JP5381722B2 - Mobile device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable terminal that performs power saving control by controlling a lighting state of a display unit.

The displays provided in portable terminals such as mobile phones and portable information terminals are becoming larger year by year, and current consumption tends to increase. Since the portable terminal operates with power supplied from the battery, when the current consumption increases, there arises a problem that the usable time is shortened.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an example of a mobile terminal device for solving such a problem. In this portable terminal device, the lighting time of the backlight of the display unit is set for each operation mode (application), for example, 20 seconds in the mail list display mode, 5 minutes in the mail text confirmation mode, and infinite lighting in the game execution mode. When the mobile terminal device operates in a certain operation mode, the lighting time after the key operation is stopped is set to the set time based on the set time set corresponding to this operation mode. When it reaches, the backlight is turned off.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-23496 (page 4-page 7, FIG. 3, FIG. 4)

  In Patent Document 1, since the lighting time of the backlight is determined for each operation mode, it is possible to perform lighting control according to the usage situation to some extent. However, even in the same operation mode, the time that the user wants to continue to view the display unit is not uniformly determined, and usually varies depending on the user's situation each time. That is, if the lighting time is too long compared to the time when the user wants to continue the display unit, the backlight is turned on unnecessarily, and there is a problem that power saving is not always achieved.

  An object of this invention is to provide the portable terminal which can control the lighting state of a display part by simple user operation.

  In order to achieve the above object, the portable terminal of the present invention calculates the tilt of the portable terminal based on the tilt detection sensor output by turning the tilt detection sensor and the tilt detection sensor on, and the bottom side of the casing. A lighting control function to turn on the display means when the inclination of the line segment from the top to the top side and the horizontal plane is between substantially horizontal and substantially vertical, and to turn off the display means in cases other than the inclination. It is characterized by doing.

  According to the present invention, even when an application is being executed, the lighting state of the display unit can be controlled by a simple user operation.

The external appearance perspective view of the portable terminal 100 which concerns on the Example of this invention. The figure explaining the inclination of the Y-axis of the portable terminal 100 which concerns on the Example of this invention. The figure explaining the inclination of the X-axis of the portable terminal 100 which concerns on the Example of this invention. The block diagram of the relevant part of the portable terminal 100 which concerns on the Example of this invention. The operation | movement flowchart of the content reproduction application function 16 of the portable terminal 100 which concerns on the Example of this invention. The operation | movement flowchart of the lighting control function 17 of the portable terminal 100 which concerns on the Example of this invention.

  1A and 1B are external perspective views of a mobile terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is an external view, and FIG. 1B is a diagram for explaining an arrangement of acceleration sensors.

  In FIG. 1A, the outer surface of the mobile terminal 100 includes a main surface 1, a top portion 2, a bottom portion 3, a right side portion 4, a left side portion 5, and a back surface 6. An operation unit 11 and a display unit 12 are placed on the main surface 1. The user usually operates and views the mobile terminal 100 from the direction of the user's line of sight indicated by an arrow, that is, in a positional relationship in which the operation unit 11 is in front and the display unit 12 is in the rear.

  In FIG. 1B, an acceleration sensor 13 is mounted inside the mobile terminal 100. The acceleration sensor 13 outputs acceleration data generated in each of the three axes of the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis. As is well known, the acceleration sensor 13 detects acceleration based on the amount of displacement of the weight supported by the spring.

  When the acceleration sensor 13 is attached to the portable terminal 100, the X-axis of the acceleration sensor 13 is aligned with the direction from the left side 5 to the right side 4 of the portable terminal 100, and the Y axis is from the bottom 3 to the top 2. The Z-axis is attached in a direction that is perpendicular to the main surface 1 and that faces from the back surface 6 to the main surface 1.

  If the mobile terminal 100 does not move suddenly and is almost stationary, only the gravity perpendicular to the ground direction is applied to the mobile terminal 100. That is, assuming that the spring coefficient is k, the expansion and contraction of the spring is x, and the weight of the weight is m, the gravitational acceleration g is detected as g = (k × x) / m, and the vector component of the gravitational acceleration g is The inclination of the mobile terminal 100 is detected on the basis of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis outputs of a certain acceleration sensor 13.

  In the present invention, it is assumed that the user views the main surface 1 of the mobile terminal 100 with the user's line of sight indicated by an arrow. If the angle of the mobile terminal 100 with respect to the horizontal plane is within a predetermined range, the display unit is turned on. It is something to control.

  FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the inclination of the Y axis of the mobile terminal 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and is a side view seen from the right side 4 side. In FIG. 2, the relationship between the inclination of the Y axis and the output of the acceleration sensor will be described with the X axis remaining horizontal.

  In FIG. 2, assuming that the user looks at the main surface 1 of the mobile terminal 100 with the user's line of sight indicated by an arrow, the inclination of the Y axis of the main surface 1 is in the range of approximately 0 to approximately 90 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane If so, the user can see the main surface 1, so that the display unit is controlled to be lit.

  FIG. 2A shows an example in which the main surface 1 of the mobile terminal 100 is horizontal. Accordingly, the acceleration sensor 13 is parallel to the Y axis, that is, the line segment (Y axis) from the bottom 3 side to the top 2 side of the main surface 1 and the horizontal plane. The Z axis of the acceleration sensor 13 is perpendicular to the horizontal plane. The X axis of the acceleration sensor 13 is directed toward the front of the drawing and is parallel to the horizontal plane.

  In this state, if the mobile terminal 100 does not move suddenly and is almost stationary, the acceleration detected by the mobile terminal 100 is only the gravitational acceleration, and the acceleration data of the acceleration sensor 13 is reversed as the Z-axis acceleration data. Minus 1G representing the direction is output. Since the X and Y axes of the acceleration sensor 13 are horizontal, acceleration = 0.

  With this Z-axis acceleration data = minus 1G and Y-axis acceleration data = 0, the main surface 1 of the mobile terminal 100 faces the top side of the top and bottom, and the line segment (Y-axis) from the bottom 3 side to the top 2 side of the main surface 1 ) And the horizontal plane is calculated to be 0 degree.

  2B is an example in which the angle between the line segment (Y axis) from the bottom 3 side to the top 2 side of the main surface 1 of the mobile terminal 100 and the horizontal plane is 30 degrees. In the state where the acceleration detected by the mobile terminal 100 is only gravitational acceleration, the gravitational acceleration is dispersed into Y-axis and Z-axis vectors, and the Y-axis acceleration data of the acceleration sensor 13 = minus (1/2) G, Z-axis. Acceleration data = minus (route 3/2) G acceleration data is output. From this value, an angle of 30 degrees between the Y axis and the horizontal plane is calculated by an inverse trigonometric function.

  2C is an example in which the angle between the line segment (Y axis) from the bottom 3 side to the top 2 side of the main surface 1 of the mobile terminal 100 and the horizontal plane is 90 degrees. When the acceleration detected by the mobile terminal 100 is only gravitational acceleration, minus 1G representing the reverse direction is output as the acceleration data of the acceleration sensor 13 on the Y axis. Since the X-axis and Z-axis of the acceleration sensor 13 are horizontal, acceleration = 0.

  With this Y-axis acceleration data = minus 1G and Z-axis acceleration data = 0, the angle between the line segment (Y axis) from the bottom 3 side to the top 2 side of the main surface 1 of the mobile terminal 100 and the horizontal plane is 90 degrees. Is calculated.

  It should be noted that the display unit is controlled to be lit if the angle of the Y axis is within the range of 0 degrees to 90 degrees. However, the present invention is not limited to this angle, and is slightly expanded, for example, about minus 10 degrees to about 100 degrees. If it is in the range, the display unit may be controlled to be lit.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the inclination of the X axis of the mobile terminal 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the bottom 3 side. In FIG. 3, the relationship between the inclination of the X axis and the output of the acceleration sensor will be described while the Y axis remains horizontal.

  In FIG. 3, it is assumed that the user looks at the main surface 1 of the mobile terminal 100 with the user's line of sight indicated by an arrow, and the inclination of the X axis of the main surface 1 is approximately 30 degrees to approximately minus 30 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane. If it is inside, since the user can see the main surface 1, the display unit is controlled to be lit.

  FIG. 3A shows an example in which the main surface 1 of the mobile terminal 100 is horizontal. Therefore, the X axis of the acceleration sensor 13, that is, the angle between the horizontal segment (X axis) from the left side 5 side to the right side 4 side of the main surface 1 and the horizontal plane is 0 degree. The Z axis of the acceleration sensor 13 is perpendicular to the horizontal plane. The Y axis of the acceleration sensor 13 faces the back direction of the drawing sheet and is horizontal.

  In this state, if the mobile terminal 100 does not move suddenly and is almost stationary, the acceleration detected by the mobile terminal 100 is only the gravitational acceleration, and the acceleration data of the acceleration sensor 13 is reversed as the Z-axis acceleration data. Minus 1G representing the direction is output. Since the X and Y axes of the acceleration sensor 13 are horizontal, acceleration = 0.

  With this Z-axis acceleration data = minus 1G and X-axis acceleration data = 0, the main surface 1 of the portable terminal 100 faces the top side of the top and bottom, and a line segment (from the left side 5 side to the right side 4 side of the main surface 1) It is calculated that the angle between the (X axis) and the horizontal plane is 0 degree.

  3B is an example in which the angle between the line segment (X axis) from the left side 5 side of the main surface 1 of the mobile terminal 100 to the right side 4 side and the horizontal plane is 30 degrees. In the state where the acceleration detected by the mobile terminal 100 is only gravitational acceleration, the gravitational acceleration is dispersed into the X-axis and Z-axis vectors, and the X-axis acceleration data of the acceleration sensor 13 is minus (1/2) G, Z-axis. Acceleration data = minus (route 3/2) G acceleration data is output. From this value, an angle of 30 degrees between the X axis and the horizontal plane is calculated by an inverse trigonometric function.

  3C is an example in which the angle between the line segment (X axis) from the left side 5 side to the right side 4 side of the main surface 1 of the mobile terminal 100 and the horizontal plane is minus 30 degrees. In the state where the acceleration detected by the mobile terminal 100 is only gravitational acceleration, the gravitational acceleration is distributed to the X-axis and Z-axis vectors, and the X-axis acceleration data of the acceleration sensor 13 = (1/2) G, Z-axis acceleration. Data = minus (route 3/2) G acceleration data is output. From this value, the angle minus 30 degrees between the X axis and the horizontal plane is calculated by an inverse trigonometric function.

  The display unit is controlled to be lit if the X axis angle is within the range of 30 degrees to minus 30 degrees. However, the present invention is not limited to this angle, and for example, within the range of 45 degrees to minus 45 degrees. The display unit may be controlled to light up within a predetermined range within a range of a little less than 90 degrees to a little less than minus 90 degrees, such as a range from a little less than 90 degrees to a little less than minus 90 degrees. .

Hereinafter, a configuration for performing the lighting control will be described.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of relevant portions of the mobile terminal 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The portable terminal 100 includes an operation unit 11, a display unit 12, an acceleration sensor 13, an image control unit 14, a control unit 15, and the like. Further, the control unit 15 has a content reproduction application function 16 and a lighting control function 17.

  The operation unit 11 is an operation input unit such as a numeric keypad, and outputs various operation 11 a signals to the content reproduction application function 16. The display unit 12 is an LCD or the like having a backlight. The acceleration sensor 13 is a sensor that outputs acceleration data in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions, and outputs an X / Y / Z-axis acceleration 13 a signal to the lighting control function 17. The image control unit 14 is an LCD controller and outputs an image 14 a signal to the display unit 12.

  The control unit 15 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like (not shown), and executes a content reproduction application function 16 and a lighting control function 17 based on software stored in the ROM.

  The content reproduction application function 16 is a function that executes, for example, mail browsing, browser browsing, electronic book viewer, and the like, and activates the lighting control function 17 while executing them.

  The lighting control function 17 outputs an acceleration sensor on / off signal 17a to control on / off of the acceleration sensor 13, and controls the inclination of the portable terminal 100 based on the X / Y / Z-axis acceleration 13a signal output from the acceleration sensor 13. The backlight ON / OFF of the display unit 12 is controlled by the backlight ON / OFF 17b signal according to the calculated inclination.

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of the content reproduction application function 16 of the mobile terminal 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
The content playback application function 16 first activates the lighting control function 17 (step S1), and causes the backlight control of the display unit 12 by the lighting control function 17 to be executed in parallel.

  Next, the content reproduction application function 16 checks whether or not there is a lighting start operation from the operation unit 11 (step S2). If there is a lighting start operation, the lighting control function 17 is also activated here (step S3). The lighting start operation may be, for example, a simple operation for the user so that the lighting start operation is performed when any key is pressed. If there is no lighting start operation in step S2, step S3 is passed.

  Next, the content reproduction application which is the original function of the content reproduction application function 16 is executed (step S4), and the completion of the steps S2 to S5 is continued while checking the completion (step S5).

  When the content reproduction application ends in step S5, the lighting control function 17 is stopped (step S6). Then, the backlight of the display unit 12 is turned off (step S7), the acceleration sensor 13 is turned off (step S8), and the process ends.

FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart of the lighting control function 17 of the mobile terminal 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
The lighting control function 17 is activated by steps S1 and S3 in FIG. The activated lighting control function 17 first turns on the acceleration sensor 13 (step S11). Next, the acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor 13 is read, and the inclination of the portable terminal 100 is calculated based on the acceleration signal by inverse trigonometric function calculation or the like (step S12).

  Next, the lighting control function 17 checks whether the inclination of the Y axis of the mobile terminal 100 with respect to the horizontal plane is within the range of “0 degree to +90 degrees” or out of the range (step S13). If this is within the range, it is checked whether the inclination of the X axis of the mobile terminal 100 with respect to the horizontal plane is within the range of “−30 degrees to +30 degrees” or outside the range (step S14). If this is within the range, it is assumed that the angle is easy for the user to see, and the backlight of the display unit 12 is turned on (step S15).

  Then, an appropriate value is set in the timer (step S16), this time-up is waited (step S17), the process returns to step S12, and the loop is repeated. This waiting for the timer time is to perform the inclination detection frequency every predetermined time.

  If any one of the steps S13 and S14 for checking the tilt is out of the range, the backlight of the display unit 12 is turned off (step S18). Then, the acceleration sensor 13 is turned off to save power in the acceleration sensor 13 (step S19), and the process ends.

  When the process ends in step S19, the lighting control function 17 is not activated even when the inclination of the portable terminal 100 is within an appropriate range. Therefore, once the user performs a simple lighting start operation with the operation unit 11, In step S2 of FIG. 5, a lighting start operation from the operation unit 11 is detected, the lighting control function 17 is restarted, and the backlight of the display unit 12 is turned on in step S15.

  According to the above embodiment, the user can control the turning on / off of the backlight of the display unit 12 and the power saving of the acceleration sensor 13 only by tilting the mobile terminal 100. In addition, even after the portable terminal 100 is tilted and the backlight is turned off, the lighting on / off control of the backlight by tilting can be continued by performing a simple lighting start operation.

  As another example, as indicated by a dotted line, after the backlight is turned off in step S18, the acceleration sensor 13 is not turned off in step S19, and the process returns to step S12 to continue the lighting control function 17. Good. In that case, steps S2 and S3 in FIG. 5 are unnecessary. In this other example, the backlight on / off control of the display unit 12 can be continued only by tilting the mobile terminal 100 even if the user does not perform the lighting start operation.

  In FIG. 6, the backlight is turned on only when both the inclination of the Y-axis in step S13 and the inclination of the X-axis in step S14 are in an appropriate range, but one of the steps is deleted. Thus, the backlight may be turned on when the inclination of one step is within an appropriate range.

Further, although the acceleration sensor 13 is used for tilt detection, the present invention is not limited to this, and other tilt detection sensors may be used.
Further, although the lighting of the backlight of the LCD display unit 12 is controlled, the lighting of the self-luminous EL display unit itself may be controlled.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main surface 2 Top part 3 Bottom part 4 Right side part 5 Left side part 6 Back surface 11 Operation part 12 Display part 13 Acceleration sensor 14 Image control part 15 Control part 16 Content reproduction application function 17 Lighting control function 100 Portable terminal

Claims (5)

An inclination detection sensor;
The inclination detection sensor is turned on, the inclination of the mobile terminal is calculated based on the inclination detection sensor output, and the inclination between the line segment from the bottom side to the top side of the housing and the horizontal plane is between approximately horizontal and approximately vertical. A lighting control function for turning on the display means when the switch is on, and turning off the display means in cases other than the tilt ;
An application execution function ,
The lighting control function stops the function when the application execution function is terminated . An inclination detection sensor;
The inclination detection sensor is turned on, the inclination of the mobile terminal is calculated based on the inclination detection sensor output, and the inclination between the line segment from the left side of the housing to the right side and the horizontal plane is about 90 degrees to about A lighting control function for turning on the display means when in a certain predetermined range between minus 90 degrees, and turning off the display means in cases other than the inclination ;
An application execution function ,
The lighting control function stops the function when the application execution function is terminated . An inclination detection sensor;
The inclination detection sensor is turned on, the inclination of the mobile terminal is calculated based on the inclination detection sensor output, and the inclination between the line segment from the bottom side to the top side of the housing and the horizontal plane is between approximately horizontal and approximately vertical. And when the inclination of the horizontal line from the left side to the right side of the main surface of the housing is in a predetermined range between approximately 90 degrees and approximately minus 90 degrees. A lighting control function for turning on the display means and turning off the display means in cases other than the tilt ;
An application execution function ,
The lighting control function stops the function when the application execution function is terminated .   4. The lighting control function according to claim 1, wherein the lighting control function ends the lighting control function by turning off the tilt detection sensor after the display unit is turned off in a case outside the tilt range. 5. The mobile terminal according to item 1. The application execution function checks the lighting start operation of the display means by the operation input means, and activates the lighting control function when the lighting start operation is performed and at the start of the application execution function. The portable terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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