JP3679650B2 - Portable information device, portable information device station, and data processing system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a portable information device incorporating PIM (Personal Information Manager) software such as an electronic address book and a schedule.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in this type of portable information device, many pocket-sized devices have been introduced, and further, a device of a size that can be carried on an arm and used as a watch has also been proposed.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the wristwatch-sized portable information device as described above, a large-capacity large battery cannot be used, and a small battery is not suitable for practical use because its life is short. Further, when displaying application software or the like in the memory of the portable information device main body by communicating with an external device, the display is made, and for this reason, the current is wasted. An LCD is generally used for display, but the LCD has been made full-dot for use as information equipment, and current consumption tends to increase. Even in the case of an LCD, the current consumption cannot be ignored. In this type of portable information device, how to extend the battery life has been a problem.
[0004]
Also, portable information devices are often used to carry part of data by sharing information with personal computers and the like. For this reason, in a conventional portable information device, first, a personal computer is connected by hardware, and then a predetermined operation is performed to exchange data. This operation requires both the portable information device and the personal computer, and is troublesome.
[0005]
The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and the object of the present invention is to save current consumption for display and save battery life while the portable information device is communicating with an external device. It is to provide a portable information device with low power consumption capable of extending the power consumption.
Another object is to provide a portable information device capable of automatically sharing data by connecting to a personal computer.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a portable information device of the present invention comprises a central processing unit (CPU), a fixed memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an input device, and a liquid crystal display (LCD). In order to communicate with an external device, the portable information device includes an interface (I / F) connected between the external device and the CPU, and the connection between the external device and the portable information device is established. Then, the LCD is disconnected from the display power source and is in a display pause state or configured to be blinked.
[0007]
The portable information device of the present invention is a portable information device comprising a central processing unit (CPU), a fixed memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an input device, and a liquid crystal display (LCD). In order to communicate with the external device, an interface (I / F) connected between the external device and the CPU is provided. When the connection between the external device and the portable information device is established, the remaining capacity of the RAM Memory data transmitting means for transmitting information or file information of a directory structure stored in a ROM or RAM to an external device is provided.
[0008]
Furthermore, the portable information device of the present invention is a portable information device comprising a central processing unit (CPU), a fixed memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an input device, and a liquid crystal display device (LCD). An interface (I / F) connected between the external device and the CPU for performing communication with the external device, and a time counting means for counting time information, the external device and the portable information device A time data transmission / reception means for receiving the time data set in the time counting means from the external device or transmitting the time data set in the time counting means to the external device when the connection to the external device is established. To do.
[0009]
Furthermore, the portable information device of the present invention is a portable information device comprising a central processing unit (CPU), a fixed memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an input device, and a liquid crystal display (LCD). In order to communicate with an external device, an interface (I / F) connected between the external device and the CPU, a battery that supplies power to each unit, and a battery that detects the voltage and capacity of the battery And a battery data transmitting means for transmitting battery voltage and capacity information measured by the battery status monitoring means to the external apparatus when connection between the external device and the portable information device is established. To do.
[0010]
The portable information device having the above-described configurations may be configured such that when a connection between the external device and the portable information device is established, input of a key constituting the input device is prohibited.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, the portable information device is mechanically set, so that a connection terminal electrically connected to the I / F of the portable information device and an I / F cable for communicating with an external device are provided. The provided I / F station was connected to a portable information device to constitute a portable information device station.
[0011]
Furthermore, in the present invention, the data processing system is configured such that the portable information device and the computer are connected by the I / F and data is transmitted / received by the I / F. The data processing system may be configured to transmit and receive data via the I / F station.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing an appearance of an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a band 12 is attached to a frame 11 so that it can be carried around an arm. In addition, an operation key 13, a cross cursor pointer 14, and a time display key 15 are attached to the frame 11, and function as an input device. In front of the frame 11, an LCD 16 for displaying input contents and output results corresponding to the input contents is installed. The cross cursor pointer 14 is composed of four buttons, and the user can move the pointer up, down, left and right while looking at the LCD 16.
[0013]
The portable information device main body 10 configured as described above is mechanically connected to the I / F station 17 and electrically connected to the connection terminal 18. The I / F station 17 is provided with a cable 19 for allowing the portable information device main body 10 to communicate with an external device. By connecting this cable 19 to a personal computer having a serial interface, it is possible to communicate with the personal computer.
[0014]
Next, the inside of the portable information device main body 10 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, a ROM 22 and an input device 23 are connected to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21. The ROM 22 includes an OS, a filer program, a time display program, and the like. Here, the filer program is a program used for displaying and operating a file stored in the ROM or RAM, and controls an interface with the operator. The input device 23 includes a plurality of keys such as the operation key 13, the cross cursor pointer 14, and the time display key 15 shown in FIG. Further, a RAM 24 having directory structure data is connected to the CPU 21, and the CPU 21 performs predetermined arithmetic processing while exchanging signals with the ROM 22 and the RAM 24 according to a command from the input device 23. In order to display the result of this processing, an LCD 16 is connected and displayed. An interface (I / F) 26 is connected to the CPU 21 and is used when communicating with a personal computer or the like via the I / F station 17.
[0015]
Next, the operation of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present invention, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are diagrams showing an LCD screen displayed at each step.
In FIG. 3, when the portable information device main body is first set in the I / F station in the communication preparation stage, the portable information device main body determines 30 whether or not an application program is currently being executed. The message “Application is running” is displayed 31. If it is not executed, “Remote preparation in progress” is displayed on the LCD 16 as shown in FIG. While this “remote preparation” is displayed, input from any key of the input device is invalid, indicating that it is in the communication preparation stage.
[0016]
At this time, it is determined 32 whether there is a response from the personal computer (PC) connected to the cable 19 of the I / F station 17. If there is a response, as shown in the LCD 16 of FIG. Then, on the connected PC, the memory remaining amount, battery remaining amount, directory information, and the like of the portable information device main body are displayed 34 and the next command 35 is awaited. If there is no operation for a predetermined time, a connection end command 36 is issued. For display on the PC, a program for display is also stored on the PC side, and a command is issued from the portable information device to the PC for display.
[0017]
Alternatively, it may be configured to wait for a predetermined time without performing the connection termination process in step 36, and then to disconnect the power source of the LCD 16 to enter a low current consumption state. At this time, if there is an operation in the waiting state, the waiting time can be reset and a predetermined time can be waited again from that point.
On the other hand, if there is no response from the PC in step 32, an alarm 37 is sent for a certain period of time 37, the screen returns to the normal screen 38 as shown in FIG. State or flashing. In the display hibernation state, the LCD 16 is disconnected from the power source, so that a low current consumption state is entered. In the blinking state, the power consumption of the LCD 16 is disconnected when the light is turned off to reduce the current consumption. The reason for blinking is that the information cannot be transmitted to the operator if the light is completely turned off, so that information is displayed even if it is intermittent. Note that the alarm time and the predetermined time for recognizing that there is no operation can be arbitrarily set by the user.
[0018]
In the above embodiment, when the connection between the portable information device and the PC is established, the remaining amount of memory, the remaining amount of battery, directory information, and the like are transmitted from the portable information device to the PC. This is due to the intention of sharing information with the portable information device and the PC integrated informationally. Therefore, other information may be shared. For example, a time counter for displaying the time may be provided in the portable information device so that the time information is shared. In this case, two methods are possible: when the time information is transmitted from the portable information device to the PC, and when the time information is transmitted from the PC to the portable information device. Which one should be adopted may be appropriately selected based on the accuracy of the time counter.
[0019]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the mode in which the I / F station is interposed in the interface between the portable information device and the PC has been described. The I / F station referred to here is provided mainly for converting the mechanical size because the size of the connector for connection differs between the portable information device side and the PC side. Since the portable information device is a wristwatch-type small device, a large-sized interface connector cannot be adopted. On the other hand, on the PC side, for example, a relatively large connector of D-SUB9P called a general PC / AT compatible machine is employed. The I / F station performs conversion of these sizes. Accordingly, it is possible to realize a form in which the portable information device and the PC are directly connected by devising the shape of the connector, and the present invention can also be implemented in such a configuration.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the portable information device according to the present invention, when the portable information device is connected to an external device such as a personal computer, power consumption for display is saved by cutting off the power supply for display. I made it. For this reason, the battery life could be extended.
[0021]
In addition, when the portable information device is connected to an external device such as a personal computer, it is configured to automatically transmit and receive the remaining memory capacity, remaining battery power, time information, and the like. This makes it possible to share data with simple operations. As described above, as an information device carried on the arm, the present invention has a very large effect.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external front view of an embodiment of a portable information device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a portable information device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the portable information device according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing contents displayed on the LCD of the portable information device according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing contents displayed on the LCD of the portable information device according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Mobile Information Device 11 Frame 12 Band 13 Operation Key 14 Cross Cursor Pointer 15 Time Display Key 16 LCD
17 I / F station 18 Connection terminal 19 Cable 21 CPU
22 ROM
23 Input device 24 RAM
26 Interface (I / F)
27 I / F station

Claims (2)

In a portable information device composed of a central processing unit (CPU), a fixed memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an input device, and a liquid crystal display device (LCD),
The portable information device has an interface (I / F) connected between the computer and the CPU to communicate with the computer;
Time counting means for counting time information,
When the connection between the computer and the portable information device is established, either the time data set in the time counting means is transmitted to the computer, or the time data set in the time counting means is received from the computer. A portable information device comprising time data transmitting / receiving means for selecting the time.   2. A data processing system configured to connect the portable information device according to claim 1 and a computer through the I / F and transmit and receive data through the I / F.

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