JP4430558B2 - Mobile device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable terminal whose form can be changed between an open state and a closed state, and more particularly to a technique for detecting an open / closed state.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, mobile phones such as a slide type and a foldable type can be changed between a normal use form (hereinafter referred to as “open state”) and a portable form (hereinafter referred to as “closed state”). it can.
For example, in a sliding mobile phone, both housings are connected so that the upper housing can slide in the long axis direction of the lower housing. Slide the upper housing in the closed state until it is locked with the slide lock to prevent it from sliding, and when composing mail, etc., slide the upper housing in the opposite direction to the closed state to open it. To use.

By the way, the detection of the open / closed state of the mobile phone includes a technique for detecting a change in the magnetic field caused by a user's open / close operation with a magnetic switch mounted inside the housing, and sending the detection result to the CPU to detect the open / closed state. It is disclosed (see Patent Document 1).
Such an open / close detection technique is used as a trigger for switching each function, for example, changing the display on the display according to the open / closed state or limiting the buttons that can be operated.
JP 2003-283621 A

  However, for example, when the sliding mobile phone is closed and placed in the bag, the slide lock is released, and the upper housing slides and opens halfway (hereinafter referred to as “half-opened”). There is a). In this case, each time the mobile phone is in a closed state and a half-open state, the magnetic switch detects the magnetic field and sends a detection result to the CPU, and the CPU generates an interrupt due to opening / closing detection each time, thereby switching each function. There is a problem that power is wasted.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide a portable terminal that detects an open / closed state so as to reduce power consumption due to interruption of a CPU.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the mobile terminal according to the present invention is a mobile terminal that can change its form between an open state and a closed state, and detects the closed state. And, when one of the first detection means and the second detection means detects the second detection means for detecting the open state, the detection by the one is suppressed, and the other is detected And a detection control means for releasing the suppression of detection by the one.

  According to this configuration, for example, in the case of a slide-type mobile phone that generates an interrupt sound corresponding to each state by generating an interrupt to the mobile phone CPU when the open / closed state is detected, the mobile phone is closed unintentionally. Even if the state and the half-open state are repeated, the CPU does not generate an interrupt until it is detected that the open state is detected after the closed state is detected, so that wasteful power consumption due to the interrupt to the CPU can be reduced.

That is, in a mobile phone that can control functional processing such as sounding an opening / closing sound or changing the display on the display according to the detection result, after detecting one of the open / closed states, Until the state is detected, the one detection result does not trigger each function process, so that it is possible to reduce power consumption due to the execution of the unnecessary function process.
Each of the first detection means and the second detection means has a magnetic sensor that detects magnetism when the magnetism is equal to or higher than a predetermined intensity, and both magnetic sensors are arranged at a constant interval, The portable terminal further includes a field portion whose relative position changes with respect to each of the magnetic sensors when the form is changed, and when the fixed interval is in an open state, the magnetism at the position of one magnetic sensor is predetermined. It is good also as a space | interval from which the magnetism in the position of the other magnetic sensor becomes weaker than predetermined intensity | strength in a closed state.

  According to this configuration, the field portion is provided so that the relative position to each sensor changes when the form changes between the open state and the closed state, and the two magnetic sensors are in the open state. Only one magnetic sensor detects magnetism of a predetermined strength, and when closed, only the other magnetic sensor is arranged at an interval that can detect magnetism of a predetermined strength, so that the open / closed state is easily detected can do.

  The portable terminal further includes a CPU, and the first detection unit and the second detection unit further detect the CPU when an interrupt mask is not set when each magnetic sensor detects the CPU. Each of which has an interrupt unit for interrupting, and when one of the magnetic sensors according to the first detection unit and the second detection unit is detected, the detection control unit If an interrupt mask is set and the other is detected, the interrupt mask setting of the one interrupt unit may be canceled.

According to this configuration, even if each magnetic sensor for detecting the open state and the closed state detects magnetism, after detecting one of the open / closed states, until the other state is detected, Since the CPU is not interrupted by the detection of the magnetic sensor for detecting one of the states, useless interruption to the CPU can be prevented and power consumption can be reduced.
In addition, each magnetic sensor according to the first detection unit and the second detection unit detects magnetism when power is supplied, and the mobile terminal further supplies power to each magnetic sensor. A power supply unit that, when one of the magnetic sensors according to the first detection unit and the second detection unit is detected, the detection control unit stops power supply to the one by the power supply unit. When the other is detected, the power supply to the one by the power supply means may be resumed.

  According to this configuration, the power supply to each magnetic sensor for detecting the open state and the closed state is separately performed, and after one magnetic sensor is detected, the one magnetic sensor is detected until the other magnetic sensor detects By not performing the power supply, the detection by the one magnetic sensor is not performed, so that no unnecessary interruption to the CPU is generated and the power consumption can be suppressed.

<Embodiment 1>
Hereinafter, the mobile phone according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described.
<Appearance>
FIG. 1 is an external view of a mobile phone according to the present invention.
Hereinafter, the external appearance of the mobile phone 1 will be described.

The mobile phone 1 includes an upper housing 10 and a lower housing 20, and the upper housing 10 is coupled so that the upper housing 10 can slide on the lower housing 20 in the long axis direction.
FIG. 4A shows a closed state in which the upper housing 10 and the lower housing 20 overlap each other, and FIG. 5B shows the upper housing 10 so that the character input button 13 such as a numeric keypad can be pressed. The open state when sliding is shown.

The upper housing 10 includes a display 11 and a plurality of operation buttons 12, and an MR (Magneto Resistance) sensor 51 and an MR sensor 52 are mounted inside the upper housing 10. The lower housing 20 is configured to include a character input button 13, and a magnet (not shown) is mounted inside the lower housing 20.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the mobile phone 1 showing the arrangement of the MR sensor 51, the MR sensor 52, and the magnet inside the lower housing 20 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. The case where the telephone 1 is in a closed state is shown, and FIG. 5B shows the case where it is in an open state. For convenience of explanation, the arrangement of each part other than the MR sensors 51 and 52 and the magnet 53 is omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, when the magnet 53 in the lower housing 20 is in a closed state, the MR sensor 51 in the upper housing 10 detects a magnetic field equal to or greater than a threshold value and opens the magnet 53. In the state, the MR sensor 51 and the MR sensor 52 are mounted at an interval so that the MR sensor 52 detects a magnetic field of a threshold value or more.
<Configuration>
FIG. 3 shows a functional configuration diagram of the mobile phone 1. Hereinafter, each function of the mobile phone 1 will be described.

The cellular phone 1 includes a control unit 100, a radio unit 110, a modem unit 111, an audio processing unit 112, a microphone 113, a speaker 114, a storage unit 115, a display unit 116, an operation unit 117, an MR sensor 1 (118), and an MR sensor. 2 (119).
Hereinafter, each part will be described in detail.
Here, the control unit 100 includes a CPU 101, a memory (ROM and RAM) 104, and a CPU interrupt control unit 102, and has a function of controlling each unit of the mobile phone 1 in accordance with an operation of the operation unit 117 by a user. The CPU 101 executes the program stored in the ROM and controls the overall operation of the mobile phone 1.

  The CPU 101 has a function of receiving an interrupt signal indicating an open / closed state from a CPU interrupt control unit 102, which will be described later, and switching each function in accordance with the signal. The ROM stores a program for realizing an operation that is particularly characteristic of the present invention and an operation for detecting the open / closed state of the mobile phone 1. The RAM temporarily holds work data for the CPU 101 to execute the program.

The CPU interrupt control unit 102 includes an open / close information storage unit 103.
The CPU interrupt control unit 102 receives a detection signal from either the MR sensor 1 or the MR sensor 2, stores an open / close state flag corresponding to the detection signal in the open / close information storage unit 103 described later, and receives the other detection signal. It has a function of updating the open / closed state flag when received. When one detection signal is received, an interrupt signal based on the detection signal of the MR sensor is sent to the CPU 101, and an interrupt mask for the detection signal of the MR sensor is set until the detection signal of the other MR sensor is received. , And has a function of suppressing transmission of an interrupt signal to the CPU 101 by the detection signal of the MR sensor.

The open / close information flag is a flag indicating the open / closed state of the mobile phone 1, and stores 1 in the closed state and 0 in the open state.
The open / close information storage unit 103 is a storage area such as a register and has a function of storing an open / close state flag corresponding to the detection signal received by the CPU interrupt control unit 102.
Radio section 110 amplifies the reception signal received by the antenna, amplifies the transmission signal modulated by modulation / demodulation section 111 and transmits it from the antenna.

The modem 111 demodulates the received signal amplified by the radio unit 110 into a received voice signal and a received data signal, and is transmitted from the transmitted voice signal A / D converted by the voice processor 112 and the control unit 100. Modulate the data signal into a transmission signal.
Further, the voice processing unit 112 D / A converts the received voice signal demodulated by the modem unit 111 to generate a sound from the speaker 114, and A / D converts the transmission voice signal acquired from the microphone 113.

Note that the configuration for realizing the transmission and reception of voice and data itself is not a characteristic part of the present invention, so that a general configuration conventionally used is appropriately adopted and the description thereof is omitted.
The storage unit 115 is realized by a hard disk or the like, and has a function of storing data such as a switching table described later.
The display unit 116 is realized by a color liquid crystal panel or the like, and displays an image such as a mail under the control of the control unit 100.

The operation unit 117 receives a press of the character input button 13 and the operation button 12 of the mobile phone 1 by the user, and sends a signal corresponding to the pressed button to the control unit 117.
The MR sensor 1 is realized by a magnetic sensor using a magnetoresistive effect element (hereinafter referred to as “MR element”), and detects the magnetism by the magnet 53 of the lower housing 20 when the mobile phone 1 is in a closed state. , And a function of sending a detection signal indicating the detection to the CPU interrupt control unit 102.

The MR sensor 2 is also realized by a magnetic sensor using an MR element. When the mobile phone 1 is in an open state, the MR sensor 2 detects a magnetism by the magnet 53 of the lower housing 20 and sends a detection signal to the CPU interrupt control unit 102. Have
Note that detection signals from the MR sensor 1 and the MR sensor 2 are different from each other, and the CPU interrupt control unit 102 can determine which MR sensor the detection signal is. The MR sensor according to the embodiment uses a sensor that detects a certain magnetic strength, for example, a magnetic strength of 2.3 mT.
<Data>
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration and example contents of the switching table 200 stored in advance in the storage unit 115 of the mobile phone 1.

The switching table 200 stores a switching function 210, an open form 211, and a closed form 212 in association with each other, and indicates the state of each function to be executed according to the open / close state of the mobile phone 1.
The opening / closing sound of the switching function 210 is a function for generating a sound corresponding to each state when the opening / closing state is switched. The numeric keypad operation is a function for invalidating the operation of the character input button 13 of the lower housing 20 according to the open / closed state, and the call end function is a call by opening / closing operation without pressing the on-hook button during a call. It is a function to end.

Each data of the switching table 200 is read by the CPU 101 when the open / close information flag stored in the open / close information storage unit 103 of the CPU interrupt control unit 102 is updated.
<Operation>
FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of the open / close detection control process for controlling the detection of the open / closed state of the mobile phone 1, and the process will be described with reference to FIG.

  Until the first detection of one of the open / closed states, the CPU interrupt control unit 102 does not set the interrupt mask for the detection signals of both MR sensor units, and cancels the interrupt suppression. The case where both MR sensor parts detect after the second time is shown. MR sensor 1 (FIG. 3) shows MR sensor 51 of mobile phone 1 shown in FIG. 1, and MR sensor 2 (FIG. 3) shows MR sensor 52 of mobile phone 1 shown in FIG. Yes.

When the MR sensor 1 detects magnetism by the magnet 53 inside the lower housing 20 (step S300: Y), the CPU interrupt control unit 102 receives the detection signal sent from the MR sensor 1 (step S310), and the signal 1 (closed form) is stored in the open / close information flag of the open / close information storage unit 103 (step S311), and an interrupt signal is sent to the CPU 101.
Subsequent to step S <b> 311, the CPU interrupt control unit 102 holds the opening / closing information flag stored in the opening / closing information storage unit 103 until receiving a detection signal from the MR sensor 2, and interrupts the detection signal of the MR sensor 1. A mask is set, and interruption to the CPU 101 by the detection signal of the MR sensor 1 is suppressed (step S312).

Subsequently, the CPU interrupt control unit 102 cancels the interrupt mask for the detection signal of the MR sensor 2, and cancels the inhibition of the interrupt to the CPU 101 by the detection signal of the MR sensor 2 (step S313).
In step S300, when the MR sensor 1 does not detect magnetism by the magnet 53 in the lower housing 20 (step S300: Y) and the MR sensor 2 detects magnetism by the magnet 53 (step S314: Y). The CPU interrupt control unit 102 receives the detection signal sent from the MR sensor 2 (step S315).

Subsequent to step S315, the CPU interrupt control unit 102 stores 0 (open form) in the open / close information flag of the open / close information storage unit 103 based on the signal, and sends an interrupt signal indicating the open form to the CPU 101 (step S315). S316).
Further, following step S316, the CPU interrupt control unit 102 holds the open / close information flag stored in the open / close information storage unit 103 until the detection signal from the MR sensor 1 is received, and uses the detection signal of the MR sensor 2 as a detection signal. On the other hand, an interrupt mask is set, and an interrupt due to the detection signal of the MR sensor 2 is suppressed (step S317).

Subsequently, the CPU interrupt control unit 102 cancels the interrupt mask for the detection signal of the MR sensor 1 and cancels the inhibition of the interrupt due to the detection signal of the MR sensor 1 (step S318).
Although not shown in FIG. 5, after step S311 and step S316, the CPU 101 reads the open / close state flag stored in the open / close state storage unit 103, reads the switching data 200 from the storage unit 115, and A control signal for performing a function switching process based on the flag is sent to each unit.
<Operation example>
An operation example of the mobile phone 1 described above will be described based on the operation flow of FIG.

  It is assumed that the mobile phone 1 is already in an open state by a user operation, and a case where the form changes from an open state to a closed state will be described. In this case, since it is already detected by the MR sensor 2 that it is in the open state, 0 is stored in the open / close state flag of the open / close information storage unit 103, and the CPU interrupt control unit 102 detects the detection signal of the MR sensor 2. An interrupt mask is set, and transmission of an interrupt signal to the CPU 101 by a detection signal of the MR sensor 2 is suppressed.

When the user slides the upper housing 10 of the mobile phone 1 to close it, in step S300, the MR sensor 1 detects magnetism and sends a detection signal to the CPU interrupt control unit 102 (step S314: Y). The CPU interrupt control unit 102 receives the detection signal (step S315).
The CPU interrupt control unit 102 updates the open / close state flag of the open / close information storage unit 103 to 1 based on the received detection signal, and sends an interrupt signal to the CPU 101 (step S311).

Further, the CPU interrupt control unit 102 sets an interrupt mask for the detection signal of the MR sensor 1, suppresses the transmission of the interrupt signal to the CPU 101 by the detection signal of the MR sensor 1 (step S312), and The interrupt mask for the detection signal is canceled, and the inhibition of transmission of the interrupt signal by the detection signal of the MR sensor 2 is canceled (step S313).
The CPU 101 that has received the interrupt signal in step S <b> 311 reads the open / close state flag 1 stored in the open / close information storage unit 103 and reads the switching data 200. Based on each data of the closed form 212 of the switching data 200, the CPU 101 supplies a control signal for generating the opening / closing sound 2, a signal for switching the operation of the character input button 13 to OFF, and a signal for switching the call end function ON to each part. Send it out.

As described above, since the interrupt to the CPU 101 by the detection signal from the MR sensor 1 is suppressed until the MR sensor 2 detects, the CPU 101 generates an interrupt even if the mobile phone 1 repeats the closed state and the half-open state. Therefore, power consumption can be reduced.
<Embodiment 2>
Hereinafter, the mobile phone according to the second embodiment will be described.

Since the appearance of the mobile phone according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.
In the first embodiment described above, both MR sensors can detect magnetism even when interruption to the CPU 101 is suppressed. However, in this embodiment, after one MR sensor detects the other, This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the MR sensor cannot be detected until the MR sensor is detected.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an open / close detection circuit focusing on power supply to each MR sensor.
Here, the MR sensor 1 (403) and the MR sensor 2 (405) are the same sensors as the MR sensor of the first embodiment, and the power source 406 is a battery.
REG1 (402) and REG2 (404) are regulators that are switched ON / OFF by a control signal from the control circuit 401, and supply power to each MR sensor from the power supply 406 when ON.

The control circuit 401 sends a signal for switching ON / OFF of REG1 and REG2 to REG1 and REG2, and when one of the MR sensor 1 and MR sensor 2 detects it, the control circuit 401 supplies power to the MR sensor. A signal for turning off one of the supplied REG1 and REG2 is transmitted.
The REG1 or REG2 that has received the signal does not supply power to the MR sensor from the power supply 406. However, by providing a pull-down resistor between each MR sensor and the control circuit 401, the MR sensor on the OFF side detects it. Keep the voltage level. Therefore, even if the closed state and the half-open state are repeated, the MR sensor whose power is turned off does not detect magnetism, and when the other MR sensor detects it, the control circuit 401 generates an interrupt according to the detection signal.

7 is a functional configuration diagram of the mobile phone according to the present embodiment. The control circuit 401 in FIG. 6 corresponds to the control unit 100 in FIG. 7, and REG1 and REG2 in FIG. ) And REG2 (121), respectively.
The same functional components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. Hereinafter, a different part from Embodiment 1 is demonstrated.

REG1 (120) and REG2 (121) have a function of supplying power to each MR sensor in accordance with a control signal from the control unit 100.
When the CPU 101 receives a detection signal from either one of the MR sensors, the CPU 101 has a function of determining an open / closed state corresponding to the MR sensor that has transmitted the detection signal and generating an interrupt. Also, by switching off the regulator on the MR sensor side that sent the detection signal, the MR sensor is turned off, and when the detection signal is received from the MR sensor that is turned on, the regulator in the OFF state is turned on. By switching, it has a function of turning on the power of the corresponding MR sensor.
<Operation>
Hereinafter, the operation of the mobile phone according to the embodiment will be described.

FIG. 8 is an operation flowchart of the open / closed state detection processing of the mobile phone in the present embodiment.
The CPU 101 sends a control signal for turning on REG1 (120) and REG2 (121) to REG1 (120) and REG2 (121), and supplies power to the MR sensor 1 (118) and MR sensor 2 (119). (Step S500).
Subsequently, when the MR sensor 1 detects magnetism and sends a detection signal to the CPU 101 (step S510), the CPU 101 generates an interrupt by the MR sensor 1, and sends a control signal for switching REG1 to OFF to the REG1. The power source of the sensor 1 is turned off (step S511). Further, the CPU 101 switches REG2 to ON to turn on the MR sensor 2 (step S512).

In step S510, when the MR sensor 1 is not detected (step S510: N, step S513: Y), the CPU 101 receives a detection signal from the MR sensor 2 and generates an interrupt by the MR sensor 2. Then, a signal for switching REG2 to OFF is sent to REG2 to turn off the MR sensor 2 (step S514). In addition, the CPU 101 switches REG1 to ON to turn on the MR sensor 1 (step S515).
<Supplement>
Although the mobile phone according to the present invention has been described based on the first and second embodiments, it can be modified as follows, and the present invention is of course not limited to the mobile phone shown in the above-described embodiment. It is.
(1) Although the first and second embodiments have been described using a mobile phone, any mobile terminal that detects an open / closed state using two detection means may be used, and the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone. In addition, the mobile phone according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment has been described with respect to the slide-type mobile phone that can be opened and closed by sliding the upper housing in the long axis direction of the lower housing. Good. For example, it may be a mobile phone in which an upper housing and a lower housing are rotatably attached, and a revolver type mobile phone that closes the mobile phone by rotating the upper housing horizontally by 180 ° with a shaft may be used. .
(2) In the first and second embodiments, the MR sensor is used. However, for example, a magnetic sensor such as a Hall element may be used, or a limit switch may be used.
(3) A program for causing a processor to execute open / closed state detection processing in a cellular phone can be recorded on a recording medium or distributed and distributed via various communication paths. Such recording media include IC cards, hard disks, optical disks, flexible disks, ROMs, and the like. The distributed and distributed program is used by being stored in a memory or the like that can be read by the processor, and the processor executes the program so that the functions of the mobile phone shown in the first and second embodiments are performed. Will be realized.

  The mobile terminal according to the present invention can change the form between an open state and a closed state, and can be used for a mobile phone or the like that performs each function process according to an open / close state.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the mobile telephone which concerns on implementation of this invention. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of MR sensor inside the upper housing | casing of the mobile telephone based on implementation of this invention, and the magnet inside a lower housing | casing. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the mobile phone according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure and content example of a function switching table. FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart illustrating an open / close detection process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an open / close detection circuit according to a second embodiment. 6 is a functional configuration diagram of a mobile phone according to Embodiment 2. FIG. FIG. 10 is an operation flowchart illustrating open / close detection processing according to the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cellular phone 10 Upper housing | casing 11 Display 12 Operation button 13 Numeric keypad 20 Lower housing | casing 51 MR sensor 1
52 MR sensor 2
100 control unit 101 CPU
102 CPU interrupt control unit 103 open / close information storage unit 115 storage unit 117 operation unit 118 MR sensor 1
119 MR sensor 2
120REG1
121REG2
401 control circuit 402REG1
403 MR sensor 1
404REG2
405 MR sensor 2
406 power supply

Claims (5)

A portable terminal capable of changing its form between an open state and a closed state,
First detection means for detecting the closed state;
Second detection means for detecting the open state;
A detection control unit that suppresses detection by one of the first detection unit and the second detection unit and cancels detection suppression by the one when the other is detected. A mobile terminal characterized by. Each of the first detection means and the second detection means has a magnetic sensor that detects magnetism when the magnetism is greater than or equal to a predetermined intensity, and both magnetic sensors are arranged at a constant interval,
The portable terminal further includes a field part whose relative position with respect to each magnetic sensor changes when the form changes,
The fixed interval is an interval at which the magnetism at the position of one magnetic sensor is weaker than a predetermined strength in the open state, and the magnetism at the position of the other magnetic sensor is weaker than a predetermined strength in the closed state. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal is provided. The portable terminal further includes a CPU,
Each of the first detection means and the second detection means further includes an interrupt unit for interrupting the CPU by the detection when an interrupt mask is not set when each magnetic sensor detects. ,
When one of the magnetic sensors according to the first detection unit and the second detection unit is detected, the detection control unit sets an interrupt mask in the one interrupt unit, and when the other is detected, The mobile terminal according to claim 2, wherein the interrupt mask setting of one interrupt unit is canceled. Each magnetic sensor according to the first detection means and the second detection means detects magnetism when power is supplied,
The portable terminal further includes power supply means for supplying power to the magnetic sensors.
When one of the magnetic sensors according to the first detection means and the second detection means is detected, the detection control means stops the power supply by the power supply means to the one, and the other is detected. The mobile terminal according to claim 2, wherein the power supply by the power supply means to the one side is resumed. An open / close detection control process for controlling the first detection mechanism and the second detection mechanism for detecting the open / closed state of the mobile terminal that can change the form between the open state and the closed state is performed by the processor of the mobile terminal. A control program to be executed by
The opening / closing detection control process includes:
Including a detection control step of suppressing detection by one of the first detection mechanism and the second detection mechanism, and canceling detection suppression by the one when the other is detected. A control program characterized by

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