JP2005311637A - Portable terminal device and submersion-under-water protection circuit used for it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable terminal device capable of reducing the loss of data in a body by reducing failure of hardware caused by a wet state such as submersion under water. <P>SOLUTION: A submersion-under-water detector 16 is arranged at a place where water easily intrudes when the body of a portable telephone 1 is submerged under water. It detects the submersion-under-water state when water intrudes, and transmits a signal of the submersion-under-water state to a control unit 14. When the control unit 14 detects the submersion-under-water state by receiving the signal of the submersion-under-water state from the submersion-under-water detector 16, it transmits a power supply interruption signal to a power supply interruption circuit 20. When the power supply interruption circuit 20 receives the power supply interruption signal from the control unit 14, it interrupts the power supply supplied from a power supply 21 to each part inside the portable telephone 1, and prevents the power supply from being supplied to the parts other than the part between the power supply 21 and the power supply interruption circuit 20 inside the portable telephone 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable terminal device and a submergence protection circuit used therefor, and more particularly to a mobile phone provided with a water wetting detection means such as submergence.

  In recent years, mobile phones have been further reduced in size and can be carried around at any time, but on the other hand, it is conceivable that the main body may be dropped and submerged by a little carelessness.

  Conventionally, in a mobile phone, a water wetness determination label for detecting water wetness such as submersion is attached so that the user can confirm water wetness such as submersion when the battery is removed. Once it gets wet with water due to submergence or the like, the color changes (or the ink oozes into the water), so that it can be confirmed at a glance that it gets wet (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  However, even if the mobile phone body is in a wet state such as submersion, the water wetness state of the mobile phone body cannot be detected unless the water wetness determination label is in the wet state at that time. There has also been proposed a method of detecting the water wet state of the mobile phone body by detecting the conduction between the electrodes due to the water wet state (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

JP 2003-283619 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-119659 JP 2002-1111838 A

  In the conventional mobile phone described above, a method of detecting the wet state of the main body using a wetness determination label or the like when repairing a failure due to a wet state such as submergence has been proposed.

  However, in recent mobile phones, in addition to the phone book function for storing phone numbers, a lot of personal data such as address books and camera images can be stored. There is a possibility that these data will be lost due to failure. This problem cannot be dealt with by the above-described method for detecting a wet state such as submergence.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, reduce hardware failures due to water-wetting conditions such as submergence, and reduce the loss of data in the main body and use it It is to provide a submergence protection circuit.

  A portable terminal device according to the present invention is a portable terminal device including means for supplying power to an internal circuit of a main body, and detection means for detecting a wet state including at least liquid submerged in the main body. A power shut-off circuit that shuts off the supply of power to the internal circuit when the water wet state is detected.

  A submergence protection circuit according to the present invention is a submergence protection circuit used in a portable terminal device including means for supplying power to an internal circuit of a main body and detection means for detecting a wet state including at least liquid submergence in the main body. A power shut-off circuit for shutting off the supply of power to the internal circuit when the detection unit detects the water wet state.

  That is, the portable terminal device of the present invention shuts off the power supplied to the internal circuit of the main body before the internal circuit of the main body is short-circuited with a liquid such as water, when a water wet state such as submergence of the main body is detected, It has a function to prevent the internal circuit of the main body from being short-circuited by a liquid such as water.

  In a portable terminal device such as a cellular phone, when the water is submerged when it is not waterproofed, such as being housed in a waterproof case, water normally enters the inside of the main body, and the internal circuit is short-circuited, resulting in hardware failure.

  However, in the mobile terminal device of the present invention, the power supply is shut down when a wet state such as submergence of the main body is detected, so that it is possible to reduce hardware failures as described above. Moreover, in the portable terminal device of the present invention, since the internal circuit is prevented from being short-circuited, it is possible to reduce the loss of data stored in the internal circuit.

  By adopting the configuration and operation as described below, the present invention can reduce the hardware failure due to a wet state such as submergence, and can reduce the loss of data in the main body. It is done.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a mobile phone 1 includes an antenna 11, a transmission / reception unit 12, a transmission / reception control unit 13, a control unit 14, a storage unit 15, a submergence detection unit 16, a display unit 17, an input unit 18, and audio. The processing circuit 19, the power cutoff circuit 20, and the power source 21 are configured.

  The transmission / reception unit 12 performs transmission / reception by radio with a radio base station (not shown) via the antenna 11, and the transmission / reception control circuit 13 controls the transmission / reception processing by the transmission / reception unit 12. The control unit 14 performs overall control processing, and the storage unit 15 stores programs executed by the control unit 14 and personal data such as a telephone book.

  The submergence detection unit 16 detects a wet state such as a submergence in the main body (including a wet state with a liquid other than water). The display unit 17 displays information visually, the input unit 18 inputs information such as data and instructions from the user by a key switch or the like, and the voice processing circuit 19 processes voices necessary for a call.

  The power supply 21 supplies necessary power to each of the above components, and the power shutoff circuit 20 shuts off the power supply from the power supply 21 to each component. In FIG. 1, supply of power to each unit is represented by a broken line, and transmission / reception of signals centered on the control unit 14 is represented by a solid line.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a short circuit prevention process for an internal circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a short circuit prevention process for an internal circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The submergence detection unit 16 is installed at a location where water easily enters when the main body of the mobile phone 1 is submerged. When the water enters, the submergence detection unit 16 detects the submergence state and sends a signal of the submergence state to the control unit 14.

  The control unit 14 monitors the submerged state of the main body through the submergence detection unit 16 (step S1 in FIG. 2), and detects the submerged state in response to the submergence state signal from the submergence detection unit 16 (step S2 in FIG. 2). A power cutoff signal is sent to the power cutoff circuit 20 (step S3 in FIG. 2).

  When receiving the power cutoff signal from the control unit 14, the power cutoff circuit 20 shuts off the power supplied from the power source 21 to each part. Will not be supplied.

  The wiring between the power source 21 and the power shut-off circuit 20 is designed so that it will not be short-circuited even if submerged, or the power source 21 and the power shut-off circuit 20 and the wiring between them are waterproofed, etc. When the mobile phone 1 is submerged and water enters the inside of the mobile phone 1, all power to the internal circuit is cut off, so that a short circuit in the internal circuit can be prevented.

  Thereafter, by sufficiently drying the mobile phone 1, the mobile phone 1 can be turned on, and the personal data stored in the storage unit 15 can be taken out.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the submerged state of the main body of the mobile phone 1 is detected, the power supply to the internal circuit is cut off, so that the hardware failure due to the submerged state such as submergence can be reduced. The loss of data inside can be reduced.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the mobile phone 1 has been described. However, in addition to the mobile phone 1, the above-described submergence detection is also applicable to mobile terminal devices such as digital cameras and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) whose size is being reduced. By applying the unit 16 and the power cut-off circuit 20, it is possible to prevent personal data from being lost. Further, as the submergence detection unit 16, it is possible to apply the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the mobile telephone by one Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the short circuit prevention process of the internal circuit by one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile phone 11 Antenna 12 Transmission / reception part 13 Transmission / reception control part 14 Control part 15 Storage part 16 Submergence detection part 17 Display part 18 Input part 19 Audio | voice processing circuit 20 Power supply cutoff circuit 21 Power supply

Claims (8)

  A portable terminal device comprising: means for supplying power to an internal circuit of the main body; and detection means for detecting a water wet state including at least liquid submergence of the main body, wherein the detection means detects the water wet state. A portable terminal device comprising a power cutoff circuit for shutting off power supply to the internal circuit.   The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit outputs a submerged state signal when the wet state is detected.   The portable terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the power supply cutoff circuit cuts off the power supply before the internal circuit is short-circuited with the liquid, thereby preventing a short circuit of the internal circuit.   The process which prevents the short circuit by the said submerged state was performed with respect to the means to supply the said power supply, the said power supply cutoff circuit, and the wiring between them, The Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. Mobile terminal device.   A submergence protection circuit used in a portable terminal device including means for supplying power to an internal circuit of a main body and detection means for detecting a water wet state including submergence in at least a liquid of the main body, wherein A submergence protection circuit comprising a power shut-off circuit that shuts off the supply of power to the internal circuit when a wet state is detected.   The submergence protection circuit according to claim 5, wherein the detection unit outputs a submergence state signal when the wet state is detected.   7. The submergence protection circuit according to claim 5, wherein the power shut-off circuit shuts off the power before the internal circuit is short-circuited with the liquid to prevent a short circuit of the internal circuit. 8. The process according to claim 5, wherein a process for preventing a short circuit due to the submerged state is applied to the power supply means, the power shut-off circuit, and a wiring between them. Submerged protection circuit.

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