JP3057860B2 - Portable radio telephone equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable radio telephone having both functions of a cordless telephone and a cellular telephone.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, wireless telephones have been reduced in size due to the development of wireless technology, high-density mounting technology, and energy saving of various devices.
It has been widely used in the form of car phones and mobile phones due to cost reduction.

[0003] A conventional portable radio telephone device will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 3, a conventional portable wireless telephone device having both a cordless telephone function and a cellular telephone function has a control unit 1 for controlling the whole device, and a radio signal between the cordless telephone base unit controlled by the control means. A cordless transmitting / receiving unit 2 for transmitting / receiving data, a cellular transmitting / receiving unit 3 for transmitting / receiving a wireless signal to / from a cellular telephone line, an audio signal processing unit 4 for processing an audio signal or communication data, and displaying a communication state or key input. A display unit 5, a key input unit 6 for inputting a telephone number or the like, a battery 7 for supplying power to the entire apparatus, a microphone 8 for inputting voice, a voice or DTMF (Dual T
speaker 9 for outputting a one Multi Frequency) signal, an antenna 10 for transmitting and receiving wireless power, and a control unit 1 when the remaining amount of the battery is detected and the operation limit is reached.
And a remaining battery level detection unit 11 that outputs a remaining capacity detection signal 12 to the battery.

[0004] The relationship and operation of each component of the portable radio telephone apparatus composed of the above components will be described below. First, when it is near the cordless telephone base unit and within the range where communication with the base unit is possible, the control unit 1 switches from the key input unit 6 to the cordless telephone so that the control unit 1 communicates with the cordless transmitting / receiving unit 2 and the audio signal. The processing section 4 can be controlled to function as a cordless telephone. The user can input a telephone number from the key input section 6 while confirming on the display section 5 and connect via a line to make a call through the microphone 8 and the speaker 9. When the user goes out of the area of the cordless telephone, the control unit 1 controls the cellular transmission / reception unit 3 and the voice processing unit 4 by switching from the key input unit 6 to the cellular telephone, thereby functioning as a cellular telephone. .

When the remaining amount of the battery 7 decreases during use of the apparatus and approaches a level at which the apparatus cannot be used, the remaining battery level detector 11 outputs a remaining level detection signal 12 to the controller 1. When the remaining amount detection signal 12 is input, the control unit 1 displays a message such as "BATTERY LOW" on the display unit 5 to warn the user.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, in the case of the cellular / cordless hybrid type, the user is at home (or office) like a dedicated cellular phone.
When the user returns to, unlike when it can be set in the charger, the user may return to his / her home (or office) and use it as a cordless phone without placing it on the base unit integrated with the charger. In a cellular phone dedicated machine, it is set in the charger when returning to home, so it is normal to take it out when charged when you go out, and you can use the battery capacity as much as possible, but the cellular cordless composite The portable wireless telephone device of the type is used as a cordless telephone even at home (or office), and there is a high possibility that the user will go out with the remaining battery level being low, and the use time at the place where the user is going to go is shortened. Was.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and to provide a portable radio telephone device which can prevent the user from going out of the cordless telephone area when the battery level is low.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a portable radio telephone apparatus according to the present invention comprises a means for judging whether or not a cellular phone is within a communicable area of a cordless telephone and a means for detecting a remaining battery level in two or more stages. And has a configuration in which a charge request warning is issued with a battery remaining amount that is higher than the battery remaining amount for notifying the usage limit when the vehicle is within the cordless communication range.

[0009]

According to the present invention, in the above configuration, the second detection level of the battery remaining amount detection means is set to a level close to the usage limit as shown in the conventional example, and the first detection level is higher than the second detection level. A level lower than the level of the fully charged state, for example, an intermediate value between the two, is set, and the cordless area determining means detects that the telephone is in the cordless telephone area, and the remaining battery level is lower than the second detection level by the remaining battery level detecting means. When it is detected that the battery is low, the control unit issues a charge request warning to the user through a display unit or a speaker, etc., and charges the user early, so that the user can go out of the cordless telephone area with a low battery level. Can be prevented.

[0010]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a portable radio telephone apparatus according to this embodiment has a control unit 1 for controlling the whole apparatus, and a cordless transmission / reception for transmitting / receiving a radio signal to / from a cordless telephone base unit controlled by the control means. Unit 2, a cellular transmission / reception unit 3 for transmitting / receiving a radio signal to / from a cellular telephone line, an audio signal processing unit 4 for processing an audio signal or communication data, a display unit 5 for displaying a communication state or key input, a telephone number Key input unit 6 for inputting information and the like, a battery 7 for supplying power to the entire apparatus, a microphone 8 for inputting voice, a voice or DTMF (Dual Tone Mult).
i Frequency) speaker 9 for outputting signals, etc.
When the remaining amount of the antenna 10 for transmitting and receiving wireless power and the battery 7 is detected and the remaining amount is equal to or less than の of the full charge, the first remaining amount detection signal 13 is output, and the remaining amount is close to the operation limit of the apparatus. The battery level detecting section 11 outputs a second remaining level detecting signal 14 to the control section 11 when the value becomes a value. Here, the difference from the conventional example shown in FIG. 3 is that, based on the signal received by the cordless transmission / reception unit 2, it is determined whether or not it is within a cordless communication area and it is within a cordless communication area. Cordless zone discriminating unit 1 that outputs cordless zone signal 16 to control unit 1 when discriminated
5 is newly added.

With respect to the portable radio telephone equipment comprising the above components, the relationship and operation of the components will be described below.
When it is located near the cordless telephone base unit and within the range where communication with the base unit is possible, the control unit 1 switches from the key input unit 6 to the cordless telephone so that the control unit 1 can control the cordless transmitting / receiving unit 2 and the audio signal processing unit. 4 can be controlled to function as a cordless telephone, and the user can input a telephone number from the key input unit 6 while checking on the display unit 5, and after connecting the line, can talk through the microphone 8 and the speaker 9. When the user goes out of the area of the cordless telephone, the control unit 1 controls the cellular transmission / reception unit 3 and the voice processing unit 4 by switching from the key input unit 6 to the cellular telephone, thereby functioning as a cellular telephone. .

Next, in the graph showing the remaining battery charge in FIG. 2, bf is a value of the full charge of the battery 7, b2 is a value close to the remaining battery charge at which the apparatus is used, and b1 is 1/2 of the full charge. Is the value of In FIG. 2, the current consumption of the device is assumed to be constant for the sake of simplicity. Hereinafter, the operation according to the remaining battery level will be described for the case where the present apparatus is in the area of the cordless telephone and the case where it is out of the area. First, in the case of being in a cordless telephone area, at this time, the cordless area determining unit 15 detects that the apparatus is in the cordless area based on the reception state of the cordless transmitting / receiving unit 2 and sends a cordless area signal 16 to the control unit 1. Output. When the remaining amount of the battery 7 becomes equal to or less than b1 in FIG. 2, the battery remaining amount detection unit 11 outputs a first remaining amount detection signal 13. When receiving the cordless zone signal 16 and the first remaining amount detection signal 13, the control unit 1 displays "CHARGE" on the display unit 5.
! "And a warning sound is output from the speaker 9 via the audio signal processing unit 4.
In response to this warning, the user returns the apparatus to the cordless base unit and charges it. Therefore, the remaining amount of the battery is b1 in FIG.
Since the above values can be maintained, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the user goes out of the cordless area with the remaining battery level close to b2 in FIG. Therefore, the time of te-tl can be used no matter when one goes out. Here, by setting the detection level of the remaining battery level to a value closer to bf than b2, the time from the fully charged state to the charging request may be shortened. Since the power consumption is remarkably low in the state of use as a telephone, even if the detection level of the remaining battery level in the cordless telephone area is increased to some extent, sufficient time can be secured as compared with the usable time as a cellular telephone. Therefore, in the above example, b1 is set to 1 of bf.
However, if the power consumption in the cordless telephone state is small, the value of b1 can be set close to bf without any problem.

Next, in the case of going out of the cordless telephone area, in this case, the cordless area discriminating section 15 does not output the cordless area signal 16 to the control section 1 because it judges that the area is not in the cordless telephone area. Battery level detector 1
1 outputs a first remaining charge detection signal 13 when the remaining battery charge becomes equal to or less than b1 in FIG. 2, but the control unit 1 does not perform any special processing because the cordless zone signal 16 is not input.
When the remaining battery power further decreases to b2, the battery remaining power detection unit outputs a second remaining power detection signal 14. When the second remaining amount detection signal 14 is input, the control unit 1 displays, for example, [BATTERY LO
A warning such as "W" is displayed to warn the user that the usage limit is approaching. Therefore, the operation outside the cordless telephone area is the same as that of a conventional cellular telephone.

[0015]

As is apparent from the above embodiments, the present invention provides a first wireless communication function having a receiving unit and a transmitting unit capable of wireless communication with a cordless telephone base unit connected to a public telephone communication network. A portable wireless telephone device having both a receiving unit and a second wireless communication function having a transmitting unit capable of wirelessly communicating with a base station in a wireless telephone service network such as a cellular telephone, And a means for detecting the remaining battery level in two or more stages, and when in the cordless communicable area, issues a charge request warning with the remaining battery level higher than the remaining battery level to notify the usage limit. Thus, it is possible to realize an excellent portable wireless telephone device that can prevent the user from going out when the remaining battery power is low and can extend the usable time at the place where the user is going.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portable wireless telephone device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a remaining battery characteristic diagram of the portable wireless telephone device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional portable radio telephone device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control part 2 Cordless transmission / reception part 3 Cellular transmission / reception part 5 Display part 7 Battery 11 Battery remaining amount detection part 12 Remaining amount detection signal 13 First remaining amount detection signal 14 Second remaining amount detection signal 15 Cordless area discrimination part 16 Cordless Area signal

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04B ⁷ /24-7/26 H04M 1 / 00,1 / 24 H04M 1/58-1/62 H04M 1 / 66-1/78 H04Q 7/06-7/38

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first wireless communication function capable of wireless communication with a cordless telephone base unit connected to a public telephone communication network, and a second wireless communication capable of wireless communication with a base station in a cellular telephone service network. It has a function of detecting whether wireless communication with a cordless telephone is possible, and a battery remaining level detecting means having two or more levels of battery remaining. A portable wireless telephone device that issues a charge request warning when the remaining battery charge is higher than the battery charge.