JP2010278686A - Communication equipment and method for controlling communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide communication equipment capable of suppressing useless power consumption, and a method for controlling the communication equipment. <P>SOLUTION: The communication equipment includes: an operating part 16; a receiving part 6 for receiving an incoming call of voice or data from external communication equipment; a notifying part 7 for performing notification in the case of receiving the incoming call; a detecting part 8 for detecting the degree of ambient brightness in the case of receiving the incoming call; and a control part 9 for performing control so as not to perform notification by the notifying part 7 when the degree of brightness detected by the detecting part 8 falls below a predetermined threshold. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device that notifies a user of data reception and the like, and a communication device control method.

  Conventionally, in a communication device (for example, a mobile phone device), incoming voice or data is received. If the user does not respond (operate) to the incoming call, the user is notified that the incoming call has been made by a method of lighting a light emitting unit (for example, LED) (see Patent Document 1). The lighting of this LED is stopped by a stop operation by the user, for example.

JP 2002-319996 A

However, the mobile phone device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is, for example, put in a bag, put in a pants pocket, if the user is sleeping, or the LED faces the ground or the like. Even in a state where the user cannot confirm the notification, such as when placed in this manner, the LED is lit.
As described above, in the mobile phone device disclosed in Patent Document 1, even when the user cannot confirm the notification, the LED is turned on, and thus power is unnecessarily consumed.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a communication device and a communication device control method capable of suppressing unnecessary power consumption.

  A communication device according to the present invention includes an operation unit, a reception unit that receives an incoming voice or data from an external communication device, a notification unit that performs notification when the incoming call is received, and a surrounding device that receives the incoming call. A detection unit that detects the brightness level of the control unit, and a control unit that controls not to perform notification by the notification unit when the brightness level detected by the detection unit falls below a predetermined threshold; It is characterized by providing.

  In the communication device, it is preferable that the detection unit detects a degree of ambient brightness when the operation unit is not operated until a predetermined time elapses after receiving the incoming call.

  In the communication device, the detection unit detects the degree of ambient brightness at a predetermined detection interval, and the control unit detects the brightness level detected by the detection unit by the detection unit. It is preferable to perform control so that the notification by the notification unit is not performed when the threshold value is below a predetermined time from the start.

  Further, in the communication device, the control unit is notified by the notification unit when the brightness level detected by the detection unit is changed from being lower than a predetermined threshold value to being higher than a predetermined threshold value. It is preferable to control so as to resume.

  Further, in the communication device, the notification unit includes a first notification unit and a second notification unit, and the control unit has a brightness level detected by the detection unit equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value. It is preferable to perform control so that the first notification unit and the second notification unit perform notification when the state exceeds a predetermined threshold value from the state.

  In the communication device, it is preferable that the first notification unit performs notification by light, and the second notification unit performs notification by sound or vibration.

  In the communication device, it is preferable that the control unit performs synchronous control so that the detection by the detection unit is performed immediately before or after the notification by the notification unit.

  In the communication apparatus, it is preferable that the control unit performs control so that a detection interval by the detection unit and a notification interval by the notification unit are performed at different intervals.

  Moreover, in the said communication apparatus, it is preferable that the said control part controls so that a detection interval may be lengthened sequentially with progress of time after the said detection start by the said detection part.

  Further, in the communication device, the control unit is in a state in which the brightness level detected by the detection unit immediately after the incoming call to the reception unit is lower than a predetermined threshold value or higher than a predetermined threshold value. Thus, immediately after the notification by the notification unit is resumed by the control unit, it is preferable to control the detection unit so that the detection interval is shorter than the normal detection interval.

  In the communication device, the control unit may be configured such that the brightness level detected by the detection unit is below a predetermined threshold for a predetermined time or more, or the operation unit is not operated for a predetermined time or longer. Furthermore, it is preferable to control the detection unit so that the detection interval is longer than the normal detection interval.

  In the communication device, the control unit receives the incoming call by the receiving unit, does not respond to the incoming call, and the brightness level detected by the detecting unit is below a predetermined threshold value. In this case, it is preferable to perform control so as not to notify the notification unit.

  Further, the communication device includes a function setting unit that sets a time zone for executing control of the control unit by the control unit, and the control unit is configured to perform the control in the time zone set by the function setting unit. It is preferable to perform control so as to perform notification by the notification unit.

  Further, in the communication device control method according to the present invention, an operation step of performing an operation, a reception step of receiving an incoming voice or data from an external communication device, a notification step of performing notification when the incoming call is received, A detection step for detecting the degree of ambient brightness when the operation step is not performed until a predetermined time has elapsed after receiving an incoming call, and the brightness level detected by the detection step is a predetermined threshold value And a control step of controlling so as not to perform the notification in the notification step.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the control method of a communication apparatus and a communication apparatus which can suppress unnecessary power consumption can be provided.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the mobile telephone apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the function of the mobile telephone apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the alerting | reporting by LED. It is a sequence diagram which shows the procedure of control until a notification process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a notification process. It is a figure which shows typically notification notification and the timing of illumination intensity acquisition.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an appearance of a cellular phone device 1 according to the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the mobile phone device 1 connects the operation unit side body unit 2, the display unit side body unit 3, and the operation unit side body unit 2 and the display unit side body unit 3. And a hinge mechanism 4.

  The operation unit side body unit 2 includes an operation unit 16 and a voice input unit 18. The operation unit 16 is assigned with function setting operation buttons 13 for operating various functions such as various settings, telephone book functions, data communication functions such as mail, and the like, and numbers and characters are assigned. The input operation button 14 is used when inputting characters in FIG. 5 and the determination operation button 15 is used for determining and scrolling in various operations. Note that the voice input unit 18 is used to input a voice uttered by the user of the mobile phone device 1 during a call.

  The display unit side body unit 3 includes a display 32 for displaying various types of information and an audio output unit 31 for outputting the voice of the other party on the call.

  The hinge mechanism 4 connects the operation unit side body 2 and the display unit side body 3 so that they move relatively. The operation unit side body 2 and the display unit side body 3 are connected to each other. Can be switched between a use state (open state) in which the two are open to each other and a storage state (folded state) in which the surface of the operation unit side body 2 and the surface of the display unit side body 3 face each other. It is configured. In the present embodiment, as an example of a communication device, a so-called foldable mobile phone device 1 in which the operation unit side body 2 and the display unit side body 3 move relatively via a hinge mechanism 4 is used. Although the present invention is mentioned, the present invention is not a foldable type, and one of the casings is slid in one direction from the state in which the operation unit side casing 2 and the display unit side casing 3 are overlapped. A rotary type that rotates one housing around an axis along the direction of overlap, and the operation unit side housing unit 2 and the display unit side housing unit 3 are connected via a biaxial hinge. Furthermore, it is also applicable to a case in which the operation unit side body unit 2 and the display unit side body unit 3 are arranged in one housing (so-called straight type), and a flip type unit having a flip. Is possible.

  With this configuration, the cellular phone device 1 has a function that can suppress unnecessary power consumption.

  Here, a configuration capable of exhibiting the above-described functions will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing functions of the mobile phone device 1 according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cellular phone device 1 further includes an operation unit 16, a transmission / reception unit 6 (reception unit 6), an LED 7A (hereinafter referred to as a first notification unit 7A), and an illuminance sensor 8 (detection). Unit 8), a control unit 9, a measurement value notification unit 10, a sub-display 11, a memory 12 described later, and a vibrator 7B described later (hereinafter referred to as a second notification unit 7B). Hereinafter, the comprehensive concept of the first notification unit 7A and the second notification unit 7B is referred to as “notification unit 7”.

  The operation unit 16 can terminate the notification by the LED 7A by being operated. The transmission / reception unit 6 transmits / receives voice or data to / from an external communication device.

  The LED 7A is composed of a semiconductor element that emits light when a voltage is applied. In the present embodiment, the LED 7A performs notification when receiving an incoming voice or data. The notification by the LED 7A will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing notification by the LED 7A. The notification by the LED 7A is performed by repeating lighting and extinguishing at regular intervals as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, lighting is performed at intervals of 5 seconds.

  The illuminance sensor 8 detects the degree of ambient brightness when the operation unit 16 is not operated until a predetermined time elapses after receiving an incoming call. Moreover, the illumination intensity sensor 8 is arrange | positioned on the same plane as LED7A, as shown in FIG. The illuminance sensor 8 is disposed in the vicinity of the LED 7A. By arranging in this way, the illuminance sensor 8 can more accurately detect whether or not the user cannot confirm the LED 7A.

  The control unit 9 performs control so that the notification by the notification unit 7 is not performed when the degree of brightness detected by the detection unit 8 falls below a predetermined threshold. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 9 includes a first control unit 90, a second control unit 91 (hereinafter referred to as an LED control unit 91), and a third control unit 92 (hereinafter referred to as a vibrator). And a function setting unit 93 to be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first control unit 90 controls the LED 7 </ b> A by operating in cooperation with the LED control unit 91. The first control unit 90 controls the vibrator 7B by operating in cooperation with the vibrator control unit 92. In addition, the first control unit 90 controls the measurement value notification unit 10, the transmission / reception unit 6, and the function setting unit 93.

  The notification notification and illuminance acquisition timing will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating the timing of notification notification and illuminance acquisition. Although the notification notification and the illuminance acquisition timing are different from each other, in order to suppress the power consumption of the control unit 9, the notification notification and the illuminance acquisition are performed at the same time, that is, at the same time. In this embodiment, the notification notification timing is performed at intervals of 5 seconds, the illuminance acquisition timing is synchronized with the notification notification timing, the first is an interval of 10 seconds, and the second is an interval of 15 seconds. The third time is set so as to increase to an interval of 20 seconds and an interval set for each number of times.

  In addition, the control unit 9 may take the influence that the illuminance sensor measures the light of the LED 7A, strictly speaking, the illuminance acquisition timing may be performed immediately before the lighting of the LED 7A. The illuminance acquisition timing is not limited to immediately before the LED 7A is turned on, but may be immediately after the LED 7A is not affected by the lighting.

  The measurement value notification unit 10 notifies the control unit 9 of the illuminance measurement result obtained by the illuminance sensor 8 (measurement value of the brightness level around the mobile phone device 1). The illuminance measurement result includes measurement time in addition to the measurement value.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the sub display 11 is arranged on the same plane as the LED 7 </ b> A and in the vicinity thereof, like the illuminance sensor 8. The sub-display 11 is configured to be able to display information such as a call or incoming data in a folded state.

  By being configured in this way, the mobile phone device 1 can determine an environmental condition with a high probability that the user will not confirm the notification. And based on this determination, the mobile telephone apparatus 1 can suppress unnecessary power consumption by not performing notification (LED 7A lighting) by the notification unit 7.

  In addition, although the alerting | reporting part 7 used LED7A in this embodiment, it is not restricted to this. The notification unit 7 only needs to be recognizable by the user's five senses. For example, the notification unit 7 may be a vibration such as a vibrator 7B or a sound such as a warning sound.

  Moreover, the control part 9 stopped the alerting | reporting of the alerting | reporting part 7, when the brightness detected by the detection part 8 is less than a predetermined threshold value, but it is not restricted to this. When the LED control unit 91 is in a state where it is difficult to identify the LED 7A (for example, when the LED 7A is used in a very bright situation such as sunlight), the brightness exceeds a predetermined threshold. The notification of the notification unit 7 may be stopped. The threshold value that is the determination to stop the notification of the notification unit 7 can be determined in consideration of the use state of the user, the use environment, the notification mode, and the like.

  The mobile phone device 1 further includes a memory 12. The memory 12 stores the measurement value of the brightness level from the measurement value notification unit 10 in a manageable manner for each acquired time. The control unit 9 can determine the change in the brightness level using the brightness level history.

  The detection unit 8 detects the degree of ambient brightness at regular intervals. The control unit 9 performs control so that the notification by the notification unit 7 is not performed when the brightness level detected by the detection unit 8 is below the threshold value until a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of detection.

  With this configuration, the mobile phone device 1 is notified by the LED 7A in a situation where the mobile phone device 1 is taken out immediately after being closed in a bag or the like (a situation in which the user is highly likely to confirm notification). Never stop. For this reason, the mobile phone device 1 can reliably notify the user.

  Moreover, the control part 9 is controlled so that the alerting | reporting by the alerting | reporting part 7 is restarted when the degree of the brightness detected by the detection part 8 changes from the state where it falls below the predetermined threshold to the state where it exceeds the predetermined threshold. To do.

  With this configuration, when the mobile phone device 1 is placed in a situation where the user needs to be notified, for example, when the mobile phone device 1 is taken out from a dark place, notification is resumed. Therefore, unnecessary power consumption can be suppressed.

Moreover, the alerting | reporting part 7 is further provided with vibrator 7B. The vibrator 7 </ b> B is configured by a motor that vibrates when driven, and is controlled by the vibrator control unit 92.
When the brightness level detected by the detection unit 8 is lower than a predetermined threshold value and exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the control unit 9 performs the first notification unit 7A and the second notification unit 7B. Is controlled to perform notification.

  With this configuration, when the notification is resumed, the mobile phone device 1 is notified not only in the LED 7A but also in the vibrator 7B, so that the notification is emphasized and the user is actively notified. You can notice that there is. The second notification unit 7B may be a sound or a combination of vibration and sound. Therefore, the cellular phone device 1 can suppress unnecessary power consumption.

  At this time, the control unit 9 performs synchronous control so that the detection by the detection unit 8 is performed immediately before or after the notification by the notification unit 7.

  With this configuration, in the mobile phone device 1, the operation of the notification unit 7 and the operation of the detection unit 8 are synchronized. That is, since it is not necessary to start the control unit 9 for each operation of the notification unit 7 and the detection unit 8, the control unit 9 can be used effectively, and unnecessary power consumption can be suppressed. .

  At this time, the control unit 9 performs control so that the detection interval by the detection unit 8 and the notification interval by the notification unit 7 are performed at different intervals.

  By being configured in this way, the mobile phone device 1 can effectively use the control unit 9 because it is synchronized even if the intervals are different, for example, by increasing the detection interval. , Unnecessary power consumption can be suppressed.

  Moreover, the control part 9 controls so that a detection interval may be lengthened sequentially with progress of time after the detection part 8 starts a detection.

  With this configuration, the mobile phone device 1 has a possibility of confirming the user's notification, for example, that the mobile phone device 1 is not at hand, as time elapses from the start of detection. Lower. In addition, in data and the like, immediacy decreases as time elapses from an incoming call. These situations are unnecessary by reducing detection by the detection unit 8 because there is little change in the environment (for example, movement from a bright place to a dark place) and there is a high probability that the situation is not confirmed by the user. Power consumption can be reduced.

  Further, the control unit 9 immediately after the incoming call to the transmission / reception unit 6 or from the state in which the degree of brightness detected by the detection unit 8 falls below a predetermined threshold to a state above the predetermined threshold, the notification unit 7 Immediately after the notification by is resumed, the detection interval by the detection unit 8 is controlled to be shorter than the normal interval.

  With this configuration, the mobile phone device 1 frequently performs detection immediately after an incoming call or immediately after resuming notification, that is, in a situation where there is a high probability that the user will confirm notification. As a result, since it is possible to accelerate the determination to stop the notification, unnecessary power consumption can be suppressed.

  In addition, the control unit 9 detects the ambient brightness detected by the detection unit 8 when it is below a predetermined threshold for a predetermined time or when the operation unit 16 has not been operated for a predetermined time. Control is performed so that the detection interval by 8 is longer than the normal detection interval.

  By being configured in this way, the cellular phone device 1 has a low probability that the user confirms the notification. Therefore, by increasing the detection interval, it is possible to reduce power consumption due to detection by the detection unit 8.

  In addition, the control unit 9 receives an incoming call from the transmission / reception unit 6, and when no response is made to the incoming call, the detection unit 8 detects the ambient brightness level, and the brightness level detected by the detection unit 8 is predetermined. If it is below the threshold value, control is performed so as not to notify the notification unit 7.

  With this configuration, the cellular phone device 1 determines to stop notification only for unconfirmed data such as unread mail or missed calls. For this reason, since the mobile phone device 1 does not stop notification when a call or data is received, convenience is not lowered.

  Moreover, although the alerting | reporting part 7 performed the alert | report in the missed call, it is not restricted to this. The notification is made as a missed response notification that is communication (unconfirmed data or missed call) that is assumed to be unrecognized by the user except when receiving a call or when receiving data, but is not limited to this. Any control unit 9 may be used as long as it can make a notification request to the notification unit 7. For example, a timer or a schedule may be used.

  Further, the cellular phone device 1 further includes a function setting unit 93 as shown in FIG. The function setting unit 93 sets a time zone in which control by the control unit 9 to the notification unit 7 is executed. Moreover, the function setting part 93 is comprised so that selection by a user is possible according to a time slot | zone. The control unit 9 performs control so that the notification unit 7 performs notification during the time period set by the function setting unit 93. In the present embodiment, the function setting unit 93 can be set to perform notification by the notification unit 7 only at night (from sunset to sunrise, for example, from 18:00 to 6:00). it can.

  By being configured in this way, the cellular phone device 1 can select this function according to the lifestyle by arbitrarily setting the user, so that the power consumption can be achieved without impairing convenience. Can be efficiently suppressed.

  The cellular phone device 1 configured as described above controls the notification (lighting) of the unnecessary notification unit 7 (LED 7A) based on the brightness level acquired from the detection unit 8 (illuminance sensor 8). , It has a function that can reduce power consumption.

  The mobile phone device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing a control procedure up to the notification process.

  First, the transmission / reception unit 6 that has received data or the like performs a “reception notification” to the control unit 9 (first control unit 90). Next, the first control unit 90 makes a “notification blink request” to the control unit 9 (the LED control unit 91 and the vibrator control unit 92) based on the “reception notification”. The control unit 9 (the LED control unit 91 and the vibrator control unit 92) makes an “illuminance measurement request” to the measurement value notification unit 10 based on the “notification blink request”. Based on the “illuminance measurement request”, the measured value notification unit 10 acquires the illuminance measurement result by the illuminance sensor 8 and performs “illuminance measurement result notification” to the control unit 9 (the LED control unit 91 and the vibrator control unit 92). . And the control part 9 performs a notification process based on "illuminance measurement result notification".

  The notification process in the mobile phone device 1 of the present embodiment will be described below using the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of notification processing. In the flowchart described below, “notification notification” refers to lighting of the LED 7A.

  In step S1, the control unit 9 determines whether the time zone control is OFF. If the time zone control is not OFF (NO), the process proceeds to step S2, and if the time zone control is OFF (YES), the process proceeds to step S3. When the time zone control is not OFF, that is, when the time zone control is ON, the control unit 9 compares the time zone preset by the user with the function setting unit 93 with the current time, If the current time is within the set time zone (nighttime), the process of step S2 is executed, and if the current time is not within the set time zone (nighttime) (for example, daytime) ) May be configured to execute the process of step S3. In the case of such a configuration, the mobile phone device 1 does not stop the notification by the notification unit 7 even at night, and the normal notification notification process is executed. Absent. In the present embodiment, the function setting unit 93 controls the notification unit 7 by the control unit 9 at night (from sunset to sunrise, for example, from 18:00 to 6 o'clock) in accordance with the user's operation in advance. Although it is set as a time zone for execution, the time zone is not limited to this, and can be set to an arbitrary time zone according to the user's lifestyle and the like.

  In step S <b> 2, the control unit 9 performs a lighting process of the LED 7 </ b> A, that is, a “notification notification process” at regular intervals. In this embodiment, the “notification notification process” turns on the LED 7A at intervals of 5 seconds. At this time, the control unit 9 continues to execute the “notification notification process” until a notification stop operation is performed by the user.

  In step S3, the control unit 9 acquires illuminance (illuminance measurement result), and proceeds to step S3. As described above, the illuminance is acquired by “illuminance measurement request” to the measurement value notification unit 10 of the control unit 9. In response to this “illuminance measurement request”, the measurement value notification unit 10 causes the illuminance sensor 8 to measure the degree of brightness around the mobile phone device 1. Then, the measurement value notification unit 10 notifies the control unit 9 of the illuminance measurement result based on the measurement value and the measurement time measured by the illuminance sensor 8 (“illuminance measurement result notification”). At this time, the illuminance measurement result is stored in the memory 12 as a history of the illuminance measurement result.

  In step S <b> 4, the control unit 9 determines whether or not the surroundings of the mobile phone device 1 are bright based on the illuminance value in the illuminance measurement result acquired from the measurement value notification unit 10. Whether or not the surrounding is bright is determined based on whether or not the illuminance value exceeds a predetermined threshold value. This threshold value can be determined based on an illuminance value or the like acquired in advance in a situation such as when the vehicle is put in a bag or the like in consideration of the outside environment.

  When the illuminance value exceeds the threshold value, that is, when the surroundings are bright (YES), the control unit 9 proceeds to step S5 described later. In addition, when the illuminance value is below the threshold value, that is, when the surrounding is dark (NO), the control unit 9 proceeds to step S6.

  In step S6, the controller 9 checks the notification stop flag. If the notification stop flag is OFF, the process proceeds to step S7. If the notification stop flag is ON (NO), the “notification notification” is stopped and the process ends. That is, the blinking of the LED 7A is stopped.

  In step S7, it is determined whether it is immediately after dark. “Immediately after dark” is determined with reference to the history of illuminance measurement results stored in the memory 12. For example, the current illuminance measurement result exceeds the threshold, and the previous illuminance measurement result is determined based on a determination or the like.

  If it is immediately after dark (YES), the process proceeds to step S8, and if not immediately after dark (NO), the process proceeds to step S9.

  In step S8, the control unit 9 starts a notification stop timer and proceeds to step S9. In step S9, the control unit 9 confirms whether or not the notification stop timer has expired. In this embodiment, the notification stop timer is 20 seconds.

  If the notification stop timer has expired (YES), the process proceeds to step S10. If the notification stop timer has not expired (NO), the process proceeds to step S11.

  In step S10, the control unit 9 turns on the notification stop flag, stops “notification notification”, and ends.

  When the notification stop flag is ON, the control unit 9 stops the lighting of the LED 7A. Thus, the situation where the lighting of the LED 7A is stopped is a state where the notification stop timer has expired (a state in which the dark state has continued for a certain period of time), and a state in which the LED 7A is temporarily dark (for example, taken out immediately after being put in a bag) Therefore, the user does not need “notification notification”. In this state, since the mobile phone device 1 is controlled not to perform “notification notification”, unnecessary power consumption can be suppressed. At this time, since the “notification notification” is not stopped in a temporarily dark state, the convenience of the user is not lowered.

  When the notification stop flag is ON, the “notification notification” can be stopped, but the lighting timing is changed, the illuminance acquisition timing is changed, and the LED 7A is controlled in accordance with various conditions.

  In step S11, the control unit 9 performs “notification notification”. “Notification notification” is usually performed by turning on the LED 7A at intervals of 5 seconds.

Moreover, in step S5, the control part 9 determines whether it is immediately after becoming bright. “Immediately after brightening” is determined with reference to the history of illuminance measurement results stored in the memory 12. For example, the current illuminance measurement result is less than a threshold value, and the previous illuminance measurement result is determined based on a determination or the like.
If it is immediately after brightening (YES), the process proceeds to step S12, and if not immediately after brightening (NO), the process proceeds to step S2.

  In step S12, the control unit 9 ends the notification stop timer, and proceeds to step S13. In step S13, the control unit 9 turns off the notification stop flag and proceeds to step S14.

  In step S <b> 14, the control unit 9 performs “notification notification restart” and ends. “Notification notification restart” is a process of restarting notification notification. At this time, the control unit 9 drives the vibrator 7B in addition to the lighting of the LED 7A to make the user notice that there is a notification.

  Note that the “notification notification” or “notification notification resumption” ends when the user stops the notification or when the next illuminance acquisition timing arrives (after a predetermined time has elapsed). When the notification process is terminated due to the next illuminance acquisition timing (after a predetermined time has elapsed), the process proceeds to step S2 to start the notification process again.

As shown in FIG. 6, regarding the illuminance acquisition timing, in a situation where the notification process is not stopped, the interval increases as the number of illuminance acquisitions increases. In the present embodiment, the first time is an interval of 10 seconds, the second time is an interval of 15 seconds, and the third time is an interval of 20 seconds.
Further, the LED 7A is turned on simultaneously with the illuminance acquisition. In the present embodiment, the blinking of the LED 7A is performed at intervals of 5 seconds, and is performed at an interval that substantially coincides with the illuminance acquisition.
Thus, by synchronizing the timing of illuminance acquisition and the timing of lighting the LED 7A, the control unit 9 is not activated at each timing, so that unnecessary power consumption can be suppressed.

  Note that the notification process described above is considered to be informed by the user performing a predetermined operation, and is terminated regardless of the step.

  In this way, the cellular phone device 1 can suppress unnecessary power consumption.

  As described above, the present invention has been described by taking the cellular phone device 1 as an example of communication equipment. However, PHS (registered trademark: Personal Handyphone System), portable game machines having a wireless function, portable navigation machines, PDA (Personal Data Assistance). ), A notebook personal computer, an EL display / liquid crystal display having an operation unit, a mobile device, a portable security buzzer, and the like.

1 Mobile phone device (communication equipment)
6 Receiving part (transmission / reception part)
7 Notification unit 7A LED (first notification unit)
7B Vibrator (second notification unit)
8 Illuminance sensor (detector)
9 Control part 16 Operation part 93 Function setting part

Claims (14)

An operation unit;
A receiver for receiving incoming voice or data from an external communication device;
An informing unit for informing when the incoming call is received;
A detection unit that detects the degree of ambient brightness when receiving the incoming call;
And a control unit that controls not to perform notification by the notification unit when the degree of brightness detected by the detection unit falls below a predetermined threshold.   The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects a degree of ambient brightness when an operation by the operation unit is not performed until a predetermined time elapses after receiving the incoming call. The detection unit detects the degree of ambient brightness at a constant detection interval,
The control unit is configured not to perform notification by the notification unit when the degree of brightness detected by the detection unit is below a threshold value until a predetermined time elapses after detection by the detection unit is started. The communication device according to claim 1 or 2 to be controlled.   The control unit performs control so that the notification by the notification unit is resumed when the brightness level detected by the detection unit changes from a state where the brightness level is below a predetermined threshold value to a state where the brightness level exceeds a predetermined threshold value. The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The notification unit includes a first notification unit and a second notification unit,
The control unit, when the brightness level detected by the detection unit is changed from a state equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold to a state above a predetermined threshold, the first notification unit and the second notification unit The communication device according to claim 4, wherein the communication device is controlled to perform notification. The first notification unit performs notification by light,
The communication device according to claim 5, wherein the second notification unit performs notification by sound or vibration.   The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit performs synchronous control so that the detection by the detection unit is performed immediately before or immediately after the notification by the notification unit.   The communication device according to claim 7, wherein the control unit controls the detection interval by the detection unit and the notification interval by the notification unit to be performed at different intervals.   The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the control unit performs control so that a detection interval is sequentially increased as time elapses after the detection unit starts the detection.   The control unit is in a state in which the brightness level detected by the detection unit immediately after the incoming call to the reception unit or from the state where the brightness level is below a predetermined threshold value exceeds a predetermined threshold value. The communication device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein immediately after the notification by the notification unit is resumed, the detection interval by the detection unit is controlled to be shorter than the normal detection interval.   The control unit detects by the detection unit when the brightness level detected by the detection unit is lower than a predetermined threshold for a predetermined time or when the operation unit is not operated for a predetermined time or longer. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the interval is controlled to be longer than a normal detection interval.   The control unit receives the incoming call by the receiving unit, does not respond to the incoming call, and when the brightness level detected by the detection unit is below a predetermined threshold, the notification unit The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication device is controlled so as not to perform notification. A function setting unit for setting a time zone for executing control of the notification unit by the control unit;
The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control so as to perform notification by the notification unit in a time zone set by the function setting unit. An operation process for performing an operation;
Receiving a voice or data incoming from an external communication device;
A notification step of performing notification when the incoming call is received;
A detection step of detecting a degree of ambient brightness when the operation step is not performed until a predetermined time has elapsed after receiving the incoming call;
And a control step of controlling not to perform notification by the notification step when the brightness level detected by the detection step is below a predetermined threshold value. .

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