JP2008301068A - Electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect without depending on kinds of connectors, and achieve power-saving together with load reduction of a CPU. <P>SOLUTION: Electronic equipment (a portable telephone 1) is connectable to either one of an earphone 82 or an earphone microphone 83 through an earphone connection unit 81, is composed that the earphone 82 or the earphone microphone 83 is connected to the earphone connection unit 81, when the connection is detected, an connection unit (a connection discrimination unit 381) detects voltage change in a microphone terminal M, and detects whether either of the earphone 82 or the earphone microphone 83 is connected to the earphone connection unit 81. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device to which an earphone and an earphone microphone can be connected via a connection unit.

  With the spread of mobile phones, the mobile phones have become more multifunctional and diversified, and recently, it has become possible to watch music on the mobile phone using earphones or to make calls using earphone microphones throughout the city.

  By the way, both the above-described earphone and an earphone microphone (also referred to as a headset) with a microphone attached to the earphone can be connected to the mobile phone.

  In order to detect which of these is connected to the mobile phone, conventionally, a mechanical detection mechanism is attached to the jack for detection (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

There is also known a method of automatically detecting which one is connected by a change in voltage of a microphone terminal when an earphone microphone is connected (for example, see Patent Document 2).
JP-A-6-237191 JP-A-5-344192

However, according to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, since detection is performed depending on the mechanism, there is a disadvantage that it cannot be applied to a specific type of connector such as a 10-pin flat connector.
Therefore, in this case, it is necessary to manually set the type of the earphone to be connected by the user in advance.

  For this reason, if an earphone without a microphone is used with the earphone microphone set, or if an earphone microphone is used with no microphone set, the voice path will not match the usage pattern, so that This may be inconvenient for users who are not aware of this. In addition, the user who selectively uses the earphone microphone and the earphone is manually forced to set each time, which puts a burden on the user and is inconvenient.

  On the other hand, according to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, the above inconvenience is solved, and it is possible to automatically detect which of the earphone and the earphone microphone is connected. For this purpose, the CPU detects the voltage change of the microphone terminal. It is necessary to constantly monitor, and therefore, the load is large and the power consumption is adversely affected. In particular, a mobile phone in which power saving is the most important design item has been desired.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic device that can detect without depending on the type of connector, reduce the load on the CPU, and save power.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an electronic device according to the present invention is an electronic device to which an earphone and an earphone microphone can be connected via a connection unit, and the connection detects the connection of the earphone and the earphone microphone to the connection unit. And a voltage change detection unit that detects a voltage change at a microphone terminal to which the microphone of the earphone microphone is connected when the connection detection unit detects the connection of the earphone and the earphone microphone to the connection unit. And a connection determination unit that determines whether the one connected to the connection unit is the earphone or the earphone microphone based on the voltage change detected by the voltage change detection unit.

  Further, the electronic device of the present invention may be configured to include a switching unit that switches the audio path to the earphone microphone or the built-in microphone based on the determination result of the connection determination unit.

  In the electronic device of the present invention, the connection portion may be a flat connector.

  Further, in the electronic device of the present invention, the microphone terminal of the earphone is not electrically connected, the microphone terminal of the earphone microphone is grounded via a resistor, and the voltage change detection unit is connected to the earphone microphone. Is connected to the connection unit, the voltage drop of the microphone terminal is detected, and the connection determination unit detects that the earphone microphone is connected to the connection unit based on the voltage drop. It may be configured.

  In the electronic device of the present invention, the connection detection unit is configured to detect the connection of the earphone and the earphone microphone to the connection unit based on a voltage change of an earphone terminal included in each of the earphone and the earphone microphone. May be.

  According to the electronic device of the present invention, detection can be performed without depending on the type of connector, and the load on the CPU can be reduced and power can be saved.

  FIG. 1 illustrates a mobile phone 1 as an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a front view showing the appearance of the mobile phone 1 in an open state. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the mobile phone 1 in an open state. FIG. 3A is a front view showing the appearance of the mobile phone 1 in a closed state, and FIG. 3B is a rear view showing the appearance of the mobile phone 1 in a closed state. FIG.

The mobile phone 1 has a so-called foldable housing structure, and includes a receiving housing 2 and a transmitting housing 3 that are rotatably connected to each other between an open state and a closed state. .
The receiving housing 2 and the transmitting housing 3 form an entire housing as the mobile phone 1 by being connected by a connecting portion 4 whose ends are the centers of rotation.
The receiving housing 2 and the transmitting housing 3 are each formed in a generally thin rectangular parallelepiped shape, and are overlapped with each other in the closed state, and the outlines of the receiving housing 2 and the transmitting housing 3 are substantially the same when viewed from the other housing side. It is supposed to be.

In addition, the receiving housing 2 is in a closed state, the front side case 6 facing the transmitting housing 3, the back side case 7 on the back side, and the panel 8 attached to the back side of the back side case 7. And.
The front side S1 facing the transmission case 3 in the closed state of the receiving case 2 is constituted by a front case 6, and the opposite rear side S 2 is constituted by a rear case 7 and a panel 8.
The front side case 6, the back side case 7, and the panel 8 are each formed of, for example, a non-conductive resin.

A sound emitting hole 12 of a speaker for call (not shown) is opened in the front surface S1 of the receiving case 2. The receiving case 2 is provided with a main display unit 13 (display monitor) for displaying images and characters on the front surface S1, and a sub-display unit 14 (FIG. 3 (a)) for displaying images and characters on the back surface S2. ing.
That is, the main display unit 13 is provided at a position hidden in the closed state, and the sub display unit 14 is provided at a position not hidden even in the closed state.
The main display unit 13 and the sub display unit 14 are configured by a display device such as an LCD display device or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display device.

  The panel 8 is translucent and also serves as a protective cover for the sub display unit 14. Further, a camera 20 is arranged on the inner side of the panel 8 with the back S2 side as the shooting direction.

The transmitter case 3 includes a front case 9 on the side facing the receiver case 2 in the closed state, a rear case 10 on the rear side, and a lid 11 that covers the rear side of the rear case 10. I have.
A front surface S3 facing the receiving housing 2 in the closed state of the transmitting housing 3 is constituted by a front side case 9, and a back surface S4 on the opposite side is constituted by a back side case 10 and a lid 11.
The front side case 9, the back side case 10, and the lid 11 are each formed of, for example, a non-conductive resin.

Further, a battery 60 as a power supply means is built in the inside of the transmitter case 3 along a guide (not shown), and the battery 60 is covered with a battery cover 70 as a power supply case.
The battery cover 70 is provided with a latch 71 at the peripheral end thereof, and engages with a groove (not shown) formed at a guide position inside the transmitter case 3 facing the latch 71 when the battery 60 is mounted. This prevents the battery 60 from being detached.

Note that by applying a force in the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 3B and releasing the latch 71, the battery cover 70 is opened and the battery 60 can be taken out.
In addition, a micro switch (not shown) is mounted as a detecting means in the vicinity of the groove that engages with the above-described latch 71, and mounting / detaching of the battery 60 can be detected by this micro switch.

On the other hand, a sound collecting hole 16 of a microphone for communication (not shown) is opened on the front surface S3 of the transmission housing 3, and a sound emitting hole 17 is closed on the rear surface S4 so as to be directed outwardly to a notification speaker (not shown). is doing. In addition, a 10-pin flat connector as an earphone connection portion 81 is mounted on the side surface of the transmission case 3.
An earphone or an earphone microphone having a 10-pin flat plug (not shown) is connected to the 10-pin flat connector (FIG. 2).

In addition, the transmission case 3 is provided with an operation unit 18 including various keys exposed on the front surface S3.
The various keys are, for example, dial key 18a, cursor key 18b, function key 18c, and enter key 18d. In addition, the transmitter case 3 is provided with a camera 20 having a photographing direction on the back S2 side and an infrared communication unit 21 dedicated to infrared light having a transmitting / receiving direction on the back S4 side.

The connecting portion 4 has a notch 27 formed at the end of the receiver case 2 and a protrusion 28 formed at the end of the transmitter case 3. It is pivotally supported and configured.
The notch 27 and the protrusion 28 are formed, for example, such that the width in the direction of the rotation axis (the left-right direction in FIG. 1) is about half the width of the receiving housing 2 and the transmitting housing 3. It is formed at the center in the width direction of the body 2 and the transmission housing 3.
The protruding portion 28 protrudes from the front surface S <b> 3 of the transmitting housing 3 in a direction opposite to the receiving housing 2 in the closed state at a height similar to the thickness of the receiving housing 2.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the signal processing system of the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention. Here, the mobile phone 1 is illustrated as an electronic device.

As shown in FIG. 4, the mobile phone 1 includes a receiving case 2 and a transmitting case 3, and the receiving case 2 and the transmitting case 3 are mechanically connected as described above. They are connected via the part 4 (hinge mechanism) and electrically connected by a main cable 43 as a first cable and a camera cable 44 as a second cable.
The main cable 43 and the camera cable 44 are both constituted by a thin coaxial cable, and both connect the inside of the transmitting case and the inside of the receiving case through a hinge bearing that is inserted from the notch portion 27 into the protruding portion 28. ing.

  A thin coaxial cable has a relatively small diameter among coaxial cables, and has a diameter of 1 mm or less, for example. Recently, those having a diameter of 0.3 mm or less are also known, and have higher noise resistance than FPC, and are excellent in wiring property and flexibility.

  A main display unit 13, a sub display unit 14, a camera 20, and a speaker 50 are mounted on the receiving housing 2. The main display unit 13 and the sub display unit 14 are mounted with an LCD as a display device.

  On the other hand, the transmission case 3 is configured by a substrate 30, a TV antenna 31, a transmission / reception antenna 35, a built-in microphone 42, and a battery 60.

  On the substrate 30, a TV tuner 32, a video decoding unit 33, an image display control unit 34, a communication processing unit 36, an audio processing unit 37, a main control unit 38, a key input processing unit 39, a memory 40 (main storage unit), a switch circuit 41, and an earphone connection unit 81 are mounted.

The main control unit 38 is constituted by, for example, a CPU (not shown), and the CPU sequentially reads and executes programs recorded in the memory 40.
Accordingly, the main control unit 38 controls various peripheral LSIs such as the TV tuner 32, the video decoding unit 33, the image display control unit 34, the communication processing unit 36, the audio processing unit 37, and the key input processing unit 39. The main control unit 38 causes the main display unit 13 to display an image by the image display control unit 34 when the receiving case 2 and the transmitting case 3 are in the open state. Except during recording, the image display control unit 34 switches the image display from the main display unit 13 to the sub display unit 14.

  The main control unit 38 also detects a voltage change at the microphone terminal when an earphone or an earphone microphone is connected to the 10-pin flat connector mounted as the earphone connection unit 81 and the connection is detected here. Also, it functions as a control unit that determines which of the earphone and the earphone microphone is connected to the earphone connection unit 81 (10-pin flat connector). In this case, the main control unit 38 switches to the microphone of the earphone with microphone or the built-in microphone 42 according to the determination result, and controls transmission. Details will be described later with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The TV tuner 32 converts, for example, a terrestrial digital broadcast wave received via the TV antenna 31 into an intermediate frequency signal and demodulates it, and further obtains the demodulated signal as a video signal component and an audio signal component. And are supplied to the video decoding unit 33 and the audio processing unit 37, respectively.

  The audio processing unit 37 generates an audio signal from the input audio signal component, and outputs it to the speaker 50 of the receiving housing 2 via the main cable 43. The video decoding unit 33 decodes the input video signal component and outputs the decoded video signal component to the image display control unit 34 via the common bus 99.

The image display control unit 34 converts the decoded signal output from the video decoding unit 33 into image data according to a predetermined format, and outputs the image data to the main display unit 13 of the receiver housing 2 via the main cable 43.
The image display control unit 34 obtains image data captured and generated by the camera 20 via the camera cable 44 and the common bus 99, converts the image data into image data according to a predetermined format, and the image data of the receiving housing 2 via the main cable 43. The data is output to the main display unit 13 or the sub display unit 14.

In addition, the communication processing unit 36 includes a high frequency circuit, and modulates audio data input through the built-in microphone 42 and processed by the audio processing unit 37 to perform radio communication using radio waves, and transmits through the transmission / reception antenna 35. Send.
The communication processing unit 36 also demodulates a signal received via the transmission / reception antenna 35 and outputs the demodulated signal to the speaker 50 of the receiver case 2 via the audio processing unit 37.

  The key input processing unit 39 acquires the input information from various keys arranged on the operation unit 18 and passes it to the main control unit 38. Note that the various keys to be arranged include a recording key for instructing recording of a TV broadcast. Further, various keys may be arranged on the receiving housing 2 side via the main cable 43. Furthermore, the side key arranged on the side is also included.

The memory 40 is allocated with storage areas each storing a program executed by the main control unit 38, a table referred to by the program, or data (including display data) used as a work area.
Specifically, the memory 40 is configured by a non-volatile storage device (non-volatile semiconductor memory, hard disk device, optical disk device, etc.), a randomly accessible storage device (eg, SRAM, DRAM), or the like.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing details of an earphone connection interface portion extracted from the signal processing system of the electronic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.
As described above, the main control unit 38 and the 10-pin flat connector as the earphone connecting unit 81 are mounted on the board 30, and the 10-pin flat connector has a corresponding plug, each having an earphone. The provided earphone 82 or the earphone microphone 83 having the microphone 83m whose internal resistance is Rm is connected.

  The main control unit 38 includes a connection determination unit 381 and a voice path (voice path) switching unit 382, as shown in the functional development of the internal configuration.

  The connection determination unit 381 detects a voltage change of the earphone terminal E, which is a terminal for detecting the earphone connection, and the earphone 82 or the earphone microphone 83 is connected to the earphone connection unit 81 and triggered by the detection. A function of detecting a voltage change at the terminal M, determining which of the earphone 82 or the earphone microphone 83 is connected to the earphone connection unit 81, and controlling the audio path switching unit 382 is provided.

  The voice path switching unit 382 has a function of controlling transmission by switching to the earphone microphone 83 or the built-in microphone 42 in accordance with the determination result (setting) in the connection determination unit 381.

A power supply Vm is connected to the microphone terminal M to which the microphone of the earphone microphone of the earphone connection unit 81 is connected via the resistor R1, and the connection determination unit 381 monitors the voltage of the microphone terminal M.
When the earphone 82 or the earphone microphone 83 is connected to the earphone connector 81, the power source Vm is supplied. Here, if the connected earphone is an earphone microphone 83, the voltage at the microphone terminal M becomes Vm * Rm / (R1 + Rm) due to the internal resistance Rm of the microphone 83m, and if the earphone 82 does not have a microphone, the earphone 82 Since the microphone terminal M is not electrically connected (open state), the voltage at the microphone terminal M remains Vm (open) if the resistor R1 is ignored.
Therefore, the connection determination unit 381 can determine whether the earphone connected to the earphone connection unit 81 has a microphone by monitoring the potential of the microphone terminal M.
In accordance with this determination result, the audio path switching unit 382 controls the audio path, and controls the transmission by switching to the earphone microphone 83 when the microphone is provided and to the built-in microphone 42 when the microphone is not provided.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the electronic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the earphone type determination processing by the main control unit 38 is shown.
Hereinafter, the operation of the earphone connection interface portion shown in FIG. 5 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in the standby state, it is assumed that the mobile phone is in a standby state and the built-in microphone 42 is enabled in the default state (step S61).
Here, when the earphone 82 or the earphone microphone 83 without a microphone is connected to the earphone connection unit 81, the main control unit 38 (connection determination unit 381) detects the occurrence of the earphone connection event (step S62 “Yes”). ") When the event occurs, the type of the connected earphone (the earphone 82 or the earphone microphone 83 without a microphone) is determined (step S63). The occurrence of the earphone connection event occurs when the connection determination unit 381 is electrically connected to the earphone terminal E of the earphone connection unit 81 and the earphone terminal of the earphone connection unit 81. This can be known by detecting the voltage change of E. That is, here, the connection determination unit 381 detects a connection to the connection part (earphone connection part 81) of the earphone and the earphone microphone, and the connection detection part connects to the connection part of the earphone and the earphone microphone. When this is detected, the function as a voltage change detection unit that detects a voltage change at the microphone terminal M to which the microphone is connected is provided. When the earphone connection event does not occur (step S62 “No”), the standby state is restored.

In the type determination of the connected earphone (step S63), if it is an earphone microphone (step S63 “Yes”), “with microphone” is set in the audio path switching unit 382 (step S64), and then the earphone 82 The setting is valid until a connection is detected (step S65 “No”).
On the other hand, if the connected earphone is “no microphone” (step S63 “No”), the built-in microphone 42 is set in the voice path switching unit 382 (step S66), and then the connection of the earphone microphone 83 is detected. (Step S67 “No”) until the setting becomes effective.
The audio path switching unit 382 controls the audio path according to the setting, and controls the transmission by switching to the earphone microphone 83 in the case of “with microphone” and to the built-in microphone 42 in the case of “without microphone”. That is, the audio path switching unit 382 functions as a switching unit that switches the audio path to the earphone microphone 83 or the built-in microphone 42 based on the determination result of the connection determination unit 381.

As described above, according to the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the detection of the earphone microphone is performed only when the earphone connection is detected, triggered by the detection of the earphone connection event (trigger). The processing load is reduced, and as a result, power saving is achieved.
In the above-described earphone connection interface, when the earphone microphone 83 is connected to the earphone connection portion 81 (10-pin flat connector), the mobile phone 1 supplies power to the earphone microphone 83, so the potential is the earphone. When the microphone 83 is connected, it changes depending on its internal resistance value. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the earphone microphone 83 is connected by detecting the earphone connection itself that has been conventionally performed and monitoring the change in potential. As a result, no user setting is required, and the setting is automated according to the type of the connected earphone. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of a problem in which the setting contents and the usage form are different. In addition, the earphone can be detected without depending on the type of connector.
Note that the connector of the earphone or the earphone microphone is not limited to the 10-pin flat connector, and may be another flat connector or another connector.

  In addition, according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, only the mobile phone 1 is illustrated as an electronic device. However, the present invention is not limited to the mobile phone 1 and is similar to all electronic devices such as PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) and game machines. It can be applied to.

It is the front view which showed the external appearance of the electronic device which concerns on embodiment of this invention in the open state. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a lateral view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention in an open state. It is the front view and back view which show the external appearance of the electronic device which concerns on embodiment of this invention in a closed state. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the signal processing system of the electronic device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the block diagram which extracted the earphone connection interface part among the signal processing systems of the electronic device which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and showed the detail. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the electronic device which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mobile phone, 2 ... Reception housing, 3 ... Transmission housing, 38 ... Main control part, 42 ... Built-in microphone, 81 ... Earphone connection part, 82 ... Earphone, 83 ... Earphone microphone, 83m ... Microphone, 381 ... Connection determination unit, 382... Voice path switching unit, E... Earphone terminal, M.

Claims (5)

An electronic device to which an earphone and an earphone microphone can be connected via a connection unit,
A connection detection unit for detecting connection to the connection unit of the earphone and the earphone microphone;
When the connection detection unit detects the connection of the earphone and the earphone microphone to the connection unit, a voltage change detection unit that detects a voltage change at a microphone terminal to which the microphone of the earphone microphone is connected;
A connection determination unit that determines whether the one connected to the connection unit based on the voltage change detected by the voltage change detection unit is the earphone or the earphone microphone;
Electronic equipment comprising. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: a switching unit that switches an audio path to the earphone microphone or the built-in microphone based on a determination result of the connection determination unit. The connecting portion is
The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a flat connector. The microphone terminal of the earphone is in a state where it is not electrically connected, and the microphone terminal of the earphone microphone is grounded via a resistor,
The voltage change detection unit detects a voltage drop of the microphone terminal when the earphone microphone is connected to the connection unit,
The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the connection determination unit detects that the earphone microphone is connected to the connection unit based on the voltage drop. The connection detection unit
5. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the connection of the earphone and the earphone microphone to the connection unit is detected based on a voltage change of an earphone terminal included in each of the earphone and the earphone microphone.

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