JP2010063158A - Portable telephone set and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable telephone set which reduces the harm of suddenly giving a large volume of an incoming-call notifying tone to a user, and to provide a control method thereof. <P>SOLUTION: The portable telephone set, if it is set in a prescribed state, sounds an incoming-call notifying tone, by gradually increasing the volume or by delaying start of the sound and operates a vibrating motor during the delaying period, in response to a preset secure notification method, irrespective of the incoming-call notifying tone volume selected by the user, even if the volume of the incoming-call notifying tone has been set at a fixed level (high, medium, low). The user thereby has a margin of time, until the incoming-call notifying tone reaches a harmful large volume. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile phone, and more particularly to a technique for reducing harm caused to a user by a sudden loud sound of an incoming call notification sound.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique called “Ramped Ringer” is known that gradually increases an incoming call notification volume in a cellular phone (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The mobile phone executes this method in response to an instruction from the user. In other words, if the user sets the Ramped Ringer mode, the mobile phone generates a ringing notification sound at a gradually increasing volume when receiving a call. For example, the user performs a message recording / playback function (so-called answering function). During use and confirmation of a recorded message, it is possible to prevent a situation in which a large volume incoming notification sound is suddenly heard at the ear and the user feels uncomfortable or suffers damage to the ear.

  On the other hand, if the user cancels the Ramped Ringer mode, the mobile phone generates an incoming notification sound at a predetermined constant volume. For example, the mobile phone is placed away from the user or placed in a bag. However, it is convenient because the user can notice the incoming call notification sound at the same time as it starts to ring.

JP 05-83332 A

  However, in the above-described conventional mobile phone, if the user forgets to set the Ramped Ringer mode and receives an incoming call while checking the recorded message, it is inevitable that a loud incoming call notification sound is suddenly generated. There is a problem.

  Forgetting to set the mode can occur frequently, especially immediately after the mobile phone is taken out of the bag.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention is a mobile phone that reduces the discomfort and sudden damage to the ear caused by the sudden loud volume of the incoming notification sound even when the user has not set the mode. The purpose is to provide.

  (1) In order to solve the above problem, the mobile phone of the present invention is a mobile phone that emits an incoming call notification sound when an incoming call is received, and an incoming call notification sound selection means for the user to select an incoming call notification sound, and a specific function of the terminal Detecting means for detecting whether or not a call is provided, and, when it is detected that the function is being provided, the sound generation mode of the incoming call notification sound at the time of incoming call regardless of the selected incoming call notification sound over time Control means for changing to

  (1) According to the cellular phone of the present invention, as long as the cellular phone is providing a specific process, the sounding mode of the incoming notification sound is changed over time regardless of the incoming notification sound selected by the user. Therefore, it is possible to provide a grace time until the incoming notification sound reaches a loud volume.

  In addition, the function may be a function accompanied by voice presentation to the user, voice acquisition from the user, or both, and the function includes a message recording / playback function and a voice command recognition function. It is good.

  The function involving voice presentation to the user and / or voice acquisition from the user is particularly assumed that the user uses the mobile phone by placing it on his / her ear. A playback function and a voice command acquisition function are included. Further, the control means may gradually increase the volume of the incoming call notification sound.

  Further, the mobile phone may be instructed by the user for the maximum volume of the incoming call notification sound, and the control means may gradually increase the volume of the incoming call notification sound until the maximum volume is reached. The mobile phone may further include a vibrating means for notification, and the control means may generate the incoming notification sound with a delay and vibrate the vibrating means prior to the generation.

  (2) The control method of the present invention is a method for controlling a mobile phone that emits an incoming call notification sound when an incoming call is received. When it is detected that a specific function is being provided, the control method relates to the incoming call notification sound selected by the user. First, since the control step of changing the sound generation mode of the incoming call notification sound over time is included, it is possible to provide a grace period until the incoming call notification sound reaches a loud volume.

It is sectional drawing which shows typically the structure of the mobile telephone which concerns on embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the said mobile telephone. (A) An example of an incoming call notification volume selection screen. (B) It is an example of a notification security method selection screen. It is a flowchart which shows an incoming call alerting | reporting control process. It is a flowchart which shows the changed incoming call notification control process.

  A mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Overall structure>
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of the mobile phone according to the embodiment.

  As shown in the figure, the mobile phone 10 according to the present embodiment is a foldable type, and a first casing 11 and a second casing 12 are connected so as to be foldable.

  The cellular phone 10 includes a receiver 13, a ringer 14, and a display unit 15 in a first housing 11 as main components related to the present invention, and a state detection switch 16, a vibration motor in the second housing 12. 17, an operation unit 18, and a microphone 19.

  The receiver 13 is used for outputting call voice and reproducing recorded messages. The ringer 14 generates a notification sound including an incoming notification sound. The display unit 15 is realized by a color liquid crystal panel, DMD (digital mirror device), organic EL panel, or PDP (plasma display panel), etc., and status information indicating the current time, remaining battery level, radio wave intensity, etc. , Caller phone number, mail contents, various settings, etc. are displayed.

  The state detection switch 16 detects whether the mobile phone 10 is in a folded state or an unfolded state. The vibration motor 17 generates a vibration for notification. The operation unit 18 includes a numeric keypad, cursor keys, and the like, and is used for inputting a telephone number, characters, and various settings. The microphone 19 is used for inputting voice calls and voice commands.

  The user puts the cellular phone 10 in a folded state when waiting for an incoming call, while placing the cellular phone 10 in an expanded state during a call operation, message recording / playback operation, voice command input operation, and e-mail operation. In particular, in a call operation, a message recording / playback operation, and a voice command input operation, it is assumed that the user uses the mobile phone in an unfolded state with his / her ear.

<Functional configuration>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the mobile phone 10.

  The cellular phone 10 includes a receiver 13, a ringer 14, a display unit 15, a state detection switch 16, a vibration motor 17, an operation unit 18, a microphone 19, an antenna 20, a transmission / reception unit 21, a modulation / demodulation unit 22, an audio processing unit 23, and a control unit 30. Consists of

  The functional blocks corresponding to the components shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG.

  Each function block operates as follows for a call.

  The received radio wave received by the antenna 20 is amplified by the transmission / reception unit 21 and demodulated into an audio signal by the modem unit 22. The audio signal is subjected to predetermined processing by the audio processing unit 23, and is then subjected to electro-acoustic conversion by the receiver 13 and output as audio.

  On the other hand, the user's voice that has been acoustic-electrically converted by the microphone 19 is subjected to predetermined processing by the voice processing unit 23, and then converted into a modulation signal by the modem unit 22. The modulated signal is transmitted from the antenna 20 via the transmission / reception unit 21.

  Further, the mobile phone 10 has an answering machine function inside.

  Each function block operates as follows regarding the absence recording function.

  When the user does not respond to the incoming call, the mobile phone 10 responds to the incoming call according to the setting. In this case, the control unit 30 records the audio signal demodulated by the modem unit 22 in the RAM 33. The audio signal recorded in the RAM 33 is read to the audio processing unit 23 in response to a user operation later, and is electro-acoustic converted by the receiver 13 and output as audio.

  Since this answering function is provided internally, the mobile phone 10 can accept an incoming call during the reproduction of the recorded message.

  The control unit 30 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 32, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 33, and the like. The CPU 31 executes a program stored in the ROM 32, whereby the mobile phone 10 To control the overall operation. The RAM 33 holds work data in executing the program. In addition, by being backed up by the battery, various setting information and an answering message are permanently held until a change / erase operation is received from the user.

<Select ring alert volume>
The mobile phone 10 has a function of generating an incoming call notification sound at a volume selected by the user.

  FIG. 3A is an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 15 when the user selects the volume. The contents of the selection made by the user on this screen are recorded in the RAM 33.

  “1 large”, “2 middle”, and “3 small” select the sound volume corresponding to each time.

  “4 ramp-up” selects a volume that gradually increases from a small volume to a large volume within a predetermined time.

<Information security method selection>
The cellular phone 10 has a notification security function for preventing the ringer 14 from suddenly producing a loud volume even when a volume other than “4 ramp up” is selected. This notification security function changes the sound generation mode of the incoming notification sound over time according to the notification security method selected by the user from the following two types.

  FIG. 3B is a screen example displayed on the display unit 15 when the user selects the notification security method. The contents of the selection made by the user on this screen are recorded in the RAM 33.

  “1 ramp-up” selects to sound an incoming notification sound at a volume that gradually increases within a predetermined time from a low volume to the selected incoming notification volume.

“2 vibration + delay” selects to start the sound generation of the incoming notification sound with a predetermined time delay and to operate the vibration motor in the delayed period.
<Incoming call notification control processing>
The incoming call notification control process performed by the control unit 30 in accordance with the incoming call notification volume and the selected content of the notification security method will be described. This process is executed when an incoming call is received, unless sound generation of the incoming call notification sound is prohibited (that is, notification by only a vibration motor or light emission is not specified).

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the incoming call notification control process.

  The control unit 30 refers to the RAM 33 and identifies the selection content of the incoming call notification volume. If the selected content is “4 ramp up” (step S10: ramp up), the ringer 14 generates a ringing notification sound at a volume that gradually increases from a small volume to a large volume within a predetermined time (step S11). .

  If the selected content is any one of “1 large”, “2 medium”, and “3 small” (step S10: large, medium, small), the detection result of the state detection switch 16 is referred to. If the mobile phone is not in the unfolded state (step S20: NO), an incoming call notification sound is generated from the ringer 14 at a volume corresponding to the selected content (step S21).

  If the mobile phone is in the unfolded state (step S: YES), the selection contents of the notification security method are identified with reference to the RAM 33. If the selected content is “1 ramp up” (step S30: ramp up), the ringer 14 generates an incoming call alert sound at a volume that gradually increases within a predetermined time from a low volume to the selected incoming call alert volume. (Step S31).

  If the selected content is “2 vibration + delay” (step S30: vibration + delay), the vibration motor is activated (step S41), waits for a predetermined time (step S42), and the ringer 14 uses the selected incoming call notification volume. The incoming call notification sound is generated from (step S43).

<Summary>
As described above, the cellular phone 10 generates the incoming call notification sound over time even if the large volume, medium, or low constant volume is selected as the incoming call notification volume. In accordance with the selected information security method.

  When “Ramp-up” is selected as the notification security method, it starts to sound at a low volume. The mobile phone can be kept away from the ear.

  In addition, when “vibration + delay” is selected, it can be seen that the incoming call notification sound will start to ring soon due to vibration. The mobile phone can be moved away from the ears before it begins to ring.

<Other variations>
Although the present invention has been described based on the above embodiment, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The following cases are also included in the present invention.
(1) The present invention may be a computer program for realizing the method including the steps described in the embodiments using a computer system, or may be a digital signal representing the program.

  Further, the present invention may be a computer-readable recording medium on which the program or the digital signal is recorded, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a CD, an MO, a DVD, a semiconductor memory, or the like.

  Further, the present invention may be the computer program or the digital signal transmitted via an electric communication line, a wireless or wired communication line, a network represented by the Internet, or the like.

  Further, the program or the digital signal may be recorded on the recording medium and transferred, or transferred via the network or the like, and executed in another independent computer system.

  (2) In the embodiment, a foldable mobile phone is exemplified, and it has been described that the notification security function works when it is detected that the mobile phone is in the unfolded state.

  Alternatively, the notification security function may work while the mobile phone provides a function that is assumed to be used by the user placing the mobile phone on his / her ear.

  Functions that involve voice presentation to the user and / or voice acquisition from the user are examples of such functions. Specific examples include an answering function (message recording / playback function) and a voice command recognition function. It is done.

  When starting the operation related to the function, the control unit 30 records information for identifying the function in the RAM 33. By referring to this information when an incoming call is received, it is detected whether or not the corresponding function is being provided. If the corresponding function is being provided, the notification security function is activated. In the incoming call notification control process in this case, step S20 is changed compared to the process shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the changed incoming call notification control process. In step S50 provided in place of step S20, the control unit 30 refers to the information recorded in the RAM 33 and determines whether a message recording / playback function or a voice command recognition function is being provided at that time. Is detected. If it is detected that they are being provided, the notification security function described in the embodiment is activated by executing step S30 and subsequent steps.

  Since this configuration does not require the mobile phone to be a foldable type in order to detect whether or not the notification security function is required to operate, it can be applied more widely compared to the example of the embodiment.

(3) The present invention is not limited to the cellular phone calling method. For example, the present invention may be applied to a mobile phone using any of CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), PHS (Personal Handyphone System), or PDC (Personal Digital Cellular telecommunication system).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cellular phone 11 1st housing | casing 12 2nd housing | casing 13 Receiver 14 Ringer 15 Display part 16 State detection switch 17 Vibration motor 18 Operation part 19 Microphone 20 Antenna 21 Transmission / reception part 22 Modulation / demodulation part 23 Audio | voice processing part 30 Control part 31 CPU
32 ROM
33 RAM

Claims (9)

A mobile phone that emits an incoming call alert sound when an incoming call is received,
Detecting means for detecting whether or not a function assumed to be used with the terminal placed on the ear is provided;
A mobile phone comprising: a control unit that changes a sound generation mode of the incoming notification sound at the time of an incoming call when it is detected that the function is being provided. The control means includes
2. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein when it is detected that the function is not being provided, the incoming call notification sound is generated in a preset manner. The mobile phone according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the function is a function accompanied by voice presentation to a user and / or voice acquisition from the user. 4. The mobile phone according to claim 3, wherein the function includes a message recording / playback function and / or a voice command recognition function. The mobile telephone according to claim 1, wherein the control means gradually increases the volume of the incoming call notification sound. The mobile phone further includes:
A vibration means for notification, and the control means delays and generates the incoming call notification sound,
2. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the vibration means is vibrated prior to the occurrence thereof. As control of change over time of the pronunciation mode by the control means,
2. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein a control for gradually increasing a sound generation mode of the incoming call notification sound or a control for generating the incoming call notification sound with a delay and generating a vibration prior to the generation is selectable. A method of controlling a mobile phone that emits an incoming call notification sound when an incoming call is received,
A detecting step for detecting whether or not a function assumed to be used with the terminal placed on the ear is provided;
And a control step of changing a sound generation mode of the incoming notification sound at the time of incoming call over time when it is detected that the function is being provided. The control step includes
9. The control method according to claim 8, wherein when it is detected that the function is not being provided, the incoming call notification sound is generated in a preset manner.

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