JP2005191742A - Mobile terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile terminal the storage areas of which a user can easily customize depending on a form of use. <P>SOLUTION: The mobile terminal is provided with: a display section; an operation entry section; a storage section; and a control section that assigns the storage areas of the storage section to various data on the basis of permissible values which are set corresponding to the various data, allows the display section to display the choices of the permissible values whose setting can be revised in accordance with the various data, and uses the operation entry section to revise setting of the permissible values on the basis of the selected choice. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to a portable terminal device such as a mobile phone, a portable personal computer, and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance).

Various application programs are installed in portable personal computers and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistance). Not only communication functions but also various application programs associated with communication functions such as a phone book function and mail function are installed in mobile phones, as well as various functions not directly related to communication functions such as camera functions and game functions. The application program is also installed.

  Conventionally, in such a portable terminal device, since the memory storage capacity is limited, an upper limit value of the data storage capacity provided for each application is set. For example, in the case of the telephone book function, some fixed upper limit value is set such that the number of data registrations is 300, for example.

For example, Patent Document 1 relates to a portable terminal device that has a predetermined telephone directory storage table and has a mail function according to a mail address registered in the table.
JP 2002-320025 A

The mobile terminal device has a function of connecting to the Internet as a standard function. For example, data is newly registered or additionally registered from a database such as the Internet such as downloading of image data and downloading of incoming melody. Can do. Also, update registration of registered data such as downloading of upgraded application programs and extension data such as dictionary data can be performed from a database such as the Internet. Furthermore, the registered data can be updated and registered, for example, by adding a registrant to the phone book data, when the user directly inputs an operation from the operation input unit of the portable terminal device.

  For this reason, there is a dramatic increase in the opportunity for users to register new or additional data, or to update and register data. However, the capacity of the memory provided in a mobile terminal device Because there is a limit, for example, the number of registered MAX of phone book data is further increased, the storage area allocated to upgrade a certain program data is increased, or the storage area is changed according to the usage form by the user. It is desirable that it can be easily customized.

In order to solve the above-described problems in the prior art, the present invention provides a display unit, an operation input unit, a storage unit, and a storage area of the storage unit based on an allowable value set corresponding to the various data. A control unit that displays the allowable value options that can be set and changed in accordance with various data on the display unit, and that changes the allowable value based on the options selected using the operation input unit. Prepared.

  Further, the control unit determines an unused state of the storage unit, and determines an allowable value option whose setting can be changed corresponding to various data based on the unused state.

  In addition, when data is selected using the operation input unit, the control unit displays an allowable value option that can be set and changed in accordance with the selected data.

  In addition, when data is selected using the operation input unit, the control unit relates to display of an option of an allowable value that can be set and changed corresponding to the selected data, and other data that is not selected. An allowable value whose setting is changed corresponding to the option is displayed, and the allowable value is set and changed based on the option selected using the operation input unit.

  The control unit issues a warning when the set allowable value and the stored data amount satisfy a predetermined warning condition.

  The data is a data folder and / or a data file.

According to the present invention, since the user can easily customize the storage area according to the usage mode of the mobile terminal device, the storage area can be effectively used easily.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration. In the mobile phone network, a plurality of radio base stations BS are connected to the control station CS and communicate with the mobile phone MS by radio. On the other hand, various data files (dictionary files, music files, image files, etc.) and various program data files are stored in a database DB provided in a website (server) WS on the Internet connected to a mobile phone network. When the mobile phone MS starts a Web browser by a predetermined operation, it connects to the Internet wirelessly and downloads a desired data file from the website WS.

  As shown in a block diagram of the cellular phone MS in FIG. 2, a wireless unit 1, a control unit 2, a memory 3 such as a flash memory, an operation unit 4 such as a key operation unit, a display unit 5 such as a liquid crystal, a speaker 6 and a microphone 7 is provided. The mobile phone MS has various application programs and has the same performance as a PDA or the same performance as a personal computer. In addition, the mobile phone MS can include an imaging unit (not shown) and can be equipped with a photographed image processing software and the like to have a function as a digital camera. In the mobile phone MS, the display unit 5 can be customized at any time by the user operating the operation unit 4 in a predetermined operation procedure to customize the storage area of the rewritable memory 3.

  The control unit 2 monitors the usage status of the storage area allowed for each data in the memory 3 and displays when the usage status reaches a certain ratio (for example, 90% used area and 10% unused area). A warning is displayed on the unit 5. By displaying the warning, the user can recognize the necessity of customizing the storage area before the storage area is full.

  As an example, FIG. 3 shows a transition diagram of the operation menu screen when the storage area of the phone book data file is customized. First, (a) is an initial menu screen. When the cursor is moved from the menu item to the “customize” position and the enter key is pressed (hereinafter referred to as “select”), the screen changes to (b). (B) is the customize menu screen, “change phone book registration number”, “change received mail registration number”, “dictionary data expansion”, “change incoming melody registration number”, “image data registration number change”, program version upgrade Various customization items such as "" are displayed.

  In this example, “Change phone book registration number” is selected. By this selection, the screen changes to (c). (C) is a phone book registration number change menu screen. The phone book has a maximum registration number of allowable values in the storage area, and the number is 300. Further, it is displayed that the current number of registrations is 270. The data size for each registration is fixed. The user who wants to increase the number of registered items moves the cursor to the change menu item, and for example, when 500 items are selected, the storage area of the telephone book is customized to 500 items. This is an example of setting and changing the upper limit of the size of the phone book data file.

  When “Change received mail registration count” is selected on the customize menu screen, the menu screen of FIG. 4A is displayed. In this example, the upper limit of the total number of received mails that can be registered in a folder-type received mailbox is set and changed. This is an example of setting and changing the upper limit of the folder size of the received mailbox. Since the amount of data per e-mail transmission of a mobile phone is determined to be within 100 Kbytes, for example, this maximum data amount or the average data amount per time and the allowable size of the storage area allocated to the receiving mailbox Based on the above, the control unit 2 calculates and determines the number of registrations.

  Also, when “Change melody registration number” is selected, the menu screen of FIG. 4B is displayed, and when “Change image data registration number” is selected, the menu screen of FIG. 4C is displayed. The former is an example of setting and changing the upper limit (allowable value) of the total number of cases that can be registered in the folder storing the incoming melody data, and the latter is an example of setting and changing the upper limit (allowable value) of the registered number of folders that store image data. is there. Since the upper limit of the size of each data file of the music data and image data in the database DB is determined, the allowable value of the folder size can be indicated by the number of music data and image data to be stored as described above.

  Further, when “dictionary data extension” is selected, the menu screen of FIG. 5A is displayed, and the allowable value A1MB of the set dictionary data folder, the current usage amount aMB, and the allowable value change menu items “A2MB” and “ A3MB "is displayed. In this example, the allowable value is indicated by the size (storage capacity) of the folder.

  Also, when “Program Version Upgrade” relating to a specific application program A is selected, the menu screen of FIG. 5B is displayed, the set allowable value B1MB of the program file, the size of the currently stored application program file The bMB and allowable value change menu items “B2MB” and “B3MB” are displayed. These change the upper limit (allowable value) of the file size of the data file.

  By selecting the menu screen as described above, the storage area is customized, but the ratio of allowable values of various data allocated to the memory 3 is displayed by the control unit 2 in a predetermined display format. 6A and 6B show examples of display formats. FIG. 6A shows the ratio of allowable values in the storage area allocated to various data after customization on the display unit 5 in a pie chart. Is. In this example, when the user's operation is selected to increase the allowable value of the application program A for the purpose of upgrading the version of the specific application program A, the control unit 2 allows the currently set program to be permitted. Two values in the case of n = 1 and n = 2 obtained by adding a value obtained by dividing the area (storage capacity) of the unused area of the memory 3 into n equal parts (n = 1, 2,) to the upper limit (allowable value) of the file size The value is determined as an allowable value option whose setting can be changed. (B) shows a case where the user selects the case of n = 2, for example, and the shaded area indicates an area expanded for the application program. In this example, for the sake of explanation, it is assumed that an unused area remains in the storage area permitted for the phone book data file, and a part of the unused area of the phone book data file is allocated to the storage area of the application program A. Is shown.

  That is, a data folder or data file other than the data folder or data file selected to change the allowable value, that is, in this example, a phone book data file, a reception mailbox (folder format), an image data folder, a document data folder, etc. Since each unused area of various data other than the application program A is monitored in advance, the entire area or a part of each unused area is divided into n equal parts (n = 1, 2). It can be determined as the options B2MB and B3MB of allowable values that can be changed.

  The determination is made in this way, and the set allowable value is changed for data other than the selected data folder or data file. Therefore, when one of the options is selected on the above-described change menu screen, the control unit 2 sets other data folders and data that are to be set and changed in accordance with the change of the allowable value by the selected option. The file name and each allowable value to be changed are displayed on the display unit 5 for the purpose of checking the user. Then, by performing a definite input to the user's consent using the operation unit 4, the control unit 2 sets and changes each allowable value according to the selected option.

  It should be noted that the setting of whether to use the entire area or a partial area of the unused area, or the use of a partial area of all the unused areas, one or more from various data To select an option using an unused area in the selected data, to set how to handle fractions generated by dividing the unused area into n equal parts, to display, and to set the unused area to n, etc. The method for obtaining and displaying options, such as setting for obtaining a selection branch at a predetermined number interval and a predetermined data amount interval, for example, 50 units or a predetermined 100 Mb unit, for example, is not obtained by dividing. The user can set in advance. Moreover, in these settings, it can set individually for every data.

  In addition, when there is no unused area in the memory 3 or when it is difficult to customize (for example, the total unused area is 3% or less of the total area), various data are displayed from the customization menu screen. When switching to an individual change menu screen, a message indicating that customization is not possible is displayed on the change menu screen. In such a case, the user may increase the unused area by deleting all or any of the registered data folders and individual data files that are unnecessary. Then, after increasing the unused area, the customization operation may be performed again.

  In order to perform the expansion and reduction of the storage area described above, in the present invention, an address management table in which an identifier is associated with each physical address of the memory is separately stored in the memory 3. FIG. 7A shows an embodiment of the address management table, and each address is identified by an identifier together with registration data such as a program. The identifier is managed in the identifier management table shown in FIG. 7B, and the physical address identified by the identifier a is a storage area of “application program A”. Similarly, the physical address identified by the identifier b is a storage area of “phone book”, the identifier c is “received mail”, the identifier d is “dictionary”, the identifier e is an incoming melody ”, and the identifier f is“ image ”. Each is a storage area.

  The control unit 2 stores the allowable value in the built-in RAM in the above-described change of the allowable value, and the physical address based on the new allowable value for changing the setting of the data folder or data file identifier corresponding to the stored allowable value. Assign an identifier to. In other words, the address management table and the identifier management table are initially set at the time of shipment from the factory, but if the user changes the allowable value setting by the above-described operation, the identifier assigned to the physical address in the address management table is the allowable value. Rewritten based on Therefore, the storage area can be arbitrarily customized by the user.

  The application program A and the phone book data are illustrated as an example of expanding a specific storage area. However, according to the present example, all data stored in a rewritable memory managed as a data folder or a data file is the same. Customization is possible.

  As described above, since the storage area can be easily customized according to the usage form of the mobile terminal device, the storage area can be effectively used easily. In addition, although a mobile phone has been described as an example, the present invention can also be used for PDAs and other portable notebook computers, and the storage area can be easily and effectively used like a mobile phone. Become.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing a mobile phone system which is an example of a system environment using a mobile terminal device of the present invention. It is a block diagram of the mobile phone which is an embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of the present invention, (a) to (c) are transition diagrams of the operation menu screen when the storage area of the telephone directory is customized. (A), (b), and (c) are embodiments of the present invention, respectively (a) is an operation menu screen when “change received mail registration number” is selected, and (b) is “number of incoming melody registrations”. The operation menu screen when “Change” is selected, and (c) is the operation menu screen when “Change number of registered image data” is selected. (A) and (b) are embodiments of the present invention, respectively (a) is an operation menu screen when “dictionary data file extension” is selected, and (b) is a case where “program version upgrade” is selected. This is an operation menu screen. FIG. 4 is an embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a pie chart for display indicating the usage status of a storage area before expansion of the application program storage area and (b) is after expansion of the application program storage area. . In the embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a storage area address management table, and (b) is an address identifier management table.

Explanation of symbols

MS mobile phone BS base station CS control station WS web server DB database 1 radio unit 2 control unit 3 memory 4 operation unit 5 display unit 6 speaker

Claims (6)

The storage area of the storage unit is allocated to various data based on the display unit, the operation input unit, the storage unit, and the allowable values set corresponding to the various data, and the display unit is set corresponding to the various data A portable terminal device comprising: a control unit that displays a changeable allowable value option and sets and changes the allowable value based on an option selected using the operation input unit. 2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines an unused state of the storage unit, and determines an option of the allowable value that can be changed according to various data based on the unused state. The portable terminal device described. 2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein, when data is selected using the operation input unit, the control unit displays an allowable value option that can be set and changed in accordance with the selected data. Mobile terminal device. When data is selected using the operation input unit, the control unit displays an option of an allowable value whose setting can be changed corresponding to the selected data, and the option regarding other data that is not selected. 2. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein an allowable value whose setting is changed corresponding to the display is displayed, and the allowable value is set and changed based on an option selected using the operation input unit. Terminal device. 5. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit issues a warning when the set allowable value and the stored data amount satisfy a predetermined warning condition. The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the data is a data folder and / or a data file.

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