JP2007164341A - Power source controller and power source control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power source controller for automatically turning off a power source or performing shift to a power saving mode when any predetermined operation is not performed from a user in response to notification from terminal equipment. <P>SOLUTION: This power source controller 10 is provided with a timer 18 for counting a time since a power source is turned on; a notification part 13 for notifying a user of turning off the power source or performing shift to a power saving mode after the lapse of a fixed time since the start of counting; and a power source control part 15 for controlling turning off the power source or performing shift to the power saving mode when any predetermined operation is not performed within the fixed time after notification. When any operation is not performed from an operation part 14 within the fixed time after notification by the notification part 13, the power source control part 15 turns off the power source of the terminal equipment 10 or performs shift to the power saving mode, and when any operation is performed from the operation part 14, the power source control part 15 holds the power source of the terminal equipment 10 on as it is, and temporarily resets the timer 18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a power supply control device and a power supply control method, and more particularly to a power supply control device and a power supply control method for performing power supply control of a terminal device such as a mobile phone or a mobile game device.

  Generally, in a portable electronic device that uses a battery as a power source, the operation of the power switch is forgotten, and the battery is wasted even though it is not used. Therefore, in many cases, the electronic device is provided with a function of automatically turning off the power when a non-operating state continues for a predetermined time (so-called auto power off function) in order to suppress useless consumption of the battery. Normally, the auto power off function has a time value unique to the electronic device, and the time until the power is turned off cannot be changed by the user.

  Therefore, there is a case where the power of the electronic device is turned off in the middle of use, or there is a case where the power cannot be turned off until a predetermined time elapses even if it is desired to turn off the power immediately. Is not supposed to control.

  Conventionally, as a technique for suppressing power consumption of an electronic device, for example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a power supply control device that can automatically turn off an electronic device at a time intended by a user. This power supply control device includes a key input unit provided with a plurality of keys for turning on the power, a switch, and a touch sensor. When the power is turned on by the operation of the key or the switch, the power off time corresponding to the operation is set. In addition to setting, the time when there is no operation is measured, and control is performed so that the power is turned off when the timed content is the power-off time.

Further, Patent Document 2 includes information that includes a line-of-sight detection sensor so that it can be determined whether or not the user is gazing at the screen, and when the screen is not gazed, the screen brightness is reduced to save power. A terminal is disclosed.
JP 2003-131760 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-146845

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, since the user must set the power-off time by himself / herself, the setting operation is troublesome, and if the user forgets to set the power-off time, There is no choice but to turn off the power manually. Also, if the power is turned off automatically when it has not been operated for a long time, for example, when watching content such as a movie that has a long viewing time, There is a risk that the power will automatically turn off.

  Further, in the invention described in Patent Document 2, unnecessary power consumption is suppressed by providing an external device such as a line-of-sight detection sensor in the terminal. There is a problem that it becomes complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can automatically switch off or enter a power saving mode when a predetermined operation is not performed by a user in response to a notification from a terminal device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a power supply control device and a power supply control method.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the first technical means of the present invention is a power control device for a terminal device, in which time measuring means for measuring the time since the power is turned on, and after a certain time has elapsed from the start of the time measurement. Notification means for notifying the user that the power is turned off or shifting to the power saving mode, and power control for controlling the power off or shifting to the power saving mode when a predetermined operation is not performed within a certain time after the notification. And means.

  The second technical means resets the time measuring means in the first technical means when a predetermined operation is performed within a predetermined time after the notification by the notification means, and the time measuring means is reset after the reset. It is characterized by measuring the time of.

  The third technical means includes the display means in the first or second technical means, and the notification means has a brightness, brightness, and color of the screen of the display means after a predetermined time has elapsed since the power was turned on. This is characterized in that the user is notified by changing one or more of the degree and the hue.

  According to a fourth technical means, in the first or second technical means, a sound output means is provided, and the notification means includes either a volume or a sound quality of the sound output means after a predetermined time has elapsed since turning on the power. This is characterized in that the user is notified by changing one or more of them.

  According to a fifth technical means, in the fourth technical means, the notification means notifies the user by outputting a specific sound from the sound output means.

  According to a sixth technical means, in the fifth technical means, the specific sound is any one of a message for notifying that the power is turned off or shifting to the power saving mode, a dial tone, and a combination of the message and the dial tone. It is characterized by being one.

  The seventh technical means includes the light emitting means in the first or second technical means, and the notification means turns on or blinks the light emitting means after a predetermined time has elapsed since turning on the power. It is characterized by notifying.

  The eighth technical means includes the vibration means in the first or second technical means, and the notification means notifies the user by vibrating the vibration means after a predetermined time has elapsed since turning on the power. It is characterized by doing.

  A ninth technical means is the first technical means or the second technical means, comprising a CPU, wherein the power control means shifts to the power saving mode by slowing down the processing speed of the CPU. is there.

  A tenth technical means includes the CPU in the first or second technical means, and the power control means shifts to a power saving mode by stopping the operation of the CPU. .

  In an eleventh technical means, in the power control method for a terminal device, the step of counting the time since the power of the terminal device is turned on; A step of notifying the user of the fact that the operation is to be performed, and a step of controlling to switch to the power-off mode or the power saving mode when a predetermined operation is not performed within a certain time after the notification. is there.

  According to the present invention, when a predetermined operation is not performed from the user in response to the notification from the terminal device, the power can be automatically turned off or the power saving mode can be entered. Even in the case of leaving it on, it is possible to automatically turn off the power or shift to the power saving mode.

  Embodiments of a terminal device incorporating a power supply control device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The power supply control device according to the present invention includes, for example, a battery-powered mobile phone, a mobile game device, a mobile AV device (a mobile device having a moving image playback function, a television broadcast reception function, etc.), a personal computer, a PDA (Personal Although it can be applied to various terminal devices such as Digital Assistant), it may be applied to a terminal device driven by an AC power source.

  FIG. 1 is an external view showing an example of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 10 is a terminal device, and the terminal device 10 is an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL, or the like. Display unit 11, sound output unit 12 that outputs a dial tone, voice message, etc., notification unit 13 that controls display unit 11, sound output unit 12, etc. to notify the user, operation input keys and tracks An operation unit 14 composed of a ball or the like, and a power control unit 15 that performs control related to the power source, such as turning on / off the power source and shifting to a power saving mode, are configured.

  Here, the operation unit 14 is not limited to the operation input means such as the operation input key and the trackball as described above, and the display unit 11 may be provided with a touch panel to perform a touch operation. In addition, the terminal device 10 may include a signal light receiving unit, and may receive an operation signal from a remote control that can be remotely operated via a wire or wirelessly.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of the terminal device 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. In the figure, the terminal device 10 stores a display unit 11, a sound output unit 12, a notification unit 13, an operation unit 14, a power supply control unit 15, a CPU 16 for controlling the operation of the terminal device 10, a control program, and the like. The memory 17 and a timer 18 which is a time measuring means are provided, and these units are connected to each other via a system bus 19. The terminal device 10 shown in the present embodiment is assumed to have a playback function for moving image content such as games and movies. Moreover, it is good also as a structure provided with the tuner function which receives a television broadcast.

  In FIG. 2, the timer 18 measures the time from when the terminal device 10 is turned on. The notification unit 13 controls the display unit 11 or the sound output unit 12 to notify the user that the power is turned off or the mode is changed to the power saving mode after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of timing. The power supply control unit 15 controls the power supply to be turned off or to shift to the power saving mode when a predetermined operation is not performed within a certain time after the notification by the notification unit 13.

  For example, the notification unit 13 notifies the user by changing any one or more of the brightness, brightness, saturation, and hue of the screen of the display unit 11 after a predetermined time has elapsed since the power was turned on. May be. For example, when the screen brightness (brightness) is changed, methods such as simply lowering the voltage to darken the screen or turning off the backlight can be considered. In addition, a message for notifying that the power is turned off or the mode is shifted to the power saving mode may be displayed on the screen of the display unit 11.

  Further, the notification unit 13 may notify the user by changing any one or more of the volume and sound quality of the sound output unit 12 after a predetermined time has elapsed since the power was turned on. Further, a specific sound may be output from the sound output unit 12. As the specific sound, any one of a voice message, a dial tone, a voice message, and a combination of dial tone for notifying that the power is turned off or shifting to the power saving mode may be output.

  The power supply control unit 15 turns off the power of the terminal device 10 or shifts to the power saving mode if, for example, no operation is performed from the operation unit 14 within a certain time after the notification by the notification unit 13 is performed, When any operation is performed from the operation unit 14, the power of the terminal device 10 is kept on, the timer 18 is reset once, the time after the reset is counted, and the same notification is performed after a predetermined time has elapsed. As an operation from the operation unit 14, for example, a predetermined key is pressed when a plurality of operation keys are provided, a predetermined direction is rotated when a trackball is provided, and a predetermined area is provided when a touch panel is provided. Touching can be considered.

  As described above, when a predetermined operation is not performed by the user in response to the notification from the terminal device 10, the power is automatically turned off or the power saving mode is entered. Disappear. On the other hand, if the user performs a predetermined operation, the power is not turned off without permission, so that even content with a long viewing time such as a movie can be comfortably viewed.

  When the predetermined operation is not performed from the operation unit 14, the power control unit 15 described above performs control so that the terminal device 10 is turned off or the terminal device 10 is shifted to the power saving mode. When shifting to the power saving mode, power consumption is suppressed by slowing down the processing speed of the CPU 16 or by stopping the operation of the CPU 16. Whether to turn off the terminal device 10 or shift to the power saving mode can be set in advance based on the user's selection.

  Here, it is assumed that some users do not want to be notified by the notification unit 13 too frequently. Therefore, the time until the notification unit 13 performs notification may be arbitrarily set by the user. For example, when the user wants to concentrate on viewing the content, if the notification is made after the content viewing time elapses, the notification is not made during the content viewing, and the power can be automatically turned off after the viewing ends. In addition, the presence or absence of the notification may be set by the user.

  Further, the time from when the notification by the notification unit 13 is made to when the power is turned off or the mode is changed to the power saving mode may be arbitrarily set by the user. For example, when this time is set after one minute, a message such as “Power is turned off after one minute” is displayed on the screen of the display unit 11 or voice output from the sound output unit 12 is performed by the user. You may make it inform.

  As a method for setting the time until the notification unit 13 performs the notification or the time from when the notification by the notification unit 13 is made until the power is turned off or the mode is changed to the power saving mode, a time setting screen is displayed on the display unit 11. It is displayed and the user sets a desired time.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the power control method in the terminal device 10. This example will be described based on the configuration of the terminal device 10 shown in FIG. First, when the power is turned on, the terminal device 10 starts measuring the timer 18 (step S1), determines whether or not a fixed time has passed since the start of time measurement (step S2), and if the fixed time has passed (YES) ), The operation of the notification unit 13 is started (step S3). Moreover, in step S2, when the fixed time has not passed (in the case of NO), the determination process of step S2 is repeated.

  Next, the terminal device 10 determines whether or not there is an operation input from the operation unit 14 within a predetermined time after performing the notification process by the notification unit 13 (step S4), and when there is no operation input from the operation unit 14 (In the case of NO), power control of the terminal device 10 is performed (step S5), the power is turned off or the power saving mode is entered, and the process is terminated. In step S4, when there is an operation input from the operation unit 14 (in the case of YES), the operation of the notification unit 13 is ended, the timer 18 is reset (step S6), and the process returns to step S1 to repeat the process.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of the terminal device 10 according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the terminal device 10 includes a display unit 11, a sound output unit 12, a notification unit 13, an operation unit 14, a power control unit 15, a CPU 16, a memory 17, a timer 18, and a light emitting unit 20 such as an LED or a light emitting lamp. These components are connected to each other via a system bus 19.

  The notification unit 13 according to the present embodiment controls the light emitting unit 20 to notify the user that the power is turned off or the mode is changed to the power saving mode after a predetermined time has elapsed since the timer 18 started timing. Here, the light emitting unit 20 is turned on or blinked to notify the user. The light emitting unit 20 is a light emitting means such as an LED or a light emitting lamp, and the quantity, color, etc. can be arbitrarily provided. Thus, the user may be informed that the terminal device 10 is to be turned off or shifted to the power saving mode by turning on or blinking the light emitting unit 20.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration example of the terminal device 10 according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a terminal device 10 includes a display unit 11, a sound output unit 12, a notification unit 13, an operation unit 14, a power supply control unit 15, a CPU 16, a memory 17, a timer 18, a light emitting unit 20, and vibration means (vibrators). The vibration element 21 is provided, and these parts are connected to each other via a system bus 19.

  The notification unit 13 in the present embodiment controls the vibration element 21 to notify the user that the power is turned off or the power saving mode is to be entered after a predetermined time has elapsed since the timer 18 started timing. Here, the user is notified by vibrating the vibration element 21 incorporated in the terminal device 10. By vibrating the vibration element 21 in this manner, the user may be notified that the terminal device 10 is to be turned off or shifted to the power saving mode.

As described above, according to the present invention, when a predetermined operation is not performed from the user in response to the notification from the terminal device, the power can be automatically turned off or the power saving mode can be entered. Even if the terminal device is left turned on, the power can be automatically turned off or shifted to the power saving mode.
In addition, if the user performs a predetermined operation in response to the notification from the terminal device, the power is not turned off without permission, so that even a content such as a movie that has a long viewing time can be comfortably viewed.
Further, since it is not necessary to provide an external device such as a line-of-sight detection sensor, power consumption can be suppressed with a simple device configuration.

It is an external view which shows an example of the terminal device concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structural example of the terminal device shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the power supply control method in a terminal device. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structural example of the terminal device concerning other embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structural example of the terminal device concerning other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Terminal device (power supply control apparatus) 11 ... Display part, 12 ... Sound output part, 13 ... Notification part, 14 ... Operation part, 15 ... Power supply control part, 16 ... CPU, 17 ... Memory, 18 ... Timer, 19 ... System bus, 20 ... Light emitting part, 21 ... Vibration element.

Claims (11)

  In the power control device of the terminal device, a time measuring means for measuring the time since the power is turned on, and a notification means for notifying the user that the power is turned off or the power saving mode is to be entered after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the time measurement. And a power supply control means for controlling the power supply to be turned off or to shift to a power saving mode when a predetermined operation is not performed within a predetermined time after the notification.   2. The power supply control device according to claim 1, wherein when a predetermined operation is performed within a predetermined time after notification by the notification unit, the time measurement unit is reset, and the time measurement unit calculates a time after the reset. A power supply control device characterized by timing.   The power control apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a display unit, wherein the notification unit is configured to display the brightness, brightness, saturation, and hue of the screen of the display unit after a predetermined time has elapsed since the power was turned on. A power supply control device that notifies a user by changing any one or more.   3. The power supply control device according to claim 1, further comprising a sound output unit, wherein the notification unit is one or more of a volume and a sound quality of the sound output unit after a predetermined time has elapsed since the power was turned on. A power supply control device that notifies a user by changing   5. The power supply control device according to claim 4, wherein the notification means notifies the user by outputting a specific sound from the sound output means.   6. The power supply control device according to claim 5, wherein the specific sound is any one of a message for notifying that the power is turned off or shifting to a power saving mode, a dial tone, and a combination of the message and the dial tone. There is a power supply control device.   3. The power supply control device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a light emitting means, wherein the notification means notifies the user by turning on or blinking the light emitting means after a predetermined time has elapsed since the power was turned on. A power supply control device.   3. The power supply control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a vibration unit, wherein the notification unit notifies the user by vibrating the vibration unit after a predetermined time has elapsed since turning on the power. Power control device.   3. The power control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a CPU, wherein the power control means shifts to a power saving mode by slowing down a processing speed of the CPU.   3. The power control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a CPU, wherein the power control means shifts to a power saving mode by stopping the operation of the CPU.   In the power control method for a terminal device, the step of measuring the time since the power of the terminal device is turned on, and notifying the user that the power is turned off or the mode is changed to the power saving mode after a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the time measurement. And a step of controlling to turn off the power or shift to a power saving mode when a predetermined operation is not performed within a predetermined time after the notification.

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