JPH10200615A - Telephone set with backlight control mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prolong the service life of a device, to prolong the operation time of a battery and to reduce the burdens of a user, while performing the lighting control of a lacklight suitable for a using condition by providing a detection means for detecting the kind of a program and the using condition of a telephone set and controlling the backlight by the operation condition. SOLUTION: A detector 8 detects input/output for a portable telephone set 1 through at input/output interface 7. A liquid crystal display device 5 is provided with a backlight 6, so as to display dial contents and a message and a system controller 10 controls the turning on/off of the backlight 6. The kind of an application operation on the portable telephone set 1 and the operating condition of the application are stored in a storage area 9, and the controller 10 judges whether or not a voice communication application is operated from the information and executes a series of backlight control processings.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a telephone having a liquid crystal display device with a backlight and performing appropriate backlight control in accordance with the state of use of equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-28 discloses a system for controlling the backlight of a liquid crystal display device in accordance with the state of use of equipment.
There is a telephone shown at 3856. This telephone has a function of turning on the backlight of the liquid crystal display device for a certain period of time after a key operation or a call is made. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a processing procedure when the telephone controls the backlight.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of the telephone. In FIG. 6, reference numerals 2 and 3 denote a microphone for communication and a speaker, respectively. The audio signal to the microphone and the speaker is detected by the detection circuit 8 through the input / output interface 7. Reference numeral 5 denotes a liquid crystal display for displaying information such as a telephone number. The control of turning on and off the backlight 6 of the liquid crystal display is performed by a control device 10. Reference numeral 4 denotes a keypad used for dial operation and the like.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIG. First, an audio signal for a microphone and a speaker is captured (process 50), and an audio signal is detected (decision 51).
If no detection is obtained (No), the process returns to the process 50 and captures the audio signal again. If an audio signal is detected in the determination 51 (Yes), the lighting time t is set in a timer (process 52), and the backlight device is instructed to light (process 53). During the lighting, the value of the timer is fetched (process 54), and it is determined whether or not a fixed time t has elapsed since the lighting instruction was issued (decision 55). If t has not elapsed (No), the process returns to step 54 and the acquisition of the timer is repeated.
If the predetermined time t has elapsed (Yes), the backlight device is instructed to turn off (step 56), and the process returns to step 50 again to capture the audio signal. Although not illustrated here, the key operation is detected by a similar process, and control is performed so that the backlight is turned on for a predetermined time T.

As is apparent from the above description, the backlight is controlled in response to a user operation on the telephone such as detection of an audio signal, detection of a keypad operation, or the state of the telephone. However, under conditions where no audio signal input / output or keypad input occurs for a long time while in use, such as when checking the settings on the setting screen of a mobile phone, the However, there is a possibility that the light will be turned off, and it is not possible to say that appropriate backlight control is performed only in response to operation or state. In addition, in recent years, the information processing capability of the mobile phone has been improved, and a mobile phone having a document transmission / reception function called a short message has appeared in addition to a conventional voice call. With these mobile phones,
For example, when reading a received message on the mobile phone's LCD screen, key operations and voices are interrupted for a long time,
As in the example of the setting screen, if the backlight is turned off during use, inconvenience occurs in reading the message. On the other hand, in the conventional mobile phone, in addition to the backlight control method shown in the above-described conventional example, it is possible to control such that the backlight is always kept on or off. However, in order to perform this control, it is necessary for the user of the mobile phone to intentionally switch, for example, by making a selection on the control menu screen of the backlight.

In addition, according to JP-A-8-149005, when an abnormal state or specific information is detected in a device using a liquid crystal display, not a telephone, the liquid crystal is displayed for a certain period of time after the detection. A technique of displaying the information and lighting the information is disclosed. However, in this case as well, the detection of the state correspondence of the apparatus is simply used as a trigger, and fine control of the backlight which is normal or related to the processing content is not performed.

[0007]

A conventional backlight controllable telephone responds to a user's operation or reception on the telephone as shown in examples such as voice signal detection and keypad operation detection. In this case, the backlight is controlled, and no consideration is given to the content of the processing executed on the telephone. However, recently used telephones differ greatly in how they use voice calls and document (message) processing, so they have a uniform backlight that does not take into account the processing on the telephone. The control method cannot perform appropriate backlight control. When setting the telephone or reading a received message on the liquid crystal screen, if the backlight is turned off during use, there is a problem in reading the message. In addition, the control switching such as always keeping the backlight on or off,
It is also important to reduce the burden on the user by switching and selecting according to whether or not a program registered in advance is used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a backlight control mechanism for a telephone having various uses according to the use state at that time. As a result, it is an object of the present invention to suppress unnecessary light emission of the backlight, extend the life of the device and the battery operating time, and reduce the load of the user's switching selection.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A telephone with a backlight control mechanism according to the present invention accommodates a plurality of programs in a telephone for controlling display of a backlight, and determines the types of these programs and the usage of the telephone. Detecting means for detecting is provided, and the display control of the backlight is performed based on the detected program and the operation state of the telephone.

Further, when the program indicates a specific use situation, the backlight is controlled so as to be constantly turned on.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1 FIG. Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a telephone according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and includes a mechanism for controlling a backlight of a liquid crystal display device based on information indicating a use state of a device. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a mobile phone, a microphone for voice communication, 3 a speaker, and 4 a keypad used for dial operation, message editing, and the like. Inputs and outputs to these devices are detected by 8 detectors through 7 input / output interfaces. The liquid crystal display device 5 has a backlight 6 for displaying dial contents and messages, and the turning on / off of the backlight is controlled by a control device 10.
The storage area 9 stores the type of application running on the mobile phone and the operating status of the application.

Next, the operation of the apparatus having the above configuration will be described. Here, as an example, it is assumed that the three types of applications shown in FIG. 2 operate on the telephone, and the backlight control during operation of each application program follows the table of FIG. According to FIG. 2, it is assumed that the backlight is turned off during a call while the application program for a voice call is operating, and the backlight is turned on in other states such as dialing. This is because a mobile phone generally does not need to see the liquid crystal display device during a call. Further, when the short message application or the telephone setting application is operating, the backlight is always turned on to prevent the backlight from being turned off during use.

Next, a method of controlling the backlight of the telephone will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a backlight control operation of the telephone with a backlight control mechanism according to the first embodiment. Control device 10 of telephone 1
Reads the flags indicating the operation statuses of the three types of application programs from the storage area 9 and acquires the operation statuses of the applications (process 15). Next, it is determined from this information whether the voice call application is operating (decision 16). If the result of determination 16 is Yes, a series of backlight control processes (process 18) corresponding to the voice call application are performed. On the other hand, if the result of decision 16 is No,
It is determined whether the running application is a short message. When the result of the judgment 17 is Yes, a series of backlight control (process 19) corresponding to the short message application is performed, and when the result of the judgment 17 is No, the setting application of the telephone Is determined to be operating, and a series of backlight control (process 20) corresponding to this is performed. Here, for example, when the flag for determining the operation status of the application program is set / released when each application starts / ends, the operation can be distinguished from the non-operation. Further, the same effect can be obtained by another program inquiring about the operation status of each application or monitoring the operation status of each application in order to manage the operation status of the application.

Next, the backlight control corresponding to each application program shown in the processes 18, 19 and 20 will be described with reference to the above example. First, in the backlight control process (process 18) corresponding to the voice call application, the operation status of the voice call application is acquired (process 21), and it is determined whether a call is in progress (decision 22). If the result of decision 22 is Yes,
An instruction to turn off the backlight is issued (step 23), and the process returns to step 15 again. If the result of the determination 22 is No, the backlight is instructed to light (process 2).
4) Return to processing 15. On the other hand, the backlight control processing corresponding to the short message application (processing 1
In the backlight control processing (processing 20) corresponding to 9) and the setting application of the telephone, a setting is made to issue a lighting instruction to the backlight. According to the above processing, the backlight is turned off during a call that does not require the user to check the display content of the liquid crystal display device, so that effects such as power saving and extending the life of the device can be obtained. Further, when there is a possibility of confirming the display contents, the backlight is always turned on regardless of the presence or absence of the operation of the user, and the liquid crystal can be controlled according to the situation. Furthermore, when switching the control of the plurality of backlights, an appropriate control suitable for the use situation is selected and performed, so that the burden on the user is reduced.

Embodiment 2 In the above embodiment, the backlight of the liquid crystal display device of the telephone is selectively controlled only by the application information. However, more complicated control can be performed by combining with a conventionally used control method corresponding to keypad operation, input / output of audio signals, and the like. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a backlight control operation of the telephone with a backlight control mechanism according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating backlight control distinction of the device according to the second embodiment. On the mobile phone of this example, three types of application programs shown in FIG. 5 operate, and the control of the backlight while each application is operating is almost the same as the control of the first embodiment. In a state where the application is not running, the user operates the keypad for a predetermined time T,
Turn on the backlight.

Next, a method of controlling the backlight of the telephone according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the control device 10 of the telephone reads out the flags indicating the operation states of the three types of application programs from the storage area 9 and acquires the operation states of the applications (process 30). Next, it is determined from this information whether the application is operating (decision 31).
When the result of the determination 31 is Yes, the first embodiment
The backlight control corresponding to the application being executed is performed in the same manner as the processing procedure (3, 36, 3).
7). On the other hand, if the result of determination 31 is No, the operation status of the keypad is acquired (process 38), and it is determined whether the user has operated the keypad (determination 3).
9). If the result of the determination 39 is Yes, a time T for turning on the backlight for a certain time after the keypad operation is set in the timer, and the backlight is instructed to turn on. Next, the timer value is acquired (step 42), and it is determined whether or not the time T has elapsed since the backlight was turned on (decision 4).
3). If the result of the determination 43 is Yes, the backlight is instructed to be turned off (process 44), and the process returns to the process 30 again to acquire the operation status of the application. Judgment 4
If the result of No. 3 is No, after the backlight is turned on, the time T
Does not elapse, the backlight is not turned off, and the process returns to step 30.

On the other hand, if the key operation is not detected in the judgment 39 (No), the process proceeds to step 42 without setting the timer and instructing to turn on the backlight, and acquires the value of the timer. This is because the backlight is turned off when the time T has elapsed since the lighting instruction was previously issued. By performing the above processing, it becomes possible to control the backlight of the telephone having the control category shown in FIG. In this example, the keypad operation is used for backlight control in addition to the application information.
For example, if sound detection, brightness detection of a use environment of a device, detection of a use angle of a device, and the like are used, more complicated backlight control can be performed by a similar control method.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, the backlight is controlled in accordance with the operation status by providing the detection means for detecting the type of the program and the usage status of the telephone. While controlling the lighting of the backlight, there is an effect that the life of the device is extended, the operating time of the battery is extended, and the burden on the user is reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a telephone with a backlight control mechanism according to Embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a backlight control reference of the telephone with a backlight control mechanism according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the backlight according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a backlight control operation according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a backlight control reference of a telephone with a backlight control mechanism according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a conventional backlight telephone.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of a conventional telephone with a backlight.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 telephone, 8 detection device, 9 storage area, 10 system control device.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A telephone for controlling display of a backlight, comprising: a plurality of programs; and detecting means for detecting a type of the program and a use state of the telephone. A telephone with a backlight control mechanism that controls display of a backlight. 2. The telephone with a backlight control mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the backlight is controlled to be constantly turned on when the program indicates a specific use situation.