JP4875580B2 - Electronic device and security lock method for electronic device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device that can prevent unauthorized use of an electronic device such as a portable terminal device that has been lost due to, for example, dropping from a user's clothes pocket or the like, and a security lock method thereof.

  Until now, a security lock method in an electronic device such as a portable terminal device, which can protect internal data even if lost and prevent a problem of being illegally used and charged by another person, is known (Patent Document 1). reference).

  To give a specific example of the security lock method for the mobile terminal device, as the first method, when the owner performs an operation for security lock from the operation unit of the mobile terminal device, an operation for unlocking the security lock is subsequently performed. Until now, there is a method of incorporating in the mobile terminal device a control unit that activates a security lock that invalidates at least a part of the operation by the operation unit of the mobile terminal device.

  Further, as a second method, when a state where the operation unit is not operated continues for a certain time or longer, a control unit that automatically activates a security lock that invalidates at least a part of the operation by the operation unit of the mobile terminal device is provided. There is also a method of incorporating it into the device.

  Furthermore, as a third method, when the mobile terminal device receives security lock data via a communication line, a control unit that activates a security lock that invalidates at least part of the operation by the operation unit of the mobile terminal device is provided. A method of incorporating in a portable terminal device has also been proposed.

  Patent Document 2 describes a portable terminal that includes an acceleration detection unit. When the acceleration detection unit detects an acceleration equal to or higher than the set acceleration for a predetermined time or more, it is configured to be able to invalidate at least one of reception of an input signal from the user of the mobile terminal, response to the call setting signal, or power state. ing.

JP-A-7-193865 JP 2002-112349 A

However, the above-described security lock method also cannot immediately activate the security lock when the mobile terminal device falls from the user's pocket or the like and the mobile terminal device is lost without being noticed by the user, or There arises a problem that the usability during normal operation is greatly reduced.
For example, in the case of the first method, it is necessary for the user of the mobile terminal device to execute the security lock operation before the device is lost, and the user has lost the security lock operation without executing it. In some cases, it is totally useless.

  In the case of the second method, if the duration of the non-operation state, which is the operating condition of the security lock, is set short, the security lock can be quickly activated when lost. On the other hand, there are many cases in which the security lock is applied even during normal carrying, and each time a security lock release operation is required, the usability is greatly reduced.

  On the other hand, if you set the duration of the no-operation state, which is the operating condition of the security lock, to be long, the security lock will not be activated immediately if it is lost, and it will be illegally used by others until the security lock is activated. There is a risk that.

  Furthermore, in the case of the third method, the security lock is not activated until the user notices the loss of the portable terminal device and sends the data for security lock, and it is left for a long time in a state where others can illegally use it. There is a risk.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and when an electronic device is dropped from a user's pocket or the like and the electronic device is lost without being noticed by the user himself / herself, the electronic device can be quickly secured. It is intended to prevent unauthorized use by others by operating a lock. It is another object of the present invention to prevent the security lock from being inadvertently activated during normal carrying to reduce usability.

The present invention capable of solving the above problems is a portable electronic device,
An operation unit;
An acceleration detector that detects acceleration acting on the electronic device;
When the acceleration detection unit continuously detects acceleration when the electronic device is in a free fall state for a predetermined time or longer, a control unit that activates a security lock that invalidates at least a part of the operation by the operation unit; It is characterized by having.

Further, the present invention capable of solving the above problems is a security lock method for a portable electronic device,
A first detection step of continuously detecting an acceleration when the electronic device is in a free-fall state for a predetermined time or more;
And a step of activating a security lock that invalidates at least a part of the operation performed by the operation unit of the electronic device.

  According to the above configuration, when an electronic device falls freely from a user's pocket, etc., the security lock is automatically activated on the electronic device if the acceleration acting at that time continues for a predetermined time or more. To do. Therefore, even when an electronic device such as a mobile phone falls from the user's pocket or the like and the user himself / herself is not aware and the electronic device is lost, the security lock can be reliably operated on the electronic device.

  In addition, as the duration of acceleration that is the operating condition of the security lock, for example, by calculating and assigning an appropriate fall time from the height position of the pocket while sitting in a chair etc., the electronic device can It is possible to activate the security lock without much delay from the point of almost falling. If a loss due to dropping occurs, the security lock can be quickly activated on the electronic device to reliably prevent unauthorized use by others.

  According to the present invention, the security lock is activated when the electronic device is accidentally dropped from a hand without losing the electronic device. Unlocking operation by is required. However, the frequency of accidents that accidentally drop an electronic device is considered to be extremely low, and there is no possibility that the operation of releasing the security lock is frequently required and the usability is not lowered.

  In addition, when it is normally carried, unless it is dropped, it is unlikely that the acceleration during free fall will continue to operate for longer than the specified time. I don't have to.

In addition, the control unit of the electronic device of the present invention,
When the acceleration detection unit continuously detects an acceleration when the electronic device is in a free fall state for a predetermined time or more, and detects an acceleration exceeding the acceleration when the electronic device is in the free fall state, the security lock Is operated.

  In addition, the security lock method of the present invention includes a second detection step for detecting an acceleration exceeding an acceleration in the free fall state after the first detection step.

According to the above configuration, the acceleration when the electronic device is in the free fall state is set to the condition that the acceleration when the electronic device is in the free fall state continues to act for a predetermined time or longer as the security lock operating condition. The condition that the acceleration exceeding it acts is added.
The acceleration exceeding the acceleration in the free fall state assumes that the fallen electronic device is subjected to an acceleration exceeding the acceleration in the free fall state due to a collision with the falling surface.

  As described above, by adding the condition that the acceleration exceeding the acceleration in the free fall state acts as the operating condition of the security lock, for example, the user intentionally releases the electronic device on a soft cushion or the like. When it is thrown, it becomes possible to avoid the operation of the security lock, and it is possible to suppress the malfunction of the security lock other than the accident of dropping and further improve the usability.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an electronic device and a security lock method thereof according to the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front external view of a mobile terminal device that is an embodiment of an electronic apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the mobile terminal device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a mobile phone shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the security lock method of the portable terminal device implemented by a terminal device.

  The mobile terminal device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a so-called straight-type multi-function mobile phone, and an operation unit 6 in which a plurality of input keys 5 are arranged on the front surface of a vertically long device case 3 to perform an input operation. A display unit 8 using a flat display panel for displaying the operation state of the apparatus and input information from the operation unit 6, an input unit 9 for inputting voice during call processing, and outputting received voice during call processing And an output unit 11 for performing.

  Further, inside the device case 3, a wireless unit 13 that transmits and receives encoded data, and a code that encodes data to be transmitted and sends the data to the wireless unit 13 and decodes data received by the wireless unit 13 On the basis of the detection results of the acceleration detector 17 and the timer 19, the timer 19 for measuring the duration of the operation state, the acceleration detector 17 for detecting the acceleration acting on the device case 3 And a control unit 21 that controls input / output operations of the mobile terminal device 1.

  The acceleration detection unit 17 is a so-called three-axis acceleration sensor that can detect vertical acceleration in addition to horizontal two-direction acceleration, for example, and is below the gravitational acceleration that acts on the mobile terminal device 1 in a free-fall state. Detect fall acceleration. Moreover, it functions also as an acceleration detection part which detects the acceleration beyond the gravitational acceleration which acts with respect to the portable terminal device 1 by the collision at the time of fall.

The control unit 21 controls the operation of each unit such as the operation unit 6, the display unit 8, the encoding / decoding unit 15, and the wireless unit 13 so that a voice call function and a data transmission / reception function as a mobile phone can be smoothly executed. At the same time, however, the detected values of the acceleration detector 17 and the timer 19 are monitored in order to prevent unauthorized use of the finder when the device is lost due to dropping from a pocket or the like without the user's knowledge.
Then, after detecting the acceleration below the gravitational acceleration for a predetermined time or more continuously after the acceleration detecting unit 17 detects the action of the acceleration exceeding the gravitational acceleration, it is regarded as occurrence of loss due to the fall, A security lock that invalidates at least a part of the operation by the operation unit 6 is activated.

Specifically, the control unit 21 operates the security lock on the mobile terminal device by the method shown in FIG.
The detection values of the acceleration detection unit 17 and the timer 19 are monitored, and it is determined whether or not the fall has started depending on whether or not the acceleration detection unit 17 detects a fall acceleration equal to or lower than the gravitational acceleration (step S11). If it is determined that the drop has started (step S11: Yes), the timer 19 starts counting the specified time T1 (step S21). The control unit 21 monitors whether or not a drop acceleration equal to or lower than the gravitational acceleration is continuously acting on the mobile terminal device 1 during the count of the specified time T1 (whether or not it is falling) (step S22). If an acceleration exceeding the gravitational acceleration is detected during T1, it is determined that the vehicle is not in a fall state (step S22: No), and a drop detection is awaited.

  The specified time T1 set in step S12 is set to T1 = 0.319 seconds, for example. This time of 0.319 seconds is the time required for a drop to collide with the drop surface when an object is freely dropped from a height of about 50 cm onto the drop surface (road surface or the like). That the fall continues for a specified time or more can be regarded as falling from a height of 50 cm or more.

  When the fall acceleration equal to or lower than the gravitational acceleration is continuously applied for a preset specified time (T1) or more (step S12: Yes), the timer 19 starts counting the specified time T2 (step S23). The detection value of the acceleration detection unit 17 is monitored, and it is determined whether or not an acceleration exceeding the gravitational acceleration is applied during the specified time T2 (step S13). This is because when the mobile terminal device 1 collides with a road surface or the like due to a fall, an acceleration exceeding the gravitational acceleration acts due to an impact at the time of the collision.

The specified time T2 is an upper limit value of the time during which acceleration exceeding the gravitational acceleration is not detected, and when the impact cannot be detected during the specified time T2 (step S13: No, step S24: Yes), the operation returns to the initial operation. It will be in a state of waiting for the fall detection.
Note that the specified time T2 is, for example, 10 seconds (meaning a drop from about 980 m), and thus it is considered that a situation clearly different from a fallen loss requiring a security lock is detected.

  If it is determined in step S13 that acceleration exceeding the gravitational acceleration has been applied, it is considered that the mobile terminal device 1 has been lost, and the control unit 21 performs at least part of the operation by the operation unit 6 of the mobile terminal device 1. The security lock to be invalidated is activated (step S14). In this case, the contents of the security lock (the range that can be invalidated) can be set in advance by the user. For example, all the personal information stored in the terminal device and the reading / receiving history are read. Is prohibited. It is also conceivable to make outgoing / incoming calls impossible or prohibit connection to a network such as the Internet.

  When the security lock is activated by dropping, the security lock is not released unless a security code (password) for unlocking the security lock is input (steps S15 and S16).

In the security method implemented by the mobile terminal device 1 shown in FIG. 3, when the mobile terminal device 1 falls from a user's pocket or the like, a fall acceleration equal to or lower than the gravitational acceleration that acts at that time is set for a predetermined time. If an acceleration exceeding the gravitational acceleration is applied thereafter, a security lock is automatically activated on the mobile terminal device 1.
Therefore, even if the mobile terminal device 1 falls from the user's pocket or the like and the mobile terminal device 1 is lost without being noticed by the user, the mobile terminal device 1 can be surely actuated with a security lock.

  In addition, as the duration of the fall acceleration that is the operating condition of the security lock, for example, by calculating and assigning an appropriate fall time from the height position of the pocket while sitting in a chair etc., the mobile terminal It is possible to activate the security lock almost immediately after the device 1 is almost dropped, and when the device 1 is lost due to dropping, the security lock is quickly activated on the mobile terminal device 1 to ensure unauthorized use by others. Can be prevented.

  In addition, in the security method of the above embodiment, the security lock is activated if it is accidentally dropped from the hand without being lost. Although a release operation is required, the frequency of accidents that accidentally drop the mobile terminal device is considered to be extremely low, and there is no possibility that the security lock release operation is frequently required and the usability is reduced.

  In addition, when it is normally carried, unless it is dropped, the situation where the fall acceleration continues for more than the specified time does not occur. Nor.

  Furthermore, in the security method of the above embodiment, the gravitational acceleration is exceeded under the condition that the fall acceleration below the gravitational acceleration continues to act on the mobile terminal device 1 for a predetermined time or more as the operating condition of the security lock. The condition that acceleration acts is added.

The acceleration exceeding the gravitational acceleration assumes that an acceleration exceeding the gravitational acceleration acts due to the collision of the dropped mobile terminal device 1 with the falling surface.
As described above, by adding the condition that the acceleration exceeding the gravitational acceleration acts as the operation condition of the security lock, for example, the user intentionally throws the portable terminal device 1 on a soft cushion or the like. In this case, it becomes possible to avoid the operation of the security lock, and it is possible to suppress the malfunction of the security lock other than the accident of dropping and further improve the usability.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the security lock method for an electronic apparatus according to the present invention.
The security method for the portable terminal device shown here is similar to the method shown in FIG. 3 except that step S13 in the security method shown in FIG. 3 is omitted.
That is, in the security method according to the second embodiment, the control unit 21 provided in the mobile terminal device 1 continues the acceleration that the acceleration detection unit 17 does not exceed the gravitational acceleration for a preset specified time (T1) or more. If it is detected, the security lock that immediately disables at least a part of the operation by the operation unit 6 is immediately activated regardless of the presence or absence of acceleration exceeding the gravitational acceleration due to the collision.

  In the security method according to the second embodiment, when the mobile terminal device 1 is dropped from a user's pocket or the like, the fall acceleration below the gravitational acceleration acting at that time continues for a preset specified time (T1) or longer. Then, the security lock is automatically activated on the mobile terminal device 1.

  Therefore, even if the mobile terminal device 1 falls from the user's pocket or the like and the mobile terminal device 1 is lost without being noticed by the user, the mobile terminal device 1 can be surely actuated with a security lock.

  In addition, as the duration of the fall acceleration that is the operating condition of the security lock, as in the case of the first embodiment, for example, the appropriate fall time from the height position of the pocket in the state of sitting in a chair or the like By calculating and assigning, it is possible to activate the security lock without much delay from the time when the mobile terminal device 1 is almost dropped. The security lock can be activated to reliably prevent unauthorized use by others.

  Further, in the security method of the second embodiment, the number of steps until the security lock is activated is reduced as compared with the first embodiment, so that the security lock can be activated earlier.

  In the portable terminal device and the security method according to the present invention, the duration (T1) of the fall acceleration that is the operating condition of the security lock is not limited to 0.319 seconds shown in the above embodiment. Absent. For example, the user may be able to adjust the position according to the position of a pocket of clothes used for housing the mobile terminal device.

  The electronic device according to the present invention is not limited to the portable terminal device described in the above embodiment, but can be applied to a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), an electronic dictionary, a portable notebook personal computer, etc. It is.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the triaxial acceleration sensor was used as an acceleration detection part with which a portable terminal device is equipped, a uniaxial or biaxial acceleration sensor is used by devising the attachment direction and the number of equipment of a sensor. It is also possible to adopt.

1 is a front external view of an embodiment of a mobile terminal device according to the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the portable terminal device shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the security lock method of the portable terminal device implemented by the portable terminal device shown in FIG. It is a flowchart of other embodiment of the security lock method of the portable terminal device which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1: mobile terminal device, 3: device case, 5: input key, 6: operation unit, 8: display unit, 9: input unit, 11: output unit, 13: wireless unit, 15: encoding / decoding unit, 17 : Acceleration detection unit, 19: Timer, 21: Control unit

Claims (2)

A portable electronic device,
An operation unit;
An acceleration detector that detects acceleration acting on the electronic device;
The acceleration detection unit, after detecting the acceleration of gravity following the fall acceleration acting upon the electronic device is dropped continuously first predetermined time or more, an acceleration greater than gravitational acceleration for a period shorter second predetermined time Is detected , the security lock that invalidates at least a part of the operation by the operation unit is activated ,
The acceleration detection unit, after the falling acceleration of less gravitational acceleration acting upon the electronic device is dropped and detected continuously the first predetermined time or more, the gravitational acceleration after the lapse of the second predetermined time An electronic device comprising: a control unit that does not operate the security lock when an acceleration exceeding the limit is detected . A security lock method for portable electronic devices,
A detection step of detecting a gravitational acceleration following fall acceleration acting upon the electronic device is dropped continuously first predetermined time or more,
If the acceleration exceeding the gravitational acceleration is detected before the second predetermined time elapses after the fall acceleration is detected continuously for the first predetermined time or more by the detection step, the operation by the operation unit of the electronic device is detected . Activating a security lock that at least partially disables;
After detecting the fall acceleration continuously for the first predetermined time or more and detecting the acceleration exceeding the gravitational acceleration after elapse of the second predetermined time by the detecting step, the security lock is not activated. A security lock method for an electronic device.

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