KR20120092062A - Control method in communication environment and portable device supporting the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A terminal control method according to communication environments and portable terminal thereof are provided to obtain proper communication performance by tuning an antenna. CONSTITUTION: A grip sensor unit(170) creates a sensor signal according to a user. A control unit(160) detects grip sensor patterns based on the sensor signal. The control unit detects communication unit control information corresponding to the detected grip sensor pattern. The control unit controls the power of communication units(110,200) or the antenna module tuning of the communication unit.

Description

Control method in communication environment and portable terminal supporting the same {Control Method in communication environment And Portable Device supporting the same}

The present invention relates to device control according to a communication environment of a mobile terminal, and in particular, a terminal control method and a portable terminal supporting the communication environment for supporting SAR and reducing the SAR according to the mobile terminal using environment and to ensure proper communication performance It is about.

In recent years, portable terminals have been able to provide various user functions such as mobile communication functions, game functions, scheduling functions, etc. while maintaining mobility, thereby securing a large number of users. However, since such a mobile terminal must basically provide mobility, the form must be miniaturized, and various types of designs must be digested to satisfy various needs of consumers. In recent years, since a large variety of functions have to be provided, a large number of components have to be arranged. Accordingly, the conventional portable terminal needs a design for maximizing a limited space.

In particular, in a mobile terminal, an antenna has a limitation in reducing its size because it must ensure proper mobile communication performance, and it must have an appropriate grounding structure in design layout. In addition, the conventional mobile terminal has a limitation in achieving a communication performance guarantee by increasing the transmission power due to a condition that the SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) international standard must be observed when supporting a communication function. SAR is a measure of the amount of electromagnetic waves per unit mass of a living body absorbed by human living tissue as energy, and shows how much the human body absorbs the electromagnetic waves emitted from a mobile phone terminal. The electromagnetic wave protection standard of the terminal is based on the amount of electromagnetic waves that are not harmful to the human body through biological experiments. For example, 1.6W / kg [1g average] in Korea, the United States, Australia and Canada, and 2.0W / in Japan and Europe. It is based on kg [10g average]. Accordingly, there is a need for a new technology proposal that can guarantee appropriate communication performance while complying with the SAR standard.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal control method according to a communication environment for supporting power control for reducing SAR according to a holding environment of a portable terminal, and a portable terminal supporting the same.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method for controlling a terminal according to a communication environment that supports appropriate communication performance while achieving SAR reduction according to a terminal holding state of a user and a portable terminal supporting the same.

Terminal control method according to the communication environment of the present invention for achieving the above object is a process of generating a sensor signal according to a mobile terminal gripping, detecting a grip sensor pattern from the generated sensor signal, the detected grip And performing at least one of detecting communication means control information corresponding to the sensor pattern, performing power control of the communication means, and antenna module tuning control of the communication means.

In addition, the mobile terminal controlled according to the communication environment of the present invention detects a grip sensor pattern based on a grip sensor unit generating a sensor signal according to a user grip, a sensor signal supplied from the grip sensor unit, and the detected grip sensor pattern. A control unit for detecting at least one of communication means control information corresponding to the control unit, and performing at least one of power source control of the communication unit and antenna module tuning control of the communication unit; It is characterized by.

According to a terminal control method according to a communication environment and a portable terminal supporting the same according to an embodiment of the present invention, the present invention supports the use of a safer terminal to the user by performing a control for reducing the SAR according to the terminal gripping state, the antenna It supports to secure proper communication performance through tuning.

1 is a view schematically showing the appearance of a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view showing in more detail the configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view showing in more detail the configuration of the control unit of the mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a terminal control method according to a communication environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view showing an antenna-related configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, only parts necessary for understanding the operation according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described, and the description of other parts will be omitted so as not to disturb the gist of the present invention.

The terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as limited to ordinary or dictionary meanings and the inventor is not limited to the meaning of the terms in order to describe his invention in the best way. It should be interpreted as meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments described in the present specification and the configuration shown in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not represent all of the technical idea of the present invention, and various equivalents may be substituted for them at the time of the present application. It should be understood that there may be water and variations.

1 is a view showing the appearance of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention in more detail.

1 and 2, the mobile terminal 100 of the present invention includes a communication unit 110, an input unit 120, an audio processor 130, a display unit 140, a storage unit 150, and a controller 160. , The grip sensor unit 170 and the antenna module 200. Here, the communication unit 110 and the antenna module 200 are configured to support the communication function of the mobile terminal 100 and operate as a communication means of the mobile terminal 100.

The portable terminal 100 of the present invention having such a configuration controls to adjust the size of the power supplied to the antenna module 200 according to the grip sensor pattern of the sensor signal collected from the grip sensor unit 170. That is, the mobile terminal 100 controls to adjust the transmission output size of the antenna module 200. Accordingly, the portable terminal 100 of the present invention can adaptively reduce power for reducing SAR according to a user's use environment of the portable terminal 100. In addition, the mobile terminal 100 of the present invention can support tuning of the antenna module 200 according to the grip sensor pattern, that is, frequency band adjustment, to provide more appropriate antenna communication performance based on the same antenna module 200. have. Here, the mobile terminal 100 of the present invention may support to simultaneously adjust the frequency characteristics of the antenna module 200 with power reduction for SAR reduction. Hereinafter, functions and roles of components of the mobile terminal 100 supporting SAR reduction and performance improvement of the antenna module 200 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

The communication unit 110 supports transmission and reception of a voice signal required for a call function and a data signal required for data communication under the control of the controller 160. In order to transmit and receive the signal, the communication unit 110 may include a radio frequency transmitter for upconverting and amplifying a frequency of a transmitted signal, and a radio frequency receiver for low noise amplifying and downconverting a received signal. In particular, the communication unit 110 of the present invention may vary in the size of the power supplied according to the grip sensor pattern collected by the grip sensor unit 170. For example, when the grip sensor pattern received from the grip sensor unit 170 is a pattern for operating a communication function of the communication unit 110, the transmission output size of the communication unit 110 is reduced and the power supplied to the communication unit 110 is reduced. Size reduction may be performed. This reduction in power may be made to reduce the SAR generated due to signal transmission delivered to the antenna module 200 through the communication unit 110. Meanwhile, when the grip sensor pattern is changed while the communication function is performed while the power is reduced according to the grip sensor pattern, the reduced power may be increased again. Substantially, the user of the mobile terminal 100 is placed close to the ear located on the side of the body face held by one hand when using the terminal, especially when using the call function. Accordingly, when the grip sensor pattern is a pattern corresponding to a specific state held by one hand, the portable terminal 100 reduces the transmission output transmitted by the communication unit 110 and the size of power supplied to the communication unit 110 to reduce SAR. Can be controlled. When the gripping of the side part of the terminal is released or the gripping shape is changed according to the release of the communication function, the communication unit 110 may control to adjust the transmission output and the amount of power supplied to an initial value or to increase a predetermined portion. On the other hand, when the user uses the message writing function when using the mobile terminal 100 communication function, the user may change the gripping form of the terminal, thereby reconfiguring a specific grip sensor pattern. Therefore, when the grip sensor pattern is changed to a predetermined specific pattern, the mobile terminal 100 may control to change the power size to perform a supply power control to appropriately reduce SAR.

The input unit 120 is a component that supports generation of various input signals necessary for controlling the portable terminal 100. The input unit 120 includes a plurality of input keys and function keys for receiving numeric or character information and setting various functions. The function keys may include a direction key, a side key, and an accelerator key set for performing a specific function. When the portable terminal 100 is provided in a full touch type, the input unit 120 is formed of only a side key and the like, and a function for inputting a number or a letter is configured as a keymap and output on the display unit 140. Can be. The input unit 120 may generate an input signal for controlling the grip sensor pattern setting according to an embodiment of the present disclosure under user control. In particular, the input unit 120 may generate an input signal for adjusting the grip sensor pattern for the right-handed and the grip sensor pattern for the left-handed according to a user's request. The grip of the right handed mobile terminal 100 and the grip of the left handed portable terminal 100 may be different depending on the terminal usage environment, for example, a voice call function, a video call function, and a data transmission function. Accordingly, the portable terminal 100 of the present invention provides a user interface for setting a grip sensor pattern according to the voice call function operation, a grip sensor pattern according to the video call function, and a grip sensor pattern according to the data transmission function, and corresponding user. Pattern setting can be controlled according to an input signal input based on an interface.

The audio processor 130 includes a speaker SPK for playing audio data transmitted and received during the call, and a microphone MIC for collecting a user's voice or other audio signal during the call. In particular, the audio processing unit 130 of the present invention may output a guide message for reducing power or an effect sound for notifying power reduction when the grip sensor pattern according to the call function is collected to guide SAR reduction. The audio processor 130 may support an alarm sound or a guide message output when the power supply state or the transmission output state is returned to the original state according to the change of the grip sensor pattern while the power is reduced. Such guidance message or sound effect output may be omitted depending on user setting or terminal support.

The display unit 140 outputs a screen activated according to the function of the mobile terminal, and is activated under the control of the controller 160 to support a function of collecting touch events. The display unit 140 may output a boot screen, a standby screen, a menu screen, a call screen, and the like. The display unit 140 may be a thin film transistor-based flat panel display technology such as an OLED or a liquid crystal display (LCD). When the LCD is applied, the display unit 140 may include an LCD controller, a memory capable of storing data, and an LCD. A display element or the like can be provided. In particular, the display unit 140 of the present invention may output a user interface for setting the grip sensor pattern. In addition, the display unit 140 of the present invention may output information corresponding to the gripped state according to the grip sensor pattern setting. For example, the display unit 140 may display information about the shape of the sensor signal pattern collected by the grip sensor unit 170 when the mobile terminal 100 is held by the left hand or when the mobile terminal 100 is gripped by the right hand. You can print Alternatively, the display unit 140 may output information about the shape of the pattern collected by the grip sensor unit 170 when the mobile terminal 100 is gripped with both hands. In addition, the display unit 140 of the present invention may output the control table 151 formed of the above-described grip sensor patterns according to a user request. The user may check the control table 151 to determine whether power reduction for SAR reduction occurs according to which grip sensor pattern. In addition, the portable terminal 100 of the present invention can set the antenna module 200 tuning values according to the grip sensor pattern, and these set values can be stored together in the control table 151. Accordingly, the display unit 140 may support the output of the control table 151 including information on the tuning value of the antenna module 200 and information on a power reduction environment for reducing SAR and information on a relationship between a grip sensor pattern. .

The storage unit 150 stores an application program for operating a function according to an embodiment of the present invention, an application program for touch operation, an application program for operating the grip sensor unit 170, and the like. The storage unit 150 may largely include a program area and a data area.

The program area may include an operating system (OS) for booting the mobile terminal 100, an application program for operating the grip sensor unit, and other options of the mobile terminal 100, for example, a sound reproduction function, an image or a video. Stores applications required for playback functions and the like. In particular, the program area of the present invention may store a communication environment control program. When the mobile terminal 100 is activated, the communication environment control program may be loaded into the controller 160 to integrate the sensor signals collected from the grip sensor unit 170 to determine which pattern has a pattern and to the storage unit 150. A routine for checking the stored control table 151 to check the power reduction value and the antenna module 200 tuning value corresponding to the pattern, the power supplied to the communication unit 110 and the antenna module 200 according to the determined value, or Routine for reducing the transmit power of antenna module 200 and routine for tuning antenna module 200.

The data area is an area in which data generated according to the use of the mobile terminal 100 is stored, and user data related to various optional functions provided by the mobile terminal 100, for example, a video, phone book data, and audio. Data and information corresponding to the corresponding content or user data, and the like. In particular, the data area of the present invention may store the control table 151 to reduce the SAR according to the communication environment and to improve the performance of the antenna module 200. The control table 151 includes reference grip sensor pattern information, power control information supplied to at least one of the communication unit 110 and the antenna module 200 to reduce SAR according to each reference grip sensor pattern information, and each reference grip sensor pattern information. And antenna module 200 tuning information for improving performance of the antenna module 200 according to at least one of power reduction information. The control table 151 may be called according to the load of the control unit 160 of the communication environment control program and used for power supply and antenna module 200 tuning control. In this case, the reference grip sensor pattern information may be adjusted or changed through a user interface. The user interface according to the reference grip sensor pattern information adjustment outputs a guide message indicating, for example, “right hand grip”, “left hand grip”, “two-hand grip”, and the like. The reference grip sensor pattern information can be generated, adjusted or changed by gripping. And the user can adjust the settings of the most commonly used hand, right handed or left handed.

The grip sensor unit 170 is at least one grip sensor is disposed on one side of the case of the portable terminal 100 to generate a sensor signal according to the grip of the user terminal, and transmits the generated sensor signal to the controller 160. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the grip sensor unit 170 is provided with a plurality of sensors on the lower left and right sides of the portable terminal 100 according to a contact form such as a finger contacted while the user grips the terminal. Sensor signals may be generated and transferred to the controller 160. Meanwhile, at least one grip sensor unit 170 may be disposed on the rear surface of the portable terminal 100 based on the display unit 140 as well as the side surface of the portable terminal 100. In addition, the at least one sensor may be disposed on at least one side of the front surface of the portable terminal 100. The grip sensor unit 170 disposed as described above may provide different detection signals according to a user's gripping form and transmit the generated sensor signals to the control unit 160 to provide a detection signal that may determine how the user grips the terminal. .

The antenna module 200 is connected to the communication unit 110 and radiates a signal transmitted from the communication unit 110 to the air (air) or the antenna unit 210 and antenna for transmitting a signal received from the air to the communication unit 110 and the antenna It may include an antenna control module 220 for controlling the tuning of the unit (210). Here, the antenna unit 210 may be manufactured as a P-type or F-type pattern antenna and may be seated inside the case of the mobile terminal 100. The antenna control module 220 may be connected to the antenna unit 210 and may be configured to include various circuit elements to tune the frequency band of the antenna unit 210. In particular, the antenna control module 220 may include at least one variable resistor, a variable inductor, and a variable capacitor connected to the antenna unit 210. The antenna control module 220 may control to adjust the frequency band of the antenna unit 210 by adjusting the variable characteristics of the circuit elements according to the antenna tuning information transmitted from the controller 160. Accordingly, the antenna module 200 of the present invention supports a tuneable antenna characteristic. In particular, the antenna module 200 of the present invention can improve the performance degradation of the antenna affected by the user's grip by controlling to tune the frequency characteristics according to the antenna tuning information according to the grip sensor pattern. On the other hand, the antenna unit 210 may be supplied by reducing the power supplied by the grip sensor pattern. In this case, the antenna unit 210 may include an antenna pattern and an amplifier connected to the antenna pattern, and the power supply reduction may occur in power supplied to the amplifier. Meanwhile, when the antenna unit 210 is manufactured in a configuration including only an antenna pattern, and the communication unit 110 is manufactured in a configuration including amplifiers, modulators, and filters connected to the antenna pattern, the power reduction is performed in the communication unit 110. May occur from the power supplied to the Therefore, it can be understood that the power control for reducing the SAR of the present invention is generated from the power supplied to the internal circuit elements of the communication means provided in the portable terminal 100.

The controller 160 controls the power supply of the mobile terminal 100 and the activation of the respective devices, and the flow of signals transmitted and received between the devices. In particular, the controller 160 of the present invention performs various signal control required for power control for reducing SAR according to a communication environment and tuning control for improving performance of the antenna module 200. In this case, an I2C interface may be provided between the controller 160 and the antenna module 200 for data communication for control, and other communication interfaces may be replaced according to a system designer's selection. The controller 160 may include a configuration as shown in FIG. 3.

3 is a diagram illustrating in detail the configuration of the controller 160 of the mobile terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the controller 160 of the present invention includes a sensor signal collector 161, a pattern checker 163, and an antenna controller 165, and the antenna controller 165 includes an antenna band adjusting unit ( 164 and an antenna power control unit 166.

The sensor signal collecting unit 161 collects various sensor signals generated from the grip sensor unit 170 according to the gripping state of the portable terminal 100. To this end, the sensor signal collection unit 161 may monitor at least one sensor included in the grip sensor unit 170 to determine which sensor signal is generated from which sensor. Accordingly, the sensor signal collector 161 may transmit the position information of the grip sensor where the signal is generated and the magnitude of the sensor signal value transmitted from the corresponding sensor to the pattern checker 163. For example, when a plurality of sensors included in the grip sensor unit 170 are disposed on the side surface of the case of the portable terminal 100, the sensor signal collection unit 161 assigns identification factors according to the positions of the grip sensors. Each identifier and sensor signal may be transmitted to the pattern checker 163.

The pattern checking unit 163 checks the size of the sensor signal from the grip sensor disposed at a certain position based on the sensor signal values transmitted from the sensor signal collecting unit 161, and outputs the corresponding sensor signals as one pattern. Can be integrated into. The integrated grip sensor pattern may be used to detect a reference grip sensor pattern having the most similar value compared to the reference grip sensor pattern previously stored in the control table 151 called from the storage 150. In this case, the pattern checking unit 163 may apply a predetermined error rate, thereby detecting a reference grip sensor pattern that matches the current grip sensor pattern within a predetermined error rate. Alternatively, the pattern checking unit 163 may determine to detect the reference grip sensor pattern having the highest matching rate with the currently collected grip sensor pattern among all the reference grip sensor patterns included in the control table 151. When the reference grip sensor pattern is detected, the pattern checking unit 163 confirms antenna tuning information and power supply control information corresponding to the reference grip sensor pattern. The antenna tuning information and the power control information may be transmitted to the antenna controller 165.

The pattern checking unit 163 may detect a grip sensor pattern by applying a timer to sensor signals received from the grip sensor unit 170. That is, since the user of the mobile terminal 100 changes the gripping form in various forms and from time to time when the mobile terminal 100 is gripped, power consumption and unnecessary calculations are performed when the corresponding pattern detection is performed in real time when the grip sensor pattern is detected. May occur. Accordingly, when the grip sensor signal is generated, the pattern checker 163 detects a reference grip sensor pattern with respect to the corresponding grip sensor pattern when the same grip sensor pattern is generated for a predetermined time, and generates a reference grip sensor pattern. Control to transmit communication means control information corresponding to the antenna controller 165. To this end, the controller 160 may further include a timer configuration for the grip sensor pattern.

The antenna controller 165 may receive antenna tuning information and power control information from the pattern checker 163 and perform control of a necessary configuration based on the corresponding values. In more detail, when the antenna controller 165 receives the antenna tuning information from the pattern checker 163, the antenna controller 165 may transfer it to the antenna band adjuster 164. Then, the antenna band adjusting unit 164 transmits the circuit element adjustment values corresponding to the antenna tuning information to the antenna control module 220 so that the circuit elements included in the antenna control module 220 have element values according to the adjustment values. Can be controlled. Accordingly, the antenna band adjusting unit 164 supports to compensate for the change in the natural frequency characteristic of the antenna unit 210 by the user's grip. Meanwhile, when the antenna controller 165 receives the power control information from the pattern checker 163, the antenna controller 165 transmits the power control information to the antenna power controller 166. Then, the antenna power controller 166 may control to reduce the size of the power supplied to the antenna unit 210 or the communication unit 110 or increase the reduced power according to the transmitted power control information. have.

As described above, the portable terminal for controlling the terminal according to the communication environment according to the embodiment of the present invention controls the power reduction for reducing the SAR according to the terminal gripping type of the user, or improves the performance of the antenna unit 210 according to the gripping. Support to perform control for Accordingly, the portable terminal of the present invention can support more secure terminal use and provide good communication performance.

In the above, the respective components and the roles of the components of the mobile terminal for controlling the terminal according to the communication environment according to the present invention have been described. Hereinafter, a terminal control method according to a communication environment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a terminal according to a communication environment according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, in the terminal control method of the present invention, when power is first supplied to the portable terminal 100, the controller 160 performs initialization of the components of the portable terminal 100 based on the supplied power. When the initialization is completed, as shown in step 401, the standby screen may be controlled to be output to the display unit 140.

Next, the controller 160 determines whether the grip sensor signal is received in step 403. To this end, the controller 160 may control the power supply to the grip sensor unit 170 to monitor whether the grip sensor signal is generated from the grip sensor unit 170. Meanwhile, the grip sensor receiving step is described as the standby screen display step, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the previous step of receiving the grip sensor signal may be a step of performing a user function according to activation of another user application program, for example, an audio file playback program, or may be in a sleep mode switching state for power saving.

If a separate grip sensor signal is not received in step 403, the controller 160 of the portable terminal 100 branches to step 405 to control the antenna module 200 according to a default setting and perform a corresponding user function. Can support For example, the controller 160 does not perform power reduction or tuning of the antenna unit 210 with respect to the power supplied to the communication means including the communication unit 110 and the antenna module 200 and the transmission output of the communication means. Can be controlled. In addition, the controller 160 may support to perform a user function such as a file play function according to an input signal input from the input unit 120 or the display unit 140 of the touch screen function.

Meanwhile, when the grip sensor signal is generated from the grip sensor unit 170 in step 403, the controller 160 branches to step 407 to check the pattern of the grip sensor signal. To this end, the grip sensor unit 170 may be configured in a form in which a plurality of grip sensors are disposed on one side of the case of the portable terminal 100, or may be formed as a sensor type capable of detecting a pattern of a user's grip. For example, in the grip sensor unit 170, a plurality of grip sensors may be disposed on at least one of the rear and right side portions, the upper and lower side portions, and the rear portion of the portable terminal 100 based on the display unit. It may also be disposed in the edge region of the front surface where the 140 is disposed. The placement position and placement area of these grip sensors may be adjusted according to the designer's intention. The controller 160 detects a grip sensor pattern for a grip sensor signal currently received using at least one of a position value of the sensor information and a size of the sensor value with respect to the sensor information received from the grip sensors described above. The controller 160 may call the control table 151 stored in the storage 150 to detect a reference grip sensor pattern corresponding to the current grip sensor pattern. In this case, the controller 160 may detect a reference grip sensor pattern having a matching rate within a predetermined error rate, or detect a reference grip sensor pattern having the highest matching rate with the current grip sensor pattern among the reference grip sensor patterns. The controller 160 may operate the timer in the process of detecting the grip sensor pattern, and determine that the grip sensor pattern is an effective pattern when the grip sensor pattern is maintained during the timer completion period. When the grip sensor pattern is changed before the timer completion period, the previous grip sensor pattern may be determined to be invalid and the timer operation for the new grip sensor pattern may be controlled. Accordingly, the portable terminal 100 of the present invention can prevent unnecessary power consumption by preventing the reference grip sensor pattern calculation that is indiscriminately calculated according to the change of the gripping operation.

Next, the controller 160 may detect at least one of an antenna adjustment value corresponding to the reference grip sensor pattern detected by branching to step 409, that is, power reduction information and antenna module 200 tuning information, from the control table 151. . The control unit 160 branches to step 411 to control the radiation performance and SAR reduction according to the antenna adjustment value. That is, the controller 160 may control to tune the antenna module 200 to improve radiation performance, and may control to reduce at least one of power and transmission power supplied to the communication means by a predetermined size to reduce SAR. . In this case, since the size of the reduced power source may vary substantially depending on the size of the portable terminal 100 or the type of communication chip applied to the terminal, corresponding values may be determined experimentally. Since the tuning information of the antenna module 200 may also vary according to the grip type of the user, these parts may also vary depending on a model such as the size or shape of the portable terminal 100 and as a result, experimentally derived specific models. It is preferable to be.

Next, the controller 160 branches to step 413 to check whether the sensor signal reception is terminated. In this case, if the sensor signal reception is continued, the process branches to step 407 to maintain or re-implement the following process to support optimal antenna performance and SAR reduction. On the other hand, when the reception of the sensor signal is terminated in step 413, the controller 160 may branch to step 401 to control to repeatedly perform the following process.

As described above, terminal control according to a communication environment according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be performed according to various mobile terminal 100 holding states to support more appropriate terminal operation. For example, a user may perform gripping for operating a user function except for a communication function and a gripping for operating a communication function. In more detail, the user of the portable terminal 100 may grip both the left and right side portions of the portable terminal 100 or only one side portion with one hand for writing and transmitting a message. At this time, if the grip sensor unit 170 is configured in such a way that the grip sensors are disposed in the left and right side and rear portions of the portable terminal 100, the control unit 160 is a grip sensor pattern according to the grip of both hands or only one side portion of the grip type The grip sensor pattern can be detected. Then, the controller 160 may determine that the corresponding grip sensor pattern is generated by the message and control not to perform power reduction for additional SAR reduction. On the other hand, the designer of the mobile terminal 100 may experimentally identify the antenna radiation performance degradation caused by the grip sensor pattern for message transmission, and generate the tuning information of the antenna module 200 to reinforce the corresponding radiation performance degradation. For example, the designer of the mobile terminal 100 may control to configure the control table 151 by generating the tuning information of the antenna module 200 that can compensate for the changed amount when a change in communication frequency characteristic occurs due to the holding of both hands. have. Then, the portable terminal 100 can perform normal message transmission even in a gripping environment according to the message transmission.

In a similar form, when performing a web search based on the mobile terminal 100, the user grips the side surface of the mobile terminal 100 with both hands according to the size or model of the mobile terminal 100, or on one side. Only the side parts can be gripped. Alternatively, when the mobile terminal 100 supports horizontal mode and vertical mode conversion of the display unit 140, the specific side parts may be gripped with both hands or only the specific side part may be gripped with one hand. In this case, optionally, at least a part of the rear part may be in contact with the user's hand by the grip of the user. Then, the controller 160 may perform the tuning of the antenna module 200 to perform only the radiation performance improvement according to the two-handed grip similarly to the case of writing the message, and may not perform the power reduction for the separate SAR reduction. In the case of the web access function and the message writing, since the mobile terminal 100 has a distance spaced from the user by a predetermined distance, the controller 160 may perform normal power supply to support better communication performance without performing SAR reduction. Can be controlled.

On the other hand, when operating the voice call function of the call function, since the mobile terminal 100 is disposed in a specific area of the user, for example, an area adjacent to the face, at least one of supply power reduction and transmission output reduction for SAR reduction may be necessary. have. Therefore, when the grip sensor pattern received from the grip sensor unit 170 is detected as a pattern corresponding to the voice call function operation, the controller 160 may control at least one of supply power reduction and transmission output reduction for SAR reduction. . The user wraps the side portions of the portable terminal 100 with one hand to operate the voice call function. In particular, the user grips the first side portion of the first side portion and the second side portion of the fingers using the finger. Accordingly, the controller 160 may determine the grip for the voice call operation according to the sensor signal pattern received from the plurality of grip sensors provided in the side part. When the voice call operation is determined, the controller 160 may perform tuning of the antenna module 200 for improving radiation performance according to one-handed gripping together with at least one of supply power reduction and transmission power reduction.

In the case of a video call during operation of the call function, the palm surface is held so as to contact the rear part of the portable terminal 100 even when the mobile terminal 100 is held by both hands or the mobile terminal 100 is held by one hand. Therefore, the control unit 160 controls to carry out the same communication means control as the message writing or web access function as described above in the case of two-handed gripping, and to control the communication means according to the contact of the palm surface when gripping one hand. can do.

Meanwhile, in the above description, at least one of tuning an antenna module and reducing transmission power according to four grip sensor arrangements and specific grip sensor grips is described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the mobile terminal 100 may arrange a larger number of grip sensors or pre-define various types of grip sensing collected from a plurality of grip sensors with more grip patterns, for example, dozens of grip patterns. Accordingly, the mobile terminal 100 may compare at least one sensor signal pattern collected by the sensor by the user grip with various predefined patterns, and then support at least one of tuning an antenna module and reducing power. To this end, antenna module tuning values, power reduction values, and antenna module tuning values and simultaneous power reduction performance values corresponding to various gripping patterns according to grip sensing are experimentally obtained according to manufacturing characteristics and frequency characteristics of each terminal and provided to the terminal. Can be.

5 is a view showing in more detail only the antenna-related structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the mobile terminal 100 of the present invention includes an antenna unit 210, a TMN 220, a duplexer 111, an LNA 112, a PA 113, and a VSWR (Voltage Standing Wave Ratio) detector ( 201) and a controller 160. The TMN 220 may correspond to the antenna control module 220 described above. The duplexer 111, the LNA 112, the PA 113, and the like may correspond to the configuration of the communication unit 110.

In the mobile terminal 100 of the present invention having the above configuration, when the VSWR detector 201 detects the signal flowing through the antenna unit 210 and transmits the signal to the controller 160, the controller 160 transmits the signal from the VSWR detector 201. The TMN 220 may be controlled according to the signal. The TMN 220 is a configuration that supports frequency tuning of the antenna unit 210 and can adjust the characteristics of the antenna unit 210 under the control of the controller 160. The duplexer 111 may be configured to support switching of signals in a signal transmission and reception process, the LNA 112 may be configured to perform low noise amplification, and the PA 113 may be configured to perform power amplification.

As described above, the portable terminal 100 of the present invention may support the control unit 160 to reduce the SAR by controlling the characteristics of the antenna unit 210 according to the detection result detected by the VSWR detector 201. . In particular, the controller 160 of the present invention can support optimal SAR reduction by performing various antenna tunings through the control of the TMN 220 according to the gripping type for holding the portable terminal 100. In addition, the control unit 160 of the present invention controls the power control type according to the gripping form of the mobile terminal 100 to support SAR reduction while optimizing power reduction. In this process, the VSWR detection unit 201 transmits to the control unit 160 that the antenna radiation characteristic is changed according to the form in which the user grips the portable terminal 100. The controller 160 may predefine the antenna radiation characteristic change according to the state in which the user grips the portable terminal 100 in various patterns, and may support the comparison with the current antenna radiation characteristic transmitted by the VSWR detector 201. To this end, the portable terminal 100 may further include a storage unit for storing the predefined plurality of patterns and the transmission output control values of the communication means defined in the plurality of patterns and the antenna module tuning values of the communication means.

For example, the controller 160 pre-defines the antenna radiation characteristic patterns for each AO type described below, and tunes the antenna frequency according to the pattern corresponding to the antenna radiation characteristic in the process of the user gripping the mobile terminal 100. At least one of the transmission output tuning may be controlled. In more detail, the "A-O" types are values that should be tuned by the TMN 220 and may be predefined frequency tuning values according to the gripping type of the mobile terminal 100 of the user. That is, the "A-O" values may be values for tuning the TMN 220 to optimize antenna radiation characteristics according to various types of grips of the user after the portable terminal 100 is manufactured. These values may vary for each frequency band supported by the mobile terminal 100, and thus may be experimentally obtained according to the supported frequency band of each mobile terminal 100.

Hereinafter, various types provided by the grip pattern or the antenna radiation characteristic change described above will be described in more detail. That is, the various patterns described below may be applied according to the gripping patterns or the change of antenna radiation characteristics described above.

First, a parameter value for frequency tuning of the TMN 220 for each AO type according to a gripping pattern, which may correspond to a total of 15 cases, with a division capable of checking a user's gripping pattern based on the arrangement of the four grip sensors described above. Is shown in Table 1.

Type shunt series shunt A 1 pF 1.8nH 18nH B 1.5 pF 1.8nH 18nH C 2.0 pF 1.8nH 18nH D 2.5 pF 1.8nH 18nH E 3.0 pF 1.8nH 18nH F 3.5 pF 1.8nH 18nH G 4.0pF 1.8nH 18nH H 4.5 pF 1.8nH 18nH I 5.0pF 1.8nH 18nH J 5.5pF 1.8nH 18nH K 6.0 pF 1.8nH 18nH L 6.5 pF 1.8nH 18nH M 7.0 pF 1.8nH 18nH N 7.5pF 1.8nH 18nH O 8.0pF 1.8nH 18nH

The device values shown in Table 1 are examples. The parameter value definition for each A-O type may vary depending on the manufacturing characteristics of the mobile terminal 100 or the frequency characteristics to be transmitted and received. In addition, the A-O types may be expanded to more types or reduced to fewer types according to the increase or decrease in the number of grip sensors and the sensing type of the grip sensor.

For example, based on the first to fourth grip sensors (Touch 1, Touch 2, Touch 3, and Touch 4) of FIG. 1, in the A type, the first grip sensor (Touch 1) is held above a predetermined value and the other grip The sensor may correspond to an antenna module tuning value corresponding to a case in which the sensors are held or not held below a predetermined value. Type B corresponds to a state in which the second grip sensor Touch 2 is gripped, type C corresponds to a state in which the third grip sensor Touch 3 is gripped, and type D corresponds to a state in which the fourth grip sensor Touch 4 is gripped. It may correspond to the antenna module tuning value.

The E type may be an antenna module tuning value in which the first grip sensor and the second grip sensors Touch 1 and Touch 2 are held above a certain pressure value and other grip sensors are held or not held below a predetermined value. Can be. Type F is a state in which the first grip sensor and a third grip sensor (Touch 1, Touch 3) are held, type G is a state in which the first grip sensor and the fourth grip sensor (Touch 1, Touch 4) are held, type H The second grip sensor and the third grip sensor (Touch 2, Touch 3) is held, the type I is the second grip sensor and the fourth grip sensor (Touch 2, Touch 4) is held, J type is An antenna module tuning value corresponding to a state in which the third grip sensor and the fourth grip sensors Touch 3 and Touch 4 are gripped may be set.

In the K type, the first grip sensor, the second grip sensor, and the third grip sensor (Touch 1, Touch 2, and Touch 3) are held above a predetermined pressure value, and the remaining fourth grip sensor (Touch 4) is not held or fixed. It may be an antenna module tuning value corresponding to a gripped below the pressure value. In the L type, a first grip sensor, a second grip sensor, and a fourth grip sensor (Touch 1, Touch 2, and Touch 4) are gripped, and in the M type, the first grip sensor, the third grip sensor, and the fourth grip sensor ( Touch module 1, touch 3, and touch 4) are held, and the N type is an antenna module corresponding to a state where the second grip sensor, the third grip sensor, and the fourth grip sensor (Touch 2, Touch 3, and Touch 4) are held. Can be a tuning value.

The O type may be an antenna module tuning value corresponding to a state in which the first to fourth grip sensors Touch1 to Touch4 are held.

On the other hand, the portable terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention can adjust the transmission output differently according to the terminal gripping state to reduce SAR. For example, the mobile terminal 100 may divide the terminal gripping type into 15 steps for each a-o type, and may support to adjust the transmission output differently for each type. In other words, when four grip sensors are arranged, each of the grip sensors is divided into respective types of grips according to the grip type at least one of the grip pressures. It can support coordination differently.

On the basis of a specific product, for example, GSM850, the transmission output of each type of GSM850 is shown in Tables 2 to 16 below.

As described above, the portable terminal 100 of the present invention may define a transmission output size differently for each terminal gripping pattern as described above. The transmission output size in Tables 2 to 16 is a transmission output setting value, which is a parameter value related to the size of the output to be output by the transmitter. Accordingly, the actual output value may vary according to the basic output of the transmitter to which the transmission output setting values described in the corresponding table are applied.

In addition, tx2g [0] to tx2g [5] are register values arranged in the transmitter, and each of four registers is used to adjust the transmission output of the transmitter. Here, the fifth tx2g [5] may be a reserved register. Accordingly, the register may be a fixed value or a dummy value.

On the other hand, the above description has been described for the case of applying to the GSM850 product, the present invention is not limited to this, the present invention can be applied to various products such as EDGE850 or WCDMA 850, GSM1900, EDGE1900 or WCDMA1900. As an example, the particular type of transmit power applied to the GSM850 may be applied in other products as shown in the table below.

EDGE850 Send output size tx2g [0] 0 tx2g [1] 96 tx2g [2] 112 tx2g [3] 128 tx2g [4] 144 tx2g [5] 112

GSM1900 Send output size tx2g [0] 0 tx2g [1] 64 tx2g [2] 144 tx2g [3] 160 tx2g [4] 184 tx2g [5] 112

EDGE1900 Send output size tx2g [0] 0 tx2g [1] 68 tx2g [2] 84 tx2g [3] 116 tx2g [4] 132 tx2g [5] 96

In the above description, the grip sensor maximum power setting values of the GSM1900 and EDGE1900 may be 248, and the grip sensor maximum power setting values of the GSM850 and EDGE850 may be set to 264.

As described above, the size of the transmission output may be adjusted differently to reduce SAR according to the manufacturing characteristics of the product and the communication characteristics in which the product is operated. For each product described above, as in the GSM850 product described above, each transmission output adjustment may be performed for each phage pattern.

Table 20 below summarizes the grip sensor pattern for tuning the antenna module or the grip sensor pattern for adjusting transmission power.

A / a B / b C / c D / d E / e F / f G / g H / h I / i J / j K / k L / l M / m N / n O / o touch1 O O O O O O O O touch2 O O O O O O O O touch3 O O O O O O O O touch4 O O O O O O O O

In Table 20, the horizontal axis may be a type, and the vertical axis may be a grip sensor.

As described above, the SAR reduction of the present invention can be achieved as shown in Table 21 through at least one of antenna tuning and power control.

BAND GSM850 GSM1900 WCDMA850 WCDMA1900 Before application 1.97 W / kg 3.39 W / kg 1.65 W / kg 3.72W / kg After application 0.912 W / kg 1.15 W / kg 0.407W / kg 1.18 W / kg

In the above description, the antenna tuning step and the transmission output adjustment step are described to have 15 step divisions for each AO type or ao type, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, more than 20 types or more may be used. It can also be divided into types. That is, the mobile terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be divided into a plurality of predefined types according to a gripping type, perform antenna tuning optimized for a specific gripping type according to the divided types, or transmit output SAR reduction can be achieved by adjusting the power supply or by adjusting the antenna tuning and transmit power together.

That is, when the user grips the terminal by a specific type, the controller 160 may perform at least one of the antenna tuning and the transmission output adjustment to correspond to the gripped type to assist in optimizing SAR reduction according to the gripped type. To this end, an antenna tuning value and a transmission power adjustment value according to a specific gripping pattern may be predefined. As described above, the antenna tuning value and the transmission power adjustment value may vary according to manufacturing characteristics of each product or communication operation characteristics of the product.

The above-described portable terminal 100 is a short-range communication module for short-range communication, a camera module for photographing a still image / video of a subject as described above, a wired communication method or wireless communication of the portable terminal 100. It may further include the components not mentioned above, such as an interface for data transmission and reception in accordance with the scheme, an internet communication module performing an internet function by communicating with an internet network, and a digital broadcasting module performing a digital broadcast reception and reproduction function. These components can not be enumerated because all of them vary according to the convergence trend of digital devices, but the components equivalent to those mentioned above may be further included in the device. have. In addition, the mobile terminal 100 of the present invention may be excluded from the above configuration or replaced by another configuration, depending on the form of the present invention. Which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

In addition, the mobile terminal 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention is a device including a grip sensor and an antenna tuning module, all mobile communication terminals operating based on communication protocols (communication protocols) corresponding to various communication systems Mobile communication terminals, portable multimedia players (PMPs), digital broadcasting players, personal digital assistants (PDAs), music players (e.g. MP3 players), mobile game terminals, smart phones, notebooks ) And all information and communication devices such as handheld PCs and multimedia devices, and applications thereof.

While the present invention has been described with reference to several preferred embodiments, these embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

100: mobile terminal 110: communication unit
120: input unit 130: audio processing unit
140: display unit 150: storage unit
151: control table 160: control unit
161: sensor signal collection unit 163: pattern check unit
164: antenna band adjusting unit 165: antenna control unit
166: antenna power control unit

Claims (18)

A grip sensor unit generating a sensor signal according to a user grip;
Detecting a grip sensor pattern based on a sensor signal supplied from the grip sensor unit, detecting communication means control information corresponding to the detected grip sensor pattern, and controlling at least one of power supply control of the communication means and antenna module tuning control of the communication means; A control unit performing one;
And a communication means for performing power control and antenna module tuning according to the control of the controller. The method of claim 1,
A storage unit which stores a control table including at least one reference grip sensor pattern corresponding to the grip sensor pattern, power control information corresponding to each of the reference grip sensor patterns, and antenna module tuning control information. A portable terminal controlled according to a communication environment, characterized in that. The method of claim 2,
The control unit
A sensor signal collector configured to collect the grip sensor signal;
A pattern checking unit detecting a grip sensor pattern from the collected sensor signal and detecting a reference grip sensor pattern corresponding to the grip sensor pattern;
And an antenna controller configured to receive at least one of power control information and antenna module tuning control information corresponding to a reference grip sensor pattern from the pattern checker to perform at least one of power control and antenna module tuning control information. A portable terminal controlled according to a communication environment, characterized in that. The method of claim 3,
The control unit
And a timer for detecting the grip sensor pattern lasting for a predetermined time. The method of claim 3,
The antenna controller
An antenna power adjusting unit which reduces the size of at least one of a supply power supplied to the communication means and a transmission output of the communication means or increases the reduced supply power according to the power control information;
And an antenna band adjusting unit configured to compensate for the inherent frequency characteristics of the antenna unit of the communication unit according to the antenna module tuning control information. The method of claim 1,
The communication means
A communication unit for amplifying and modulating a signal to be transmitted and received;
An antenna unit for radiating and receiving the transmitted and received signals;
And an antenna control module including at least one circuit element connected to the antenna unit to compensate for the inherent frequency characteristic of the antenna unit. The method of claim 1,
The grip sensor unit
And a plurality of grip sensors disposed on at least two of the upper, lower, left, and right side portions of the portable terminal case. The method of claim 7, wherein
The control unit
According to the grip sensor pattern received from the grip sensor unit, one of two-handed grip, one-handed grip, and one-handed grip of one side part is determined, and according to the determination, power control of the communication means and antenna module tuning control of the communication means. A portable terminal controlled according to a communication environment, characterized in that at least one of performing. The method of claim 8,
The control unit
Determining the operation of the voice call function of the communication means according to the finger gripping pattern in contact with both side portions of the portable terminal, controlling to reduce at least one of power and transmission power supplied to the communication means, compensation for antenna radiation performance according to the gripping A portable terminal controlled according to a communication environment, characterized in that for performing antenna module tuning for the control. The method of claim 7, wherein
The grip sensor unit
And at least one grip sensor disposed at a rear portion of the portable terminal case. The method of claim 10,
The control unit
The video call function of the communication means is determined according to the finger gripping pattern in contact with both side portions of the portable terminal and the palm contact pattern in contact with the back portion, and the antenna module tuning is performed to compensate the antenna radiation performance according to the gripping. A portable terminal controlled according to a communication environment, characterized in that. Generating a sensor signal according to a mobile terminal holding;
Detecting a grip sensor pattern from the generated sensor signal;
Detecting communication means control information corresponding to the detected grip sensor pattern;
And performing at least one of power supply control of the communication means and antenna module tuning control of the communication means. The method of claim 12,
The process of detecting the communication means control information
Calling a control table from at least one storage table including at least one reference grip sensor pattern corresponding to the grip sensor pattern, power control information corresponding to each of the reference grip sensor patterns, and antenna module tuning control information;
Detecting a reference grip sensor pattern having the highest matching rate among the reference grip sensor pattern and a matching rate within a predetermined error rate or all reference grip sensor patterns included in the control table;
Detecting at least one of power supply control information and antenna module tuning control information corresponding to the detected reference grip sensor pattern. The method of claim 12,
The process of detecting the grip sensor pattern
Operating a timer;
And determining the grip sensor pattern as an effective pattern when the grip sensor pattern is maintained during the timer completion period. The method of claim 12,
The above process
Reducing at least one of a supply power supplied to the communication means and a transmission output of the communication means or increasing at least one of the reduced supply power and the transmission output according to the power control information;
Controlling to compensate for an inherent frequency characteristic of the antenna unit of the communication unit according to the antenna module tuning control information; Terminal control method according to a communication environment, characterized in that it comprises at least one process. The method of claim 12,
The above process
Determining operation of a voice call function of a communication means according to a finger gripping pattern in contact with both side portions of the portable terminal;
And controlling to reduce at least one of power and transmission power supplied to the communication means according to the determination, and performing antenna module tuning for compensation of antenna radiation performance according to a grip. Terminal control method according to. The method of claim 12,
The above process
According to at least one of a finger gripping pattern in contact with both side portions of the portable terminal and a palm contact pattern in contact with the back portion, the current state is determined by one of a video call function operation, a message writing function operation, and a web access function operation of a communication means. Process of doing;
And maintaining the antenna unit power supply according to the gripping according to the determination, and controlling to perform antenna module tuning for antenna radiation performance compensation. A detector configured to collect antenna radiation characteristics according to a user's grip;
A control unit for comparing the radiation characteristic pattern detected by the detection unit with a plurality of predefined patterns and performing at least one of transmission output control of the communication means and antenna module tuning control of the communication means defined in the pattern corresponding to the radiation characteristic pattern ;
Communication means for performing power control and antenna module tuning according to the control of the controller;
And a storage unit configured to store the predefined plurality of patterns and the transmission output control values of the communication means defined in the plurality of patterns and the antenna module tuning values of the communication means. .

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