JP2007129341A - Mobile phone with personal computer function and external device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a mobile phone to be used as a personal computer while maintaining functions of the mobile phone. <P>SOLUTION: The mobile phone with a personal computer function driven by an internal or external power supply includes: a mobile phone side interface connectable to an external device; the internal power supply; and an execution means for executing a power management function when no external device is connected to the mobile phone side interface and when mobile phone is driven by the internal power supply. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a mobile phone with a personal computer function and an external device connectable to the mobile phone with a personal computer function.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a mobile phone has not only a function as a small portable phone but also a data transmission / reception function and various arithmetic and storage functions. In recent years, the mobile phone has specifications comparable to a personal computer. It has become. For this reason, the number of cases where functions (such as a calculation function and a schedule management function) that are originally performed using a personal computer are added to a mobile phone is increasing.

In such mobile phones, the processing speed of the CPU and the capacity of a physical memory composed of a semiconductor memory such as a DRAM have been steadily becoming higher functions. Increasing the capacity of dynamic memory is not a factor that hinders portability.

On the other hand, providing the mobile phone itself with a device that is not so much related to the function of the mobile phone, such as a hard disk that stores a large amount of data and a plurality of various devices, causes a problem of enlargement. In particular, when a mobile phone is used as a personal computer, increasing the size of the display screen of the mobile phone is limited from the viewpoint of portability of the mobile phone, and a screen comparable to that of a personal computer cannot be provided. Further, from the viewpoint of operability, it becomes necessary to separately carry a keyboard having the same key pitch as that of a personal computer, but there is a problem that it is not realistic.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a portable telephone for a personal computer that includes a display and a keyboard that can be opened and closed to the left and right of a hinge (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to the personal computer-use mobile phone described in Patent Document 1, since it has a keyboard, it is possible to obtain a higher operability than inputting characters and the like from the input keys of the mobile phone.

JP 2005-51550 A

However, since the personal computer-use mobile phone described in Patent Document 1 uses a display provided in the mobile phone, a sufficient screen size cannot be ensured, and there is a problem that the personal computer is also unusable. there were. Further, since the keyboard provided in the personal computer / mobile phone described in Patent Document 1 has a narrower key pitch than the keyboard provided in a normal personal computer, the adjacent keys are often accidentally typed or co-typed. was there.

Furthermore, the personal computer-use mobile phone described in Patent Document 1 uses an internal power source (for example, a battery) when used as a personal computer. There is a problem that the possible time is shortened and the original function of the mobile phone is affected.

In recent years, individual individuals often have electronic devices such as PDAs, digital still cameras, digital video cameras, digital audio players, mobile phones, notebook personal computers, desktop personal computers, etc. It is rarely used at the same time. Rather, data stored and processed in each electronic device is often moved to one place (for example, a desktop personal computer) and stored and processed in many cases.
However, in the portable telephone with a personal computer described in Patent Document 1, since the data input from the keyboard is stored in the portable telephone, the data is stored and processed by another electronic device (for example, a personal computer). If the user wants to save the data or saves the data of another electronic device in the mobile phone, the user needs to move it, which is troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to enable a mobile phone to be used as a personal computer while maintaining the function as the mobile phone.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following.
(1) A mobile phone with a personal computer function driven by an internal power supply or an external power supply,
An interface on the mobile phone side that can be connected to an external device;
An internal power supply,
A personal computer function comprising: an execution means for executing a power management function when the external device is not connected to the mobile phone side interface and is driven by the internal power supply Mobile phone.

According to the invention of (1), it can be connected to an external device (for example, a keyboard, an image display device, or an external storage medium reading / writing device (DVD-R device, CD-R device)) via the cellular phone side interface. Therefore, by connecting and integrating with an external device, it is possible to provide a user-friendly feeling as a personal computer.

Further, when an external device is not connected to the cellular phone side interface and is driven by an internal power supply, a power management function is executed. That is, when a high processing capability is not required (for example, transmission / reception of a call or mail), the power management function is executed, and it is possible to prevent the internal power supply from being consumed wastefully.
In the present invention, the power management function refers to a function for reducing power consumption, such as reducing the operation of an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU.
In the present invention, the external power supply means a power supply other than the internal power supply, including a commercial power supply generally supplied from an electric power company or the like and a power supply supplied from an external device.

In addition, since it can be connected to an external device via the mobile phone side interface, data etc. can be collected from the external device connected to the mobile phone side interface in one place in the mobile phone, improving convenience. To do.

Furthermore, the present invention provides the following.
(2) The mobile phone with a personal computer function described in (1) above,
In the case of being driven by the external power source, an execution disable means for preventing the power management function from being executed is provided.

According to the invention of (2), when driven by an external power source, the power management function is not executed, so that the power saving operation state is not achieved. Therefore, when used as a personal computer, no waiting time is required for restoring from a power-saving operating state to a normal operating state. In addition, since it is driven by an external power source, it does not affect the original functions of the mobile phone, such as shortening the available call time.

Furthermore, the present invention provides the following.
(3) An external device connectable with the mobile phone with a personal computer function described in (1) or (2) above,
An external device side interface connectable with the mobile phone with the personal computer function;
A keyboard capable of inputting numbers, characters, symbols, etc. to the mobile phone with the personal computer function via the external device side interface;
An external device comprising: an image display device configured to display an image based on a video signal received from the mobile phone with a personal computer function via the external device side interface.

According to the invention of (3), from the keyboard capable of inputting numbers, characters, symbols and the like to the mobile phone with personal computer function via the external device side interface, and the mobile phone with personal computer function via the external device side interface And an image display device that displays an image based on the received video signal, and is connected to and integrated with a mobile phone with a personal computer function via an external device-side interface. Furthermore, it is possible to give a feeling of use comparable to that of a personal computer.

According to the present invention, the mobile phone can be used as a personal computer while maintaining the function as the mobile phone.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an example of a mobile phone with a personal computer function and an external device according to the present embodiment.
The mobile phone 10 with a personal computer function (hereinafter also simply referred to as “mobile phone 10”) has a function as a general mobile phone (for example, a call function or a mail transmission / reception function) and a function as a personal computer (for example, A cellular phone having a document creation function and a spreadsheet function).

The external device 50 is provided with a connection slot 68a into which the mobile phone 10 can be inserted. By inserting the mobile phone 10 into the connection slot 68a, the connection terminal 34 (see FIG. 2) included in the mobile phone 10 and the external device 50 are provided. The connection terminal 68 (refer FIG. 3) with which the apparatus 50 is provided is connected. Thereby, an instruction is input to the mobile phone 10 from the mouse 62 or the keyboard 64 provided in the external device 50, or an image to be displayed on the liquid crystal panel 14 of the mobile phone 10 is displayed on the display 66. be able to.
As described above, by connecting the mobile phone 10 and the external device 50, when the mobile phone 10 is used as a personal computer, various devices (for example, a mouse 62, a keyboard 64, a display 66, etc.) included in the external device 50 are provided. Can be used.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the mobile phone with a personal computer function shown in FIG.
The cellular phone 10 includes an operation unit 12, a liquid crystal panel 14, a CCD camera 16, a radio unit 18, an audio circuit 20, a speaker 22, a microphone 24, a transmission / reception antenna 26, a nonvolatile memory 28, a microcomputer 30, a secondary battery 32, and a connection. A terminal 34 is provided.

The radio unit 18 is controlled by the microcomputer 30 and transmits / receives to / from the base station using radio waves as a medium through the transmitting / receiving antenna 26. The audio circuit 20 outputs the reception signal output from the wireless unit 18 through the microcomputer 30 to the speaker 22 and outputs the audio signal output from the microphone 24 to the wireless unit 18 through the microcomputer 30 as a transmission signal.

The speaker 22 converts the reception signal output from the audio circuit 20 into reception audio and outputs it, and the microphone 24 converts the transmission audio emitted from the operator into an audio signal and outputs it to the audio circuit 20.
The CCD camera 26 can image a subject, and image data obtained by imaging is stored in a nonvolatile memory 28.

The connection terminal 34 is a terminal for connecting to the external device 50, and corresponds to the mobile phone side interface in the present invention. Examples of the cellular phone side interface include a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port and an RS-232C port. However, in the present invention, the interface is not particularly limited as long as it can be connected to an external device.
In the present embodiment, the case where the connection between the mobile phone 10 and the external device 50 is a wired connection will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a wireless connection such as a connection by infrared communication is used. There may be.

The nonvolatile memory 28 includes, for example, data such as characters input via the operation unit 12, image data obtained by imaging with the CCD camera 16, data such as mail received via the transmission / reception antenna 26, connection terminals Various data and various programs received from the external device 50 via 34 are stored in a nonvolatile manner.

The nonvolatile memory 28 stores an OS (Operating System) for mobile phones and various programs (application software). Various programs include programs related to functions as a personal computer, such as programs related to calls, programs related to sending and receiving mail, programs related to functions as mobile phones, programs related to creation of documents, programs related to spreadsheets, etc. Is mentioned.

The nonvolatile memory 28 stores a program related to the power management function. When the microcomputer 30 determines that the external device 50 is not connected via the connection terminal 34 and the mobile phone 10 is driven by the secondary battery 32 (the AC adapter 36 is connected). First, a program related to the power management function is read and executed. Further, when the microcomputer 30 determines that the AC adapter 36 is connected, the microcomputer 30 disables execution of this program.

The liquid crystal panel 14 is, for example, a character input via the operation unit 12, an image obtained by imaging with the CCD camera 16, a mail text or image received via the transmission / reception antenna 26, and an external via the connection terminal 34. Characters, images, and the like based on various data received from the device 50 are displayed.

The secondary battery 32 as an internal power source supplies power to each circuit, and is charged by the power supplied from the AC adapter 36 when the AC adapter 36 is connected.
The AC adapter 36 is connected to the mobile phone 10 to charge the secondary battery 32 and supply an external power source supplied from the outside (for example, a household outlet) to each circuit.

The microcomputer 30 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and executes various programs on the OS to perform processing related to a function as a mobile phone and processing related to a function as a personal computer.
Further, when the external device 50 is connected to the connection terminal 34, the microcomputer 30 recognizes the external device 50, and processes related to input / output of signals and transmission / reception of data to / from the external device 50 via the connection terminal 34. Can be executed.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the external device shown in FIG.
The external device 50 includes a CPU 52, ROM 54, RAM 56, hard disk drive 58, CD-R / DVD-R drive 60, mouse 62, keyboard 64, display 66, and connection terminal 68.

The ROM 54 stores a program necessary for starting the external device 50. When the power is turned on, the CPU 52 starts up according to the program stored in the ROM 54 and then controls the operation of the external device 50. Specifically, operation control of the mouse 62, the keyboard 64, the display 66, the hard disk drive 58, and the CD-R / DVD-R drive 60 is performed. The RAM 56 stores data used when the CPU 52 operates.

The mouse 62 and the keyboard 64 are for inputting various operations such as inputting numbers, characters, symbols, and the like. The display 66 displays an image based on the received video signal, and corresponds to the image display device in the present invention. The CD-R / DVD-R drive 60 reads data stored on a CD or DVD, and writes data stored on the hard disk drive 58 on a CD or DVD.

The hard disk drive 58 stores an OS for personal computers (hereinafter also referred to as “PC OS”) and various programs (application software). Examples of the various programs include a program for creating a document and a program for spreadsheet.
The hard disk drive 58 stores device drivers for various devices such as a mouse 62, a keyboard 64, a CD-R / DVD-R drive 60, a display 66, and the like.
The connection terminal 68 corresponds to the external device side interface in the present invention, and can be connected to the mobile phone 10.

When the mobile phone 10 is connected while the external device 50 is activated, the CPU 52 recognizes the mobile phone 10 and can access the nonvolatile memory 28 of the mobile phone 10.
On the other hand, when the mobile phone 10 is connected while the external device 50 is powered off, the mobile phone 10 recognizes the external device 50. That is, various devices such as the mouse 62, the keyboard 64, the CD-R / DVD-R drive 60, and the display 66 are recognized by the mobile phone 10 (microcomputer 30) and controlled by the mobile phone 10. As a result, the mobile phone 10 operates in an integrated manner with the external device 50, and can receive data from the external device 50 and store it in the nonvolatile memory 28 provided in the mobile phone 10.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing cellular phone processing performed in a cellular phone with a personal computer function.
First, when the power is turned on, the microcomputer 30 reads the mobile phone OS stored in the nonvolatile memory 28, and then executes the program on the OS (step S10). In this processing, the microcomputer 30 executes processing related to incoming calls and calls, processing related to mail transmission / reception, and the like based on a predetermined program.

Next, the microcomputer 30 determines whether or not the external device 50 is connected (step S11). If it is determined that the external device 50 is not connected, the process returns to step S10. On the other hand, when determining that the external device 50 is connected, the microcomputer 30 recognizes the external device 50 (step S12). By recognizing the external device 50, the microcomputer 30 can perform input / output of signals and transmission / reception of data with various devices included in the external device 50 via the connection terminal 34. Therefore, for example, instructions, characters, and the like can be input from the keyboard 64 provided in the external device 50, and a screen image or other image to be displayed on the liquid crystal panel 14 can be displayed on the display device 66. After performing the process of step S12, the process returns to step S10. Thereby, the cellular phone 10 functions as a personal computer integrated with the external device 50.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of power management processing performed in the mobile phone with a personal computer function. This subroutine is called and executed at a predetermined timing separately from the subroutine shown in FIG.

First, the microcomputer 30 determines whether or not the external device 50 is connected (step S20). If it is determined that the external device 50 is not connected, the microcomputer 30 determines whether or not the AC adapter 36 is connected (step S21). If the AC adapter 36 is not connected (step S21: NO) ) Executes the power management function (step S22), and ends the present subroutine. When executing the process of step S22, the microcomputer 30 functions as an execution means for executing the power management function.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the external device 50 is not connected (step S20: NO), or when it is determined that the AC adapter 36 is connected (step S21: YES), the microcomputer 30 has a power management function. Is disabled (step S23), and this subroutine is terminated. When executing the process of step S23, the microcomputer 30 functions as an execution disabler that does not execute the power management function.

As described above, since the mobile phone 10 according to the present embodiment can be connected to the external device 50 via the connection terminal 34, it can be used as a personal computer by connecting and integrating with the external device 50. A feeling can be provided.

When the external device 50 is not connected to the connection terminal 34 and is driven by the secondary battery 32, the power management function is executed. That is, when a high processing capability is not required (for example, when a call or mail is transmitted / received), the power management function is executed, and it is possible to prevent the secondary battery 32 from being wasted.

In addition, since the external device 50 can be connected via the connection terminal 34, data and the like can be collected from the external device 50 connected to the connection terminal 34 in one place in the mobile phone 10, which is convenient. improves.

Further, according to the mobile phone 10 according to the present embodiment, when the AC adapter 36 is connected, the power management function is not executed, and thus the power saving operation state is not achieved. Therefore, when used as a personal computer, no waiting time is required for restoring from a power-saving operating state to a normal operating state. In addition, since it is driven by an external power source supplied from the outside (for example, a household outlet) via the AC adapter 36, it may affect the original function of the mobile phone, such as shortening the callable time. Absent.

Further, according to the external device 50 according to the present embodiment, the keyboard 64 capable of inputting numbers, characters, symbols, and the like to the mobile phone 10 via the connection terminal 68 and the mobile phone 10 received via the connection terminal 68. Since the display 66 for displaying an image based on the video signal is provided, the mobile phone 10 is integrated with the mobile phone 10 via the connection terminal 68 so that the mobile phone 10 can be used as a personal computer. Can be granted.

In the present embodiment described above, the case where the external device 50 can be used as a personal computer even when the mobile phone 10 is not connected has been described. However, the external device according to the present invention may not be used as a personal computer with only the external device. Such an external device will be described below.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of an external device according to another embodiment.
The external device 80 includes a hard disk drive 82, a CD-R / DVD-R drive 84, a mouse 86, a keyboard 88, a display 90, and a connection terminal 92.

Various devices (the hard disk drive 82, the CD-R / DVD-R drive 84, the mouse 86, the keyboard 88, and the display 90) are recognized by the mobile phone 10 when the mobile phone 10 is connected to the connection terminal 92.
When the mobile phone 10 recognizes these various devices, it can input / output signals and send / receive data via the connection terminal 92.

In the embodiment described above, the case where the mobile phone 10 includes the CCD camera 16 and the liquid crystal panel 14 has been described. However, in the present invention, the mobile phone with a personal computer function may not include these, and an external device may be provided. If the mobile phone side interface that can be connected to the mobile phone is provided and communication is possible, the configuration is not particularly limited.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the mobile phone 10 is provided with a mail transmission / reception function has been described. However, in the present invention, the mobile phone with a personal computer function may not be provided with a mail transmission / reception function. In the present invention, the program executed by the mobile phone with a personal computer function is not particularly limited as long as it can be processed by the mobile phone.

In the present invention, it is desirable that electronic components such as a CPU provided in a mobile phone with a personal computer function have high functionality. This is because installing a high-speed CPU or increasing the capacity of a physical memory hardly impedes portability, but can be used in a better environment when used as a personal computer.

In the present invention, the external device is not particularly limited as long as it includes an external device-side interface, a keyboard, and an image display device. For example, other devices such as a printer may be provided.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but only specific examples are illustrated, and the present invention is not particularly limited. The specific configuration of each unit and the like can be appropriately changed. The effects described in the embodiments of the present invention are only the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention. is not.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing an example of a mobile phone with a personal computer function and an external device according to the present embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the mobile telephone with a personal computer function shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the external device shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the mobile phone process performed in the mobile phone with a personal computer function. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the power management process performed in the mobile telephone with a personal computer function. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the external device which concerns on other embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cellular phone with personal computer function 12 Operation part 14 Liquid crystal panel 28 Non-volatile memory 30 Microcomputer 32 Secondary battery 34 Connection terminal 36 AC adapter 50, 80 External device 64, 88 Keyboard 66, 90 Display 68, 92 Connection terminal

Claims (3)

A mobile phone with a personal computer function driven by an internal power supply or an external power supply,
An interface on the mobile phone side that can be connected to an external device;
An internal power supply,
A personal computer function comprising: an execution means for executing a power management function when the external device is not connected to the mobile phone side interface and is driven by the internal power supply Mobile phone. 2. The mobile phone with a personal computer function according to claim 1, further comprising an execution disabler that prevents the power management function from being executed when driven by the external power source. An external device connectable to the mobile phone with a personal computer function according to claim 1 or 2,
An external device side interface connectable with the mobile phone with the personal computer function;
A keyboard capable of inputting numbers, characters, symbols, etc. to the mobile phone with the personal computer function via the external device side interface;
An external device comprising: an image display device that displays an image based on a video signal received from the mobile phone with a personal computer function via the external device-side interface.

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