JP4745617B2 - Portable information terminal - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a portable information terminal such as a foldable mobile phone in which modes can be switched and a casing can be rotated .

  Recently, portable telephones have been widely used as portable information terminals. And, such portable telephones are increasingly used in a form in which a casing is opened and closed. For example, a foldable type key operation unit is provided in which a housing having a key operation unit and a display unit are provided with a hinge in parallel with the short side of the case, and the case rotates about the hinge axis. The housing provided with the housing and the display portion are opposed to each other on a surface parallel to each other, and includes a shaft that is perpendicular to the surface and that connects the housing provided with the key operation portion and the housing provided with the display portion in an openable / closable manner. There are horizontal rotation types in which the casing rotates around an axis.

  These openable mobile phones are increasingly multifunctional and can use various modes, but the operation to set the modes has become complicated, and the user interface is simple and easy to use. The provision of In order to solve these problems, the following techniques have been proposed.

  In a foldable portable terminal device, a technique for changing a plurality of functions depending on a rotation angle is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this technique, a rotation angle of a casing including a key operation unit and a casing including a display unit is detected from a change in resistance value, and each function is controlled in response to the output. For example, it is controlled so as to have a function of deleting the electronic telephone book as well as waiting in a closed state and in a standby state when opened substantially at a right angle.

  In addition, a communication device with a multi-function capable of quickly switching between a shooting mode and a communication mode even when an incoming call is received during shooting, and a technique related to a method for controlling the communication device are disclosed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2). This technology detects an open / closed state of a display unit that can be freely opened and closed in a device in which a communication unit that performs communication between an imaging unit that captures an object and an external device is housed in the same housing, and a communication unit Is to control.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-50711 JP 2000-92360 A

  A cellular phone generally performs a predetermined key operation to set a mode, but the key operation is complicated and the mode setting is not easy. Further, in the technology of Patent Document 1, it is proposed to detect a rotation angle and change a plurality of functions based on the rotation angle in the foldable portable terminal device. The display part is difficult to see and is difficult to use.

  In the technique of Patent Document 2, a multi-function communication device capable of quickly switching between a shooting mode and a communication mode even when there is a communication incoming during shooting, and control of the communication device Although a method has been proposed, only switching between the shooting mode and the communication mode is possible, and switching of a plurality of functions cannot be performed.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an openable portable information terminal that is easy to use and can be switched to a plurality of modes with a simple operation.

The present invention is capable of switching a mode for executing a predetermined function, and the casing including the key operation unit and the casing including the display unit are substantially plate-shaped casings, and the casing includes the key operation unit. And a portable information terminal to which a casing including the display unit is connected.
The housing provided with the display unit is rotatably provided.
A rotation detecting means for detecting a rotation direction when rotating the casing including the display unit and a rotation position of the casing including the display unit, and detecting opening and closing of the casing including the display unit;
When the rotation detecting means detects that the casing including the display unit is rotated and stopped at a predetermined position and is closed, the main mode immediately before the casing including the display unit rotates and the Control means for switching to the sub mode associated with the rotation direction and controlling to activate the switched sub mode,
Wherein, when the casing having the display unit during startup mode is opened, be controlled to hold the mode of housing provided with the display unit has been started just before the open Is a portable information terminal characterized by

Further, in the present invention, the casing including the display unit includes an audio unit, the main mode includes at least a surround mode, and the main mode immediately before the casing including the display unit is rotated is a surround mode. The sub mode to be associated is a reproduction mode for outputting sound from the audio unit.

According to the present invention, in a portable information terminal capable of switching a mode for executing a predetermined function, the rotation detection means determines whether the rotation direction of the casing including the display unit is a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction. The direction can be detected.

The control means housing is rotated to a display unit, when detecting a signal from the rotation detecting means that closed, the main mode of immediately before the casing having a display portion is pivoted detected and, for switching the sub-modes of the predetermined, user switch from only the main mode to rotate the housing having a display section in the sub mode, it is possible to activate the sub mode is switched. The activation of switching and sub modes is conventional to sub-mode, had made through a key operation, switch to a sub-mode without the key operation, it is possible to activate the submode of switching Convenient.

The control unit determines the signal from the rotation detecting means rotation direction of the casing having a display unit, it switched to the sub mode where the rotation direction is set by either clockwise or counter-clockwise, the switched sub Activate the mode.

Further, according to the present invention, the control means performs control so that the sub mode is associated with the main mode and the rotation direction immediately before the casing including the display unit is rotated. It is possible to activate the sub mode that has been switched to.
Further, the control means, even if housing including a display unit is opened while starting mode, controls to hold mode the housing having a display unit was started immediately before the open Therefore, after switching the mode closed from an open state housing having a display unit, even open the housing having a display unit, the mode prior to opening the housing having a display section is retained The user can open and use it conveniently.

Further, according to the present invention, the housing including the display unit includes the audio unit, and responds to the output of the detection unit when the main mode immediately before the casing including the display unit is rotated is the surround mode. Since the sound output from the audio unit is switched, switching can be performed quickly. Control means for controlling to switch the sound to be output in accordance with the opening and closing direction detects the opening and closing direction of the casing having a display unit, the user can listen to only for example music closes a housing provided with a display unit .

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an openable mobile phone as an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state at a certain moment when the openable cellular phone according to the embodiment of the present invention is closed from the opened state. 3 and 4 are a front view of the display unit viewed from the front and a front view of the camera viewed from the front when the openable mobile phone as an embodiment of the present invention is closed, respectively.

  When the openable mobile phone 10 is used as a telephone, it transmits and receives radio waves through the antenna 11. A radio wave received or transmitted by the antenna 11 is converted into a reception signal or a transmission signal by the transmission / reception circuit unit 12. In the case of reception, the converted reception signal is processed from a digital signal to an analog signal by the signal processing unit 13, output as sound by the sound processing unit 14, and output as sound from the receiving speaker 15.

  On the other hand, the sound input from the microphone unit 16 is band-limited by the audio processing unit 14, converted into a digital signal by the signal processing unit 13, amplified by the transmission / reception circuit unit 12, and then transmitted as a radio wave from the antenna 11. The CPU 17 performs the above control, and processes the voice and the signal input from the key operation unit 18. In addition, the CPU unit 17 causes the storage unit 22 to store imaging data from a camera 21 configured to include a camera sensor unit 19 including a CCD element and a camera control unit 20.

  Further, the CPU unit 17 displays data on the display unit 23, causes the mode processing unit 25 to perform mode setting from the mode setting unit 24, and uses the casing rotation direction detection unit 26 serving as an opening / closing direction detection unit to perform the housing. Detects the direction of body rotation and the open / closed state. Further, the CPU unit 17 controls to output sound to the outside through the external speaker 27 that is a sound unit in a specific mode. These operations are performed by receiving power from the battery unit 28 via the power supply control unit 29.

  When the openable mobile phone 10 is used, first, the casing 31 including the key operation unit 18 and the casing 32 including the display unit 23 are opened, and the power switch provided in the key operation unit 18 is turned on. The casing 31 including the key operation unit 18 and the casing 32 including the display unit 23 are generally plate-shaped casings, and the casing 31 and the casing 32 face each other on surfaces parallel to each other. A hinge 33 that is perpendicular to the surface of the housing and connects the housing 31 and the housing 32 so as to be openable and closable is provided on the short side of the housing, and rotates around the hinge 33. An imaging camera 21 and a battery lid 34 are provided on the rear surface of the housing 31. Here, the surface portion of the housing 31 refers to the surface including the key operation unit 18, and the surface portion of the housing 32 refers to the surface portion including the display unit 23.

  When the power is turned on, a predetermined mode is activated and a display corresponding to the predetermined mode is displayed on the display unit 23. If the activated mode is not the desired mode, a predetermined key operation is performed to select and use the desired mode. The mobile phone 10 has an imaging function and a mail function in addition to the telephone function.

  Table 1 shows modes representing various functions of the mobile phone 10. Various modes are included in the menu mode, and the camera mode, the surround mode, the accessory mode, the telephone mode, and the mail mode are the main modes. The camera mode includes a still image mode and a moving image mode as sub modes.

  The still image mode used when shooting a still image and the movie mode used when shooting a movie are further divided into a vertical screen display mode for displaying the direction of the image displayed on the display unit 23 in the vertical direction, and a horizontal direction. Has a horizontal screen display mode. Here, the vertical direction refers to a direction in which the electric pole is displayed in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the display unit 23 when, for example, a standing electric pole is imaged, and the horizontal direction refers to a direction perpendicular thereto. FIG. 5 shows a screen display example when the display direction on the display unit is the vertical direction, and FIG. 6 shows a screen display example when the display direction on the display unit is the horizontal direction.

  The surround mode is a mode used when listening to music or the like. For example, the user selects and plays back an arbitrary piece of music from several songs stored in the storage unit 22, and enjoys music through the external speaker 27 that is an audio unit. be able to. The surround mode includes a reproduction mode 1 and a reproduction mode 2 in which predetermined audio data among the audio data stored in the storage unit 22 is reproduced and sound is output from the external speaker 27 as sub modes.

  The accessory mode is a mode used when various tools are selected. The accessory mode includes a calculator mode in which a calculator can be used as a sub mode, a schedule mode in which a schedule book can be used, and a clock mode for displaying time.

  In the telephone mode, the openable mobile phone 10 functions as a telephone. The telephone mode includes a telephone directory mode for displaying a telephone directory on the display unit 23 as a sub mode, and a history mode for displaying a record of transmission or transmission. Select the mail mode when using mail. The mail mode includes a transmission mode for transmitting data input through the key operation unit 18 and a reception mode for receiving mail.

  As described above, the modes shown in Table 1 are examples of modes, and it is needless to say that other modes can be added or deleted, and the contents of the modes can be changed. The names of the modes are not limited to these names.

  Next, the mode switching operation will be described by taking as an example a case where the display direction of the image on the display unit 23 is switched. When the CPU unit 17 serving as the control unit receives a signal closed from the state in which the housing is opened from the housing rotation direction detecting unit 26 serving as the opening / closing direction detecting unit, the CPU unit 17 detects the mode immediately before the housing is closed. It is determined whether or not the still image mode. If it is determined that the still image mode is selected, a signal indicating the rotation direction in which the casing is closed is received from the casing rotation direction detection unit 26. If the rotation direction is a clockwise direction, an image on the display unit 23 is displayed. Is set to the vertical screen display mode in which the display direction of the image is displayed in the vertical direction.

  Similarly, when it is determined that the mode immediately before the casing is closed is the moving image mode, the control unit 17 performs the same operation as that in the still image mode described above. On the other hand, even if the casing is closed, if the mode immediately before the casing is closed is the surround mode, the control means 17 closes the casing in the clockwise direction to play mode 1, and counterclockwise the casing. When closed in the direction, the mode is switched to the playback mode 2. As described above, the mode to be switched when the casing is closed can be changed according to the mode immediately before the casing is closed, and a plurality of modes can be switched.

  The rotation direction is detected by detecting an induced electromotive force according to the rotation direction. FIG. 7 is a diagram for illustrating the principle of generating an induced electromotive force according to the rotation direction. The hinge portion 33 that is an opening / closing connecting portion includes a cylindrical shaft 35 fixed to the housing 31 and a cylindrical portion 36 fixed to the housing 32 and rotatably fitted to the shaft 35. A straight cylindrical magnet piece 37 is fitted on the shaft 35, and an induction coil 38 is built in the cylindrical portion 36.

  When the casing 31 or the casing 32 is rotated, an induced electromotive force is generated in the induction coil 38 according to the rotation direction, and the rotation direction is associated with the polarity of the electromotive force. Further, since the product V × T of the electromotive force V and its duration T varies depending on the rotation angle, an output based on the product V × T of the electromotive force V and its duration T is detected to determine the rotation angle. . By setting each mode corresponding to a predetermined rotation position, when the casing rotates clockwise or counterclockwise from the initial position and reaches a predetermined rotation angle, the rotation angle It is possible to switch to a mode corresponding to.

  The initial setting position may be reset by turning off the power, and the control unit 17 determines that the housing is in a predetermined position by providing a switching element in the hinge unit 33 and turning it on or off when opened. it can.

  In the mobile phone 10 as an embodiment of the present invention, the state where the housing is opened is set as the initial setting position, the polarity of the voltage until the housing is closed from the initial setting position, and the electromotive force V From the value obtained by multiplying the duration time T, the rotation direction of the casing and the closing of the casing are detected. When the housing is opened from the closed state, the initial rotation position is not the initial setting position, and thus the rotation direction is not detected. Therefore, even if the casing is opened from the closed state, the rotation direction is not detected, and the mode is not switched. As shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, the state in which the housing is closed means that the angle formed by the surface portion of the housing 31 and the surface portion of the housing 32 around the hinge 33 is approximately 0 degrees. The state in which the housing is open refers to a state in which the angle formed by the surface portion of the housing 31 and the surface portion of the housing 32 with respect to the hinge 33 is approximately 180 degrees.

  As described above, the mobile phone 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention detects the position rotated 180 degrees from the opened state, that is, the position where the casing is closed, together with the rotating direction of the casing. By detecting a value obtained by multiplying the voltage V and the duration T, it is possible to detect several positions as rotated positions such as 90 degrees or 135 degrees. It is also possible to set the position where the casing is closed and the position where the casing is opened as an initial setting position so that the mode is switched when the casing is opened from the closed state.

  In the present embodiment, the detection method using the induced electromotive force is described as the detection method of the rotation direction. However, switching means associated with opening / closing of the housing or the hinge 33, for example, one magnet and several magnets It is also possible to detect the turning direction by providing a reed switch and detecting the turn on / off order of the reed switch.

  As described above, when the control unit 17 detects that the housing is closed by a signal from the housing rotation direction detection unit 26, the control unit 17 determines the mode immediately before the housing is closed, and the housing rotation direction. In response to the rotation direction output from the detection unit 26, the casing is closed, and the mode is associated with the immediately preceding mode and the rotation direction. Therefore, the user can switch the mode only by closing the casing. Convenient.

  Since it has a function of switching modes by detecting the rotation direction of the housing, it can be used for an openable portable information terminal having a mode switching function. Further, the control means 17 determines the direction in which the housing is closed based on a signal from the housing rotation direction detection unit 26, switches the mode to be set depending on whether the rotation direction is clockwise or counterclockwise, and rotates the rotation angle. Therefore, it is not necessary to use the casing in a half-open state, for example, and the display unit 23 is easy to see.

  In addition, since the control means 17 detects the setting mode immediately before the housing is closed and the rotation direction when the housing is closed from the opened state, the control means 17 performs control so as to switch the mode. Switching to the mode is possible. Furthermore, since the mode is maintained and mode switching is not performed even when the housing is opened from the closed state, the mode can be used even when the housing is opened.

  FIG. 8 shows a control procedure of the openable mobile phone as one embodiment of the present invention. Step S0 is a state where the mode is set and the housing is opened. Of course, the combinations and order of the determinations from step S0 to step S19 are only examples and may be changed.

  In step S1, the control means 17 determines whether or not the casing is closed from the open state, and determines that the casing is closed based on a signal from the casing rotation direction detection unit 26 that is an opening / closing direction detection means. The process proceeds to step S2. In step S2, a mode immediately before the casing is closed is determined, and in step S3, it is determined whether or not the mode is a camera mode. When determining that the mode before closing the housing is not the camera mode, the CPU unit 17 as the control means determines whether or not the still image mode is set in step S4. The still image mode is a mode used when capturing a still image.

  If it is determined in step S4 that the mode is not the still image mode, it is determined in step S5 whether or not the mode is the moving image mode. If it is determined in step S5 that the mode immediately before the casing is closed is not the moving image mode, it is determined in step S6 whether the mode is the surround mode. If it is determined that the surround mode is selected, the rotation direction when the casing is closed is detected in step S7. The detection of the rotation direction is performed by detecting the polarity of the induced electromotive force accompanying the rotation of the housing and the value obtained by multiplying the electromotive force V and the duration T. When the rotation direction is detected, it is determined in step S8 whether the rotation direction is clockwise or counterclockwise. If it is determined that the rotation direction is clockwise, the mode is switched to the reproduction mode 1 in step S9, and the reproduction mode 1 is activated.

  When the playback mode 1 is activated, a sound such as a predetermined music is output from the external speaker 27. On the other hand, if the rotation direction is determined to be counterclockwise, the mode is switched to the playback mode 2 in step S10, and a sound such as a predetermined music is output from the external speaker 27 as in the playback mode 1. Even if the control unit 17 detects that the housing is closed from the opened state, the mode before the housing is closed is a mode other than the camera mode, the still image mode, the moving image mode, and the surround mode, for example, the telephone mode. If it is, the mode is not switched even if the casing is closed, and the operation ends in step S11.

  As described above, when the user closes the casing from the state in which the surround mode is activated, the playback mode can be switched depending on the direction in which the casing is closed. Since a desired music piece can be listened to by simply closing the casing without performing a predetermined key operation, the operation is simple and the mode can be switched quickly, which is convenient.

  When it is detected that the housing is closed from the opened state and the mode before the housing is closed is the camera mode, the control means 17 determines that the camera mode is set in step S3, and in step S12. The direction of rotation is detected. The detection of the rotation direction is performed by detecting the polarity of the induced electromotive force accompanying the rotation of the housing and the value obtained by multiplying the electromotive force V and the duration T. When the rotation direction is detected, it is determined in step S13 whether the rotation direction is clockwise or counterclockwise. If it is determined that the rotation direction is clockwise, the mode is switched to the still image mode in step S14, and the still image mode is activated.

  When the still image mode is activated, the user can take a still image using the camera 21. The captured image data can be stored in the storage unit 22 as necessary. On the other hand, if the control means 17 determines that the turning direction is counterclockwise, the camera mode is switched to the moving image mode in step S15, and the moving image mode is activated. When the moving image mode is activated, the user can capture a moving image through the camera 21. The captured image data can be stored in the storage unit 22 as in the still image mode.

  When the moving image mode or the still image mode is used, the captured image data is displayed on the display unit 23. The user can select whether to display the image displayed on the display unit 23 either vertically or horizontally. The image display direction can be selected by a predetermined key operation, but can also be switched by closing the housing from the opened state. When the casing is closed from the opened state, the control means 17 determines whether or not the mode immediately before the casing is closed is the still image mode.

  If it is determined in step S4 that the still image mode is set, the control means 17 detects the rotation direction in step S16. The detection of the rotation direction is performed by detecting the polarity of the induced electromotive force accompanying the rotation of the housing and the value obtained by multiplying the electromotive force V and the duration T. When the rotation direction is detected, it is determined in step S17 whether the rotation direction is clockwise or counterclockwise. If the rotation direction is determined to be clockwise, the mode is set to the vertical screen display mode in step S18, and if the rotation direction in which the housing is closed is determined to be counterclockwise, the horizontal screen display mode is set to step S19. To do.

  When the control unit 17 determines that the mode immediately before the casing is closed in step S5 is the moving image mode, the control unit 17 performs the same operation as that in which it is determined that the mode immediately before the casing is closed is the still image mode. In step S19.

  As described above, when the still image mode or the moving image mode is activated, it is possible to change the display direction of the image on the display unit 23 by simply closing the housing, and it is easy to perform key operations such as at night. This is especially useful if you are not.

  As described above, the openable mobile phone has been described as an example of the embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to these mobile phones, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a portable information terminal or a mobile communication device. .

1 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of an openable mobile phone as an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows a certain state when closing the openable-type mobile telephone of FIG. 1 from the open state. It is the figure which looked at the display part when the opening-and-closing type mobile phone of Drawing 1 was closed from the front. It is the figure which looked at the surface provided with a camera when the opening-and-closing type mobile phone of Drawing 1 was closed from the front. FIG. 2 is a diagram in which image data is displayed in a vertical direction on a display unit of the openable mobile phone in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram in which image data is displayed in a horizontal direction on a display unit of the openable mobile phone in FIG. 1. It is a figure for demonstrating the principle in the case of detecting the rotation direction of the switchable mobile phone of FIG. 1 using an induced electromotive force. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of the opening-and-closing type mobile phone of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Opening-and-closing type mobile phone 17 CPU part 21 Camera 23 Display part 26 Case rotation direction detection part 27 External speaker 31, 32 Case 33 Hinge

Claims (2)

A mode for executing a predetermined function can be switched, and a housing having a key operation unit and a housing having a display unit are roughly plate-like housings, and the housing having the key operation unit and the display unit In a portable information terminal connected to a housing comprising
The housing provided with the display unit is rotatably provided.
A rotation detecting means for detecting a rotation direction when rotating the casing including the display unit and a rotation position of the casing including the display unit, and detecting opening and closing of the casing including the display unit;
When the rotation detecting means detects that the casing including the display unit is rotated and stopped at a predetermined position and is closed, the main mode immediately before the casing including the display unit rotates and the Switching to a sub mode associated with the rotation direction, and control means for controlling to activate the switched sub mode, and
Wherein, when the casing having the display unit during startup mode is opened, be controlled to hold the mode of housing provided with the display unit has been started just before the open A personal digital assistant characterized by The casing including the display unit includes an audio unit, the main mode includes at least a surround mode, the main mode immediately before the casing including the display unit is rotated is a surround mode, and the sub the mode, the portable information terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that the playback mode for outputting a sound from the voice section.

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