JPH09107586A - Position decision device for portable telephone set - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow the user to easily recognize whether or not his/her own portable telephone set is in a range for normal speech without taking the portable telephone set out of a bag and confirming its display. SOLUTION: A position discrimination device 10 receives at least a control signal 38 sent from a base station 39 to a portable telephone set 11 or a reply signal 52 sent from the portable telephone set 11 to the base station 39 and compares its reception level with a setting level to estimate the relation of position between the base station 39 and the portable telephone set 11 to make display based on the estimate.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a position determining device for a mobile phone, which can display whether or not the mobile phone is in a position where a call can be made.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Normally, when a mobile phone is set in a standby reception mode, it periodically receives a control signal sent from a base station via a control channel and displays its signal strength in multiple stages. The operator is informed whether or not a normal call is possible in the area currently passing.

[0003]

However, even though the mobile phone is downsized, it is relatively bulky, and therefore it is generally stored in a case and stored therein. When both hands are often blocked, it is troublesome and dangerous to take out the mobile phone from the case and check the display.

As a result of a study made in view of such inconvenience, the inventor of the present invention has a limit to miniaturization of a portable telephone because its transmitting portion requires a battery of high power especially at the time of transmitting, and thus receiving We have found that by separating the parts and specializing in their functions, the size and weight of the wristwatch or even smaller can be achieved, and the functions beyond the level check function of mobile phones can be achieved.

Further, the mobile phone which is in the standby state receives a predetermined position registration signal periodically or as needed in order to inform the base station side of the passing area. However, since this signal has an extremely high electric field strength as compared with the control signal sent from the base station side, the receiving circuit for receiving this signal is much simpler than that for receiving the signal on the base station side. Can be expected. Furthermore, the signal transmitted from the mobile phone side is generally automatically changed in transmission intensity in accordance with the received signal level, and by detecting this signal level,
The electric field strength of the control signal sent from the base station side can be grasped indirectly.

If the positional relationship between the mobile phone and the operator is constant, the signal strength transmitted from the mobile phone is predicted by detecting the signal strength sent from the base station. However, if the actually received signal strength from the mobile phone is smaller than the predicted value, it may be farther than the set position, and if no signal is detected, is the power turned off? You can judge that you forgot to carry. That is, the positional relationship among the base station, the mobile phone, and the operator can be grasped by individually detecting the signal from the base station and the signal from the mobile phone.

The present invention was made on the basis of the above-mentioned findings, and it is possible for an operator to easily know whether or not he / she is in an area where a normal telephone call can be made with a telephone carried by the operator. An object of the present invention is to provide a position determination device for a mobile phone that can be used.

[0008]

The position determining apparatus 10 according to the present invention has a shape such as a wristwatch shape or a pen shape which is not burdensome to carry at all times, as shown in FIGS. It is configured to be housed in a body case 37 which is formed as small and lightweight as possible.

Further, in the main body case 37, as shown in FIG. 1A, a means for detecting the strength of the signal 38 sent from the base station 39 to the portable telephone 11 and the detection level detected by the detecting means. Is provided with a means for comparing with the set value to determine the positional relationship with the base station 39, and means for performing a display corresponding to the determination content of the determining means.

Instead of detecting the signal 38 sent from the base station 39, as shown in FIG.
It is also possible to provide a means for detecting the strength of the signal 52 sent from the base station 39 to the base station 39 and indirectly determine the positional relationship with the base station 39. In this case, the above-mentioned determination means is provided with a correction means capable of manually changing the set value in a plurality of steps in response to a change in the positional relationship between the mobile phone 11 and the detection means. It is preferable to correct and display the positional relationship in the position.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1C, the base station 39
Both the first detecting means for detecting the strength of the signal 38 sent from the mobile phone 11 to the mobile phone 11 and the second detecting means for detecting the strength of the signal 52 sent from the mobile phone 11 to the base station 39. The base station 39 and the mobile phone 11 are provided with each other by comparing the signal level of the mobile phone 11 expected from the detection level detected by the first detection means with the detection level actually detected by the second detection means. You may comprise so that the positional relationship of may be determined.

[0012]

As described above, the present invention is constructed so as to receive the control signal 38 sent from the base station 39 and display the positional relationship with the base station 39 from the signal level thereof. It is possible to know whether or not a call is possible at the operator's hand without removing the from the case.

Further, by detecting the electric field strength of the signal 52 transmitted from the mobile phone 11 and indirectly determining the positional relationship with the base station 39, the detecting means can be further simplified and downsized. It will be possible.

Further, the signal 38 sent from the base station 39 and the signal 52 sent from the mobile phone 11 are simultaneously detected, and the signal strength on the mobile phone 11 side actually expected from the signal strength on the base station 39 side is actually detected. By comparing the received signal strength with a display corresponding to the positional relationship between the position determination device 10 and the mobile phone 11, it is possible to determine whether or not the operator is in an area where communication is possible, and The state of the telephone 11 can be easily known.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An example in which the position determining device according to the present invention is applied to a digital mobile phone will be shown below, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to various mobile phones such as an analog mobile phone or PHS. Of course, it can be applied.

Here, the position determination device 10 according to the present invention.
Basically, the digital mobile phone 11 to which is applied has a common configuration as shown in FIGS. That is, a flat storage case 12 having an electronic circuit described later therein is provided, and a speaker 13 for reception, a display 14, an operation key portion 15, and a microphone 16 for reception are arranged on the front side from above. It is set up. Further storage case 12
At the top position, an antenna 17 and a jack 18 for attaching a headset for transmission and reception are provided, while at the bottom position, various external circuits and a connector that enables direct transfer of data are used for external interface. A battery case 21 accommodating the socket 19 and further accommodating a dry battery or a rechargeable battery 20 on the back side of the main body case 37.
Can be detachably attached.

The mobile phone 11 has a frequency interval of 45 MHz between the transmission frequency and the reception frequency so that the reception wave input from the antenna 17 is transmitted and received by the duplexer 2.
Even if the transmission wave transmitted from the transmission unit 24 is simultaneously transmitted to the antenna 17 while being transmitted to the reception unit 23 via 2, the transmission and reception of the radio waves can be performed in parallel. Furthermore, different transmission frequencies for each channel are used for frequency division multiplexing, so that the same frequency band is shared by multiple speech channels, and the same carrier frequency is further time division multiplexed to secure as many channels as possible. I am able to do it.

Here, as the electronic circuit, a microphone 16 and a speaker 13 are connected to connect an audio signal processing section 25 for processing an audio signal, an operation key section 15 and a display 14, and an external interface socket 19 is connected. A system control unit 26 that controls the entire apparatus, a transmission / reception control unit 27 that performs a predetermined transmission / reception process, and a power supply unit 28 that is connected to the rechargeable battery 20 in the battery case 21 and supplies power to the above-mentioned units. Is equipped with.

The audio signal processing unit 25 converts the audio signal input from the microphone 16 into digital data and at the same time encodes it to compress the data, and then sends it to the transmission / reception control unit 27. The transmission / reception control unit 27 time-division-multiplexes the sent voice data, further performs π / 4 shift QPSK modulation, and then sends it to the transmission unit 24. In the transmitter 24, the carrier wave 30 output from the frequency synthesizer 29 whose frequency is controlled by the transmission / reception controller 27 is mixed by the mixer 31 and converted into a specific frequency of, for example, 900 MHz, and then the power required by the power amplifier 32. Be raised to.
At this time, the output power of the power amplifier 32 is monitored by the output signal detection circuit 33, and the transmission / reception control unit 27 controls the size of the signal sent to the transmission unit 24.
Radio waves are transmitted from the antenna 17 with preset power.

On the other hand, the receiving section 23 amplifies a received wave having a frequency of, for example, 800 MHz by an RF amplifier 34, mixes it with a signal 30a sent from a frequency synthesizer 29 by a mixer 35 and converts it into an intermediate frequency, and further an IF amplifier. The signal is amplified by 36 and then input to the transmission / reception control unit 27. In the transmission / reception control unit 27, the input signal is subjected to π / 4 shift QPSK demodulation contrary to the case of the above-mentioned transmission wave, and the time-division-multiplexed voice data is returned to the original state, and then is transmitted to the voice signal processing unit 25. send. The audio signal processing unit 25 expands the compressed data during transmission, restores the digital signal to an analog signal, outputs the audio signal to the speaker 13, and reproduces the audio.

The mobile phone 11 configured as described above is
During standby reception, various types of data such as position confirmation are exchanged with the base station 39 by using a preset control channel, and during a call, another call channel is used for voice communication.

The position determining apparatus 10 for a mobile phone according to the present invention is integrally housed in a main body case 37 of a size that can be always carried as shown in FIGS. 4 to 10, and at least the base station 39 or the mobile phone 11 is provided. The positional relationship between the base station 39 and the operator is determined by using the electric field intensity change of the signal output from either one, and the determination result can be displayed. Therefore, the shape of the main body case 37 should be such as a wristwatch shape as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 or a pen shape as shown in FIGS. Needless to say, it can be appropriately modified and implemented.

In addition to having only the position determining function alone, various functions such as a clock function and a calculator function may be provided in combination. Furthermore, in place of or in addition to the visual appeal by graphics or characters on a display device such as a liquid crystal display, there is a display method such as a display by words or a melody synthesized by voice, or a display by tactile sense such as a vibrator. It is not limited.

[0024]

First Embodiment FIGS. 4 and 5 show a first embodiment of the position determining device 10 according to the present invention, which is a wristwatch-shaped watch band 40 and a rectangular flat storage case 41. An electronic circuit shown in the block diagram of FIG. 6 is integrally housed in the body case 37. That is, the control signal 38 transmitted from the base station 39 to the target mobile phone 11 via the channel set for communication control.
Of the detection unit 42, a comparison unit 44 that compares the signal level of the detection signal 43 output from the detection unit 42 with a preset value, and a display unit 45 that performs a display corresponding to the determination result of the comparison unit 44. Composed.

The detecting section 42 is constituted by, for example, a minimum circuit necessary for detecting the signal level in the receiving section 23 provided in the ordinary portable telephone 11 illustrated in FIG. 3, or by further simplifying the circuit. It That is, after the received wave input through the antenna 46 arranged on the watch band 40 or in the storage case 41 is amplified by the high frequency amplifier 47, the frequency converter 48 selectively converts the signal of the preset channel to the intermediate frequency. Then, the detection signal 4 having a magnitude corresponding to the electric field strength of the corresponding received wave at the antenna position is dropped by passing it through the detector 49.
3 can be output.

The comparing section 44 compares the signal level of the detection signal 43 input from the detecting section 42 with a set value to output a determination signal 50 that changes in a plurality of steps corresponding to the magnitude of the electric field strength of the signal. To do. For example, one or a plurality of stages are set between the minimum electric field level at which communication with the base station 39 is possible and the extremely strong electric field level directly below the transmission antenna, and at which stage the signal level exists. The identifiable determination signal 50 is output.

On the other hand, the display unit 45 is provided with a liquid crystal display plate on the upper surface of the storage case 41, and a reception level display 66 by a bar graph-shaped character corresponding to the value of the determination signal 50 output from the comparison unit 44 allows a position determination device. 10 is base station 3
It is visually displayed whether or not it is within an area where communication with 9 is possible and, if so, how much positional relationship is in terms of electric field strength. Of course, the level display may be a digital display of numerical values in addition to the graphic display.

The control signal 3 sent from the base station 39
The 8 frequencies are different for each set zone. Therefore, the above-mentioned frequency converter 48 is further provided with a control unit 69 having an operation unit 68, extracts received waves from all preset communication control channels, and uses the received wave of the highest signal level as the base station 39. It is used as a material for determining the positional relationship of.

Further, in the above embodiment, only the signal level of the received wave was used, but in the signal for communication control sent from the base station 39, various kinds of information necessary for communication such as the current state of the communication line are used. Information is added. Therefore, the additional information may be detected and decoded, and the display unit 45 may display information such that the additional information is in the service area of the base station 39, but the line itself is out of order. Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a clock function is provided at the same time, and the time display 67 is displayed on the display unit 45.

[0030]

[Second Embodiment] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, a clip 51 is provided on the back surface side of a thin cylindrical body case 37.
It is a pen type that can be removably attached to the chest pocket, and the mobile phone 1 responds to a position inquiry periodically made from the base station 39 during standby reception.
The position registration signal 52 for expressing the location is received from the 1 side,
It is characterized by being used for position determination.

Here, although the electric power of the radio wave output from the mobile phone 11 side is as small as 1 watt or less, the mobile phone 11
The distance from the operator to the operator is usually a fixed distance of 1 meter or less, and a relatively strong electric field strength is maintained. Therefore, the configuration of the signal detection unit 53 in the present embodiment does not require complicated and strict signal processing as in the first embodiment described above.

That is, the antenna 54 has a linear shape or a loop shape wound only a few times, and the main body case 37
It is arranged inside. Further, the signal detecting section 53 is configured to extract a DC component as a detection signal 57 by a semiconductor detector 56 after amplifying it to a predetermined level by a high frequency amplifier 55.

By the way, the portable telephone 11 is operated as described above.
The signal power output from the base station 39 is set such that the lower the electric field strength of the signal 38 sent from the base station 39, the greater the signal power, regardless of the distance between the base station 39 and the mobile phone 11. Then, under almost the same conditions, the mobile phone 11
It is possible to receive radio waves from the mobile phone 11
The output power from the battery is controlled to the minimum necessary to prevent unnecessary battery consumption. That is, the mobile phone 11
By knowing the electric field strength of the signal 52 output from
The reception state of the signal 38 transmitted from the base station 39 by the mobile phone 11 can be indirectly determined.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the above-mentioned first
Contrary to the comparison unit 44 in the embodiment, as the level of the detection signal 57 increases, the distance from the base station 39 increases, and thus the set value is determined so that the value of the determination signal 50 decreases, and the determination display unit 64 displays. The corresponding display is performed.

The above description is based on the position determining device 10.
It is assumed that the positional relationship between the mobile phone 11 and the mobile phone 11 is always constant. However, in reality, the mode is not constant, such as putting it in the case and hanging it on the waist, or putting it in the bag 59 and placing it in the passenger seat as shown in FIG. 7. Further, according to the change of this storage mode, the electric field from the radio wave from the base station 39 is changed. Although the strengths are the same, the electric field strength due to the radio waves emitted from the mobile phone 11 is likely to change. Therefore, in this embodiment, a plurality of push buttons 6 are provided on the main body case 37.
A correction unit 61 having 0 is further provided, and the set value in the comparison unit 58 is corrected in cooperation with the operation of the push button 60.

FIG. 8 shows another modification of the present embodiment, which is a detection signal 57 by the position registration signal 52 for expressing the location, which is issued from the mobile phone 11 to the base station 39 during the standby reception described above. Is extremely small, whereas the pulse width of the detection signal 57 by the incoming signal 62 responding to the calling signal sent from the base station 39 is sufficiently large, and the two signals 52 and 62 are distinguished. You can display it.

That is, the detection signal 57 output from the detector 53 is branched and passed through the integrator 63. Then, the output signal from the integrator 63 has a sufficiently higher signal level in the case of the incoming call signal 62 than in the case of the position registration signal 52. Therefore, when the state in which this level is higher than the comparison value is detected, When the ringer sound generation on the mobile phone 11 side is forcibly stopped by starting the vibrator or sounding the sound generator in the incoming call display unit 65 provided separately from the determined display unit 64, Even when the telephone 11 is placed in a position where it is hard to hear, the operator is notified by vibration, sound or words that the mobile telephone 11 has been called. The display state of the incoming call is configured such that it is forcibly stopped by pressing a reset button (not shown) provided on the main body case 37, or automatically stopped after a set time by a timer.

By constructing the above-described sound generation device with a sound or voice synthesizer and changing the type of sound or words to be generated with a switch, there are a plurality of similar devices at the time of incoming call display. In this case, it is possible to make different displays for each device, and the display effect is further enhanced.

[0039]

[Third Embodiment] By the way, as shown in the first embodiment, by detecting the signal strength of the control signal 38 sent from the base station 39 through the control channel, the operator of the base station 39 can be detected. It can be seen that the location is close to or far from the base station 39, or that the location is low such as in a building where the electric field strength is low. Further, when the reception strength of the control signal 38 sent from the base station 39 is known, the strength of the position registration signal 52 to be output from the mobile phone 11 is expected.

In the present embodiment, the signal strength of the mobile telephone 11 side expected from the electric field strength of the control signal 38 sent from the base station 39 and the signal strength of the actually detected position registration signal 52 are compared and described above. In addition to the positional relationship between the base station 39 and the position determination device 10, the position determination device 10 and the mobile phone 1
It is also possible to determine and display the positional relationship between the two.

That is, the first detecting section 42a having substantially the same circuit configuration as the signal detecting section 42 in the first embodiment described above.
And a second detection unit 53a having substantially the same configuration as the signal detection unit 53 in the second embodiment, and a control signal 38 sent from the base station 39 and a position registration signal sent from the mobile phone 11 in response thereto. 52 is detected in parallel, and the detection signals 43 and 57 output from both detection units 42a and 53a are further input to the comparison unit 70.

In the comparison unit 70, the signal level of the first detection signal 43 output from the first detection unit 42a and the control unit 6 are set.
Using the first comparison value sent from 9a, the display unit 71 performs the display operation indicating the positional relationship with the base station 39, in substantially the same manner as in the first embodiment described above. Furthermore, the first detection unit 42a
From the level of the first detection signal 43, the second comparison value corresponding to the signal level on the side of the mobile phone 11 predicted by the calculation by the control unit 69a is formed. This value and the second detection unit 53a
The second detection signal 57 output from is compared.

In the present embodiment, here, when the second detection signal 57 is not detected although the signal level of the first detection signal 43 is sufficiently high, the comparison unit 70 turns on the power supply of the mobile phone 11. It is determined that it has been turned off or that the user has forgotten to carry it, and a display to that effect is displayed on the display unit 71.

When the level of the second detection signal 57 is lower than the level expected from the signal level of the first detection signal 43, it is determined that the mobile phone 11 is located at a position farther than the preset position. Then, it is displayed on the display unit 71. On the contrary, when the level of the second detection signal 57 is higher than the predicted value, it is determined that the mobile phone 11 is set to the condition of transmitting at a power nearer or stronger than the set position,
The determination content is displayed on the display unit 71.

It should be noted that the person who frequently uses the telephone or the person who has a wide range of movement may keep the power of this device on all the time, but for the person who is infrequent, this device may be used only when he / she wants to determine the position. A switch may be provided to activate the. In this case, since the signal from the base station is transmitted intermittently, it is sufficient to operate a timer with a switch and operate this device for a predetermined time with this timer.

In addition, many parts of the respective configurations expressed by the block diagrams in FIGS. 6, 9 and 10 described above,
In particular, the control unit, the comparison unit, or the correction unit can be configured by a one-chip microcomputer, and the operation thereof can be controlled by a program or the necessary function can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a basic configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of a mobile phone to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of an electronic circuit of a mobile phone.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a modified example of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a modification of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration of a second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Position determination device 11 Mobile phone 37 Main body case 38 Control signal 39 Base station 41 Storage case 42 Detection unit 43 Detection signal 44 Comparison unit 45 Display unit 46 Antenna 47 High frequency amplifier 48 Frequency converter 49 Detector 50 Determination signal 52 Position registration signal 53 signal detection unit 54 antenna 55 high frequency amplifier 56 detector 57 detection signal 58 comparison unit 60 push button 61 correction unit 62 incoming call signal 63 integrator 64 judgment display unit 65 incoming display unit 66 position display 67 time display 68 operation unit 69 control Part 70 Comparison part 71 Display part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A means for detecting the strength of a signal sent from a base station to a mobile phone in a body case of a size that can be carried at all times, and a detection level detected by the detection means is compared with a set value. A position determination device for a mobile phone, which includes a unit that determines a positional relationship with a base station and a unit that performs a display corresponding to the determination content of the determination unit. 2. A means for detecting the strength of a signal sent from a mobile phone to a base station in a body case of a size that can be carried at all times, and a detection level detected by the detection means is compared with a set value. A position determination device for a mobile phone, comprising means for determining a positional relationship between a base station and a mobile phone, and means for performing a display corresponding to the determination content of the determination means. 3. The position determination device according to claim 2, wherein the determination means is capable of manually changing the set value in a plurality of steps in response to a change in the positional relationship between the mobile phone and the detection means. 4. A first detection means for detecting the strength of a signal sent from a base station to a mobile phone, and a mobile phone sent to the base station in a body case of a size that is always portable. The second detection means for detecting the strength of the signal, the signal level on the mobile phone side expected from the detection level detected by the first detection means, and the detection level actually detected by the second detection means are A position determination device for a mobile phone, comprising means for comparing with each other to determine a positional relationship between a base station and a mobile phone, and means for performing a display corresponding to the determination content of the determination means.