KR20020001070A - Method and apparatus for automatic control back light of mobile communication station - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus and method for automatically adjusting the backlights of a mobile terminal is provided to automatically adjust the on/off and brightness of backlights by adding an optical sensor to a mobile terminal and automatically measuring peripheral brightness. CONSTITUTION: If power is supplied to a mobile terminal, an optical sensor(60) measures peripheral brightness and sends it to an MSM(Mobile Station Modem,10). The MSM(10) compares the measured value with a preset value stored in a memory(20) and determines the on/off of an LCD backlight(53) and a keypad backlight(55). In the case of turning on the backlights(53,55), the MSM(10) compares a backlight on threshold and a backlight off threshold with the measured value, determines the brightness of the backlights(53,55), and sends control commands to the backlights(53,55).

Description

Backlight automatic control device and method thereof of mobile communication terminal {Method and apparatus for automatic control back light of mobile communication station}

The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal having a data display unit using an optical sensor and a backlight automatic adjustment function of a keypad, and more particularly, by using an optical sensor (light amount sensing device) in addition to the mobile communication terminal, Measuring the value of the data display (LCD) and the keypad back-light (On-Off) and the brightness of the mobile terminal having a function to automatically adjust It is about.

1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of a general mobile communication terminal as described above.

Here, the microphone 56 converts a user's voice into an electrical signal during a telephone call and sends it to a codec 40. In contrast, the earpiece (a speaker of the mobile communication terminal) 51 converts the voice received by the codec 40 into an electrical signal that can be heard by the human ear. The codec 40 converts the voice signal received from the microphone 56 into a digital signal (PCM) and sends it to the mobile station modem device 10 (Mobile Station Modem (MSM)). It converts the digital signal (PCM) into an analog signal and sends it to the earpiece (51). The memory unit 20 stores software and data of the mobile communication terminal. The mobile station modem apparatus 10 functions as a central processing unit that controls the entire mobile communication terminal and functions as a modem. The mobile station modem apparatus 10 reads software from the memory unit 20 as a central processing unit and performs a function programmed in the software. It receives the user's command and data input from the keypad 54 and sends the current status of the mobile communication terminal, the user menu, etc. to the liquid crystal display 52 (Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)) for data display. In addition, the PCM voice signal received from the codec 40 is converted through channel coding and interleaving, modulated, and sent to an intermediate frequency (IF) processing apparatus. On the contrary, the received signal is received from the intermediate frequency processing apparatus, and made into a PCM voice signal through demodulation, equalization, channel decoding, and deinterleaving, and then sent to the codec 40. The RF / IF processing unit 30 converts the modulated signal received from the mobile station modem apparatus (MSM) 10 into an intermediate frequency, and then converts the modulated signal into a high frequency (RF) signal and transmits it to the base station through the antenna. In addition, the high-frequency signal is received from the base station through the antenna and converted to the intermediate frequency, and then converted to the baseband once again sent to the mobile station modem device (10). The liquid crystal display 52 (LCD) displays status information, a user menu, and the like of the mobile communication terminal received from the mobile station modem apparatus 10. The keypad 54 is used to enter telephone number and data or input a mobile terminal control command. The liquid crystal display backlight 53 (hereinafter referred to as "LCD backlight") illuminates the liquid crystal display 52 so that the display contents of the data display unit can be seen even in a dark place. The keypad backlight 55 illuminates the keypad 54 so that the keypad can be used even in a dark place.

2 is a schematic block diagram of a mobile communication terminal having a backlight control function for controlling a conventional backlight, in which an RF signal received through an antenna in the city is RF signal through a frequency synthesis process or the like in the RFU 100. Is processed and is interfaced with the RF interface 221 in the next MSM (Mobile Station Modem) 200 block. In addition, the signal from the RFU 100 is processed by the CDMA processing unit 223 to process the vocoder 225 and the codec ( CODEC) can be output to the receiver for listening.

In addition, when a call is received through the RFU 100, a buzzer rings through the ringer 700 and presses the call button of the keypad 600 to thereby press the terminal from the flash ROM of the memory module 200 by the microprocessor unit 226. You can make a call by running a program that operates.

The memory module 222 includes an SRAM, an EEPROM, and a flash ROM.

In general, the mobile communication terminal does not have a function of automatically adjusting the backlight operation of the liquid crystal display (LCD) 52 and the keypad 54 as shown in FIG. 1, even when the mobile communication terminal is used in a bright place. The backlight turned on automatically, causing unnecessary power consumption. That is, the backlight of the conventional mobile communication terminal is always automatically when a signal is input to the liquid crystal display 52 or the keypad 54 regardless of the brightness of the surroundings in daytime, nighttime and indoors regardless of the brightness of the surroundings. It is supposed to be on. Therefore, the backlight is turned on unnecessarily even though the surroundings are bright when the terminal is used, consuming unnecessary current.

In addition, in order to overcome the above problems, as shown in FIG. 2, the averaged sunrise and sunset times of each month are stored, and the data is stored in the memory module 222 of the terminal, and then the data is sufficiently used by the mobile communication terminal. In the time zone during which the information of the liquid crystal display 400 and the keypad 600 can be read, the backlight of the mobile communication terminal can prevent the backlight of the LCD 400 and the keypad 600 from being turned on. Terminals with on / off controls have been developed. That is, a mobile communication terminal has been developed in which a backlight is turned on only from evening to dawn, divided into a time zone in which a backlight is turned on and a time period in which the backlight is turned off during 24 hours a day.

However, such a mobile communication terminal does not have a backlight even when the user uses the mobile communication terminal in a dark place even when the surroundings are bright, so that it is difficult for the user to read the interface unit including the liquid crystal display 400 and the keypad 600, In a dark evening, but in a place with a lot of lighting, the backlight is turned on even when the backlight is not turned on because the brightness of the surroundings is bright, and thus the power consumption of the mobile terminal remains, resulting in shortening the battery life of the mobile terminal. .

Therefore, there is a disadvantage in reducing the waiting time and the talk time of the mobile communication terminal.

At present, as a mobile communication device due to the development of communication technology, the majority of people are using Digital Cellular System (DCS), Personal Communication Service (PCS), etc., but the battery is used as the main power source. .

However, the life of the battery embedded in the mobile communication terminal is related to the consumption of current due to discharge over time in addition to the original current consumption due to the use of the mobile communication terminal. In the use of the mobile communication terminal, when the keypad 54 and the power on button of the mobile communication terminal are pressed during transmission and reception, the backlights 53 and 55 provided in the liquid crystal display 52 and the keypad 54 are provided. Is set to turn on automatically. That is, the backlight is turned on regardless of the ambient illumination in day, night and indoors. Therefore, despite the bright surroundings, the backlight is turned on unnecessarily and consumes current, resulting in a shorter battery life.

This reduction of unnecessary power consumption is very important for battery-powered portable / mobile devices such as mobile communication terminals.

Therefore, by reducing unnecessary power consumption, which is a problem of the conventional mobile communication terminal, the standby time and talk time of the mobile communication terminal can be increased, and the liquid crystal display (LCD) and data for data display in the user interface of the mobile communication terminal can be increased. There is a need for a mobile communication terminal that automatically adjusts the on / off and brightness of the backlight of an input keypad input unit and prevents the backlight from being turned on unnecessarily and unnecessarily.

Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed to solve various problems occurring in the conventional mobile communication terminal as described above.

An object of the present invention is to add a light amount sensing device as an optical sensor to the mobile communication terminal to automatically measure the brightness of the surroundings when using the mobile communication terminal to turn on and off the backlight of the liquid crystal display and keypad for data display and The present invention provides a mobile communication terminal having an automatic adjustment device for a backlight so that the brightness of the backlight can be automatically adjusted according to user convenience.

1 is a system block diagram of a conventional mobile communication terminal.

2 is a schematic block diagram of a mobile communication terminal having a backlight control function for controlling a conventional backlight;

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the automatic backlight control device of the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining and controlling the brightness level of a backlight of a mobile communication terminal according to the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: mobile station modem unit (MSM) 20: memory unit

30: RF / IF processing unit 40: codec

50: user interface unit

52: liquid crystal display (LCD) 53: LCD backlight

54: keypad 55: keypad backlight

60: light sensor (light detection device)

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention according to the technical spirit as described above in detail.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the automatic control device for the backlight of the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention. Looking at the configuration, an optical sensor (light amount sensing device) in the conventional mobile communication terminal as shown in FIG. : 60), and when the power is supplied to the mobile communication terminal, the optical sensor 60 measures the brightness of the surroundings and sends the value measured by the optical sensor 60 to the mobile station modem device (MSM) 10. The light sensor is a sensor for detecting light, and an optical sensor element for outputting current generated by incident light energy and a sensing circuit for detecting current generated by the optical sensor element and a reset circuit connected to the optical sensor element. Consists of When the reset circuit is driven by the reset signal, the charge carriers generated by the incident light energy are recombined at a higher rate than without the reset signal. The reset signal is input to the reset circuit by the sensing circuit.

In the above, the mobile station modem apparatus 10 compares the measured value of the optical sensor 60 with the set values stored in the memory unit 20, and then the LCD backlight 53 and the keypad backlight 55. When the backlight is turned on and the backlight is turned on, any backlight on threshold and backlight off threshold are compared with the measured ambient brightness. The brightness degree is determined and control commands are sent to the LCD backlight 53 and the keypad backlight 55.

4 is a flowchart illustrating determining a degree of brightness of a backlight when the backlights 53 and 55 of the liquid crystal display 52 and the keypad 54 are turned on in the present invention. Turning on the power (ST11); A step (ST12) of measuring the ambient illuminance by the optical sensor 60 to press the keypad 54 in the power-on state or to indicate the degree of brightness of the backlights 53 and 55 during data transmission and reception; Comparing the value measured by the photosensor (60) with a backlight off threshold (ST13); Comparing the value measured by the photosensor 60 with the value of the backlight off threshold and determining that the backlight of the mobile communication terminal is turned off when the measured value is smaller than the value of the backlight off threshold (ST14). )Wow; When the value measured by the optical sensor 60 is greater than the backlight off threshold value compared to the backlight off threshold value, the degree of brightness of the backlights 53 and 55 by comparing the measured value with the backlight on level value. Calculating (ST15); And, it characterized in that the step (ST16) for adjusting the brightness of the backlight (53, 55) calculated above.

As described above, when the power is applied to the mobile communication terminal by adding an optical sensor 60 (a light quantity sensing device) that automatically adjusts the backlight of the mobile communication terminal, the optical sensor 60 measures the brightness of the surroundings. The LCD backlight 53 and the keypad of the liquid crystal display 52 of the user interface 50 are compared with each other by comparing the values measured by the photosensor 60 and the off (on) threshold values. The keypad backlight 55 of 54 is determined on / off. The threshold values of the backlights 53 and 55 are stored at random in the memory unit 20, and the set values stored in the memory unit 20 can be manually set and modified to a value desired by the user. You can change the brightness of the backlight to suit your preferences. If the ambient brightness measurement compared to the above is smaller than the off threshold, the LCD backlight 53 and the keypad backlight 55 are not turned on. If the measurement is larger than the off threshold, the measured value is again turned on. (On) The intensity of the brightness is calculated by comparing with the level value. For example, suppose that the level value is set to 5, 10, 15, or 20, the brightness when the measured value is between 5 and 10 and the value between 15 and 20. Are different, and the degree of brightness is differentiated according to each level value, thereby determining the degree of brightness of the backlights 53 and 55. The brightness of the LCD backlight 53 and the keypad backlight 55 of the mobile communication terminal is adjusted based on the value determined above.

Due to these characteristics, the mobile communication terminal having the function of automatically adjusting the backlights 53 and 55 of the liquid crystal display 52 and the keypad 54 using the optical sensor 60 in the mobile communication terminal according to the present invention. Therefore, the LCD backlight 53 and the keypad backlight 55 can be automatically controlled according to the ambient light level to prevent unnecessary power consumption, thereby reducing the battery life of the mobile communication terminal. It can last for a long time.

As described above, the "mobile communication terminal having an automatic adjustment function of the backlight of the liquid crystal display and the keypad using an optical sensor" according to the present invention, the on and off and backlight of the LCD backlight and keypad backlight, which is the user interface of the mobile communication terminal Since the brightness can be automatically adjusted, the user's convenience is increased, and the backlight can be prevented from being unnecessarily turned on, thereby reducing the unnecessary power consumption. Therefore, there is an advantage that can increase the standby time and talk time of the mobile communication terminal.

In addition, it is possible to convey the cyber image of the millennium era that it is easy to use by attaching an artificial light sensor to consumers, and increase the market share by increasing the standby time and talk time due to battery use, which is a core competition of mobile communication terminals. Therefore, there is an advantage that can lead to an increase in economic added value.

Claims (4)

A mobile communication terminal having a mobile station modem device (MSM) and a backlight of an LCD and a keypad, An optical sensor (60) provided at a predetermined position of the mobile communication terminal and measuring brightness of the surroundings of the terminal when the power is supplied to the terminal and transmitting the brightness to the mobile station modem apparatus (MSM); After comparing the value measured by the optical sensor 60 with the preset value stored in the memory, the LCD backlight and the keypad backlight (On) / Off (Off) is determined, and the backlight (On) And a mobile station modem device (MSM) for controlling the brightness level of the backlight by comparing the value measured by the optical sensor 60 with the on level value of the backlight. . A method for controlling an LCD and a keypad backlight of a mobile communication terminal, the method comprising: measuring illuminance around a terminal by using an optical sensor when the power is turned on (ST12); Comparing the value measured by the photosensor (60) with a backlight off threshold (ST13); Determining that the backlight unit (53, 55) of the mobile communication terminal is off when the value measured by the optical sensor (60) is smaller than the value of the backlight off threshold (ST14); Calculating a brightness control value of the backlight (53, 55) by comparing the measured value with the backlight on level value when the measured value is larger than an off threshold value of the backlight (ST15); And adjusting the brightness of the backlight (53, 55) using the calculated brightness control value (ST16). The method of claim 2, The backlight off threshold is a backlight automatic adjustment method of a mobile communication terminal, characterized in that the user can manually set and modify to a desired value. The method of claim 2, The step of calculating the brightness control value of the backlight, the backlight automatic adjustment method of the mobile communication terminal, characterized in that for calculating the different values so that the backlight is strongly turned on, weak or dimmed according to the level value of the backlight.