JP2012227819A - Portable terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable terminal device which prevents incorrect operations of a touch panel which are caused by a user's hand.SOLUTION: A portable terminal device 100 includes: a main display 102 located on a surface of a housing; a first proximity sensor 103 located at a lower part of the main display 102; and a second proximity sensor 104 located at an upper part of the main display 102. The portable terminal device 100 includes: a sub display 105 located on a rear surface of the housing; and a receiver 106 located at an upper part of the sub display 105. Further, a touch panel 140 is laminated on the main display 102. A CPU 110 invalidates the input of the information from the touch panel 140 when the proximity sensor 103 or the proximity sensor 104 detects an object approaching.

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile terminal device such as a bar-type mobile phone.

  Touch panel-mounted display screens have been introduced into various information devices such as personal computers, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) and other portable information terminals, and high-performance portable terminals called smartphones. The user performs an operation by touching a character or icon displayed on the touch panel screen with a finger. The user can cause the information device to execute a desired process by an intuitive operation.

  Patent Document 1 describes a handheld electronic device including a touch panel, a front cover, and a display panel.

JP 2009-38796 A

  However, the bar-type mobile phone described in Patent Document 1 has the following problems when the touch panel is made larger.

  In order to make the touch panel larger, it is conceivable to mount a receiver on the back surface of the display unit. When a receiver is mounted on the back surface of the display unit, a user's hand touches the touch panel during a call with the receiver, and there is a possibility that an erroneous operation of the touch panel may occur.

  The objective of this invention is providing the portable terminal device which can prevent the erroneous operation of the touch panel by a user's hand at the time of the telephone call by a receiver in the portable terminal device which mounts a receiver on the back surface of a display part.

  The portable terminal device of the present invention includes a housing, a touch panel for inputting information provided on the first surface of the housing, a display unit that is provided on the touch panel and displays information, and the first A proximity sensor that detects the approach of an object to one surface, a receiver that outputs sound from an opening provided on a second surface opposite to the first surface, and the proximity sensor When it detects, the structure provided with the control part which invalidates the input of the information from the said touch panel is taken.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the portable terminal device which can prevent the erroneous operation of the touch panel by a user's hand at the time of the telephone call by a receiver is realizable.

The figure explaining the use condition of the portable terminal device which concerns on one embodiment of this invention The figure which shows typically the housing | casing of the portable terminal device which concerns on the said embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the portable terminal device which concerns on the said embodiment. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the portable terminal device which concerns on the said embodiment. The figure which shows typically the modification of the portable terminal device which concerns on the said embodiment. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the modification of the portable terminal device which concerns on the said embodiment.

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

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a use state of a receiver or the like of a mobile terminal device (bar type mobile phone) such as a smart phone according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the mobile terminal device according to the present invention is embodied by a bar-type mobile phone such as a smart phone. Also, the present invention may be applied to PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), mobile phones with cameras / PHS (Personal Handy-Phone System) mobile communication terminals.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the mobile terminal device 100 includes a main display 102 and a receiver 106 (see FIG. 2) mounted on the reverse surface (back surface) of the main display 102. The user uses the receiver 106 while holding the mobile terminal device 100 in his / her hand. When the receiver 106 is used, a part of the main display 102 is covered with a hand.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a housing of the mobile terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing the surface of the main display, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view showing the surface of the receiver.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the mobile terminal device 100 includes a housing 101, a main display 102 on a surface 101 </ b> A of the housing 101, a proximity sensor 103 at a lower portion of the main display 102, and an upper portion of the main display 102. A proximity sensor 104. It is not essential to provide two proximity sensors. When only one proximity sensor is provided, the proximity sensor 103 is preferably provided below the main display 102.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2B, the mobile terminal device 100 includes a sub display 105 on the back surface 101 </ b> B of the housing 101, and a receiver 106 on the top of the sub display 105.

  The main display 102 is a large display that covers substantially the entire surface 101 </ b> A of the housing 101. The main display 102 is configured by an LCD display, an organic EL (Organic Electro-Luminescence) display, or the like, and displays the content of received information, content, and the like.

  The proximity sensor 103 and the proximity sensor 104 detect that the detection object approaches without contact. More specifically, the proximity sensor 103 and the proximity sensor 104 detect that the detection object has approached the surface on the main display 102 side. The proximity sensor 103 provided at the lower part of the main display 102 detects that the detection object has approached the lower part of the surface on the main display 102 side. The main methods of the proximity sensor include an induction type, a capacitance type, an ultrasonic type, an electromagnetic wave type, and an infrared type.

  The sub-display 105 is a small LCD display installed in the approximate center of the back surface 101B of the housing 101, and displays a clock display and various types of information.

  The receiver 106 includes a speaker and a microphone. The speaker includes a loudspeaker arrangement for hands-free calling and is not limited to receiver applications used against the ear. The microphone is placed at the position of the mouth when used with a hand. Note that the microphone is not limited to the above arrangement as long as it is arranged on the same plane as the speaker so as to support hands-free calling.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the mobile terminal device 100.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the mobile terminal device 100 includes a CPU 110, a memory 120, a main display 102, a proximity sensor 103, a proximity sensor 104, a sub display 105, a display control unit 130, a touch panel 140, a touch panel control unit 141, a receiver 106, A communication unit 150 and a power supply control unit 160 are provided.

  The CPU 110 is a control unit that controls the entire mobile terminal, and particularly executes a battery capacity allocation GUI (Graphical User Interface) operation of each function of the mobile terminal device 100.

  The memory 120 is composed of ROM, RAM storing various processing programs, EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable ROM) which is an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory, and the like. The memory 120 is used for program storage and information processing execution by a CPU that controls the entire apparatus. The nonvolatile memory stores terminal information unique to the terminal such as the terminal number and name. The memory 120 includes an external memory such as a CF card, an SD card, or a memory stick.

  The display control unit 130 is each driver that controls display on the main display 102 and the sub display 105.

  The touch panel 140 is a pointing device for instructing an arbitrary position within the display screen of the main display 102. The touch panel 140 detects each operation when the user pushes the upper surface with a finger, slides, or releases it.

  The touch panel control unit 141 specifies the position of the touch operation detected by the touch panel 140 and outputs coordinate data of the operated position to the CPU 110.

  The communication unit 150 communicates wirelessly with the base station.

  The power supply control unit 160 supplies power of a secondary battery such as Li ion to each function at a predetermined power supply voltage.

  As described above, the mobile terminal device 100 includes the touch panel 140 on the front surface 101A of the housing 101 and the receiver 106 on the back surface 101B of the housing 101. Also, two proximity sensors 103 and proximity sensors 104 are mounted on the surface 101A of the housing 101.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the mobile terminal device 100 configured as described above will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the mobile terminal device 100. In the figure, S indicates each step of the flow.

  In step S1, communication unit 150 detects an incoming call.

  In step S2, CPU 110 determines whether or not an incoming call is detected. If no incoming call is detected (step S2: NO), the process returns to step S1 and continues to detect incoming calls.

  If an incoming call is detected (step S1: YES), the proximity sensor 103 measures the distance between the casing 101 and the object in step S3.

  In step S1, if the start of a call is detected by detecting the pressing of the call button instead of detecting an incoming call, the proximity sensor 103 measures the distance between the casing 101 and the object in step S3. May be. Further, when the incoming call is detected and the start of the call is detected by detecting the call button being pressed, the proximity sensor 103 may measure the distance between the housing 101 and the object in step S3.

  When the mobile terminal device 100 includes only one proximity sensor, the proximity sensor 103 below the main display 102 measures the distance between the casing 101 and the object, assuming that the mobile terminal device 100 is used as shown in FIG. It is desirable to do. That is, it is considered that the user often holds the lower part of the mobile terminal device 100 by hand in order to support the mobile terminal device 100. In this case, the proximity sensor 103 being arranged at the lower part of the casing 101, that is, the lower part of the main display 102 is convenient for detecting that the user has held the mobile terminal device 100 by hand.

  On the other hand, when the proximity sensor 103 is provided below the main display 102 and the proximity sensor 104 is provided above the main display 102, the proximity sensor 103 measures the distance between the casing 101 and the object in step S3. The proximity sensor 104 may measure the distance between the housing 101 and the object.

  In step S4, the CPU 110 determines whether or not the measurement distance measured by the proximity sensor 103 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold. If the measurement distance is larger than the predetermined threshold (step S4: NO), the CPU 110 returns to step S1 and continues to detect incoming calls. .

  If the measurement distance is equal to or smaller than the predetermined threshold (step S4: YES), the CPU 110 turns off the display on the main display 102 in step S5. In step S6, the sub-display 105 is turned on.

  On the other hand, when the proximity sensor 103 is provided at the lower part of the main display 102 and the proximity sensor 104 is provided at the upper part of the main display 102, the measurement distance of either the proximity sensor 103 or the proximity sensor 104 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value. In this case (step S4: YES), the CPU 110 may turn off the display of the main display 102 in step S5. In step S6, the display on the sub-display 105 can be turned on.

  In step S5, CPU 110 preferably stops the operation of touch panel 140 (or does not detect the operation).

  In step S7, the CPU 110 determines whether or not a time equal to or greater than the threshold has elapsed since the distance became equal to or smaller than the threshold in step S4. If the time equal to or greater than the threshold has not elapsed (step S7: NO), The determination in step S7 is repeated.

  If the time equal to or greater than the threshold has elapsed (step S7: YES), the CPU 110 turns off the display on the sub display 105 in step S8. And the process of step S9 is performed. When the display of the sub display 105 is off, the screen display is turned off.

  Next, in step S9, it is determined whether or not the end of the call has been detected (for example, pressing of the end button is detected). If the end-of-speech has been detected (step S9: YES), the CPU 110 controls to turn on the display on the main display 102 in step S10. In step S10, CPU 110 preferably enables operation of touch panel 140 (or detection of an operation).

  As described above in detail, the mobile terminal device 100 according to the present embodiment includes the main display 102 on the surface 101A of the housing 101, the proximity sensor 103 below the main display 102, and the proximity sensor above the main display 102. 104. The mobile terminal device 100 includes a sub display 105 on the back surface 101 </ b> B of the housing 101, and a receiver 106 on the sub display 105. In addition, a touch panel 140 is stacked on the main display 102. The CPU 110 invalidates the input of information from the touch panel 140 when the proximity sensor 103 or the proximity sensor 104 detects the approach of an object.

  As described above, since the proximity sensor 103 and the proximity sensor 104 are mounted on the surface 101A of the housing 101, when the hand / finger closes either the proximity sensor 103 or the proximity sensor 104, the sub display The screen display 105 can be turned off or the operation of the touch panel 140 can be stopped. Since it is possible to prevent erroneous operation of the touch panel 140 by the user's hand during a call with the receiver 106, the display unit can be enlarged with the same housing size.

  In particular, since the proximity sensors 103 and 104 are installed at two positions above and below the main display 102 (touch panel 140), touching a wide area with a hand / finger can turn off the screen display more reliably and stop the operation. it can.

  Here, the CPU 110 may control to turn off the display of information on the main display 102 when the proximity sensors 103 and 104 detect the approach of an object. Further, the CPU 110 may invalidate input of information from the touch panel 140.

  The CPU 110 may turn on the display of information on the sub-display 105 when the communication unit 150 detects an incoming call and the proximity sensors 103 and 104 detect the approach of an object. With this configuration, when there is an incoming call and the main display 102 is covered with a hand, the sub display 105 is turned on, so that further power saving can be achieved.

  As described in the above embodiment, even if two proximity sensors 103 and proximity sensors 104 are not installed, the same control is possible if at least one proximity sensor is installed. is there. When there is one proximity sensor, it is desirable that the proximity sensor 103 below the main display 102 measures the distance between the casing 101 and the object.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a modified example of the mobile terminal device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description of overlapping portions is omitted.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the mobile terminal device 100 </ b> A includes a proximity sensor 107 on the upper surface of the sub display 105 on the back surface 101 </ b> B of the housing 101. The proximity sensor 107 detects that the detection object has approached the surface on the sub display 105 side.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the modified example of the mobile terminal device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description of overlapping portions is omitted.

  In the flow of FIG. 6, the processing of step S61 and step S62 is performed instead of step S7 of FIG. That is, in step S7 in FIG. 4, the CPU 110 determines whether or not a time equal to or greater than the threshold has elapsed since the distance became equal to or smaller than the threshold in step S4. In step S61, the distance between the proximity sensor 107 and the object is measured. If the distance is equal to or smaller than the threshold value in step S62 (step S62: YES), the CPU 110 turns off the display of the sub display 105 in step S8.

  In the modification, the sub-display is provided when the back surface 101B of the housing (that is, the surface on the receiver 106 side) is covered by the face by the user placing the receiver 106 on the ear by such a configuration or control. The display of 105 can be turned off.

  In the modification shown in FIG. 5, instead of the operation shown in the flow of FIG. 6, the CPU 110 receives information from the touch panel 140 when the proximity sensor 103, the proximity sensor 104, and the proximity sensor 107 detect the approach of an object. It is also possible to perform control to invalidate the input. In this case, it is preferable to turn off the screen display of the main display 102 and the sub display 105.

  The above description is an illustration of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to this.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the portable terminal device is applied to a bar-type portable information terminal has been described. However, the portable terminal is not limited to a portable information terminal such as a PDA. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to portable devices such as MP3 players and HDD players.

  In the above embodiment, the names of the portable information terminal and the portable terminal device are used. However, this is for convenience of explanation, and may be a portable terminal, an electronic device, or the like.

  Furthermore, each part which comprises the said portable terminal device, for example, a housing | casing, the kind and material of a proximity sensor, its shape, an attachment method, etc. may be what.

  The mobile terminal device according to the present invention can reduce the size of a mobile terminal device such as a mobile phone, and can also be applied to various electronic devices other than the mobile terminal as the mobile terminal device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Portable terminal device 101 Case 101A Front surface of housing 101B Back surface of housing 102 Main display 103, 104, 107 Proximity sensor 105 Sub display 106 Receiver 110 CPU
120 Memory 130 Display Control Unit 140 Touch Panel 141 Touch Panel Control Unit 150 Communication Unit 160 Power Supply Control Unit

Claims (8)

A housing,
A touch panel provided on the first surface of the housing for inputting information;
A display unit that is provided on the touch panel and displays information;
A proximity sensor for detecting an approach of an object to the first surface;
A receiver that outputs sound from an opening provided in a second surface that is the surface opposite to the first surface;
When the proximity sensor detects the approach of an object, a control unit that invalidates input of information from the touch panel;
A mobile terminal device comprising: The control unit turns off display of information on the display unit when the proximity sensor detects approach of an object,
The mobile terminal device according to claim 1. A second display unit provided on the second surface for displaying information;
A call receiving unit for detecting an incoming call,
2. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit turns on display of information on the second display unit when the call incoming unit detects an incoming call and the proximity sensor detects an approach of an object. apparatus. A second proximity sensor for detecting an approach of an object to the first surface;
The control unit invalidates input of information from the touch panel when the proximity sensor and the second proximity sensor detect approach of an object,
The portable terminal device according to claim 1 or 2. The control unit turns off display of information on the display unit when the proximity sensor and the second proximity sensor detect an approach of an object,
The mobile terminal device according to claim 4. A third proximity sensor for detecting an approach of an object to the second surface;
The control unit invalidates input of information from the touch panel when the proximity sensor and the third proximity sensor detect an approach of an object,
The portable terminal device in any one of Claim 1, Claim 2, or Claim 4. The control unit turns off display of information on the display unit when the proximity sensor and the third proximity sensor detect an approach of an object,
The mobile terminal device according to claim 6. The proximity sensor detects an approach of an object to a lower portion of the first surface;
The mobile terminal device according to claim 1, claim 2, claim 4, or claim 6.

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