JP2009135674A - Electronic device and electronic device control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic device which performs control on the basis of a signal to be inputted. <P>SOLUTION: A cellular phone 1 is provided with: a casing; a charging terminal 17 disposed by being exposed to the outer surface of the casing; a demultiplexer 46 which divides a voltage signal inputted via the charging terminal 17 into a charging signal and a communication signal; a charging part 47 which charges a battery charger 48 disposed in the casing according to a charged voltage based on the charging signal divided by the demultiplexer 46; and a communication control part 49 which performs control on the basis of the communication signals divided by the demultiplexer 46. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device and an electronic device control system.

  Conventionally, in the manufacturing process of an electronic device such as a mobile phone, it has been necessary to input a control signal in order to inspect the function of the product. For this purpose, an inspection terminal is provided in the electronic device, and data transfer is performed from the inspection apparatus by connecting the terminal and a cable. For example, Patent Literature 1 proposes a radiotelephone terminal device in which test terminals are mounted on a substrate disposed in a housing so that the manufacturing process and the degree of freedom of design are not limited.

In recent years, there are many electronic devices that can communicate with the outside by providing an interface terminal or an infrared transmission / reception unit. It is also conceivable to input a control signal for inspection using such a communication function.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-019033

  However, when performing wired communication through the above-described inspection terminals and interface terminals, it is necessary to match the connection terminals or communication cables on the inspection device side that are paired with these terminals, and communication is possible. A lot of man-hours are needed to make it into a state. Furthermore, when the inspection is repeated, the durability of the connection terminal on the inspection device side becomes a problem, and a large number of maintenance steps are required.

  In addition, when a control signal is input wirelessly by infrared communication, it is necessary to operate the electronic device to be inspected and set the communication mode, which requires a lot of man-hours. Furthermore, because of the characteristics of infrared communication, communication is likely to be impossible due to a shift in the optical axis.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device and an electronic device control system that perform control based on an input signal.

  An electronic device according to the present invention separates a casing, a charging terminal exposed on the outer surface of the casing, and a voltage signal input via the charging terminal into a charging signal and a communication signal. A demultiplexing unit, a charging unit that charges a secondary battery disposed in the housing in accordance with a charging voltage based on the charging signal separated by the demultiplexing unit, and a separation by the demultiplexing unit And a control unit that performs control based on the communication signal.

  The branching unit separates the input voltage signal when a predetermined condition is satisfied, and the charging unit charges based on the input voltage signal when the predetermined condition is not satisfied. It is preferable to charge the secondary battery according to the voltage.

  The electronic device according to the present invention further includes a setting switching unit that switches a setting as to whether or not to perform control based on the communication signal, and the predetermined condition is that the setting by the setting switching unit is based on the communication signal. It is preferable that the control is set.

  The electronic device according to the present invention includes an input determination unit that determines whether or not the voltage signal is input to the charging terminal, and a power source when the input determination unit determines that the voltage signal is input. Preferably, power supply switching means for switching the power supply to the ON state when is in the OFF state.

  The electronic device control system according to the present invention includes a mixer that mixes a charge signal and a communication signal to generate the voltage signal, and an output terminal that outputs the voltage signal generated by the mixer. A signal output device is provided, and the voltage signal is input to the electronic device by connecting the charging terminal to the output terminal.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the signal input for control in an electronic device can be performed easily.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a mobile phone 1 which is an example of an electronic apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a so-called foldable mobile phone, but the mobile phone according to the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a sliding type in which one casing is slid in one direction from a state in which both casings are overlapped, or a rotary type in which one casing is rotated around an axis along the overlapping direction ( Turn type), or a type (straight type) in which the operation unit and the display unit are arranged in one housing and does not have a connecting unit.

  The mobile phone 1 includes an operation unit side body 2 and a display unit side body 3. The operation unit side body 2 includes an operation unit 11 and a microphone 12 into which a voice uttered by a user of the mobile phone 1 is input on the surface unit 10. The operation unit 11 includes a function setting operation button 13 for activating various functions such as various setting functions, a telephone book function, and a mail function, and an input operation button 14 for inputting numbers of telephone numbers, mail characters, and the like. , And a determination operation button 15 for performing determination and scrolling in various operations.

  The display unit side body 3 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) display unit 21 for displaying various types of information on the surface unit 20 and a speaker 22 for outputting the voice of the other party of the call. Has been.

  Further, the upper end portion of the operation unit side body 2 and the lower end portion of the display unit side body 3 are connected via a hinge mechanism 4. In addition, the mobile phone 1 relatively rotates the operation unit side body 2 and the display unit side body 3 which are connected via the hinge mechanism 4, so that the operation unit side body 2 and the display unit side body 3 are rotated. The body 3 can be in an open state (open state), or the operation unit side body 2 and the display unit side body 3 can be folded (folded state).

  FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the cellular phone 1 in a folded state as viewed from the operation unit side body 2 side. The operation unit side body 2 has an opening for mounting a rechargeable battery 48 to be described later, a battery lid 16 is disposed so as to close the opening, and a charging terminal 17 is further provided. When the charging voltage is input from the charging terminal 17, the rechargeable battery 48 is charged.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing functions of the mobile phone 1. The mobile phone 1 includes an operation unit 11, a microphone 12, a main antenna 40, an RF circuit unit 41, an LCD control unit 42, an audio processing unit 43, a memory 44, a charging terminal 17, a switch 45, A duplexer 46, a charging unit 47, a rechargeable battery 48, a communication control unit 49, a power supply control circuit unit 50, and a CPU 51 are provided in the operation unit side body 2, and the LCD display unit 21, speaker 22 and a driver IC 23 are provided in the display unit side body 3.

  The main antenna 40 communicates with an external device in a predetermined use frequency band (for example, 800 MHz). In the present embodiment, the predetermined use frequency band is 800 MHz, but other frequency bands may be used. Further, the main antenna 40 may have a so-called dual-band compatible configuration that can support other use frequency bands (for example, 2 GHz) in addition to a predetermined use frequency band.

  The RF circuit unit 41 demodulates the signal received by the main antenna 40, supplies the processed signal to the CPU 51, modulates the signal supplied from the CPU 51, and performs an external device (via the main antenna 40). To the base station). On the other hand, the CPU 51 is notified of the strength of the signal received by the main antenna 40.

  The LCD control unit 42 performs predetermined image processing according to the control of the CPU 51 and outputs the processed image data to the driver IC 23. The driver IC 23 stores the image data supplied from the LCD control unit 42 in the frame memory and outputs it to the LCD display unit 21 at a predetermined timing.

  The sound processing unit 43 performs predetermined sound processing on the signal supplied from the RF circuit unit 41 under the control of the CPU 51, and outputs the processed signal to the speaker 22. The speaker 22 outputs the signal supplied from the sound processing unit 43 to the outside.

  In addition, the sound processing unit 43 processes a signal input from the microphone 12 according to the control of the CPU 51, and outputs the processed signal to the RF circuit unit 41. The RF circuit unit 41 performs a predetermined process on the signal supplied from the sound processing unit 43 and outputs the processed signal to the main antenna 40.

  The memory 44 includes, for example, a working memory and is used for arithmetic processing by the CPU 51. Note that the memory 44 may also serve as a removable external memory.

  The switch 45 switches the setting of whether the voltage signal input to the charging terminal 17 is supplied to the duplexer 46 or the charging unit 47. Here, in the manufacturing process of the mobile phone 1, the voltage signal is set to be supplied to the duplexer 46.

  The switch 45 may be changed in setting after the manufacturing process is completed, and the voltage signal may be supplied to the charging unit 47. Thus, the voltage signal is directly input to the charging unit 47 without passing through the duplexer 46. Therefore, since the functions of the duplexer 46 and the communication control unit 49 described later are not used, it is possible to eliminate the cause of malfunction of the general user during use.

  The duplexer 46 separates the voltage signal input via the charging terminal 17 and the switch 45 into a charging signal for charging the rechargeable battery 48 and a communication signal for inspecting the mobile phone 1. Here, the voltage signal is a signal in which the charging signal and the communication signal are superimposed, and is separated by taking out as a communication signal a minute voltage fluctuation compared to the charging signal.

  FIG. 4 is a graph showing an example of changes over time of the charge signal (b) and the communication signal (c) after demultiplexing by the demultiplexer 46 with respect to the voltage signal (a) input between the charging terminals 17. is there.

  In this example, the voltage v1 is input as a voltage signal at time t1, and then the voltage signal is superimposed with the communication signal after time t2. In this case, the constant voltage v1 after time t1 is separated as the charging signal, and the fluctuation component of the voltage signal after time t2 is separated as the communication signal.

  The charging unit 47 receives the charging signal separated by the duplexer 46 and charges the rechargeable battery 48 according to the charging voltage based on the charging signal. When a voltage signal is directly input from the charging terminal 17 via the switch 45 without passing through the duplexer 46, the rechargeable battery 48 is charged according to the charging voltage based on this voltage signal.

  The communication control unit 49 receives the communication signal separated by the duplexer 46, and transmits the communication signal to the CPU 51 as a control signal for the mobile phone 1, thereby enabling various controls in the CPU 51. This communication signal includes, for example, various inspection control signals required in the manufacturing process, software download control signals, management numbers, and the like.

  Note that the signal transmission to the CPU 51 by the communication control unit 49 may be started after a predetermined time from the input of the voltage signal to the charging terminal 17. This is because, in the inspection device 60, the mixing of the actual communication signals does not start simultaneously with the input of the voltage signal, but synchronizes with the provision of a time difference. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility that noise is transmitted to the CPU 51 as a communication signal in a signal state that is likely to be unstable because it is immediately after the input of the voltage signal for a predetermined time until the actual communication signal is received.

  The power supply control circuit unit 50 is connected to a rechargeable battery 48, converts the power supply voltage supplied from the rechargeable battery 48 into a predetermined power supply voltage, and supplies the converted power supply voltage to other electronic components and functional blocks. To do. The power supply control circuit unit 50 can supply power to a predetermined functional block in response to a voltage signal input to the charging terminal 17. In particular, by supplying power to the communication control unit 49 and the CPU 51, it is possible to control the mobile phone 1 based on a communication signal input via the duplexer 46.

  The CPU 51 controls the entire mobile phone 1, and in particular, performs predetermined control on the RF circuit unit 41, the LCD control unit 42, the sound processing unit 43, and a camera (not shown). Further, the CPU 51 monitors the internal state such as the state of radio waves by the main antenna 40 described above, the remaining amount of the rechargeable battery 48, the presence of missed calls and unread mails, and based on the results, the LCD display unit 21 is monitored. Also controls to change the display content.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating functions of a control system including the mobile phone 1. The control system includes an inspection device 60 and inputs a voltage signal to the charging terminal 17 of the mobile phone 1.

  The inspection device 60 includes a mixer 61 and an output terminal 62. The mixer 61 mixes a charge signal for charging the rechargeable battery 48 of the mobile phone 1 and a communication signal related to the control of the mobile phone 1 to generate a voltage signal.

  The output terminal 62 outputs the voltage signal generated by the mixer 61 and inputs it to the charging terminal 17 of the mobile phone 1. The output terminal 62 is a terminal configured by a contact-type pin terminal or the like and is in contact with the charging terminal 17. The output terminal 62 can have a simple and strong structure as compared with the communication interface terminal, and can be connected to the mobile phone 1. Electrical connection can be made easily. Therefore, even when the system is used repeatedly, there is a possibility that the durability is excellent and the number of maintenance steps can be reduced.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing of the mobile phone 1. The mobile phone 1 is connected to the inspection device 60 in a power-off state, and receives a voltage signal input from the inspection device 60.

  In step S <b> 1, the power supply control circuit unit 50 determines whether a voltage signal is input to the charging terminal 17. If this determination is YES, the process proceeds to step S2, and if this determination is NO, the determination in step S1 is repeated.

  In step S <b> 2, since the voltage signal is input, the power supply control circuit unit 50 starts supplying power to the CPU 51 and the communication control unit 49 so that the communication control unit 49 receives the communication signal.

  In step S3, the duplexer 46 separates the input voltage signal into a charge signal and a communication signal. The separated charging signal is supplied to the charging unit 47, and the communication signal is supplied to the communication control unit 49.

  In step S4, the communication control unit 49 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed. This predetermined time is set in advance as a time until the control of the mobile phone 1 by the communication signal is started. If the determination is yes, the process proceeds to step S5, and if the determination is no, the process proceeds to step S6. For example, until a predetermined time elapses after the voltage signal is input (time t1 to t2 in FIG. 4), it is determined that the communication signal is not included, the process proceeds to step S6, and the predetermined time after t2 in FIG. If it is determined that it is an intermittent time zone (a time zone in which the control signal is superimposed on the charging signal), the process proceeds to step S5.

  In step S <b> 5, the communication control unit 49 receives the communication signal separated in step S <b> 3 and transmits it to the CPU 51 as a control signal for the mobile phone 1. Then, the CPU 51 controls the mobile phone 1 based on the received control signal.

  In step S6, the charging unit 47 receives the charge signal separated in step S3, and charges the rechargeable battery 48 using this as a charging voltage.

  In step S <b> 7, the power supply control circuit unit 50 determines whether or not there is no voltage signal input to the charging terminal 17. If this determination is YES, the process proceeds to step S9, and if this determination is NO, the process returns to step S3.

  In step S8, since there is no voltage signal input, the power supply control circuit unit 50 ends the power supply to each unit and ends this processing flow.

  According to the present embodiment, a communication signal can be easily input using a voltage signal to the charging terminal 17. This eliminates the need for turning on the power or connecting a special communication terminal, particularly during inspection in the manufacturing process. Furthermore, since the communication can be automatically started by detecting the voltage at the charging terminal, it is not necessary to operate the mobile phone 1 to start the communication, so that the number of inspection steps can be reduced.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not restricted to embodiment mentioned above. 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 an external perspective view of a mobile phone 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the cellular phone 1 in a folded state according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the operation unit side body 2 side. It is a block diagram which shows the function of the mobile telephone 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The graph which shows the time change of the charge signal (b) after demultiplexing by the demultiplexer 46, and the communication signal (c) with respect to the voltage signal (a) input between the charging terminals 17 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is. It is a block diagram which shows the function of the control system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the mobile telephone 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cellular phone 17 Charging terminal 45 Switch 46 Splitter 47 Charging part 48 Rechargeable battery 49 Communication control part 50 Power supply control circuit part 51 CPU
60 Inspection device 61 Mixer 62 Output terminal

Claims (5)

A housing,
A charging terminal arranged to be exposed on the outer surface of the housing;
A demultiplexing unit that separates a voltage signal input via the charging terminal into a charging signal and a communication signal;
In accordance with a charging voltage based on the charging signal separated by the branching unit, a charging unit that charges a secondary battery disposed in the housing;
A control unit that performs control based on the communication signal separated by the demultiplexing unit;
An electronic device comprising: The branching unit performs separation of the input voltage signal when a predetermined condition is satisfied,
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the charging unit charges the secondary battery according to a charging voltage based on the input voltage signal when the predetermined condition is not satisfied. Further comprising a setting switching unit for switching the setting of whether to perform control based on the communication signal;
The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined condition is a setting in which the setting by the setting switching unit performs control based on the communication signal. Input determining means for determining whether or not the voltage signal is input to the charging terminal;
The power supply switching means for switching the power supply to an ON state when the power supply is in an OFF state when the input determination means determines that the voltage signal is input. Item 4. The electronic device according to any one of Item 3. An electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A mixer that mixes a charging signal and a communication signal to generate the voltage signal, and a signal output device that includes an output terminal that outputs the voltage signal generated by the mixer,
The electronic device control system, wherein the voltage signal is input to the electronic device by connecting the charging terminal to the output terminal.

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