JP3950825B2 - Mobile phone device and user interface thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is a mobile phone to which a new user interface is added, in particular, when the hand is held over the mobile phone, the proximity sensor detects the approach, voice response of time information, incoming call information, etc. and lighting of the backlight of the display unit The present invention relates to a mobile phone device having a function of performing the above and a user interface thereof.

In order to avoid battery consumption as much as possible, the cellular phone device is turned off as much as possible during standby. For this reason, when it is desired to know the time and the presence / absence of an incoming call at night, etc., it has been difficult for the conventional mobile phone device to find the mobile phone device in the dark and check the time and the incoming call.
FIG. 12 shows a conventional cellular phone device that knows time information, incoming call notification, and the like by voice notification. The cellular phone device 100 includes at least an operation unit 110 that is a key input unit, a control unit 112, and a sound generation device 111. When a user of the cellular phone device 100 tries to obtain a voice information notification such as a time notification by voice or an incoming call notification at night or the like, the cellular phone device 100 is searched in the dark, and the voice generator is selected from the operation unit 110. It is necessary to manually set the acquisition of the voice information notification from the voice generator 111 by operating the control unit 112 that controls 111.

In a conventional fixed-line telephone device set to answering machine, the number of incoming calls and the recorded message are often reproduced by pressing the answering machine button.
In addition, the presence or absence of a person near the phone is detected by a sensor, and if there is a person near the phone, the volume of the ringer is reduced, and if the person is away from the phone, a louder ringer is generated. The invention is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
In addition, an invention of an apparatus for temporarily storing and playing back a voice signal received by a proximity sensor, a speaker and a telephone handset is disclosed. A proximity sensor detects the proximity of the handset to the ear. When the handset is away from the ear, the voice signal during the call is buffered in real time, and when the handset approaches the ear again, the accumulated voice signal is time-compressed and played back, and the handset receives the sound away from the ear. The voice while not being able to be transmitted is supplemented and transmitted to the listener (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 04-260256 A (page 1-2, FIG. 1)

JP 2003-37652 A (page 3-4, FIG. 1)

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems in a mobile phone device designed to save power, and an object thereof is to provide a mobile phone device equipped with a new user interface that is easy to use. In particular, when a hand or an object is held over a mobile phone, the proximity sensor detects the approach and has a function of performing voice response of time information, incoming call information, etc. and turning on the backlight of the display unit Is to provide.

  The cellular phone device of the present invention includes two proximity sensors, a sense switch for detecting the top where the cellular phone device is placed, voice response means, display means having a backlight, and a control unit. When one of the two proximity sensors selected by the sense switch detects an approaching object, detection information is output to the control unit, and the control unit activates the voice response unit and It is characterized by operating at least one of lighting of the backlight.

Further, the information notification method of the mobile phone device of the present invention includes a proximity sensor, a sense switch for detecting the top where the mobile phone device is placed, a voice response means, a display means having a backlight, In the mobile phone device including the control unit, when one of the two proximity sensors selected by the sense switch detects an approaching object, a step of outputting detection information to the control unit; and the proximity Setting an operation in which at least one of activation of the voice response means and lighting of the backlight is activated when the sense sensor detects an approaching object, and the proximity sensor detects the approaching object. A step of presetting a distance to an approaching object, and when the distance to the approaching object measured by the proximity sensor is equal to or less than the preset value, the detection information is Outputting to the control unit, the control unit activating at least one of activation of the voice response unit and lighting of the backlight based on the detection information, activation of the voice response unit, and the The method includes a step of releasing an operation of operating at least one of lighting of the backlight.

In the cellular phone device of the present invention, the cellular phone in the dark by the voice information notification such as voice time notification and incoming call notification and lighting of the backlight of the display LCD without the user touching the cellular phone device and manually operating the cellular phone device. It becomes possible to obtain confirmation of the location of the device. This is because the cellular phone device of the present invention has a proximity sensor.
Further, since the voice information notification is always possible during the operation setting, it is possible to obtain the voice information notification such as the time notification and the incoming call notification any number of times when the user wants to obtain the information notification. The reason is that voice notification can be set to ON / OFF, and repeatedly operates while ON.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a mobile phone device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. The first embodiment is a one-piece type mobile phone device instead of folding.
The cellular phone device 1 is close to a conventional configuration including at least an operation unit 2 (key), a speaker 3 that emits a ringtone, a storage unit 4, a control unit 5, a display unit 9 (LCD), and an LCD backlight 10. The sense sensor 8 is disposed on the same housing surface as the surface on which the display unit 9 and the operation unit 2 of the mobile phone device 1 are formed. In the first embodiment, the proximity sensor 8 includes an ultrasonic sensor 6 and a distance comparison unit 7.
The ultrasonic sensor 6 sends an ultrasonic pulse into the air by driving a piezoelectric bending vibrator having a vibration frequency of about 40 to 50 KHz by a burst pulse having a constant period, and the reflected pulse from an approaching object is the same vibrator. Is detected by
The distance comparison unit 7 detects the transmission ultrasonic pulse transmitted by the ultrasonic sensor unit 6 and the received reflected echo, calculates the distance to the approaching object from the difference between the two pulse times, and outputs the distance data to the control unit 5 To do. However, in order to be able to perform the above-described ultrasonic sensing, it is necessary for the reflected echo to return and the transmission pulse waveform and the reflected echo waveform to be time-separated. There is a distance. For this reason, the distance comparison unit 7 outputs information indicating that measurement is impossible to the control unit 5 when the pulse time difference cannot be measured.
The control unit 5 compares the distance data input from the distance comparison unit 7 with the set value previously input by the user and stored in the storage unit 4, and the distance data from the distance comparison unit 7 is compared with the set value. When it is near, audio information such as time notification and incoming call notification stored in advance in the storage unit 4 is output to the speaker 3.
The input of the set value of the distance at which the voice information notification operation is activated is input from the key of the operation unit 2.
The storage unit 4 stores the set distance data input from the operation unit 2 via the control unit 5.
The speaker 3 generates sound information notifications such as time notification and incoming call notification under the control of the control unit 5.
With these configurations, the user can receive voice information notification such as time notification and incoming call notification by simply holding his / her hand without touching and manually operating the mobile phone device 1.

Details of the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the user turns on the mobile phone device (S1).
Next, the user sets and inputs the approach distance L1 for operating the voice information notification operation (S2), and sets whether or not to perform the voice information notification operation (S3).
When the voice information notification operation setting ON / OFF is detected (S4), and the voice information notification operation setting is turned OFF, the processing ends. If the setting is ON, distance measurement by the ultrasonic sensor is started (S5).
The distance L2 measured by the ultrasonic sensor is compared with the distance L1 set by the user (S6).
As a result of the comparison, if the measurement distance L2 is equal to or less than the set distance L1 (L2 ≦ L1), voice information such as time notification and incoming call notification is notified to the user from the speaker (S7).
In S6, as a result of the distance comparison, if L2> L1, or if the approach distance is too far or too close to detect an ultrasonic echo and L2 cannot be measured, the distance measurement in S5 is repeated.
After the voice information notification (S7), the operation unit key input is detected (S8).
It always operates until the voice information notification setting is changed. When the user holds his / her hand over the mobile phone device, the voice information notification is executed at any time.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The voice information notification by the speaker is detected from the surrounding situation, or there is a positional relationship where the user can visually recognize the display unit of the mobile phone device, or the LCD unit lights in the dark and the mobile phone device is searched. In a situation where it becomes easy, the backlight of the display unit may be turned on instead of the voice information notification. When the LCD backlight shines, LCD display such as time display becomes easy to see. In addition, it becomes possible to easily find a mobile phone device by knowing the location of the mobile phone device.
FIG. 4 shows a configuration diagram of the second embodiment. The configuration of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 2 is a configuration in which the speaker 3 is changed to the lighting function of the LCD backlight 15, and the other portions are the same as the configuration described in FIG. is there.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
Similar to the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, first, the mobile phone device is powered on (S9).
Next, a distance L1 at which the LCD backlight lighting operation is turned on is input (S10), and whether or not the backlight lighting operation is performed is set (S11).
When the backlight lighting operation setting ON / OFF is detected (S12), and the backlight lighting operation setting is turned OFF, the processing ends.
If the setting is ON, the distance measurement by the ultrasonic sensor is started, and the distance between the mobile phone device and the approaching object is measured (S13).
The distance L2 measured by the ultrasonic sensor is compared with the distance L1 set by the user (S14).
As a result of the comparison, when the measurement distance L2 is equal to or less than the set distance L1 (L2 ≦ L1), the backlight is turned on (S15).
If the distance comparison result in S14 indicates that L2> L1, the distance measurement in S13 is repeated.
After the backlight is turned on for a certain time (S15), an operation unit key input is detected (S17).
It always operates until the backlight lighting setting is changed. When the user holds his / her hand over the mobile phone device, the backlight is turned on at any time.

The operation mode of the ultrasonic sensor in the above embodiment measures the distance from the reflection time of the reflected echo to the approaching object. In the present invention, it is only necessary to detect the approach of an object within a predetermined distance, so distance measurement is not always necessary. Since the amplitude of the reflected echo becomes higher as the approaching distance is shorter within a range where the echo waveform can be separated from the transmission pulse, it may be detected that the amplitude of the reflected echo is equal to or higher than a predetermined level.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of the mobile phone device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 2 is different from the configuration of the first embodiment in FIG. 2 in that the proximity sensor 8 in FIG. 2 is replaced with a proximity sensor 28 and the configured distance comparison unit 7 is replaced with a level comparison unit 27. In this embodiment, as described above, instead of distance measurement using ultrasonic echoes, amplitude measurement is performed to detect an approaching object, and voice information notification is performed.
In the method for detecting the amplitude of the reflected echo, a table in which the level of the reflected echo is associated with the distance L1 for operating the voice notification input in advance by the user of the mobile phone device in step 2 in FIG. I need.
FIG. 7 shows an operation flow. 3 is different from the flow of FIG. 3 in that, after detecting the voice notification setting ON in S4, the procedure S20 for reading the set distance L1 to the ultrasonic echo level H1 from the table of the storage unit 4 and the echo level H2 are measured. Step S22 for comparing H2 and H1 is executed, and the other steps are the same as the flow of FIG.

Details of the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
First, the user turns on the mobile phone device (S1).
Next, the user sets and inputs the approach distance L1 for operating the voice information notification operation (S2), and sets whether or not to perform the voice information notification operation (S3).
When the voice information notification operation setting ON / OFF is detected (S4), and the voice information notification operation setting is turned OFF, the processing ends.
When the setting is ON, the setting distance L1 is read as the ultrasonic echo setting level H1 from the table of the storage unit 4 (S20).
The echo amplitude measurement by the ultrasonic sensor is started (S21).
The amplitude H2 measured by the ultrasonic sensor is compared with the amplitude H1 set by the user (S21).
As a result of the comparison, if the measured amplitude H2 is equal to or greater than the set amplitude H1 (H2 ≧ H1), audio information such as time notification and incoming call notification is notified to the user from the speaker (S7).
As a result of the distance comparison in S21, if H2 <H1, or if the approach distance is too far or too close to detect an ultrasonic echo and H2 cannot be measured, the amplitude measurement in S21 is repeated.
After the voice information notification (S7), the operation unit key input is detected (S8).
It always operates until the voice information notification setting is changed. When the user holds his / her hand over the mobile phone device, the voice information notification is executed at any time.

The operation mode of the proximity sensor of the first embodiment is changed from distance measurement to amplitude measurement, and the operation mode of the proximity sensor of the second embodiment is changed from distance measurement to amplitude as configured in the third embodiment. Instead of measurement, the fourth embodiment can be configured.
FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 9 shows the operation flow.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, the ultrasonic sensor 6 is a type that also serves as a transmitter / receiver, but a transducer different in transmission / reception may be used.

In the first to fourth embodiments, the mobile phone device is a one-piece type. In recent years, the folding type has become widespread.
FIG. 10 shows an appearance of a mobile phone device 200 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of the configuration.
FIG. 10A shows a state in which the foldable mobile phone device is opened, and FIG. 10B shows a case where the main display portion of the housing is folded inward and attached to the charging adapter or on a desk. Fig. 10 (C) shows a state of being placed upside down from the state of (B).
The cellular phone device 200 includes the operation unit 2 and the main display unit 10-1 on the folded inner surface side, the sub display unit 10-2 and the infrared communication transmitter / receiver unit 11 on the back of the surface where the main display unit is located, The speaker 3 and the proximity sensor 8 are provided on the back side of the surface on which the operation unit is located.
As shown in FIG. 11, a storage unit 4, a control unit 5, a sub display unit backlight 9-3, a gravity sensitive switch 12, and a level comparison unit 27 connected to the infrared communication transmitter / receiver unit 11 are provided in the housing. ing.
The control unit 5 controls all the above components. The infrared communication transmitting / receiving unit 11 is controlled by the control unit 5 and used for communication with other mobile phone devices, and at the same time, is controlled by the level comparison unit 27. The level comparison unit and the infrared communication transmitter / receiver unit constitute a second proximity sensor different from the proximity sensor 8. As shown in FIGS. 10B and 10C, the sensing surfaces of the two proximity sensors are respectively disposed on both main surfaces when the cellular phone device 200 is folded.
The gravity sensitive switch 12 detects the top and bottom of a cellular phone device placed in a folded state. It serves as a sense switch that notifies the control unit of two switch states depending on the direction of gravity acting on the mobile phone device, and causes the control unit to execute different programs depending on the state. As this switch, for example, a small switch that drops and moves in the direction of gravity and is electrically connected to a terminal different from that before the movement can be used.
In this embodiment, in order to detect the approach of an object such as holding a hand over a folded cellular phone device, the proximity sensor 8 is activated when the proximity sensor 8 is facing upward. When an approach is detected at, voice information notification by the pronunciation of the speaker 3 is performed. In addition, when the infrared communication transmitter / receiver 11 is placed facing upward, the infrared communication transmitter / receiver 11 is operated as a proximity sensor, and when an approach is detected, the backlight 10-3 of the sub display unit is turned on. I do. At the same time, voice information can be notified by the sound of the speaker 3.
The infrared communication transmitter / receiver is controlled by the level comparator 27 when operating as a proximity sensor. The light emitting unit emits infrared pulse light, the reflected infrared light from the approaching object is received by the light receiving unit, and the level comparison unit compares it with the preset reflected light reception level to control the comparison information Send to part 5.
The proximity sensor 8 that uses ultrasonic waves may use distance measurement as the operation mode as in the first and second embodiments, and may perform amplitude measurement as in the third and fourth embodiments.
A series of operation flows are the same as those in the embodiment 1-3.

  It should be noted that the one-piece type mobile phone device described in the first to fourth embodiments is placed on a desk or a tatami floor so that it is placed so as to be vertically inserted into a charging adapter for charging a secondary battery. It is assumed that the unit is placed horizontally with the display unit and the display unit facing up, but in some cases, it may be necessary to assume that the unit is placed upside down apart from the charging adapter. For this purpose, a proximity sensor may be provided on the back surface that does not include an operation unit or a display unit. In this case, a sense switch is provided as in the fifth embodiment, and the downward proximity sensor becomes dead, and the upward proximity sensor is automatically activated so as to become active.

  The present invention improves the usability of these equipments by installing them as user interfaces of various home appliances such as televisions, radios, watches, etc. that are often placed in sleeping places as well as mobile phone devices.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the 1st Example of the mobile telephone apparatus of this invention. The block diagram of a 1st Example is shown. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement flow of a 1st Example. The block diagram of a 2nd Example is shown. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement flow of a 2nd Example. The block diagram of a 3rd Example is shown. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement flow of a 3rd Example. The block diagram of a 4th Example is shown. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement flow of a 4th Example. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the 5th Example of the mobile telephone apparatus of this invention. The block diagram of a 5th Example is shown. It is a figure which shows the structure of the conventional mobile telephone apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile telephone apparatus 2 Operation part 3 Speaker 4 Memory | storage part 5 Control part 6 Ultrasonic sensor 7 Distance comparison part 8 Proximity sensor 9 Display part 10 Backlight 11 Infrared communication transmission / reception part 12 Gravity-sensitive switch 27 Level comparison part 28 Proximity Sensor 100 Mobile phone device 110 Operation unit 111 Sound generator 112 Control unit 200 Mobile phone device

Claims (22)

A mobile phone device,
Two proximity sensors, a sense switch for detecting the top where the mobile phone device is placed, a voice response means, a display means having a backlight, and a control unit,
When one of the two proximity sensors selected by the sense switch detects an approaching object, it outputs detection information to the control unit, whereby the control unit activates the voice response means. And a mobile phone device that operates at least one of lighting of the backlight. One of the two proximity sensors is an ultrasonic sensor,
The mobile phone device according to claim 1, wherein the other is an infrared sensor. The mobile phone device according to claim 1, wherein both of the two proximity sensors are ultrasonic sensors. The mobile phone device according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic sensor is a sensor that measures a distance to the approaching object. The mobile phone device according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic sensor measures an amplitude of reflected ultrasonic waves from the approaching object. The mobile phone device according to claim 2, wherein the infrared sensor emits an infrared pulse and measures a level at which the infrared pulse is reflected from the approaching object. The mobile phone device according to claim 2, wherein an infrared light emitting / receiving unit of the infrared sensor also serves as an infrared communication light emitting / receiving unit included in the mobile phone device. 5. The mobile phone device includes an operation input unit, and the detection information is output when a distance to an approaching object measured by the ultrasonic sensor is equal to or less than a value set and input in advance from the operation input unit. The mobile phone device described in 1. The mobile phone device includes an operation input unit, and the detection information includes a distance to the approaching object in which the reflected ultrasonic amplitude from the approaching object measured by the ultrasonic sensor is input in advance from the operation input unit. The mobile phone device according to claim 5, wherein the mobile phone device outputs the signal when the amplitude is equal to or greater than the reflected ultrasonic amplitude value corresponding to. The mobile phone device includes operation input means,
The detection information includes a case where the reflection level of the infrared pulse from the approaching object measured by the infrared sensor is equal to or greater than the reflected infrared level value corresponding to the distance to the approaching object set in advance from the operation input means. The mobile phone device according to claim 6, wherein the mobile phone device outputs to the mobile phone. The mobile phone device includes operation input means,
2. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the proximity sensor detects an approaching object, and setting and releasing of an operation for operating at least one of the sound generation unit and the light emitting unit is input from the operation input unit. apparatus. The mobile phone device is a foldable mobile phone device,
The sensing surface of the two proximity sensors is provided on each of the folded outer surfaces of the casing of the mobile phone device, and the display means for turning on the backlight is a display means provided on the outer surface. The mobile phone device described in 1. The mobile phone device is a foldable mobile phone device,
The infrared communication transmitter / receiver and the display means for turning on the backlight are provided on one outer surface of the folded casing of the mobile phone device,
The mobile phone device according to claim 7, wherein the ultrasonic sensor is provided on the other outer surface. A mobile phone device,
In a mobile phone device comprising two proximity sensors, a sense switch for detecting the top where the mobile phone device is placed, a voice response means, a display means having a backlight, and a control unit,
When one of the two proximity sensors selected by the sense switch detects an approaching object, it outputs detection information to the control unit, whereby the control unit activates the voice response means. And a user interface of a mobile phone device that activates at least one of lighting of the backlight. The mobile phone device according to claim 14, wherein one of the two proximity sensors is an ultrasonic sensor and the other is an infrared sensor. The user interface of the mobile phone device according to claim 14, wherein both of the two proximity sensors are ultrasonic sensors. The ultrasonic sensor is
The user interface of the mobile phone device according to claim 14, wherein the user interface is a sensor that measures a distance to the approaching object. The ultrasonic sensor is
The user interface of the mobile phone device according to claim 14, wherein the amplitude of reflected ultrasonic waves from the approaching object is measured. The infrared sensor is
16. The user interface of a mobile phone device according to claim 15, wherein an infrared pulse is emitted and a level at which the infrared pulse is reflected from the approaching object is measured. 16. The user interface for a mobile phone device according to claim 15, wherein the infrared light emitting / receiving unit of the infrared sensor also serves as an infrared communication light emitting / receiving unit provided in the mobile phone device. A proximity sensor;
A sense switch for detecting the top and bottom of the state where the mobile phone device is placed, voice response means,
In a display means having a backlight and an information notification method for a mobile phone device provided with a control unit,
A step of outputting detection information to the control unit when one of the two proximity sensors selected by the sense switch detects an approaching object;
Setting an operation in which at least one of activation of the voice response means and lighting of the backlight is activated when the proximity sensor detects an approaching object;
Presetting a distance to the approaching object for the proximity sensor to detect the approaching object;
A step of outputting detection information to the control unit when a distance to the approaching object measured by the proximity sensor is equal to or less than the preset value;
The control unit activating at least one of activation of the voice response means and lighting of the backlight based on the detection information;
Releasing the operation of operating at least one of activation of the voice response means and lighting of the backlight;
Information notification method for mobile phone device including A proximity sensor;
A sense switch for detecting the top and bottom of the mobile phone device placed;
In an information notification method for a mobile phone device provided with a voice response means, a display means having a backlight, and a control unit,
A step of outputting detection information to the control unit when one of the two proximity sensors selected by the sense switch detects an approaching object;
Setting an operation in which at least one of activation of the voice response means and lighting of the backlight is activated when the proximity sensor detects an approaching object;
Presetting a distance to the approaching object for the proximity sensor to detect the approaching object;
Converting the preset distance to the approaching object into a level at which the proximity sensor reflects and receives from the approaching object;
A step of outputting detection information to the control unit when a reflection reception level from an approaching object measured by the proximity sensor is greater than or equal to the preset value;
The control unit activating at least one of activation of the sound generation means and lighting of the backlight based on the detection information;
An information notification method for a mobile phone device, comprising: releasing an operation that activates at least one of activation of the voice response means and lighting of the backlight.

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