JP2004328325A - Notification mechanism such as incoming call mounted on mobile phone - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To rationalize the configuration of a notification mechanism which is used to notify an incoming call in a mobile phone and has both an oscillation generating mechanism and a light emitting mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: A VIB holder 31 which covers and holds a VIB motor 30 and is made of an elastic member is press-fitted and attached into a recess formed by being demarcated with a rib 32 on the inside surface of a reception part rear case 12 constituting the casing of the mobile phone. The VIB holder 31 is made of a material transmitting light emitted from an LED 51 constituting the light emitting mechanism and placed so as to face a part of a circuit board 50 where the LED 51 is mounted, and is exposed from an opening formed in the reception part rear case 12. A part exposed from the reception part rear case 12, of the VIB holder 31 functions as an LED lens 40 which emits light generated by the LED 51 to the outside. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a notification mechanism provided in a mobile phone for notifying a user of an incoming call or the like, and particularly to a notification mechanism including a vibration generating mechanism and a light emitting mechanism as notification means.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a mobile phone, when a call is received, a method of notifying the user of the incoming call is generally a method of notifying the registered ringtone or music from a speaker, or a method of notifying by generating vibration. Used. As a mechanism for generating vibration, there is known a configuration in which vibration is generated by driving a vibration generating motor (VIB motor) in which a weight is eccentrically attached to a shaft.
[0003]
Further, as a notifying unit, a method of notifying using a light emitting mechanism such as an LED is also known, and a mobile phone having such a unit is described in, for example, Patent Document 1. It is also known that this light emitting means is used for various purposes other than the notification of an incoming call. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a case where an incoming call is received but not answered, or a message recorded by an answering machine function. It is described that a light emitting mechanism is used as a means for notifying such a case, for example.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2001-127842 [0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, mobile phones have become multifunctional, and various mechanisms such as a digital camera are mounted, and the number of components to be mounted tends to increase. On the other hand, it is necessary to reduce the size and weight of a portable device, and thus reducing the number of components is a very important consideration.
[0006]
On the other hand, in a mobile phone having both the vibration generating mechanism and the light emitting mechanism as described above, conventionally, separate components are required to mount both. That is, the VIB motor constituting the vibration generating mechanism usually wraps the motor body with a VIB holder made of an elastic member such as silicon rubber so that the VIB motor can be stably held even when the vibration is generated and the vibration can be transmitted to the outside. The VIB holder is press-fitted and fixed in a recess formed by a rib or the like in a housing forming an outer shell of the mobile phone. On the other hand, a light emitting unit such as an LED is mounted on a circuit board or the like, and a transparent or translucent LED lens is attached to a part of the housing to emit light generated by the light emitting unit to the outside.
[0007]
As described above, when the VIB holder and the LED lens are attached as separate parts, an installation space is required for each of them, which hinders miniaturization and weight reduction of the device.
[0008]
An object of the present invention is to rationalize the configuration of a notification mechanism having both a vibration generating mechanism and a light emitting mechanism, which is used for notification of an incoming call in a mobile phone, thereby reducing the number of parts of the mobile phone, Another object of the present invention is to reduce the size and weight of the device.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a notification mechanism of the present invention is a notification mechanism having a vibration generating mechanism and a light emitting mechanism, which is mounted on a mobile phone, wraps and holds the vibration generating mechanism, and forms an outer shell of the mobile phone. The light emitting mechanism further includes a holding part made of a material that transmits and emits light generated by the light emitting mechanism, and the light generated by the light emitting mechanism passes through the holding part. The component is disposed at a position where the component is exposed to the outside from a portion exposed from the housing.
[0010]
According to this configuration, the vibration generated by the vibration generating mechanism is transmitted to the outside via the holding member, and the light generated by the light emitting mechanism is emitted to the outside via the holding mechanism. That is, according to the present invention, both the light generated by the light emitting mechanism and the vibration generated by the vibration generating mechanism can be transmitted to the outside using a single member.
[0011]
In the present invention, if the holding member is made of an elastic member, the vibration generating mechanism can be satisfactorily and firmly held even when the vibration is generated, and the generated vibration can be transmitted well to the outside.
[0012]
The light emitting mechanism can be mounted on the body of the vibrating mechanism, which eliminates the need for securing a mounting space on the circuit board, thereby making it possible to reduce the size of the circuit board.
[0013]
The holding member may expose a portion close to the vibration generating mechanism from the housing in addition to a portion that emits light from the light emitting mechanism to the outside. Thereby, the vibration generated by the vibration generating mechanism can be directly transmitted to the outside via the holding member. Further, if a convex portion is provided on a portion of the holding member that is exposed from the housing at a portion close to the vibration generating mechanism, the vibration can be more easily transmitted to the outside.
[0014]
In the present invention, as the vibration generating mechanism, a motor and a weight that is eccentrically attached to a shaft of the motor, which is conventionally generally used, can be used. LEDs can be used.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
(1st Embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0017]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the mobile phone of the present embodiment. This mobile phone has a foldable configuration, and FIG. 1A shows an open state, and FIG. 1B shows a closed or folded state. That is, this mobile phone is roughly divided into a receiving section A and a transmitting section B having substantially the same planar shape, and both are connected via the hinge unit 20. 1 and the transmitting unit B are relatively rotated around the hinge unit 20 so that the two are positioned side by side with the hinge unit 20 interposed therebetween, as shown in FIG. As shown in (b), the two can be brought into a folded state in which they are exactly fitted. Usually, the surface positioned inside when folded is called the front, and the surface located outside is called the back.
[0018]
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion where a vibration generating mechanism and a light emitting mechanism are provided, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of the vibration mechanism. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main mechanism of the mobile phone.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 1, the receiver A has an outer shell formed by a housing including a receiver front case 11 and a receiver rear case 12. The receiving section A is equipped with a display section b13 (see FIG. 4) usually composed of an LCD and a receiving mechanism composed of a speaker b5. In this example, the receiver A also includes the antenna b1, a vibration generating mechanism including the VIB motor 30, and a light emitting mechanism including the LED 51 (see FIG. 2).
[0020]
A receiving sound hole 18 for facilitating transmission of the sound generated by the speaker b5 to the outside is formed in the receiving unit front case 11, and the display of the display unit b13 can be viewed from the outside. A front display window 17 is formed at the center of the front. The receiver rear case 12 is provided with an opening in which the LED lens 40 from which the light from the LED 51 is emitted to the outside is fitted.
[0021]
The transmitting section B has an outer shell formed by a housing including a transmitting section front case 13 and a transmitting section rear case 14. A power supply 15 is detachably mounted on the back side of the transmitting section B, and a keyboard 16 is provided on the front side. The transmission unit includes a microphone b4 and a key operation input unit b11 for processing input information from the keyboard 16. The transmission section front case 13 is provided with a transmission sound hole 19 for facilitating transmission of sound to the microphone b4.
[0022]
Inside the receiver A and the transmitter B, there are provided circuit boards on which wiring for exchanging signals with each unit and a control mechanism for controlling the operation of each unit are mounted. Next, a main configuration of the control mechanism will be described with reference to FIG.
[0023]
The control mechanism is provided with a control unit b6 that controls the entire operation. The control unit b6 is connected to each unit such as the wireless unit b2, the voice processing unit b3, the notification unit b7, the key operation input unit b11, the display control unit b12, the data management unit b14, and receives an input signal from each unit as necessary. Receives and outputs a command signal to each unit.
[0024]
The wireless unit b2 is connected to the antenna unit b1, and performs processing of a signal received and transmitted via the antenna unit b1. The audio processing unit b2 is connected to the microphone b4 and the speaker b5, outputs audio from the speaker b5, and receives and processes an input signal from the microphone b4. The wireless unit b2 and the voice processing unit b3 are directly connected to each other, and during normal reception and transmission processing, a signal of voice information is directly exchanged between the two.
[0025]
The LED 51 and the VIB motor 30 are connected to the notification unit b7, and the speaker b8 is connected to the notification unit b7, and these are operated according to a command from the control unit b6. The key operation input unit b11 processes an input signal from the keyboard 16 and transmits the processed signal to the control unit b6. From the keyboard 16, not only the input of the telephone number of the transmission destination, but also operations such as mode selection can be performed. The display control unit b12 is connected to the display unit b13, and displays a required image on the display unit b13 in response to a command from the control unit b6. The data management unit b14 is connected to the memory unit b15, and performs data write and read processing. Information such as a telephone number and a name can be stored in the memory unit b15.
[0026]
Next, an operation example of the mobile phone will be described.
[0027]
When a mobile phone receives a call, a transmission signal from the other party is transmitted as radio waves from the base station. The transmitted radio wave is received by the antenna unit b1 and sent to the control unit b6 via the wireless unit b2. When the control unit b6 determines that the call has arrived, it outputs an operation command to the notification unit b7. The notification unit b7 operates one or some of the speaker b5, the VIB motor 30, and the LED 51 in accordance with the set mode or the like, whereby the fact that an incoming call is received indicates a notification sound, vibration, The user is notified by any or some of the luminescence. Further, the control unit b12 outputs a command signal to the display control unit b12 as necessary, and causes the display unit 13 to display information such as an incoming telephone number.
[0028]
The user checks the notification by the notification unit b7, and if necessary, checks the information such as the incoming telephone number displayed on the display unit b13, and performs a necessary key input operation to change the call state. can do. In the call state, an input signal from the other party is sent to the audio processing unit b2 via the antenna unit b1 and the wireless unit b2, and a signal converted into an audio signal is sent to the speaker b5, and the signal is output from the speaker b5. The sound is output, and the sound picked up by the microphone b4 is converted into a transmission signal by the sound processing unit b2 and transmitted via the wireless unit b2 and the antenna unit b1.
[0029]
Further, this mobile phone can be used as an information terminal. For example, information such as a telephone number and a name of an acquaintance can be registered as needed. In this case, the user selects an information input mode by key input and inputs necessary information while checking the display on the display section b13. The content of the input information is displayed on the display unit b13, and the user confirms the display and performs a determination operation. Thereby, the input information is sent to the data management unit b14 and stored in the memory unit b15.
[0030]
Next, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the configuration of the vibration generating mechanism and the light emitting mechanism that constitute the notification mechanism will be described in more detail.
[0031]
The LED 51 constituting the light emitting mechanism is mounted at a position on the surface of the circuit board 50 disposed in the housing of the receiver A on the side of the receiver rear case 12 near the upper end of the receiver A. The surface of the circuit board 50 on the receiver front case 11 side is supported by a support member arranged in contact with the receiver. The support member is provided with a receiver support 52 extending from the position of the circuit board 50 opposite to the portion where the LEDs 51 are provided to the receiver front case 11 side.
[0032]
The VIB motor 30 constituting the vibration generating mechanism has a cylindrical body 30-1 and a shaft 30-3 extending in the axial direction from the center of one end surface thereof. It extends from the opposite end face of the trunk 30-1. A weight 30-2 is eccentrically attached to the shaft 30-3.
[0033]
The VIB motor 30 is wrapped and held by a VIB holder (holding member) 31. The VIB holder 31 has a certain elasticity and is made of a transparent or translucent material. As such a material, for example, silicon rubber can be used.
[0034]
The VIB holder 31 is defined on the inner surface of the receiver rear case 12 by ribs 32 extending therefrom, and is press-fitted and fixed in a recess formed at a position corresponding to the upper end of the receiver A. The terminal 30-4 of the VIB motor 30 is connected to the circuit board 50.
[0035]
The VIB holder 31 has a size that substantially fills the space between the circuit board 50 and the receiver rear case 12, and a recess 31-1 is formed in a portion corresponding to the LED 51 mounted on the circuit board 50. Have been. Therefore, the LED 51 enters the recess 31-1 and is surrounded by the VIB holder 31.
[0036]
The LED lens 40 is formed integrally with the VIB holder 31, that is, is a part of the VIB holder 31. When the VIB holder 31 is pressed into a concave portion formed on the inner surface of the receiver rear case 12, the LED lens 40 is pressed. The portion 40 is fitted into an opening formed at the upper end of the receiver rear case 12.
[0037]
In this configuration, since the VIB motor 30 is wrapped and held by the VIB holder 31 made of an elastic member, which is press-fitted into the receiver rear case 12, when the VIB motor 30 is rotationally driven to generate vibrations, The motor 30 is held firmly, and the generated vibration can be efficiently transmitted to the receiver rear case 12 via the VIB holder 31 and transmitted to the outside. Further, since the VIB holder 31 is made of a transparent or translucent material, the light generated by the LED 51 can be emitted from the portion of the LED lens 40 to the outside through the inside of the VIB holder 31. The light emission of the LED 51 can be confirmed from FIG.
[0038]
At this time, since the VIB holder 31 is exposed to the outside at the portion of the LED lens 40, there is a possibility that an external force for pushing the inside of the LED lens 40 into the portion will be applied. In such a case, the provision of the receiver support 52 can prevent the LED lens 40 from entering the inside and the circuit board 50 from being depressed. That is, the external force applied to the portion of the LED lens 40 is transmitted to the inner surface of the receiver front case 11 via the VIB holder 31, the circuit board 50, and the receiver support 52, and is supported there, so that each component is almost moved. And stay in place.
[0039]
According to the above-described embodiment, the LED lens and the VIB holder have conventionally been required to be provided as independent components. On the other hand, a single component, that is, the VIB holder 31 is used to generate the vibration by the vibration mechanism. The generated vibration and light generated by the light emitting mechanism can be transmitted to the outside. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of parts, to contribute to the miniaturization and weight reduction of the mobile phone, and to reduce the cost.
[0040]
In the present embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a foldable mobile phone is shown. However, the present invention is applicable to other types of mobile phones as long as the notification mechanism includes a vibration mechanism and a light emitting mechanism. Applicable.
[0041]
Further, in the present embodiment, the example in which the VIB holder 31 is manufactured from a relatively soft material having a certain elasticity has been described. However, as a modified example, a configuration in which the VIB holder 31 is manufactured from a transparent or translucent, relatively hard resin may be used. Conceivable. In this case, for example, the VIB motor 30 wraps a double-sided tape around its body 30-1 and affixes it to the VIB holder 31 to fix it. Thereby, even when the VIB motor 30 is rotationally driven to generate vibration, the VIB motor 30 can be firmly held in the VIB holder 31, and the generated vibration can be transmitted to the VIB holder 31 satisfactorily. You can do so.
[0042]
As described above, when the VIB holder 31 is made of a relatively hard resin, the VIB holder 31 is relatively strong against an external force applied from the LED lens 40, that is, is hardly deformed or depressed, and is hardly damaged. The effect is obtained.
[0043]
(Second embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the upper end of the earpiece of the mobile phone according to the present embodiment, which is provided with a vibration generating mechanism and a light emitting mechanism that constitute a notification mechanism. FIG. 6 is a side view of the VIB motor 30 constituting the vibration mechanism. In these drawings, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted.
[0044]
In the present embodiment, the LED 151 constituting the light emitting mechanism is mounted on the body 30-1 of the VIB motor 30. Accordingly, it is not necessary to provide a mounting space for the LED on the circuit board 50, and the circuit board 50 can be downsized. This can contribute to miniaturization of the mobile phone.
[0045]
A terminal for supplying power to the LED 151 is included in a terminal 130-4 extending from an end surface of the body 30-1 and connected to the circuit board 50. Therefore, the VIB motor 30 and the LED 151 can be turned on / off by an input signal from the circuit board 50, respectively.
[0046]
The VIB holder 131 wraps and holds the body 30-1 on which the LED 151 is mounted as described above. For this purpose, the VIB holder 151 is formed with a recess having a predetermined shape that surrounds both the body 30-1 and the LED 151.
[0047]
As in the first embodiment, the VIB holder 131 is made of a transparent material having a certain elasticity, and is exposed from an opening of the receiving unit rear case 12 to integrally function as a LED lens 40. Is formed. Therefore, the light generated by the LED 151 can pass through the VIB holder 131 and go out of the LED lens 40 to the outside, and the emission of the LED 151 can be confirmed from the outside.
[0048]
In the present embodiment, an opening provided in the receiver rear case 12 for exposing the VIB holder 131 is formed wider than in the first embodiment. Thereby, the outer surface of the VIB holder 131, which is closest to the trunk 30-1 of the VIB motor 30, that is, the portion immediately above the trunk 30-1 as viewed in FIG. The projection 133 is formed in this portion. At this time, a receiving portion support 52 extending toward the receiving portion front case 11 is provided at a position of the VIB holder 131 opposite to a portion exposed from the receiving portion rear case 12, whereby the VIB holder 131 is mounted. It is prevented that it enters the housing of the earpiece and that the circuit board 50 collapses.
[0049]
In this manner, by exposing a portion of the VIB holder 131 near the VIB motor 30 to the outside, vibration can be directly transmitted to the outside via this portion, and the efficiency of vibration transmission can be improved. . Therefore, it is possible to make a notification by stronger vibration, or to transmit a sufficient vibration while keeping the current consumption low. In addition, the provision of the protrusion 133 facilitates transmission of vibration to the outside.
[0050]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a mobile phone having a vibration generating mechanism and a light emitting mechanism as a notification mechanism for notifying a user of an incoming call or the like holds a vibration generating mechanism and transmits a generated vibration. A holding member that functions both to transmit the light generated by the light emitting mechanism to the outside is used. As a result, the number of parts of the mobile phone can be reduced, and the size and weight of the mobile phone can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a mobile phone according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A shows an opened state and FIG. 1B shows a folded state.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the mobile phone of FIG. 1 where a vibration generating mechanism and a light emitting mechanism are provided.
FIG. 3 is a side view of a VIB motor constituting the vibration generating mechanism of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a control mechanism of the mobile phone of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a mobile phone according to a second embodiment of the present invention in which a vibration generating mechanism and a light emitting mechanism are provided.
FIG. 6 is a side view of a VIB motor constituting the vibration generating mechanism of FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 Receiver Front Case 12 Receiver Rear Case 13 Transmitter Front Case 14 Transmitter Rear Case 15 Power Supply 16 Keyboard 17 Front Display Window 18 Receiving Sound Hole 19 Transmitting Sound Hole 20 Hinge 30 VIB Motor 30-1 Body 30 -2 weight 30-3 shaft 30-4, 130-4 terminal 31, 131 VIB holder 32 rib 40 LED lens 50 circuit board 51, 151 LED
52 Receiver support 133 Convex part A Receiver B Transmitter b1 Antenna b2 Radio b3 Audio processing b4 Microphone b5, b8 Speaker b6 Control b7 Notification b11 Key operation input b12 Display control b13 Display b14 Data Management unit b15 Memory unit

Claims (6)

A notification mechanism that has a vibration generating mechanism and a light emitting mechanism mounted on a mobile phone,
The mobile phone further includes a holding component that wraps and holds the vibration generating mechanism, is mounted to be partially exposed from a housing forming an outer shell of the mobile phone, and is made of a material that transmits light generated by the light emitting mechanism. The light emitting mechanism is a notification mechanism that is arranged at a position where the generated light passes through the holding component and is emitted to the outside from a portion of the holding component exposed from the housing. The notification mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the holding member is made of an elastic member. The notification mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting mechanism is mounted on an outer surface of a body of the vibration mechanism. The notification mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an outer surface of the holding member closest to the vibration generating mechanism is exposed from the housing. The notification mechanism according to claim 4, wherein a convex portion is formed on an outer surface of the holding member closest to the vibration generating mechanism. The notification mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the vibration generation mechanism includes a motor and a weight mounted eccentrically on a shaft of the motor, and the light emitting mechanism is an LED.

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