JP2008167355A - Mobile communication terminal and method for controlling incoming call notification - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile communication terminal enabling a user to easily notice an incoming call, even under the situation where an incoming call is hard to be noticed, by realizing careful incoming call notification control depending on the surroundings. <P>SOLUTION: The mobile communication terminal 1 comprises: a detection part 18 for detecting a noise level of the surroundings and a vibration frequency per unit time; and a control part 19 for controlling incoming call notification performance when a call is received, based on the result of comparison between a noise level detected by the detection part 18 and at least one noise threshold and the result of comparison between the vibration frequency per unit time detected by the detection part 18 and at least one vibration threshold. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal and an incoming notification control method for executing an incoming notification operation when an incoming call is received.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, mobile communication terminals such as mobile phone terminals and PHS terminals perform an operation (incoming notification operation) of notifying an incoming call by ringing tone or vibration when an incoming call is received. In the conventional mobile communication terminal, operation parameters such as a tone color (melody), a ringing volume, a vibration pattern, and a vibration intensity are set in advance by a user operation.

  However, if the user does not change the operation parameter, the mobile communication terminal executes a preset incoming call notification operation regardless of the surrounding environment. For this reason, depending on the surrounding environment, there is a problem that the user does not notice the incoming call notification operation by the mobile communication terminal.

  As an incoming call notification control method in a noisy environment, a method has been proposed in which a noise sensor is provided in a mobile communication terminal and a ringing volume corresponding to the ambient noise level detected by the noise sensor is automatically set (Patent Document 1). reference). That is, the mobile communication terminal increases the ringing volume as the ambient noise level increases.

Furthermore, a method has been proposed in which a vibration sensor is provided in a mobile communication terminal and an incoming call notification operation is performed according to environmental vibration detected by the vibration sensor (see Patent Document 2). Specifically, in Patent Document 2, when a low-frequency vibration is repeated in a long cycle, the mobile communication terminal determines that the user is on the train and performs an incoming call notification operation only by vibration. When there is almost no vibration, the mobile communication terminal determines that the user is in a quiet place such as during a conference and performs an incoming call notification operation with a small ringing tone.
Japanese Patent No. 2881979 Japanese Patent No. 3123531

  However, it is difficult to select an appropriate incoming call notification operation in the conventional method in which the incoming call notification operation is controlled only by any one of vibration and noise in the surrounding environment.

  Specifically, Patent Document 1 does not consider a moving state in which the user is stationary, walking, or running. In general, the user is difficult to notice a ringing tone or vibration while walking or running. For this reason, even if an incoming call notification operation with a small ringing tone is performed when the ambient noise level is low, there is a problem that the user is not aware of the incoming call notification operation because the user is running.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 2 does not consider the noise state such as whether or not the user is under high noise. In general, the user hardly notices a ringing tone under high noise. Therefore, it is determined that the user is in a quiet place with almost no vibration, and even if an incoming call notification operation with a small ringing tone is performed, the user is still stationary under high noise, and the small call There is a problem that the user does not notice the incoming call notification operation by sound.

  As described above, in the conventional incoming call notification control method, the incoming call notification operation is controlled by only one of the vibration and noise of the surrounding environment, so it is not possible to realize fine incoming call notification control according to the surrounding environment, Under circumstances where it is difficult to notice an incoming call notification, the user may not notice the incoming call at all.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention realizes detailed incoming call notification control according to the surrounding environment, and can make it easier for a user to notice an incoming call even in a situation where the incoming call notification is difficult to notice, and An object of the present invention is to provide an incoming notification control method.

  A first feature of the present invention is that a detection unit (detection unit 18) that detects a noise level of an ambient environment and a frequency per unit time, the noise level detected by the detection unit, and at least one noise threshold value And a control unit (control unit 19) for controlling an incoming call notification operation at the time of incoming call based on the comparison result of the received frequency and the comparison result between the vibration frequency detected by the detection unit and at least one vibration threshold value It is a summary.

  According to such a feature, incoming notification control can be performed in consideration of both the noise level and the vibration frequency per unit time. Therefore, detailed incoming call notification control according to the surrounding environment can be realized.

  The second feature of the present invention relates to the first feature of the present invention, and further includes an incoming call notification unit (incoming call notification unit 17) that performs the incoming call notification operation by at least one of ringing sound, vibration, or light emission. This is the gist.

  A third feature of the present invention relates to the first or second feature of the present invention, in which the control unit is stationary in a moving state based on a comparison result between the vibration frequency detected by the detection unit and the vibration threshold value. The gist is to determine whether the vehicle is walking or running, and to control the incoming call notification operation based on the determination result.

  A fourth feature of the present invention is according to any one of the first to third features of the present invention, wherein the control unit detects a high noise level based on a comparison result between the noise level detected by the detection unit and the noise threshold value. The gist is to control whether the incoming call notification operation is performed based on the determination result.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a step of detecting a noise level of the surrounding environment and a frequency per unit time, a comparison result between the noise level detected in the detecting step and at least one noise threshold, and The gist of the present invention is an incoming call notification control method comprising a step of controlling an incoming call notification operation at the time of an incoming call based on a comparison result between the vibration frequency detected in the detecting step and at least one vibration threshold.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the mobile communication terminal and the incoming call notification control method which can make a user easy to notice an incoming call even in a situation where it is difficult to notice an incoming call notification by realizing fine incoming call notification control according to the surrounding environment Can provide.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings in the following embodiments, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals.

(1) Configuration of mobile communication terminal:
First, with reference to FIGS. 1-3, the structure of the mobile communication terminal 1 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated.

(1.1) Configuration of mobile communication system:
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a mobile communication system including a mobile communication terminal 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a mobile communication terminal 1 performs wireless communication with a wireless base station 21 (or a wireless LAN access point) of a mobile communication network 2 (for example, a mobile phone network or a PHS network).

  The mobile communication terminal 1 includes an antenna 11, a wireless communication unit 12, a microphone 13, a speaker 14, an operation unit 15, a display unit 16, an incoming call notification unit 17, a detection unit 18, a control unit 19, And a storage unit 20.

  The radio communication unit 12 transmits and receives radio signals to and from the radio base station 21 via the antenna 11. The wireless communication unit 12 performs a conversion process between a wireless signal and a baseband signal, and inputs / outputs a baseband signal to / from the control unit 19.

  The microphone 13 collects a voice uttered by the user and inputs a voice signal to the control unit 19 based on the collected voice. The speaker 14 outputs audio based on the audio signal acquired from the control unit 19. The microphone 13 and the speaker 14 are used when performing voice communication with the communication destination device of the mobile communication terminal 1.

  The operation unit 15 receives an operation from the user. The operation unit 15 includes various keys such as a numeric keypad for inputting a telephone number, a call key for on-hook and off-hook, and a function key.

  The display unit 16 is configured by, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and displays operation contents input and operated by the operation unit 15 and various information notified from the mobile communication terminal 1 to the user.

  The incoming call notification unit 17 performs an incoming call notification operation when the mobile communication terminal 1 receives a call signal from the radio base station 21, that is, when an incoming call is received. Specifically, the incoming call notification unit 17 includes a ringing tone output unit 171 that outputs a ringing tone when receiving an incoming call, a vibrator unit 172 that vibrates when receiving an incoming call, and a light emitting unit 173 that emits light when receiving an incoming call.

  The ringing tone output unit 171 outputs a ringing tone with a desired tone color (melody) and volume under the control of the control unit 19. The vibrator unit 172 vibrates with a desired vibration pattern and vibration intensity under the control of the control unit 19. The light emitting unit 173 is configured by, for example, a red, green, and blue composite LED (Light Emitting Device), and emits light with a desired light emission pattern and light emission amount under the control of the control unit 19.

  The detector 18 measures the vibration and noise of the surrounding environment, and detects the vibration frequency per unit time (hereinafter simply referred to as “vibration frequency”) and the noise level. The detection unit 18 includes a vibration detection unit 181 and a noise detection unit 182.

  The vibration detection unit 181 detects a change in position of the mobile communication terminal 1 as vibration, and outputs digital data indicating the number of vibrations per unit time. The vibration detection unit 181 includes, for example, a timer that measures unit time and a counter that counts the number of vibrations.

  The noise detection unit 182 collects sound around the mobile communication terminal 1 as noise and outputs digital data indicating the noise level. In order to reduce costs, the noise detection unit 182 and the microphone 13 for voice calls may be shared.

  The control unit 19 controls various functions provided in the mobile communication terminal 1. The storage unit 20 stores various information used for controlling the mobile communication terminal 1 and the like. Detailed configurations of the control unit 19 and the storage unit 20 will be described below.

(1.2) Detailed configuration of control unit and storage unit:
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating detailed configurations of the control unit 19 and the storage unit 20. Here, functional blocks related to the present invention will be mainly described.

  The control unit 19 includes a vibration threshold value comparison unit 191, a noise threshold value comparison unit 192, a selection unit 193, and an incoming call notification control unit 194. The storage unit 20 includes an incoming call notification mode storage unit 201 and an operation parameter storage unit 202.

  The incoming call notification mode storage unit 201 stores in advance a plurality of incoming call notification modes that define each operation parameter (for example, ringing volume, ringing tone, vibration width, vibration pattern, light emission amount, and light emission pattern) of the incoming call notification operation. Details of the plurality of incoming call notification modes will be described later.

  The vibration threshold value comparison unit 191 compares the frequency detected by the vibration detection unit 181 with at least one vibration threshold value. In the present embodiment, the vibration threshold value comparison unit 191 compares the vibration frequency with two vibration threshold values Thβ1 (50 times / minute) and Thβ2 (100 times / minute).

  When the vibration frequency is less than the vibration threshold Thβ1 (50 times / minute), it is determined that the user is in a stationary state. When the vibration frequency is equal to or greater than the vibration threshold Thβ1 (50 times / minute) and less than Thβ2 (100 times / minute), it is determined that the user is walking. When the frequency is equal to or higher than Thβ2 (100 times / minute), it is determined that the user is traveling.

  The noise threshold comparison unit 192 compares the noise level detected by the noise detection unit 182 with at least one noise threshold. In the present embodiment, the noise threshold value comparison unit 192 compares the noise level with one noise threshold value Thα (90 dB).

  When the noise level is less than the noise threshold Thα (90 dB), it is determined that the user is present under low noise. When the noise level is equal to or higher than the noise threshold Thα (90 dB), it is determined that the user is present under high noise.

  The selection unit 193 selects and selects one of a plurality of incoming call notification modes stored in the incoming call notification mode storage unit 201 according to the comparison result by the vibration threshold value comparison unit 191 and the noise threshold value comparison unit 192. Get each operation parameter of incoming call notification mode.

  The operation parameter storage unit 202 stores each operation parameter acquired by the selection unit 193.

  The incoming call notification control unit 194 acquires an incoming call detection signal when the radio communication unit 12 receives a call signal from the radio base station 21. In addition, when receiving an incoming call detection signal, the incoming call notification control unit 194 supplies each operation parameter stored in the operation parameter storage unit 202 to the ringing tone output unit 171, the vibrator unit 172, and the light emitting unit 173. As a result, an incoming call notification operation determined by each operation parameter is executed.

(1.3) Details of each incoming call notification mode:
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing details of the above-described incoming notification mode. As shown in FIG. 3, in each incoming call notification mode, the comparison result between the noise level and the noise threshold value Thα (90 dB), and the frequency and the vibration threshold values Thβ1 (50 times / minute) and Thβ2 (100 times / minute). Corresponding to the comparison result. In the present embodiment, six incoming notification modes 1 to 6 are provided.

(1.3.1) Incoming call notification mode 1:
The incoming call notification mode 1 is applied when the noise level is less than the noise threshold Thα (50 times / minute) and the frequency is less than the vibration threshold Thβ1 (50 times / minute). That is, the incoming call notification mode 1 is applied when the user is present in low noise and is determined to be stationary.

  In the incoming call notification mode 1, each operation parameter (call volume, ring tone, vibration width, vibration pattern, light emission amount, light emission pattern) is set to “normal”.

(1.3.2) Incoming call notification mode 2:
The incoming call notification mode 2 is applied when the noise level is equal to or higher than the noise threshold Thα (90 dB) and the vibration frequency is lower than the vibration threshold Thβ1 (50 times / minute). That is, the incoming call notification mode 2 is applied when the user is present under high noise and is determined to be stationary.

  In the incoming call notification mode 2, the vibration width is set to “large”, and the operation parameters other than the vibration width (call volume, ringing tone, vibration pattern, light emission amount, light emission pattern) are set to “normal”. .

(1.3.3) Incoming call notification mode 3:
Incoming call notification mode 3 is when the noise level is less than the noise threshold Thα (90 dB), the vibration frequency is greater than or equal to the vibration threshold Thβ1 (50 times / minute), and the vibration frequency is less than the vibration threshold Thβ2 (100 times / minute). Applied. That is, the incoming call notification mode 3 is applied when the user is present in low noise and is determined to be in a walking state.

  In the incoming call notification mode 3, the ringing volume is set to “normal × 1.5”, and the operation parameters other than the ringing volume (ringing tone, vibration width, vibration pattern, light emission amount, light emission pattern) are set to “normal”. Is set.

(1.3.4) Incoming call notification mode 4:
Incoming call notification mode 4 is when the noise level is equal to or higher than the noise threshold Thα (90 dB), the frequency is equal to or higher than the vibration threshold Thβ1 (50 times / minute), and the frequency is lower than the vibration threshold Thβ2 (100 times / minute). Applied. That is, the incoming call notification mode 4 is applied when the user is present under high noise and is determined to be in a walking state.

  In incoming call notification mode 4, the vibration width is set to “large”, the vibration pattern is set to “special pattern”, and each operation parameter other than the vibration width and vibration pattern (call volume, ringing tone, light emission amount, light emission) Pattern) is set to “Normal”.

(1.3.5) Incoming call notification mode 5:
The incoming call notification mode 5 is applied when the noise level is less than the noise threshold Thα (90 dB) and the frequency is equal to or higher than the threshold Thβ2 (100 times / minute). That is, the incoming call notification mode 5 is applied when the user is present in low noise and is determined to be in the running state.

  In the incoming call notification mode 5, the ringing volume is set to “normal × 1.5”, the ringing tone is set to “special sound”, the light emission amount is set to “high”, the ringing volume, the ringing sound, and the light emission amount. The other operation parameters (vibration width, vibration pattern, light emission pattern) are set to “normal”.

(1.3.6) Incoming call notification mode 6:
The incoming call notification mode 6 is applied when the noise level is equal to or higher than the noise threshold Thα (90 dB) and the frequency is equal to or higher than the vibration threshold Thβ2 (100 times / minute). That is, the incoming call notification mode 6 is applied when the user is present in high noise and is determined to be in the running state.

  In the incoming call notification mode 6, the ringing volume is set to “normal × 1.5”, the vibration width is set to “large”, the vibration pattern is set to “special pattern”, and the light emission amount is set to “high”. The light emission pattern is set to “special pattern” and the ringing tone is set to “normal”.

(2) Operation of mobile communication terminal:
Next, with reference to FIG.4 and FIG.5, operation | movement of the mobile communication terminal 1 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated. In the present embodiment, the mobile communication terminal 1 periodically determines each operation parameter of the incoming call notification operation during standby. At the time of an incoming call, the mobile communication terminal 1 performs an incoming call notification operation according to each determined operation parameter.

(2.1) Standby operation:
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation flow when the mobile communication terminal 1 according to the present embodiment is on standby.

  In step S101, the detection unit 18 measures the vibration and noise of the surrounding environment, and detects the vibration frequency and noise level.

  In step S102, the vibration threshold value comparison unit 191 compares the vibration frequency detected in step S101 with vibration threshold values Thβ1 and Thβ2. The noise threshold value comparison unit 192 compares the noise level detected in step S101 with the noise threshold value Thα.

  In step S103, the selection unit 193 selects any one incoming call notification mode from the above-described incoming call notification modes 1 to 6 according to the comparison result executed in step S102.

  Each process of step S101 to step S104 is periodically executed, and each operation parameter adapted to the surrounding environment is dynamically stored.

(2.2) Operation when receiving a call:
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation flow when the mobile communication terminal 1 according to the present embodiment receives an incoming call.

  In step S201, the incoming call notification control unit 194 acquires a call detection signal, reads out each operation parameter stored in step S104 from the operation parameter storage unit 202, and sets it in the incoming call notification unit 17.

  In step S202, the incoming call notification unit 17 performs an incoming call notification operation according to each operation parameter set in step S201.

(3) Action and effect:
As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, incoming call notification control can be performed in consideration of both the noise level and the frequency of the surrounding environment. That is, incoming call notification control is performed in consideration of both a moving state in which the user is stationary, walking, or running and a noise state in which the user is present under high noise. Therefore, it is possible to realize fine incoming call notification control according to the surrounding environment, which has been impossible in the past.

[Modification]
In this modification, an operation different from the operation of the mobile communication terminal 1 according to the above-described embodiment will be described. Specifically, the mobile communication terminal 1 according to the present modification periodically detects and stores the frequency and noise level of the surrounding environment during standby. At the time of an incoming call, the mobile communication terminal 1 determines each operation parameter from the stored frequency and noise level and executes an incoming call notification operation.

(1) Operation during standby:
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation flow when the mobile communication terminal 1 according to the present modification is on standby.

  In step S301, the mobile communication terminal 1 measures the vibration and noise of the surrounding environment, and detects the vibration frequency and noise level.

  In step S302, the mobile communication terminal 1 stores the vibration frequency and noise level detected in step S301.

  Each process of step S301 and step S302 is periodically executed, and the frequency and noise level of the surrounding environment are periodically stored.

(2) Operation when receiving a call:
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation flow when the mobile communication terminal 1 according to this modification is received.

  In step S401, the mobile communication terminal 1 acquires an incoming call detection signal.

  In step S402, the mobile communication terminal 1 compares the vibration frequency stored in step S302 with the vibration threshold values Thβ1 and Thβ2. Further, the mobile communication terminal 1 compares the noise level detected in step S302 with the noise threshold value Thα.

  In step S403, the mobile communication terminal 1 selects any one of the incoming call notification modes 1 to 6 described above according to the result of the comparison executed in step S402.

  In step S404, the mobile communication terminal 1 performs an incoming call notification operation according to each operation parameter of the incoming call notification mode selected in step S403.

(3) Action and effect:
According to this modification, it is possible to reduce the number of processes (number of steps) of each process periodically executed during standby. Specifically, it is not necessary to periodically execute the threshold comparison process and the incoming call notification mode selection process during standby. As a result, in this modified example, the processing load (power consumption) at the time of standby can be reduced as compared with the embodiment described above.

[Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although this invention was described by embodiment, it should not be understood that the description and drawing which form a part of this indication limit this invention. From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples and operational techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

 For example, the configuration is not limited to the configuration in which the ringing volume is increased, and a configuration in which the ringing tone is output at a frequency that is separated from the frequency of the noise to improve the discrimination of the ringing tone.

 Also, as the noise level decreases, the ringer volume is reduced (or the ringer is turned off), and the vibration level is kept normal, while the amount of light emission is increased so that it is suitable for a quiet environment such as a meeting. It can also be.

 In the above-described embodiment, the vibration frequency is detected, but the vibration intensity may be detected in addition to the vibration frequency. When the intensity of vibration is high, it can be considered that the user is traveling even if the vibration frequency is less than the vibration threshold Thβ2.

  In the embodiment described above, the ringing volume is a predetermined value (for example, “normal”, “normal × 1.5”), but may be a variable value. For example, the incoming call notification operation may be performed with a volume obtained by adding the detected noise level and a predetermined volume. In this case, it is possible to prevent the incoming call notification operation from being performed at a volume higher than necessary.

 In the above-described embodiment, both the vibration and noise of the surrounding environment are measured. However, the present invention is not limited to always measuring both vibration and noise, and only one of vibration and noise is measured by a user operation or the like. It is good also as a structure.

 In the above-described embodiment, the incoming call notification operation is executed using all of the ringing tone, vibration, and light emission. However, only one of the ringing tone, vibration, and light emission is received by a user operation or the like. It is good also as a structure which performs notification operation | movement.

 Further, in the above-described embodiment, the incoming notification control according to the surrounding environment is always executed, but the fixed incoming notification operation and the incoming notification operation according to the surrounding environment can be switched by a user operation. May be. When performing a fixed incoming call notification operation, it is preferable not to perform the vibration and noise measurements described above in order to reduce power consumption.

  Thus, it should be understood that the present invention includes various embodiments and the like not described herein. Therefore, the present invention is limited only by the invention specifying matters in the scope of claims reasonable from this disclosure.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the mobile communication system containing the mobile communication terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of the control part of FIG. 1, and a memory | storage part. It is a figure which shows an example of the incoming call notification operation information which the mobile communication terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention memorize | stores beforehand. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of the standby of the mobile communication terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of the incoming call of the mobile communication terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of the standby of the mobile communication terminal which concerns on the modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of the incoming call of the mobile communication terminal which concerns on the modification of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mobile communication terminal, 2 ... Mobile communication network, 11 ... Antenna, 12 ... Wireless communication part, 13 ... Microphone, 14 ... Speaker, 15 ... Operation part, 16 ... Display part, 17 ... Incoming notification part, 18 ... Detection , 19: control unit, 20: storage unit, 21 ... wireless base station, 171 ... sound output unit, 172 ... vibrator unit, 173 ... light emitting unit, 181 ... vibration detection unit, 182 ... noise detection unit, 191 ... vibration threshold Comparison unit, 192 ... Noise threshold value comparison unit, 193 ... Selection unit, 194 ... Incoming call notification control unit, 201 ... Incoming call notification mode storage unit, 202 ... Operation parameter storage unit

Claims (5)

A detection unit that detects the noise level of the surrounding environment and the frequency per unit time;
Based on the comparison result between the noise level detected by the detection unit and at least one noise threshold value, and the comparison result between the vibration frequency detected by the detection unit and at least one vibration threshold value, an incoming call notification at the time of an incoming call A mobile communication terminal comprising: a control unit that controls operation.   The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, further comprising an incoming call notification unit that performs the incoming call notification operation by at least one of ringing sound, vibration, or light emission.   The control unit determines whether the moving state is stationary, walking, or running based on a comparison result between the vibration frequency detected by the detection unit and the vibration threshold value, and the incoming call is determined based on a determination result. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the notification operation is controlled.   The control unit determines whether or not there is high noise based on a comparison result between the noise level detected by the detection unit and the noise threshold, and controls the incoming call notification operation based on the determination result. The mobile communication terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Detecting the ambient noise level and the frequency per unit time;
Based on the comparison result between the noise level detected in the detecting step and at least one noise threshold, and the comparison result between the frequency detected in the detecting step and at least one vibration threshold, And a step of controlling an incoming call notification operation.

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