KR20110072100A - Mobile terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A mobile terminal is provided to adaptively trace the positional of a mobile terminal according to the operation state of the mobile terminal. CONSTITUTION: A location information module(115) traces the location according to the set constant cycle to serve the location information of the mobile terminal on a real time basis. A power supply unit(190) provides the power supply of the mobile terminal. The controller(180) controls whether the power state of the location information module is converted into a normal mode or a power saving mode, in case of discharging the electric power in the power supply unit on the use information and the motion information of the mobile terminal.

Description

Mobile terminal {MOBILE TERMINAL}

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal capable of controlling the power state of a location information module for providing location information of the mobile terminal.

The terminal can move And can be divided into a mobile / portable terminal and a stationary terminal depending on whether the mobile terminal is a mobile terminal or a mobile terminal. The mobile terminal may be further classified into a handheld terminal and a vehicle mount terminal according to whether a user can directly carry it.

Such a terminal has various functions, for example, in the form of a multimedia device having multiple functions such as photographing and photographing of a moving picture, reproduction of a music or video file, reception of a game and broadcasting, etc. .

In order to support and increase the function of such a terminal, it may be considered to improve the structural part and / or the software part of the terminal.

Recently, a mobile terminal may be equipped with a location tracking function performing module such as a GPS to provide not only a navigation function but also location information of another mobile terminal user such as a friend search.

As more functions can be performed through the mobile terminal, the user's dependence on the mobile terminal becomes higher and the power of the mobile terminal is consumed faster than before for the operation of various modules mounted in the mobile terminal to perform various functions. have.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the general technology as described above, the present invention is adaptive to the location tracking of the mobile terminal according to the operating state of the mobile terminal is set to provide a function of providing the location information of the mobile terminal in real time It is to provide a mobile terminal for performing the.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal that can reduce the amount of power consumed in the mobile terminal by controlling the power state of the module providing the location information according to the mobile terminal state.

Technical problems to be achieved in the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and other technical problems not mentioned above will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. Could be.

The mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention for realizing the above object is a location information module for performing a location tracking according to a predetermined period in order to provide the location information of the mobile terminal in real time, the power supply of the mobile terminal And a control unit for controlling whether to switch the power state of the location information module to the normal mode or the power saving mode based on the usage information and the movement information of the mobile terminal when the power supply unit performs the power supply.

The mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a display unit including a backlight unit and a sensing unit for detecting a movement of the mobile terminal.

The control unit uses the mobile terminal based on the on / off information of the backlight unit regarding the lighting / off state of the backlight unit lasting for a predetermined time or more and the information about the movement of the mobile terminal transmitted from the sensing unit. It can be determined.

When the controller determines that the mobile terminal is in an unused state for a predetermined time or more, the controller can control to switch the power state of the location information module to a power saving mode.

The mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a wireless communication unit for performing wireless communication with one or more base stations, terminals, and the like belonging to the wireless network.

The controller may determine whether the mobile terminal is moved based on whether ID information of a service cell area provided by a base station received through the wireless communication unit is changed.

When the cell ID is not changed for a predetermined time or more, the controller determines that the position of the mobile terminal is in a stopped state and controls to switch the power state of the location information module to a power saving mode.

When the power supply unit is charging power while the power state of the location information module is switched to the power saving mode, the controller may control to switch the power state of the location information module back to the on state.

The mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a user input unit for inputting a signal for activating a power state control function of the location information module.

In the mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the control unit controls the power state of the location information module to switch to the power saving mode, the mobile terminal last tracked before the location information module is switched to the power saving mode. The apparatus may further include a memory unit for storing location information of the terminal.

The above embodiments are only some of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and various embodiments reflecting the technical features of the present invention are based on the detailed description of the present invention described below by those skilled in the art. Can be derived and understood.

The mobile terminal according to at least one embodiment of the present invention configured as described above may adaptively perform location tracking of the mobile terminal according to an operating state of the mobile terminal to reduce the power consumption.

The effects obtainable in the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned above may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. will be.

Hereinafter, a mobile terminal according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The suffixes "module" and "unit" for components used in the following description are given or used in consideration of ease of specification, and do not have distinct meanings or roles from each other.

The mobile terminal described herein may include a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), navigation, and the like. However, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the configuration according to the embodiments described herein may also be applied to fixed terminals such as digital TVs, desktop computers, etc., except when applicable only to mobile terminals.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The mobile terminal 100 includes a wireless communication unit 110, an A / V input unit 120, a user input unit 130, a sensing unit 140, an output unit 150, a memory 160, and an interface. The unit 170, the controller 180, and the power supply unit 190 may be included. The components shown in FIG. 1 are not essential, so that a mobile terminal having more or fewer components may be implemented.

Hereinafter, the components will be described in order.

The wireless communication unit 110 may include one or more modules that enable wireless communication between the mobile terminal 100 and the wireless communication system or between the mobile terminal 100 and a network in which the mobile terminal 100 is located. For example, the wireless communication unit 110 may include a broadcast receiving module 111, a mobile communication module 112, a wireless Internet module 113, a short range communication module 114, and a location information module 115 .

The broadcast receiving module 111 receives a broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information from an external broadcast management server through a broadcast channel.

The broadcast channel may include a satellite channel and a terrestrial channel. The broadcast management server may mean a server that generates and transmits a broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information or a server that receives a previously generated broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information and transmits the same to a terminal. The broadcast signal may include not only a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal, and a data broadcast signal, but also a broadcast signal having a data broadcast signal combined with a TV broadcast signal or a radio broadcast signal.

The broadcast related information may mean information related to a broadcast channel, a broadcast program, or a broadcast service provider. The broadcast related information may also be provided through a mobile communication network. In this case, it may be received by the mobile communication module 112.

The broadcast related information may exist in various forms. For example, it may exist in the form of Electronic Program Guide (EPG) of Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) or Electronic Service Guide (ESG) of Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H).

The broadcast receiving module 111 may include, for example, Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DMB-T), Digital Multimedia Broadcasting-Satellite (DMB-S), Media Forward Link Only (MediaFLO), and Digital Video Broadcast (DVB-H). Digital broadcast signals can be received using digital broadcasting systems such as Handheld and Integrated Services Digital Broadcast-Terrestrial (ISDB-T). Of course, the broadcast receiving module 111 may be configured to be suitable for not only the above-described digital broadcasting system but also other broadcasting systems.

The broadcast signal and / or broadcast related information received through the broadcast receiving module 111 may be stored in the memory 160.

The mobile communication module 112 transmits and receives a wireless signal with at least one of a base station, an external terminal, and a server on a mobile communication network. The wireless signal may include various types of data according to transmission and reception of a voice call signal, a video call call signal, or a text / multimedia message.

The wireless internet module 113 refers to a module for wireless internet access and may be embedded or external to the mobile terminal 100. Wireless Internet technologies may include Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), Wireless Broadband (Wibro), World Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wimax), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), and the like.

The short range communication module 114 refers to a module for short range communication. As a short range communication technology, Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), ZigBee, and the like may be used.

The location information module 115 is a module for obtaining a location of a mobile terminal, and a representative example thereof is a GPS (Global Position System) module.

Two methods may be used to check the location information of the mobile terminal, which is classified into a network-based method using a base station's received signal and a handset-based method using a GPS signal. Hybrid technology using a mixture of the two technologies has been developed.

The network-based method does not need to install a separate receiving module in the terminal, but the error rate is increased and accuracy may be lowered according to the cell size or positioning method of the wireless base station. Therefore, a handset based method using a GPS signal capable of obtaining more accurate location information for services requiring accurate location of a mobile terminal such as a rescue request, a crime report, a friend search, traffic information, and a vehicle navigation is widely used. The location information using the GPS based on the handset is to survey the location information of the mobile terminal through the transmission and reception of GPS satellites, and a GPS reception module in the mobile terminal should be provided.

Referring to FIG. 1, the A / V input unit 120 is for inputting an audio signal or a video signal, and may include a camera 121 and a microphone 122. The camera 121 processes image frames such as still images or moving images obtained by the image sensor in the video call mode or the photographing mode. The processed image frame may be displayed on the display unit 151.

The image frame processed by the camera 121 may be stored in the memory 160 or transmitted to the outside through the wireless communication unit 110. Two or more cameras 121 may be provided according to the use environment.

The microphone 122 receives an external sound signal by a microphone in a call mode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, etc., and processes the external sound signal into electrical voice data. The processed voice data can be converted into a form that can be transmitted to the mobile communication base station through the mobile communication module 112 when the voice data is in the call mode, and output. The microphone 122 may implement various noise removing algorithms for removing noise generated in the process of receiving an external sound signal.

The user input unit 130 generates input data for the user to control the operation of the terminal. The user input unit 130 may include a key pad dome switch, a touch pad (static pressure / capacitance), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like.

The sensing unit 140 detects the current state of the mobile terminal 100 such as the open / closed state of the mobile terminal 100, the position of the mobile terminal 100, the presence or absence of a user contact, the orientation of the mobile terminal, the acceleration / deceleration of the mobile terminal, and the like. The sensing unit generates a sensing signal for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal 100 is in the form of a slide phone, it may sense whether the slide phone is opened or closed. In addition, whether the power supply unit 190 is supplied with power, whether the interface unit 170 is coupled to the external device may be sensed.

In addition, the sensing unit 140 may include a three-axis sensor 141 to detect shaking and tilting of the mobile terminal in the space. Accordingly, the sensing signal generated by the three-axis sensor 141 may be used to determine whether the mobile terminal is moving or in use.

The sensing unit 140 may include a proximity sensor 142.

The output unit 150 is used to generate an output related to visual, auditory or tactile senses, which includes a display unit 151, an audio output module 152, an alarm unit 153, a haptic module 154, and a projector module ( 155) may be included.

The display unit 151 displays (outputs) information processed by the mobile terminal 100. For example, when the mobile terminal is in a call mode, the mobile terminal displays a user interface (UI) or a graphic user interface (GUI) related to the call. When the mobile terminal 100 is in a video call mode or a photographing mode, the mobile terminal 100 displays photographed and / or received images, a UI, and a GUI.

The display unit 151 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display The display device may include at least one of a flexible display and a 3D display.

Some of these displays can be configured to be transparent or light transmissive so that they can be seen from the outside. This may be referred to as a transparent display. A representative example of the transparent display is TOLED (Transparant OLED). The rear structure of the display unit 151 may also be configured as a light transmissive structure. With this structure, the user can see the object located behind the terminal body through the area occupied by the display unit 151 of the terminal body.

There may be two or more display units 151 according to the implementation form of the mobile terminal 100. For example, in the mobile terminal 100, a plurality of display portions may be spaced apart from one another, or may be disposed integrally with one another, and may be disposed on different surfaces, respectively.

When the display unit 151 and a sensor for detecting a touch operation (hereinafter, referred to as a touch sensor) form a mutual layer structure (hereinafter referred to as a touch screen), the display unit 151 may be configured in addition to an output device. Can also be used as an input device. The touch sensor may have, for example, a form of a touch film, a touch sheet, a touch pad, or the like.

The touch sensor may be configured to convert a change in pressure applied to a specific portion of the display unit 151 or capacitance generated in a specific portion of the display unit 151 into an electrical input signal. The touch sensor may be configured to detect not only the position and area of the touch but also the pressure at the touch.

If there is a touch input to the touch sensor, the corresponding signals are sent to the touch controller. The touch controller processes the signal and then transmits the corresponding data to the controller 180. As a result, the controller 180 can know which area of the display unit 151 is touched.

The proximity sensor 141 may be disposed in an inner region of the mobile terminal surrounded by the touch screen or near the touch screen. The proximity sensor refers to a sensor that detects the presence or absence of an object approaching a predetermined detection surface or an object present in the vicinity without using a mechanical contact by using an electromagnetic force or infrared rays. Proximity sensors have a longer life and higher utilization than touch sensors.

Examples of the proximity sensor include a transmission photoelectric sensor, a direct reflection photoelectric sensor, a mirror reflection photoelectric sensor, a high frequency oscillation proximity sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, a magnetic proximity sensor, and an infrared proximity sensor. When the touch screen is capacitive, the touch screen is configured to detect the proximity of the pointer by the change of the electric field according to the proximity of the pointer. In this case, the touch screen (touch sensor) may be classified as a proximity sensor.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the act of allowing the pointer to be recognized without being in contact with the touch screen so that the pointer is located on the touch screen is referred to as a "proximity touch", and the touch The act of actually touching the pointer on the screen is called "contact touch." The position where the proximity touch is performed by the pointer on the touch screen refers to a position where the pointer is perpendicular to the touch screen when the pointer is in proximity proximity.

The proximity sensor detects a proximity touch and a proximity touch pattern (for example, a proximity touch distance, a proximity touch direction, a proximity touch speed, a proximity touch time, a proximity touch position, and a proximity touch movement state). Information corresponding to the sensed proximity touch operation and proximity touch pattern may be output on the touch screen.

The sound output module 152 may output audio data received from the wireless communication unit 110 or stored in the memory 160 in a call signal reception, a call mode or a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, a broadcast reception mode, and the like. The sound output module 152 may also output a sound signal related to a function (eg, a call signal reception sound, a message reception sound, etc.) performed in the mobile terminal 100. The sound output module 152 may include a receiver, a speaker, a buzzer, and the like.

The alarm unit 153 outputs a signal for notifying occurrence of an event of the mobile terminal 100. Examples of events occurring in the mobile terminal include call signal reception, message reception, key signal input, and touch input. The alarm unit 153 may output a signal for notifying occurrence of an event in a form other than a video signal or an audio signal, for example, vibration. The video signal or the audio signal may be output through the display unit 151 or the audio output module 152, so that they 151 and 152 may be classified as part of the alarm unit 153.

The haptic module 154 generates various tactile effects that the user can feel. Vibration is a representative example of the haptic effect generated by the haptic module 154. The intensity and pattern of vibration generated by the haptic module 154 can be controlled. For example, different vibrations may be synthesized and output or may be sequentially output.

In addition to vibration, the haptic module 154 may be configured to provide a pin array that vertically moves with respect to the contact skin surface, a jetting force or suction force of air through the jetting or suction port, grazing to the skin surface, contact of the electrode, electrostatic force, and the like. Various tactile effects can be generated, such as effects by the endothermic and the reproduction of a sense of cold using the elements capable of endotherm or heat generation.

The haptic module 154 may not only deliver the haptic effect through direct contact, but also may implement the user to feel the haptic effect through a muscle sense such as a finger or an arm. Two or more haptic modules 154 may be provided according to a configuration aspect of the mobile terminal 100.

The projector module 155 is a component for performing an image project function using the mobile terminal 100 and is similar to the image displayed on the display unit 151 in accordance with a control signal of the controller 180 Or at least partly display another image on an external screen or wall.

Specifically, the projector module 155 includes a light source (not shown) that generates light (for example, laser light) for outputting an image to the outside, a light source And a lens (not shown) for enlarging and outputting the image at a predetermined focal distance to the outside. Further, the projector module 155 may include a device (not shown) capable of mechanically moving the lens or the entire module to adjust the image projection direction.

The projector module 155 may be divided into a cathode ray tube (CRT) module, a liquid crystal display (LCD) module, a digital light processing (DLP) module, and the like, according to the device type of the display means. In particular, the DLP module may be advantageous for miniaturization of the projector module 151 by enlarging and projecting an image generated by reflecting light generated from a light source on a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) chip.

Preferably, the projector module 155 may be provided longitudinally on the side, front or back side of the mobile terminal 100. It goes without saying that the projector module 155 may be provided at any position of the mobile terminal 100 as occasion demands.

The memory unit 160 may store a program for processing and controlling the controller 180, and temporarily stores input / output data (for example, a phone book, a message, an audio, a still image, a video, etc.). It can also perform a function for. The memory unit 160 may also store the frequency of use of each of the data (for example, each telephone number, each message, and frequency of use for each multimedia). In addition, the memory unit 160 may store data regarding vibration and sound of various patterns output when a touch input on the touch screen is performed.

The memory 160 may be a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (for example, SD or XD memory), RAM (Random Access Memory, RAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), Magnetic Memory, Magnetic It may include a storage medium of at least one type of disk, optical disk. The mobile terminal 100 may operate in association with a web storage that performs a storage function of the memory 160 on the Internet.

The interface unit 170 serves as a path with all external devices connected to the mobile terminal 100. The interface unit 170 receives data from an external device, receives power, transfers the power to each component inside the mobile terminal 100, or transmits data inside the mobile terminal 100 to an external device. For example, a wired / wireless headset port, an external charger port, a wired / wireless data port, a memory card port, a port for connecting a device having an identification module, an audio I / O port, A video input / output (I / O) port, an earphone port, and the like may be included in the interface unit 170.

The identification module is a chip that stores various types of information for authenticating the usage rights of the mobile terminal 100, and includes a user identification module (UIM), a subscriber identify module (SIM), and a universal user authentication module ( Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), and the like. Devices with identification modules (hereinafter referred to as "identification devices") can be manufactured in a smart card format. Accordingly, the identification device can be connected to the terminal 100 through the port.

The interface unit may be a passage through which power from the cradle is supplied to the mobile terminal 100 when the mobile terminal 100 is connected to an external cradle, or various command signals input from the cradle by a user may be transferred. It may be a passage that is delivered to the terminal. Various command signals or power input from the cradle may be operated as signals for recognizing that the mobile terminal is correctly mounted on the cradle.

The controller 180 typically controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal. For example, perform related control and processing for voice calls, data communications, video calls, and the like. The controller 180 may include a multimedia module 181 for playing multimedia. The multimedia module 181 may be implemented in the controller 180 or may be implemented separately from the controller 180.

The controller 180 may perform a pattern recognition process for recognizing a writing input or a drawing input performed on the touch screen as text and an image, respectively.

The power supply unit 190 receives an external power source and an internal power source under the control of the controller 180 to supply power for operation of each component.

Various embodiments described herein may be implemented in a recording medium readable by a computer or similar device using, for example, software, hardware or a combination thereof.

According to a hardware implementation, the embodiments described herein include application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and the like. It may be implemented using at least one of processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, and electrical units for performing other functions. The described embodiments may be implemented by the controller 180 itself.

According to the software implementation, embodiments such as the procedures and functions described herein may be implemented as separate software modules. Each of the software modules may perform one or more functions and operations described herein. Software code can be implemented in a software application written in a suitable programming language. The software code may be stored in the memory 160 and executed by the controller 180.

2 is a front perspective view of an example of a mobile terminal or a mobile terminal according to the present invention;

The disclosed portable terminal 100 has a terminal body in the form of a bar. However, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be applied to various structures such as a slide type, a folder type, a swing type, a swivel type, and two or more bodies are coupled to be relatively movable.

The body includes a casing (casing, housing, cover, etc.) that forms an exterior. In this embodiment, the case may be divided into a front case 101 and a rear case 102. Various electronic components are built in the space formed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102. At least one intermediate case may be further disposed between the front case 101 and the rear case 102.

The cases may be formed by injecting a synthetic resin or may be formed of a metal material, for example, a metal material such as stainless steel (STS) or titanium (Ti).

The display unit 151, the audio output unit 152, the camera 121, the user input units 130/131 and 132, the microphone 122, and the interface 170 may be disposed in the terminal body, mainly the front case 101. have.

The display unit 151 occupies most of the main surface of the front case 101.

As the display unit 151 of the mobile terminal 100, a liquid crystal display device (hereinafter referred to as "LCD") is mainly used. LCD is a non-light-emitting electronic display device that does not emit light by itself, and requires a light source having an extraordinary outstanding characteristic to realize a clear and natural natural color of a moving image with high quality. The role of such a light source is called a backlight. In order to irradiate light from the back of the LCD, a complex including a light source itself, a power circuit for driving the light source, and an integral part that forms uniform plane light is called a back light unit.

In general, when an application is performed in a predetermined area on the display unit 151 using any one of various functions set in the mobile terminal 100, the backlight unit generates a light source irradiated to the liquid crystal display constituting the display unit. . The light source generation time in the backlight unit may be maintained for a time during which the application is performed, or may be set to switch to the power saving mode after a predetermined time elapses in order to prevent power loss of the mobile terminal. The management of backlight generation on the display unit is performed by the controller 180.

The sound output unit 151 and the camera 121 are disposed in regions adjacent to one end of both ends of the display unit 151, and the user input unit 131 and the microphone 122 are disposed in regions adjacent to the other end. The user input unit 132 and the interface 170 may be disposed on side surfaces of the front case 101 and the rear case 102.

The user input unit 130 is manipulated to receive a command for controlling the operation of the portable terminal 100 and may include a plurality of operation units 131 and 132. The manipulation units 131 and 132 may also be collectively referred to as manipulating portions, and may be employed in any manner as long as the user operates the tactile manner with a tactile feeling.

Content input by the first or second manipulation units 131 and 132 may be variously set. For example, the first operation unit 131 receives commands such as start, end, scroll, and the like, and the second operation unit 132 controls the size of the sound output from the sound output unit 152 or the size of the sound output from the display unit 151 To the touch recognition mode of the touch screen.

Hereinafter, a wireless communication system associated with a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system associated with a mobile terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The wireless communication system may use different air interfaces and / or physical layers. For example, a radio interface usable by a communication system may include frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), and code division multiple access (Code Division). Multiple Access (CDMA), Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems (UMTS) (especially Long Term Evolution (LTE)), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), etc. May be included. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the description will be limited to CDMA. However, it is a matter of course that the present invention is applicable to all communication systems including the CDMA wireless communication system.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the CDMA wireless communication system includes a plurality of mobile terminals 100, a plurality of base stations (BS) 270, and base station controllers (BSCs) 275. ), And a mobile switching center (MSC) 280. The MSC 280 is configured to be connected to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 290 and is also configured to be connected to BSCs 275. The BSCs 275 may be coupled to the BS 270 through a backhaul line. The backhaul line may be provided according to at least one of E1 / T1, ATM, IP, PPP, Frame Relay, HDSL, ADSL, or xDSL. Thus, a plurality of BSCs 275 may be included in the system shown in FIG.

Each BS 270 may include at least one sector, and each sector may include an omnidirectional antenna or an antenna pointing radially out of BS 270. In addition, each sector may include two or more antennas of various types. Each BS 270 may be configured to support a plurality of frequency assignments, each of which has a specific spectrum (eg, 1.25 MHz, 5 MHz, etc.).

The intersection of sectors and frequency assignments may be called a CDMA channel. BS 270 may be referred to as a base station transceiver subsystem ('BTSs'). In this case, the word "base station" may be called the sum of one BSC 275 and at least one BS 270. The base station may be operated with a base station control station that manages a "cell site" or "cell area" which is a range of areas for providing mobile communication services. Multiple cell sites served by one base station each have a unique identification code that can be distinguished from other cell sites.

Therefore, when the mobile terminal moves through a plurality of cell areas, information on the cell ID of the base station where the mobile terminal is currently located can be obtained by exchanging a paging message between the mobile terminal and the base station and perform a location update of the mobile terminal. Can be. Paging refers to a function of identifying the location of a corresponding mobile terminal (for example, any base station or a switching center) when an incoming call occurs in mobile communication. In general, the mobile terminal may transition to an idle mode for saving power when no traffic is received from the base station for a predetermined time. The terminal in the idle mode may notify its location to the paging controller by performing the location update.

During typical operation of a wireless communication system, BS 270 receives a reverse link signal from various mobile terminals 100. At this time, the mobile terminals 100 are connecting a call, transmitting and receiving a message, or performing another communication operation. Each of the reverse link signals received by a particular base station 270 is processed within by the particular base station 270. The data generated as a result of the processing is transmitted to the connected BSC 275. BSC 275 provides call resource allocation and mobility management functionality, including the organization of soft handoffs between base stations 270. In addition, the BSC 275 transmits the received data to the MSC 280, and the MSC 280 provides an additional transmission service for connection with the PSTN 290. Similarly, PSTN 290 connects with MSC 280, MSC 280 connects with BSCs 275, and BSCs 275 send BSs 270 to transmit a forward link signal to terminals 100. ).

In addition, FIG. 3 illustrates several satellite positioning systems (GPS) satellites 300. GPS is a system that can be located anywhere in the world by 24 GPS satellites orbiting the earth at an altitude of about 20,000 Km. GPS uses radio waves in the 1.5 GHz band and has a control station on the ground to collect and synchronize information transmitted from GPS satellites. In addition, the location of at least one of the plurality of mobile terminals 100 may be determined based on the information transmitted from the satellites 300. The user of the mobile terminal may transmit and receive radio waves with the satellites 300 through the location information module 115 mounted in the terminal to obtain desired location information. Here, the location can be tracked using all the techniques that can track the location, not just the GPS tracking technology. In addition, at least one of the GPS satellites 300 may optionally or additionally be responsible for satellite DMB transmission.

Although two satellites are shown in FIG. 3, the satellites 300 may be obtained by two or less satellites according to a GPS method for obtaining useful location information.

In the wireless communication described with reference to FIG. 3, the broadcast receiving module 111, the mobile communication module 112, the wireless internet module 113, the short range communication module 114, and the location information constituting the wireless communication unit 110 shown in FIG. 1. This is done via module 115.

On the other hand, the location information of the mobile terminal is repeatedly updated in real time or at intervals of several seconds. Such real time location information updating is generally performed through GPS tracking which performs repetitive location tracking.

The GPS tracking is performed in the GPS tracking module provided in the location information module 115, and the GPS tracking module performs real time tracking for the location information of the mobile terminal through the antenna unit of the mobile terminal or through the antenna unit provided in the GPS tracking module. Can be done. The GPS tracking module performs tracking by receiving a certain amount of power from the power supply unit 190 of the mobile terminal. When the GPS tracking function for repetitive location tracking is activated according to an application execution related to user input or location report, power consumption of the terminal is rapidly increased.

Therefore, in the present invention, when a tracking function for performing location tracking for repetitive location information updating is activated in a mobile terminal having a location information module, the GPS tracking can be adaptively performed according to the mobile terminal status. The present invention relates to a mobile terminal capable of controlling a power state of a location information module.

4 is an example of a block diagram of a mobile terminal performing power control of a location information module in a mobile terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a location information module control module 182 for controlling a power state of the location information module 115.

The position information module control module 182 performs an overall control operation regarding the operation of the position information module 115. The position information module control module 182 adaptively controls the operation of the position information module 115 according to the state of the mobile terminal, and when the position information module does not need to be repeatedly measured at a predetermined period, the position information module The power state of 115 is controlled to be temporarily switched to the power saving mode. Here, the power saving mode of the location information module 115 may mean a state in which a power required to perform an operation is switched to an off state in the GPS tracking module performing GPS tracking and maintains only the minimum power required for the location information module operation. Alternatively, the power saving mode may be defined as a state in which the power state of the location information module 115 is switched to the off state.

For example, if the mobile terminal moves within a range that is recognized as the same location or remains stationary while the location information of any place where the mobile terminal is located is known, before the mobile terminal moves its location. No repetitive location tracking is required. Alternatively, when the user does not use the mobile terminal for a long time in a state in which the user executes an application for tracking the location of the mobile terminal at a predetermined period, the user may control the location tracking to be stopped until the user reuses the mobile terminal.

Accordingly, the position information module control module 182 is a mobile terminal required to perform the position information module power control from various components constituting the mobile terminal as shown in FIG. 4 in order to determine an operation state or a movement state of the mobile terminal. Receive status information.

In detail, the location information module control module 182 performs the application of the display unit 151, whether the ID of the cell area provided by the base station is changed according to the movement of the mobile terminal, and the three-axis sensor of the sensing unit 140. The use state and the mobile state of the mobile terminal are determined based on the detected motion information of the mobile terminal.

The location information module control module 182 may use information regarding the light emitting state (On / Off) of the backlight unit constituting the display unit 151 to determine whether to use the mobile terminal. As described above, the backlight unit is an element that emits light to irradiate a predetermined amount of light to an arbitrary image output to the liquid crystal display of the display unit, and determines whether to use the mobile terminal based on whether the backlight unit remains off for a predetermined time. Can be based on.

Next, the location information module control module 182 may use the cell ID information that is changed when the user having the mobile terminal moves from the cell area serviced by the base station to another cell area to determine whether the mobile terminal moves. have. For example, when the mobile terminal moves at a constant speed while the mobile terminal is located on a cradle, motion information of the mobile terminal cannot be obtained through the sensing unit. If the mobile terminal is performing wireless communication while moving (for example, during a call state, using the wireless Internet, or executing a location information application), the location update between the terminal and the base station is performed according to the movement of the mobile terminal, and cell ID change information. Can also be obtained. Accordingly, the location information module control module 182 may determine whether the mobile terminal is in a mobile state by using the cell ID change information or the location update information from the mobile communication module 112.

In addition, the position information module control module 182 may use a sensing signal related to the operation of the mobile terminal generated by the sensing unit 140 including the 3-axis sensor 141 to determine the operation state of the mobile terminal. As described above, the sensing unit 140 generates a sensing signal for controlling the operation of the mobile terminal by detecting the current state of the mobile terminal, such as the open / closed state, position, orientation, acceleration / deceleration, or presence or absence of user contact. .

As such, the location information module control module 182 repeatedly determines whether the mobile terminal is moving from the current location to another location or is currently in use, based on various operation state information regarding the mobile terminal. It may be determined whether to perform location tracking. In addition, when the terminal does not move to another position or is not in use while the position information of the mobile terminal is currently known, the update to the new position information is unnecessary, and the position information module control module 182 temporarily moves the position information module 115. ) Can be switched to power saving mode. However, the determination of whether the mobile terminal is used or not should be determined based on various operation information related to the mobile terminal. When power is being charged by the power supply unit 190, the power of the location information module is switched to the power saving mode. Etc., power control may not be performed.

On the other hand, the determination of the operation state of the mobile terminal is performed by the controller 180, unlike shown in Figure 4, by transmitting the power control instruction information of the location information module 182 to the location information module control module 182 to position It may be instructed to perform power control of the information module.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, operation related information of a mobile terminal based on performing power control of a location information module performing repetitive GPS tracking is not limited to obtaining from the components shown in FIG. It can be obtained from other terminal components shown in FIG.

5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method of performing operation control of a location information module in a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, an example of a method in which the controller 180 automatically controls the power state of the location information module 115 when the predetermined condition is satisfied in relation to the operation of the mobile terminal is shown.

Referring to FIG. 5, the user activates the location information function set in the mobile terminal to operate the GPS tracking function that repeatedly performs the location tracking of the mobile terminal at predetermined intervals in the location information module 115. A certain period during which location tracking is performed may be set by a user in real time or within a few seconds or may be preset by an implementer (S10). When the location information module control function is activated according to a user setting, the location information module control module 182 controls the power state of the location information module 115 according to whether or not iterative GPS tracking needs to be performed in real time. (S11).

The location information module controller 182 first determines whether the user is using the mobile terminal in order to perform power state control of the location information module 115. The determination of whether the mobile terminal is operating is based on whether the backlight of the display unit 151 emits light (On / Off) and the emission state duration while the GPS tracking is performed. This is because any application may be executed in a predetermined area of the display unit 151 while GPS tracking is performed. Therefore, when the backlight unit constituting the display unit 151 is in the Off state for a predetermined time or more while the power of the mobile terminal is turned on, the location information module controller 182 may determine that the terminal is not currently in use. Can be. On the contrary, when the backlight unit is in the ON state for a predetermined time or more, it may be regarded as using a mobile terminal. Alternatively, the controller 180 may perform an overall control operation for the mobile terminal and also perform an operation control regarding an application currently running in the mobile terminal, and thus, the mobile terminal through various modules related to the operation of the mobile terminal in the controller. Can be used or not.

On the other hand, in general, the display unit 151 of the mobile terminal may be set to turn off the backlight unit to reduce power consumption when there is no change in the application or there is no user input information for a predetermined time to save power even when the application is running. Accordingly, the position information module control module 182 may determine whether the user uses the mobile terminal by using information about the movement of the mobile terminal detected by the sensing unit 140 as well as the backlight power state of the display unit. If the movement of the mobile terminal is not detected for a predetermined time through the three-axis sensor of the sensing unit 140, the location information module control module determines that the mobile terminal is not in use and saves the power state of the location information module 115 in the power saving mode. Control to switch to

Next, the location information module controller 182 determines whether the place where the mobile terminal is located is moving. Even if the user is using the mobile terminal, such as executing a specific function set in the mobile terminal, or if the user is using the terminal at a certain place, repetitive GPS tracking for updating the location information while knowing the current location information of the mobile terminal is tentative. This is because it may be stopped (S13).

The movement of the mobile terminal may be determined based on whether the service area provided by the base station is changed to perform wireless mobile communication between the terminal and the base station. For example, when a location where a mobile terminal is located is moved from an arbitrary cell area served by a base station to another cell area, the ID of a cell used by the mobile terminal is also changed according to the mobile terminal moving direction.

Therefore, the location information module control unit 182 receives the cell ID change information or the location update information from the wireless communication unit 110 including the mobile communication module 112 when the mobile terminal is currently in use and is moving to the place. It may be determined whether the terminal is moving. When the mobile terminal is moving while using a specific function in the mobile terminal, such as when a user of the mobile terminal is performing wireless communication or an application according to a user input, the location information module controller 182 is the location information module 115. It maintains the power of the On state and controls to run a repetitive location tracking application (S14).

If the mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is not in use or the location is not changed in the step S12 or S13, the location information module control module 182 changes the power state of the location information module 115 to the power saving mode. It can be controlled to temporarily stop GPS tracking that is repeatedly performed at regular intervals.

In this case, when the power supply unit 190 is in the battery charging operation, since the overall power supply is performed in the mobile terminal, the power of the location information module may not be switched to the power saving mode. Therefore, the location information module control module 182 determines the power state of the location information module 115 when the power supply unit 190 is charging even if it is determined in step S12 or S13 that the mobile terminal is not in use or located at a predetermined place. By keeping it On, GPS tracking can be controlled repeatedly. Alternatively, unlike FIG. 5, when power is being charged by the power supply unit 190, the location information module control module 182 is configured to supply power to the location information module even when the power control function of the location information module is activated according to a user input. The state may be maintained in an on state and the determination process regarding the use state and the mobile state of the mobile terminal may not be performed.

On the other hand, when all the power saving mode switching conditions are satisfied in step S12 or S13 as described above, and the power supply unit 190 is in a discharged state, the power state of the location information module 115 may be switched to the power saving mode (S15, S16). The selection of whether or not to be based on the information on the charging operation in the power supply unit 190 when controlling the position information module power may be set by the user.

When the user moves and uses the mobile terminal even after switching the power state of the location information module 115 to the power saving mode according to the control method for the location information module described above with reference to FIG. 5, the location information module control module 182 is By switching the power state of the location information module 115 to an On state, it may be controlled to perform GPS tracking.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, when another application execution is set by the user while the location tracking application for GPS tracking is executed in the location information module 9151, the location information module control module 182 may be a location information module ( The power state of 115 may be switched to the power saving mode. In addition, when an operation of another application being executed is stopped or stopped, the power state of the location information module 115 may be set to be switched back to the on state so that the mobile terminal may perform repetitive location tracking for the mobile terminal. . To this end, the location information module control module 182 may receive or request in real time information about an application execution state being performed in the mobile terminal from the controller 180.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the power state control for GPS tracking in the location information module 115 may be manually set by the user. That is, the user may arbitrarily set the power state of the location information module 115 to the power saving mode regardless of the use state or the mobile state of the mobile terminal described above with reference to FIG. 5.

For example, when the user is executing a GPS tracking application in the mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, if the user wants to execute another function set in the mobile terminal, the power of the location information module is set to switch to the power saving mode, Input information to activate other functions to be executed can be applied.

6 is a front perspective view illustrating an application executed on a display unit of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, an example of a display unit for outputting a pop-up window related to a power control operation of the location information module of the mobile terminal is shown.

Referring to FIG. 6, according to the embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 5, the power state of the location information module 115 is automatically changed from the location information module control module 182 to a power saving mode by satisfying a predetermined condition without the user's input information. In the case of switching, a pop-up window 200 indicating a message indicating that the power state of the location information module 115 has been switched to a power saving mode is displayed in a predetermined region of the display unit 151 of the mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. Can be. Therefore, the user of the mobile terminal may be provided with this fact when the GPS tracking operation is stopped because the power state of the location information module is changed, and the power of the location information module 115 changed through the pop-up window 200. You can input a signal to change the state again.

In this case, even when the backlight of the display unit 151 is switched from the off state to the on state in order to display the pop-up window, the location information module controller 182 may be set not to be determined as a backlight operation indicating that the mobile terminal is used. That is, the output time of the pop-up window may be set to be less than a predetermined time which can be determined by the position information module control module 182 as the mobile terminal using state.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the power state of the location information module 115 is switched to the power saving state and the GPS tracking operation is stopped, the movement measured last before the location information module 115 switches to the power saving state. The location information of the terminal may be stored in the memory unit 160 shown in FIG. 1. Such location information includes location information of the mobile terminal last measured according to a predetermined period when the location tracking application performed by the location information module is set to measure location information of the mobile terminal at predetermined intervals.

Thereafter, when the power of the location information module 115 is switched to the on state or the GPS tracking operation is resumed, the location information module control module 182 may derive the location information of the mobile terminal stored in the memory unit 160. have. If the location information module 115 is identical to the location information stored in the memory unit 160 and the location information of the current mobile terminal at the time when the operation is started, the location information module 115 uses the location information derived from the memory unit 160 as the location information of the current mobile terminal. If the mobile terminal is moved, the changed location information may be reported. Alternatively, when the location tracking application is set to report the location information of the mobile terminal according to a preset period, the location information module control module 182 may perform the derivation and reporting of the location information of the mobile terminal stored in the memory unit 160. Can be. This is to allow the location information module 115 to normally perform the function of providing the location information of the mobile terminal without performing the GPS tracking.

Further, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the above-described method can be implemented as a code that can be read by a processor on a medium on which the program is recorded. Examples of processor-readable media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage, and the like, and may be implemented in the form of a carrier wave (for example, transmission over the Internet). Include.

A mobile terminal having a location information module control module capable of performing the above-described location information module power control may not be limitedly applied to the configuration and method of the above-described embodiments. All or some of the embodiments may be selectively combined in order to accomplish this.

1 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system associated with a mobile terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an example of a block diagram of a mobile terminal performing power control of a location information module in a mobile terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method of performing operation control of a location information module in a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a front perspective view illustrating an application executed on a display unit of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (10)

A location information module for performing location tracking according to a predetermined period to provide location information of the mobile terminal in real time; A power supply for supplying power to the mobile terminal; And And a controller configured to control whether to switch the power state of the location information module to the normal mode or the power save mode based on the usage information and the movement information of the mobile terminal when the power supply is being discharged. The method of claim 1, A display unit including a backlight unit; And The mobile terminal further comprises a sensing unit for detecting a movement of the mobile terminal. The method of claim 2, The control unit uses the mobile terminal based on the on / off information of the backlight unit regarding the lighting / off state of the backlight unit lasting for a predetermined time or more and the information about the movement of the mobile terminal transmitted from the sensing unit. And determining whether or not. The method of claim 3, wherein If the controller determines that the mobile terminal is in an unused state for a predetermined time or more, And the control unit controls to switch the power state of the location information module to a power saving mode. The method of claim 1, The mobile terminal further comprises a wireless communication unit for performing wireless communication with one or more base stations, terminals, and the like belonging to the wireless network. The method of claim 5, The controller determines whether the mobile terminal is moved based on whether ID information of a service cell area provided by a base station received through the wireless communication unit is changed. The method of claim 6, If the cell ID does not change for more than a predetermined time, The controller determines that the position of the mobile terminal is in a stopped state, and controls to switch the power state of the location information module to the power saving mode. The method of claim 1, When the power supply unit is charging power while the power state of the location information module is switched to the power saving mode, And the control unit controls to switch the power state of the location information module back to the on state. The method of claim 1, And a user input unit for inputting a signal for activating a power state control function of the location information module. The method of claim 1, When the control unit controls to switch the power state of the location information module to the power saving mode, And a memory unit configured to store location information of the mobile terminal which was last tracked before switching to the power saving mode from the location information module.

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