JP2011103565A - Mobile information terminal and method of controlling the same, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce waiting time of an operator and save battery consumption by changing a communication connection mode between an HT terminal and an external device corresponding to the remaining capacity of a battery. <P>SOLUTION: A mobile information terminal has a power supply and performs wireless communications with external devices. In addition, the mobile information terminal has a check means for checking a battery capacity of the power supply, and a switching means for switching a connection mode to the external device corresponding to the battery capacity acquired by the check means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to communication between a handy terminal terminal and a Bluetooth device.

  When a handy terminal terminal (hereinafter referred to as an HT terminal), which is a portable information terminal, communicates with a Bluetooth device, it takes about 1 to 3 seconds for connection and about 2 seconds for disconnection.

  In operation of the HT terminal, there is a task of repeating “connect / disconnect” with a Bluetooth device 200 times or more per day, but the total time of “connect / disconnect” is 5 seconds × 200 times = 1000 seconds = about 17 minutes Will be. If this is converted into monthly and yearly amounts, it takes an enormous amount of time, resulting in wasted time during which work cannot be performed.

  Therefore, a method of always connecting the HT terminal and the Bluetooth device is also conceivable. However, there is a problem that the connection is always made during the operation time, the battery (battery) is consumed very much and the operation time of the HT terminal is shortened.

  Patent Document 1 describes a technique for performing a point-to-point information transfer wireless communication connection in advance between an information terminal and an imaging terminal.

JP 2007-19665 A

  However, Patent Document 1 simply connects in advance, and there is no disclosure about switching the connection mode, and the connection mode cannot be dynamically changed according to the remaining battery level.

  The present invention solves the above-described problem, and changes the communication connection mode between the HT terminal and an external device according to the remaining battery level, thereby reducing battery consumption while reducing the waiting time for the operator. For the purpose.

  The present invention relates to a portable information terminal that includes a power supply unit and is capable of wireless communication with an external device, a confirmation unit that confirms a battery capacity of the power supply unit, and a battery capacity obtained as a result of the confirmation by the confirmation unit. And a switching unit for switching a connection mode with the external device.

  According to the present invention, by changing the communication connection mode between the HT terminal and the external device according to the remaining battery level, it is possible to reduce battery consumption while reducing the waiting time for the operator.

It is a hardware block diagram of an HT terminal. It is a software module block diagram which operate | moves on an HT terminal. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen which sets a connection mode. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process in an HT terminal. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen of HT terminal.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, it is assumed that processing is executed in a handy terminal terminal (hereinafter referred to as HT terminal).

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an HT terminal (portable information terminal).

  As shown in FIG. 1, an HT terminal is connected to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 102, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 103, an operation unit I / F 104, a printer I / F via a system bus 111. F106, MC (Memory Controller) 108, external I / F 110, etc. are connected.

  The CPU 101 controls each device connected to the system bus 111 based on a program stored in the “program ROM” of the ROM 103 and controls the entire information processing apparatus. Further, font data and the like are stored in the “font ROM” of the ROM 103, and various data are stored in the “data ROM” of the ROM 103.

  The RAM 102 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 101.

  The operation unit I / F 104 is an interface unit with the operation unit (UI) 105, displays various screens displayed on the operation unit 105, and allows the user to perform input / output operations.

  A printer I / F 106 is an interface unit with the printer unit 107.

  The MC 108 controls access to the hard disk 109 and the like.

  The external I / F 110 communicates with an external device by wireless communication. For example, communication is performed with a Bluetooth device by Bluetooth communication. The Bluetooth device is a device capable of Bluetooth communication, such as a printer.

  The power supply unit 112 is a battery / battery that supplies power to the HT terminal.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of software modules that operate on the HT terminal.

  Reference numeral 20 denotes a hard disk 109 of the HT terminal.

  The hard disk 109 stores an application 201, a Bluetooth connection library 202, and an OS (operating system) 203.

  When the application 201 calls the Bluetooth connection library 202, “connection / disconnection” processing between the HT terminal and the Bluetooth device is performed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen for setting the connection mode.

  The user calls this screen from the menu screen of the HT terminal and performs various settings.

  By checking 301, the connection mode setting becomes valid, and grayed out 302 to 303 can be input.

  302 is an “always connected mode”, 303 is a “preliminary connection mode”, and 304 is an “every connection mode”.

  The “always connected mode” is a mode in which the HT terminal and the Bluetooth device are always in a communicable state from when the application is started until it is terminated. Since the “connect / disconnect” process only needs to be performed once, there is a merit that the waiting time is small. On the other hand, there is a demerit that the battery consumption is severe because the communication is always possible.

  The “pre-connection mode” is a mode in which communication between the HT terminal and the Bluetooth device is connected and disconnected after the Bluetooth communication when a predetermined connection point is reached after the application is started. Since Bluetooth communication is set in a connected state in advance, there is an advantage that the waiting time for “connection” is reduced.

  “Every time connection mode” is a mode in which communication between the HT terminal and the Bluetooth device is connected and disconnected after the Bluetooth communication when it is necessary to perform the Bluetooth communication between the HT terminal and the Bluetooth device after starting the application. is there. Since the connection is made each time, there is a demerit that a waiting time for “connection / disconnection” occurs, but there is an advantage that battery consumption is low.

  In the present embodiment, a method of switching modes according to the battery voltage is adopted. This is because when the voltage is high, it can be determined that the remaining battery level is high, and when the voltage is low, it can be determined that the remaining battery level is low.

  The voltage value can be arbitrarily input by the user. In the example of FIG. 3, when the voltage is 7.5 volts or more, the “always connected mode” is set. In this example, the connection mode is set every time.

  By pressing the setting 305 button, the setting value is stored in the HT terminal.

  Note that the remaining amount of the battery is not limited to the determination based on the voltage, and other methods may be adopted.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in the HT terminal according to the present embodiment.

  In 401, the HT terminal starts an application. This application is an application stored in the HT terminal and is arbitrarily designated by the user. Depending on the type of application, it communicates with various Bluetooth devices. For example, in the process of application A, communication is performed with Bluetooth device A and Bluetooth device B, and in the process of application B, communication is performed with Bluetooth device C.

  Application processing is performed between 402 and 418.

  In 403, the HT terminal checks for the presence of a mode setting flag. If there is a flag, the process proceeds to 404, and if there is no flag, the process proceeds to 414. Specifically, when the connection mode is set in the example shown in FIG. 3, the mode setting flag is set in the HT terminal. Therefore, the determination is made by referring to this flag.

  In 404, the HT terminal checks (confirms) the battery capacity. Here, the battery voltage is checked to determine which of the three modes described in the example illustrated in FIG. 3 is to be applied.

  In the present embodiment, when the voltage is 7.5 volts or more, the “always connected mode” is set, and between 6.8 to 7.4 volts is set to the “pre-connection mode”, and when the voltage is 6.7 volts or less, It is supposed to be set to “Every time connection mode”.

  Here, the connection mode is switched according to the remaining amount of the battery. The method of checking the voltage to check the remaining battery level is an example, and is not limited to this. Any method may be used as long as the battery capacity (remaining battery capacity) can be confirmed.

Next, each mode will be described.
(1) "Always connected mode"
In 405, the HT terminal determines whether the HT terminal and the Bluetooth device are not connected. If yes, go to 406, if no, go to 407. The Bluetooth device to be determined here is a device used for processing of the currently activated application.

  In 406, the HT terminal establishes a connection between the HT terminal and the Bluetooth device. Here, the Bluetooth connection library is called.

  In 407, the HT terminal determines whether to perform Bluetooth processing. If yes, go to 408; if no, go to 418.

In 408, the HT terminal performs processing with the Bluetooth device. For example, when the Bluetooth device is a printer, a printing process is performed. Here, processing according to the type of various Bluetooth devices is performed.
(2) "Pre-connection mode"
At 409, the HT terminal determines whether it is a connection point. If yes, go to 410; if no, go to 418. Here, the connection point is a point registered in advance for each application. When this connection point is reached, the Bluetooth connection library is called.

  In 410, the HT terminal establishes a connection between the HT terminal and the Bluetooth device. Here, the Bluetooth connection library is called.

  In 411, the HT terminal determines whether to perform Bluetooth processing. If yes, go to 412; if no, go to 418.

  In 412, the HT terminal performs processing with the Bluetooth device.

  In 413, the HT terminal disconnects communication with the Bluetooth device.

  An example of the processes 409 to 413 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a screen example of the HT terminal.

  Reference numerals 501 to 503 are examples of screens that transition in the HT terminal.

  The quantity input screen 501 is a screen for inputting the quantities of the products 1 to 9. The input confirmation screen 502 is a screen for confirming the price of the product input on the quantity input screen. A print confirmation screen 503 is a screen for confirming whether to perform print processing.

  In this example, it is assumed that the point after the “OK” button 504 is pressed is registered as a connection point. Therefore, when the “OK” button 504 is pressed, the HT terminal connects to the Bluetooth device used in this application process.

  Thereafter, after the user presses the “confirm” button 505, the user presses the “print” button 506 to start actual print processing. When the “print” button 506 is pressed, print processing is executed. Thereafter, the communication with the Bluetooth device is disconnected.

In this example, since the communication between the HT terminal and the Bluetooth device is connected at the timing several screens before the transition to the screen for actually issuing the print instruction, the connection is awaited at the timing when the user actually executes the printing process. The printing process can be executed as it is without time.
(3) “Every time connection mode”
In 414, the HT terminal determines whether to perform Bluetooth processing. If yes, go to 415; if no, go to 418.

  In 415, the HT terminal establishes connection between the HT terminal and the Bluetooth device. Here, the Bluetooth connection library is called.

  In 416, the HT terminal performs processing with the Bluetooth device.

  In 417, the HT terminal disconnects communication with the Bluetooth device.

  “Every time connection mode” is a mode in which “connection / disconnection” of communication is performed each time the HT terminal and the Bluetooth device perform communication. Accordingly, in the example shown in FIG. 5, when the “print” button 506 is pressed, communication with the Bluetooth device is connected.

  The three modes have been described above.

  In 418, the HT terminal exits the loop when an application termination instruction is given.

  In 419, the HT terminal determines whether it is in the always-on mode. If yes, go to 420; if no, go to 421.

  In 420, the HT terminal disconnects communication with the Bluetooth device. Communication other than the always-on mode can be disconnected during application processing. However, since the always-on mode is always connected, communication is disconnected when an application termination instruction is issued.

  In 421, the HT terminal ends the application.

  As described above, according to the present invention, by changing the communication connection mode between the HT terminal and the external device according to the remaining battery level, it is possible to reduce battery consumption while reducing the waiting time for the operator. Can do.

  It should be noted that the configuration and contents of the various data described above are not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the various data and configurations are configured according to the application and purpose.

  Although one embodiment has been described above, the present invention can take an embodiment as, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, or recording medium, and specifically includes a plurality of devices. The present invention may be applied to a system including a single device.

101 CPU
102 RAM
103 ROM
104 Operation part I / F
105 Operation unit 106 Printer I / F
107 Printer 108 MC
109 Hard disk 110 External I / F
111 System bus 112 Power supply

Claims (6)

A portable information terminal having a power supply unit and capable of wireless communication with an external device,
Confirmation means for confirming the battery capacity of the power supply unit;
A portable information terminal comprising switching means for switching a connection mode with the external device according to a battery capacity obtained as a result of confirmation by the confirmation means. Further comprising an activation means for activating an application,
The portable information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation unit performs confirmation at a predetermined timing while the application is activated by the activation unit.   The connection mode includes an always-on connection mode in which the external device is always connected, a pre-connection mode in which a pre-connection is made when a predetermined connection point is reached, and a disconnection is made after communication. The mobile information terminal according to claim 1, wherein a mode is included.   The portable information terminal according to claim 3, further comprising: a registration unit that registers a battery capacity to be switched to each of the always-on mode, the pre-connection mode, and the connection mode each time. A control method in a portable information terminal comprising a power supply unit and capable of wireless communication with an external device,
A confirmation step of confirming a battery capacity of the power supply unit;
A control method comprising: a switching step of switching a connection mode with the external device according to a battery capacity obtained as a result of the confirmation in the confirmation step. A program that includes a power supply unit and can be executed in a portable information terminal capable of wireless communication with an external device
Confirmation means for confirming the battery capacity of the power supply unit;
A program for causing the portable information terminal to function as switching means for switching a connection mode with the external device according to a battery capacity obtained as a result of confirmation by the confirmation means.

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