JP2003037656A - Mobile telephone set and back light control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile telephone set and a back light control method therefor, with which low luminance lighting is provided from the ON of a back light to the OFF and power consumption can be reduced without losing the convenience. SOLUTION: The mobile telephone set such as a portable telephone set is provided with a sound detecting circuit 4 for detecting the presence/absence of sound from the output of a microphone 1, a key detecting circuit 5 for detecting the presence/absence of operation of a key 21, a call detecting circuit 6 for detecting whether it is a call state or not and a timer 7 for counting the lighting time of a back light 10. A back light control circuit 8 connected thereto controls the turned-on back light 10 to be low luminance lighting on the basis of the detection of call start by the call detecting circuit 6 and when the presence of sound is detected in such a state by the sound detecting circuit 4 or when the timer 7 is turned into time-up, control to turn off the back light 10 is performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile telephone and a backlight control method thereof, and more particularly,
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile telephone and a backlight control method for the mobile telephone, which can optimize the control of turning on and off the backlight during a call to reduce power consumption and improve usability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Mobile phones, PHS (Personal Handypho
ne System) mobile phones, etc., have a body corresponding to a handset of a fixed type telephone, and an antenna,
The high frequency section, key matrix, display section, control section, microphone, speaker, backlight, etc. are integrated. When making a call with a mobile phone having such a configuration (here, a mobile phone), an off-hook operation is performed using a key matrix, then the main body is held in one hand, and the speaker is held in a state matched to the ear. It is used to wait for the other party to come out and start the call.

By the way, a portable telephone or a PHS machine uses a small rechargeable battery as a power source, and has devised a circuit or the like to enable a standby time of several hundred hours. Therefore, a backlight or the like that consumes a large amount of power is controlled to be turned off when it is considered unnecessary. For example, when the power is turned on or the key matrix is operated, the backlight is turned on for a certain period of time and is turned off when the certain period of time is reached.

It is sometimes desirable to turn off the backlight in addition to turning on the power or operating the key matrix. For example, when making a call, as described above, the mobile phone body is near the ear, and the user never sees the display or the operation unit (key matrix). Therefore,
It is not necessary to turn on the backlight during a call, and it is desirable to turn it off. However, conventionally, when the operation of the key matrix is started, the backlight is lit for a certain period of time, so the backlight of the operation unit and the display unit illuminates even during a call that cannot be seen, which is valuable. Battery power is exhausted.

FIG. 4 shows a conventional backlight control method for a mobile telephone. In the figure, S represents a step. The backlight control method of FIG. 5 is a method for solving the above-mentioned conventional problems. First, it is determined whether or not there is a key operation (S201), and if it is determined that a key operation has been performed, the backlight is turned on (S202). After turning on the backlight, it is determined whether or not a call is started (determined by an off-hook operation) (S203). When it is determined that the call is started, it is determined that the display is not viewed and the backlight is turned off (S20).
4). Then, it is determined that the call is ended (determined by an on-hook operation) (S205). Normally, when the call ends, the user usually moves the main body of the mobile phone away from the ear and moves to the front of the body, and there is a high possibility of seeing the displayed contents. Therefore, the process returns to S201 and the backlight is turned on. On the other hand, if the call start is not determined in S203, it is determined whether the time set by the timer has elapsed (S206). When the set time has elapsed, the backlight is turned off (S207). After that, the process returns to S201 and enters the standby state.

In the processing of FIG. 5, when the lighting time is set to be short by the timer, the backlight is turned off while the operation button (key) is being operated, or conversely, the backlight is turned off suddenly. A situation arises that makes it hard for users to use. Therefore, as a method for solving such a problem, there is Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-0886232, in which the backlight is turned off after the lighting brightness of the backlight is gradually dimmed at a preset time. It prevents it from turning off suddenly.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-27844,
When the surroundings are dark, the backlight is turned on in response to a key input to start a call or an incoming call, the timer is started at the same time, and then the backlight is turned off after the voice input is detected or after a certain period of time elapses. The lighting time of is minimized to reduce power consumption.

In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-321853, the call detecting unit detects the start of a call due to the operation of the operation unit,
Turn off the backlight that is lit, turn on the backlight for a certain period of time when the call detection unit detects the end of the call, and turn on the backlight when you cannot see the display unit and the operation unit during a call. It is designed to reduce power consumption.

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-174896,
When a specific message is received from the base station, the backlight lighting / erasing control is performed based on the content set by the user regarding the backlight lighting control.
In the call state, necessary key operations can be performed without error, and the current consumption of the battery can be minimized.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-103153, when a telephone number is input at the time of calling or when it is determined that there is a transmission buffer from the other party at the time of receiving a call, it is determined whether it is a voice call or data communication, and a voice call is made. In this case, the backlight is controlled to be turned off so that the current consumption of the battery can be reduced.

[0011]

However, according to the conventional mobile telephone, in the case of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-086232, the backlight is turned off after the lighting brightness is gradually decreased. By lowering the power consumption, the power consumption can be suppressed, but the backlight is continuously lit for a certain period of time from the start of the call, and the power is wasted.

According to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-321853, a timer is activated at the start of a call, and the backlight is turned off when the time is up.
According to Japanese Patent No. 03153, since the backlight is turned off by determining a voice call by inputting a telephone number, the backlight changes from turning on to turning off all at once, and the backlight turns on before moving the mobile phone to the ear side. If it goes off, it gives the user a feeling of strangeness. In addition, even after the backlight is turned off, you may want to reconfirm the display screen or re-enter, but in such a case, you cannot see the display screen when the backlight is off, It becomes hard to see.

According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-174896, when a specific message is received from the base station, the backlight is turned on / off based on the contents set by the user, so that the message reception and the user setting are performed. When there is no light, the backlight lighting / erasing control is not performed, and the effect of suppressing power consumption is reduced.

An object of the present invention is to provide a low-brightness lighting state between lighting and extinguishing the backlight, and to reduce power consumption without impairing the usability of the user, and a backlight control thereof. To provide a method.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has, as a first feature, a wireless section for performing wireless communication, a display section and an operating section provided on the main body, and the display. In a mobile telephone that includes a backlight for illuminating the control unit and the operation unit and a microphone as a transmitter, and operates by using a battery as a power source, the presence or absence of voice is detected based on the level of the output signal from the microphone. A voice detection circuit, a call detection circuit that detects whether or not a call is in progress, a backlight drive circuit that drives the backlight, a timer that counts the lighting time of the backlight, and the call detection circuit Based on the detection of the start, the backlight being turned on is controlled to a low-brightness lighting state, and in this state, presence of sound is detected by the sound detection circuit. It is to provide a mobile telephone, characterized in that it comprises a backlight control circuit, wherein the timer goes off the backlight with a fact that the time is up.

According to this structure, when the call detection circuit detects the start of a call, the backlight being lit is controlled by the backlight control circuit to be in a low-luminance lighting state, and the voice of the user is detected in this state. When detected by the circuit, the main body is moved to the ear side, and it is considered that the user no longer needs to look at the display unit, and the backlight is turned off. In addition, even if the voice of the user is not detected after the start of a call is detected, if the fixed time has passed, it is considered that the body is silent after moving the main body to the ear side, and the time set by the timer is set. The backlight control circuit turns off the backlight when the time has elapsed. As described above, the backlight is turned on in a low-luminance state based on the judgment of the start of a call and then turned off, so that the power consumption can be reduced without impairing the usability of the user.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has, as a second feature, a radio section for communicating by radio, a display section and an operation section provided in the main body, and the display section and the operation section are illuminated. In a mobile telephone that is equipped with a backlight and a speaker as a receiver and operates using a battery as a power source, a sensor that is installed near the speaker and that senses a contact state with a human body, and an output signal of the sensor has a predetermined level. A contact detection circuit that outputs a detection signal when the signal exceeds the call level, and a call detection circuit that detects whether or not the call state is present,
A backlight drive circuit for driving the backlight,
A timer that counts the lighting time of the backlight, and controls the backlight being lit to a low brightness lighting state based on the call detection circuit detecting the start of a call, and under this state, the contact detection circuit It is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile telephone including a backlight control circuit that turns off the backlight when a detection signal is output or when the timer times out.

According to this structure, when the call detection circuit detects the start of a call, the backlight being turned on is controlled by the backlight control circuit to a low-luminance lighting state, and in this state, the main body comes into contact with the user's body. When it is detected, the main body is moved to the ear side, and it is considered that the user no longer needs to look at the display unit, and the backlight is turned off. In addition, even if the voice of the user is not detected after the start of a call is detected, if the fixed time has passed, it is considered that the body is silent after moving the main body to the ear side, and the time set by the timer is set. The backlight control circuit turns off the backlight when the time has elapsed. In this way, by setting the backlight that is lit to a low-luminance lighting state based on the judgment to start a call, and then turning off the light,
The power consumption can be reduced without impairing the usability for the user.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a third feature that the control of lighting of a backlight provided on the main body for illuminating a display section and an operation section is performed by the presence / absence of a key operation of the operation section. In the backlight control method for a mobile phone performed based on, the backlight is turned on in response to a key operation of the operation unit, and the backlight being turned on is turned on at a low brightness when the start of a call is detected. When the backlight is in the low-luminance lighting state, the main body is detected to be in contact with the human body of the user, the voice spoken by the user is detected, or the set time is set. Another object of the present invention is to provide a backlight control method for a mobile phone, which is characterized in that the backlight is turned off when it exceeds the limit.

According to this method, the backlight is turned on in response to the key operation of the operation section, and when the start of the call is detected, the lighting backlight is controlled to the low-luminance lighting state. In this state, the main body is applied to the user's body for a call, and the contact state is detected.
If the contact state is detected, it is possible to immediately make a call, but even in this state, it is possible that the other party may not come out and abandon the call, so it is possible to detect the presence or absence of voice by the user. The backlight is turned off when there is a sound or the set time is exceeded. In this way, the backlight being turned on is put into a low-brightness lighting state based on the judgment of the start of a call, and then turned off based on the presence of voice or the exceeding of the set time, without impairing the usability of the user, Power consumption can be reduced.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a mobile telephone according to the present invention. The mobile telephone according to the present invention includes a microphone (microphone) 1 as a transmitter, a microphone amplifier 2 connected to the microphone 1, an A / D converter 3 connected to the microphone amplifier 2, and an A / D converter. A voice detection circuit 4 connected to the converter 3, a key detection circuit 5 for detecting the presence / absence of operation of a key 21 as an operation unit, a call detection circuit 6 for detecting that a call state has been entered,
A timer 7 for counting the time from the start of lighting of the backlight, a backlight control circuit 8 for controlling the backlight 10, a backlight drive circuit 9 connected to the backlight control circuit 8, and a backlight drive circuit 9 for driving. The backlight 10 and the display unit 22 illuminated by the backlight 10 from the back surface and the like are provided. In addition, although not shown in the figure, the mobile phone has a radio unit for connecting to a public radio network via a base station, an antenna, a speaker as a receiver, a control unit for controlling the whole using a CPU, An LED (light emitting diode) or the like for notifying an incoming call is provided.

The microphone 1 converts an utterance of a user during a call during a call into an electric signal. The microphone amplifier 2 is
Amplifies the audio signal from the microphone 1. A / D converter 3
Converts the analog output signal of the microphone amplifier 2 into a digital signal. The voice detection circuit 4 recognizes whether or not the user has spoken. The audio signal from the A / D converter 3 is output to the backlight control circuit 8 when it reaches a preset threshold value. The key detection circuit 5 detects whether or not the user of the mobile phone is operating a key, and transmits the information to the backlight control circuit 8.

The call detection circuit 6 detects whether or not the mobile telephone is in a call state (= connection state with the base station). For example, a call channel is established between the mobile telephone and a base station (not shown). It is possible to adopt a configuration in which it is determined whether or not it is formed and detected. Also, normally, in the case of making a call, the "call (call)" button is pressed, in the case of a call, one of the buttons is pressed after the ringing sound before the call is started, and when the call is ended, Since the "end" button is pressed, the start / end of the call can be detected by detecting these operations. The timer 7 is set with a time for turning on the backlight 10, and the time is set for the backlight 10.
The countdown is started from the point when the lighting of starts.

The backlight control circuit 8 is for controlling the brightness of the backlight 10, and turns on the backlight 10 based on the output signal of the key detection circuit 5, and
The backlight 10 is changed to a low-luminance lighting state (dimming state) based on the output signal of the call detection circuit 6 or the timer 7. Further, the backlight control circuit 8 turns off the backlight 10 based on the detection signal from the voice detection circuit 4 and the output signal (time-up signal) from the timer 7. As the output of the voice detection circuit 4 in this case,
The user outputs a signal indicating that the user is speaking only when the user brings his / her mouth close to the microphone 1 and makes a voice, and the sound pressure level exceeds a level (threshold value) that can be considered as being in conversation.

The backlight 10 is provided in the mobile telephone, and illuminates the display section 22 and the key 21 of the LCD (liquid crystal display) by shining light from the back surface and the side surface of the display section 2.
The display of 2 and the position of the key 21 are made easy to see. The timing of turning on / off the backlight 10 is the call detection circuit 6, the key detection circuit 5, the voice detection circuit 4, and the timer 7.
It is determined by the backlight control circuit 8 based on the output signal from. The backlight drive circuit 9 turns on the backlight 10 under the control of the backlight control circuit 8.

FIG. 2 shows the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG.
In the figure, S represents a step. Hereinafter, FIG. 1 and FIG.
The operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. When the user of the mobile phone puts the main body on the side surface (ear) of the face and is in a call, the user does not see the display unit 22, and therefore, it is not necessary to turn on the backlight 10. Therefore, when the user is not looking at the display unit 22 of the mobile phone, this state is recognized by the call detection circuit 6, the key detection circuit 5, and the voice detection circuit 4, and the process of FIG. The brightness of the light 10 is reduced or the backlight 10 is turned off.

Referring to FIG. 2, when the key detection circuit 5 detects that there is a key operation (S101), this detection information is input to the backlight control circuit 8. The backlight control circuit 8 controls the backlight drive circuit 9 to start lighting the backlight 10 (S102). Next, when the call detection circuit 6 detects the start of a call (S10
3) Alternatively, when the time set by the timer 7 has elapsed (S104), the backlight control circuit 8 controls the backlight drive circuit 9 to reduce the brightness of the backlight 10 (S105). When sound is detected while the backlight 10 is in a low-luminance lighting state (S106), or when the time set by the timer 7 has elapsed (S10).
7), the power supply to the backlight 10 is cut off, and the backlight 10 is turned off (S108). This extinguishment continues until the call detection circuit 6 detects the end of the call. When the call ends, the backlight control circuit 8 controls the backlight drive circuit 9 to relight the backlight 10, and returns the processing to S102. In addition, when the key operation or the like is performed after the start of lighting of the backlight 10 and before the set lighting time elapses (“NO” in S104 and S101), the backlight 10 is turned on again (S102).

According to the first embodiment, during a meaningless standby or a call that is performed while the backlight 10 is lit, a transition is made to a low-brightness lighting state that consumes less current than the full lighting state. This reduces power consumption. In this state, since it is in the low brightness lighting state,
The display on the display unit 22 can be viewed without any trouble. Further, in the low-luminance lighting state, the backlight 10 is turned off by voice detection, so that the backlight 10 can be turned off at an optimum timing even before the time set by the timer 7 has elapsed. Becomes
It is possible to prevent wasteful consumption of battery power. Then, the continuous call time can be increased by the amount that the power consumption can be reduced.

The effects obtained by performing lighting with low luminance are listed below. (1) Since power saving can be achieved and the brightness of the backlight 10 can be maintained to some extent, the display of the display unit 22 can be easily maintained for a long time. (2) When the key is operated, the uncomfortable feeling given to the user by the sudden lighting of the backlight 10 can be eased. (3) After lighting for a few seconds, it shifts to a low-brightness lighting state and the backlight is turned off only when the sound from the microphone is detected in this state. When the telephone directory is referred (key operation) and the number is transmitted to the other party (voice input), the display unit 22 is again displayed.
If the elapsed time is short when looking at, the backlight will not go out and there is no need to press unnecessary keys.

In the above embodiment, when the backlight 10 is turned off during a call (S10).
8), and at the same time, the power supply to the display unit 22 is turned off.
The control may be set to.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, instead of the detection system of the microphone 1 to the voice detection circuit 4 shown in FIG. 1, a contact detection sensor 11 for detecting a contact and the presence or absence of a contact are detected based on the output level of the contact detection sensor 11. The contact detection circuit 12 is provided with a detection system. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the backlight 10 from being turned off in response to ambient noise even though the user is not actually speaking.

A pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, an optical sensor or the like can be used as the contact detection sensor 11 and is installed in the vicinity of the speaker (earpiece). When the pressure sensor is used, when the user puts the mobile phone body on the ear, the contact pressure is detected and a detection signal is sent to the contact detection circuit 12. The contact detection circuit 12 generates an output signal when the output level from the contact detection sensor 11 exceeds a predetermined value.

FIG. 4 shows the processing of the second embodiment.
In FIG. 4, S101 to S105 and S10
7 to S109 are the same as those in FIG. The difference between FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 is that S301 is inserted in the place of S106 in FIG. S301 determines the output signal of the contact detection circuit 12 based on the output signal of the contact detection sensor 11, and Yes.
If No, the process proceeds to S108, and if No, S10.
Move to 7. When Yes in S301, the power supply to the backlight 10 is cut off, and the backlight 10 is turned off (S108). This extinguishment continues until the call detection circuit 6 detects the end of the call. When the call ends, the backlight 10 is turned on again, and the process returns to S102.
When No is determined in S301, it is determined whether or not the time set by the timer 7 has elapsed. If it has elapsed, the process of S108 is executed and the backlight 10 is turned off.

As described above, according to the second embodiment,
Since the start of a call can be determined and the backlight 10 can be automatically turned off only by applying the mobile phone body to the user's ear, unlike the first embodiment, the background light does not operate due to ambient noise. The light 10 can be controlled and the power consumption can be reduced, and the continuous call time can be increased accordingly. Moreover, since the display unit 22 is not seen when the main body is applied to the side surface of the head, the backlight 10 can be turned off at an optimum timing.

[0035]

As is clear from the above, according to the mobile telephone of the present invention, the start of a call is detected by the call detection circuit, and the backlight in which the backlight control circuit is lit is detected in this state by the detection of the start of the call. In this state, the voice detection circuit system or the contact detection circuit system detects the voice of the user or the contact with the human body, or turns off the backlight based on the elapse of the time set by the timer. Therefore, the power consumption can be reduced and the usable time can be increased without impairing the usability of the user.

Further, according to another backlight control method for a mobile telephone of the present invention, the backlight is lit in response to the presence of a key operation, and the backlight being lit is brought to a low brightness lighting state upon detection of the start of a call. In this state, the backlight is turned off when it is detected that the main unit touches the human body of the user in this state, or the voice of the user is detected, or when the set time is exceeded. The backlight is turned on in a low brightness state based on the judgment of the start of a call, and then turned off based on the presence of sound or the set time is exceeded, thereby reducing the power consumption without impairing the usability of the user. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a mobile phone according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of a mobile phone according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a conventional backlight control method.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 microphone 2 microphone amplifier 3 A / D converter 4 Voice detection circuit 5 Key detection circuit 6 Call detection circuit 7 timer 9 Backlight drive circuit 10 backlight 11 Touch sensor 12 Contact detection circuit 21 key 22 Display

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Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A power supply comprising: a wireless unit for wireless communication, a display unit and an operation unit provided on the main body, a backlight for illuminating the display unit and the operation unit, and a microphone as a transmitter. In a mobile phone that operates using a battery, a voice detection circuit that detects the presence or absence of voice based on the level of the output signal from the microphone, a call detection circuit that detects whether or not a call is in progress, and the back A backlight drive circuit that drives a light, a timer that counts the lighting time of the backlight, and controls the backlight being turned on to a low-brightness lighting state based on the fact that the call detection circuit detects the start of a call. ,
In this state, the mobile telephone is provided with a backlight control circuit that turns off the backlight when the presence of sound is detected by the sound detection circuit or when the timer times out. 2. The call detection circuit detects the call state based on a call channel being formed with a base station or an operation of a calling key being detected. The mobile phone according to item 1. 3. The mobile phone according to claim 1, wherein the backlight drive circuit turns on the backlight when the call detection circuit detects the end of a call. 4. A wireless unit for wirelessly communicating, a display unit and an operation unit provided on the main body, a backlight for illuminating the display unit and the operation unit, and a speaker as a receiver. In a mobile telephone that operates using a sensor, which is installed near the speaker and detects a contact state with a human body, a contact detection circuit that outputs a detection signal when an output signal of the sensor exceeds a predetermined level, and a call state A call detection circuit that detects whether or not the call is detected, a backlight drive circuit that drives the backlight, a timer that counts the lighting time of the backlight, and a call detection circuit that detects the start of a call. The backlight is being lit by controlling it to a low brightness lighting state,
A mobile phone comprising a backlight control circuit that turns off the backlight when a detection signal is output from the contact detection circuit or the timer times out in this state. 5. The mobile phone according to claim 4, wherein the sensor is a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, or an optical sensor. 6. The backlight control circuit turns off the backlight when the call detection circuit does not detect the start of a call and the timer has not elapsed a set time. Mobile phone as described. 7. The mobile phone according to claim 4, wherein the backlight drive circuit turns on the backlight when the call detection circuit detects the end of a call. 8. A backlight control method for a mobile phone, wherein the lighting of a backlight for illuminating a display unit and an operation unit provided on the main body is controlled based on the presence / absence of a key operation of the operation unit. The backlight is turned on in response to a key operation of a part, and when the start of a call is detected, the backlight being turned on is controlled to a low brightness lighting state, and the backlight is in the low brightness lighting state. When the main body detects the contact state of the user with the human body, the voice spoken by the user is detected, or the backlight is turned off when a set time is exceeded. Backlight control method for telephones.