JP2005020575A - Portable electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To raise operability by easily starting an application desired by shape in a portable electronic apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus includes first and second cases. The second case is connected to the first case, so as to be opening/closing possible from a closing position to an opening position. A plurality of processing functions are selectively performed in the apparatus. An opening/closing monitor part 29 detects whether the second case is positioned at the opening/closing position or not. A time measuring part 30 measures a movement time which is required when the second case is moved from the closing position to the opening position or a movement time which is required when moved from the opening position to the closing position. A control part 26 selectively starts the processing function in response to the movement time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a portable electronic device such as a portable wireless terminal device, and more particularly to a portable electronic device that includes first and second housings, and the first and second housings are connected to be openable and closable. It is.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Generally, portable electronic devices such as portable wireless terminal devices are known that include first and second housings, and the second housing is connected to the first housing so as to be openable and closable. For example, in a mobile phone, an operation unit having a plurality of operation keys is disposed on one surface of a first housing, and a display unit (first display unit (main display) such as a liquid crystal panel is disposed on one surface of a second housing. Display section) is arranged.
[0003]
In this type of mobile phone, in order to prevent the display function from being impaired even when the first and second housings are closed, a second display unit (sub display unit) is provided separately. When the second casing is closed, main information is displayed on the second display unit.
[0004]
Further, there is one in which the second display portion is provided in a cavity inside the hinge portion connecting the first and second display portions. In such a mobile phone, the second casing is opened and closed. It is detected and the display on the first and second display units is selectively switched (see Patent Document 1).
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-308992 A (paragraph (0008) to paragraph (0011), FIG. 1 and FIG. 2)
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the portable electronic device as described above, for example, in order for a user to activate a desired application such as sending an e-mail, after opening the second casing and exposing the operation unit and the main display unit It is necessary to start a desired application by operating the operation unit.
[0007]
That is, in the conventional portable electronic device, when the user activates a desired application, at least several operation steps must be taken, and there is a problem that operability at the time of application activation is poor.
[0008]
In particular, even when an application that is frequently used by the user is activated, it is necessary to take several operation steps, and there is a problem that it takes time to activate the application regardless of the frequency of use.
[0009]
An object of the present invention is to provide a portable electronic device that can start a desired application in a short time and has good operability.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the present invention, the first and second housings are connected to the first housing so as to be openable and closable from a closed position to an open position. In a portable electronic device that executes a plurality of processing functions, position detecting means for detecting whether or not the second casing is positioned at the open position or the closed position; and the second casing is at the closed position Activation control means for selectively activating the processing function in accordance with a movement time required for moving from the open position to the open position or a movement time required for moving from the open position to the closed position. A characteristic portable electronic device is obtained.
[0011]
Furthermore, in the present invention, a storage unit in which different threshold values are set corresponding to the plurality of processing functions is provided, and the activation control unit corresponds to a threshold value of the smallest value that does not exceed the movement time among the threshold values. It is preferable to activate one of the processing functions. It is also preferable that setting means for setting the threshold value in the storage means is provided.
[0012]
Further, according to the present invention, the first and second housings are connected to the first housing so as to be openable and closable from the closed position to the open position. In a portable electronic device that executes a plurality of processing functions, position detection means for detecting whether or not the second housing is located at the open position or the closed position; and When it is detected that the casing is separated from the closed position or the open position, time is measured to obtain a time, and an indicator corresponding to the processing function is displayed on the display unit according to the time. A portable electronic device having an activation control means for displaying is obtained.
[0013]
Further, according to the present invention, the first and second housings are connected to the first housing so as to be openable and closable from the closed position to the open position. In a portable electronic device that executes a plurality of processing functions, it further comprises position detection means for detecting whether the second housing is located at the open position or the closed position, and the position detection means comprises the A halfway position located between the closed position and the open position can be detected, and when the position detection means detects that the second housing has reached the halfway position, the closed position or the open position is detected. According to the present invention, there is provided a portable electronic device having activation control means for displaying an indicator corresponding to the processing function on a display unit in accordance with a moving time from a position until reaching the halfway position.
[0014]
Further, in the present invention, the activation control means detects that the position detection means detects that the second casing has moved away from the closed position and has reached the open position, or the second casing is When it is detected that the closed position is reached away from the open position, a processing function corresponding to the indicator displayed on the display unit may be activated.
[0015]
The activation control means may detect that the position detection means detects that the second housing has returned to the closed position before it has left the closed position and has reached the open position, or the second detection means. When it is detected that the housing has returned to the open position before reaching the closed position away from the open position, it is preferable to stop and reset the timing. In addition, when the communication unit that performs voice and / or data communication is provided, when the communication unit receives an incoming call, the activation control unit preferably stops and resets the time measurement. In addition, according to the present invention, the first and second housings are connected to the first housing so as to be openable and closable from the closed position to the open position. In a portable electronic device that executes a plurality of processing functions, position detection means for detecting whether or not the second housing is located at the open position or the closed position, and the second housing When the second housing is opened and closed from the initial position, with the state located at the closed position or the open position as the initial position, and when the second housing returns to the initial position, the opening and closing is started. There is obtained a portable electronic device having activation control means for activating the activated processing function again.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the component parts described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to the description unless otherwise specified. It is just an example.
[0017]
With reference to FIG. 1, first, a first example of a portable electronic device according to the present invention will be described. Here, a mobile phone will be described as an example of the portable electronic device, but the present invention can be similarly applied to other portable electronic devices such as a PDA. The illustrated mobile phone has first and second casings 11 and 12, and the first and second casings 11 and 12 are hinged by a hinge 13 with the hinge 13 as a rotation axis. In FIG. 1 (a), the first casing 11 is connected to the second casing 11 so that the first casing 11 can be rotated in a substantially horizontal direction (in this case, it is rotated to a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the display unit 21). It is a state hidden in the housing 12).
[0018]
FIG. 1A shows a state in which the mobile phone is closed (this position is referred to as a closed position), and a display unit 21 such as a liquid crystal panel is disposed on the surface of the second housing 12. . Then, when the second casing 12 is rotated around the hinge 13, that is, when the second casing 12 is rotated in the open state direction, from FIG. 1 (a) to FIG. 1 (b), FIG. The state changes to the state shown in FIG. 1D via c) and reaches the position where the second casing is fully opened (hereinafter referred to as the open position).
[0019]
In the state shown in FIG. 1D, the operation unit 22 arranged on the surface of the first casing 11 is completely exposed, and various applications (processing functions) are executed by operating the operation unit 22. It can be performed. Although not shown, the operation unit 22 is provided with a plurality of operation keys and the like.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 1 (e), a plurality of (four in the illustrated example) position detection sensors (for example, the position detection inspection is a switch contact) 23a to 23d are arranged around the hinge 13. The position detection sensors 23a to 23c are arranged on the first casing 11 side with an angular interval of 90 degrees, and the position detection sensor 23d is arranged on the second casing 12 side (note that the position detection sensor 23b is arranged as necessary and is not used in the first example described below).
[0021]
In the closed state shown in FIG. 1A, the position detection sensors 23a and 23d overlap each other, and in the state where the second casing 12 shown in FIG. 1B is opened 90 degrees, the position detection sensors 23b and 23d. Will overlap. When the second casing 12 is further opened, as shown in FIG. 1C, the position detection sensor 23d is positioned between the position detection sensors 23b and 23c, and the second casing 12 is further moved. As shown in FIG. 1D, when the second housing 12 is in the open position, the position detection sensor 23d overlaps the position detection sensor 23c. And these position detection sensors 23a-23d comprise the opening-and-closing monitoring part mentioned later.
[0022]
Here, referring to FIG. 2, the illustrated mobile phone includes a radio unit 24, a data processing unit 25, a control unit 26, an audio processing unit 27, a memory 28, an open / close monitoring unit 29, a time measuring unit 30, a speaker 31, and In addition to the microphone 32, the display unit 21 and the operation unit 22 are provided, and a battery 33 and a power circuit 34 are further provided. Then, power is supplied from the battery 33 to the wireless unit 24, the data processing unit 25, the control unit 26, the voice processing unit 27, the time measuring unit 30 and the like via the power supply circuit 34 (in FIG. 2, in FIG. Line not shown).
[0023]
The wireless unit 24 transmits and receives various types of communication data such as voice data, character data, and image data via the antenna 24a, and the communication data received by the wireless unit 24 is sent to the data processing unit 25 for demodulation processing. After the data processing such as the above is performed, the sound processing unit 27 performs sound processing on the sound data and outputs the sound from the speaker 31 as sound.
[0024]
On the other hand, character data or image data is given to the control unit 26, and the control unit 26 displays the character data or image data on the display unit 22.
[0025]
When transmitting voice data from the mobile phone, the voice input from the microphone 32 is given to the voice processing unit 27 as a voice signal, voice processed by the voice processing unit 27 and input to the data processing unit 25 as voice data. Is done. In the data processing unit 25, audio data is given as communication data to the wireless unit 24, and the communication data is transmitted from the wireless unit 24 via the antenna 24a.
[0026]
Furthermore, when an e-mail or the like is transmitted, when a character input is performed from the operation unit 22 and a mail document is created, the control unit 26 gives the mail document to the data processing unit 25, and the data processing unit 25 The mail document is given as communication data to the wireless unit 24, and the wireless unit 24 transmits the communication data via the antenna 24a.
[0027]
The memory 28 stores a control program that operates in the control unit 26 and various applications such as an e-mail application and a telephone directory registration application. These applications are activated by operations from the operation unit 22. At the same time, as described later, it is selectively activated in accordance with the rotation of the second casing 12.
[0028]
Here, with reference to FIG. 3, here, as various applications, an e-mail application and a C-mail application, which are types of e-mail applications, and a telephone directory registration application will be described as being registered in the memory 28. .
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 1A, when the second casing 12 is in a closed state, the position detection sensors 23a and 23d are overlapped (contacted), and in this state, FIG. The opening / closing monitoring unit 29 shown in FIG. 1 sends the first position signal to the control unit 26. Then, when receiving the first position signal, the control unit 26 recognizes that the mobile phone is in a closed state.
[0030]
When the mobile phone is in a closed state, information such as time is displayed on the display unit 21 as shown in FIG.
[0031]
Now, referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, when the user rotates the second housing 12 in the opening direction (step S1: start of opening operation), the position detection sensors 23a and 23d become non-contact. That is, as the second casing 12 rotates, the position detection sensor 23d moves in the direction of the position detection sensor 23b. As a result, the position detection sensors 23a and 23d are not in contact with each other, and the first position signal is transmitted. Is stopped.
[0032]
When the transmission of the first position signal is stopped, the control unit 26 recognizes that the second housing 12 has been rotated in the opening direction, activates the time measuring unit 30, and starts time measurement ( Step S2). Then, the time measured by the time measuring unit 30 is given to the control unit 26 every moment as a measurement time.
[0033]
When a plurality of threshold values are set in advance in the memory 28 by the user, the control unit 26 determines this measurement time (step S3), and the measurement time is less than a first threshold value (for example, 1 second). Then, the control unit 26 displays the email application icon 41 on the display unit 21 (step S4).
[0034]
When the measurement time is equal to or greater than the first threshold value and less than the second threshold value (for example, 2 seconds), the control unit 26 deletes the email application icon and displays the C mail application icon 41 instead. It displays on the display part 21 (step S5). If the measurement time is equal to or greater than the second threshold, the control unit 26 deletes the C-mail application icon and displays the phonebook registration application icon 41 on the display unit 21 instead (step S6).
[0035]
Further, the control unit 26 determines whether or not the second housing 12 has reached the open position (step S7: end of the opening operation), as will be described later. If the opening operation has not been completed, the control unit 26 executes step S3, and the icon displayed on the display unit 21 changes according to the length of the opening operation end time.
[0036]
When the user further rotates the second casing 12 in the opening direction and the position detection sensors 23b and 23d come into contact (that is, the positional relationship between the first casing 11 and the second casing 12 is 90 degrees). Then (see FIG. 1B), the open / close monitoring unit 29 sends a second position signal to the control unit 26. When receiving the second position signal, the control unit 26 recognizes that the second casing 12 has been rotated 90 degrees (in this first example, the second position signal is not used).
[0037]
Then, when the second casing 12 is further rotated in the opening direction and the state shown in FIG. 1C is reached and the state shown in FIG. 1D is reached, that is, the position detection sensors 23c and 23d are moved. When contact is made, the open / close monitoring unit 29 sends a third position signal, and when the control unit 26 receives the third position signal, it recognizes that the second housing 12 has reached the open position, and in step S7 It is determined that the opening operation has been completed. When it is determined that the opening operation has ended, the control unit 26 stops the time measuring unit 30 (step S8: time measurement ends), obtains the time as the opening operation end time, and then resets the time measuring unit 30.
[0038]
Thereafter, the control unit 26 determines the opening operation end time (step S9), and when the opening operation end time is less than the first threshold, activates the e-mail application (step S10) and ends the opening operation. When the time is not less than the first threshold and less than the second threshold, the C-mail application is activated (step S11). When the opening operation end time is equal to or greater than the second threshold, the control unit 26 activates the telephone directory registration application (step S12). In step S9, the icon application that is finally displayed may be activated between steps S3 and S8.
[0039]
In this way, when the second casing 12 is rotated from the closed position to the open position, the icon displayed on the display unit 21 is changed according to the time until the second position is reached. Since the application corresponding to the time when the housing 12 reaches the open position is started immediately, if the user changes the time when the user rotates the second housing 12 to reach the open position, the application to be started And the threshold value corresponding to the application to be activated is set in advance by the user, so that a desired application can be activated immediately by simply rotating the second housing 12, Will be improved.
[0040]
By the way, before the second casing 12 reaches the open position, when the user stops the opening operation, rotates the second casing 12 in the closing direction, and closes the mobile phone, that is, When the control unit receives the first position signal without receiving the above-described third position signal, the control unit 26 does not display an icon and activate an application corresponding to the icon. Further, when there is an incoming call while the second casing 12 is rotated in the opening direction, the control unit 26 does not display an icon and activate an application corresponding to the icon. .
[0041]
The first and second threshold values are set by the user from the operation unit 22, the first threshold value is stored in the memory 28 in association with the email application, and the second threshold value is corresponding to C-mail. The first and second threshold values and the respective applications can be associated with each other arbitrarily from the operation unit 22, and as a result, the order of the applications to be started up is stored. Can be arbitrarily set by the user. Conversely, the user may arbitrarily set the application to be activated.
[0042]
In the example described above, an example in which three applications are selectively activated has been described. However, similar processing may be performed when a plurality of applications are selectively activated. That is, when N (N is an integer of 2 or more) applications are selectively activated, a threshold value of (N−1) may be set. As a user, after setting a threshold value, an application to be activated is determined within the threshold value, and the fact is input to the mobile phone by the operation unit 22 while viewing the display unit 21. Then, the control unit 26 creates a table in which each threshold value is associated with an application and registers it in the memory 28. Thereafter, it can be realized by referring to this table in the step S3 in FIG.
[0043]
In addition, in the above-described example, a so-called horizontal rotation type mobile phone that horizontally rotates the second casing 12 around the hinge 13 has been described. However, the present invention is also applied to a so-called folding type or slide type mobile phone. In any case, the present invention can be applied to any portable electronic device such as a mobile phone that moves the second housing 12 between the closed position and the open position.
[0044]
In the above example, the second casing 12 is turned from the closed position to the open position to start the application. Conversely, the second casing 12 is moved from the open position to the closed position. The application may be activated by rotating the screen to the right.
[0045]
Here, with reference to FIG. 4, the 2nd example of the portable electronic device by this invention is demonstrated. In the first example, when the second casing is rotated from the closed position to the open position, the icon displayed on the display unit 21 is changed according to the measurement time, and the opening operation is ended. The application corresponding to the time required for the operation is started. In the second example, the second case 12 is rotated from the closed position shown in FIG. When receiving the second position signal described in (the state shown in FIG. 4B), the control unit 26 stops the time measuring unit 30 to obtain the measurement time (hereinafter, this measurement time is referred to as an intermediate measurement time). Call).
[0046]
Thereafter, the control unit 26 determines the intermediate measurement time as described in the first example (similar to step S3 in FIG. 3), and when the intermediate measurement time is less than the first threshold value. The control unit 26 displays an e-mail application icon 41 on the display unit 21 as shown in FIG. Further, when the intermediate measurement time is not less than the first threshold and less than the second threshold, the control unit 26 displays the C-mail application icon 41 on the display unit 21. When the measurement time is equal to or greater than the second threshold, the control unit 26 displays the phone book registration application icon 41 on the display unit 21.
[0047]
After the icon display is selectively performed as described above, the second casing 12 is further rotated, the second casing 12 reaches the open position, and the third position signal is received. The control unit 26 activates an application corresponding to the icon displayed on the display unit 21.
[0048]
In this way, when the second casing 12 is rotated in the opening direction, when the middle position is reached, an icon corresponding to the time required so far is displayed, and the second casing 12 is opened. Since the application corresponding to the displayed icon is activated when the value reaches, the user can easily check which application is activated during the rotation, and the operability is further improved. Become.
[0049]
The other functions in the second example are the same as those in the first example and will not be described. However, in the second example, two icons are displayed in the middle position, and one of the two functions is opened from the middle position. When the second casing 12 is turned to the closed position by turning the second casing 12 from the midway position to the closing direction, the icon indicating an application that is activated when the second casing 12 is rotated to the open position. You may make it be the application started.
[0050]
Furthermore, in both the first and second examples described above, “priority”, “normal”, or “invalid” can be set from the operation unit 22 for the activation of the application by the rotation of the second housing 12.
[0051]
When “priority” is set, for example, even when the application is being activated, the control unit 26 defines activation by rotation of the second housing 12 when the second housing 12 is rotated. Will be launched. In addition, when “normal” is set, when the second casing 12 is rotated only when the standby screen is displayed on the display unit 21, the control unit 26 controls the second casing 12. The application whose activation is defined by the rotation is activated. When “invalid” is set, even when the second housing 12 is rotated, the control unit 26 does not activate an application whose activation is defined by the rotation of the second housing 12. Although the second position signal is assumed to be 90 °, it is needless to say that the second position signal may be an open / closed position. In addition, when the second housing 12 is opened and closed from the initial position when the state where the second housing 12 is in the closed position or the open position is set as the initial position, the control unit 26 is in an activated state. When the second housing 12 is returned to the initial position again after the application is temporarily stopped, the application that was activated when the opening / closing operation is started may be activated.
[0052]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the present invention, by simply rotating the second housing, the processing function corresponding to the rotation time is activated, so that the desired processing function can be quickly activated. And the operability can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1A and 1B are diagrams showing an example of a mobile phone as an example of a portable electronic device according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1A shows a closed state, FIG. 1B shows a 90 ° open state, (A) is a figure which shows the state opened further rather than the state shown in (b), (d) is a figure which shows the state opened completely, (e) is a figure which shows the attachment position of a position detection sensor.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining functions of the mobile phone shown in FIG. 1;
3 is a diagram for explaining a first example of the operation of the mobile phone shown in FIG. 1; FIG.
4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining a second example of the operation of the mobile phone shown in FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a closed state, and FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a state opened 90 degrees; (C) is a figure which shows the state opened completely.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11, 12 Case 13 Hinge 21 Display part 22 Operation part 23a-23d Position detection sensor 24 Radio | wireless part 25 Data processing part 26 Control part 27 Audio | voice processing part 28 Memory 29 Opening / closing monitoring part 30 Time measurement part 31 Speaker 32 Microphone 33 Battery 34 Power circuit

Claims (9)

A first housing and a second housing, wherein the second housing is connected to the first housing so as to be openable from a closed position to an open position, and selectively executes a plurality of processing functions. In portable electronic devices that
Position detecting means for detecting whether or not the second housing is located at the open position or the closed position;
The processing function is selectively selected according to a movement time required when the second casing moves from the closed position to the open position or a movement time required when the second casing moves from the open position to the closed position. A portable electronic device comprising: a start control means for starting up Corresponding to the plurality of processing functions, comprising storage means in which different threshold values are set,
2. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the activation control unit activates one of the processing functions in accordance with a threshold having a smallest value that does not exceed the movement time among the thresholds. . The portable electronic device according to claim 2, further comprising a setting unit configured to set the threshold value in the storage unit. A first housing and a second housing, wherein the second housing is connected to the first housing so as to be openable from a closed position to an open position, and selectively executes a plurality of processing functions. In portable electronic devices that
Position detecting means for detecting whether or not the second housing is located at the open position or the closed position;
When it is detected by the position detection means that the second casing is separated from the closed position or the open position, the time is measured to obtain a time, and the processing function is performed according to the time. A portable electronic device comprising activation control means for displaying a corresponding indicator on a display unit. A first housing and a second housing, wherein the second housing is connected to the first housing so as to be openable from a closed position to an open position, and selectively executes a plurality of processing functions. In portable electronic devices that
Position detecting means for detecting whether or not the second casing is located at the open position or the closed position, and the position detecting means has an intermediate position between the closed position and the open position. Is detectable,
When it is detected by the position detection means that the second housing has reached the halfway position, the processing function is activated according to the moving time from the closed position or the open position to the halfway position. A portable electronic device comprising activation control means for displaying a corresponding indicator on a display unit. In the activation control means, the position detection means detects that the second casing has moved away from the closed position and has reached the open position, or the second casing has moved away from the opened position. 6. The portable electronic device according to claim 4, wherein when it is detected that the closed position has been reached, a processing function corresponding to the indicator displayed on the display unit is activated. The activation control means detects that the position detection means detects that the second casing has returned to the closed position before reaching the open position away from the closed position, or the second casing. 7. When the detection of the return to the open position before reaching the closed position away from the open position is stopped, the timing is stopped and reset. Item 1. A portable electronic device according to item 1. A communication unit for performing voice and / or data communication;
The portable electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein when the communication unit receives an incoming call, the activation control unit stops and resets the timing. A first housing and a second housing, wherein the second housing is connected to the first housing so as to be openable from a closed position to an open position, and selectively executes a plurality of processing functions. In portable electronic devices that
Position detecting means for detecting whether or not the second housing is located at the open position or the closed position;
When the second housing is opened and closed from the initial position when the second housing is in the closed position or the open position, and the second housing returns to the initial position. A portable electronic device comprising activation control means for again activating the processing function activated when the opening / closing operation is started.

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