JP5013091B2 - Mobile communication terminal - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal having a display unit, and more particularly to a mobile communication terminal equipped with a plurality of functions.

  In recent years, mobile communication terminals having a large display unit have been widely used, and in particular, a mobile phone of a type that can change the display screen to be horizontally long is suitable for displaying video content, so that it has portability (portability). It is attracting attention when trying to achieve both. As an example of such a portable communication terminal, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-49294 (Patent Document 1) can connect two housings so as to be slidable and rotatable, and the liquid crystal display unit can be changed to a landscape orientation. A portable terminal is disclosed.

JP 2007-49294 A

  However, recent mobile communication terminals have greatly improved information processing capabilities. In addition to voice call functions, various functions (tasks) such as videophone, camera, browser (Internet connection), e-mail, broadcast reception (TV), etc. ) Is installed. In particular, when a plurality of functions are executed simultaneously and displayed on the display unit, it is not easy to select a desired function, and operability is improved even if the orientation of the display screen is changed to portrait or landscape. It was difficult.

An object of the present invention is to provide a portable communication terminal end capable of multiple states get operability excellent in a state that is selectably displayed.

A mobile communication terminal according to the present invention is a mobile communication terminal in which a first unit having a rectangular display unit capable of displaying information such as images and characters and a second unit having an operation unit are connected, and have a plurality of functions. On the side of the display unit in a shape extending in a direction along the side of the display unit on the surface of the second unit on which the operation unit is provided are arranged along or in both of the vertical side and the horizontal side along, have a, a selection operating means for selecting a plurality of functions displayed on the display unit, the first unit is substantially said second unit The first unit and the second unit have the same shape and the same size, are slidable, and are coupled so as to be rotatable in a slide extended state, and the display unit is substantially in contact with the second unit. Orthogonal When the rotation state is set, the selection operation means is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the display unit, and the control means is activated according to the positional relationship between the first unit and the second unit. The number of functions to be performed is limited .

  According to the present invention, excellent operability can be obtained even when a plurality of states are displayed so as to be selectable, and user convenience can be improved.

1. Configuration FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C are plan views respectively showing a degenerated state, a sliding state, and a rotating state of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is a partially broken top view which shows the unit coupling | bond part of a portable communication terminal. In the mobile communication terminal according to the present embodiment, the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 are slidably and rotatably connected by a coupling portion 30 (see FIG. 2). That is, the coupling unit 30 includes a slide mechanism that slides the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. 1B, and the first unit and the second unit in the most extended slide state. As shown in FIG. 1C, a rotation mechanism that couples the unit so as to be rotatable is provided.

  The first unit 10 and the second unit 20 have substantially the same shape and size so that they substantially overlap in the contracted state shown in FIG. 1A, and the shape is a vertically long rectangle. A vertically long rectangular display unit 101 is provided on almost the entire front surface of the first unit 10, and a touch panel is provided thereon. The size of the display unit 101 is 100 × 35 [mm] as an example. Further, speakers 102 and 103 are mounted on both ends of the first unit 10 in the longitudinal direction. Further, the cross key 104 may be displayed as an input unit on the touch screen on the display unit 101 in the contracted state and the slide state.

  As shown in FIGS. 1B and 2, the first unit 10 can be slid in the direction of the arrow with respect to the second unit 20 by the coupling portion 30. In this sliding state, the microphone 105 and the numeric keypad 106 provided at the lower front portion of the second unit 20 are exposed. As will be described later, since the telephone function can be used in the sliding state, in the telephone mode, the upper end speaker 102 may be used as a receiver and the lower end microphone 105 may be used as a transmitter.

  As shown in FIG. 1C, the first unit 10 in the sliding state can be rotated in the arrow direction with respect to the second unit 20 by the coupling portion 30. In the rotation state, the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 are T-shaped, the display unit 101 of the first unit 10 in the horizontal direction is a horizontally long screen, and the speakers 102 and 103 are positioned at symmetrical positions thereof. It becomes.

  In this rotated state, the cross key 108, the track pad 109, and the camera opening 107 provided on the front surface of the second unit 20 and on the numeric keypad 106 are exposed. Although not shown, other keys such as a scroll key and a determination key may be separately provided. The cross key 108 can move the cursor on the display screen, select menu items, scroll the display screen, or switch the active window.

  As described above, in the mobile communication terminal according to the present embodiment, two types of operators are provided. The first operator is a normal information input operation key, such as a numeric keypad 106 provided on a mobile phone or the like. The second operator is a selection operation key for selecting a function window, icon or menu item, scrolling the display screen, and the like.

  The track pad 109 is preferably linear or horizontally long so that it can be easily operated and the terminal can be miniaturized. The track pads 109 in the present embodiment are provided substantially in parallel corresponding to the horizontally long display unit 101. However, a two-dimensional screen operation is also possible by providing another linear track pad orthogonally. As the track pad 109, a known electrostatic type or pressure sensitive type can be used, and the user can operate the display screen by sliding a finger on the track pad 109. Specific examples will be described later. For example, the cursor is moved on the display screen, the menu item is selected, the display screen is scrolled, or the active window is switched. Further, since the track pad 109 is covered and protected by the first unit 10 in the terminal state other than the rotating state, an unintended screen operation can be prevented.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining an operation example in a rotating state of the mobile communication terminal according to the present embodiment. If the terminal is in a rotating state, functions such as display of content images on a website, TV viewing, camera shooting, or TV phone are used in addition to e-mail and telephone directory search by utilizing the fact that the display unit 101 is horizontally long. These functions (tasks) can also be displayed in a so-called window as illustrated in FIG.

  In the example of FIG. 3, four tasks Task 1 -Task 4 are displayed in a window on the display unit 101. Further, icons T1-T4 corresponding to these tasks are displayed at the bottom of the display screen so as to be parallel to the track pad 109. Further, it is desirable that the currently active window and its corresponding icon (Task 2 and T 2 in FIG. 3) are highlighted so that they can be identified at a glance.

  As described above, when a plurality of tasks are activated and the respective windows are displayed, when the user scans the track pad 109 with the finger from the left to the right, the highlighted display indicating the active window moves in the same direction. That is, the active window shifts from Task2 and T2 to Task3 and T3 on the right, and further to Task4 and T4. Conversely, when the finger is scanned from right to left on the track pad 109, the active window can be shifted in the same direction. When a desired task is operated or a menu or menu item is selected, for example, the task may be activated and then determined by an operation such as hitting the track pad 109 twice with a finger.

  Since icons corresponding to a plurality of tasks activated in this way are displayed at the bottom of the display screen so as to be parallel to the track pad 109, a large number of icons can be obtained simply by moving a finger on the track pad 109. A desired task can be easily selected from these tasks. When only one task is activated, the function of the track pad 109 may be switched to scroll as will be described later.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the portable communication terminal according to the present embodiment. The mobile communication terminal according to the present embodiment has not only a wireless communication function (call, mail transmission / reception, Internet connection) but also a TV broadcast reception function, and for this purpose, it communicates with a wireless base station (not shown) via an antenna. The wireless communication unit 201 that wirelessly transmits and receives information and the broadcast signal transmitted from the broadcasting station (ground station, satellite, etc.) are received and demodulated through the antenna, and the video data, audio data, and other data signals are received. And a broadcast receiving unit 202 that performs processing.

  The camera function that can be used in the rotated state is realized by the camera unit 203 that acquires (photographs) image information. The audio processing unit 204 processes audio signals input / output via the transmitting unit (microphone 105) and the receiving unit (speaker 102).

  As described above, the audio output switching control unit 205 connects the speaker 102 to the audio processing unit 204 in the telephone mode in the sliding state, and outputs the received audio signal from the audio processing unit 204 through the speaker 102. Also, in the TV reception mode or the content playback mode in the rotating state, the audio output switching control unit 205 causes both the speaker 102 and the speaker 103 to function as a monaural / stereo audio output device. In addition to this function, the speaker 103 is used for outputting sound sounds such as musical sounds and notification sounds.

  As described above, the display unit 101 has a function of displaying information such as images, figures, characters, symbols, and the like. However, the touch panel 206 is provided on the display unit 101, so that pressure, capacitance, and the like can be obtained. It also functions as a switch function (touch screen) that senses the user's input operation according to the method.

  The operation control unit 207 is connected to the numeric keypad 106, the cross key 108, the track pad 109, and other scroll keys, determination keys, and the like, and allows the user to input various information together with the touch panel 206.

  The state detection unit 208 is connected to the slide sensor 209 and the rotation sensor 210 and detects the state of the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 of the terminal. The slide sensor 209 and the rotation sensor 210 can be composed of, for example, a magnetic / Hall element or a convex / push switch, and the slide sensor 209 is in an extended state when the first unit 10 slides with respect to the second unit 20. (FIG. 1B) is detected, and the rotation sensor 210 detects that the first unit 10 is rotated with respect to the second unit 20 and is in a rotating state (FIG. 1C). To do.

  The storage unit 211 includes a semiconductor memory and / or a magnetic memory (such as an HDD), and stores telephone directory information, transmission / reception mail information, incoming / outgoing call information, content information, application program information, captured images, portable wireless terminal setting information, and the like. To do.

  The control unit 212 is bus-connected to the above-described blocks (reference numbers 101, 201-208, and 211), and includes a telephone function, a mail function, an Internet (Web) connection function, a camera function, a television reception function, and a content reproduction function. Control other functions installed in the terminal and overall operation of the terminal. For example, under the control of the control unit 212, the function assignments of operation elements such as operation keys and trackpads are changed in accordance with the terminal state (degenerated state, slide state, or rotation state) detected by the state detection unit 208. Depending on whether the display unit 101 is portrait or landscape, the orientation of the display screen is changed, or only functions preset according to the state of the terminal are collectively displayed on the screen. Further, as described above, the track pad 109 is exposed to the outside by the slide extension and rotation of the first unit 10, and performs selection, scrolling, and the like of the function window, icon or menu / menu item displayed on the display unit 101. be able to.

  The control unit 212 can be realized by software by executing each function and a function control program on a program control processor such as a CPU.

2. Operation 2.1) Change of Assigned Function of Operators FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for changing the assigned function of operators in the mobile communication terminal according to the present embodiment. Here, the function assignment change when the track pad 109 is available in the rotating state is illustrated.

  The control unit 212 monitors the detection signal of the state detection unit 208 and determines whether or not the terminal is in a rotating state (step S301). When the cross key 108 and the track pad 109 become operable in the rotated state (step S301: Yes), the control unit 212 determines whether or not a plurality of tasks are currently activated (step S302).

  When a plurality of tasks are currently activated (step S302: Yes), the control unit 212 validates the multitask operation by the track pad 109 (step S303), and determines whether the track pad 109 has been scanned (step S303). S304). When the track pad 109 is scanned (step S304: Yes), the control unit 212 selects a task corresponding to the operation position of the track pad 109 and activates the function (step S305).

  If a single task is currently activated (step S302: No), the control unit 212 validates the scroll operation by the track pad 109 (step S306), and determines whether the track pad 109 has been scanned (step S306). S307). When the track pad 109 is scanned (step S307: Yes), the control unit 212 performs horizontal scrolling according to the scanning amount of the track pad 109 (step S308).

  In this way, the function of the track pad 109 is switched between task selection and scrolling depending on whether multitasking or single task activation is in progress. A similar function change can be applied to the cross key 108 that is exposed in a rotating state.

2.2) Function Activation Control FIG. 6A is a flowchart illustrating an example of a function activation restriction procedure in the mobile communication terminal according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 6B is a flowchart illustrating an example of a function batch activation procedure. FIG. 7 is a table showing an example of setting information stored in the storage unit of the mobile communication terminal according to the present embodiment.

  As described above, the portable communication terminal according to the present embodiment exposes the numeric keypad 106 of the second unit 20 by sliding the first unit 10 from the contracted state in which the first unit 10 and the second unit 20 are closed. It is possible to move the first unit 10 to a rotated state in which the cross key 106, the track pad 109, and the camera opening 107 of the second unit 20 are exposed by rotating the first unit 10. Therefore, it is desirable to set in advance so that a predetermined function (call, mail, videophone, Internet connection, broadcast reception, etc.) can be used in an optimum terminal state. In particular, as the number of functions increases, it becomes more complicated to match the terminal state with the available keys and functions. Therefore, it is desirable to set this matching in a certain range in advance. Furthermore, it is desirable to limit the number of tasks activated simultaneously in consideration of the processing capability and display area of the terminal.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 7, since the key provided in the second unit 2 is not exposed in the contracted state, only the touch screen cross key 104 is enabled in addition to the power key (not shown). Only one task (here, menu selection) can be activated (Nth = 1). Further, a function to be activated in advance is set to menu selection.

  Since the numeric keypad 106 is exposed in the slide state, the numeric keypad 106 is enabled in addition to the touch screen cross key 104, and three tasks (menu selection, telephone and mail in this case) can be activated, and the maximum number of activated tasks is two. (Nth = 2). Furthermore, two functions to be activated in advance are set as menu selection and telephone function.

  In the rotating state, the cross key 108, the track pad 109 and the camera can be operated in addition to the numeric keypad 106, so that all tasks (here, menu selection, telephone, mail, TV reception, camera shooting, videophone, Web connection, content playback) ) Can be activated and the number of activated tasks is limited to 5 (Nx = 5). Further, five functions to be activated in advance are set as menu selection, telephone function, mail function, camera function, and Web connection function.

  Assuming that such setting information is stored in the storage unit 211, when the user attempts to activate a function by operating some kind of operation element, the control unit 212 determines whether or not the function can be activated as follows. Determine and limit.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the control unit 212 determines whether or not there is a function activation request by operating the touch screen cross key 104, the numeric keypad 106, or the cross key 108 (step S401). If there is (step S401: Yes), it is determined using the detection result of the state detection unit 208 whether the current state of the terminal is a rotation state (step S402). If it is other than the rotation state, that is, if it is in the degenerate state or the slide state (step S402: No), the control unit 212 refers to the setting information table in the storage unit 211 and changes the requested function to the function permitted in the current terminal state. It is determined whether it is included (step S403). If it is a permitted function (step S403: Yes), the control unit 212 further determines whether or not the function number Nf currently activated is equal to or less than the set upper limit activation number Nth (step S404). If Nf ≦ Nth (step S404: Yes), the requested function is activated (step S405).

  If the current state of the terminal is the rotation state (step S402: Yes), the control unit 212 refers to the setting information table in the storage unit 211, and the currently activated function number Nf is equal to or less than the set upper limit activation number Nx. It is determined whether or not (step S406). If Nf ≦ Nx (step S406: Yes), the requested function is activated (step S405).

  When there is no function activation request (step S401: No), when the requested function is not a function permitted in the current state (step S403: No), when Nf> Nth (step S404: No), or Nf> If it is Nx (step S406: No), the process ends without activating the function. However, at that time, it is desirable to notify the user of the reason why the request is rejected. For example, if the requested function is not a function permitted in the current state (step S403: No), that effect is displayed on the display unit 101. If the currently activated function number Nf exceeds the upper limit activation number Nth (step S404: No), the function is displayed on the display unit 101 so as to prompt the user to terminate any of the activated functions.

  In this way, it is possible to prompt the user to select an optimum function according to the state of the mobile communication terminal. For example, according to the switching operability, by setting the upper limit of the number of activation functions, that is, the number of tasks 1 in the reduced state, the number of tasks 2 in the slide state, and the number 5 of the rotation state tasks, it is possible to avoid the user getting lost in the switching operation . In addition, as functions (tasks) that can be activated in each terminal state, for example, video playback / editing has the necessary controls (tenkey 106, cross key 108, track pad 109) for using the task (function). If it can be activated only in a rotating state that is exposed and does not impair operability, the operability of the user can be improved.

  In addition, by setting functions that the user wants to activate in advance for each terminal state, it is possible to activate optimal functions all at once simply by changing the state of the terminal.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, the control unit 212 determines whether there is a change in the state of the terminal while monitoring the detection result of the state detection unit 208 (step S501). If there is a change in the terminal state (step S501: Yes), the control unit 212 refers to the setting information table in the storage unit 211 and determines whether or not the function is set in the current state (step S502).

  If the function is set in the current state (step S502: Yes), the set function is activated (step S503). For example, if the slide state is changed to the rotation state, the control unit 212 uses the setting information table in the storage unit 211 to set the rotation state setting activation function (here, menu selection, telephone function, mail function, camera function, and Web connection). The functions (mail function, camera function, and Web connection function) that have not been activated in the slide state are activated in a batch with reference to (Function).

  If no function is set in the current state (step S502: No), the last last used function may be activated (step S504).

  As described above, when the control unit 212 is displaced to the open state (slide → rotation state), the predetermined function (Internet connection, broadcast reception, etc.) corresponding to the prior setting is activated collectively. Control. As a result, it is possible to save time and labor for starting up the functions individually and to promote the full use of the multitask function.

  The present invention can be provided to a mobile communication terminal having a display unit such as a mobile phone.

(A), (B) and (C) are plan views respectively showing a degenerated state, a slide state and a rotation state of a mobile communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a partially broken top view which shows the unit coupling | bond part of the portable communication terminal by a present Example. It is a top view for demonstrating the example of operation in the rotation state of the portable communication terminal by a present Example. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of the portable communication terminal by a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the function allocation change procedure of an operator in the portable communication terminal by a present Example. (A) is a flowchart which shows an example of the function starting limitation procedure in the portable communication terminal by a present Example, (B) is a flowchart which shows an example of a function batch starting procedure. It is a table which shows an example of the setting information stored in the memory | storage part of the portable communication terminal by a present Example.

Explanation of symbols

10 first unit 20 second unit 30 coupling unit 101 display unit 102 speaker 103 speaker 104 touch screen cross key 105 microphone 106 numeric keypad 107 camera opening 108 cross key 109 track pad 201 wireless communication unit 202 broadcast receiving unit 203 camera unit 204 audio Processing unit 205 Audio output switching control unit 206 Touch panel 207 Operation control unit 208 State detection unit 209 Slide sensor 210 Rotation sensor 211 Storage unit 212 Control unit

Claims (5)

In a mobile communication terminal in which a first unit having a rectangular display unit capable of displaying information such as images and characters and a second unit having an operation unit are connected,
Control means for displaying a plurality of functions on the display unit in a selectable manner;
Arranged along the horizontal side of the display unit or along both the vertical side and the horizontal side in a shape extending in the direction along the side of the display unit on the surface of the second unit where the operation unit is provided Selection operation means for selecting a plurality of functions displayed on the display unit;
I have a,
The first unit has substantially the same shape and the same size as the second unit, the first unit and the second unit are slidable, and are rotatably coupled in a slide extended state, When the display unit is set in a rotation state that is in a horizontally long state substantially perpendicular to the second unit, the selection operation means is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the display unit,
The control means limits the number of functions to be activated according to the positional relationship between the first unit and the second unit.
A mobile communication terminal characterized by the above.   When the control means activates a plurality of functions and displays the information on the display unit, the control means controls the selection operation means as the plurality of function switching operation means, and activates a single function. 2. The mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the selection operation unit is controlled as a moving unit of the display information when the display unit is displaying.   3. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the selection operation unit is an operation element having a shape extending substantially parallel to a longitudinal direction of the display unit and corresponding to a predetermined region of the display unit. Communication terminal. Wherein, the mobile communication terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that presetting function to be activated in response to the positional relationship between the first unit and the second unit. The portable communication terminal according to any one of claims 1 4 wherein the selection operating means, characterized in that the track pad.

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