobile phone in the extended state. In this case, in order to improve the usability as a PDA, it is desirable that the display unit 22 be provided with a touch panel to enable touch input, handwritten character input, and the like. The second housing 12 is also formed in a thin box shape approximately the same size as the first housing 14.
[0022]
In the present embodiment, a plurality of illumination units 40a to 40n are arranged in the first housing 14 on the back side of the main operation unit 28 along the moving direction of the second housing, as shown in FIG. I have. Each of the illumination units 40 includes light emitting elements grouped in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the second housing. In the example of FIG. 4, among the numeric keys of the main operation unit 28, an illumination unit 40a mainly illuminating the lower group of keys near the microphone 26, an illumination unit 40b mainly illuminating the middle group of keys, and an upper unit Illustrated is an example in which an illuminating unit 40c mainly illuminating the group of keys and an illuminating unit 40d mainly illuminating the function selection keys arranged above the numeric keypad are arranged.
[0023]
Further, the mobile terminal device according to the present embodiment includes a second housing position detecting unit 52 and an illumination control unit 54, as shown in FIG. The second housing position detection unit 52 detects a movement position of the second housing 12 (which part of the operation surface 16 the second housing 12 covers), and outputs a signal indicating the detected position. Output to the lighting control unit 54. Specifically, the second housing position detecting unit 52 detects the position of the second housing 12 by using a plurality of sensors 17 provided on the operation surface 16 of the first housing 14.
[0024]
The lighting control unit 54 controls each lighting unit 40 in a stepwise manner based on a signal (a signal indicating the occultation state of the operation unit) indicating the moving position of the second housing 12, which is input from the second housing position detection unit 52. To control. For example, the lighting unit 40 that mainly illuminates a portion of the operation surface 16 that is covered by the second housing 12 is turned off, and the lighting unit 40 that mainly illuminates a portion that is exposed by the second housing 12 is turned off. Control to turn on.
[0025]
Further, the illumination control unit 54 checks at a fixed time whether or not the signal input from the second housing position detection unit 52 and indicating the moving position of the second housing 12 has changed, and If the signal changes during the period of time, it may be determined that the second housing 12 is moving, and the backlight of the display unit 22 may be controlled to be turned on.
[0026]
The illumination control unit 54 may be realized by a microcomputer that operates according to software stored in a storage unit (such as a ROM) (not shown).
[0027]
The mobile terminal device according to the present embodiment is configured as in the above example, and operates as in the following example. That is, when the second housing 12 is moved from the stored state, first, the sensor 17 closest to the side surface on which the microphone 26 is provided reacts on the operation surface 16 of the first housing 14, The housing position detection unit 52 detects the movement position of the second housing 12 and outputs a signal representing the detected position to the illumination control unit 54.
[0028]
The illumination control unit 54 detects that the signal has changed, and turns on the backlight of the display unit 22. The illumination of the sub-operation unit 24 may be controlled to be turned on in conjunction with the backlight. At this point, if the buttons of the main operation unit 28 are not exposed, the lighting control unit 54 does not control the lighting of the lighting unit 40.
[0029]
When the second housing 12 reaches a position where a part of the main operation unit 28 is exposed, the second housing position detection unit 52 detects the position, and the illumination control unit 54 detects the position of the exposed main operation unit 28. Of the lighting unit 40 that mainly illuminates a part of the lighting unit. Hereinafter, when the main operation unit 28 is sequentially exposed by the movement of the second housing 12 by using the sensors 17, the second housing position detection unit 52 activates the illumination unit 40 that mainly illuminates each exposed portion. It lights up sequentially. When the second housing 12 reaches the extended position, all the lighting units 40 are turned on.
[0030]
As described above, in the present embodiment, at least one stage of the state where a part of the lighting unit 40 is turned on is between the state where all the lighting units 40 are turned off and the state where all the lighting units 40 are turned on. Have.
[0031]
Further, the portable terminal device of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, in the description so far, an example has been described in which the second housing 12 slides linearly with respect to the first housing 14, that is, slides along a linear trajectory, but the operation surface 16 of the first housing 14 is fixed. The second housing 12 is formed in a curved surface with a curvature, and the back surface of the second housing 12 is formed in a curved surface with the same constant curvature as the operation surface 16, and the second housing 12 slides with respect to the first housing 14 along an arc trajectory. You may do so.
[0032]
Further, the first housing may have a second housing that rotates about an axis perpendicular to a surface of the first housing on the second housing side.
[0033]
Further, the sensor 17 may be a potentiometer or the like that is built in the second housing 12 or the first housing 14 and changes the resistance value as the second housing 12 moves.
[0034]
In the above description, the lighting control is performed stepwise by selectively controlling the lighting of at least a part of the plurality of lighting units 40. However, the brightness of at least one lighting unit is changed stepwise. By doing so, stepwise lighting control may be performed.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, since the illumination of the operation unit and the like is controlled stepwise according to the occultation state of the operation unit, power consumption can be further reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing a stored state of a portable terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front perspective view showing an extended state of the mobile terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view showing an extended state of the portable terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement state of a lighting built in the portable terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a configuration block diagram of a portable terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Linear slide type portable terminal device, 12 2nd housing | casing, 14 1st housing | casing, 16 operation surface, 17 sensor, 18 LED for incoming call, 20 receiving speaker, 22 display part, 24 sub operation part, 26 microphone part, 28 Main operation unit, 30 guide groove, 40 illumination unit, 52 second housing position detection unit, 54 illumination control unit.

Claims (5)

A first housing having an operation unit,
A second housing that moves from a first position that hides at least a part of the operation unit to a second position that exposes the operation unit;
An illumination unit for illuminating an operation unit of the first housing;
When the second housing is moving, a control unit that controls the lighting unit in a stepwise manner based on the position,
A portable terminal device comprising: The mobile terminal device according to claim 1,
A plurality of the lighting units are arranged in a moving direction of the second housing;
The portable terminal device, wherein the control unit controls lighting of a lighting unit corresponding to a portion of the operation unit that is exposed as the second housing moves. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1 or 2,
Furthermore, an information display unit, and a second illumination unit that illuminates the information display unit,
The portable terminal device, wherein the control unit controls lighting of the second lighting unit at least while the second housing is moving. A first housing having an operation unit,
A second housing that moves from a first position that hides at least a part of the operation unit to a second position that exposes the operation unit;
An illumination unit for illuminating an operation unit of the first housing;
A method of controlling the lighting unit of a portable terminal device including:
Detecting the position of the second housing when the second housing is moving;
A step of controlling the illumination unit stepwise based on the detected position;
A lighting control method for a portable terminal device, comprising: A first housing having an operation unit,
A second housing that moves from a first position that hides at least a part of the operation unit to a second position that exposes the operation unit;
An illumination unit for illuminating an operation unit of the first housing;
In the computer built in the portable terminal device including
Detecting the position of the second housing when the second housing is moving;
A step of controlling the lighting unit stepwise based on the detected position;
And a lighting control program for a portable terminal device.

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