JP2005184619A - Portable electronic equipment device and its display method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to easily recognize whether a portable electronic equipment device is usable or not depending on the purpose of use even if the battery for the portable equipment device is during charging. <P>SOLUTION: A CPU 1 detects a battery residual capacity of a rechargeable battery 16. The contents of the detected battery residual capacity are displayed on a sub-display part 10 during normal operation in a state capable of making communication and during charging. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable electronic device device and a display method thereof, and more particularly, to a portable electronic device device and a display method thereof that display a remaining battery level.

Conventionally, in a portable electronic device such as a mobile phone or a portable communication terminal with a built-in rechargeable secondary battery, the remaining battery level is indicated by a battery-shaped icon, and whether communication is possible depending on the remaining battery level. It is configured to call the user's attention by displaying such as.
For example, in a proposed mobile phone battery level reporting device, an interrupt signal is generated when the mobile phone is removed from the charging stand, the remaining battery level is monitored, and the remaining battery level is determined according to the interrupt signal. The signal which shows is output, the sounding signal corresponding to the battery residual amount in the signal is output to a speaker, and it is comprised so that a user may be notified. Accordingly, the remaining battery level can be known without looking at the display of the remaining battery level. (See Patent Document 1)
Further, in a proposed mobile phone and its battery remaining amount notification method, the call time is calculated for each call, and the average call time is calculated and stored, and the remaining battery level is detected and The communicable time is calculated from the remaining amount, the stored average call time is compared with the calculated communicable time, and it is informed that communication is possible or impossible according to the comparison result. ing. As a result, the user can know in advance when the battery needs to be replaced or charged. (See Patent Document 2)
In addition, in a proposed device for checking the remaining battery level of a folded mobile phone, even when the mobile phone is folded, the key that can be pressed and the LED that can emit light are used to temporarily stop charging and charge the battery according to the key pressed. The amount is monitored, and the remaining battery level is visually notified by the LED. This makes it possible to check the battery level without removing the mobile phone from the charger during charging. (See Patent Document 3)
In addition, in a mobile communication terminal with a battery remaining level display function according to a proposal, the level switching threshold voltage of the remaining battery level, the first voltage higher than the threshold voltage, and the threshold value according to the battery discharge characteristics A table in which a low second voltage is set is stored, the battery voltage measured periodically and the threshold voltage of the table are referred to, and the consumption current is calculated from the time when the measured battery voltage becomes equal to or lower than the first voltage. It is configured to measure and switch the remaining battery level when the current consumption exceeds a predetermined threshold and display the remaining battery level. Further, when receiving information indicating that charging has been completed or not completed by notifying charging start or charging end information, if the battery voltage is higher than the first voltage, the level according to the table is displayed, and the battery is When the voltage is lower than the first voltage and higher than the second voltage, the level immediately before the start of charging is displayed. As a result, even when a battery having a discharge characteristic such that a change in voltage at the switching point of the remaining battery level is small and a switching display error occurs is displayed, the ratio of the remaining battery level is optimally displayed. It becomes possible. (See Patent Document 4)
In addition, an electronic device according to a proposal monitors whether or not the remaining amount of the rechargeable battery falls below a predetermined threshold, and notifies the management device connected to the charging device via the network based on the monitoring result. It is configured to transmit a signal. Further, a management device, a charging device, a charging service system, and a charging service method for realizing this configuration are described. Further, the charging device is configured to detect a display indicating completion of charging provided in the electronic device. Thereby, when the electronic device detects the remaining amount of the rechargeable battery and falls below the predetermined remaining amount, it automatically performs the reservation process of the charging device, so that the user does not need to know the remaining amount of the rechargeable battery. (See Patent Document 5)
Further, in a foldable mobile phone and a battery level display method according to a proposal, a remaining battery level is detected, and a light emitting color corresponding to the remaining battery level is selected by a plurality of light emitting elements having different light emitting colors. Is displayed. Thereby, the user can easily check the remaining battery level. (See Patent Document 6)
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-83426 JP 2000-196714 A JP 2002-164974 A JP 2002-335307 A JP 2003-348757 A JP 2000-295328 A

However, since each of the above-mentioned patent documents is a display of the remaining battery level in the incoming call waiting state or in the use state of the mobile phone, after the mobile phone is mounted on the charging device and charging starts, it waits until the charging is completed or You must remove it from the charger and stop charging to check the battery level. Usually, a cellular phone is provided with an LED capable of emitting red light and green light as an indicator for charging. The LED emits red light when mounted on a charging device, and emits green light when charging is completed. The user confirms that the emission color of the LED has changed from red to green and removes it from the charging device. Therefore, even if it is in a usable state if it has been charged to some extent, such as sending an e-mail several times, it will be used by the user if the LED emission is red and the charging has not been completed. I don't know if it is possible.
The first reason is that the battery-shaped icon on the display unit such as an LCD displays the remaining battery level in the usage mode, but only flashes in a fixed display pattern in the charging mode regardless of the state of charge. Because. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, in the battery-shaped icon, the state 0 where the remaining battery level is low and the state 3 where the remaining battery level is sufficient are alternately displayed. The second reason is that the battery voltage rise characteristic during charging is exponential, and when the battery level is low, the battery is rapidly charged with a constant current. This is because, after charging to 90% or more, the battery is charged slowly by reducing the current, so that it takes more time to reach 100%, and the LED display does not turn green during that time. For this reason, if the user wants to use the battery even while it is being charged, remove the mobile phone from the charging device and switch from the charging mode to the normal mode. It is necessary to check whether.
The present invention is for solving the above-described conventional problems, and whether or not the battery of a mobile phone or other portable electronic device can be used depending on the purpose of use even when the battery is being charged. It is intended to make it easy for the user to recognize.

  The portable electronic device according to claim 1 is a battery remaining amount detecting means (in the embodiment, the CPU 1 in FIG. 1) for detecting the remaining amount of the battery (in the embodiment, corresponding to the rechargeable battery 16 in FIG. 1). And the content of the remaining battery level detected by the remaining battery level detection unit during normal communication and charging, which corresponds to the sub display unit 10 in FIG. 1 in the embodiment. Display control means (in the embodiment, corresponding to the CPU 1 in FIG. 1).

In the portable electronic device according to claim 1, as described in claim 2, the battery remaining amount detecting means detects the battery every predetermined time (in the embodiment, corresponding to the time of the timer interrupt in FIG. 4). It may be configured to detect the remaining amount.
In the portable electronic device according to claim 2, as described in claim 3, the display control means always displays the content of the remaining battery level detected during normal operation, and detected during charging. You may make it the structure which displays the content of a battery remaining charge intermittently for every fixed time.
4. The portable electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the display control means changes the battery level within a rated range with reference to the detected battery level during charging. It is also possible to adopt a configuration that displays intermittently at regular intervals in the mode shown (corresponding to the mode shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 in the embodiment).
Further, in the portable electronic device of claim 1, as described in claim 5, time calculating means for calculating a communicable time based on the remaining battery level detected during charging (in the embodiment, The display control means may be configured to display the communicable time calculated by the time calculation means on the display means.

  The display method of the portable electronic device device according to claim 6 includes a step of detecting a remaining amount of a battery (corresponding to the rechargeable battery 16 in FIG. 1 in the embodiment), a normal operation capable of communication, and charging. And a step of displaying the content of the remaining battery level detected in the step of detecting in a predetermined display means (corresponding to the sub display unit 10 in FIG. 1 in the embodiment). . Note that the detecting step and the displaying step correspond to the processing of the CPU 1 in FIG. 1 in the embodiment.

In the display method of claim 6, as described in claim 7, the detecting step detects the remaining amount of the battery every predetermined time (corresponding to the time of the timer interrupt in FIG. 4 in the embodiment). Such a configuration may be adopted.
8. The display method according to claim 7, wherein the displaying step always displays the content of the remaining battery level detected during normal operation and the detected battery level during charging. The contents may be displayed intermittently at regular intervals.
9. The display method according to claim 8, wherein the displaying step indicates, in a stepwise manner, a transition to a remaining battery level within a rated range with reference to the detected remaining battery level during charging. You may make it a structure which displays intermittently in a mode (it corresponds to the mode shown in Drawing 7 thru / or Drawing 9 in the embodiment) for every fixed time.
The display method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of calculating a communicable time based on a remaining battery level detected during charging as described in claim 10, wherein the displaying step is performed by the calculating step. The calculated communication possible time may be displayed on the display means. Note that the calculating step corresponds to the processing of the CPU 1 in FIG. 1 in the embodiment.

  According to the portable electronic device and the display method of the present invention, even if the battery is being charged, the user can easily recognize whether or not the battery can be used depending on the purpose of use. .

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a portable electronic device according to the invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a mobile phone as an example.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of a mobile phone according to the embodiment.
In FIG. 1, a CPU 1 is composed of a one-chip IC with a built-in DSP (digital signal processor) for baseband signal processing. Connected to the system bus of the CPU 1 are ROM 2, RAM 3, RF block 4, switch unit 5, camera 6, memory card driver 7, and the like. Further, a display unit 9 and a sub display unit 10 are connected to the CPU 1 via a display driver 8. The CPU 1 is connected with a microphone 11, a speaker 12, and an earphone 13 via a driver (not shown). Further, a power supply IC 14 is connected to the CPU 1, and an AC adapter 15 and a rechargeable battery 16 are connected to the power supply IC 14. In addition, although not shown in the figure, a main body portion that accommodates the CPU 1, ROM 2, RAM 3, switch portion 5 and the like and a lid portion that accommodates the camera 6, the display portion 9, the sub display portion 10, and the like are opened and closed by hinges. It has a structure that can be done. When the lid is opened, the backlight of the display unit 9 is turned on.

The ROM 2 stores a control program such as a communication control process and a display process, a standby time corresponding to the remaining battery level of the rechargeable battery 16, that is, a communication time table, a default value at initialization, and the like. The RAM 3 is a work area of the CPU 1. A buffer area for temporarily storing data processed by the CPU 1, areas such as various registers and flags, and image data of a screen to be displayed on the display unit 9 and the display unit 10. A display area to store, etc. is provided.
The switch unit 5 is a group of key switches such as an off-hook switch, an on-hook switch, an outgoing switch, a numeric switch, a switch for turning on the backlight of the sub display unit 10 for a cellular phone, It consists of a folding switch that turns off. The camera 6 includes a lens, a CCD, a buffer, a camera switch, a shutter switch (all not shown) and the like. When the camera switch is turned on, an image from the lens is picked up by the CCD, and the shutter switch is turned on. The captured image data is stored in the buffer. The memory card driver 7 writes information to a detachable memory card and reads information from the memory card.
The display unit 9 displays a standby screen, various function menu screens, and the like in a state where the lid is opened, a battery shape icon indicating the remaining battery capacity of the rechargeable battery 16, and an antenna shape indicating the electric field strength. The icon, current time, etc. are always displayed. The sub display unit 10 displays a mark indicating the remaining battery level of the rechargeable battery 16 by a battery shape icon, and field strength, current time, and other information by an antenna shape icon. The CPU 1 can detect the remaining amount of the rechargeable battery 16 via the power supply IC 14.
The microphone 11 converts the user's voice into an electrical signal in the call process and inputs the signal to the CPU 1. The speaker 12 and the earphone 13 output a ring tone and the voice of the other party.

Next, operations of the call process, the charging process of the rechargeable battery 16 and the display process of the sub display unit 10 in the mobile phone will be described based on a flowchart executed by the CPU 1.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the main routine. When the lid is opened and the power switch is turned on, predetermined initialization such as turning on the backlight of the display unit 9 is performed (step SA1), and an image of the standby screen is displayed on the display unit 9 ( Step SA2). Next, it is determined whether or not the off-hook switch has been operated (step SA3). When this switch is operated, a telephone number input screen is displayed, and telephone number input processing is performed in accordance with the operation of the switch unit 5. (Step SA4). When a telephone number is input, a call is made to the telephone network (step SA5). At this time, call notification is performed by the speaker 12 (step SA6). During this call notification, it is determined whether or not a line connection has been established with the called party in response to the call (step SA7). Signal transmission / reception is performed (step SA8). In the call process, it is determined whether or not the on-hook switch has been operated (step SA9). When this switch is operated, a call termination process such as line disconnection is performed (step SA10). After the end-of-call process, the process proceeds to step SA2, and the standby screen image is displayed again on the display unit 9.

  If the off-hook switch is not on in step SA3, it is determined whether or not charging is on (step SA11). That is, it is determined whether or not the mobile phone is attached to the charging device. If charging is on, the flag CF is set to “1” (step SA12). When the mobile phone is attached to the charging device, it is determined whether or not charging is turned off (step SA13). If the charging is off, CF is reset to “0” (step SA14). If it is not charging on and charging off, or after CF is set to “1” or reset to “0”, it is determined whether or not the folding switch is turned off (step SA15). If this switch is not off, the process proceeds to step SA3 to determine whether or not the off-hook switch is turned on.

  In step SA15, when the folding switch is turned off, that is, when the lid is closed, the display unit 9 is turned off (step SA16). Then, incoming call detection is performed to determine whether or not an incoming call has been received (step SA17). When an incoming call is detected, incoming call processing is executed (step SA18). If no incoming call is detected, it is determined whether or not the folding switch is turned on (step SA19). If this switch is not turned on, incoming call detection is continued in step SA17. If this switch is turned on, incoming call detection is continued, and the process proceeds to step SA2 where the standby screen is displayed on the display unit 9. Display an image.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the incoming call process of step SA18 in the main routine of FIG. When the incoming call is detected, the incoming call notification is given by the speaker 12 (step SB1). Then, it is determined whether or not the off-hook switch has been operated (step SB2), and when this switch is operated, a call process is performed to transmit / receive a voice signal (step S3). In the call process, it is determined whether or not the on-hook switch has been operated (step SB4). When this switch is operated, a call termination process such as line disconnection is performed (step SB5). After the call termination process, the process returns to the flowchart of the main routine in FIG.

  4 to 6 are flowcharts of a timer interrupt showing a display method that is a feature of the present invention. The remaining battery level is detected in accordance with a timer interrupt every predetermined time (for example, 1 second) (step SC1). This detection processing is performed during charging as well as during normal operation in which communication is possible, such as during standby or during a call. The detection result is displayed on either the display unit 9 or the sub display unit 10. That is, the remaining battery level is displayed on the display unit 9 when the lid is open, and the remaining battery level is displayed on the sub display unit 10 when the lid is closed. In either case, the remaining battery level is displayed by three display areas (referred to as “segments”) in the battery-shaped icon. 7 to 9 show display modes in the sub display unit 10. As shown in FIG. 7, there are three segments (Segments 1 to 3) in the icon, and the lighting state (black in the figure) or extinguishing state (white in the figure) of each segment is controlled according to the detected remaining battery level. The

  After the remaining battery level is detected at step SC1 in the flowchart of FIG. 4, a segment lighting process is performed. It is determined whether or not the remaining battery level is less than 70% (step SC2). If it is 70% or more, all the segments 1 to 3 are turned on (step SC3). If the remaining battery level is less than 70%, it is further determined whether it is less than 50% (step SC4). If it is 50% or more, segments 1 and 2 are turned on (step SC5). . If the remaining battery level is less than 50%, it is further determined whether it is less than 30% (step SC6). If it is 30% or more, only segment 1 is lit (step SC7). When the remaining battery level is less than 30%, none of the segments is lit. After the segment lighting process, it is determined whether or not the flag CF is “0” (step SC8). If the CF is “0 (during normal operation)”, the process returns to the main routine.

On the other hand, when the CF is “1 (charging)”, a segment blinking process is performed. In the flowchart of FIG. 5, it is determined whether or not the remaining battery level is less than 30% (step SC9), and if it is less than 30%, it is determined whether or not the segment 1 is turned off (step). SC10). If it is off, segment 1 is turned on (step SC11) and the process returns to the main routine. If segment 1 is in the lit state, it is determined whether segment 2 is in the unlit state (step SC12). If it is off, segment 2 is turned on (step SC13) and the process returns to the main routine. If segment 2 is in the lit state, it is determined whether segment 3 is in the unlit state (step SC14). If the light is off, segment 3 is turned on (step SC15), and the process returns to the main routine. When the segment 3 is in the lit state, that is, when all the segments 1 to 3 are in the lit state, all the segments 1 to 3 are turned off (step SC16), and the process returns to the main routine.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the lighting state of the segments is as follows: all the segments are turned off 0, only the segment 1 is lit 1, the segments 1 and 2 are lit 2, and all the segments are lit The display process for returning to the state 3 and the state 0 again is cyclically repeated, for example, at every timer interrupt of 1 second interval. Therefore, the user can recognize that the current remaining battery level is less than 30%.

In step SC9, if the remaining battery level is not less than 30%, it is determined whether or not the remaining battery level is 30% or more and less than 50% in the flowchart of FIG. 6 (step SC17). Therefore, since segment 1 is in the lit state, it is determined whether or not the next segment 2 is in the unlit state (step SC18). If the light is off, segment 2 is turned on (step SC19), and the process returns to the main routine. If segment 2 is in the lit state, it is determined whether segment 3 is in the unlit state (step SC20). If the light is off, segment 3 is turned on (step SC21), and the process returns to the main routine. If segment 3 is in the lit state, that is, if all segments 1 to 3 are in the lit state, segments 2 and 3 are turned off (step SC16), and the process returns to the main routine. Therefore, in this case, the segment 1 always maintains the lighting state.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, the segment lighting state is as follows: state 1 in which only segment 1 is lit, state 2 in which segments 1 and 2 are lit, state 3 in which all segments are lit, and display for returning to state 1 again. The operation is cyclically repeated for each timer interrupt. Therefore, the user can recognize that the current remaining battery level is 30% or more and less than 50%.

In step SC17, if the remaining battery level is not 30% or more and less than 50%, it is determined whether or not the remaining battery level is 50% or more and less than 70% (step SC23). Since segments 1 and 2 are in the lit state, it is determined whether or not the next segment 3 is in the unlit state (step SC24). If it is off, segment 3 is turned on (step SC25) and the process returns to the main routine. If segment 3 is in the lit state, that is, if all of segments 1 to 3 are in the lit state, segment 3 is turned off (step SC26), and the process returns to the main routine. Therefore, in this case, the segments 1 and 2 always maintain the lighting state.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, the segment lighting mode performs a display operation for alternately repeating the state 2 in which the segments 1 and 2 are lit and the state 3 in which all the segments are lit, for each timer interrupt. Therefore, the user can recognize that the current battery remaining amount is 50% or more and less than 70%.

  In step SC23, if the remaining battery level is not 50% or more and less than 70%, that is, if the remaining battery level is 70% or more, the state where all the segments are lit in step SC3 in FIG. 4 is maintained. Therefore, the user can recognize that the current battery remaining amount is 70% or more.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the CPU 1 detects the remaining battery level of the rechargeable battery 16, and subtracts the content of the detected remaining battery level during charging as well as during normal communication. Since it is displayed on the display unit 10, even when the rechargeable battery 16 of the mobile phone is being charged, the user can easily recognize whether or not the use is possible depending on the purpose of use.
In this case, since the CPU 1 detects the remaining amount at regular time intervals, even when charging, the incoming call detection is not hindered due to the battery remaining amount detecting process.
In addition, during charging, the contents of the detected remaining battery level are intermittently displayed on the sub display unit 10 at regular intervals, so that the user can recognize the current remaining battery level without error. Furthermore, in this case, the transition to the remaining battery level within the rated range (the remaining battery level is 70% or more) with the detected remaining battery level as a reference is displayed intermittently at regular intervals. Therefore, the user can surely recognize the current remaining battery level, and can easily recognize whether charging is in progress or charging is completed.

  In the above embodiment, the remaining battery level during charging is displayed by a battery-shaped icon. However, after detecting the remaining battery level, the current standby time according to the remaining battery level, that is, the communicable time The calculated communicable time may be displayed on the sub display unit 10 together with the display of the remaining battery level by the icon or instead of the remaining battery level by the icon. That is, the communicable time calculated based on the communicable time table corresponding to the remaining battery capacity of the rechargeable battery 16 stored in the ROM 2 is displayed.

In the above-described embodiment, the portable electronic device device and the display method of the present invention have been described by taking a cellular phone as an example. However, the applicable range of the present invention is not limited to a cellular phone, but a PHS or a portable information terminal. The present invention can also be applied to portable electronic device devices such as (PDA).
Further, when charging is performed with a rechargeable battery of a digital camera as a portable electronic device attached to the main body, if the main body is provided with a display means for displaying the remaining battery capacity, the same effects as in the embodiment are obtained. can get. For example, use such as taking several pictures is possible even when the remaining battery level is low, so that the user can use the digital camera according to the purpose of use even when charging is not completed.
The present invention can also be applied to portable electronic device devices that require charging, such as notebook computers and palmtop computers. For example, it is possible to display a saved file or input a document of several pages even when the battery level is low, so even if the battery is not fully charged, the user can use it according to the purpose of use. You can use a laptop or palmtop computer.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the mobile telephone in embodiment of the portable electronic device apparatus of this invention. The flowchart of the main routine of CPU which shows operation | movement of the mobile telephone in embodiment of this invention. The flowchart of the incoming call process in FIG. The flowchart of the timer interrupt which shows the display process in embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a timer interrupt following FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a timer interrupt following FIG. The figure which shows the example of the battery remaining amount displayed on the icon in the sub display part of FIG. The figure which shows the other example of the battery remaining amount displayed on the icon in the sub display part of FIG. The figure which shows the other example of the battery remaining amount displayed on the icon in the sub display part of FIG. The figure which shows the battery remaining amount displayed on the icon in the conventional mobile telephone.

Explanation of symbols

1 CPU
2 ROM
3 RAM
4 RF Block 5 Switch Unit 6 Camera 7 Memory Card Driver 8 Display Driver 9 Display Unit 10 Sub Display Unit 11 Microphone 12 Speaker 13 Earphone 14 Power Supply IC
15 AC adapter 16 Rechargeable battery

Claims (10)

Battery level detection means for detecting the remaining battery level;
Display control means for displaying on the predetermined display means the content of the remaining battery level detected by the remaining battery level detection means during normal operation and during charging;
A portable electronic device device.   The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the battery remaining amount detecting unit detects the remaining amount of the battery every predetermined time.   The display control means always displays the content of the detected battery remaining amount during normal operation, and intermittently displays the content of the detected battery remaining amount during the charging. The portable electronic device according to claim 2.   The display control means is configured to intermittently display at every predetermined time in a mode in which a transition to a remaining battery level within a rated range is shown in stages with the detected remaining battery level as a reference during the charging. The portable electronic device according to claim 3, wherein:   Further comprising time calculating means for calculating a communicable time based on the detected remaining battery level during the charging, wherein the display control means displays the communicable time calculated by the time calculating means on the display means. The portable electronic device according to claim 1. Detecting the remaining battery level,
Displaying the content of the remaining battery level detected by the detecting step during normal operation and charging, on a predetermined display means;
For displaying a portable electronic device.   The display method of the portable electronic device according to claim 6, wherein the detecting step detects the remaining amount of the battery at regular intervals.   The step of displaying always displays the content of the detected remaining battery level during normal operation, and intermittently displays the content of the detected remaining battery level during the charging. The display method of the portable electronic device according to claim 7.   The displaying step includes intermittently displaying the transition to the remaining battery level within a rated range in a stepwise manner during the charging in a stepwise manner with the detected remaining battery level as a reference. The display method of the portable electronic device according to claim 8, wherein The method further includes the step of calculating a communicable time based on the detected remaining battery level during the charging, and the displaying step displays the communicable time calculated by the calculating step on the display means. The display method of the portable electronic device according to claim 6.

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